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F-5E Aggressor's topside, 3-tone grey camouflage painted by hand brush, multiple layers had to be applied to eliminate surface opacity. Final painting done with smaller hand brush to  smooth-out paint demarcation boundaries. Flap crevices emphasized with drafting ink pen. Model surface had raised panel details, area highlighted by drafting pencil tracing, entire model sealed with spray of Testor Dullcoat layer. Cybermodeler Aircraft Photos + Camouflage - www.cybermodeler.com/resource1.shtml
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US Top Gun dogfight tactics originated from 1950s-era military debate on Guns versus Missiles as sole fighter armaments. With guns, combatants have to close within visual gunnery range for engagement. Air Force Photo Link - www.af.mil/photos/index.asp?galleryID=11&page=39
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Inset 1 : F-5E in painting stage, grey primed surface provided a good "grip" for final painting. Drafting pencil traced out pattern demarcations, areas painted in by hand brush with one of 3 different grey hues.
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Advancements in missile technology envisioned aerial combat at stand-off distance (outside gunnery rate), fire-and-forget missiles (weapons with built-in tracking sensors), and Over-the-Horizon combat (launching weapons beyond visual range). First usage of Sidewinder missiles during 1958 Taiwan crisis demonstrated these tactical advantages, thus by 1960s Vietnam War era US deployed some fighters armed with only missiles (ex. early F-4 Phantom). F-4 Phantom II - www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/f-4.htm
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But greatest challenge was that new American fighters pilots, who had not served in WW2 or Korean War, did not possess intrinsic knack for close-in gunnery dogfights (ex. thatch weave, split-s, immelmann turn). Another Vietnam War peculiarity was micro-management of war effort by President Johnson administration requiring enemy aircrafts be visually identified before aerial engagement (which negated US air-to-air missile advantage, but to be fair aerial IFF -Identification Friend or Foe- transponder technology did not exist at the time). Identification friend or foe - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identification_friend_or_foe
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President Johnson often joked that US pilots could not even bomb a outhouse in Hanoi without his explicit permission, which severely handicapped US servicemen on the frontlines. By 1968 as mounting anti-war pressure lead by New York Senator Robert Kennedy  confronted President Johnson re-election campaign, Johnson "threw in the towel", abandoned his candidacy, and gave infamous speech "I shall not seek, and I will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your President". This was met was disbelief and disgust by frontline US troops in Vietnam, who snickered "if the old man can quit, why can't we ?". Lyndon B. Johnson - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_B._Johnson
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By 1970s, combat experience harnessed by top American Air Force and Navy aces during their tours of Vietnam were consolidated into official training regiment called "Top Gun", thus ensuring future US pilots by-default possessed close-in dogfight expertise in all combat situations.Dogfight - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogfight
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Inset 2 : US Navy T-38 Talon (2-seat F-5E variant) of Fighter Squadron Composite 13 (VFC-13) Fighting Saints, painted OLD BLUE Aggressor camouflage, main difference between Old versus New Blue pattern is latter is all-around camouflage to blend in with ground terrain regardless of aircraft position. T-38 extra seat reduced space of M39 cannon ammo from 140 rounds per gun. Milavia Fighter Squadron Composite 13 (VFC-13) - www.milavia.net/specials/squadrons/vfc-13.htm
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Rollover : Tiger II canopy and nose section, pilot figure from 1.48-scale Monogram AH-64 Apache gunship kit. Openings for twin 20mm M39 cannons in front of canopy had to be hand drilled, surrounding panel lines accentuated via pencil tracing. M39A2 cannons carried 280 rounds per gun, using a revolver cannon technology (cylinder with multiple chambers to speed up loading-firing-ejection cycle) which originated from WW2 Mauser MG 213 aerial cannon developed for German Luftwaffe. In addition F-5 Freedom Fighter/Tiger II installation, M39 cannons also mounted on American F-86H Saber, F-100 Super Sabre, F-101A and F-101C Voodoo. M39 Cannon - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M39_cannon
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Inset 3 : Tiger II and Sidewinders painting completed, multiple grey hue layers for Aggressor schema applied, panel lines accented by pencil traces, flap crevices highlighted by drafting ink pen. Sidewinders will be detailed with black decal lines and drafting pen. Goleta Air and Space Museum: Palmdale Airparks - www.air-and-space.com/Palmdale%20Airparks.htm
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