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Morne Meyer
48 articles

Fairchild AC-119K Stinger

August 27, 2014 · in Aviation · · 31 · 3.8K

On the night of 8 May 1970 Capt. Alan Milacek's AC 119K Stinger is patrolling over a remote corner of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Far below a convoy of North Vietnamese trucks are slowly moving down a valley hugging the Laotion border on their way to the South to deliver a consignment of Chinese and Russian weapons and ammunition to the VC.

Suddenly the dark moonless night is turned into day as illumination flares are deployed by Capt. Milacek's AC 119.

The North Vietnamese scatter into the jungle undergrowth whilst some brave souls put up a desperate fight for survival. Capt. Milacek banks his lumbering gunship into a circular flight path around his prey. The AC 119's sensor package acquires its target and relays an aiming point on Capt. Milacek's targeting sight.

Within seconds the rear cabin of the AC 119 lights up as its lethal package of four 7.62 mm miniguns and two 20 mm cannons rain death and destruction on a remote corner of the Ho Chi Minf Trail...

The AC 119K Stinger was powered by two Wright R3350-89 B radial engines and a pair of General Electric J 85-GE-17 turbojets. The sting of the AC 119K Stinger was its quartet of 7.62 mm miniguns and two 20 mm cannons. The aircraft was also fitted with an array of sensors. A turret-mounted AAD-4 forward-looking infra-red sensor was mounted under the nose as well as a Doppler-terrain-following radar in the nose of the aircraft. In the rear of the aircraft an AVQ-8 Xenon searchlight, flare launchers and an APQ-133 side-looking beacon-tracking radar completed its Target Acquisition equipment.

My AC 119K Stinger is the scale kit. I have built the the model mostly OOB except for adding static dischargers on the wings and tail as well as whip aerials and radio antenna. Identification and navigation lights were fashioned from clear sprue and added to the wings and tail of the aircraft.

I used Model Master enamels to depict the standard SEA scheme with black undersides for night operations. I also used Doc O' Brien's pigments for weathering.

Reader reactions:
5  Awesome

22 additional images. Click to enlarge.


31 responses

  1. Great work! I have always loved the SEA camo on aircraft, especially the night version with the black belly. Yours came out great - thanks for sharing!

  2. awesome, have kit for about 5 yrs. never touched it

  3. Another great job on a kit you don't see finished very often.

  4. Top shelf Morne, do those nav lights work? I thought I saw a filament in the green one.

  5. Nicely done, Morne...glad you posted it for us to see.

  6. Beautiful job , on a rarely seen model. Nice bit of history also. Thanks, Morne

  7. Nice representation of an awesome beast Morne. As usual your understated weathering is just right.

  8. Impressive Morne, I have one in the stash to do.
    I have a soft spot for Nam gunships, I have some great shots of them in mags I have collected.
    I like the open back door, gives a bit of interior detail a view.

  9. Like I said before, Morne, I enjoy your write ups as much as I enjoy your models!

  10. hi morne after seeing yours I agree

  11. As said, exellent, you are doing great kits on a regular basis ! Love those curtains

  12. Morne,
    Absolutely gorgeous

  13. Great detail; am putting one together (memories from PHAN RHANG Air Base)!

  14. Thanks. Can't wait to see your model once finished!

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