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Finished F-5E on custom display base, low-visibility US national and NAVY markings applied. Low visibility markings are grey-scale images devoid of standard regulation color to blend in with plane camouflage.  For model decals, US and Navy markings from 1.48 Microscale A-7 Corsair II sheet, white-red numeral 12 from 1.35 German WW2 armor kit, Soviet Red Star via 1.48 aircraft kit. Twobobs Aviation Graphics - F-5E Tiger II VFC-13 Desert Cats - www.largescaleplanes.com/reviews/TwoBobs/F-5E/F-5E.html
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Inset 1 : Display made from precut wooden base and white plastic bath towel hanger (both items purchased at Walmart). Hole drilled into top of hook, metal rod (part from necktie collar tie-down brace, legacy item from my 1990s Nortel corporate days in Dallas-Texas) with tube styrene superglued into hole. After locating center of balance on model, matching hole drilled at its bottom, thus securing model into position.
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Since US Top Gun training operates in real-time and environmental conditions, fatal accidents do happen from various encounters, be it wake turbulence (also called jet wash), aerial collision, loss of aircraft control, pilot error, ground mishaps (ex. missile accidental firing). F-5E Lost Birds - www.sonic.net/azfuller/F5E2.htm
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Rollover : Front angle of F-5E display stand. All modern fighter aircrafts armed with various caliber cannons, but that not always the case. Debate raged in WW2 between using heavy machine gun versus aerial cannon. Basic demarcation point is 20mm caliber, anything below that is considered heavy machine gun, weapons above that are cannons. In addition, cannon shell possess explosive munitions to magnify fragmentation, while machine guns could fire armor-piercing bullets to magnify penetration. Given smaller machine gun caliber, more ammunition could be carried, along with greater rate of fire (hence more hits on target). With aerial cannons, larger shell size constraints ammunition load, but it possess much heavier hitting power than machine guns. CANNON OR MACHINE GUN? Second World War Aircraft Gun Controversy - www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/CannonMGs.htm
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Throughout WW2, Germans armed their fighters (ex. Bf-109, Me-262, Me-163) with 30mm MK 108 cannons, able to bring down 4-engine American and British bombers with only 3 hits (assuming bomber was not fatally crippled, it probably would loss airspeed, drop out of formation, and loose its squadron's protective inter-locking defensive fire, thus making it easy prey for marauding enemy fighters). MK 108 cannon - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MK_108_cannon
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 Related Model and History : Me-163 Komet rocket fighter with twin 30mm cannons - UweMilitaria.org/3-Aerial/Kraftei/index.html
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Americans began to appreciate cannon fighter armaments during 1945 Japan Kamikaze aerial assaults,  such as F6F Hellcat armed with twin 20mm M2 cannons while F4U Corsair mounted 4 20mm M2 cannons. Both cannon-armed fighters mainly used for night-time interception of Japanese Kamikaze and Giretsu attacks (former was crashing aircraft into any opportune target, latter was bomber packed with paratroopers on suicide mission to crash land onto enemy airfield and destroy parked aircrafts with grenades and sachet charges). Slower rate of cannon fire was compensated by its hard-hitting power. Enter the Giretsu - www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,775736,00.html
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 Related Model and History : F4U Corsair with quad 20mm cannons - UweMilitaria.org/3-Aerial/Corsair/index.html
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Inset 2 : Circa mid-1980s, USAF F-5Es with different Aggressor camouflages (ex. Lizard, Sand, Desert), US Top Gun school was testing multiple patterns for aerial concealment. Although radar advancements enabled US fighters to locate potential enemy planes well beyond typical missile stand-off range, when combat turns to close-in dogfight, pilot's alertness and instincts become paramount. 1.32 F-5E Shark Nose Aggressor - http://www.geocities.com/jjbmodels/F-5E.html
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F-5E fighter selected for enemy Aggressor role since their size and performance closely resembled Soviet Mig-21 counterpart. After-action reports revealed that smaller Aggressor planes generally had a slight advantage contrasted to larger US fighters, which enabled Aggressor pilots to visually locate and position aircraft into optimal dogfight position before being visually located by American trainees. MiG-21 FISHBED - http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/row/mig-21.htm
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Inset 3 : Standard US national insignia colors on F-14 Tomcat onboard carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, its layout in sharp contrast to surrounding camouflage, hence low-visibility set was introduced in 1980s. Currently, US, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada  utilize low-visibility insignia. All be it, grey-scale national insignia was first introduced in WW2 Germany 1944-1945 timeframe for their night-fighting aircrafts. Roundel - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roundel
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