1:72 Aero L-159A “ALCA”; aircraft "2-03/C.1-03" of the Guàrdies Aèries de la República Catalana (GARC, Republic of Catalonia Air Guard), 2n esquadró de caces (“Burro”); Aeroport de Reus, 2018 (Whif/KP kit)

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

 

 

Some background:

Immediately after the 1989 Velvet Revolution, the Czech president Václav Havel declared a de-mobilization of the Czech defense industry. Nevertheless, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Czech company Aero Vodochody continued developing the basic L-39 Albatros design with a view toward greater export. The resulting L-39MS, later re-designed as L-59 Super Albatros, featured a more powerful turbofan engine, advanced avionics, and has been bought in quantity by Egypt and Tunisia. In 1993, a group of Czech military experts launched a project of production of a modern domestic fighter to replace the obsolete Soviet aircraft. Since the proposed Aero L-X supersonic fighter development proved to be financially demanding (up to US$2 billion), the less costly L-159 subsonic attack aircraft was approved for procurement instead.

 

Conducted between the years 1994 and 1997, the technical development of L-159 ALCA (Advanced Light Combat Aircraft) in Aero Vodochody consisted primarily of building one L-159 two-seat prototype based on the L-59 airframe, utilizing western engine, avionics and weapon systems, with Rockwell Collins (eventually Boeing) as the avionics integrator.

 

The L-159 ALCA was designed for the principal role of light combat aircraft (single-seat L-159A variant) or light attack jet and advanced/lead-in fighter trainer (two-seat L-159B and T variants). The design of the L-159 was derived from the L-39/59 in terms of aerodynamic configuration, but a number of changes were made to improve its combat capabilities. These included strengthening of the airframe, reinforcing of the cockpit with composite and ceramic ballistic armor and enlargement of the aircraft's nose to accommodate a radar. Compared to the L-59, number of underwing pylons was increased from four to six, and a new hardpoint under the fuselage was added instead of a fixed GSh-23L cannon in an external fairing. The aircraft was capable of carrying external loads up to 2,340 kg, ranging from unguided bombs and rocket pods to air-to-ground and air-to-air guided missiles or special devices to conduct aerial reconnaissance or electronic warfare. Guided precision ordnance like laser-guided glide bombs could be carried, too, thanks to the aircraft’s ability to carry respective targeting equipment, for example the AN/AAQ-28(V) LITENING pod.

 

The L-159 was powered by the non-afterburning Honeywell/ITEC F124-GA-100 turbofan engine with a maximum thrust of 28 kN. Almost 2,000 litres of fuel was stored in eight internal tanks (six in the fuselage, two at the wingtips) with up to four external drop tanks (two 500 L and two 350 L tanks) carried under the inner wings.

The lightly armored cockpit was equipped with a VS-2B ejection seat, capable of catapulting the pilot at a zero flight level and at zero speed. The aircraft's avionics based on the MIL-STD-1553 databus include a Selex Navigation and Attack Suite, Ring Laser Gyro based Inertial Navigation System (INS) and Global Positioning System (GPS). Flight data was displayed both at the FV-3000 head-up display (HUD) and on two multi-function displays (MFD). Communications were provided by a pair of Collins ARC-182 transceivers. Self-protection of the L-159 was ensured by a Sky Guardian 200 radar warning receiver (RWR) and Vinten Vicon 78 Series 455 chaff and flare dispensers. L-159A and T2 variants were equipped with the lightweight Italian FIAR Grifo L multi-mode Doppler radar for all-weather, day and night operations.

The maiden flight of the first L-159 prototype occurred on 2 August 1997 with a two-seat version. On 18 August 1998, the single-seat L-159A prototype first flew; it was completed to Czech customer specifications. 10 April 2000 marked the first delivery of L-159A to the Czech Air Force and the type was marketed for export.

 

One of the type’s foreign operators became the young Republic of Catalonia, which had declared independence from Spain in 2017. The Catalan independence movement already began in 1922, when Francesc Macià founded the political party Estat Català (Catalan State), but the modern independence movement began and gained serious momentum in 2010, when the Constitutional Court of Spain ruled that some of the articles of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy - which had been agreed with the Spanish government and passed by a referendum in Catalonia - were unconstitutional, and others were to be interpreted restrictively. Popular protest against this decision quickly turned into demands for independence. Starting with the town of Arenys de Munt, over 550 municipalities in Catalonia held symbolic referendums on independence between 2009 and 2011. All of the towns returned a high "yes" vote, with a turnout of around 30% of those eligible to vote. A 2010 protest demonstration against the court's decision, organized by the cultural organization Òmnium Cultural, was attended by over a million people. The popular movement fed upwards to the politicians; a second mass protest on 11 September 2012 (the National Day of Catalonia) explicitly called on the Catalan government to begin the process towards independence. Catalan president Artur Mas called a snap general election, which resulted in a pro-independence majority for the first time in the region's history. The new parliament adopted the Catalan Sovereignty Declaration in early 2013, asserting that the Catalan people had the right to decide their own political future.

 

After three more troublesome years and constant strife for independence from Spain, the Catalonian president Carles Puigdemont eventually announced a binding referendum on the topic. Although deemed illegal by the Spanish government and the Constitutional Court, the referendum was held on 1 October 2017. In a vote where the anti-independence parties called for non-participation, results showed a 90% vote in favor of independence, with a turnout of 43%. Based on this result, on 27 October 2017 the Parliament of Catalonia approved a resolution unilaterally creating an independent Republic.

 

This event was also the rather sudden birth of the Catalonian armed forces. Esp. the nascent air force, called Guàrdies Aèries de la República Catalana (GARC, Republic of Catalonia Air Guard), faced serious trouble, since Spain refused any assistance. Furthermore, there were no former Spanish military air bases in the region that could be taken, and any equipment and infrastructure had to be procured from scratch and on short notice.

 

In the wake of this hasted start, the L-159s became part of the GARC’s initial mixed bag of flying low-budget equipment. They were 2nd hand machines, bought from EADS-CASA of Spain and mothballed since 2012 after a barter deal with the Czech Republic: In 2009, EADS had exchanged with the CzAF four CASA C-295 transporters for three L-159As, two L-159T1s and 130 million Euros. These aircraft were still in EADS inventory in late 2017, even though grounded and taken out of service since 2012, because the operations of this small fleet as chasing aircraft were expensive and no buyer could be found in the meantime.

 

However, in 2018 the company sold them, under indirect pressure from NATO, to the Catalonian government at a “symbolic”, yet unspecified, price. This small fleet was soon augmented by five more L-159As and ten L-159T1s which were directly procured from the Czech Republic in 2019. These aircraft formed the initial, small backbone of the young country’s air defense, armed with AIM-9 Sidewinders (AIM-120 AMRAAM was possible, to, but not procured due to severe budget restraints) and Mauser BK-27 cannon in conformal pods. Since no military airfields with a suitable infrastructure for jet aircraft were available for the GARC at the time of their purchase and introduction, the L-159s were initially based at two public regional airports: at Reus, in the proximity of Tarragona at the Mediterranean coast, and at Girona in the country’s north, where airfield sections were separated of the military operations.

 

 

General characteristics:

Crew: one

Length: 12.72 m (41 ft 8¾ in)

Wingspan: 9.54 m (31 ft 3½ in)

Height: 4.87 m (16 ft)

Wing area: 18.80 m² (202.4 ft²)

Airfoil: NACA 64A-012

Aspect ratio: 4.8:1

Empty weight: 4,350 kg (9,590 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 8,000 kg (17,637 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Honeywell F124-GA-100 turbofan, delivering 28.2 kN (6,330 lbf) thrust

 

Performance:

Never exceed speed: 960 km/h (518 knots, 596 mph)

Maximum speed: 936 km/h (505 knots, 581 mph) at sea level, clean

Stall speed: 185 km/h (100 knots, 115 mph)

Range: 1,570 km (848 nmi, 975 mi) max internal fuel

Combat radius: 565 km (305 nmi, 351 mi) lo-lo-lo, with a gun pod, 2× Mark 82 bombs, 2× AIM-9

Sidewinder and 2× 500 L drop tanks

Service ceiling: 13,200 m (43,300 ft)

Rate of climb: 62 m/s (12,220 ft/min)

 

Armament:

7Í hardpoints in total, 3 under each wing (outer pylons only for AAMs) and 1 under the fuselage,

holding up to 2,340 kg (5,159 lb) of ordnance

 

 

The kit and its assembly:

This model was spawned by a grain of truth: as mentioned in the background, EADS Spain had actually bought a few L-159s in 2009 from the CzAF in exchange for transporters, and together with the ongoing plans of an independent Catalonia I merged both into this ALCA single seater for the fictional Republic of Catalonia Air Guard.

 

The kit is the relatively new KP L-159. This is basically a nice model, but the kit has some severe flaws (see below). The model was basically built OOB, I just added AIM-9L Sidewinders and their respective launch rails as external ordnance on the outermost underwing hardpoints. Since I did not find the standard gun pod (a ZVI PL-20 Plamen pod with 2×20 mm guns) suitable, I decided to give the GARC aircraft a heavier, Western weapon in the form of a Mauser BK-27 (the same weapon used onboard of the Panavia Tornado or the Saab Gripen) in a conformal cannon pod under the fuselage. This piece was taken and adapted from a Heller Alpha Jet. Its shape perfectly fitted between the two ventral air brakes.

 

Concerning the kit itself, the build turned out to be a medium nightmare. The kit looked promising in the box, with fine engravings, but nothing fits well. There are no locator pins, you have (massive) ejection marks almost everywhere, and the parts’ attachment points to the sprues protrude into the parts themselves, so there’s a lot to clean up. At least there are no sinkholes.

Upon assembly, the cockpit tub – nicely detailed – would not fit into the fuselage at all and ended up in an oblique position (hidden through a pilot figure from the scrap box and a re-mounted avionics fairing in the rear cockpit). The air intakes left me guessing, too: while the edges are crisp and thin, the overall fit with the fuselage and the orientation of the parts had to be guesstimated, plus a mediocre fit, too. The instructions are not very helpful, either. I am quite disappointed and tried to make the best of the situation.

 

 

Painting and markings:

Much more thought was put into the model’s looks. What camouflage should such an aircraft carry? And I had to invent roundels/markings for a Catalonian air force aircraft, too.

 

Since the Catalonian L-159s were multi-purpose aircraft, yet primarily tasked with air space defense, I opted for an subdued air superiority scheme instead of a tactical low-level camouflage. Furthermore, the camouflage was supposed to be suited for a mountainous landscape (Pyrenees), relatively flat and dry land and also to open sea. This was a good opportunity to give a model the Greek “Ghost” scheme: a three-tone wraparound scheme consisting of FS 36307 (Light Sea Grey), 36251 (Aggressor Grey) and 35237 (Medium Grey, but actually a rather greyish blue). The pattern was adapted from Hellenic F-16s. I think it’s a good compromise, and it suits the ALCA well.

 

The national markings caused more headaches. I was looking for something that would not look like the Spanish roundel, but still reflect the Catalonian indpendence flag and – most important – I wanted to be able to create it from stock material (not printing them at home), with the option to replicate it on potential future builds.

In the end and after long safaris through my spare decal repository, I came up with a round marking. It consists of an Ukrainian roundel with a relatively thin outer yellow ring (from a Begemot MiG-29 sheet), placed on top of a Hinomaru, so that a thin, red outer ring was added. Onto the central, blue disc a white star (from a TL Modellbau sheet with US Army markings) was added. I think that this looks original enough?

There was a problem, though… In my first attempt to apply this construction, the roundels turned out to be VERY large overall. While the design itself looked O.K. (despite reminding of Captain America somehow), this looked ridiculous, esp. on an aircraft with a wraparound low-viz paint scheme. I was not satisfied, so I heavy-heartedly ripped the decals off again (using adhesive tape, works like a charm) and tried it again, in a smaller version.

Hinomaru became the basis once more, even though smaller, and then die-punched discs in yellow and blue (from generic decal sheet) were added, and finally small white stars again, one size smaller than during the first attempt. While this is still colorful and stands out from the grey background, the second attempt looked much more balanced now, and I stuck with it.

 

In order to add more flavor, I added Catalonian fin flashes and squadron emblems on the nose, depicting the “burro”, the Catalonian donkey which has become a kind of unofficial regional symbol as a kind of anti-mascot to the Spanish bull. These markings/decals were printed at home on white sheet.

 

The tactical codes were based on the Spanish system. The Spanish Air Force has its own alphanumeric system for identifying aircraft: This forms a prefix to the airframe serial number, usually marked on the tail. C means cazabombardero (fighter bomber); A, ataque (attack); P, patrulla (patrol); T, transporte (transport); E, enseñanza (training); D, search and rescue; H, helicopter; K, tanker; V, Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL); and U, utility. An example would be that the F-18 with "C.15-08" on the tail is the fifteenth type of fighter that arrived in the Spanish Air Force (the Eurofighter is the C.16) and is the eighth example of this type to enter the SAF. On the nose or fuselage, the aircraft has a numeral specific to the unit in which it is based.

 

Variants of planes in service, for example two-seater versions or tanker versions of transports planes, add another letter to differentiate their function, and have their own sequence of serial numbers separate from the primary versions. Example: "CE.15-02" will be the second F-18 two-seater (Fighter Trainer) delivered to the SAF. In addition, the aircraft used by the Spanish Air Force usually carry a code consisting of one or two digits followed by a dash and two numbers, painted on the nose or fuselage. The first number corresponds to the unit to which they belong, and the second the order in which they entered service. Example: the fourth F-18 arriving at Ala 12 will have on the nose the code "12-04". Those codes do change when the aircraft is re-allocated to a different unit. Quite complicated…

 

This led to the tactical code “2-03”, for the 3rd aircraft allocated to the 2nd fighter squadron, and “C.1-03” as individual registration as the 3rd aircraft of the 1st fighter type in Catalonian service. All codes were puzzled together with single black letters and numbers from TL Modellbau in 3 and 5mm size.

 

Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.

Done