It’s not often that somebody puts one over on me, but I gotta admit y’all got me on this one…
Jay G, SciFi, and some other folks ‘conspired’ against me here…
And I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this…
SciFi was the ‘main’ guilty party, as he actually put all this together, and even went so far as to get the correct paint scheme for the time I was there.
He also built the case for it, and made the correct decals himself! (And learned a lot more than he wanted to about P-3s and variants and specific BUNOs… 🙂
Yankee Delta 10, from 1975! It has the Alfa crew status on it, and the correct angle and outlining that was used!
And the right ‘tail’ too! This was the last year of the ‘old’ Skinny Dragon insignia on the tail.
Thank you all for this. It means a lot… It will go in a place of honor.
Very nice. Well done to all in the conspiracy.
That’s just too cool! Nicely done, all.
+1
That model is a TRUE work of art. Most impressive!
Keeping secrets from you is HARD! Just wish I could’ve been there.
What an excellent thing!
Gerry- LOL, don’t egg them on!!!uck-
Rev- it is!
Buck- Yep, a good bit of ‘research’ was required!
Pedi- LOL…
Details please? Did they start with a kit and modify as needed? Looks much too good to be a wood model, but that could have been modified too. I used to build models (mostly armor) and I’ve been thinking about getting back in to it. Stuff like this is inspirational.
Anytime I see a picture of a P-3 I try to look at it as a boat skipper would…his worst nightmare come true. 🙂
Why, I used to do “turn counts” on them when they flew over us on the way to where they thought we were. Skipper was a smirker.
The high points:
– It started as a Hasegawa UP-3C model. I backdated the fuselage for a P-3B (different windows), and drew custom decals for VP-4 in 1975.
– I bought a second kit (Revell brand, but it is the exact same kit) which came with US Navy decals. The wingwalk areas in all kits were wrong for a 1975 plane, so I redrew them in Illustrator.
– I replaced the static propellers with acetate printed and cut to shape.
Most important part of starting a project like this (where you are trying to recreate a specific plane) is research, research, research.
Best-
-SF
LL- It was, and a TOTAL surprise!
LCB- It is a kit model, but SciFi did most of the graphics himself.
Glenn- 😛 LOL
We worried more about S3’s,(at night, on surface charging) and the helo’s. P 3’s we could hear and count the buoys, and track them. The Helo’s were much louder, and “muddied” the water, so to speak. Still, many flares were launched before FINEX from below, than toasts were made above. SO much fun.
Wow! Nicely done.
As a former modeler I’d like to say that is a very impressive build. The paint job is awesome, and creating the graphics is really an art form in and of itself.
And mounting it over a mirror as if it’s in flight…I will remember that and hope to use it someday.
That’s a beauty! Next up, a model of Hanger-1 scaled to suite!
Judging by the BUNO that’s a P-3B, correct? And a paint job that nice, that plane must have just come back from NARF. Sadly, new paint jobs only lasted until the first weekly inspection if they were lucky.
A really beautiful model. BZ to the people that constructed it.
Wow. That is impressive work!
You are blessed to have such good friends – and talented, too!
Damned nice indeed, and well-deserved.
Now you just need to stash a little pad under the display base infused with stale coffee, hydraulic fluid, and JP-whatever they burn. Just to really give you that throwback feeling.
You sir don’t have friends. You collected yourself a family with mixed names. Well done all.
BGM
Hey Old NFO,
*Wow* That is impressive work, as a former modeler I can attest to the work necessary. They out did themselves, it also says a bunch about your character that they are willing to do stuff like this for you. Kudo’s to all involved. Pardon the expression…”That is some cool sh*t “
Glenn- You guys cheated… 🙂 I flew against you, I KNOW!
Jenn- That it is!
LCB- It’s even more impressive in person. And yeah, it’s a great idea!
NC- Oh hell no! My house isn’t big enough for that… LOL
Ray- Yep, straight stick Bravo. And it only looked that good for about a month… You’re dead on! 😀
Keads- It is!
Tim/Murph- More than I deserve…
BGM- LOL, I get my ‘fix’ every once in a while… And they DID do well!
Bob- Again, more than I deserve…
Ain’t cheatin’ if yer still 5 knots @ 200 ft……and everyone else has their panties in a knot, or running outta gas….or supthin’.
Besides, that’s the point of the “exercise”, INNIT?
Absolutely stunning . . . well done gentlemen!
Wow. That’s dedication!
Bill- It is!
DB- Yeah, they done good!!!
OldNFO, you didn’t know about the surprise because you weren’t read into that program yet. Need to know and all that.
It’s a beautiful piece of work that SCI-FI did for you, and a great evening on top of it.
WN- That it was! 🙂
Prime work and a neat gift.
Very cool!
I love it! What a nice surprise for you.
Thank God my 9 year old did not build it, he is learning to do Models, and I think he went through an entire bottle of glue while doing An Avenger. Then there is the paint job….. : )
I was once that same sort of builder – lotsa glue, lotsa paint. Encourage him and he may come to love it…
Best-
-SF
Gotta thank my team for a project well done:
– Thanks, first, to Commander Larson of the VP-4 Association (www.vp4association.com), for copious pics and plenty of patience. A project like this was literally impossible without his help and reference material.
– Thanks to FarmMom and FarmDad, who unknowingly provided the wood for the base. And thanks to Stingray (atomicnerds.com) for the cutting and shipping.
– Thanks to MrsSCI-FI and Christina_LMT (lucrativepain.blogspot.com), who donated strands of hair when I tried (and failed) to make the aerials. (PLUCK! “OUCH! What was that for?” “NFO’s plane.” “Oh. OK.”)
– Thanks to pediem (randomgeeking.com) and Spear (siteandsituation.wordpress.com), who knew, but kept the secret.
– Thanks to JayG (www.ma-rooned.com), for orchestrating my whole arrival and presentation – in secret, no less. (Quoting George Peppard of the A-Team: “I love it when a plan comes together.”)
And, of course, thanks to our host, OldNFO, a gentleman without peer, and a truly decent guy.
Very nice model amazing detail
Can’t think of a more deserving fellow. Kudos to your friends.
All- Thanks! SF, ah, targets 🙂
Posted from my iPhone.
Better than the Subic Made during 1982 & 1983 deployment
It is perfectly made.
Noel- Mine are from the 70’s… At least they are still holding up.