North American T-28S-1 Fennec, Armée de l’Air

The Subject

T-28A serial 51-3491 was delivered to the USAF on 5th October, 1951 to be used for pilot training by the 3550th Pilot Training Group, Moody AFB, GA.  In 1959 it was transferred to MASDC (now AMARG, near Tucson, AZ) for storage, then in 1960 it was transferred to the Military Assistance Program and struck of charge from the USAF.

It was then sold to the French Government as part of a purchase of 148 T-28A and transferred to Sud Aviation, St Nazaire, France where it was converted to T-28S-1 standard, using a supercharged Wright R-1820-97 engine and 4 underwing hard points.  Additionally the canopy was raised and a roll bar was added.  

The aircraft were used by France in the counterinsurgency role in North Africa until 1962.  After the war France sold most of its Fennecs to Morocco, with some going to Argentina.  51-3491 was one of those sold to Morocco in September, 1965.

The Model

Heller T-28 Trojan/Fennec, new tool 1981, kit number 80279

My kit is from the initial production run, and the plastic is quite crisp.  While the detail is raised, normal for the time, it is all quite fine and looks very nice.  Initially I wanted to convert this kit to the T-28D Nomad configuration, used for counterinsurgency, reconnaissance, SAR, and FAC in Vietnam, but my references were too limited and online resources just conflicting enough that I chose to wait and finish this as a French machine.

Construction was straightforward, the kit represents a mix of T-28 variants, the T-28S did not have the airbrake under the fuselage, so I had to fill that.  The scoop on the nose in front of the windscreen is unique to the T-28S, so that remained, as does the raised canopy (which is the only option).  I added masking tape seat belts, which make a HUGE difference, and I added quite a bit of weight to the nose, behind the engine which ensure this was not a tail sitter.

Paint is simply Tamiya AS-12 Aluminum overall with details picked out in various shades of black and yellow.  The kit decals were not usable, so I purchased LF Models sheet 72169 “T-28S Fennec ver Algeria”.  The are quite thin and fragile and the red wings on each side of the fuselage badge were off center, so I cut and applied them separately to get them aligned.  The yellows were a bit translucent, but look okay on the aluminum finish.  

Summary

This was a blast to build, and something I’d wanted to do for decades.  I have enough of these kits to make each variant of the T-28 including quite a few decal options.  Unfortunately the original kit did not contain the gun pods under the wings, but the fairings are present.  I was able to recently get a 2020 re-release from France that contained these parts and after cloning them (for the Morrocan T-28S) will install them on this kit.