[kwiky]

i want low viz, patchy worn paint work would be good aswell

[zed550]

the whole CAG versus low vis jet thing depends on what era you grew up in!
i was a kid when every airforce in the world had colourful markings and camoflage hence i hate drab grey on grey with no identity.
thats why the only grey jets i like are those with high vis colour on.

[Shawn 507]

I'm for alittle of each, both have their appeal. I think CW could give us both.

[crossroads]

I have been looking around for some pictures of Desert Storm A-6s. Haven't had a whole lot of luck so far. From what I have seen it looks like the VA-196 Main Battery version I have pictured at the start of this thread was there for Desert Shield but left prior to Desert Storm. What I have found are the all grey low vis that we have been discussing.

Here is VMA(AW)-224. The caption for the picture read that it was taken after Desert Storm so I am not 100% sure it was used during.

If anybody has any pictures or links they would be appreciated.

Thanks
Ronnie

[Phantom Phan1200]

Guys dint get me wrong I'm not saying I hate CAG birds or that there is anything wrong with them for that matter.
Obviously they sell well & there are plenty of people who like them, hell I even like & own a few.

But my gripe as a collectors is no matter what company makes post Vietnam USN or USMC jet aircraft your only choices are CAG birds.
I believe I speak for a lot of people here when I say some of us just want one or two normal low vis fleet birds just to break up the monotony of the CAG madness.

In responses to what some have said on this thread I never said cage birds are any less combat prove than their low vis brethren.
But having said that CAG birds are the least prevalent aircraft on Carrier decks, there are only one of two per SQN!
What about the tons of normal feet aircraft on those carrier decks why are those models not represented??

To me this is the same as if you collected diecast cars & all you really wanted was a normal 1969 Z28. But all the diecast company's only make the rare one of ten built pace car versions with the loud lettering & flags on them!!
Whenever I'm reading books on modern naval a/c or watching documentary's on them, hardly do I see the CAG birds in action unless they are at a air show or on display.
What I see mostly are the normal fleet a/c & thats what I would like a little bit more of in the market!!!!!!!

[Kiwi Dave]

Originally Posted by crossroads

I have been looking around for some pictures of Desert Storm A-6s. Haven't had a whole lot of luck so far. From what I have seen it looks like the VA-196 Main Battery version I have pictured at the start of this thread was there for Desert Shield but left prior to Desert Storm. What I have found are the all grey low vis that we have been discussing.

Here is VMA(AW)-224. The caption for the picture read that it was taken after Desert Storm so I am not 100% sure it was used during.

If anybody has any pictures or links they would be appreciated.

Thanks
Ronnie

The book Gulf Air War Debrief does not make reference to this particular aircraft of VMA(AW)-224, but does note the following:

155673/WK-500, 152641/WK501
155684/WK-502, 161090/WK504
157017/WK-506, 154167/WK-507

[lanslide]

Originally Posted by Phantom Phan1200

Guys dint get me wrong I'm not saying I hate CAG birds or that there is anything wrong with them for that matter.
Obviously they sell well & there are plenty of people who like them, hell I even like & own a few.

But my gripe as a collectors is no matter what company makes post Vietnam USN or USMC jet aircraft your only choices are CAG birds.
I believe I speak for a lot of people here when I say some of us just want one or two normal low vis fleet birds just to break up the monotony of the CAG madness.

In responses to what some have said on this thread I never said cage birds are any less combat prove than their low vis brethren.
But having said that CAG birds are the least prevalent aircraft on Carrier decks, there are only one of two per SQN!
What about the tons of normal feet aircraft on those carrier decks why are those models not represented??

To me this is the same as if you collected diecast cars & all you really wanted was a normal 1969 Z28. But all the diecast company's only make the rare one of ten built pace car versions with the loud lettering & flags on them!!
Whenever I'm reading books on modern naval a/c or watching documentary's on them, hardly do I see the CAG birds in action unless they are at a air show or on display.
What I see mostly are the normal fleet a/c & thats what I would like a little bit more of in the market!!!!!!!

Yeah!...what he said.

[David Hingtgen]

Thirded. Go to an airshow. Odds are good every plane there will be low-vis. CAG planes etc usually only show up at Oceana etc. (I did see VFA-2's CO bird a couple years ago though---only time a "colorful" Navy plane showed up at an airshow I was at)

[win_arc]

Does anybody got real pics of both CW A-6 model for compare???

[firefighterpilot1]

Don't get me wrong, I would not at all mind a low-vis model, it just seems like the argument against color birds is that they are merely "eye candy" and they don't see combat. I still think color birds make for more interesting displays, but I'd be perfectly fine with one weathered low-vis Navy jet.