Conquest X-30 in Hill Grey Livery
 

Most of you former Air Force guys will probably recognize this look. Aviation aficianados will, too. When the F-16 was first sent to service, the first units to accept were at Hill AFB and the new little fighter bore a two-tone grey paint job.

This is a custom of a custom. I repainted this thing back in 1988, mostly out of boredom. I think even then, I still loved GI Joes, but I couldn't let my buddies find out I was buying toys. I was supposed to be a tough little redneck that hauled hay...

So, that's pretty much how I got OUT of collecting. Thank God for little boys, because the minute I found out I was going to be a father to my own son, I knew I had a golden opportunity to start collecting again!

Anyhow, this paint job follows the notion that shortly after the Joe Team was disbanded, a lot of their equipment was returned to the regular services. In this case, this X-30 was returned to the Air Force. It looks like it's been parked out at the AMARC facility at Davis-Monthans, but I think I'll eventually buy some 1/32 scale F-16 decals, I really like the Oklahoma National Guard unit out of Tulsa, with the gigantic American Indian chief's head on their tailsail. The 138th FW, I think it is.

It was a simple job, mostly done with an airbrush. The detail painting with done with brushes. I did the inside with Zinc Chromate and the outside was Testors' plain ol' Light Gray and Medium Gray.





The back tail exhaust louvres were done in Testors Model Masters Steel.

"Nice day for a hop."



"Hill Tower, this is X-Ray 505, requesting permission for VFR takeoff."

"505, Tower. Permission granted, you number one for takeoff. Winds are negligible over the threshold of the active. Regional Departure is on 165.75, Squawk 1806."

"Roger squawk 1806. Rolling."

Welcome to what I affectionately call The PfunkWerks.



Here's the next one in the rotation.

Next in the lineup.



The Republic Gunship is going to end up being a Cobra vehicle. I don't know just what it's going to look like, but it's a big vehicle. Gonna have to take that one slow.

The PTE Blackhawk will be a Joe vehicle.

Here's two more awaiting their turn in the paint barn. The Tomahawk will undergo some real retooling in order to make it 25th Ann./RoC/PoC-compliant.

Please ignore the Dickey's BBQ cup. I was hungry. So, ya'll give me some feedback. What do I need to do next. Question: if I go with water-slide decals, will a layer of FlatCote seal them in pretty good and keep them from wearing with play? It's gonna get played with.



pfunk

That's how I got back into it, too! :)

This is a great custom, and I'm REALLY looking forward to the next ones. Please post them in the Photos section, as they'll get more attention there. Awesome work!

Wow, that looks awesome man!

That Conquest looks good in those colours. I love the detail painting under the access panels.

Painting it in F-16 colours and markings is appropriate. Back in the '80s, the Chair Force, General Dynamics and a couple other outfits like that actually took an F-16 airframe and put foreward swept wings on it. The X-29 experimental plane was undergoing tests at that time to see how foreward swept wings would work for an aircraft of that type. The AF experimented with the F-16 frame for cost cutting measures. Start with a plane that exists and redesigning one small part is a lot cheaper than building a whole new plane, where they'd need to build a new assembly line as well as have the engineers go through all the other testing as well that had already been accomplishied with the F-16.
I guess it did OK, but not well enough to go into production or they decided to scrap the idea or it wasn't enough of an improvment over the original design.

Adding real tail markings will look really good on your Conquest. I'm not too familiar with AF tail markings, but I know the Navy had some really cool looking markings in the '80s. The Wolf Pack, Pukin' Dogs, Jolly Rogers and Sun Downers had some of the coolest. Then I guess they decided that having bright colours on an otherwise grey and subdued camouflaged plane didn't really work. Then the markings stayed roughly the same, but instead f the bright colours, theny became more subdued and blended with the grey of the plane.

Maybe in an alternate universe, the Conquest X-30 is the F-30 Conquest and part of the evolution of the foreward swept wing F-16 Falcon design.

Very nice X-30. Are you going to paint the T'hawk?

I keep going back and forth on the Tomahawk. The crew area and cockpit is going to have to be retooled significantly to fit 25th Anniversary figures.

My other option (and it's a good one that's rather inexpensive) is that Toys R' Us-exclusive Elite Operations Chinook-looking helo. It's roomy enough inside to work with and if I screw it up, I'm out the cost of lunch for my family at Whataburger. If I screw up the Tomahawk, replacement parts are much harder to come by. I have two of them, so there are options.

OK, I feel I'm in the presence of experts. What is the best sanding primer for Joe toys?

pfunk