#modelplanes

Yet ANOTHER Mustang. This time it's a two-fer. F-82 Twin Mustang from the Korean War. Yes, I'm on a Korean War kick recently. Wait'll ya see my next one! And yes, the pilot and r/o were in fact inspired by an album cover. Any Sabbath fans out there ?

With the 2 girl dogs currently coexisting peacefully without any prey drive-style wrestling/attacking, I was able to spend a lot more time in my workshop this weekend working on the Black Widow. All of the decals are on the plane...despite the fact that the company that made this kit did NOT provide locations for all of the decals on the sheet. I'm hard pressed to find any other photos that show where these mystery decals go, but I'm going to leave the rest of them off, except for 2 really cool "ammunition access" ones I stuck on the bottom of the fuselage near where the 20mm cannons are. After the decals set and dry, I'll be clear coating this baby and moving onto the weathering portion of the build. I've also begun a diorama for this bird.

From a few months ago- probably some of my finest work, if I do say so myself! F-51D Mustang from the Korean War.

Adding highlights to the panel lines really helped with the realism. And I ain't even done with it yet.

Belgium, fall of 1944. The heat of the summer has given way to cold crisp mornings. The smell of dew-sodden leaves mingles with the stench of high octane fuel and motor oil. The sun has been up for a half an hour, but the crew of a P-61 Black Widow stand near their machine, discussing the details of the night mission they were on only hours before. Two mechanics haul a heavy box of 20mm cannon ammo to the concrete tarmac to begin the re-arming process for the giant fighter. Only a year before, the tarmac was home to German aircraft and German crews. Now, the Americans operate here. As one of the mechanics pulls out a belt of ammo, a rustling is heard amongst the pile of leaves under a maple tree. A white and brown flash darts across the grass, between the cluster of crewmen, and over to one of the mechanics. It's one of the local mutts, and she barks happily at the man in front of her. "Hey Red, I hope you've got some snacks for her!" Shouts the pilot of the plane. "Snacks? That's the last thing this pooch needs, sir!" I'm very pleased to have finished this diorama, and I'm grateful that Dolly let me use her likeness to make/sculpt a 1:72 version of her out of polystyrene and filler putty. She's a good girl.

The last thing the North Korea expected- or wanted to see - was a massive build up of UN air power to contest their invasion of South Korea. But, that's what they got. Fuck around and find out. The IL-10, Yak-9 and La-7 fighters the North Koreans sent south across the 38th parallel in June of 1950 would soon be eaten alive by US Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft, as well as British air force and navy planes, Australian Air Force and navy planes, and South African Air Force planes. Even with the addition of MiG 15 jet fighters in late 1950, North Korea struggled in the air-to-air fight, as the majority of their planes were forced to operate out of China where UN forces could not touch them. As the war turned into a stalemate, North Korea sought to gain some kind of advantage in the air. They did so by arming training airplanes and sending them out at night to harass UN lines. Known as "Washing Machine Charlies" due to the noise that their engines made, Yakovlev 18's would bomb on or near UN targets, making for sleepless nights. This little bird was fun to put together.

..or at least a plane smasher. My Black Widow is complete and ready to shred the luftwaffe to pieces. I'll be building a diorama for this baby, too.

It's no longer a primer-grey widow, it is what it's supposed to be. But this is only the first coat.