Smoke II availability
Yawn, put this subject to sleep...
...in any case, I'm sure we're all saavy enough not to equate a packaging error of this kind with investment value...this would be an easily "counterfeited" mispackaging, and if you had the only one on the planet, well, ho-hum, I got a one of a kind factory applied fingerprint smudge on one of my Tigers, nobody cares about that either...
C44
...Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see...
...Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see...
Sounds good. A box is nothing to delay a release over. I probably need to throw out some more of my boxes...tko211 wrote:Smoke II was in a big rush to meet retailer order requirements. China got way ahead of themselves and they ended up in German Boxes! Nobody knew for sure that this was the case until just recently.
"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."
General George S. Patton
General George S. Patton
i'd be able to give you a Smoke II in pretty much any of the standard boxes you like. 
It would be a pretty easy switch, so i don't see these German boxed ones as being very collectible, but somebody out there might.
While on the subject of Smoke II, i was doing some research (as i so often do) and discovered that the Starfighter was more used in Vietnam than i realized. While its service there is downplayed, they flew nearly 8000 combat sorties and were largely responsible for elminating the Mig threat in 1965, as Migs would not come up when F-104's were flying CAP.
While they never shot any down the still served an important role early in the conflict.
They were sent back to Vietnam in '66 (after being withdrawn due to high combat losses) where they were used in an attempt to stave off a new Mig threat in the form of the Mig 21. This time they suffered losses and were withdrawn from this role and used primarily for ground strike; although not overly well suited for this role, due to light payloads and no all weather ability, they did carry out well over two thousand sorties and were appreciated for their ability to give very accurate cannon fire and payload placements.
It was the Starfighters sent over in '66 that wore the SEA camo. The ones that were there the year before were all silver.
Anyone that has a Smoke might want to take the sidewinders off the fuselage pylons and put them on the wingtips, as that's where they were normally carried in Vietnam. Would make a neat little mod from the standard silver version.
It would be a pretty easy switch, so i don't see these German boxed ones as being very collectible, but somebody out there might.While on the subject of Smoke II, i was doing some research (as i so often do) and discovered that the Starfighter was more used in Vietnam than i realized. While its service there is downplayed, they flew nearly 8000 combat sorties and were largely responsible for elminating the Mig threat in 1965, as Migs would not come up when F-104's were flying CAP.
While they never shot any down the still served an important role early in the conflict.
They were sent back to Vietnam in '66 (after being withdrawn due to high combat losses) where they were used in an attempt to stave off a new Mig threat in the form of the Mig 21. This time they suffered losses and were withdrawn from this role and used primarily for ground strike; although not overly well suited for this role, due to light payloads and no all weather ability, they did carry out well over two thousand sorties and were appreciated for their ability to give very accurate cannon fire and payload placements.
It was the Starfighters sent over in '66 that wore the SEA camo. The ones that were there the year before were all silver.
Anyone that has a Smoke might want to take the sidewinders off the fuselage pylons and put them on the wingtips, as that's where they were normally carried in Vietnam. Would make a neat little mod from the standard silver version.
i never met an airplane i didn't like...
I stumbled across some info about the F-104 pilot that was the first to complete 100 combat missions in Vietnam. It was a napalm mission. Some nice pics. Note the wingtip tanks are on the plane as it is taxiing in after the mission. No sidewinders appear to have been carried, just napalm canisters on underwing hardpoints.
http://www.916-starfighter.de/SEA100.htm
http://www.916-starfighter.de/SEA100.htm
i never met an airplane i didn't like...
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Birddog
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Found a great deal today. I stopped by a local Wal-Mart and found the Smoke II. I was ready to pay the $40 when I got to the register but it rang up at $20!!!!! 
It wasn't even in the clearance area or marked for clearance. My mouth almost hit the floor. It was at the Wal-Mart in Bremen, Ga off of I-20, Exit 19. There is still one Smoke II left. There are two Avengers, two P-51 Undertakers, a SEAL and TOW Mutt each, and two R/C M113s.
Go Ugly Early in 1/18 scale!
Still waiting and wishing for a 1/18 A-10 Warthog.
It wasn't even in the clearance area or marked for clearance. My mouth almost hit the floor. It was at the Wal-Mart in Bremen, Ga off of I-20, Exit 19. There is still one Smoke II left. There are two Avengers, two P-51 Undertakers, a SEAL and TOW Mutt each, and two R/C M113s.Go Ugly Early in 1/18 scale!
Still waiting and wishing for a 1/18 A-10 Warthog.