Donald Dickson II
I may just go with this and we can keep it a secret.

Patrick Hagelstein
Pssssst....... I'll tell noooooooobody.........

Slavo Hazucha
I've heard nothing...

Maciej Bellos
I heard somewhere that Tamiya makes good F-16As Seriously though, if it doesn't up the cost too much, you could use Wolfpack's Block 52 conversion. It comes with a small intake and a PW burner can, newer than the A's burner can but... I wouldn't see the difference and I would tell nooobody as Patrick said.

Patrick Hagelstein
The flame holder and the turbine fairing would be the only giveaways between the old and the new engines, but you'll have to peer into the exhaust to see those. If you fill in two doors on the intake sides, that would work too. But I'll be silent like a grave........

Donald Dickson II
I love it when people help me fudge stuff.

Patrick Hagelstein

Maciej Bellos

Chris Greathouse
Fantastic mate! While I may too young to have lived the Beatles era, I can't help but sing along to the songs I know, which is quite a few.

Tom ...
So cool and fun!

Spanjaard
cool

JD
" And our friends are all aboard
Many more of them live next door
And the band begins to play.."

Spanjaard
we all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine...

JD
Couldn't resist! Youtube Video

Łukasz Gliński
Well done, one of the coolest topics here

Donald Dickson II
Thank you all for your kind words.

Augie
Yep, think your right.. perhaps 2x 9's and 4x7's..

Did a zoom job on that pic and I think they either had the aim-54 pallets on, or semi-recessed 7's on the belly on that jet..not that clear, but looks more like the semi-recessed 7's.

Slavo Hazucha
Popping IN!

Can´t miss this... And I will keep a vigilant eye on every rivet & detail! Which is not worth much, since I really only know stuff about Flankers & MiG´s... So if its colorful enough, it´s probably right!

Also very much looking forward for the AMK "Undertaker" Tomcat!

Clifford Keesler
I can't make out any Phoenix pallets in photo one.

Augie
I had to zoom it in and inverse colours.. still wasnt that clear so not 100% Sure.. however going on the album cover picture, there is a simular outline on that first picture under and just aft of the side insignia..

If you compare the 2, from insignia to rear ejection seat warning.. and look at the outline on the underside.. they are awfully simular.

Donald Dickson II
In the second pic, they are clearly on there. Pic 4 that I just posted they are on. Dont know if that one is frequent wind for sure or not, but definitely the right time frame. I am gonna go with blank rails and 2 and 2.

Donald Dickson II
Oh hey, I can get something past Slavo! LOL

Augie
Hehe good call.

Clifford Keesler
Yea agree, good call.

Bryn Crandell
Finished bird looks great Don! Yes AF birds tend to be the cleanest. They get to be put in shelters at night to keep dust and dirt off of them.

Donald Dickson II
Bryn, we treat our ladies like the Queens they are.

Stephan Ryll
very nice work Donald

Daniel
very nice indeed ,I think the clean look fits the colorful finish very well

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Strphen and Daniel.

Daniel, I like what you did with yours, but as you said, this one was just too bright and colorful to make it dirty.

Roland Gunslinger
That's a beauty Great job!

Donald Dickson II
Thank you sir!

Clifford Keesler
Great looking Bug.

Greg Baker
Meh... I've seen better. (Don's the sensitive type... can't let too much success go to his head...)

Donald Dickson II
OK, better pics.

Thank you all! I am glad and flattered you all like it. Except Greg. He can kiss my butt.

Greg Baker
Well, I mean, it's good for you...

Daniel
This is a nice splinter flanker, congrats don

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Daniel.

Greg, left cheek. LMAO

Slavo Hazucha
Great finish Don! Splinter Flanker standing proud & armed to the teeth! Made me re-play the ship-killing mission in Ace Combat 7 with this one today!

Found out another interesting detail - the flare launchers on the stinger are on top on the KH kit - correctly covered on your build as they should be on 902-black - this is a prototype feature, on serials they are turned downwards. In any case, was a pleasure to watch

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Slavo! I love all the details! As I said, I will be putting them to use on other builds in the future.

Jos Jansen
That's a beautiful Flanker...!

Donald Dickson II
I hate when I find a picture that makes me go OOOOOOOOOOO, I have to do this. And then i am forced to find a kit and the proper decals. Have to order decals from Germany because cant find them anywhere else. And I am not sure when I will get to it. But I already have in mind how I will accomplish it.

Choppa Nutta
I believe in you m'dude !!
I want to see this one come to life !!

Donald Dickson II
Choppa, its gonna be a while. I forgot that Germany is one of the countries mail is not being allowed from. Spain, OK. Cyprus, OK. Germany, NOPE. unreal. But it wouldn't be up right away anyway. When I finish the SU-35 and Yellow Submarine, Im going right into the F-14 build for here and an F-16 for another group build.

Ben M
Whaat? We can't get mail from Germany? I just got mail from the Netherlands.

Donald Dickson II
Ben, this is the email I received from the company I bought the decals from:

Dear Sir,
Thank you very much for your order!

Please accept the current notice by DHL Group: Due to the increased spreading of the Corona virus and the associated delivery limitations, shipping from Germany to the United States is currently not possible.

We have no influence on this restriction and apology for any inconviencience this matter has caused.

Shall we keep your order and ship it after normalization or do you prefer a cancellation and refund of your payment, please?

Ben M
That's amazing. I've only had this problem with trying to get mail to Cuba before.

Choppa Nutta
Donald ask them if they can ship to the UK because if they can then I can ship it to you
not ideal I know but it might be a work around ?
worth asking them at least .... perhaps ?

Donald Dickson II
Thank you my friend. I will shoot them an email and ask.

Donald Dickson II
Welcome sir! I am pretty sure this one is gonna take a while. But truly a labor of love.

Holger Kranich
Is modeling and love not always connected? I am looking forward!

Donald Dickson II
So, I was going through the kits to see what I might need when I get to this build. I hadnt really perused the Valom kits yet. WOW! Resin seamless intakes, resin nose with all the camera windows, PE, seemingly well molded. I am REALLY itching to get at these now!

Nathan Dempsey
Wow, this is going to be awesome.

Łukasz Gliński
Very cool topic, will follow. Wondering how the Jolly Green Giant will turn out as I'm still afraid to re-rivet mine, hence it's still waiting in the stash.
Just in case - I have set of spare Dakota flaps from Eduard than I don't need

Donald Dickson II
Lukas, I dont mess with rescribing and the like(unless I destroy stuff sanding). They actually got it pretty much right even back in 70. They are rivet monsters as you can see in the pic.

Donald Dickson II
I have about 80% of what I will need. I believe I will be starting at least the AC here soon.

Donald Dickson II
OK, so once the SU-35 is done, this will be on the bench. Got most everything I need aside from a frame and the like for the base. But I need the planes together so I know what size to make it.

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Paul. I greatly appreciate that insight!

Donald Dickson II
This one is packed back up and on indefinite hold.

Holger Kranich
Why?

Donald Dickson II
Not feeling it Holger. Just blah. Its a great kit, but I need to leave it be until I am ready to put the effort in.

Holger Kranich
Understandable!

Palo M
Oh, wow. Missed this one. Definitely following.

Donald Dickson II
Palo, not sure when I will get back into it.

Palo M
That's ok, I have the same problem with mine. You'll still be most likely finished before I even start

Daniel
Very nice this livery is sure to draw attention

Donald Dickson II
Thank you gentlemen.

Slavo, yeah, you can not see the FOD covers from the angles I took the pics. I took them out of my Revell E kit I havent built yet. I checked all my other 15 kits. NOt a single one aside from the Revell comes with FOD covers. So much for the "high end" guys being so much better. *eye roll* A couple ounces of lead in the intakes and poof!

Slavo Hazucha
So the screaming eagle swallowed a bowl of lead? Glad the LG did not break down with all that new weight!

Donald Dickson II
LOL I was careful about setting it down, trust me.

Clifford Keesler
I agree it really turned out nice. Well done. Did you use Light and Dark Ghost gray?

Martin Oostrom
Lead gives you a severe tummy ache. Eagles are a protected species, not nice to feed them lead
Bird looks great Donald

Donald Dickson II
Martin, we will keep that our secret.

Clifford, light ghost and regular dark gray.

Clifford Keesler
Got it, thanks.

Donald Dickson II
I think I may dig into this after the F-15 build for a change of pace.

Tim Heimer
Me too Don! WYF! They don't hit????

Jeff Flint
Because Charlie Kaman ordered them not to hit. At least that's what my dad told me.

Tom ...
Wow, I never knew such a hello existed. Looks totally terrifying! Sorry to hear about Lexi. So sad.

Donald Dickson II
LOL Seriously, its ingenious in its simplicity. How they are angled in relation to each other and poof, they dont hit.

Anyway, she is finished. In the two reference pics, you can see they do not have the rear clamshell doors on. Simply a cargo net. I imagine that was because it was a tad warm in Nam and I doubt Huskies had AC. Thats my theory anyway. So, as there are no after market cargo nets out there that I know of, I made my own. I cut strips of lead sheet at a semi uniform width. Using a ruler, I laid them out in relatively even intervals. This is all guesswork on my part as to whether its the right size and dimensions for scale. Looks right to me, so thats it. At this point, I glued them all together then cut the excess and sprayed it dark green. Then cut it fit the back of the copter and wallah!

After that, I attached the landing gears and doors and winch. Painted the exhaust with Alclad and went over it with pastel to dull it down, dropped the props on and done. Considering the age of the kit, this was not a bad build at all. I dropped the ball on the interior though. Didnt think about it, but as there is nothing in there, I could have detailed it a lot better. Perhaps another one down the line.

Tim Heimer
Still looks good for such an odd bird! Nicely done Don!

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Tim. ???? I like the oddballs.

Nathan Dempsey
Nice work Donald. You really brought that old kit to life!

Donald Dickson II
Thank you sir.

Łukasz Gliński
Sad to read it Don, looked very promising. But we can all learn thanks to your experience Once I'll go for their decals, I'm going to seal them with GX varnish before using. It usually helps to keep the old decals together and prevents too much folding. I have to admit Print Scale has some really unique sets.

Patrick Hagelstein
Oh man.... Hadn't I known about the missing decals, the bird/banana looks awesome!

Erik De Smet
Just an advice, Donald, for your future builds: Scan the special decals before using them, in case of trouble you can print a replacement on white of clear decal sheet.

Donald Dickson II
Thank you gentlemen!
Erik, I have tried that before. My printer wont print them clearly. Not sure why, but they just dont come out well.

Clifford Keesler
It still looks nice the way it is. Sorry to hear about the decals. I do not think I have ever used any print scale decals. After your experience, I sure hope I don't have any in the stash.

Clifford Keesler
OH crap, I do. A 1/32 set for my Mig-17 NVA Air Force.

Donald Dickson II
LOL Forwarned is for armed my friend. Just be prepared for anything that's long and narrow to curl on the edges at the very least. Make sure you have the micro Sol on hand

Clifford Keesler
Will do sir. LOL.

Greg Baker
You did a superb job with it though. Well done!

Patrick Hagelstein
I agree! Well done!

Stephan Ryll
very nice build Donald

Daniel
Maybe not the best kit the f5 market has to offer, but thats a nice little aggressor you built out of it

Slavo Hazucha
Nice little angry Sand Snake!

Laurent "HELLER-forever"
great !

Donald Dickson II
Thank you gentlemen!

Clifford Keesler
Nice one Donald.

Martin Oostrom
*shuffles out the backdoor, whistling softly*
I hope to find some decals at SMC veldhoven, the 19th. It will be another F-16

Łukasz Gliński
Don, I picked my Heller's boxing for the same reasons you took your HB - does it sound like a support?

Andy Ball
Like-y, like-y!

Martin Oostrom
I just ordered this one Camouflage Paint Masks for F..(DN Models 72/827-035, 1:72)
Are you happy now?

Donald Dickson II
Yes, much better now. LOL

Patrick Hagelstein
Yep! You're good now Martin! Welcome to the GB!

Martin Oostrom
Actually, these are only masks. Now to find some decals or just use the kit's. Nobody will know

Donald Dickson II
OK, so finally started on this. This is a REALLY basic kit and the main parts went together quickly. Fit is meh. Next I will will be filling the gaps at the wing roots.

Kerry COX
All in all Donald, they are still something most unusual and worth keeping.

Bryn Crandell
Look good to me. If you are happy with them then they are good. I like the difference in the teeth.

Stephan Ryll
Very nice couple of Sluf's Donald

Nathan Dempsey
I like 'em both. Got me spying Slufs on Evilbay

Donald Dickson II
Thank you gentlemen!

Nathan, get the Man Eater SLUFs decal set listed in the project inventory. Its got enough to do two of just about any plane one would want to do.

Martin Oostrom
Why would anyone awake think that design would look scary/decent?
Lovely job Donald. What's next?

Donald Dickson II
Martin, I have no idea why that guy thought it was a good design. LOL I wish we had his side of it.

Next is the 1/72 F-5 for the aggressor build.

Clifford Keesler
Very nice pair of Sluf's Donald.

Donald Dickson II
Thank you gentlemen.

Stephan Ryll
Very nice collection Donald

Spanjaard
sweet

Donald Dickson II
So I moved the cabinet that was on its own in the living room to the computer room/den area with the rest of the cabinets. Had them all out on a table and liked how it looked.

Donald Dickson II
And the next iteration. I finally got 2 more shelves for the glass cabinet and moved some out of the white cabinet so I will have room for the A-6 whenever I get back to that.

Chris Greathouse
I like the plane that looks like a remote control, very realistic. and sweet Goodwill grab!

Donald Dickson II
Chris, a very secret and not well known project involving a reverse engineered chameleon circuit.

Chris Greathouse
Ha!