Hi all
I am a tread head that has fallen to the darkside. One of my more ambitious schemes is to build a good representation of the aircraft flown in the Vietnam war. Right now I am specifically looking for the following in 1/48 scale:
A-1H Skyraider in Navy markings
F-4 Phantom II in USAF markings (C, D, and E, as well as Wild weasle varients)
A-7 Corsair II
F-8 Crusader
any NVAF jets
Hasegawa US aircraft weapons sets( several of each)
Anyone know where I can find these?
In 1/48 the following kits can be found
A-1H- Tamiya in both AF and Navy Markings. There is also an older Monogram kit to be had in various markings at kit swap meets and online auctions.
F-4C/D/E- Hasegawa has a current line of all these variants. The EF-4C Weasel is not currently available but can be converted with some good references without too much trouble. Also, Monogram, ESCI, AMT have made the F-4C/D in the past and they still can be found as above. Italeri and Monogram also make F-4E’s. The F-4G Weasel did not appear until the late 70’s.
A-7D/E - The only kit worth having is the Hasegawa kit, which is still easily found. ESCI/AMT made a kit that requires A LOT of add ons to make decent, but is long out of production.
F-8 - Hasegawa is the primary kit, although Monogram/Revell Germany have a good older kit still fairly easy to find available.
NVAF- MiG-17F- SMER, Hobbycraft, Airfix all make this one but availabilty varies. MiG-19- Trumpeter is really the only one. MiG-21- Academy does two, a PF and an MF. The MF flew at the very end of the air war while the PF was encountered during most stages.
The Hasegawa weapons sets are still easily found also.
I would suggest trying the major online sites such as Squadron, Great Models, Roll Models, or Internet Hobbies if there is no decent Hobby store near you.
Also-Dont forget the F-105D/F/G (only Monogram) F-100D (again only Monogram), and A-4C/E/F (Hasegawa, Hobbycraft, Monogram, Esci). They were also major players during Vietnam’s Airwar.
They
Rare-Plane Detective has a couple of the Monogram A-1H kits listed. If you decide to go that route and they don’t have the Navy markings, give me a shout. I’ve got an extra set you can have.
And They? Don’t forget the little A-37B by Monogram.
Mach 2 makes the only C-123 I know of, but their kits are hard to build. Williams Bros. makes a nice C-46 which could be put to all kinds of nefarious uses. Italeri makes various C-130’s.
I found a website once, I think it was from South America, where one of the modelers was building a C-123. He was using, I blieveit was, a G-222 as the basic airframe and scratch building the details. It looked pretty good.
I lost the site during one of my “computer-took-a-nose-dive” periods!! I’ll have to see if I can find that one again.
Hey Bondo? I need to get an email to you about the tanks and conversion parts!! I’ll try and get that done later.
For possible future reference, here’s a few more aircraft to consider: B-52D/G, H-43,Seasprite, H-3, H-53, F-5, C-47, AC-47, EC-47, O-1, O-2, OV-1, OV-10, YO-3, F-100F, B-57, F-102, F-104, C-5, C-9, AH-1, UH-1, SP-2/AP-2 Neptune, Marlin, KC-135, C-141A, C-140, T-28, AC-119G/K, AC-130A/H, JC-130, MC-130, C-130, EC-121, C-121, HU-16, S-2, U-2, SR-71, RF-4C, A-6A, EA-6A, kad-6A, HC-103P, Airtruk, HC-46, HC-47, Skycrane, T-39, HU-10, F-111A, Raven, A-37, and P-3.
Can’t forget the stretch DC-8 Freedom Bird.
That should do it for now, With a couple exceptions, I’ve seen all of these during the war, but I’ve probably missed some.
That should do it for now
For possible future reference, here’s a few more aircraft to consider: B-52D/G, H-43,Seasprite, H-3, H-53, F-5, C-47 Italeri in 1/72, AC-47, EC-47, O-1, O-2, OV-1, OV-10, YO-3, F-100F, B-57, F-102, F-104, C-5, C-9, AH-1, UH-1, SP-2/AP-2 Neptune Hasegawa in 1/72, Marlin Hasegawa in 1/72, KC-135, C-141A, C-140, T-28, AC-119G/K, AC-130A/H, JC-130, MC-130, C-130 various by Italeri, EC-121 Heller in 1/72 OOP, C-121, HU-16, S-2, U-2, SR-71, RF-4C, A-6A, EA-6A, kad-6A, HC-103P, Airtruk, HC-46, HC-47, Skycrane, T-39, HU-10, F-111A, Raven, A-37, and P-3 Hasegawa in 1/72.
For possible future reference, here’s a few more aircraft to consider: B-52D/G, H-43,Seasprite, H-3 Hasegawa in 1/48, H-53 Italeri in 1/72, F-5, C-47 Italeri in 1/72, AC-47 Suppose to be released this year by Revell in 1/48, EC-47, O-1 ModelUSA in 1/48, O-2 Testors in 1/48, OV-1 Roden in 1/48, OV-10 Academy & Hasegawa in 1/72 and Testors in 1/48, YO-3, F-100F, B-57, F-102, F-104 Italeri in 1/72, C-5, C-9, AH-1, UH-1 “B”, “C” & “D” Italeri in 1/72 & “D” in 1/48 - “B” Revell in 1/48, SP-2/AP-2 Neptune Hasegawa in 1/72, Marlin Hasegawa in 1/72, KC-135, C-141A, C-140, T-28 Heller in 1/72, AC-119G/K, AC-130A/H, JC-130, MC-130, C-130 various by Italeri, EC-121 Heller in 1/72 OOP, C-121, HU-16, S-2, U-2 Testors in 1/48, SR-71 Italeri in 1/72 and Testors in 1/48, RF-4C, A-6A, EA-6A, kad-6A, HC-103P, Airtruk, HC-46 Acacemy in 1/48, HC-47, Skycrane, T-39, HU-10, F-111A, Raven, A-37 Academy & Hasegawa in 1/72, and P-3 Hasegawa in 1/72.
I’m sure that there are others that can update this list further.
Thanks for all the help guys. I am primarily trying to stick ti fighter and attack aircraft but wouldnt mind adding a B-52 and a few C-130s to the mix. I would also prefer to stay in 1/48 scale. 1/72 is just too small for my big fingers and 1/32 is too large to display easily. speaking of the F-104 does anyone know if the Hasegawa camo version can be found anywhere. I really love those USAF SEAC birds. Any others that would carry those colors?
You might keep an eye out on Ebay. That’s the only place I can think of.
I know Classic Airfames makes an F-5 with S. Vietnam markings. That seems to be the only one the others didn’t have. Talk about thorough.
For cammo F-104s, the P.R.A.N.G. had the S.E.A. paint job.
Don’t Forget the A-7D. Super SLUFF.
Good luck finding an F-4C in 1/48 scale. There’s none to be found at Squadron and other internet hobby shops. Hasegawa makes a couple, but they’re all out of production. The closest you’ll find is the F-110, the first air force version of the F-4. The old Monogram F-4C hasn’t been around for at least a decade.
Monogram is your only source for century series fighters, with the exception of a series of F-104s by Hasegawa. The Monogram F-101B was restricted to stateside and Canadian use. There are no 1/48th scale RF-101Cs that were used in Vietnam.
It’s kind of sad that it’s so hard to find 1/48 scale models of common aircraft in widespread use, such as the F-100, A-1E, OV-10, HH-3, F-2H, H-34, and a number of other nifty fifties aircraft. I’d love to see a new series of modern quality 1st and 2nd generation jets and helicopters. The new computer designed geek jets lack the character of old fashioned lead sleds.