1/72 Academy Hobby T-6G 

Gallery Article by Majd Abbar on Apr 17 2010

  Syria Independence Day 2010 

 

Syria’s Fighting Texans

I set out to recreate the entire Syrian Arab Air force from its inception in 1947 to the present day. Sounds like a difficult task, well it’s even more difficult than that. The Syrian Air Force is the second most secretive in the world, so good luck finding reference photos or walk-arounds. Still, I managed to gather over 50 different kits in 1/72 scale and got working. After having had 11 kits built, detailed, filled, sanded, primed and ready for painting, I had an unfortunate accident where a heavy wooden shelf fell on them and smashed them to bits. So back to the drawing board and re-ordering all the kits and detail sets. Oh well, looking at the bright side, I can now avoid all my earlier mistakes and do a better job. My first submission is of the Academy Hobby T-6G Texan which was part of the Syrian Arab Air Force. This specific model still stands today in the courtyard of the Military Museum in Damascus, Syria.

The kit used was the Academy Hobby model Kits and was built straight out of the box. I thought the kit came together quite well with minimal need for any filling, the joints lined up pretty well. After sanding and priming, I used Model Master Lacquer Aluminum Non-Buffing metalizer followed by Model Master Sealer for Metalizer, with Tamiya Flat Black XF-1 and Tamiya Flat yellow XF-3. Followed by a coat of Future then used decals from a combination of sources including homemade ones coated with MicroSol (many coats, lost count). Another coat of future was followed by Pro Modeller black weathering wash and the sealed with Model Master Acrylic Flat Clear coat. The antenna wire was made from a strand of hair that my gorgeous wife, Ruba, had so generously donated…

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“The Ten Day Conflict”

The second phase of the Palestine War, called the Ten Day Conflict, began on July 8 with an all-out Israeli effort to conquer the UN-designated Arab areas of northern and central Palestine. The Syrian forces appeared to have been taken by surprise and it was not until two days after the fighting re-erupted that SAF Texans returned to the battle—at dawn on July 10—in support of their ground troops. One of the pilots who took part was Lt Faisal Nadif, on his first combat mission. Nevertheless, the missions proved so effective that the Israeli Northern Front HQ demanded air cover from the Israeli Air Force.

Two Avias were promptly sent up from Herzliya, the IAF’s fighter base north of Tel Aviv. These soon encountered two Syrian Texans patrolling at about 6,000ft (1,830m) above Mishmar Ha’Yarden. Since the rear or observer position of SAF Texans had been fitted with guns, the two Israeli Avias attacked from below.

Maurice Mann, a former RAF pilot now serving as a mercenary in the IAF, claimed to have shot one Texan which reportedly crashed in Arab territory near Mishmar Ha’Yarden, its crew supposedly being killed. Evidence from the Syrian side, however, suggests that this Texan did not crash and that its crew were unhurt. The second Texan (serial number 206), flown by Sergeant al-Abed with First Mechanic Muhi al-Din Wadi as his observer/gunner, retreated across the Syrian frontier pursued by an Avia flown by another mercenary pilot, Lionel Bloch from South Africa. The final confrontation came near Qunaytra, the regional capital of the Golan region of Syria. Here Bloch came in to finish off the Texan whose gunner/observer had apparently been wounded. But the T-6’s gunner, Muhi al-Din Wadi, returned fire and hit the Israeli fighter which crashed outside Qunaytra, killing Bloch.

The SAF Texan returned to its base safely, though its observer-gunner, Muhi al-Din Wadi, subsequently died of his wounds.

The kit used was the Academy Hobby model Kits and was built straight out of the box with the exception of cutting out a part of the fuselage top in the back and building a browning machine gun. I thought the kit came together quite well with minimal need for any filling, the joints lined up pretty well. After sanding and priming, I used Model Master Enamel Afrika Braun 2102, Model Master Acrylic LichtBlau RLM 76 4786, Model master Acrylic Dark Green 4726 and Tamiya Flat Black XF-1. The camouflage was done using 3M Blue 471 vinyl tape. This was followed by a coat of Future then used home made decals coated with MicroSol. Another coat of future was followed by Pro Modeller black weathering wash and the sealed with Model Master Acrylic Flat Clear coat. The antenna wire was made from a strand of hair that my gorgeous wife, Ruba, had so generously donated…

I decided to build it in flight mode to match the photo of the actual plane in flight.

Hope you enjoyed this and stay tuned for more to come!!

Majd Abbar

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Photos and text © by Majd Abbar