Gold T-bird

[mumbles]

Slightly obvious question, but was the 50th anniversary schemed T-bird used for normal duties in between public appearances (seems reasonable)?

I'm just pondering the feasibility of modelling it carrying weapons, practice or otherwise.

[Craig Sargent]

What you chose to do with a model is up to you, but the many times I saw it (and I was based at Ohakea), it only had drop tanks, though I seem to recall it at one stage carrying a baggage panier, but never ever saw it carrying weapons.

[Dave Homewood]

How long did the colour scheme actually stay on it Talon? Any idea? A matter of weeks or months?

[Craig Sargent]

Not 100% sure, but it was repainted back to op camo inside of a year.

[Dave Homewood]

Sam, this page here states the gold paint was on the aircraft approximately for a year, so it makes sense it must have been fitted with weapons sometime during that period whilst doing its job

[Dave Homewood]

Here's the page, sorry forgot before
www.geocities.com/redkiwi.geo/skyhawk_gold.htm

[mumbles]

Cheers.
I was toying with the idea of loading it with wall to wall Mk82's (unlikely, I know) or CRV's, just for fun.

I'll probably stick with the more realistic pair of 150 gal's though

[phil]

Did the gold T bird carry a pair of 150 gal drops rather than the normal 300 gal drops? The 150s were used for diesal and carried on stn3 for smoke during my time on 75.

[lesterpk]

Yep, the gold tbird carried 150gal tanks on stn 2 and 4.

[Glen T]

NZ6256 only had the 150G tanks painted and fitted as far as I remember and looking at my photos. I spent 12 months on 2 Sqn after finishing Mechs Cse from early 86. 6256 was the only TA4G that arrived in the Grey paintscheme, and I was asked by the Cpl S&S chap at the time to draw up some designs for the commerative a/c. I produced three designs, and what was eventually put on the a/c seemed to be a mix of my designs. Of course I received no acknowledgement of the designs, since I didn't give them to a senior person!! I did get the plans back some years later. The design was initially trialed on the grey by hand painting with several fly bys to see if it worked. We took film and photos from on top of 14Sqn hangar. I also took a series of photos as it was being stripped and painted and then I towed it out for S&S photos of the paintshop with one of the chaps riding brakes in the back seat as there was no seat fitted in the front !

After the a/c was rerigged, CO2 Sqn Ldr Jim Jennings took her up for the test flight. The next flight was for the photos - the eventual one that was straight up that was on all the posters. The next day I got the first ride in the back seat for the filming from NZ6255 and the very fast low pass down the runway with the film crew positioned half way down the runway. First time I have heard ATC give permission for as fast and as low as she'll go!!!

I cannot recall us using her for weapons sorties. Generally when training the new pilots on weapons it was usually guns, bombs (HE+Prac), rockets. There was no guns fitted, and guns and rockets would have been very dirty to the paintwork anyway..so this may have been a no goer. She was a showbird firstoff - we walked on the skin with covered shoes! I can check back in the F700 records on base if I can get access to them !!

We also made up display boards with all the details on them with a gold background. They eventually went with 2Sqn to Nowra, and when I was there in Dec01 packing up the stuff, to my horror all the display boards were 'gifted' to the NAS Nowra museum by the Sqn W/O. I was appalled that he had given these away- since I had helped make them years earlier, so now we have no items for our own museums etc ...
Anyways, I'll post some of my Gold a/c pics soonest...
Glen

[Dave Homewood]

Excellent stuff Glen. The photos will be most appreciated. I'd also be keen to see the original drawing plans if you can scan them please. They may make some great 'what if' model schemes.

What was the filming done for? Was there an official video for the 50th? I don't recall the Golden Scooter appearing in either of the TVNZ or National Film Unit 50th Anniversary films. Or was it simply filmed for 2 Squadron's records?

[Glen T]

Some pics of '56 not long after she began flying in Gold. The first one I took with a 800mm telescope on a tripod, fixed f8, hence the focus! Was on top of the 2 Sqn offices.

The other two was very early one mng. I had just towed her out, and thought she looked so good against the fog. Note the chair cushion we used between the ladder and the fuse to prevent paint scratches.

[Dave Homewood]

Superb, I really like the third shot.

You must have been very proud to see your scheme on the aircraft. Who were the S&S guys that painted it?

Congrats on getting your Photobucket to work too.

[mumbles]

After a loooong hiatus I'm finally making some proper progress with this thing.....

;D

[agalbraith]

Lovely paint job. You really seem to have come a long way. Cant wait to see her finished!

But then I cant talk at the moment

Thanks for the update

Anthony

[skyhawkdon]

Good to see you have painted where the slats retract into the wing matt black. When I painted my one I didn't get that bit right, but intend to fix it one of these days! The arrester hook was also a dark colour (but I haven't been able to find out if it was black or dark green??). What is the base kit you are using? It looks like the 1/48 Monogram OA-4M? Don

[mumbles]

Thanks Don, this one is the 1:72 Fujimi TA-4J.

[phil]

I've got the blue angels boxing and was thinking of doing a golden Tbird. What are you doing about the 150 gal tanks?

[Bruce]

I have also built the Gold T Bird from the Fujmi kit (the Blue Angels boxing too... it certainly is a very nice base kit.


this photo is just a quickie - i didnt manage to get all the dust off it first!

I used the Microscale decals (The inaccurate ones - I had to do some minor mods and the fuselage stripe still sits a little high)

The trick with the 150 gal tanks is as follows:
On one of the other threads on the board some one mentioned the actual length of the 150 Gal tanks - in 1/72 scale it works out at about 65mm. Take the 300 Gallon tanks that come in the kit, and you will notice on each half is a pair of panel lines either side of the mount point. Cut the middle section out on these lines. I recommend filling the halves with epoxy resin before gluing them together. Glue the nose and tail sections together and you will find they are 65mm long. File or sand the forward section down until it smoothly runs into the tail section. fill and smooth as necessary. Although the profile is not 100% in this scale it is a pretty close eye match. you may need to make minor tweaks to the pylons to attach them but the decals fit and I reckon they look right.
keep up the great work on the kit, its looking really nice.

[mumbles]

bruce said:

The trick with the 150 gal tanks is as follows:
On one of the other threads on the board some one mentioned the actual length of the 150 Gal tanks - in 1/72 scale it works out at about 65mm. Take the 300 Gallon tanks that come in the kit, and you will notice on each half is a pair of panel lines either side of the mount point. Cut the middle section out on these lines. I recommend filling the halves with epoxy resin before gluing them together. Glue the nose and tail sections together and you will find they are 65mm long. File or sand the forward section down until it smoothly runs into the tail section. fill and smooth as necessary. Although the profile is not 100% in this scale it is a pretty close eye match. you may need to make minor tweaks to the pylons to attach them but the decals fit and I reckon they look right.
keep up the great work on the kit, its looking really nice.

Or you could nick 'em from a donor kit. I got mine from the Hasegawa F-9 Cougar kit.
I think Red Roo make some resin ones, and they are also found in some Skyraider kits.
Thanks for the compliments !

Got the decals on it now, some tidying to do:


I'm using the Model Alliance set, and to me it looks like they were measured out for the Hasegawa TA-4J; the angles and lengths aren't quite right for the Fujimi.

Hence there are a couple of compromises visible. The nose is inaccurate; the stripe marking should taper to points either side. I though of elaborate ways to make this work before deciding I could live with it. The tail leading edge is another compromise. I couldn't lay the decal along the leading edge without mucking up the lines on the fuselage below.

And all the tank striping is sized for 300gal tanks, so careful snipping is required to fit them to 150's.

I replaced the roundels with Flying Kiwi's ones, as Model Alliance's frankly sucked.