More Skyraider repaints coming

[JensOle]

Hi,
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I have finally got into the Skyraider painting business myself too, a lot of nice paints for Tim Conrad’s fantastic Skyraider have been showed here at the forum in the past weeks, and here is my take on the old lady. Going a bit off the “mainstream” TT tailed Skyraiders, I have found a few interesting subjects for showing other sides of the Skyraiders involvement in the war over <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on">South East Asia</st1:place>.
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First out is two “Zorro” Skyraiders of the 22<SUP>nd</SUP> SOS which flew out of NKP in the period 1968-70. Their main mission was interdiction of enemy trucks and personnel travelling down the Ho Chi Minh Trail in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Laos</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p>
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A-1H “34-569” in typical 22<SUP>nd</SUP> SOS paintscheme with black underside. Green napalm canisters. The aircraft was transferred to the VNAF in 1970 and shot down in October 1972.
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/zorro-5.jpg
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/zorro-6.jpg<o:p></o:p>
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A-1H “34-609” with cowling art “Bad news”. This aircraft has the standard USAF grey underside, the cowling shows sign of change due to the misalignment of the camouflage. Gunship grey painted centreline tank and white frangible coverings for the rocket pods.<o:p></o:p>
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This aircraft was later shotdown on the Plain De Jars in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Laos</st1:place></st1:country-region>. The pilot managed to make a forced landing at one of the <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Lima</st1:place></st1:City> sites and the aircraft was later retrieved by helicopter and rebuild at NKP.The aircraft was transferred to the VNAF in 1970 and finally shot down in November 1972.
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/zorro-1.jpg
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/zorro-4.jpg<o:p></o:p>
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A-1H "34-526" of the 1<SUP>st</SUP> SOS, NKP early 1970’s. It has a non standard finish with no sqn tail code, just the serial number and a red, white and blue band on top of the rudder. This aircraft was part of the last batch of Skyraiders in service with the 1<SUP>st</SUP> SOS and USAF before they were transferred to the VNAF in late 1972, this is probably the reason for the lack of tail codes. 526 had a very proud service record with 3 silver stars for its pilots; 2x Capt. Edward R Jayne II (1971 and 1972) and Lt. Glen C. Priebe “<st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sandy</st1:place></st1:City> 05 during the now famous BAT 21 rescue in 1972. The Book “The A-1 in Vietnam-the Spads last war” mention “Little Prince” as nose art, but I have not been able to verify this with pictures due to lack of picture resolution (but it does show some sort of name painted on the nose with white letters). <o:p></o:p>
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The aircraft was shot down shortly after it was transferred to the VNAF in early 1973.
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/526-1.jpg
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/526-3.jpg
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/526-4.jpg<o:p></o:p>

[JensOle]

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A-1H "39-779" of the 530th “Jupiter” Fighter Squadron, 72nd Tactical Wing of the South Vietnamese Air Force based at <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Pleiku</st1:City> <st1:State w:st="on">AB</st1:State></st1:place> in the early 1970's. This aircraft was a former USAF 602<SUP>nd</SUP> ACS aircraft and was shoot down in May 1972. <o:p></o:p>
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Of interest is that this aircraft, at least for some time, kept the USAF style serial number on the tail. It does not have the typical South Vietnamese AF flag on the rudder, but the roundel is painted on the speedbrakes and wings. The cowl flaps and front ring of the engine cowling (with black anti glare panel) are painted grey. This was commonly seen on many VNAF Skyraiders, does anybody know the reason for this? Or was it simply because they used former USN spare parts without painting them? Since it was a former USAF aircraft it also has the standard USAF com antennas configuration as compared to aircraft which were delivered directly to the VNAF after rework in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">USA</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p>
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Tim’s A-1J has a sort of typical USAF loadout with the CBU (SUU-14) dispensers and rocket pods, but the former was not used in the VNAF. So to stay with the textures I’m flying it with just the centreline tank. Maybe we can hope for a loadout with wing to wing with Mk81-82 series of bombs or napalm J That would have been a very common VNAF Skyraider load, also often seen on USAF birds when they were tasked with strike missions.<o:p></o:p>
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/vnaf-1.jpg<o:p></o:p>
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/vnaf-2.jpg<o:p></o:p>
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/vnaf-4.jpg<o:p></o:p>
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/vnaf-5.jpg<o:p></o:p>
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All paints are work in progress and feedback is much appreciated!<o:p></o:p>
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Regards,<o:p></o:p>
Jens-Ole Kjølberg<o:p></o:p>

[VCN-1]

Those are great looking schemes!

VCN-1

[starlifter]

How would this one look?


4998

[JensOle]

How would this one look?


4998


Yeah, a 6th SOS "6T" Pleiku 'Raider will definetly fit into this sellection :)

[Fireball6]

They look fantastic - great work! :jump:

Dirk

[CheckSix]

I was quietly waiting for these Paints, I knew you couldn't resist Jens. Excellent work, between yourself and Russel we are spoilt, thank you very much.

[JensOle]

Thanks! Seems like you know me rather well...lol I'm probably one of the bigger skyraider nuts there are on this forum... Tim did a superb job on this one, just wish we had a "<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Sandy</st1:place></st1:City>" loadout with minigunpod and one strike load with wing to wing of bombs.
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Researching into Pleiku Skyraiders now, I have found pics of <st1:metricconverter w:st="on" ProductID="609 in">609 in</st1:metricconverter> 6th SOS colors, looks like the origin of "the Bad news" cowling art was at this squadron before it was transferred to the 22nd.

Regards
Jens-Ole<o:p></o:p>

[CheckSix]

Hi Jens, well its been a while, you would most likely remember me under a different forum name, but yes we have both been around the blocka few times. You were the person who made me see the error of my ways with regards to the CS F-104 vs the C9 F-104, the latter being so much better as you pointed out at the time. Will PM you thru this forum.

I too would love to see some more varied wep load outs on the Skyraider, twin tanks on the wings etc but most of all there are a few of us now who would die for a Tim Conrad rendition of the A-1E wide body Skyraider... **Hint, hint, Tim :)

Jens, any chance of some of the rarer ET tail code paints?

[starlifter]

This "ET" was on alert in early 1969 at Danang.
5132

[CheckSix]

Nice, Starlifter, thanks for the pic! Jens? :D :D :D Puhlease :D

[VCN-1]

Check the prop tips on the bird closest to you in the photo.

VCN-1

[starlifter]

This is the closest one...5154

[JensOle]

Thanks for the pics.

I'm making another late 1st SOS paint too, 37-597 "Miss Judy", which had non standard font for both the TC code and numbers+ the colors on top of the fin.

http://www.skyraider.org/skyassn/otherpics/mignard/1sos/1sos.htm Scroll down to the end of the page

[CheckSix]

Jens, you are the man... Thank you!

Darn, those E's look the business :engel016:

[Railrunner130]

Awesome repaints!! I was flying the Skyraider last night. She's got the sex appeal of a turd in a punch bowl, but she is extremely well modeled and painted. She even feels heavy, like I'd expect the real Skyraider to feel. I'd hate to be the VC when this puppy went to work.

[DX-FMJ]

stunning work! :salute:

[skyhawka4m]

Can you tell me how to get the stores to show? Also is there a key stroke to open the canopy?

I just switched over to FSX and this is all kinda new to me.


your paints look awesome!

[JensOle]

Hi,

Thanks!

To get the stores to show you need to push 3 levers which are on the left side consol, I believe this is mentioned in Tims readme file as well.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
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To open the canopy you can either push the shift+e command or push the handle in the VC itself.<o:p></o:p>

[JensOle]

A-1H 37-597 "Miss Judy" from the 1st SOS at NKP in 1972. This aircraft had a non standard font for both the TC code and numbers+ the colors on top of the fin.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/Scrshot3902.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/Scrshot3922.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/Scrshot3932.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/Scrshot3962.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/Scrshot3982.jpg

[Dag]

Hi Jens-Ole,

They look awsome, great work. I like the tones on the camouflage colours. I just wish that Tim would start to enable bump mapping on his models, they would look great on this one, be it 2048 or 1024 pixels. I would volunteer to do them.
I got my new I7/SSD machine today and will be on the lookout for these. I lost many of my Birddog paints in a recent OS disk failure where I had the "working folders" with PSDs inside the FSX tex folders. No backup on them except for 2 .... oh well, I hope I learned from it.

[JensOle]

Thanks Dag! Always great to get that sort of feedback from a renown painter as you. Sorry to hear about your computer crash. Bump mapping sure would have looked good on an old bird like the skyraider which had survived a hard navy life before joining the air force.

As for my textures, I have learnt a great deal from the way Henry (the norwegian one) do texture effects. He let me borrow his superb A-26 and Canberra B.2 master textures in the past, thank you!

Now we only miss the fatface A-1E to complete the linup... I would actually pay a lot of money for getting the E'.

[JensOle]

The current lineup, hopeing to have themr eady for uploading this weekend.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v216/JensOle/USA/SoH%20Raiders/jo_skyraider_paints.jpg

[skyhawka4m]

wow......very nice!!!

[jankees]

excellent stuff!!

[JensOle]

The first 3 paints are ready for download here at the SoH, enjoy!

Jens-Ole

[Bomber_12th]

Thank you Jens-Ole, I really look forward to trying them out, they all look excellent!