Hi Bruce,
You don’t have to wait, you can start now. We are in what we are calling the “Advisory Period”. But we will have the official start in August. I was just concerned that your kit was past the “50%” stage. You are more than welcome to build it and show us your progress.
The C-123, please tell us more about that kit. What scale, kit manufacturer, etc.?
Ken
Hi Russ,
I only have one or I would. There are three available just like the one I have on eBay:
I have bought kits from this retailer before. He usually has good prices.
I have to warn you, this kit did not get good reviews. I have not of course built mine yet so I cannot say first hand, but I have read that the fit can be terrible. But this is the only 1/72 scale C-123 around.
Ken
So, staying true to form, here are a couple of pictures of C-123s that my Dad took while he was TDY in Vietnam.
This first one I believe was taken at the Nha Trang Air Base:
This second one I believe was taken at the Da Nang Air Base:
Ken
Thanks, Ken,
I’ve been watching those for sale on E-bay but I refuse to pay that much for a mediocre kit at best. They’re commanding such huge prices I’m surprised some manufacturer hasn’t brought them back.
Russ
I bought mine a couple of years ago so I really don’t remember the exact price I paid for mine. But I think they had stiff prices even when they were available from the retailers. It is what they call a limited run kit. Yes it is surprising that this aircraft has not been molded by a regular kit manufacturer by now.
Ken
Ken,
That looks like the terminal area and that looks like the beginning of the small mountains that follow the other side of the river from northwest to southwest. This must have been early on in the war as the planes are still in their stateside paint. Also I think that water tank up on the hill was wiped out before I got there in 71.
Russ
Yes, my Dad took these between August and December of 1964.
Ken
It’s interesting to note that the Koreans had some really tough troops up on those mountains and around the area. They were always on the hunt for Viet Cong guerillas. What they did to them when they captured them doesn’t bear mentioning here but suffice it to say, the VC were terrified of them. Probably why we didn’t have a lot of infiltration around Nha Trang.
I do remember my Dad mentioning that they knew the VC were up in those mountains. But that is all that I remember him saying. You can go on with more about what you remember if you want, I am all ears!
Ken
I didn’t mean about what the Koreans did to the VC, I just meant about your time there at Nha Trang!
Ken
And about the lack of camouflage, you are right. The Voodoos weren’t painted yet in any of his pictures, as well as the C-130s or anything else.
Ken
Lol! I got you, Ken. Hmm ok, something brief… [:D]
When I got to Nha Trang in January of 71, the US was already starting to turn over its bases and assets to the South Vietnamese. If I remember correctly, the 15th SOS departed and the 3rd SOS became the 90th SOS, or something like that. Because there was no longer a base command at NT, 1st Flight Detachment with its 4 Duck Hook aircraft (also called Black Bats) fell under operational and maintenance control of the 90th with their 4 Combat Talon aircraft. By then, most of the base was already controlled by the South Vietnamese.
Our CBPO was at Cam Ranh Bay, about 20-30 miles south, so anything to do with our pay or other matters, we had to drive there, which took us through a large rubber plantation that was frequently the site of VC ambushes. We always wore flak vests and carried M-16s when we traveled. Fortunately, we never had any trouble but we didn’t drive on the roads any more than absolutely necessary. Mostly, we caught rides on the medevac helicopters that routinely flew between NT and Cam Ranh Bay. That was exciting and fun, because when leaving CRB, they often flew about 10 ft over the water along the beach to get a look at the stewardesses from the freedom birds (“round eyes” :D).
Our main entertainment in the evening was sitting on top of our bunker and watching the Army shoot at the VC wandering around on the mountainside or in the paddies between the mountains and the river. The Army had a huge searchlight on the hills south of Camp McDermott and almost every night, it lit up the mountainside searching for the enemy. Then the 40mm guns would open up and you got a colorful display of red and green tracers arcing toward the enemy. When I first arrived, there was an old WWII 155mm Long Tom in a small Army detachment just north of our compound. When it opened up, all our buildings shook. Then I understood why there were metal straps around all the fluorescent fixtures.
Anyway, I could go on…and on… but I won’t [:)].
Cheers and sorry for getting long-winded,
Russ
Cool stuff Russ! I like reading stories like this! [:)] Keep them coming!
Ken
Russ:
Yeah;
No apologies necessary, bud, great stories. I would like to hear more as well.
I laugh a bit at Vietnam these days, now the North is aching for U.S. tax-payer-funded aid…lol
Dom
Thanks, Dom! [:D] Yeah, that figures. Just like North Korea, a communist regime can’t be self-supporting because it kills the incentive to make money. As soon as resources run out they either have to go to war and annex new territory or bluff other countries into aiding them.
Russ
Hi, All,
I’ve been itching to get started on my C-130E so I’ve begun with the cockpit. The kit version is pretty sparse, as well as pretty inaccurate. I decided to make my own flight deck and start from the ground up. Also, the bulkhead behind the flight deck is so wrong it’s beyond hope, so I made my own. There was really no door in the kit bulkhead, only a poor gesture and very wrong, so I made my own using measurements taken from various pictures. The pictures below show the differences between the kit flight deck and bulkhead and the ones I made.
Once I cut the door in the bulkhead to the correct size, I had to cut the flight deck back in order to meet the door correctly. Also, I decided to put some detail in the area under the flight deck so that required adding a floor.
Here’s an actual picture of the main hatchway and the area under the flight deck.
Cheers,
Russ
Wow Russ, you are sticking true to form from your B-52 build. Great detail and scratch building already! [Y] [Y] And of course only after due diligent research! Love it!
Ken
Thanks for the good words, Ken! [:D]
Russ
Hi Everyone!
Sorry for not posting anything tonight. In the line of work I do, sometimes I am required to work over into the evening. Tonight was one of those nights. I just got done. So hopefully I will be able to spend some quality time at the workbench tomorrow night.
I have made some progress since the last time I posted. But I want to finish before I take any pictures. Just to refresh everyone what I am currently working on, I am wiping off the excess wash on my Aires front wheel bay. It has so much detail that it is taking a lot of work to get the excess wash off!
Ken
Hey I’ll join up! Just got a 1/48 Monogram F-105G that I’m itching to build.