Tamiya 1/48 F4F4 Grumman Wildcat

Pacific War Veteran, 100% OOB with kit decals

Hasegawa 1/48 F4U5N Korean War Corsair

Radar equipped night fighter, OOB with ScaleMaster decals

S2 Air Tanker used by the California Department of Forestry under contract. Both are 1/72 Hasegawa kits modified with putty belly tanks and weathered appropriately. There is a bit of a story behind these two models. I know severalpeople that work with firefighting tankers, and I thougth a kit of one dropping a load would be great. I took a few photos of one that belongs to a pilot that I know, and built the kit. A year or so later, his aircraft had a very hard landing after his brake locked up on landing, resulting in some belly and engine/prop damage. The second kit, made a year or so later, reflects this damage. I have many many photos of the real plane as it lay on the ground, and working with the kit and confines of base dimensions, I built the aircraft as it came to rest, on top of the visitor parking sign at Santa Maria Airport, lifornia.

The kit was built without the Navy gear, and I added a tank made from putty. Markings are dry transfers and decal. The model is mounted to the base with a few heavy wire rods over which painted sheet cotton is placed. It stands about 10 inches tall.

A year later, the aircraft had a very bad landing, resulting in this model. Prop was bent, doors opened, tail surfaces, flaps,ailerons and trim tabs were articulated, nose wheel repositioned,cabin door opened and an elaborate base was constructed.

These are both AMT/Ertl's 1/48 F7 Tigercats. The Yellow NATC scheme is straight from the box with kit decals, and I only added the wire antenna.

This is the F7F Tigercat converted to a firetanker from TMB Aviation, Tulare California. Used during the 70's they were popular and versatile. I used the Lone Star tank and based my markings on published photos, finishing the kit before the Aeromaster decal set became available. I have built a few more of this same kit for the actual operator, using the Ventura Hobbies resin tank and Aeromaster decals.

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© David Campbell, 2001&2002