Category Archives: Kit Bashing

Vehicle I-D: USS America LHA-6, do they make a model kit of it?

USS America LHA-6 began sea trials in 2014.  LHA-6 is the lead ship of the new America class assault ships, replacing the older Tarawa class.  Do not confuse USS America LHA-6 with the scuttled aircraft carrier USS America CV-66.

22FEB2020, Laem Chabang Port, Thailand, Cobra Gold 2020.

USS America is the current home of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Video, fast roping on USS America, 18FEB2020:

Countermeasure Washdown System

Time lapse video of USS America ops, Philippine Sea, 10FEB2020:

Video,  birds-eye view of USS America, April 2016:

Time lapse silent video of launching:

Aircraft seen operating from USS America:

More info on USS America: Underway on USS America

Orange Hobby makes a 1:700 scale resin USS America LHA-6, U.S. suggested retail price $95.

VEHICLE I-D: USN’S NEW ROBOT GUN BOAT, OR CUSV

CVN-71

Vehicle I-D: Kawasaki C-2, got model kit?

U.S. Air Force photo by Captain Katie Mueller, Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, 13FEB2021.

Kawasaki C-2 makes a humanitarian drop on Angaur, Palau. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Ryan Brooks, 10FEB2021.

The Kawasaki C-2 was designed to replace the older and intentionally limited (by Constitutional law, which has since been amended) C-1. 

It was also designed to exceed the abilities of the C-130J Super Hercules, which the Japanese Self Defense Forces determined to be too limited for what they had in mind.

C-2 over Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, 14FEB2020. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Curt Beach.

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Melanie A. Hutto, Misawa Air Base, Japan, September 2019.

2019 Paris Air show video walk-around:

Kawasaki C-2,  Iruma Air Base, Japan, 10JUL2019.

A U.S. Air Force C-130J Loadmaster gets to ride a C-2.

The C-2 can be equipped with an automated loading system.

The spacious loadmaster station (compared to C-130J).

USAF photo by Yasuo Osakabe, 17SEP2018.

Size comparison to four engined Boeing C-17, Yokota Air Base, Japan, September 2018. USAF photo by Yasuo Osakabe, 17SEP2018.

USAF photo by Yasuo Osakabe, 17SEP2018.

EC-2 version.

Video, C-2 ELINT (EC-2) ,  Gifu Air Base, Japan, 2018:

General Electric CF6-80C2K1F turbofans are used.

XC-2 prototype, first flight 2010.  Design project began in 2001.

Video, C-1 vs XC-2:

 

Video, XC-2 first flight:

Aoshima makes a 1:144 scale plastic model kit, retailing in Japan for about U.S.$43.  However, I’ve seen U.S. sellers asking as much as U.S.$71 for it!

With interior.

VEHICLE I-D: MITSUBISHI F-2, SURE LOOKS LIKE AN F-16

 

Vehicle I-D: LC-130H à La skis, can I get skis for my model C-130 kit?

A New York Air National Guard Crew Chief inspects the landing gear on a ‘Skibird’ LC-130H Hercules on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, 06MAR2020. U.S. Air Force photo by Technical Sergeant Scott Fremming.

Video report from October 2019, first time LC-130H-upgrade is loaded with HIMARS:

A New York Air National Guard LC-130H arrives at the Paris Air Show, 16JUN2019.

This LC-130H has been updated with the NP2000 propellers, Paris Air Show, 19JUN2019.

Not all Skibird’s operate in snowy conditions. This upgraded LC-130H is ferrying New York Army National Guard Soldiers to Puerto Rico. New York Army National Guard photo by Sergeant Alexander Rector, 11APR2019.

New York Air Guard’s SkiBird helping Canadians build ‘SkiWay’ landing strip in the Arctic, 11APR2019.

New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing offloads cargo in Greenland, on 26APR2019.

Video, Senior Master Sergeant explains the craziness of airfield ops in Antarctica:

Video from March 2019, explaining what a LC-130 Crew Chief does:

New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing’s LC-130, McMurdo Station, Antarctica 15JAN2019.

New York Air National Guard’s 109th Airlift Wing LC-130 (upgraded with evil British empire Rolls-Royce T56 series 3.5/NP2000 props), McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 17DEC2018.

Grass field take-off?  No, it’s the camera angle.  NY National Guard’s LC-130 takes off for Antarctica, 06SEP2018.

LC-130(F-H?) in Antarctica, 23JUL2017.

The Common Science Support Pod, or IcePod, houses a variety of instruments to meausure changes in the Antarctic ice sheet.

Some ‘scientist’ from Colombia University explaining how the IcePod works.  To find out more go here:  https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/pi/icepod/

New York Air National Guard LC-130H Hercules-Skibird takes-off near the Canadian Task Force base camp on Little Cornwallis Island, Nunavut, during Operation NUNALIVUT, 10APR2016.
Canadian Armed Forces photo by Corporal Parks.

New York Air National Guard LC-130H Hercules-Skibird arrives on Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Canadian Armed Forces photo by Petty Officer Second Class Belinda Jeromchuk, 10APR2016.

2016 video report on Canadian Forces Operation Nunalivut, note the wing flex on the older LC-130H as it lands:

Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, 27JUN2016.

January 2014, Pegasus Field, Antarctica, problems with landing gear being rectified.

Leaving Antarctica, 02FEB2011.

McMurdo Station, Antarctica, 2007.

Rocket assisted take-off from Greenland, 2003.  For some reason it’s officially called Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) even though it’s actually rockets.  With the new Rolls-Royce T56 series 3.5 turbine/NP2000 props JATO is no longer needed.

Several of the New York Air National Guard’s LC-130Hs were former U.S. Navy LC-130Rs from VXE-6.

Airmodel makes a 1:72 scale conversion set that includes skis for LC-130.

Max Decals #7211

Out-of-print MicroScale #72-195

SNOWBLIND: C-130 OHIO C-17 PENNSYLVANIA

KODIAK MACE 2019: USMC KC-130J VID FEST!

MODEL KIT EC-130J GETS SPECIAL HANDLING BY NATIONAL GUARD!

VEHICLE I-D: NORMANDY PAINTED C-130 HERCULES

THAT’S NOT A C-130J, IT’S STILL THE OLD C-130H!

Vehicle I-D: CVN-71, are there model kits of this?

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt arrives in Guam, 07FEB202.

  CVN-71 on its way to Guam, 25JAN2020.

Leaving San Diego, 17JAN2020.

Scrubbing the deck in 2013.

Leaving Newport News Shipyard in 2013, after four years of overhaul.

The following pics are of CVN-71 at the end of a 39 month fuel complex overhaul, May 2011: 

2009, when CVN-71 began its overhaul.

U.S. TAXPAYERS SEND AUSSIE PRIME MINISTER A MODEL BOAT!

VEHICLE ID: ARMORED DRUG SMUGGLING BOATS

ITALERI 1:720 DEUTSCHLAND, LUTZOW, SCHEER & GRAF SPEE

1:600 MOSKVA: AURORA VS AIRFIX

1/600 USS IOWA CLASS KITS: AURORA, MONOGRAM, OTAKI, REVELL. AN APPEAL TO AIRFIX!

Weapon I-D: MARK 82

Vehicle I-D: F-22 Raptor, plenty of kits of this one!

F-22 Raptor flies over Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, 05DEC2019. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman First Class Erin Baxter.

F-22 during demonstration over Shaw AFB, South Carolina.
USAF photo by Airman First Class Jacob Gutierrez, 06JAN2020.

Whoopsy! Main landing gear collapse on Joint Base Langley-Eustis. Virginia Air National Guard photo, 16JAN2020.

Video, USAF Air Demo Teams explainer:

F-22 music video, Fort Lauderdale Air Show, May 2019:

Refueling over the Persian Gulf, 17JAN2020. USAF photo by Master Sergeant Joshua L. DeMotts.

Video, ‘undisclosed location’ in Persian Gulf, refueling F-22s, July 2019:

Sentry Aloha war games in Hawaii, 17JAN2020.  Hawaii Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman John Linzmeier.

Video, Sentry Aloha explainer:

First ever Forward Area Refueling Point (FARP) for F-22 Raptors in an extreme cold weather environment. Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, 30JAN2020. USAF photo by Staff Sergeant Ridge Shan.

Missile bay, F-22 on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. USAF photo by Justin Connaher, 31JAN2020.

Video from July 2019, over Battle Creek, Michigan, taken from Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation P-51 Mustang:

Model kits:

 

USAF ADMITS F-22 STEALTH JET IS A PAIN TO MAINTAIN, AND THAT’S JUST THE ‘SKIN’!

Video:  Virginia F-22

2013: FALSE FLAG REPORT CLAIMS U.S. F-22 SHOT DOWN!

Obama cancels F-22 demo for fear of upsetting North Korea?

News media gives conflicting reasons why Obama deployed F-22s to South Korea!

Vehicle I-D: Cold War and beyond, C-2A to C-2A(R) Greyhound, now ‘On Final’! Can you get a kit of it?

Nice, Italy, 1970. Photo via U.S. Navy’s VR-24.

The Grumman C-2A Greyhound has been around for a long time, joining the U.S. Navy in 1966 (production started in 1965).

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, October 1990. USN photo by Don S. Montgomery.

Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean, February 2005. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Justin Blake.

It was developed from the E-2 Hawkeye early warning aircraft, and eventually replaced the older C-1 Trader.

C-1A Trader, Naval Air Station Norfolk, Virginia, August 1983. USN photo by Journalist Senior Chief Petty Officer Kirby Harrison.

C-2 Greyhound somewhere over the Indian Ocean, Summer of 1980. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class David Maclean.

Somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea, Summer 1988. USN photo by Commander Leenhouts.

C-2A over Naval Air Station Norfolk, September 1989. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Third Class Stephen L. Batiz.

Seven little Greyhounds over Naval Base San Diego, California, August 1990. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Patrick Muscutt.

News media board a C-2A Greyhound, during Operation Desert Shield, August 1990. USN photo by Journalist Petty Officer Second Class Bartlett.

Hurghada, Egypt, a Greyhound being loaded with supplies for an aircraft carrier in the Red Sea, post Operation Desert Storm. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate Second Class Savage, May/April 1991.

Official USN website history of the C-2A Greyhound: C-2A Greyhound Logistics Aircraft

Operation Enduring Freedom logo painted on the underside of the tail-end of a C-2A. Naval Air Station Norfolk, July 2002. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class Shawn P. Eklund.

Naval Air Station Norfolk, July 2002. USN photo by Photographer’s Mate First Class Shawn P. Eklund.

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Corporal Jacqueline Diaz, 18MAR2009.

It has gone through many upgrades, the current Greyhounds are known as C-2A(R) and are identifiable by their NP2000 propellers.

U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. USN photo by Petty Officer Third Class Joshua Nistas, 15JAN2010.

USN video,  Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) testing aboard USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78), 17JAN2020:

Another Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) testing aboard USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) video:

Video, Rawhindes of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40 conduct their first flight operations from aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), April 2019:

Carrier Onboard Delivery, aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) November 2017:

More Rawhides video from February 2017,  operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69):

Video, Horsemen of Detachment IV of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40, takes off and lands on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) October 2016 (warning, includes slow-mo-video, do not adjust your set):

Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, video of Greyhound prepping for trip to USS George Washington (CVN-73), September 2014:

Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, California, 11DEC2013. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Second Class Stacy Atkins Ricks.

On Final: The U.S. Navy has tried several times to replace the Greyhound, but potential replacements failed to measure up, or never materialized. In 2015, the USN stated that it intended to replace the Greyhound with the much more expensive, less load carrying ability, tilt-rotary wing CMV-22B Osprey, possibly starting in 2024.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, 19MAR2020. USN photo by Steve Wolff/Paul Lagasse.

On 19MAR2020, C-2A Greyhound Bureau Number (not ‘build number’ as many people/authors incorrectly call it) 162142 took its final flight.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, 19MAR2020. USN photo by Erik Hildebrandt/Paul Lagasse.

BuNu 162142 had flown with VX-20 for just short of 30 years.

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, 19MAR2020. USN photo by Erik Hildebrandt/Brittany Dickerson.

BuNu 162142 retired to the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum.

USN photo by Christopher D Nette, 18AUG2020.

On 17AUG2020, the last C-2A(R) to undergo planned maintenance interval three (PMI-3) arrived on Fleet Readiness Center Southwest (FRCSW), North Island Naval Air Station, California. PMI-3 for the Greyhound costs just under $4-million: “Other C-2s will induct for the much smaller PMI-1 and 2 events and most likely will also have in-service repairs. Field events for PMI-1 and 2 are scheduled out to Fiscal Year 2022.”-Jorge Gutierrez-Lopez, FRCSW Props IPT program scheduler

28NOV2020, somewhere over the Arabian Sea. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Keenan Daniels.

28NOV2020, somewhere over the Arabian Sea. USN photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Keenan Daniels.

In 1:72 scale; I-D Models made a vacform kit in the mid-1970s.  Falcon began issuing a Triple conversion set in the 1990s that included a C-2A fuselage for the Fujimi or Hasegawa E-2 Hawkey.  Resin kit maker RVHP Models currently has an outrageously expensive full-kit (you can buy a couple of the 1:48 Kinetic kits for one RVHP kit).

Trumpeter offers a detailed 1:350 scale kit for your aircraft carrier.

Fox One Design Studio offers 1:144 scale versions.

In 1:48 scale the rare resin Collect Aire kit comes with four blade prop, while Kinetic’s more affordable plastic kits come with either four or eight blade props.

VEHICLE I-D: USN GOSHAWK T-45

A flying M48A1? Or, how to paint your 1:1 scale M48A1.

U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Anri Baril, 19DEC2019.

In December 2019, a serviced and freshly painted M48 Patton was returned to the U.S. Army Central HQ on Shaw Air Force Base, in South Carolina.

Arrival at the Fort Knox paint shop. USA photo by Bianka Lathan, 13NOV2019.

USA photo by Bianka Lathan, 13NOV2019.

The M48 spent about two months at Fort Knox, Kentucky, getting a make-over at the Logistics Readiness Center.

USA photo by Bianka Lathan, 13NOV2019.

USA photo by Bianka Lathan, 13NOV2019.

From this view of the engine deck you can see it’s a M48A1 Patton.

USA photo by Bianka Lathan, 03DEC2019.

USA photo by Bianka Lathan, 03DEC2019.

USA photo by Staff Sergeant Anri Baril, 26SEP2019.

In September 2019, the faded gate guard was taken away from its post in front of Patton Hall on Shaw Air Force Base.

USA photo by Staff Sergeant Anri Baril, 26SEP2019.

USA photo by Staff Sergeant Anri Baril, 26SEP2019.

USA photo by Staff Sergeant Anri Baril, 26SEP2019.

USA photo by Sergeant Victor Everhart, 13MAR2015.

It’s been guarding Patton Hall since the building’s dedication in 2011.

New clothes for the old tank. USA photo by Staff Sergeant Anri Baril, 16DEC2019.

The Minnesota Military Museum’s M48. Minnesota National Guard photo, 05FEB2013.

M48A2C ‘gate guard’ on display in Republic of Korea (South Korea). USA photo by Private First Class SeoWon Lee, 05MAR2015.

VEHICLE I-D: ZOMBIE TANK T-55, THEY’RE EVERYWHERE!

VEHICLE I-D: GIANT R-C TANKS SEEN TEARING-UP WASHINGTON STATE!

VEHICLE I-D: M4 SHERMAN

VEHICLE I-D: Idaho’s 1-148 FIELD ARTILLERY GATE GUARDS

New Tail Feathers for Oregon Eagle, B-17 Bomber style! Plus, Mini-Eagle, Kawaii!

A large VFW mural honoring the 173rd Fighter Wing and its namesake, Lt. David R. Kingsley, in downtown Klamath Falls.

“We wanted to put mil-spec paint on the jet instead of the automotive paint that we dealt with last time. They don’t really make B-17 colors anymore so we had to put a special order. They have to shut down the production line and then do spray-outs and testing to make sure they are matching our federal paint standard codes.”-Master Sergeant Paul Allen

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar, 07JAN2020.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar, 07JAN2020.

Official video report:

For Xmas 2019, Oregon Air National Guard’s 173rd Fighter Wing got a new paint job for their F-15C “Sandman” Eagle, but they had to go to Edwards Air Force Base, in California, to get it.  Supposedly it’s because the paint facilities in Oregon couldn’t handled the custom paint job.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Paul Allen, 20DEC2019.

The F-15 was painted with colors as close as possible to a World War Two Boeing B-17 bomber, which required olive drab, green and grey colors with a catalyst.  It also has invasion stripes and star-n-bar insignia as seen on WW-2 USAAF fighters.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jennifer Shirar, 08JAN2020.

Relying on ground shipping services turned out to be a losing deal as only half the paint and half the catalyst was delivered.  The paint supplier was located in the Los Angeles area so the team, who drove all the way down from Oregon, drove out to LA to get the orange color (as in OrANG, Oregon Air National Guard?).  Turns out the paint shop at Edwards had enough of the other colors in stock to get the rest of the job done.

Oregon Air National Guard photo by Master Sergeant Paul Allen, 23DEC2019.

The paint job crew included Drew Sorlien, Tim Bodner, Cameron Curtin, Jeff Southern, and Derek Larman.  It’s dedicated to Second Lieutenant David R. Kingsley, a radio operator on B-17s, killed in action on 23JUN1944, after a bombing mission over the oil fields at Ploesti, Romania.  He was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for taking off his parachute and strapping it on a wounded member of the crew.  The 173rd Fighter Wing is based at Kingsley Field, named in honor of David Kingsley.

Here’s video from April 2019, unveiling the all new Mini-Eagle:

173rd and 142nd F-15s formate along the Oregon coast.

Another F-15 painted to celebrate 75 years of the Oregon Air National Guard.

2016 video of the 75th Anni OrANG Eagle:

2016 video report 20th Anni 173rd Fighter Wing:

D-DAY F-15E STRIKE EAGLE

MOUNTAIN HOME AFB F-15E WALK-AROUND

U.S. taxpayers send Aussie Prime Minister a model boat!

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison is now the modern day ‘Nero that fiddled while Rome burned’, regarding his slow response to the unprecedented wildfires (even being on vacation!) during the Gregorian month of December, 2019.

Three months prior, in September 2019, the U.S. Secretary of Defense ordered the Office of the Curator of Ship Models at Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division to build PM Morrison a model of the USS Canberra, as a gift!

Apparently the USS (United States Ship) Canberra-LCS-30 (not to be confused with USS Canberra-CA-70) is named after the HMAS (His/Her Majesty’s Australian Ship) Canberra, which was sunk by the Japanese during World War Two.

The Office of the Curator of Ship Models at Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division was given short notice of the taxpayer funded build, only a few days, so they had to modify an existing model of the USS Independence-LCS-2.

Hope the Aussie PM is enjoying his U.S. taxpayer funded model boat.

Australia is part of the British empire, commonly known as The Commonwealth of Nations, or more simply The Commonwealth.  This includes many countries that have falsely been reported as ‘gaining independence’.  The current Queen of England is the boss.

M777 : PROOF THE UNITED STATES IS THE TOOL OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE!

U.S. ARMY now COMMANDED BY RED COATS?

OBAMA TURNS BENEDICT ARNOLD, IS TOOL OF PRINCE OF EVIL BRITISH EMPIRE

U.S. Air Force REMINDS YOU THAT OUR MORTAL ENEMY IS THE BRITISH EMPIRE!

Iran sends hot pink model of captured U.S. stealth drone to President Obama!

New looks for the old Monogram Beer Wagon

http://thepastpresented.com/index.php/tag/monogram-models/

The classic Tom Daniel’s Monogram Beer Wagon (also issued as a Cola Wagon under the Revell-Monogram brand) was first issued in 1967.  Apparently, it was last issued in 2016.

Photo by me.

I built two Monogram Beer Wagons as xmas gifts for two guys who love their specific brands of beer; Pabst and Iron Horse Brewery’s Irish Death.

Photo by me.

I used aftermarket Pabst decals meant for a 1970s gasser/drag racer.  Alcohol based chrome paint was used on the headers, works good but is expensive.

Photo by me.

The markings for the Irish Death were cut from Iron Horse Brewery’s 36 square-root package, thinned down and pasted with clear setting glue.  Then I covered with lots of clear paint.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

I tried using different brands of gold spray paints, all claiming to look like gold chrome.  None of them lived up to their promise.

Photo by me.

Video, the real 1:1 scale Beer Wagon:

Photo by me.

Notice that the front axle doesn’t sit properly on both kits.

Photo by me.

Photo by me.

 

Photo by me.

These old kits have a lot of fragile parts.   Besides the plastic chains being prone to breakage, the rear light posts also like to break.  On the Pabst Wagon I had to make new posts out of skinny plastic sprues.   I drilled holes in the chassis to fix them in place, they turned out to be sturdier.

Photo by me.

I got this cool stretch version from a builder in Canada.

The kool thing about these old kits is that they’re great starting points for kool kustoms.

VEHICLE I-D with kit review: MODEL T & WHITE MOTOR WARRIORS

DEUTSCHLAND ÜBER ALLES!: REVELL USA IS DEAD, LONG LIVE REVELL GERMANY!

BLACKLIGHT REVELL DEAL’S WHEELS

Cool looking kit, but fiddly construction with instructions that don’t help.

REVELL 1937 FORD PICKUP OR WHY MODEL ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS CAN BE WRONG!

The hood got a clear coat of Plaid acrylic matte. The inner lip of the front fender wells had to be sanded slightly thinner so the Bullet Mustang tires would fit inside. I think the problem was caused by the way I mounted the disc breaks on the front suspension.

REVELL’S CHEVY COPO NOVA

MORE PROOF INSTRUCTIONS ARE WRONG:

Woooo, it’s the ghost of Willys’ van!

AMT WILLYS VAN RETRO ISSUE

An old MPC custom Corvette and an AMT 1995 Corvette, missing parts, broken or unusable parts, combined to make a unique kit.

SALVAGING TWO DIFFERENT JUNK KITS INTO ONE UNIQUE CORVETTE

Open wide! In hindsight I should have used a wider/stronger chassis as the modified 2006 Mustang body is very heavy.

2006 Revell-Monogram MUSTANG FUNNY CAR DRAGSTER conversion