This is the Hasegawa boxing of the P-3C. This was a 2 year (on&off) project that is finally completed. I built this for my Dad as a surprise (he still doesn’t know, so don’t nobody say nuthin!). He flew P-3’s in the Navy in the early 70’s through the early 80’s. This is one of the planes he flew in VP-9 and the base it sits on is a replica of the tarmac at Moffit Feild, CA, where he flew out of. I was able to replicate the base using Google Earth.
The kit was completely rescribed. This was my first time rescribing something, and in hindsight, I should’ve picked a smaller 1/72 plane for a first time scriber. That was a huge job! Many stencils needed to be used from the original decal sheet because the newer planes carry different stenciling. Some decals were stolen from a ROG P-3C I also have. All squadron specific decals were printed by me, and the insignia on the tail was drawn and printed from someone over at FSM boards (Thanks John!). I decided to add the AGM12 Bullpup missiles to the wing pylons to make it look more interesting (these can be removed), as you don’t normally see P-3’s armed like this. They did sometimes carry mavericks, and more recently carry Harpoons but they weren’t around back in the day. Also, the kit comes with mk 84 torpedoes that the instructions will have you mount on the wing pylons, however I was told that due to their being quite sensative, they were never left hung out in the cold (always in bomb bay). The rest of the kit is pretty much OOB, I added brake lines and springs to the main gear, and static discharge wicks on all control surfaces. The base was made from Ampersand Pastelbord (cool stuff!). All panel lines were scribed in, then I used Polly Scale(?) Old and New concrete, followed by masking and spraying of the white markings, then weathered the whole thing and finally added some wheel chalks which are actually functional! There’s also an acrylic case that fits on the base to go over the plane that I had made to keep the dust bunnies out!
Very nicely done. I thought about building this kit because my cousin is a navigator on one. He is with Patrol Squadron 10 “Red Lancers” (VP-10) deployed in Quatar right now. I wanted to build one for him just like you have build your for your Dad. She really looks great.
Absolutely beautiful!!! Perfectly weathered and painted!! [bow]I grew up in Cupertino, CA in the 70’s and early 80’s, right in the landing path of Moffett Field. I loved watching those Orions coming over, as well as the variety of other planes that flew over. It brings back so many memories!
Just aft of the nose gear. In the third to last picture, you can see two red boxes on the side of the fuselage (low). One box is the front, the other is the end of the bomb bay area.
I’ve GOT to say that is one beautiful job. I’ve got the Hasegawa P-3C in my stash but will have to back date it to what we called a “heavy B” which was a P-3B with the P-3C’s acoustic sensors and a softer landing gear.
In answer to your question, the P-3C did not carry a searchlight. The object on the starboard inner pylon was a Low Light Level Television System (LLLTV). This was removed when the Charlie got it’s infra-red turret. The pod was square in profile and had a flat glass front cover to protect the camera lens. The port inboard pylon used to carry tha ALQ-76 Electronic Support Measures pod.
Soulcrusher,
My congratulations to your cousin for being a “Red Lancer” of VP-10 (It’s hard to be humble when you’re a 10) My last duty in the Navy was as a member of VP-10’s Combat Aircrew 3 from '72-'74…
WOW!! That is an absolutely beautiful P-3. Very nice work. You are to be commended on your patience and fortitude. I sure look forward to seeing some more of your work. Even if it does take a couple of more years.
Excellent work on the P-3C. I bet your dad will be quite surprised and will be well pleased with this wonderful gift.
I did the same thing for my step-father a couple of years ago. He was an electronics maintenance guy and had numerous opportunities to work on P-3Bs while stationed in Vietnam in the late 60s, early 70s. I had his squadron number, VP-46, and squadron logo, so I acquired the kit and made decals matching his squdron, back-dated the kit to a B and surprised him with it one day. He had no idea it was coming. He still talks about how proud he is of that gift. And he then asked me to build the P2V7 Neptune, which was being phased out when he arrived in Vietnam but he had some opportunity to work aboard those as well.
That’s cool Aggie! One of the things that made me want to do this is that he still has a few models I built of his planes (Bonanza, S2, ?) when I was a kid, and they were (by my current standards) really butchered builds. Missing parts, poor masking, glue all over windows, broken prop blades, but he still has them on his desk. I figure this one will be the crown jewel! And to keep it protected from the elements I had the acrylic case made.
