[conemaugh]

I am kicking myself for not buying the RAF Phantom. I bought one for my brother for Christmas a few years ago. I am not sure if anyone is aware but Armour did make the version in 1:100 as well. I did manage to pick that one up for a song ($25.00). It is one of the stand-outs in my collection.

[Armour Addict]

Originally Posted by conemaugh

I am kicking myself for not buying the RAF Phantom. I bought one for my brother for Christmas a few years ago. I am not sure if anyone is aware but Armour did make the version in 1:100 as well. I did manage to pick that one up for a song ($25.00). It is one of the stand-outs in my collection.

Yeah, makes me wonder how may opportunities I missed over the years...

True, Armour did way more 1:100 version of airplanes than 1:48.

[STARMAN 352ND]

Please stay within the Showtime 100 topic here we kinda let it go south a little.
JP

[John Youngs]

[quote=Hornchurch;141336]

Originally Posted by John Youngs

Thanks John for the detailed & informative post !!!!!!!!!!!!
I knew about the FG.1's 'Gangly' nose-wheel Leg/Strut, but not about the Gloss paint !
Makes you wonder how it stood-up to the rigours of the North-Atlantic ????????
Intersting to hear about the switch/change/cancellation after the F.M. takover of CDC.Armour.........
Wish me luck, John, as I prepare to train for (& emulate) a "one-legged-man-in-an-Arse-kicking-contest"

Hornchurch - Both the Brits & the Americans have long discovered (as of early on in WWII, anyway) the advantages of a glossy finish as opposed to a matte or satin one. (1) The plane is much, much easier to keep clean - saltwater just runs off & dirt & fluid stains are much easier to wipe off. (2) On supersonic aircraft, especially, a gloss finish is almost mandatory - the plane is over 50mph faster at full "zone-5" afterburner (top speed) with a gloss finish than with a matte finish - a matte finish produces quite a bit more drag... - remember the basic law of aerodynamics here: everytime you double your airspeed, the drag on the airframe increases by a factor of about 4!! Finally, (3), while perhaps not as important as #1 or 2, is the fact that matte finish paint schemes are much easier to detect and be picked up by searchlights, etc; at night or in low-light conditions as opposed to a glossy finish. You'd think the opposite would be true, but it's not. At night, or in low-light conditions, a matte finish shows up more as a light or "white" finish - glossy paint allows the light to "reflect off" and away from the paint's surface, rendering it harder to detect. Both the Brits and Americans did fairly exhaustive tests with these various finishes at night during WWII (the Brits because most of their bombing campaigns were at night - the Americans were concerned when the Northrop P-61 Black Widow was introduced - they flew this plane through several night-time searchlight tests - the matte finished plane was spotted immediately; the glossy-finished one was NEVER detected - even after the searchlight crews were told when the plane was going by!!). Thusly, I would guess that the glossy finish on Brit. aircraft in the North Atlantic probably held up about as well as anything else available, if not better - the labor & time needed to maintain this type of finish not withstanding...! - Cheers, JY

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by parsig9

One question I had is:What's with the names on the plane? I.M. Fearless I get (as a sorta joke) but what is the other one supposed to mean?

The name I.M. Fearless might be fictitious but since the Navy endear themselves with very cool sounding call-signs, it maybe valid? I saw a photo from an archive of "Showtime 100" parked next to the Hangar 1 dome at Moffet Field, ca 1969(?) which showed this bird formerly flown by the CAG (hence the BumbleBee w/colorful stars on the port fuselage side) aboard the USS Enterprise prior to being transferred to the USS Constellation. I call upon our resident expert to see if he might be able to shed more light on this?

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by PappyB

Wow, don't think I've seen one where the shark mouths are tampo -- strange how there's no way to tell what you'll be getting it seems...

I take that back -- just examined my Olds and Wild Weasel and they are Tampo... my orignial CDC Olds has decals...

Just got a Mig 17 and P-47 from the recent sale, both are 100% tampo, too -- we'll see about the new German Phantom...

[Armour Addict]

Originally Posted by PappyB

I take that back -- just examined my Olds and Wild Weasel and they are Tampo... my orignial CDC Olds has decals...

Just got a Mig 17 and P-47 from the recent sale, both are 100% tampo, too -- we'll see about the new German Phantom...

Pappy,

which new German Phantom are you refering to? The latest I know is the B11E315 from 2006.

That's the one I posted a pic of. And it's tampo.

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by Armour Addict

Pappy,

which new German Phantom are you refering to? The latest I know is the B11E315 from 2006.

That's the one I posted a pic of. And it's tampo.

Hey, AA

When I say "new" I mean "new" to me.... sorry. It's the 98230/#B11B476, which I do believe is from 2006 so probably the same bird. Though I believe I've seen it with those fat wingtip tanks and without, and it seems that the fact that someone gets a particular FM model that's all tampo doesn't necessarily mean that teh same will be true for someone else who buys the same model ?

And my first "olds" reference below should say "coe" -- I have Olds original CDC Mig Killer, and the Coe, Wild Weasel, and Showtime Phantoms right now. All are tampo except for Old's, which is a mixture of decals/tampo.

I've been after this Luftwaffe Phantom for a long time now and finally found a reasonable price...

But what is that first Luftwaffe Phantom you show -- with the shark mouth? That one looks sweet... but probably is some sort of LE release that is now HTF and/or big bucks?

[Armour Addict]

Originally Posted by PappyB

Hey, AA

When I say "new" I mean "new" to me.... sorry. It's the 98230/#B11B476, which I do believe is from 2006 so probably the same bird. Though I believe I've seen it with those fat wingtip tanks and without, and it seems that the fact that someone gets a particular FM model that's all tampo doesn't necessarily mean that teh same will be true for someone else who buys the same model ?

And my first "olds" reference below should say "coe" -- I have Olds original CDC Mig Killer, and the Coe, Wild Weasel, and Showtime Phantoms right now. All are tampo except for Old's, which is a mixture of decals/tampo.

I've been after this Luftwaffe Phantom for a long time now and finally found a reasonable price...

But what is that first Luftwaffe Phantom you show -- with the shark mouth? That one looks sweet... but probably is some sort of LE release that is now HTF and/or big bucks?

Oh, I see...

That one you are refering to is actually a pretty old bird! I think it was available in the 2002 / 2004 timeframe in the usual 400 pieces limitation. Pretty hard to find nowadays!

Okay, I have those four, too.

Congrats! Was it the one on ebay some time back?

That is the new 2006 release I was asking about. It is limited to 400 pieces each with an individually numbered plaque. It has become rare. If you want one PM me. I have two extras which are MIB.

[PappyB]

Originally Posted by Armour Addict

Oh, I see...

That one you are refering to is actually a pretty old bird! I think it was available in the 2002 / 2004 timeframe in the usual 400 pieces limitation. Pretty hard to find nowadays!

Okay, I have those four, too.

Congrats! Was it the one on ebay some time back?

That is the new 2006 release I was asking about. It is limited to 400 pieces each with an individually numbered plaque. It has become rare. If you want one PM me. I have two extras which are MIB.

The BB476 was a 400 run? Cool, if so... I did get it on ebay just a couple days ago... $53 with free shipping so hopefully it will arrive in good shape and be the deal I think it was!

I'll drop you a line about the other, but I bet it's outta reach for me right now...