I suppose it’s possible anyone even superficially scanning this site might get the impression I can be something of a hopeless research geek. Okay, sure; mea culpa; mea maxima culpa.  I admit the detective work which goes into any project is more than half the fun in my view and I relish viewing a finished […]

The Skyraider Engine Researching the Wright R-3350 is a tolerably byzantine undertaking.  The “Duplex Cyclone” engine was produced in quantity over a long period and for a wide range of applications.  According to the National Air and Space Museum website “…a total of 5,656 commercial…and 44,536…military engines…were manufactured…” from 1937 until the late 1950’s. Along […]

THINGS UNDER WINGS, PART 4–US NAVY IN VIETNAM As promised last month we’re going to move the discussion of Skyraider attack bomber weaponry forward a decade or so downstream from Korea into its better known involvement in Vietnam. Skyraiders supplied to the VNAF as well as some limited Navy assets in the form of land […]

THINGS UNDER WINGS PART 3; USN/USMC Korean War Following on from previous discussions regarding launching gear and then store selection I want to move on to what is available for the model builder in bringing his or her miniature Skyraider to scale fruition. This post isn’t going to be a piece by piece breakdown of every […]

Curse the Riveter From Hell! Spoiler alert: This is going to be something of a rant. While I build a lot of Skyraiders I do make forays into other areas as well.  Any iteration of the F4U Corsair is another of my other perennial favorites, and, like the AD/A-1 series is one I feel strongly […]

THINGS UNDER WINGS, WEAPONOLOGY, PART 1 Previously we looked at the different types of launching racks the modeler will have to sort out depending on the version and/or time era of the chosen AD/A-1 subject; at least if technical and time frame accuracy is part of the planned equation. Now it’s time to sort out, […]

As I’ve mentioned before, researching many aspects of the Skyraider can quickly devolve into a byzantine process once you get too far past the low hanging fruit.  It’s a jungle, really, with disregarded 900 pound gorillas thumbing their noses left right and center while everybody is busy sticking on bumble-toons all over the hood. Case […]

The Bumble Lightning Motif Yes, I reference this quite a bit; maybe this is a good time to explain the emphasis. Please understand the last thing on my mind is to intend any disrespect whatever to Attackron 176 or their outstanding war record in Vietnam.   Moreover, I certainly intend no censure of any sort against […]

Having spent decades pouring through just about everything written, filmed and photographed for the consumer market about the Skyraider I find myself forced by experience to make the observation much of the commercially available research to hand regarding the AD/A-1 series is, frankly, sadly lacking in many areas. What is readily available is pretty much […]

Of all the areas of Skyraider lore this subject is one in which the modeling community is particularly poorly served by both researchers as well as the industry.  It is also the point on which modelers make many of their biggest mistakes when reproducing many versions of the airplane. There are probably several reasons for […]