astronut1885

Well, I tried and tried, but I couldn't keep it just 1/72 scale... I needed some heavies. A large part of my collection has been based off of active units I've lived around or seen, like many of my USMC Miramar aircraft. One of the bases I lived near was Travis AFB in Fairfield, CA. They primarily operate USAF heavies out of there, C-5s, KC-10s, and C-17s. And it just so happens that between Gemini and Dragon, you can get 1:400 models of all three of those aircraft with Travis markings. Fortunately for me, I've already tracked down and paid for the two more uncommon ones, the KC-10 and the C-17. The two C-5s, one from each manufacturer, are readily available and will probably be mine by the end of summer. So far I scored the C-17 Globemaster III for $30 shipped and the KC-10 with a F-117 hung from the boom for $32 shipped. I'm probably going to take the F-117 off and swap in a boom that is 'retracted' if I get my hands on one, because it looks a little limp on there. I'll post some pics when they arrive, but it might take a while as the C-17 is coming from Norway (only place I could find one).


from the Ebay listing.


From google.

Also, Dragon and Gemini make C-5As marked for Westover AFB, not far from me. Every year at the R.I. ANG open house and air show they have one of their "Patriot Wing" C-5s all opened up and I've toured it many times. I think I'll be adding those two to the collection down the line as well...

incubus

Have you check 1:200 scale? you can have some heavies and fighter jets at the same time?

astronut1885

I did, but unfortunately they only have a Travis 1/200 C-17, there is no C-5 and the KC-10s are not Travis birds.

incubus

No C5 for now, but they have released a KC10 Travis

Aviation 200 AV2KC100312 - DC-10 Diecast Model, USAF 60th AMW, #82-0192, Travis AFB, CA: The Flying Mule

astronut1885

Damn. Well, they don't make the C-5, and I'm a nut completionist so I want all 3 in the same scale... *prays somebody doesn't show him a 1/200 C-5 from Travis and then I'm off spendng $400+ on 1/200 scale heavies*

Wamovements

I live in The Netherlands and not in Norway haha. Model is on the way. Regards Dennis

astronut1885

Wow, small world Dennis! I just checked the tracking, and the C-17 is due to arrive on Wednesday the 24th. I'll let you know when it gets here, and I'll update this thread for all of you with some pics of the C-17 and KC-10 together. I got my Extender in today, and fortunately/unfortunately depending on how you look at it, the boom had snapped right above the spine of the attached F-117. Now on the negative side, it wasn't going to work being glued and thereby kinda ruined any chance of the model retaining collector value as original. On the positive side, it made my desire to rip the little Nighthawk off and modify the boom into a stowed position all the easier to go with. I'm not sure if this particular model included landing gear doors when it was new, but I don't have them and am stuck with a gear-down bird, and it looked weird refueling a plane with it's wheels out. Now it looks like it's sitting on the Tarmac, which will work well when displayed with the other Travis birds I'm going to get, and hopefully a small 1/400 piece of runway/taxiway for them all to sit on...

DaPhantom

So is it just Travis for now or are you going to jump in to 1/400 Military! Ive got 12 planes from Dennis and I'm just waiting for the first 2 C-17s to come and then I'll pay for the next lot.

As for myself I have 35 C-17s, 26 C5 and close to 145 C-130. I would have to count the number of 135s, 10s, 46s and then theres the MRTT and 767 and I forgot about the 3 Omega tankers

Randy

astronut1885

Well, for the moment it's just Travis birds, but.... and it's a dangerous but... I've found 2 C-5 Galaxies from Westover AFB here in MA that I've toured at the local air shows, an A model from Gemini and a B from Dragon, and those will both find their way to my shelves after I get the two Travis C-5s (B+C models). Also, Herpa makes a really nice looking Rhode Island ANG C-130J that I've seen perform demos almost every summer at the RI airshow, so that Rhode Warrior bird will also find it's way to me. After that, I'm sure some 1/400 Blue Angels support aircraft like Fat Albert will follow, and a friend of mine flew on P-3 Orions so if I can find his unit, I'll get that, and then I'm going after Dragon's 1/400 line of Space Shuttles. I've always loved the space program, and those little gems look awesome, like the ones with 747 transporters or the full booster stack with a launch pad. The up-side is that there's only 6 shuttles to collect, so it's not that exhaustive of a collection. I don't see myself just all out collecting these 1/400 birds, but eventually I might feel the need for a nice B-1B, B-2, B-52 etc...

astronut1885

Well, the C-17 is here and it is awesome! Dennis did a great job getting that model half way around the world in perfect shape. And now my taste for 1/400 has expanded to Presidential aircraft like Air Force One and Two, and a few neat US Navy offerings like the E-6B, P-3, and a P-8 that is coming out along with all the stuff listed above...damn this bug bit hard! I also got in a KC-10 "Great White" That I bought damaged. It came with broken nose gear and the starboard engine torn off. The engine was a quick super-glue fix. The nose gear would not glue back on for anything, so after a little prying with some needlenose, I was able to remove the remains of it and insert the "closed" gear doors Dragon included. Unfortunately those doors fit like crap, I had to shave the nose door with an x-acto just to get it in, and I left a small scar on the plane's belly where my fingertip got glued to it and I didn't realize it until it was too late. Overall it looks good on the stand in-flight, and for the $15 I paid, I can't complain. It'll look great next to an eventual Presidential fleet thanks to the colors.

Oh, and I just won the Gemini C-5B Travis AFB 1/400 for $34 shipped on Ebay...now that I have the 3 main airframes from Travis, it's time to knock out those C-5 variants and move on to Westover along with the R.I. ANG C-130J.

From the listing:

astronut1885

mar_ji

....if only gemini can make it in 1/200 scale....Im sure, this C-5 Galaxy would sell very well....just like the successful C-17 Globemaster....

astronut1885

And now the bug has fully chomped me... I'm working on converting an old 20"x48" coffee table into a small 1/400 air base. I found a bunch of foil layouts online, did some graphic changes, and hopefully by the end of the night I will have a neat little 1/400 air base.

DaPhantom

I was thinking more like a sheet of plywood, 4' x 8', with a taxi lane around the outside and each way down the middles.

This would leave me with about 4 parking areas with room for 32 C5s or C-17s.

Either way or using smaller planes or large ones, the parking area wourld be 8" x 8" with the taxi ramps would be 8 wide, even with this you still run short with 8" on both end.

This is just for the parking area, now add take off fields and it just keeps growing in size to a point of do I keep the wife or just take over the house.

Randy

Skinner67

Insanity manifests itself in many ways. Yours seems to be mostly harmless.

If she really loves you, she will hang in there and support your "recovery".

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astronut1885

$24 shipped on Ebay. Vertical tail stab is broken off, but inside the box and should be easily fixed with super glue.

astronut1885

$15 shipped on Ebay:

DaPhantom

Something else that would work out for a layout is a flat wooden door, something like a 36" x 6'8"

astronut1885

$29 shipped from a board member:

astronut1885

$33 shipped on Ebay: Travis C-5B with the old tail colors, the first C-5 Dragon did:

astronut1885

The first round of my attempt at a small airbase display. Next up is some textured grass to cover the green areas and a control tower, probably the one that comes with Dragon's Northwest Airlines Electra, because it closely resembles the one at Travis. This is just a fictional setup, but some ques from places I have been are in there, as it matches a lot of my collection's theme.

DaPhantom

who did the paper layout on the table, is that something one can buy.

Randy

astronut1885

Sourced the files here:
...::: Download Airport Foils :::...

Then took them to Staples, had them re-sized to 8x10 for my needs, and the margins trimmed. Then came a stressful period with those prints, a can of spray adhesive, and the best effort I could give at lining everything up. These prints can also be done individually and framed, so you could make smaller dios too.


Also: $25 shipped on Ebay:

DaPhantom

How the fleet doing! I'm trying to get Dennis paided via PayPal, but keep running into a wall

astronut1885

I heard from Dennis once when he was on his way home, haven't heard since. I'm hoping he has a bunch of new planes for me. Otherwise, I'm still waiting on the C-130J, C-5B, C-40B, and KC-135E I posted above to arrive. My little tarmac is going to get crowded quite quickly.

DaPhantom

That interesting, because I'm waiting to close the deal on the 12 plane deal that has 6 C5s, 3 As and 3 Bs, I have a ton of KCs, like the 135s, 10s, Omegas, 767s, 46s, MRTTs, etc

astronut1885

$26 shipped on Ebay.

astronut1885

Also, my Dragon C-5B Travis AFB and US Navy C-40B arrived, and are looking good on the tarmac. I'll have to update the pics as I go.

DaPhantom

Just got done with the payment to Dennis:

Looking at your growing collection! You need a need KC-46 and maybe a MRTT. My last 3 planes from ebay have been a C5M, C5B and now a Gemini C5, makes 22 and now with Dennis lot will make 28.

Just like a kid in a candy store and can't stop.

Randy

astronut1885

Yeah, you ended up with a few of the birds I was hoping to get, namely the Westover C-5s. I'm gonna get back on the hunt for those, I actually was touring one today at the RI ANG airshow.

Also: $30 shipped on Ebay:

DaPhantom

I'm a little mixed up on the Westover C5, did i over bid you or what.

N787BA

How do you like the Shuttle Orbiters? I've been debating on getting one for long enough.

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astronut1885

DaPhantom- you just asked for it first. I found his old list, and I live not far from Westover so I was hoping to grab their C-5, but he already had it reserved for you, so no worries. Looks like he'll be helping me out with some Air Force One/ Two type aircraft anyway.

N787BA- They're pretty nice. A little underwhelming for the price tag, but they're about as nice a reasonably priced shuttle as you're gonna get.

DaPhantom

Your right, but at the time! he was having a hard time to get anyone interested in buying, so when he offer a 12 plane deal of my picking I jumped at it.

Got 6 C5As& Bs, 2 KC-10s, a C-17, 2 C-130s and a 707.

I think I just beat you to it.

We should get together so we don't bid against each other. About the only time I will bid on C5s or C-17s is that its cheap and then C-130s, I just like them.

Randy

DaPhantom

I left one thing out, when I started I looked at balance. I just couldn't have transport, but needed KC, AWAC, etc.

The next ones on the list are the C-130 Gunships and the 707 Ball Joint planes

astronut1885

Some updates: new arrivals, and I just ordered a tower.

astronut1885

I ordered this set, and I am going to steal the tower off of it for my base:



Similar to the real tower at Travis AFB:

Skinner67

Nice. You could build up the sides a bit then put on a new glass top (with hinges of course). No more dusting. You may need to lower the legs, so your feet will position properly while watching the movie Airplane.

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astronut1885

$20 shipped after a best offer on Ebay:



$6 with free shipping (if everything is as it seems at auction end) on Ebay:

astronut1885

$24 shipped on Ebay, my first presidential aircraft.

astronut1885

$17 shipped on Ebay. Hail to the chief!

astronut1885

astronut1885

Scored my first of 2 Westover C-5s today. $37 shipped on Ebay:

astronut1885

$22 on Ebay from the same seller as the C-5 Westover:



Now I have just two Air Force Two aircraft (C-40C and C-32A) left to complete the executive wing. It would be cool to find a 1/400 Marine One, but I haven't seen any choppers.

astronut1885

And to finish off my holiday pay splurge: $37 on Ebay from the same guy as the above two models. A little more than I wanted to pay, but I wanted that F-117 to display with my current one from my KC-10A Travis.

DaPhantom

I made a offer for the 3 plane lot that had the C5B, C-130 and the E3 and got it. Didn't think they would take the offer, but they did

astronut1885

Well, my VC-137C arrived today, and it is not what it was described as. Yellowed out, broken probe on the V-stab, missing a nose wheel tire and the stand. I emailed the seller, we'll see if they stand by their item, because it was listed as "new." What a drag.

DaPhantom

.

Well you have the whole board to help if the seller doesn't stand behind the product. Theirs just to small of a group here to piss anyone off.

Hey my package came in today from Dennis: The first thing I did was to work out what the total poatage was and then take that off the price to work out what was the cost of the plane and to mail it.

Came out to $19.05 per plane & $5.95 postaged per plane! The deal was for $300.00 and I got to pick the 12 planes....

Randy

astronut1885

That's a great deal. The seller said he never checked the model and was selling for a friend, gave me a full refund and told me to just keep it. For now it fills a gap in my collection, but at some point I will replace it with a mint VC-137C. I just don't like seeing it sitting there all yellowed with all my other white models looking so crisp, it just looks crappy.

Also- ordered the scale fake grass to add texture to the diorama. After that I might replace the taxiways with fine grit black sandpaper for more realism...

Skinner67

Yeah. Airports aren't known for their finely manicured grass. I like the Woodland Scenics products, but they may be too coarse for your scale. The fine scale is pretty small though. I liked to mix them, or add darker patches over the base coats to simulate variety or a ditch...

Ground Cover - Blended Turf - Woodland Scenics - Model Layouts, Scenery, Buildings and Figures

I'm not sure fine sandpaper would be ideal. The grit will constantly be coming loose. A brushed coat of paint would look nice, and you could feather it into a slight texture and add oil stains, wheel marks, etc...

I like the diorama. Now, I think I'll convert my basemnt to a 1/72 scale scene...

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