New Hot
Babe of the Week is up. F/A-18E VFA-137's new CAG jet. Flying
buttcheeks! Right Click, Enjoy!
Speaking of Hot
Babe of the Week, I had to remove the Chilean Viper pics this last
week due to a disconnect between a couple of the guys that provided
us references on those jets. Bottom line is that their disconnect
made its way over here to Twobobs and pics were uploaded with the
wrong name attached as the copyright holder.
I bring this up
because I want to ensure all of you that we respect and guard the
intellectual property of all of you that provide us refs. There have
been more than a couple of Twobobs sheets that haven't had photo
references on the instruction sheet due to us not being able to
verify the copyright holder. If we don't know who owns it, we don't
use it.
As a decal manufacturer that creates all this
artwork, "we get it" as far as protecting not just our, but your
copyright as well. I want to ensure all of you out there that we
take this very seriously. The two parties involved have been
contacted and this issue has been resolved. No blood, no foul..
OK so here's what all of you have been waiting for. Arctic
Bandits artwork!!! Let's get right down to it fellas and give you
the laundry list. I'm going to break this down by each scale. Some
important info. here to digest first.
- These sheets
represent the jets in their "end state". Meaning not all of them
have been painted up yet. You will see various iterations of the
specific markings on the web. Our decal sheet represents what these
jets will look like when they're "done-done".
- We know that
our decals are accurate for how these A/C will end up being painted
since we have been provided the entire approved PACAF waiver package
from the 354th Fighter Wing that outlines all the specifics about
these jets to include colors and sizing for all the markings.
- "Combat Bob" Cologie as well as Capt. Marisha Malik have
been instrumental in providing references for these sheets. "Combat
Bob" is the 354th FW, Combat Planner and works directly for the Wing
CC. Capt. Malik is the Maintenance Officer in Charge (OIC) of the
354th Fighter Wing and all the aircraft maintenance to include the
crew chiefs and Corrosion Control Shop fall under her command.
Can't say enough about the great support we've gotten from
the command section of both the 354th FW and the 18th FS. I have to
give kudos specifically to Capt. Malik. We owe here more than a few
drinks and dinners for the help. You'd swear she was a modeler with
the fidelity of help she's given us!
OK, on to the sheets!
- 48-158 -
There are enough markings for three
complete jets on this sheet. A/C 86-314 is the Wing CC jet and
86-290 is the FS CC jet. There are two different sets of stencil
markings on these jets. One is the "old school" constant gray
striping that outlines the No Step areas while the other is a
segmented black/white set of markings that are "reverse stenciled"
depending on what the background color is. The major white markings
on this sheet (as well as the other two scales) have a second layer
of white printed so these will be very opaque against the darker
black/gray background color.
We've also provided three
different sets of Tamiya specific stencil markings so you can use
either the Hasegawa or Tamiya kit for your representative build!
This sheet is topped off with CATM and CUBIC markings as you
would typically see during an exercise. I am also finishing up
intake and exhaust plug markings for these jets today and will be on
the sheet before I upload these tomorrow.
- 72-072 -
The 1/72nd scale version fits on one sheet and provides four
complete sets of stencils. Sized for the Hasegawa F-16 which is the
most abundant kit out there right now.
There are no CATM and
CUBIC markings on this sheet since at this smaller scale, the fine
detail text would not print without me "beefing up" the line weight
of the font. I've never been a big fan of this since it makes the
text look too beefy and not realistic.
-
32-048 -
The 32nd scale version of this sheet features one
set of stencil data and enough options for all four versions of the
F-16C. Both "styles" of No Step markings are included.
There
are also CATM and CUBIC markings on this sheet.
OK so there
you have it. Finally!!! Lots of E-mails and lots of phone calls.
This has been one of the most enjoyable reference digging
experiences we've had here at Twobobs. The guys from Eielson have
held our hand the entire step of the way and are certainly excited
that they'll be able to do up some models for the various offices
there at the Wing. There you go Combat Bob! Now you got some
markings for those kits you've got started!
There is a
family model Arctic jet, 87-0375 that will be included in the second
Eielson aggressor sheet that is just about done. Finalizing some
names and such on those jets (Blue & Lizard schemes) so hang
tight for those as well. They're coming in all three scales!
- 48-173 -
In addition to these great Eielson
sheets, I've been able to get the F/A-18E CAG jet done from VFA-137.
These guys just went out on cruise and Gerry Clarke over at Lemoore
was able to get walk-arounds of this guy before they flew out to the
boat. Great timing on his part and this is one attractive jet. Going
to print along with the Eielson sheets and they'll all be coming in
at the same time. These will be uploaded tomorrow to Microscale and
I'll have sheets in hand in 30 days.
