Bill Cross

I can't speak to this kit specifically, however I have the impression that comparatively speaking Italeri kits tend to be on the expensive side.  I am interested in their 1/12 car kits and those tend to hold high prices also.  But usually I think any Italeri kit tends to be relatively expensive.  Even relative to Tamiya I consider Italeri pricey at least Tamiya you get better engineering for your money also.  

This is the new 'normal' Bill.

Hankering after a VN War F-104C, but the Italeri kit, hardly a revelation these days, is over $150 at Sprue Bros. I realize SB aren't the be all, end all in kit purchasing, but still.... The G and TF-105G are both decent (I built the two-seater and gave up on the G when the Aeres resin upgrades didn't fit the kit).
 
Did I miss the memo where Italeri kits are suddenly in scorching hot demand?

Maybe the recent Caracal sheet drove up demand?
 
http://www.caracalmodels.com/cd32022.html
 
Tony

For all in the UK, I have had this issue with all my previous orders with Jetmads - 17TRACK and other tracking services showed the parcel has left Istanbul, nothing further.  On ALL occasions the parcel showed up on my doorstep, and on ALL the occasions the tracking did not update - even AFTER delivery.
 
Don't know what the reason behind this is (software incompatibility, fire wall at the point of carrier, or lazy delivery person - making NO judgements here), but I have the same issue now with a parcel shipped from Japan to Belgium (mother says delivered, tracking showing parcel has cleared customs, then nothing).  On another shipment it was 'en route' for 58 days, (also via Istanbul) and showed up on my doorstep with my very friendly postman - yet the tracking to this day still says 'en route'  Go figure.
 
My advise for JETMADS stuff is don't panick too soon, just try to be patient (difficult, bordering impossible, I know, but still) 

Guess what was waiting on my front porch when I cam back from breakfast? And it looks WONDERFUL.
 
This one's for my mormor, Tack för allt du gjort för familjen i Amerika och i Sverige.
 
My grandmother came here all by herself in 1904, and her story is sad and inspiring both.

I am continuing my series of posts of photos from my visit to the RAF Museum in London in 2022. You can see my first post here featuring the WWI aircraft in Hangar 2. As mentioned before, I've only recently gotten around to sorting through my collection, and I thought I’d share the pictures I took with everyone here. I'm going to break down my posts by hangar/exhibit and share pictures of each aircraft on display.
 
The next exhibit I am going to cover is "War in the Air 1918–1980" in Hangars 3, 4, and 5. As there are so many aircraft on display, I am going to break this exhibit into multiple posts, with this the first. For certain aircraft where I have taken enough pictures to warrant a walkaround, I will also put up separate posts for those and submit them to also be added to the LSP website Walkaround section.
 

 
The images I will post are highlights of the exhibit (on Flickr), and for those of you interested in seeing all the pictures I took at each exhibit (100s for each) at full resolution, I'll add a link to the applicable Google Photos album at the end of each post. The Google albums will have additional non-aircraft pictures and images of the museum placards with more detailed descriptions of each plane.
 
Bristol Bulldog Mk. IIa G-ABBB (static restoration)
The Bristol Bulldog was the RAF fighter of the early 1930s. It was the standard Royal Air Force fighter, equipping ten of its thirteen home defence Squadrons. In 1964, this aircraft crashed at the Farnborough Air Show and the aviation world thought the aircraft was beyond recovery. The RAF Museum, however, recovered the wreckage and in 1994 finally was able to place the contract to rebuild this aviation classic. More info on this airframe: https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/1994-1386-A-Bristol-Bulldog.pdf
 

 

 

 


 
Curtis Kittyhawk Mk. IV (static composite reconstruction)
The Kittyhawk was the final development of the monoplane Curtiss Hawk fighters and during World War Two provided the RAF with valuable reinforcements in the Middle East. This is a composite reconstruction from recovered P-40 wrecks from New Guinea and represents a Kittyhawk IV (P-40N) in RAF service with a lengthened fuselage and redesigned canopy. More info on this airframe: https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/1994-1347-A-Curtiss-Kittyhawk-FX670.pdf
 

 

 

 
 
de Havilland Chipmunk T.10 (Mk. 10) WP962
The Chipmunk was designed and produced in Canada, with Chipmunk T.10 examples being manufactured in the UK as the Royal Air Force’s primary trainer. This example is one of the two Chipmunks that circumnavigated the Northern Hemisphere as part of "Exercise Northern Venture." The flight lasted 64 days and covered 16,259 miles, visiting 62 airfields en route. More info on this airframe: https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/X002-3448-Chipmunk-WP962.pdf
 

 

 
 
Hawker Hart II G-ABMR (restored, airworthy when presented to the museum in 1972)
First flown in July 1928, the Hart day bomber was one of the most advanced aircraft of its time with exceptional capability. Although designed as a bomber it had a performance superior to any fighter aircraft then in existence. More info on this airframe: https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/74-A-29-Hawker-Hart-II-G-ABMR.pdf
 

 

 
 
Hawker Hunter FGA.9 XG154 (restored, repainted into 8/43 Squadron Khormaksar markings at RAF St Athan)
The Hunter was the first high-speed jet fighter with radar and fully-powered flying controls to go into widespread service with the Royal Air Force. More info on this airframe: https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/collections/1990-0698-A-Hunter-FGA9-XG154.pdf
 

 

 

The life preserver, and even the MA-2 harness in a former version, but this last detail is not very visible on a seated pilot.
The Mk 3 life preserver, that was in use also inside the 70s, does not have a collar as you can see on the above picture. The helmet remains the same. An opportunity for other versions...
 

Cheers
Norbert

Hi
Further to the F-4 aircrew for the 1969-late 70s era, Reedoak provides now versions with visor up, and with or without boom mic, in 1/32 and 1/48 scale
 

 
Cheers
Norbert

Saw this movie again just last month...loved it as a kid.
 
Pearl Harbor from a different perspective:
 

How they did it before cgi:
 

 
Some other aviation related movie effects here:
 
https://nzpetesmatteshot.blogspot.com/2011/06/
 
Jari

Here is a video showing Mk-82s being loaded on a TER (on a A-4 but still a TER), at the 2:40 mark the arming wire swivel is being hooked up to the nose arming solenoid:
 
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/85796
 
edit: here is a view of a rack on a MER:
 

 
the arming solenoids are the grey parts on either side of the ejector foot (the one with the rusty screw below the pin). The white part to the left is for electrical fuzing i do believe. 
 
Jari

Hi Marcel, here is a TER on a A-4 giving you an idea where the arming wires went:
 
https://www.docdroid.com/AgiGpxf/douglas-a-4-and-ta-4-tactical-pocket-guide-pdf#page=11
 
scroll down to the next page to see another option for tail ariming/retarded mode for a Snakeye. I don't think the Navy used RBF pins for the individual racks.
 
Jari

I admit I almost quietly lost interest until I saw this:

Yet I’d never get used to seeing Elvis at the controls of a B-17 

Not this then?

I review a few aircraft books for another site, and I think the Duke Hawkins series are the finest resource books you can buy. They not only provide exceptional modeler detail, but are plain gorgeous.

Got an update from Jetmads via email.  Looks like they are running behind with the design but are now focussed on that. Expected delivery should start by mid May, so here's to hoping I get it before Christmas...

Right, one does have to establish sensible priorities.

I'm holding off on the Kate (for now) just because I don't want to have a conversation with the wife.  A well done large scale B-17 will probably make that conversation worth having.

Considering the negative things I have heard about the HK Models' B-17s, maybe we get a good one this time?
 
It didn't fly in Vietnam, but I might make an exception for this one.

https://www.facebook.com/copperstatemodels/posts/pfbid029L7djXMuUpFQ5oVSGrLKv1HzxTmfpHTADeC3RnEvCeHSMNXCEKP8bq1FYs5zNjLDl

Don't forget to look at the second hand market for kits and AM.
 
I managed to pick up the 3 Tamiya Tomcats I have for around $90 USD each and two came with resin cockpit sets and other AM. 
 
I built one at the same time @ScottsGT did his Revell one. It was an interesting comparison between what needed improving on both kits. 
 

 

 
Cockpit was the Technix resin set. 
 

 

 
 
 

Which Trumpeter Turkey you need depends on many things. Timeframe, mission are big ones. Do you want the colorful flamboyant schemes, tactical grey schemes, VX-4 schemes...CAP mission, CAS, recon...loaded with air to air missiles, LGBs... Trumpeter/Tamiya/Revell all need work and/or aftermarket, how accurate and how much work is your decision. I've done all three, all were work intensive, all required aftermarket. Whichever way you go, will be a lot of work, but the finished birds always impress.
 
Don

Pretty cool! Possibly a bit off on timing with the  also possible RE-release of the 35th helos from Kitty Hawk, but my experience so far with ICM kits has been fantastic, so it may be a moot point.