CSCH Models - WW2 & Vietnam Air War in Scale

McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II - The MIG 21 Killer

2011-08-29T23:04:00.000-03:00

Dogfights F4 Phantom II

2011-08-29T23:02:00.000-03:00

F-4 Phantom Best Low Passes Ever

2011-08-29T22:51:00.000-03:00

F-4 Phantom Breaks Sound Barrier.

2011-08-29T22:50:00.000-03:00

F 4J Phantom II

2011-08-17T15:35:00.023-03:00

This time I´m building a F 4J - VMFA 232 "Red Devils".
The kit is the old but good ESCI in 1/48 scale, Bicentenial model, so I had made some modifications to represent a F 4J because the Bicentenial is a F 4B type.
I added the internal & external pylons, the external fuel tanks & the missiles, all of these didn´t come with the kit.
After the building process I used Mr. Surfacer 1200 for general priming. Paints are Humbrol Enamels (129 - 130 - 85) % Model Mastre Metalizers (Burnt Metal & Stainless Steel).

Now the canopy

Decaling with a Microscale aftermarket decal sheet. Aircraft is of VMFA 232 - Red Devils - USMC

Finished model

ROBERT TAYLOR Paitings

2010-12-12T01:08:00.002-03:00

ROLLING THUNDER: Colonel Jack Brougton F 105 Thunderchief, 12 th March 1967 leading 355th TFW based at the Royal Thai Air Base at Ubon in Thailand on a mision to hammer the gun emplacemets surrounding the termal power plant at Viet Tri on the Red River located at a short distance NW of Hanoi. The bombing force get through and lay their bombs on the target. Cnel. Broughton and his three fellow pilots took the familiar route, approaching the target area flying down THUD RIDGE.

North American F-100 Super Sabre Pt. 2

2010-12-11T21:32:00.000-03:00

North American F-100 Super Sabre Pt. 1

2010-12-11T21:31:00.000-03:00

Great books about Vietnam Air War

2010-11-22T14:16:00.008-03:00

I highly recomend these tittles to anyone interested in the Air War aver Vietnam.

CLASHES:

This classic work, part of the Marine Corps reading list, makes full use of declassified U.S. documents to offer the first comprehensive study of fighter combat over North Vietnam. Marshall Michel s balanced, exhaustive coverage describes and analyzes both Air Force and Navy engagements with North Vietnamese MiGs but also includes discussions of the SAM threat and U.S. countermeasures, laser-guided bombs, and U.S. attempts to counter the MiG threat with a variety of technological equipment. Accessible yet professional, the book is filled with valuable lessons learned that are as valid today as they were in the 1960s and 1970s. Some 15 photos and 45 drawings and maps, including diagrams of both American and North Vietnamese formations and tactics, are included.

THUD RIDGE:

Wings & Airpower Magazine, December 2006 “’Once a classic, always a classic,’ and this book is certainly no exception. Originally published in 1969 when the combat experiences of the Vietnam War were still happening in real-time, Thud Ridge tells the frustrating tale of Air Force strike pilots who were thrust into the war in its early stages, and who had to literally ‘write the book’ as they flew each dangerous and hair-raising mission. Jack Broughton is not only a fighter pilot’s fighter pilot, but a gifted write who can put you right into the hot sweaty cockpit of a Republic F-105 Thunderchief flying its payload of 750-lb. bombs right up Route Pack 6 and into the heavily defended piece of real estate that gives this book its name. “Now enhanced by compelling and candid photographs running chronologically through the narrative, this book not only tells the story of aerial bravery during the early phases of Vietnam, but gives the reader a veritable encyclopedia of information on all the combat hardware employed in the conflict. An appendix showing aircraft flown and equipment used in Southeast Asia offers the kind of detail that really puts this book into proper historical perspective. Whether or not you were captivated by the original, this new release serves as a valuable re-visit to a pivotal era in military history that changed the face of aerial combat as we knew it. There are few people on this earth better suited to tell the story than Col. Jack Broughton.”</DIV> --Wings & Airpower Magazine, December 200

WHEN THUNDER ROLLED:

Ed Rasimus straps the reader into the cockpit of an F-105 Thunderchief fighter-bomber in his engaging account of the Rolling Thunder campaign in the skies over North Vietnam. Between 1965 and 1968, more than 330 F-105s were lost–the highest loss rate in Southeast Asia–and many pilots were killed, captured, and wounded because of the Air Force’s disastrous tactics. The descriptions of Rasimus’s one hundred missions, some of the most dangerous of the conflict, will satisfy anyone addicted to vivid, heart-stopping aerial combat, as will the details of his transformation from a young man paralyzed with self-doubt into a battle-hardened veteran. His unique perspective, candid analysis, and the sheer power of his narrative rank his memoir with the finest, most entertaining of the war.

PALACE COBRA:

Picking up where his acclaimed When Thunder Rolled left off, Palace Cobra is the story of Ed Rasimus's return to Vietnam to fight a war that many Americans tried to forget…
When F-105 pilot Ed Rasimus completed his 100 missions over Vietnam, he returned stateside to a normal life: sitting at a desk and teaching student pilots. Two years later, he volunteered to go for a second tour of duty. Determined not to die in a losing cause, and relentlessly searching for that next adrenaline rush, Rasimus and the other F-4 Phantom pilots continued the ferocious air war in the North Vietnam--dodging SAMs and gunning for MiGs--and routinely cheated death.
When America finally got serious about ending the war, Rasimus and the other pilots put it all on the line, pounding Hanoi with everything they had, and flying above POW camps to let the troops know they were not alone. Gripping, earnest, and unforgettable, Rasimus's combat memoir is, in the end, a heartfelt tribute to those who never made it back.

BURRY US UPSIDE DOWN The Misty Pilots and the Secret Battle for the Ho Chi Minh Trail:

This thoroughly readable, absorbing history chronicles the air operations known as Misty (officially called Commando Sabre) along the Ho Chi Minh trail during the Vietnam War. Flying mostly F-100s, the air force pilots acted as FACs (forward air controllers) for strike aircraft, directing them to North Vietnamese supply convoys and other targets along the conduit. Newman, a journalist, and Shepperd, a retired two-star air force general and current CNN commentator, launch their account with the story of Howard K. Williams, a pilot shot down on a Misty mission in 1968 and declared deceased in 1978 (his remains were recovered in 1991). They also bring to life a wide cast of Misty characters, including Williams's long-suffering widow, Monalee, daredevil Jim Fiorelli, hyperconfident pilot Dick Rutan and several airmen who were shot down, captured and tortured. Shepperd, a former Misty pilot, also figures in the story, as does Sen. John McCain, who provides the book's foreword. The courage and skill of the pilots emerges clearly, as does the dubious bureaucratic rationale that subjected their families to nightmarish ordeals. A distinguished addition to Vietnam War aviation literature, the volume raises serious questions about both tactics and politics.

CHIKENHAWK:

More than half a million copies of Chickenhawk have been sold since it was first published in 1983. Now with a new afterword by the author and photographs taken by him during the conflict, this straight-from-the-shoulder account tells the electrifying truth about the helicopter war in Vietnam. This is Robert Mason’s astounding personal story of men at war. A veteran of more than one thousand combat missions, Mason gives staggering descriptions that cut to the heart of the combat experience: the fear and belligerence, the quiet insights and raging madness, the lasting friendships and sudden death—the extreme emotions of a "chickenhawk" in constant danger.

F100 Super Sabre In Vietnam

2010-11-22T11:00:00.003-03:00

This video shows the F 100D Super Sabre in its primary role, Tactical Air Suport to ground foeces.

F 100D Super Sabre 1/72

2010-11-22T10:51:00.010-03:00

This is one of the new projects that I´m dealing with. It´s a F 100D Super Saber in Vietnam. The configuration will be a typical one of ground attack.The Kit is ESCI brand, scale 1/72. The kit is from de mid´s eighties but it´s really good. Fit is perfect, no putty needed only smooth sanding. Detail is with engraved panel lines and very crispy. Clear parts ar thin and nicely transparent. I used Mr Surfacer 1200 to achieve a smooth finsh.

After finishing the building procces I started with the painting. This bird will have the standard camo of the USAF fighters of the Vietnam Era (Grey undersides and three tone upsides, two greens and one brown shade) for which I used Humbrol enamels (28-116 - 117 - 188) diluted with tupertine. The area over the engine was painted with Model Master Buffing Metalizaers (base of Burnt Metal and then Burnt Iron). I´ve used a Paschee Talon aibrush, masking made with Tamiya Masking Tape.

Next steps: sandig very smooth all the paint, painting and last details of the cockpit, general weathering and retouching paint failures, armament painting and attaching, overall coat of Future, decaling, another overall coat of Future, overall coat of Satin Coat, some weathering with chalk pastels and voila !

Lot of a work !!! But this kit is worth of !!! I like it very much.

Weathering process started:

And the finished model.

Battle of Britain - Pilot's view

2008-01-05T16:19:00.001-02:00

de Havilland DH98 Mosquito

2007-10-17T22:12:00.001-03:00

Very good video about the Mosquito. War time images.

P 47 D Bubletop - 56th FG

2007-06-02T22:55:00.000-03:00

This is a Thunderbolt P 47D from the famous 56th Fighter group "Wolfpack". The kit is Academy brand, scale is 1/48. The build is completely OOB. I only added the seatbelts made of lead foil and the machine guns made of metal tubing. Paints are Model Master Enamels. I used Mr. Surfacer 1200 for priming. I gave a couple of "Future" coats prior to the decaling proces. Decals are from Aeromaster.
For weathering first I gave the chipped paint effect and then a good oil wash all over the fuselage. After the mate coat was applied I enhaced the panel lines with chalk powder applied with a very thin brush.

Here are some step by step pics and the finished model:

My Spitfire Collection

2007-03-08T23:11:00.000-03:00

This is my collection of Supermarine Spitfires in 1/48 scale. Up to now I have eight finished models but I have a lot more in my stash waiting its turn to be build. This is the WW2 aircraft that I like the most, it´s my favourite (with the de Havilland Mosquito also).

Here are the pics:

Spitfire Mk Ia - 610 Sqn - 1940

Spitfire Mk Ia - 92 Sqn - 1940

Spitfire Mk Vb - 417 Sqn - 1942

Spitfire Mk Vb - 316 Sqn - 1942

Spitfire Mk Vb - 601 Sqn - 1942

Spitfire Mk VI - 124 Sqn - 1942

Spitfire Mk IXc - 316 Sqn - 1943

Spitfire Mk XVI c - 443 Sqn - 1944

Spitfire Mk Ia - 1/48 - Tamiya

2007-02-27T22:47:00.000-03:00

This is a Spitfire Mk Ia in 1/48 scale from Tamiya. I built this project for the Duel in the Sky campaign in Aeroscale web site in December 2006.

It´s a typical Tamiya OOB. All pieces fall toghether with ease. Very little putty was needed only in the upper cowling joins.

The figures are from ICM, they´re excellent, with very fine detail.

The cammo is the one used from Nov. 1940 on.

For painting the AC I used Model Master Enamels, for the figures I used Vallejo Acrylics (hand painted). Decals are from the kit.

I higly recomend this kit to everyone !

The aircraft is from 92 Sqn. - Biggin Hill - November 1940

Mosquito NF XIX - 1/72 - Airfix

2007-02-27T22:02:00.000-03:00

This is the 1/72 scale Airfix - Mosquito NF Mk XIX. Building is typical Airfix Mosquito in 1/72 scale. In this case a little surgery was needed to use the special nose (included in the kit). For cutting the one who comes with the fuselage halves I used a fresh nº 11 Xacto blade. When the fuselge was assembled I dry fit several times the radom nose in place before applying glue, this for ensure a right alignemet. Some putty and sanding was needed to achieve a smooth finsh.

In this kit after all the assembly was done, I applied a gral. coat of Mr. Surfacer 1200 to give an overall smooth surface and fill little gaps. It worked fantastic ! For painting I used Model Master Enamels. The invasion stripes are painted. Decals are from the kit.

This is an aircraft of 157 Sqn wearing D Day Invasion Stripes- 1944

Mosquito NF II - 1/72 - Arfix

2007-02-25T22:22:00.000-03:00

This Moosie was built OOB. It´s the Airfix Mosquito kit in 1/72 scale. Construction is the typical Airfix one, with some fitting problems. I found specially dificult the buiding of the landing gears, too much care is necesary for not to make a mess out of them. Some filler and a lot of sanding was needed to get a good join between the fuselages sides. The fit of the wings to fuselage is good and also the fit of the nacelles to the wings, no filler was required here. The interior is very spartan and lacks detail.I dicided not to use any aftermarket set and leave it as it comes. The canopy is made of thick plastic, but is very transparent and clear, it looks good.

I painted it with Humbrol Enamels and then I applied Model Master Acrylic Flat coat.
Decals are from a Tamiya kit.
The aircraft is from 157 Sqn - Castle Camps - 1942

Mosquito FB Mk VI - 1/48 - Tamiya

2007-02-24T12:42:00.000-03:00

I built this Moosie in Jan - Feb 2006. It´s a OOB build, no aftermarket set was used, the only replacement was the canopy because I brooke the original, I used one from Falcon.

The kit is Tamiya in 1/48 scale. It was a fantastic & very enjoyable project. Fit of all parts was perfect, I didn´t find troubles and practically no putty was used (just a little in the wing to fuselage join). The level of detail is very good. The cockpit comes with all the interior details, I just added the seat belts made of lead foil.

To paint this model I used Model Master Enamels & the flat overall coat is Model Master Acrylic. Decals are from the kit.

I higly recommend this kit to everyone, specially for those who loves the Moosie.

The aircraft is from 143 Sqn - Banff Strike Wing - 1945

WW2 Bookshelf

2007-02-19T22:57:00.000-03:00

These are my favourites WW2 books that I have in my Bookshelf.
http://cschbookshelf.blogspot.com/