Post by doogsatx/ on Feb 12, 2014 11:58:50 GMT -5
I was 11 years old when Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm on January 17, 1991. Since my days collecting the accompanying Desert Storm trading cards and sitting, riveted, while CNN covered the air war in exhausting detail, I've always had...something for Desert Storm. No war can ever really be called good, but driving back naked aggression is as close as you can really get, and looking back, it's painfully obvious that Desert Storm was something else - a last hurrah for an entire generation of military hardware.
As I've grown older and gained a bit more perspective, it's the old dogs that stand out to me. I will always have a soft spot for the A-6 Intruder, the A-7 Corsair II, and yes, the F-4G. While none of them had the sheer irreplaceability of the A-10 or the B-52, they performed brilliantly in the conflict.
When casting about for a subject to mark my return to 1/48 jets after something like a 15-year absence, I was immediately drawn to the F-4G. First, because of its role and how well it performed it. Gs accounted for fully 74% of Iraqi missile radars destroyed, opening a hole that quickly led to air superiority and then the air supremacy that allowed A-10s, Tornados and the like to go SCUD hunting. Only one Wild Weasel was lost during that entire time, and even it managed to return to Saudi territory before its engines seized.
Second, because everyone loves Phantoms, apparently.
And third, because I dig the Hill scheme on the F-4, especially when faded and dirty.
So...my next aircraft build is going to be Hasegawa's 1/48 F-4G Wild Weasel.
I'm planning to tackle a Weasel of the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing (tail code WW) circa Desert Storm. Annoyingly, Hasegawa doesn't provide markings for, you know, the F-4Gs SOLE COMBAT APPEARANCE, so I'll be piecing it together with some USAF tailcode decals. I'm assuming that, just as I finish the decals, Academy will announce a brand-new F-4G with beautiful Cartograf-printed, Desert Storm-era decals.
What I'm going for can be seen below - the two lower, faded-out F-4Gs are 35th TFW birds.
Aftermarket intentions include Aires exhausts, some beautiful AMS intake FOD plugs, Eduard PE, and an Eduard Brassin seat. I'll also be using some Hasegawa weapons sets to source the AGM-88 HARM missiles (the kit only gives you one...WTF?) and potentially the approrpiate AN/ALQ ECM pod. At this point I've got references saying the F-4G flew with the AN/ALQ-119, but others saying no, it was the AN/ALQ-184. I've also got a source saying they carried AIM-7s on the rear fuselage missile rails, but underside shots of actual ODS F-4Gs are extremely hard to come by. So if anybody wants to confirm?
I'm guessing work should begin at least by this weekend, if not sooner.
As I've grown older and gained a bit more perspective, it's the old dogs that stand out to me. I will always have a soft spot for the A-6 Intruder, the A-7 Corsair II, and yes, the F-4G. While none of them had the sheer irreplaceability of the A-10 or the B-52, they performed brilliantly in the conflict.
When casting about for a subject to mark my return to 1/48 jets after something like a 15-year absence, I was immediately drawn to the F-4G. First, because of its role and how well it performed it. Gs accounted for fully 74% of Iraqi missile radars destroyed, opening a hole that quickly led to air superiority and then the air supremacy that allowed A-10s, Tornados and the like to go SCUD hunting. Only one Wild Weasel was lost during that entire time, and even it managed to return to Saudi territory before its engines seized.
Second, because everyone loves Phantoms, apparently.
And third, because I dig the Hill scheme on the F-4, especially when faded and dirty.
So...my next aircraft build is going to be Hasegawa's 1/48 F-4G Wild Weasel.
I'm planning to tackle a Weasel of the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing (tail code WW) circa Desert Storm. Annoyingly, Hasegawa doesn't provide markings for, you know, the F-4Gs SOLE COMBAT APPEARANCE, so I'll be piecing it together with some USAF tailcode decals. I'm assuming that, just as I finish the decals, Academy will announce a brand-new F-4G with beautiful Cartograf-printed, Desert Storm-era decals.
What I'm going for can be seen below - the two lower, faded-out F-4Gs are 35th TFW birds.
Aftermarket intentions include Aires exhausts, some beautiful AMS intake FOD plugs, Eduard PE, and an Eduard Brassin seat. I'll also be using some Hasegawa weapons sets to source the AGM-88 HARM missiles (the kit only gives you one...WTF?) and potentially the approrpiate AN/ALQ ECM pod. At this point I've got references saying the F-4G flew with the AN/ALQ-119, but others saying no, it was the AN/ALQ-184. I've also got a source saying they carried AIM-7s on the rear fuselage missile rails, but underside shots of actual ODS F-4Gs are extremely hard to come by. So if anybody wants to confirm?
I'm guessing work should begin at least by this weekend, if not sooner.
