MILITARY DIORAMAS by Paul Asaban

Photo Album 26 - Top Gun Airshow 2

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Photo Album 1 - The Road to Minsk
Photo Album 2- The Road to Minsk
Photo Album 3 - The Road to Minsk
Photo Album 4- OS2U Kingfisher
Photo Album 5 - Flakvierling
Photo Album 6 - Building the Flakvierling
Photo Album 7 - Dauntless SBD
Photo Album 8 - Dauntless SBD
Photo Album 9 - Channel Gazing
Photo Album 10 - Stuka and Matilda
Photo Album 11- ME-109 and Spitfire V
Photo Album 12 - Anzio
Photo Album 13 - Anzio
Photo Album 14 - Bastogne Aftermath
Photo Album 15 - Normandy Ambush & more
Photo Album 16 - The First Time I Saw Paris
Photo Album 17- Aachen 1944
Photo Album 18 - Aachen 1944
Photo Album 19 - PT109
Photo Album 20 - "Corner Kick" Curtiss P-40
Photo Album 21 - Building "Corner Kick"
Photo Album 22 - Black Widow
Photo Album 23 - Assorted models
Photo Album 24 - Somewhere in Saudi (A-10)
Photo Album 25 - Top Gun Air Show
Photo Album 26 - Top Gun Airshow 2
Photo Album 27 - The Mother of all Battles
Photo Album 28 - The First Night - F-111
Photo Album 29 - My kids are in on the action - Christian's Dioramas
Photo Album 30 - My kids are in on the action - Nicole's Dinosaurs
Photo Album 31 - Coming Soon - Operation Market Garden
Photo Album 32 - The War Room
Photo Album 33 - Antique Ships Restoration Project
Photo Album 34 - Restoration Project II
Photo Album 35 - Restoration Project III
Photo Album 36 - Restoration Project IV
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MODERN ERA DIORAMAS
Top Gun Air Show 2

Air Show - F5 Aggressor Overall View.jpg

Above: The Northrop F-5 Tiger II "Freedom Fighter", so called because it was developed as an inexpensive fighter to be exported to NATO countries to counter the numerically superior Soviet Air Force. This example is a two seat trainer - the standard F-5 is a single seater. Extremely nimble and easy to fly, the aircraft makes a good Soviet type opponent for the Top Gun students. Named after my sister Rica, the plane number is 46, for the year she was born, and the serial number is her birthday. The paint job took forever, but it was worth it.

Air_Show_-_F5_Aggressor_Cockpit_Closeup.jpg

Above: A close up of the crew compartment on the F-5. The ejection handles are made from doll house wiring.

Air Show - A4 Skyhawk Overall View.jpg

Above: The A-4 Skyhawk, named Frere Jacques after my brother. His initials, JA, are on the plane's tail fin, his birth year, 49, is the plane number, and his birthdate is the serial number. The paint job was again difficult but rewarding. This Skyhawk has the "humpback" behind the crew compartment that contains additional avionics upgrades, typical of late model Skyhawks. As in the F-14, the leading edge slats have been carved out of the wing, then I made new ones and glued them in the open position. The canopy is attached to the cockpit by a metal tube that retracts into a hole with a rubber band wall, allowing the canopy to be set in any position on the model. The Skyhawk, designed by the amazing and incomparable Ed Heinemann from Douglas Aircraft (crews nicknamed the A-4 "Heinemann's Hot Rod), first saw service in the mid 1950's and was built as an attack aircraft for the US Navy. It was so sturdy and dependable, so strong and battleworthy, that some are still in active service today in 3rd world air forces. The last US Navy Skyhawk flew in 2003. Up until the mid 80's, they were front line fighter bombers in many air forces, including Argentina and Israel. Argentine Skyhawks made determined - and successful - attacks on British warships during the 1982 Falklands War. The A-4 holds the record for the longest production run of any aircraft in history, with the Douglas production lines producing them for 25 years!! I love this airplane!! This is a two seat version. Most A-4's were single seat aircraft.

Air_Show_-_A4_Skyhawk_underview.jpg

Above: The underside of the Skyhawk. All the landing gear and open wheel wells have been super detailed with wiring and metal parts. The pitot tube and other sensors are covered, as is customary when aircraft are on the ground. I used regular Scotch tape for these covers, and painted them red. As in all my aircraft models, the bottoms of the tires have been filed down and a small glue bulge added to simulate the weight of the aircraft on the tires. 

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