My SPAD
This is my representation of George Marrett's "Sock it to 'em" - a A-1J of the 602nd SOS Nakhon Phanom, RTAFB circa 1968/69.
Anyone interested in SPAD's should read George's book "Cheating Death" which covers his time flying the SPAD with the 602nd - amazing read!
So on to the model. It's the Tamiya 1/48 kit, which is a joy to build. I added a few things like the "Yankee" seat and extraction system and scratch built the WP bombs. It is configured for the "Sandy" CSAR role. I added a few other bits here and there to "bling" it up a little. Paint used was Gunze SEA. As the SPAD used up to 5 U.S Gals of oil per hour, I used a lot of Raw Umber oil to relicate this "self-lubrication" from the R-3350 engine!
I have since changed the right drop tank for the correct 150 Gal tank. As far as I can determine, in USAF service and in the Sandy config, they never flew with the 300 Gal's under the wings.
A most excellent job, Adam...one of the better ones I've seen. Spectacular detailing and weathering. I certainly would not want the judge's job at the end of the month. Beautiful work.
Very nice work.
Great looking Spad, Adam.
Beautiful model.
Very nice SPAD. The contrast between the two dark greens looks good and its frequently overlooked on aircraft in the SEA scheme.
George Marrett sure flew a lot of stuff. I've been wanting to do one of the F-101Bs he flew at Hamilton AFB (not far from where i used to fly).
Cheers,
david