E2-C Hawkeye

Grumman E2-C Hawkeye , twin turbo-prop carrier cased AWACS aircraft. This is the 1/72 scale Heller kit (#80349), representing a plane from VAW-112 (Golden Hawks), Point Mugu, NAS. The decals are from Microscale #72537, generously provided by Joe, of Flight Decs .

CC-108 Caribou

CC-108 Caribou (DHC-4) Twin engine STOL transport aircraft used by the RCAF starting in the 1960’s. It’s primary role was transport flying, and it saw action overseas in many United Nations (UN) missions.

This is the 1/72 scale Hobbbycraft kit, #1344

F-15 Eagle

F-15C Eagle, 1/72 scale Kit, Italeri #169. Plane is from 1st Tactical Fighter Wing, Langley, VA, in the 1980’s.

Kit was a dream to build, straight out of the box.

CH-149 Cormorant

CH-149 Cormorant, Canadian SAR version of the EH-101 Merlin.

From the 1/72 scale Italeri kit, #1226. Kit needed some work to make an accurate version.

1. The forward bubble windows are missing from the kit, needing holes to be hand drilled and replaced from the spares box, ( I used some from Hobbycraft’s Labrador kit).
2. The antenna on the port side is incorrectly shaped, I had to shorten it and bend it over a flame to get it in position.
3. The kit has incorrect decals for the front sides where it has the flag over the windows. I had to use decals from another helicopter kit. The new decals are the wrong colour, but at least they have the correct text.
4. The main wheels are dual, not single as the kit provides.
5. The top wire-cutter should be in the position shown in my photos, not as per the kit instructions.

The rest of the kit is well made, except for a fairly difficult seam to sand just aft of the last square windows.

The version that I have made represents a unit from 442 Sqn, CAF, at CFB Comox, B.C. in 2006