The Duke's Ten Latest Models. Six Aircraft Here...

[Duke Maddog]

After all this time, I can finally show some finished models. These are all ten of the models I just finished:

These are my completed aircraft finished up just yesterday, starting with my helicopters:

First up is my British Gazelle, an ancient 1/72 scale Airfix kit. After fighting me for awhile, I finally managed to finish this:

Next is my Special Hobby 1/72 scale AH-1G Marine Cobra from Vietnam. This was one tough build as it was so delicate everywhere! I finally got this finished:

For my aircraft, my Italian Air Forces now has two new aircraft to add to their line up. First is the Italian Navy AV-8B Harrier in 1/72 scale by Hasegawa:

Followed by an Italeri 1/72 scale Italian F-16 Fighting Falcon:

Finally, my US Navy now has two new F-14 Tomcats on active duty. Both of these 1/72 scale aircraft came in the same box as a dual kit from Hasegawa. This first one is an F-14A Tomcat from the Jolly Rogers:

Followed by the F-14B Tomcat, also from the Jolly Rogers:

These are my latest aircraft. None of them are truly contest worthy, but I'm thrilled to have finished them up and I'm very pleased with the look of all of them. I also finished four armor models as seen above in the top pic. Feel free to go check them out as well.

Meanwhile, thanks for looking in, comments are welcome.

 

[dollar19]

That’s quite a collection of compleations.

 

[lupanzer]

Congratulations Duke!...great works here!

Luiz.

 

[Duke Maddog]

Thanks guys! It sure felt great getting something finished!

 

[JamesOLeary]

Nice Tomcat and Cobra, Mark.

The others are nice, too, but those two stand out to me.

Cheers,
James

 

[Gator]

Hey Mark. Beautiful work. The first Jolly Rogers F-14 with the "AJ" tail code, is that when they were assigned to the USS Nimitz? My brother-in-law served on the Nimitz when the Jolly Rogers and Black Aces were assigned to it.

 

[Duke Maddog]

Thanks guys! I agree James, the Cobra and Tomcats sure do catch the eye. I am still glad to have increased my Italian Aircraft collection though.

Kenny, yes; that first bird was assigned to the USS Nimitz. I'm glad I was able to build a Tomcat with such a personal connection to one of my good Forum Friends. Thanks again for the compliments Kenny!

 

[Gator]

 

[Duke Maddog]

Thanks Kenny! I'm glad to see you stop in.

 

[jknaus]

The choppers look pretty sweat Mark and the rest look good also. Love the Harrier. Man you're going to need a semi to take these to any shows before long. Maybe get one with a library and workshop set up inside so you can model on the road
James

 

[dollar19]

You can’t deny that Gazzelle just looks great!

 

[Duke Maddog]

James, thank you ever so much! I appreciate your great comments. A semi, huh? :hmmm That would be cool! And you are probably right, after all; I needed a mid-sized SUV to get my collection to Phoenix so yeah...

Thanks Dollar19! The pics make it look better than it really is. It is an ancient kit after all. I had a devil of a time just trying to get enough weight inside to keep it sitting properly on the skids!

One day I'd like someone to make a model of one of these in 1/72 scale with the anti-tank rockets and/or other armament on it!

 

[sharkman]

Nice looking flock Mark! I've always liked those Alouettes, ever since I found out that was the chopper they used for Blue Thunder

 

[Duke Maddog]

Thanks Warren! I appreciate the compliments.

BTW, that isn't the Allouette. It's the Gazelle, a smaller more compact helicopter that the Allouette. That was one tough bird to build too!

Thanks again for stopping in and commenting.

 

[Frank]

Darn Mark do you every rest?
Great looking aircraft.
Frank

 

[iambrb]

That is some neat work Mark. I have always thought of the F-14 as a great fighter.

neat side info about the Cobra when armed with the twin mini-guns in the chin turret. According to what I have read in several books (Snake Pilot, Hunter-Killer Squadron, Headhunters) the early versions of this aircraft had an electrical quirk in them. One pilot fired the rockets, the other pilot fired the guns. If the gunner was firing the guns when the other pilot fired the rockets, the guns could/often would lock up and cease firing! Only way to get them working was to land, and one of the pilots get out and hand-rotate the barrels a bit. Obviously not the preferred method for fixing the issue! Interesting to hear about the Hasegawa model, as i intend to build this in the future!

 

[Duke Maddog]

Darn Mark do you every rest?
Great looking aircraft.
Frank

Thanks Frank! And yes, before my back issues, I was getting eight hours a night. Now I'm lucky to get 4-5 hours of sleep and only when heavily medicated. That gives me more time to build when I'm not watching movies.

Thanks iambrb! I agree about the Tomcat being a great fighter. I was very sad when they finally retired these birds. I didn't know that about the early Cobra gunships. Thanks for the information, I must have missed that when I was reading up on these. I'm glad I was able to help with the Hasegawa model in some way. I look forward to seeing yours built.