1/32 Kitty Hawk North American T-28 Trojan

[Mistral]

Well another one done. Notwithstanding all the negative sentiment which tends to get directed KH's way, I thoroughly enjoyed this model. The fit was good, the detail OOB good and KH must have the clearest canopies in the modelling universe. I for one am sad to see them go as they have been providing us with unique subjects. The T-28 is one. I love this aircraft - it's a brute and had a very distinct sound. I was flying from Pretoria to Durban as the GIB in a Harvard a few years back when one of these came barrel rolling past us. Lots of power up front.

 

Anyway, enough reminiscing. I decided to go for something different in terms of markings - a "Royal Laotian Air Force" T-28D. The specific subject I chose was operated by the 56th Special Operations Wing Det. 1 flying out of Udorn RTAB. The D's were equipped with wing guns in gondolas and 3 weapons pylons on each wing. A nice set of weapons is provided by KH. I really like the little fragmentation bomblets. However, I suspect I made a few errors - I should have fitted the broad blade props and painted them black and the kit doesn't have the Yankee Ballistic Extraction Seats. The Ds were mostly converted from earlier A and B models. 

 

The only kit decals I used were the instrument panel decals which livened the panels up nicely. For the rest I used the lovely AOA Decal sheet titled "Trainers no more : Trojans at war". One is really spoilt for choice with this decal sheet being able to model various aircraft in US, VNAF, Thai, Laotian and Cambodian / Khmer markings (the latter apparently operated by CIA's Air America). They also provide a comprehensive set of stencilling decals which are printed finely and clearly. 

 

So then the subject :

 

 

 

And the model :

 

 

[Mistral]

Paint is overall ADC grey according to the AOA decal instructions. I used XtraColour X138 FS16473 ADC Aircraft Grey. I love Xtracolour paints - their colours always look spot on. I used various mottling masks to apply random patches of slightly darker ADC grey. This is a great technique and has changed the look of my previously rather bland models. They now look nice and patchy. Tamiya X-22 gloss varnish base was next onto which the decals were applied - they went on really nicely without silvering. Then an overspray with Alclad ALC-600 Aqua Gloss to protect the decals and to provide a base for enamel washes. I've started to use MiG's washes (a combination of Dark Wash, Starship Streaking and Starship Wash - man these make the plane look patchy and dirty) which are great products. Wing walkway stripes were masked and painted as were all other black panels.

 

 

 

 

[Mistral]

 

The T-28s got really grubby from the grey-brown exhaust stains and this tended to become quite streaky due to rain. I replicated this with carefully airbrushing with various brown colour mixes :

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mistral]

 

 

 

[Mistral]

Cockpit detail with canopies off :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Static discharge wicks added using toothbrush bristles :

 

 

 

Dropping the flaps requires a bit of work - kit provides separate control surfaces all around however, the flaps need curved leading edges added otherwise a large gap is present. I only did this because this is such a characteristic feature of the aircraft on the ground. According to AOA sheet, the Ds did not have the speed brake - I found out too late that this particular part did not fit in the closed position very well so I left it open .

 

 

 

[Mistral]

Be warned, this kit is a major tail sitter. KH provides two substantial weights to glue either side of the nose landing gear bay but this was not nearly enough. Again, I discovered this too late to add anymore - so I have a pin which I can use to prop up the rear fuselage - I forgot to photoshop it out of the one image below  :

 

 

 

 

 

[Kagemusha]

Lovely, such an attractive aircraft, I have the same decal sheet, an array of wonderful options.

[Out2gtcha]

Not withstanding the tail sitter aspect, this turned out simply LOVELY!  I've build two, including the one Glenn used for his demo model. I 100% agree on the remarks on KHM, and specifically this kit. 

Really the only bad things are the prop hub being too long, a cowl that is a bit fiddly, and some various things like the speed brake that dont necessarily fit will closed, as well as the mentioned nose weight issue, but they were all minor to me, and I too thought the fit was excellent. 

Ive got two more T-28s in the stash to build for myself, well done!  

[FreightDog]

That is really, really nice. I've built 2 of these myself, and your cowls fitted nicely where mine didn't. I was scratching my head about how you dropped the flaps until I got to the part where you explained it. Re the tail sitting, there's no excuse for KittyHawk as far as I'm concerned - I used the supplied weights also filled every empty space up front I could with extra lead - still ended up with the same tail props as you. All that said, it builds into a great looking bird and I share your affection for the type. Really well done. 

[chrish]

Beautiful job! Agree with all comments! I doubled the weight of the kit included weight in mine!

the resin cockpit may have helped or made it worse…not sure but it’s tough to balance.

back on topic, great job! And great choice of color 

[Pete Fleischmann]

This looks outstanding!The exhaust stains are particularly well done- super nice job! I love it! 

 

cheers

Pete

[ziggyfoos]

awesome build

pretty rare (to me at least?) to see the T-28 actually built too

[Mistral]

Thanks all for your very kind comments. I really appreciate this positive feedback. The T-28's cowling pieces were forced into submission....

 

As it is I'm building the KHM 32nd F-5F which is not as good as the Trojan but still is a nicely detailed model...except for the missing intake ducts. But that's what FOD covers are for....

 

And I forgot to mention, in my opening post on this build I noted that I was GIB in a Harvard. On that sortie, my pilot was LSP's own resident Madmax. What a nice experience that was !

[IvanVasili]

Such a beautiful Trojan! Very good surface details, makes me want to build one.

[Out2gtcha]

 

On 8/5/2021 at 10:59 AM, Mistral said:

Be warned, this kit is a major tail sitter. KH provides two substantial weights to glue either side of the nose landing gear bay but this was not nearly enough.

 

 

I hope you dont mind me showing a couple pics for future reference if you build another Trojan, and/or for those interested in getting the build on its trike, I found the perfect spot - This is just a medicine cup cut down to fit in-between the firewall and bulkhead painted black and in my case filled with #9 lead shot. BTW you also need the OOB weights as well, but the OOB nose gear can handle the weight.

 

It doesnt matter what it is, as long as the cup is filled with approx 1.0 to 1.5 oz of lead, you should be good. Its probably an over estimation, but I wanted to make sure it sat on the nose gear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Installed and painted black:

 

 

 

 

 

 

HTH