S 38B Skyraider

August 4, 2017 · in Aviation · · 57 · 5K

By 1972 a number of the remaining Skyraiders in the Royal Swedish Air Force inventory were re-designated from A (attack) to S (spaning) for the new role as search and rescue aircraft to operate over the Baltic sea and the West coast. A great number of persons were rescued with the assistance of the , including Polish, Baltic and East German refugees. Equipped with inflatable Viking rafts in specially made containers and Mk 24 flares and Mk 58 smoke markers the S 38s performed a search pattern over the specific location. Once the missing persons were located a marker was dropped to mark the place. Depending on the situation a decision was made if a raft was to be launched or if the situation was safe as it was. Ships, flying boats or helicopters were now called in and the S 38 was kept on station for as long as it was needed to direct the effort. The main base for all S 38s was the F 8 wing (Barkarby), right north of Stockholm, but aircraft rotated between Gothenburg, Visby and Luleå as needed.

The model is ´s fantastic rendition in 1/48 of the famous Skyraider. Vallejo colours were used throughout the build except for the day-glow bands as they were a 50/50 mix of Lifecolor and Vallejo. Weathering was done with oils. Decals are from Moose republic and Flying colors. The rafts are bombs with a parachute pack of putty and straps of tape strips. The Mk 24 and 58 markers are scratched. To mask and paint all bands was a true pain in the bottom...

Reader reactions:
26  Awesome

19 additional images. Click to enlarge.


57 responses

  1. That is something new to the eye. It is a very nice build.

  2. Great looking model, Stellan.

  3. Wow!
    Holy cow, what a great piece of work. The exhaust staining is excellent! And I love the unusual load. Subjects like that stand out on a contest table.
    Nice job!

  4. Great build Stellan. Beautiful weathering & nice to see something really different.

  5. Excellent Skyraider Steiian. Beautiful paint work and an interesting use of an old warhorse.

  6. Fantastic! Love the "ordinance" load - and all the detail you put into it all. A Great project all the way around, and excellent execution.

  7. What I was thinking of writing has already been expressed by all the above respondents. Just allow me to add my "two thumbs up" as well. Love it! 🙂

  8. Superb model, and superb finish.

  9. Beautiful rendition of an awesome aircraft in interesting markings and not-at-all common configuration! Masking may have been a "pain," but you did it masterfully, Stellan. One of the finest models I've EVER seen.

    Bravo!

  10. Stellan i Högform!
    Kul att se dig igång igen!
    Snyggt bygge och förstklassigt målningsjobb med alla schatteringar. På vissa ställen tydliga, på andra väldigt subtila.

  11. Stellan, this is really nice !, what a great scheme choice. You've done some very clever and good looking detail work. Nicely done !

  12. Profile Photo
    said on August 4, 2017

    Great looking Skyraider.

  13. Stellan,
    Even though I am not a propeller&A-1 guy; your build is an eye-catching and inspirational piece of art. Hats off, mate...

  14. Excellent job! and really different scheme.

  15. Just amazing... Well done! Can I ask how long the build took?

    • Thanks, Adam! Not sure, possibly 3-4 weeks...most of the time was spent figuring what to do. This is really an experiment and I wanted to learn how to use Vallejo metal colors, dayglow and how to do all things in the right sequence.

  16. Stellen stunning, well done, and goes to show you that you learn something new, 1st I didn't even know of this version of the Skyraider, 2nd didn't know Sweden flew the type, 3rd great use of an aircraft with an excellent TOS (time on station). Superb, thanks for sharing and learned a bit more of Swedish aviation.

  17. First, Stellan, thank you very much for sharing this very special model with us, I've really enjoyed reading your article and looking at the photographs. Your excellent build is very well set off by the simple presentation, and the figure really adds that little bit of extra interest.

  18. Outstanding model! Unusual and very eye catching bird indeed, looks top shape painting and weathered. Any reason as why the main drop tank has 2 top colours?
    Your model makes me want to rescue my Skyraider from a long sleep in the stash

  19. Lovely model! Unusual and very eye catching bird indeed, looks top shape painting and weathered. Any reason as why the main drop tank has 2 top colours?
    Your model makes me want to rescue my Skyraider from a long sleep in the stash

    • Thank you, Pedro! Yes, the reason for the colours on the drop tank will be revealed in a few days 🙂 Actually, the tank´s bottom colour is also on the top back part. Rescue away then. I always loved the Skyraider and had a few of them in my stash but never came around to build them. Then I got an idea to use them to practice paint and weathering. Now, this is the first one, more are coming.

  20. Hello Stellan,

    Just logged in. Very much surprised with your contribution. Never knew that the Swedish Air Force had Skyraiders in their inventory. Interesting story and a magnificent model.
    The Skyraider as a live safer. Unusual for this veracious attacker.
    Highest Regards, Dirk / The Netherlands.

  21. That is really really cool! One of the best Skyraider models and paint schemes I have ever seen! Great job man!
    Rob

  22. Wow, Stellan! I'm just speechless! The quality of your work and the attention to detail is just amazing. The flares, smoke markers, and the way you turned bombs into parachute life-raft containers is especially impressive. Well done, sir!

  23. That is a wonderful model Stellan. Great job and what an interesting subject. Quite some work on the smoke grenades, and also like your solution to convert the bombs into the life raft containers. Just great!

  24. Fifty comments and no arguments, must be something of a record even on iModeler! OK, I'll try to start an argument, shouldn't the spelling be "iModeller"?

  25. amazing...exhaust is perfect

  26. Outstanding work.
    What colors did you use to reproduce the exhaust stains?
    And what nozzle and pressure? You must have a very steady hand.

  27. Hi Alfred, thanks for the comment.Nice to see this old thread is still alive.

    Vallejo Air black on top of some Vallejo Air tan, very diluted to keep the control. Slow progress and lot of thinking before starting as I wanted the exhaust pattern just right. It is good to have a few photos to study as it is too late once you start. Nozzle...0.15 needle I´d say, pressure...normal high as I want maximum atomization of paint and less clogging of tip. I never touch the pressure setting as I think it is better to learn how to use airbrush than fiddle with another factor in the distance/pressure/needle size/paint viscosity equation.

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