Category Archives: Kit Bashing

Kit Bashing, Technology

A-10C: Afghan Phase Inspection

Video

The following are U.S. Air Force (USAF) photos of 451st Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron’s phase inspection (inspection based on flight hours) of A-10C Thunderbolt-2 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, December 2009, model kit builders notice the plethora of raised rivets on the fuselage of the A-10C:

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Francisco V. Govea the Second, 27DEC2009.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Francisco V. Govea the Second, 27DEC2009.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Francisco V. Govea the Second, 27DEC2009.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Efren Lopez, 27DEC2009.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Francisco V. Govea the Second, 27DEC2009.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Francisco V. Govea the Second, 27DEC2009.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Francisco V. Govea the Second, 27DEC2009.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Efren Lopez, 27DEC2009.

USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Francisco V. Govea the Second, 27DEC2009.

USAF video from 2011, simple explanation of Phase Inspection of A-10C in Afghanistan:

Vehicle I-D:

USN photo by Petty Officer Third Class Drew Verbis.

A-10C SEA CAMO

Pocatello Airport:

The awesome A-10 is the last of Idaho’s Air National Guard air assets. Photo by AAron B. Hutchins.

IDAHO NATIONAL GUARD A-10C THUNDERBOLT-2 my personal ‘walk around’ photos

Kit Bashing, Technology

Vehicle I-D: A-10C SEA Camo

Video

The U.S. Air Force’s Heritage Flight operates at least three A-10Cs, one in grey, one with World War Two invasion stripes and now another with Viet Nam era South East Asia (SEA) camouflage.

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Sergio A. Gamboa.

In January 2021,  an A-10C was prepped for its new SEA camo at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, in Arizona.

USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Sergio A. Gamboa.

The plane was ready for public viewing by the end of February.

USAF A-10 Thunderbolt-II Demonstration Team photo.

Video by Senior Airman Blake Gonzales of USAF Heritage Flight A-10C in SEA camo, 06MAR2021:

USAF A-10 Thunderbolt-II Demonstration Team photo.

USAF A-10 Thunderbolt-II Demonstration Team photo.

USAF A-10 Thunderbolt-II Demonstration Team photo.

U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer Third Class Drew Verbis.

The SEA A-10C made its air show debut at Naval Air Station El Centro, California, 13MAR2021.

USN photo by Petty Officer Third Class Drew Verbis.

“Our latest message with the A-10 Demo Team is to promote an annual heritage paint-scheme.  This year we are inspired by the United States Navy River Rats and the F-105 Thunderchiefs of the Vietnam War. I think it’s a fitting tribute because like the A-10, the F-105 was a dominant attack aircraft.”-Technical Sergeant Brian Pontes, crew chief

USN photo by Petty Officer Third Class Drew Verbis.

Pandemic Overflight: A-10C (C FOR COVID?) THUNDERBOLT-2

Vehicle I-D: ANOTHER A-10C WITH INVASION STRIPES

Kit Bashing, Technology

Vehicle I-D: T-38 25th FTS Heritage

Video

Towards the end of 2019, the 25th Flying Training Squadron (FTS) at Vance Air Force Base, Oklahoma, painted one of their T-38 Talons in the pre-World War Two colors of the U.S. Army Air Corps.

U.S. Air Force photos by Senior Airman Octavius Thompson.

Video by Senior Airman Octavius Thompson, flight over Enid, Oklahoma, 09DEC2019:

Video, cockpit view, May 2020 pandemic panic-attack morale flight over Oklahoma:

USAF photo by Senior Airman Taylor Crul, 18SEP2020.

The 25th FTS is part of the 71st Flying Training Wing, which got permission to paint one aircraft from each of its squadrons in a ‘heritage’ color scheme.

Vehicle I-D: ANOTHER A-10C WITH INVASION STRIPES

D-DAY F-15E STRIKE EAGLE

HERITAGE SABER & MIG FIGHT IT OUT…OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA?

Kit Bashing, Technology

Cold War Vehicle I-D: Wyoming Shooting Star

Video

Wyoming Air National Guard photo.

From 1953 to 1963 the Wyoming Air National Guard used the Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star to train-up pilots for the F-80 Shooting Star and North American F-86 Sabre.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo, 23OCT2016.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo, 24OCT2016.

In October 2016, the Wyoming Air National Guard 153rd Airlift Wing’s Structural Maintenance Section spent two weeks restoring a T-33 ‘gate guard’.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo, 23OCT2016.

Notice that the tail number was at first masked-off to read 36661.

 

Wyoming Air National Guard photo, 24OCT2016.

By November 2016, the restored T-33 was ready for display in Building 16 Hanger.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Major Tom Blackburn, 09NOV2016.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Major Tom Blackburn, 09NOV2016.

Notice that the tail number now reads 63661.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Major Tom Blackburn, 09NOV2016.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Jon Alderman, 25OCT2019.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Jon Alderman, 25OCT2019.

On 25OCT2019, T-33 #63661 was moved to its new ‘gate guard’ job at the Wyoming Military Museum in Cheyenne.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Jon Alderman, 25OCT2019.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Jon Alderman, 25OCT2019.

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Jon Alderman, 25OCT2019.

Wyoming Air National Guard T-33 move explainer video, October 2019:

Time lapse music video by Technical Sergeant Jacqueline Marshall:

Wyoming Air National Guard photo by Staff Sergeant Jon Alderman, 25OCT2019.

Sioux City Sue: RF-84F THUNDERFLASH & YRF-84F

Oregon: 

HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR 1:1 SCALE F-86

Kit Bashing, Technology

Vehicle I-D: More U.S. Army Fake-News tanks, Tiger Stripes anybody?

Video

U.S. Army photo by Specialist Savannah Miller, 26JAN2021.

Fake-News Soviet 125mm antitank gun, Hohenfels, Germany, January 2021.

USA photo by Specialist Audrequez Evans, 26OCT2020.

October 2020, Hohenfels, Germany.  M113 Fake-News T-72 used for crowd control training of Italian troops deploying to Kosovo.

USA photo by Joyce Costello, 26OCT2020.

USA photo by Specialist Audrequez Evans, 26OCT2020.

That’s correct, apparently the Kosovars are so unruly that you need tanks to suppress their protests!

USA photo by Corporal Tomarius Roberts, 04MAR2020.

Yep, another example of peace-keeping training using an M113 ‘T-72’ on ‘Kosovar’ demonstrators, Hohenfels, Germany, this time in March 2020.

USA photo by Corporal Tomarius Roberts, 04MAR2020.

Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Megan Zander, 01FEB2020.

Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, February 2020.  This M113 is supposed to be a ZSU-23-4.

USA photo by Specialist Nathan Franco, 14FEB2020.

‘T-72’ drives through a Bradley unit, Fort Irwin, California, February 2020.

USA photo by Private First Class James Newsome, 10FEB2020.

M113 Fake News BMP-2, Fort Irwin-National Training Center (NTC), California.

USA photo by Private Second Class Sayvon Johnson, 10FEB2020.

HMMWV (High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle) based ‘BRDM’, Fort Irwin-National Training Center (NTC).

USA photo by Private Second Class Sayvon Johnson, 10FEB2020.

USA photo by Private First Class Austin Anyzeski, 26JUN2017.

Which one is the BMP-2, and which one is the T-72?  Apparently, the only visual differences between the M113-T-72 and M113-BMP is the size of the gun tube, the front slope, and the BMP version has had the rear ramp removed and a long hull extension with clam-shell doors added-on.  The T-72 retains the M113 ramp.

USA photo by Private First Class Austin Anyzeski, 02JUN2017.

This is supposed to be a 2K22 Tunguska (except that it has a ‘BMP’ hull), Fort Irwin, June 2017.

USA photo by Private First Class Austin Anyzeski, 02JUN2017.

Anybody know what this M113 is dressed-up to be?

USA photo by Staff Sergeant David Edge, 08JUN2018.

I think it’s supposed to be an MTLB?

USA photo by Sergeant Josiah Pugh, 10APR2016.

In 2016, the U.S. Army OpFor at Hoehenfels, Germany, used real T-72s from Slovenia.

Video from 2016, by Austin Anyzeski, of Black Horse Fake News tanks at Fort Irwin:

USA photo by Private First Class Austin Anyzeski, 04JUN2017.

This is one of the ‘125mm Soviet anti-tank gun’ that took-out my M981 FiST-V during Idaho Army National Guard’s Fort Irwin rotation in Summer 1998 (see more This is Where Armor Fights).  It was hidden on one of the hills in the middle of The Valley of Death.

Before the 2000s, most of the OpFor tanks at Fort Irwin, California, were based on the M551 Sheridan airborne tank.

A M551 BMP-1.

M551 T-72.

A line of M551s in various disguises.  In the front is a BMP-1, followed by a ZSU-23-4 and three 2S1 self propelled artillery guns.

HMMWV BRDM nuclear, chemical, biological marker vehicle.

An early attempt to make a M113 look like a BMP.

A real (former Iraqi) MTLB-u.

Here’s a look at some real Soviet vehicles at Fort Irwin, photos I took in 1984 (with a crappy fixed-focus 110-film camera) while on one of my California Army National Guard drill weekends:

T-55

T-62

T-34-85

BTR-60

Plenty of MTLBs!

In the 1970s, U.S. Army in Germany began using ‘acquired’ Soviet armor in NATO wargames.

BMP-1, note the driver wearing the early style (Viet Nam era) CVC (Combat Vehicle Crewman) helmet.

BTR-60 in foreground, in the middle of the line is a BMP-1, in the background with a bunch of U.S. soldiers piled-in is a BTR-152.

BTR-152.

Cold War Vehicle I-D: FAKE NEWS ZSU-23-4 INTO THE J-A-W-S OF DEATH!

2020: IDAHO’S 1:1 SCALE FAKE NEWS RUSSIAN RADAR TANK

U.S. MARINES USE ‘FAKE NEWS’ MIG-23

HOW TO BUILD A 1:1 SCALE U.S. ARMY ‘FAKE NEWS’ BMP-2

Vehicle I-D, 2016:  M113 disguised as BMP

Kit Bashing, Technology

KC-135: Bats & Bears, oh my!

Video

Iowa Air National Guard 185th Air Refueling Wing’s 75th Anniversary colors, 22DEC2020. Photo by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot.

After more than six decades the KC-135 Stratotanker flies on, and by the end of 2020 some even got new clothes for 2021.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 22DEC2020.

Iowa’s bat tail was first used on F-16s in the 1990s.  Iowa’s bat logo was first used over Viet Nam in the 1960s, to represent the unit’s night operations.

Iowa Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 01MAR2022.

The nose of the KC-135 has a diamond surrounded by silhouettes depicting the type of aircraft flown by the Iowa unit since 1946.  The 185th switched from single seat aircraft to the KC-135 in 2003.

Video of Sioux City Bat tanker by Master Sergeant Vincent De Groot, 22DEC2020:

Alaska Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Julie Avey, 15OCT2020.

In October 2020, Alaska Air National Guard’s 168th Wing revealed a new polar bear logo on their KC-135s.

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Kaylee Dubois, 18DEC2020.

The tail flash at the top of each Stratotanker’s vertical tail will bear the name of one of nine interior tribal/native communities.  The final two will bear the name Fairbanks and North Pole.

Alaska Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Julie Avey, 17DEC2020.

Dramatic music video unveiling (by Technical Sergeant William A Keele) of Alaska’s polar bear tail KC-135, 15OCT2020:

Alaska Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Julie Avey, 17DEC2020.

Here’s a New Jersey Air National Guard KC-135R from May 2020 covid-19 flyover ops:

New Jersey Air National Guard Photo by Staff Sergeant Cristina J. Allen, 12MAY2020.

KC-135: Pandemic Overflight

Rivet Joint-Airseeker: RC-135V/W PATRIOT & RED COAT

Bare Metal: KC-135R GETS STRIPPED

2019: KC-135 CITY OF DERBY

International, Kit Bashing, Technology, U.S.

Rivet Joint-Airseeker: RC-135V/W Patriot & Red Coat

Video

RC-135 Rivet Joint , Las Vegas, Nevada, 07DEC2021. U.S. Air Force photo by William R. Lewis.

Kadena Air Base, Japan, 12MAY2020. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Benjamin Sutton.

Personnel wearing masks board RC-135V at Kadena Air Base, Japan, 05MAY2020. USAF photo by Senior Airman Rhett Isbell.

Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, 21FEB2020. USAF photo by Manuel Garcia.

The Boeing RC-135V/W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft are the most recent members of the RC-135 family, which can be traced back to 1964.  The difference between the ‘V’ and ‘W’ variants depends upon which C-135 was upgraded/modified to Rivet Joint standard; RC-135Vs are upgraded RC-135Cs, while RC-135Ws are modified C-135Bs.

USAF photo by Manuel Garcia, 21FEB2020.

It provides near-real-time on-scene intelligence collection, primarily by detecting, identifying and geolocating signals throughout the electromagnetic spectrum.

Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, 28JUL2017. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Amy Lovgren.

Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, 28JUL2017. Photo by Technical Sergeant Amy Lovgren.

It can carry a crew of more than 30 people, and is powered by four CFM-56 turbofans.

Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, 27JUL2017. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Amy Lovgren.

Currently, U.S. Air Force Rivet Joints are flown by the 55th Wing, based out of Offutt Air Force Base (AFB), Nebraska.

Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 13MAR2012. USAF photo by Jeffrey Gates.

Time lapse video by Senior Airman Jacob Skovo-Lane, How to Wash your Rivet Joint, October 2018:

Video by Senior Airman Joshua Hoskins, Michigan Air National Guard re-fuels Rivet Joint over Afghanistan, January 2017:

Offutt AFB, 13MAR2012. USAF photo by Jeffrey Gates.

Over Afghanistan, 19JUN2011. USAF photo by Master Sergeant William Greer.

Over Afghanistan, 19JUN2011. USAF photo by Master Sergeant William Greer.

Over Afghanistan, 19JUN2011. USAF photo by Master Sergeant William Greer.

In August 2010, the USAF celebrated 20 years of Rivet Joint operations, with aircraft that are as much as 50 years old:

During the pandemic of 2020, believe it or not a mask was created for the nose of the RC-135.  It is nicknamed The Mule Mask.  Video interview of mask creator Technical Sergeant Kristen Horwith by Staff Sergeant Lexie West, 11AUG2020:

Video by (then) Senior Airmen Lexie West, USAF RC-135 at RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom, November 2017:

RAF RC-135W Airseeker, Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 02MAY2018. USAF photo by Senior Airman Jacob Skovo-Lane.

RAF RC-135W Airseeker, Offutt AFB, Nebraska, 02MAY2018. USAF photo by Senior Airman Jacob Skovo-Lane.

For the Commonwealth of Nations (formerly British Commonwealth of Nations, formerly British Empire) member United Kingdom, in 2011 the RC-135W was chosen as the replacement for the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) BAe Nimrod R Mark 1.    In November 2013 the RAF received it’s first RC-135W, flying it’s first mission in May 2014.  The official British name for the RC-135W is Airseeker.

12FEB2017, Airseeker undergoing landing gear inspection, Offutt AFB. USAF photo by Delanie Stafford.

12FEB2017, Airseeker undergoing landing gear inspection, Offutt AFB. USAF photo by Delanie Stafford.

While taking part in Red Flag aerial wargames in February 2017, over Nevada, the RAF Airseeker developed main-landing gear problems and diverted to Offutt AFB in Nebraska.

12FEB2017, Airseeker undergoing landing gear inspection, Offutt AFB. USAF photo by Delanie Stafford.

It was determined that the Airseeker had a faulty main-landing gear sequence valve, which was preventing the gear from locking in the retracted position.

RAF Airseeker, Red Flag wargames, Nevada, 2017. Photo by Sergeant Neil Bryden.

Giant model of an RC-135, Lackland AFB, Texas. Photo by by Nadine Wiley De Moura.

The ancient Nova vacformed 1:72 scale KC-135 came with optional parts which you could use to make an RC version (but it has the older engines since it came out before the CFM-56 version, you could kit-bash using a newer CFM equipped AMT-ERTL KC-135R kit, which was also issued under the Airfix/Heller brands).

In the 1990s AMT-ERTL issued a 1:72 scale RC-135V, the version used during Desert Storm.   Some kit bashers used the kit to model a RC-135W Airseeker. 

An old photo of an RC-135, by Forrest Durham.

If you are a model builder, pay attention to the year of operation of the RC-135V/W you want to depict, because various antennae bumps and blades will appear and disappear depending on the latest electronic mission configuration.   It seems the older the plane gets the more skin growths it develops.

Somewhere in The middle East (South West Asia), 04MAR2010. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Michelle Larche.

Refueling during the invasion of Iraq. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Dave Ahlschwede, 09APR2003.

Over Nebraska, 01MAY2000. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Dave Nolan.

01MAY2000, USAF photo by Master Sergeant Dave Nolan.

Don’t forget the bottom.

Departing from a forward operating base during the invasion of Iraq. USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Robert J. Horstman, 28APR2003.

11DEC1991, USAF photo by Technical Sergeant Scott P. Stewart.

Don’t confuse with the RC-135S Cobra Ball:

Not all RC-135S are covered in bumps and antennae. USAF photo by Senior Airman Amy Younger, 23MAY2020.

Variations of bumps and windows on RC-135S. Notice that the upper part of starboard wing, as well as nacelles, on some Cobra Balls are painted matt-black. USAF photo by Senior Airman Jeremy Smith, September 2001.

C-130: ONCE A RED COAT, NOW A BLUE ANGEL

Pandemic Overflight: KC-135

EC-135E FIRE-BIRD: 10329 COMES BACK TO LIFE, AGAIN! OR, WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR EXTRA KC-135 KIT.

Vehicle I-D: MLRS, BRITISH RED COATS INVADE U.S. ARMY BASE IN GERMANY!

2018: M777 artillery proof the Red Coats have returned!

2017: U.S. ARMY COMMANDED BY RED COATS?

Canadian Red Coats control U.S. NORAD: SHHH, DON’T “CROSSTELL”, BUT U.S. AIR MILITIA UNITS & CANADA PREPPING FOR TFR EMERGENCY!

Kit Bashing

New clothes for a Texas F-16

Image

U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sergeant Jeremy Roman, 05NOV2020.

The 301st Fighter Wing, 457th Fighter Squadron, U.S. Air Force Reserve celebrated its 75th Anniversary in 2019, yet only now has dolled-up one of its F-16Cs for the occasion.

USAF photos by Master Sergeant Jeremy Roman, 05NOV2020.

According to USAF reports the painting was delayed (official reason not made public so far), but the aircraft was finally unveiled at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, 05NOV2020.

USAF photos by Master Sergeant Jeremy Roman, 05NOV2020.

USAF photos by Master Sergeant Jeremy Roman, 05NOV2020.

Here’s some pics of the Texas Air National Guard 149th Fighter Wing F-16s.

Texas Air Guard F-16 in Chile, 14OCT2014. Texas Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Miguel Arellano.

Texas Air National Guard F-16 in Wisconsin, 16APR2013. Texas Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sergeant Miguel Arellano.

The aircraft is based at Joint Base San Antonio.  Here’s some pics from September 2011:

Photos by Staff Sergeant Phil Fountain.

Vehicle I-D: NEW F-16 WRAITH! NIGHT FIGHTER WW-2 STYLE!

Kit Bashing, Technology

C-130J: Retro Dayglo, and how neon paint helps keep airplanes from falling outta the sky!

Video

Photo by Airman First Class Jayden Ford, 22SEP2020.

In September 2020, C-130s were painted in ‘heritage’ colors to represent some of the first aircraft flown by the U.S. Air Force’s 41st and 61st Airlift Squadrons.  The paint schemes included a camo tail, a pre-World War Two yellow tail, and a Cold War dayglo orange/red tail.

Photo by Airman First Class Jayden Ford, 22SEP2020.

The paint-job was handled by the 19th Maintenance Squadron on Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas.

Photo by Staff Sergeant Jeremy McGuffin, 08OCT2020.

On 08OCT2020, USAF and Arkansas National Guard C-130s showed off their new paint jobs, en masse.

Video report by Airman First Class Jayden Ford, explaining the history of the 41st and 61st Airlift Squadrons:

65th anniversary video by Master Sergeant Jason Armstrong:

Photo by Airman First Class Isaiah Miller, 08OCT2020.

USAF photo by Photo by Airman Joshua Maund, 04SEP2015.

Dayglo paint/oil is not only used to make things like vehicles stand-out, it’s also used to make defects in structural components stand-out.  It’s a type of non-destructive inspection (NDI).

U.S. Army photo by Ervey Martinez, 18SEP2020.

The ‘penetrant’ paint/oil soaks into any cracks revealing the defects.

Magnetic particle inspection using a black-light.

USAF photo by Master Sergeant Cecilio Ricardo.

This Airman is using a blacklight to inspect a bolt.

The term dayglo originates from the name of a paint company whose primary customers were retail advertisers, but that changed with a big boost from the U.S. Department of War (established 1789-1947) during World War Two, a military supply contract which lasted through the undeclared Cold War (and beyond).  Ironically during the Cold War decades, the company was not only getting business from the U.S. National Military Establishment (1947-1949) and U.S. Department of Defense (1949-present), but from the hippie-dippie peace movement by selling its neon paints to producers of peace posters and music industry advertising.  In 1969 the company first known as Fluor-S-Art, then as Switzer Brothers (in honor of the founders), changed its name to Day-Glo Paint Corporation.   In 1985, Day-Glo was sold to Nalco Chemical Company, and today it boasts of being the world’s largest producer of florescent colors.

C-130J: ONCE A RED COAT, NOW A BLUE ANGEL

ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON BEGINS EARLY, AGAIN,1ST WC-130J HURRICANE HUNTER LAUNCHED!

Pandemic Overflight: HERKS FOR HEROES

Bare Metal: C-130 PAINT PREP, OR THE EMPEROR GETS SOME NEW CLOTHES

Vehicle I-D: NORMANDY PAINTED C-130 HERCULES

Neon in Plastic:

BLACKLIGHT REVELL DEAL’S WHEELS

AMT WILLYS VAN RETRO ISSUE

MULTI-MAVERICK 

Idaho, Kit Bashing, Technology

Idaho’s 1:1 scale fake news Russian radar tank

Image

Idaho National Guard photos by Senior Airman Mercedee Wilds and Master Sergeant Joshua Allmaras

A member of the 266th Range Squadron, Idaho Air National Guard, works to off-load a 1:1 scale simulated 1S91 SURN tank at Fort Irwin National Training Center, California, June 2019.

The 266th played the bad guy (Opposition Force, OpFor) trying to shoot down Idaho’s A-10Cs.

This is supposed to simulate the 1S91 SURN radar for the 2K12 Kub (NATO code name SA-6 Gainful) missile system.  It’s made mainly of steel and aluminum.

The 266th also used a real radar to simulate enemy radar signals.

1:1 SCALE WIND TUNNEL MODELS?

HOW TO ASSEMBLE YOUR 1:1 SCALE F-86

HOW TO BUILD A 1:1 SCALE U.S. ARMY ‘FAKE NEWS’ BMP-2