Italeri B-58A

[Maverick]

And Lo, the Great Lord eBay spaketh unto his Chosen One Maverick saying:

"Maverick, thou hast pined longingly for the Grail and suffered the slings and arrows of bidding and overseas postage times for its light.  For years hast thou dreamt of Whiff Heaven, clutching the Grail to thy bosom, resplendent in SEAsia Camo or ADC Grey (not you!@!!, the Grail you silly little man!!!).  Verily the Lord has seen thy struggles and heard thy plaintive prayers and has sent the Grail pressed to the bosom (love that word   ) if the Archangel Australia Post flying to thy side.  Rejoice meek hero, the Grail is now thine"


Translation:

I finally recieved my Italeri B-58A thru eBay, the only question now is will it be a SEAsia camo Weasel or AW bomber or an ADC long range fighter???

Review to follow on SMAKR in the near future.

[B777LR]

US counterpart to the TU-28 Fiddler, i quite like the idea of that.

[tigercat2]

I say go for the ADC grey - I have one like this and it looks great beside the SAC version and beside the F-108.


Wes W.

[elmayerle]

Keep it in service a bit longer and do it in this Bi-centennial scheme:

[Matt Wiser]

Nice art! How 'bout a combat-ready Hustler in the same scheme to go along with the TB-58?  

[Maverick]

Just read a little more about the B-58.  Would u guys believe it was pitched by Convair at the RAAF in the 60s as a 'bomb truck' conventional ordnance only and demodded avionics?

Bugger Plus... that adds another to the wish list (NMF or Canberra Camo over Vietnam.....)

[Maverick]

Current B-58 thoughts:

F-112B Hustler, 1st HFIS 'Patriots', USAF, Keflavik AB, Iceland, 1970s.  (Whiffed Heavy Fighter Interceptor Sqn)

B-58C Hustler, 13th TBS(AW), 8 TFW 'Wolf Pack', USAF, Korat RTAFB, Thailand, 1970s. (AW Strike with LGBs) (Whiffed reactivated TBS for All Weather Attack)

B-58C Hustler, 13th TBS(AW), 8 TFW 'Wolf Pack', USAF, Korat RTAFB, Thailand, 1970s. (Weasel with AGM-78 & AGM-45)

B-58K Hustler, No 1 Sqn, RAAF, Korat RTAFB, Thailand, 1970s.

B-58K Hustler, No 1 Sqn, RAAF, RAAF Butterworth, Malaysia, Konfrontasi 2, 1970s


This last one has a new war between Australia and Indonesia primarily thru the East Timor deal in 1975

[anthonyp]

I wish I had my IAPR's out of storage.  In one of them, there's a mention of a B-58 being used in the AIM-47 trials.  It had a modified radome to house the AN/ASG-18 fire control system (I think) and a modified ventral pod to launch 1 missile.  I think it was knicknamed "Snoopy."  

Taking those mods, I'd suggest an FB-58 (F-112?) carrying missiles (AIM-47's/AIM-54's?) on external mounts similar to the external mounts developed for multiple weapons releases, or maybe like the F-14's where they were meant to reduce drag.

For camo, go with either ADC grey overall, or with a scheme similar to the older one on F-15's (light ghost grey overall, with dark ghost grey patches).  For markings...  171st FIS out of Selfridge ANGB, of course.  

 

[Sentinel Chicken]

I wish I had my IAPR's out of storage.  In one of them, there's a mention of a B-58 being used in the AIM-47 trials.  It had a modified radome to house the AN/ASG-18 fire control system (I think) and a modified ventral pod to launch 1 missile.  I think it was knicknamed "Snoopy."  

[Gary]

It's a facinating airplane. I'm reading the book on her development and I must say, the guys who thought her together did a fantastic job!

I heard that of all the kits Gerry Anderson used for parts, he went through more Monogram Hustler kits (1/48th) than any other. (I've heard that from a couple of sources) Truely neat-o!

[elmayerle]

I wish I had my IAPR's out of storage.  In one of them, there's a mention of a B-58 being used in the AIM-47 trials.  It had a modified radome to house the AN/ASG-18 fire control system (I think) and a modified ventral pod to launch 1 missile.  I think it was knicknamed "Snoopy." 

Interestingly enough, I'm given to understand that the remains of "Snoopy" still exist at Edwards.  I understand that the museum there is going to use them as a basis for a display-standard rebuilding.

Me, I'm looking to do one carting two or four ASATs with a two-man crew and a larger nose radar.  ADC gray would be appropriate, I think.  I wonder if the drop tank/bomb could be replaced by a conformal tank/stores carrier?

[John Howling Mouse]

Have never seen these before.  Are they the test missile mounts mentioned above or something else altogether?

[Sentinel Chicken]

John, those are camera pods to record the missile launches.  

[Iranian F-14A]

Nope,the AIM-47 looked almost like the AIM-54,big missile.Those look like camera pods for recording the launch/seperation.

[elmayerle]

Indeed, camera pods very much like those later carried on the YF-12A.