hi fellows, just finished this bird tonight, i don’t even think the paint is dry as you view it!![:D] anyway, this i Monograms 1/48 scale A-37 Dragonfly. i don’t know why, but i’m so glad to get this kit off my workbench…can’t explain it. i was digging through the bottom shelf of the LHS and came across this thing and was fairly excited about it. i didn’t even know this plane even existed before i found this kit. thats what i like about the Vietnam era aircraft, no telling what you may find that they used over the jungles!! then, i made a trip to another LHS in another town and came across the Black Box resin cockpit for it and got real excited about the project. all this transpired about 4 months ago and when i came home with the AM cockpit, i painted it up and then it sat there, and sat there, and finally i got tired of lookin’ at it and put it in the bird, joined the fuselage halves and was on the short rows before i knew it. i didn’t do too much to it as far as weathering, just a wash of dark umber. i turned the nose gear wheel to the right a hair to loosen the stance a tad and that is pretty much it. she’s painted a sea camo scheme popular among the Airforce in those years, i used MM enamels. later.
SD… that’s one of my all time favorite Vietnam era jets. Don’t ask me why… I just like the tought little scrappy underdog. From what I’ve read they had the ability to stay “on station” over downed airmen, and pockets of resistance for long periods. Kind of like the “Spads”. You did an awesome job on that bug… I just got the Hasegawa 1/72 kit the other day from Squadron. I hope my paint comes out looking half as good as yours did. You did a really great job on it… as usual. Anyway… great job buddy… thanks for the glimpse.
I too suffer from almost complete loss of interest, now, after the toughest parts are complete. I have five almost finished projects within reach of my work desk right now… every day I say I’ll get to them today, but never do. I keep buying them however, sooner or later they’ll get done.
Thanks for the great pictures of a fantastic build!!
Not to forget the Cessna 337 Skymaster.
And they also use 150s, 172s and I believe they use a couple of twins also. I’ll have to check my reference to make sure.
there have been a handfull of cessna to see Military Service, the twin tailed pusher puller prop O-2, the O-1 Birdog, T-37-AT-37, all saw combat service in Vietnam, and Im pretty sure the US Airforce still uses variants of Cessna Planes as cheap trainers.
wow saltydog, an amazing build. I have this very same kit. I bought it about 2 years ago for a very cheap price. Still sitting in box, one of these days it’ll get built, so I think I’m gonna save your pics as an inspiration [:)]
Thats a great build of a an underappreciated a/c Saltydog. The “tweety birds” used to fly over my house all the time as a kid living in Southeastern PA. There is one very similar to yours on display at the USAAF museum in Dayton if your ever out that way.
