Lockheed RP-3D Orion - Project Magnet

Ray Seppala
Project Magnet - VXN-8 Bu 158227

Ray Seppala
Slow progress, fuselage assembled and wing added. Time for some more filler on the poor wing fuselage joint.

Ray Seppala
Sanding complete, some rescribing attempted and now ready for masking and paint.

Glenn
So this one is orange and white with Looney Toons? I'm thinking of doing one with a E-2 radome on top. Not sure if it will be orange and white or a US Customs grey one yet.

Ray Seppala
Yes Glenn, the Road Runner in fact. I saw this aircraft in the late 80s when I was on a duty crew at RAAF Fairbairn on a nice sunny Autumn Sunday afternoon. It arrived on 3 engines, so the airport fire crews were on standby. They followed the aircraft to the parking spot on our tarmac without further incident. I hung out with the techs who checked out the dud engine. Turned out the the engine gearbox decided to tear itself apart. The tech was pulling hand fulls of gear pieces out of the sump. Needless to say the engine had to be changed and the crew spent a week in Canberra waiting for a replacement engine. Another one of the those projects that has a personal connection.
I also have plans on doing an AEW version. I have a good set of detail pictures of the sole USN aircraft.