My last duty station upon leaving the Navy was N.A.S.Corpus Christi,Tx.I was in VT-27,as I was getting ready to be discharged in 1983 the Navy was phasing out the T-28 in favor of the beechcraft T-34mentor as the primary training aircraft.I was a parachute rigger on the T-28 and wonder if anyone new of a kit of the T-28 in 1:32 scale or larger,the Navy used the T-28 B on land and the T-28 C on Carriers as the only real difference was the omission of the tail-hooks on the "B"s,so either one would be acceptable.I was crushed when I learned these were being phased out,the T-28 was a wonderfull aircraft.The The mentor looked like a toy sitting next to the Trojan.Thanks.
As far as I know , the Monogram T28 is all thats out there and thats in 1/48th, unless there is a vac.
Yes, a 1/32 T-28B would be a welcomed sight, but there are two problems; (1) It isn’t modern era, and (2) it isn’t WWII era, so I seriously doubt if any company would invest their resources to produce one. [:(]
The last of the Army’s T-28’s, #7747 “Ellie II”, was on her way to the high desert for storage when the Aviation Museum at Rucker said they’d like to have it. Now #747 rest under about 3/4th inches of gray dust in a crowded hanger beside the museum… flat tires and deflated struts… a mere shadow of her once magnificent self.
I was fortunate enough to get several hours rear seat time in this old girl, with then Maj Mike Davis at the controls… what wonderful memories they are!
Take care,
Frank
I’ve alway loved that little bird, and found it more interesting than the T-6 because, I suppose, I remember when I was a child constantly looking at the photo on the wall of my father with his primary training class lined up in front of one. But trading the relatively gutsy for the tamer, though admittedly more logical turboprop T-34C, seems an odd way to make fighter pilots, but I guess the T-34C was more realistic in the cockpit for modern pilots than the Trojan.
The old Monogram kit comes and goes and is not hard to find. It is dated, but still a quite usable kit because there are many resin and PE sets for it out there so you can bring it up to a decent standard.
TOM
The Monogram 1/48 kit & the Heller 1/72 kit are the only ones I can think of. There may be a Vac or resin in a larger scale, but I don’t recall one.
Regards, Rick
Thanks guys,I thought the same way about a company is not going to spend dollars to make a kit that won’t profit, still the T-28 an important aircraft because I bet over 75% of all Navy pilots did their basic flight training in the Trojan.The T-28 saw combat in Nam and possibly Korea also.I guess it time to scratch-build! Thanks for everyones input.
The Monogram T-28 was a great kit of a great airplane. There was recently an article in FSM about updating and detailing the old girl
Darwin [alien]
Rick’s right, the only kits you’l probably find of the T-28 are Heller’s 1/72 and Monogram’s 1/48. Back in the early 70s, Squadron produced a 1/72 vacuform kit that could be built as either a B or a C but that’s probably a collectors item with the attendant asking price if you should find one. The Monogram kit shows its age (circa 1960) but FSM had a good article a couple of months ago on how to up grade it if you are willing to put some work into it. The Heller kit is an excellent kit but is of a T-28F (Fennec - the version produced for the French). To convert it to an earlier model, you got to remove a bunch of weapons mounting points and modify the tail to get the B or C.
Hold on to your skivvies, me lads!
Collect-Aire has the T-28C in 1/32 scale. It is a resin kit of excellent quality, but look out - the price for this wonder is $189.95 ! ! ! !
Here is the link: http://www.collectaire.com/modelpages/t28/t28.html
Enjoy,
Mike
Thanks Mike,I know at that price it may seem to be too high but for me it is a piece of history that I was a part of as I turned 18 in boot camp.I chose to stay in VT-27 just because of my passion for the T-28,there is no other sound in the world that speaks power like a radial engine.I loved being a part of Naval Training ops.thanks again,as I plan on ordering one right away,it might even be worth the week I’ll have to sleep on the sofa after my wife finds out I spent $189.00 on a model plane.They need a web-site for match-making service for modelers,so we can find wives that share our passions for modeling!
Yeah, my uncle used to be an instructor pilot at NAS, Pensicola in the 60’s and he flew many a T-28 in his career before transiting to rotary wing (H-34). In fact, there is a restored T-28C in Central California, not far from us, that is actually in his log book.
He bought the kit also. As he says, “Semper Fi”
Talking about trojans, what i had to know to build a vietnam war t-28d Nomad. Anybody can lend some colour profiles, thanks.
Monogram produced one in 1/48th scale using the same mold as their other T-28, might still find it around or wait for a reissue
I got 2 Monogram kits off E-Bay and built them as an early and late VNAF versions.
See my post (Twins: T-28’s). It was fun working with both.