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Cabinet card by A. T. Wettle, Hennepin, Illinois. Wettle also worked in nearby Spring Valley, Illinois. 1880's I believe.
SEE: Erin Stone Taylor's information below.
Behringer X32 for the main mix, Behringer Compact X32 sending drum kit and orchestra mix to the main Behringer X32, iMax Mini with Waves and Stream Deck setup, and another iMac mini with Dante, Shure Wireless Workbench, and Behringer X32 remote, also shown is the Clear Coms setup.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Following the RLM’s selection of the Bf 109 as its next single-seat fighter (beating Heinkel’s He 112, based on a tactical requirement dating back to 1933), Ernst Heinkel became interested in a new fighter that would leap beyond the performance of the Bf 109 as much as the Bf 109 had over the biplanes it replaced. Other German designers had similar ambitions, including Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf. There was never an official project on the part of the RLM, but new designs were important enough to fund projects from both companies to provide "super-pursuit" designs for evaluation. This would result in the single-engined He 100 fighter, and the promising twin-engine Fw 187 Falke Zerstörer-style heavy fighter.
The He 100 was a radical, new approach with the aim of ultimate performance in a simple airframe. Walter Günter, one half of the famous Günter brothers, looked at the existing He 112, which had competed against the Bf 109 in 1936 and already been heavily revised into the He 112B version. Looking at the aircraft’s potential he decided it had reached the end of its evolution. So he started over with a completely new design, called "Projekt 1035".
Learning from past mistakes on the 112 project, the design was to be as easy to build as possible, yet 700 km/h (440 mph) was a design goal. To ease production, the new design had considerably fewer parts than the 112 and those that remained contained fewer compound curves. In comparison, the 112 had 2,885 parts and 26,864 rivets, while the P.1035 was made of 969 unique parts with 11.543 rivets. The new straight-edged wing was a source of much of the savings; after building the first wings, Otto Butter reported that the reduction in complexity and rivet count (along with the Butter brothers' own explosive rivet system) saved an astonishing 1.150 man hours per wing.
The super-pursuit type was not a secret, but Ernst Heinkel preferred to work in private and publicly display his products only after they were developed sufficiently to make a stunning first impression. As an example of this, the mock-up for the extremely modern-looking He 100 was the subject of company Memo No.3657 on 31 January that stated: "The mock-up is to be completed by us... as of the beginning of May... and be ready to present to the RLM... and prior to that no one at the RLM is to know of the existence of the mock-up."
In order to get the promised performance out of the aircraft, the design included a number of drag-reducing features. On the simple end were a well-faired cockpit and the absence of struts and other drag-inducing supports on the tail. The landing gear (including the tail wheel) was retractable and completely enclosed in flight.
The He 100 was based on the DB 601 power plant, the same engine as the Bf 109 (and also used in the Bf 110 heavy fighter). In order to achieve the designed performance increase, drag reduced as well as weight and frontal area: the engine was mounted directly to the forward fuselage, which was strengthened and literally tailored to the DB 601, as opposed to conventional mounting on engine bearers. The cowling was very tight-fitting, and as a result the aircraft had something of a slab-sided appearance.
Walter turned to the somewhat risky and still experimental method of cooling the engine via evaporative cooling. Such systems had been in vogue in several countries at the time. Heinkel and the Günter brothers were avid proponents of the technology, and had previously used it on the He 119, with promising results. Evaporative or "steam" cooling promised a completely drag-free cooling system. The DB 601 was a pressure-cooled engine in that the water/glycol coolant was kept in liquid form by pressure, even though its temperature was allowed to exceed the normal boiling point. Heinkel's system took advantage of that fact and the cooling energy loss associated with the phase change of the coolant as it boils.
Beyond the technical risk of the cooling system, the engine itself became a problem: the production priority for Messerschmitt aircraft caused a serious shortage of advanced aero engines in Germany during the late 1930s, as there was insufficient capacity to support another aircraft using the same engines. The only available alternate engine was the Junkers Jumo 211, and Heinkel was encouraged to consider its use in the He 100. However, the early Jumo 211 then available did not use a pressurized cooling system, and it was therefore not suitable for the He 100's innovative evaporative cooling system. Furthermore, a Jumo 211-powered He 100 would not have been able to outperform the contemporary DB 601-powered Bf 109 because the supercharger on the early Jumo 211 was not fully shrouded.
In order to provide as much power as possible from the DB 601, the 100 used exhaust ejectors for a small amount of additional thrust. The supercharger inlet was moved from the normal position on the side of the cowling to a location in the leading edge of the left wing. Although cleaner-looking, the long, curved induction pipe most probably negated any benefit.
One aspect of the original Projekt 1035 was the intent to capture the absolute speed record for Heinkel and Germany. Both Messerschmitt and Heinkel vied for this record before the war. Messerschmitt ultimately won that battle with the first prototype of the Me 209, but the He 100 briefly held the record when Heinkel test pilot Hans Dieterle flew the eighth prototype to 746.606 km/h (463.919 mph) on 30 March 1939.
The third and eighth prototypes were specially modified for speed, with unique outer wing panels of reduced span. The third prototype crashed during testing. The record flight was made using a special version of the DB 601 engine that offered 2,010 kW (2,700 hp) and had a service life of just 30 minutes.
Despite all these successes, the He 100 did not catch up immediately: it took until 1941 that series production was started - or better: allowed. The reason for this delay is subject to debate. Officially, the Luftwaffe rejected the He 100 for years to concentrate single-seat fighter development on the Messerschmitt Bf 109, despite its shortcomings. Following the adoption of the Bf 109 and Bf 110 as the Luftwaffe's standard fighter types, the RLM also announced a "rationalization" policy that placed fighter development at Messerschmitt and bomber development at Heinkel.
Based on the "D" model, which was a refined version of the prototypes and pre-production aircraft, the "G" model became the final evolution of the He 100 and was in late 1943 finally put into service as a pure interceptor, when massive Allied bomber raids started to threaten Germany.
The He 100 G had the D's enlarged horizontal stabilizer, but the big change was the eventual abandonment of the surface cooling system, which proved to be too complex and failure-prone. Instead a larger and simpler version of the D’s retractable radiator was installed, and this appeared to completely cure the vaporization system problems with only a little sacrifice in top speed and rate of climb. The radiator was inserted in a "plug" below the cockpit, and as a result the wings were widened slightly.
Armament was also improved: the engine-mounted 20mm MG FF Motorkanone (firing through the propeller hub) was replaced by the new, very powerful and compact MK 108 30mm cannon. The original pair of 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns in the wing roots (synchronized to fire through the propeller disc) was replaced by a pair of more powerful 13mm MG 131 machine guns, necessitating characteristic bulges on the wings’ upper surface – the MG 131s were placed behind the landing gear wells, their barrels running through them.
This initial G-1 type was soon followed by the G-2 variant, which featured a new canopy with a lowered spine, offering a much better all-round view. The first He 100 G-2s were delivered in early 1944, and many of these aircraft had additional weapons installed, e. g. a pair of 20mm MG 151/20 machine cannons in the outer wings – the “leftover” internal space from the defunct vaporization cooler system was effectively recycled . From late 1944 on, these machines were also outfitted with the more powerful DB 601E engine, even though there was no dedicated designation of this version.
While the aircraft didn't match its original design goal of 700 km/h (430 mph) once it was loaded down with weapons, and despite the larger canopy and the external radiator, it was still capable of sustained speeds in the 644 km/h (400 mph) range. Additionally, the low drag airframe proved to be good for both speed and range: as a result the He 100 had a combat range between 900 and 1.000 km (560 to 620 mi) compared to the Bf 109's 600 km (370 mi). While not in the same league as the later escort fighters, this was at the time a superb range and might have offset the need for the Bf 110 to some degree.
The He 100 only filled a niche role, though, and the Bf 109 and Fw 190 became the backbone of the Jagdwaffe (Fighter Force). The He 100 did not prove flexible enough to be used in different roles, as its external ordnance load was very limited. In spite of its successes in the interceptor role and the fact that it was well liked by its pilots, the He 100 never was able to rival both Bf 109 and also the later Fw 190. Production numbers remained low, only a total of about 300 aircraft were built (50 G-1 and 250 G-2, 150 of them powered by the DB 601E) until early 1945, when production ceased and was switched to other types, including jet and rocket fighters.
General characteristics:
Crew: One (pilot)
Length: 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)
Height: 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 14.6 m2 (157 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,810 kg (3,990 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 2,500 kg (5,512 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Daimler-Benz DB 601E supercharged V12 piston engine, rated at up to 1,350 PS (993 kW) at sea-level with 2,700 RPM and up to 1,450 PS (1,066 kW) at 2.1 km altitude with 2,700 rpm
Performance:
Maximum speed: 685km/h (425 mph; 378 kn)
Cruising speed: 552 km/h (343 mph; 298 kn)
Range: 1,010 km (628 mi; 545 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,089 ft)
Time to altitude: 2.2 minutes to 2,000 meters (6,600 ft), 7.9 minutes to 6,000 meters (20,000 ft)
Armament:
1x 30mm MK 108 cannon, firing through the propeller hub
2x 13mm MG 131 machine guns or 20mm MG 151/20 machine cannons in the wing roots
2x hardpoints under the wings, each able to carry up to 250kg (550lb), including bombs, drop tanks or unguided missiles; optional placement of additional guns (e .g. 2x MG 131 or 2x MG 151/20) in this position instead of external stores
The kit and its assembly:
This one is a kind of tribute work, dedicated to fellow user Franclab at flickr.com from Canada who came up with a profile of/for this model as a reaction to my He 100 Reno Racer conversion (The orange "Jägermeister"):
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/franclab/9485705184/]
It's a fantasy aircraft, as the He 100 did not enter service and production was stopped after about 20 aircraft. But I liked Franclab's realistic and colorful profile, and only at second glance it reveals a twist: a sliding canopy from a Fw 190 instead of the Bf 109-like original. A nice challenge for a whif kit conversion!
Said and done, I tried to create a 1:72 scale model from/for that profile. The basic kit is the Special Hobby He 100, mostly built OOB. It is a very good model, with fine recessed panel lines and some PE parts, and the recent re-issue with Russian and Japanese markings let the prices drop.
What outwardly looks simple - the implantation of a Fw 190 canopy - became more tricky than expected. The He 100 is small! It’s much smaller and slender than the Fw 190, which itself is not a big bird. I had a complete spare glazing sprue from an Italeri Fw 190 D-9 in store which I tried to install, and after some trials the front window ended up steeper than on a Fw 190.
The sliding canopy is actually shorter and higher than on Franclab's sketch (doing mash-ups in Photoshop is probably much easier than in real life!), so I had to improvise and re-sculpt the rear fuselage step by step. As a consequence, the new glazing looks rather "bubbletop"-like and tall, reminiscent of a P-51D? It took some serious surgery (including some implanted styrene wedges under clear parts) and putty work to integrate the Fw 190 parts. While I was successfully able to blend these into the He 100 fuselage, the result still looks a bit odd?
Other, less obvious kit mods are a metal axis for the propeller and an added pair of guns in the outer wings, taking up Franclab's idea of heavier armament (which the original He 100 did not feature). The cannon nozzles are hollow steel needles of different diameter, those in the wing root even run through the landing gear wells. A pilot figure was added, too (from a HUMA kit).
Painting and markings:
Well, the profile was the benchmark, and I tried to stay true to it. It looks like a typical Fw 190 paint scheme from 1943 on. The grey/green upper color would be RLM 75/83, coupled with RLM65 on the lower side. The latter is a bit unlikely, as RLM 76 became the standard at that time. Still, it looks good, esp. with the rather light upper tones, so that's what I went for.
I used Model Master Authentic tones for the RLM 75/83/65 combo, and later some lighter Humbrol shades for a subtle counter-shading of panels and upper surfaces (e. g. with 140, 120 and 65). The yellow ID markings (typical for the Eastern Front) were painted with Revell 310, Lufthansa Gelb. It’s a RAL tone (RAL 1028), but matches RLM 04 very well.
The cockpit interior was painted in Schwarzgrau (RLM 66) and dry-brushed with lighter shades, the landing gear wells are in RLM 02 – everything very conventional, Fw 190s from late 1944 were the benchmark.
The black-white-black stripe on the real fuselage was created with decal strips, instead of trying to paint this delicate detail by hand. In contrast to that, the propeller spinner with the B/W spiral was done with a brush and “free hand”. The same goes for the unique mottling on the flanks and fin – this was also done with a brush, and partly with thinned paint in order to create a “washed” effect and blurred contours. The result looks O.K..
A dubious element in the profile is the "ace of spades" emblem under the canopy. The tactical stripe codes on the rear fuselage were introduced in 1943, and the BWB-marking correctly belongs to JG 4, which was preliminarily formed as I./JG 4 on August 7, 1942 in Mizil, Romania, from the Ölschutzstaffel/JG 77. It became a full home defense Geschwader much later, on June 15, 1944 in Ansbach - but the spade symbol actually belongs to JG 53. There have been cases that pilots decorated their aircraft with symbols from former units, though, so this small detail is not impossible – but unlikely and a bit controversial. In order to fit into the time frame, this He 100 would be one of the final I./JG 4 aircraft used to defend the Romanian refineries and oil fields - a suitable task for the aircraft.
Additionally, the red number and the absence of any other code symbol identifies the machine as part of the 2nd Gruppe of I./JG 4, everything is very plausible! Anyway, in September 1944 the Jagdgeschwader 4 was finally commanded back to German home territory, after heavy losses against B-24 interceptions, and re-grouped in the Reichsverteidigung.
In order to avoid logical conflicts I decided to replace the squadron emblem with a more generic “Ace of Spades” game card icon. I found it on a Fantasy Forge decal sheet for 28mm miniatures in the scrap box.
AFAIK, some JG 4 aircraft displayed the Geschwaderzeichen on the engine cowling, a blue escutcheon with a grey or silver knight’s helmet with a red (red-white) plume. This insignia was first used by II. Gruppe, but later also appeared on other JG 4 Gruppen aircraft.
National markings and the red "10" come from TL Modellbau sheets - a lucky and handy purchase, as I had these in store for the recent Wellesley conversion: I wanted to use the red letters for the tactical code, but had to drop this idea because the German letters have a black rim. Now they come in just with perfect timing, and the letters/digits are even in the right typo for Franclab's profile!
The warning stencils were taken from the original Special Hobby sheet.
After that, I did some additional detail painting with thinned Humbrol 224 (Dark Slate Gray) and light exhaust and soot stains were added with dry-brushed black. Finally, the kit received a thin coat with Revells’ Acrylic Matt Varnish.
All in all, a nice and quick project, even though I invested more work (and putty!) than expected or what is finally visible. It’s (relatively) colorful, and the light livery beyond the typical RLM 70/71/65 paint scheme of the early He 100 Ds suits the elegant aircraft very well. The Heinkel He 100 has some serious whif potential!
Merci bien à Franclab pour l’inspiration!
Just revamped my “studio desk”. It’s really a 7-foot UpliftDesk sit/stand desk that I have customized by adding a floating shelf, and stacking 19” rack cases (from AudioRax) on that.
Left-hand case holds a Doepfer A-155/A-154/A-160-5 sequencer setup. Right-hand case holds a Samson patchbay and Behringer XR12 mixer. Center case is currently unpopulated.
Synths are an MS-20 Mini, a custom modular setup in an Intellijel 104hp/7U case, and a Waldorf KB-37 containing a Behringer Pro-1, and Mutable Instruments Clouds. Above is a Behringer 2600, which kind-of started the whole desk re-do (which was a long time coming!).
Gator clamp-on monitor stands helped free desktop space, while still keeping everything integrated to the desk such that the speakers are at the correct height regardless of whether I’m sitting or standing.
Cable management is beneath, and extensive enough that there are just two power cables going to the UPS on the floor, and those are joined in a sleeve, which makes it all quite neat
The whole thing is on casters and by unplugging the two cables from the UPS can be wheeled around with ease (well, if the rug didn’t interfere!).
Once upon a time, live audio was simple.
Now, it is interfaces, clock sync, AES 50, mode, sample rate and CAT5E.
Now I need to get my head around this lot for tomorrow.....
Our humble new podcast studio, with new kit.
From left: Behringer Eurorack UB802 Mixer, M-Audio Mobilepre USB (USB Bus-Powered Preamp and Audio Interface), Audio Technica AT-897 Shotgun condenser microphone, iPod 40Gb Clickwheel with Griffin iTalk and lapel mic, Sennheiser HD 280 Pro studio monitor headphones, Apple Powerbook G4, M-Audio Nova studio condenser microphone with Stedman Proscreen 101 pop filter, and Shure SM-58 dynamic microphone.
You may wish to listen to a podcast discussing it. Not a regular mrbrown show, but a sound test and audio tour of the mrbrown show podcast studio. Only listen if you are interested in our podcast gear. Though there is a fun little recording I included at the end of the show.
Observing a beautiful sunset calm after the rains. The air smelled fresh, cool & clean as well. It's officially feeling like the rainy season once again! Pic taken from around San Jose, CA. (Wednesday, November 2, 2022)
*Weather update: Shortly after Halloween, the Bay Area was hit with wet weather as the 1st day of November brought drizzle, rain & cooler temps. A cold front spanning much of the West Coast had provided most of the Bay Area with much-needed rain Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service. The NWS gave a 100% chance of rain to many Bay Area cities Tuesday beginning around 11 a.m., including San Jose & much of the South Bay. “For most of the area we’re looking at one-quarter of an inch to an inch of rain,” said Dalton Behringer, a NWS meteorologist. “This is fairly normal this time of year & it’s a welcome sight.” NWS radar imaging from Monday evening showed a storm rolling thru the Bay Area. Lower-elevation areas were expecting no more than one-quarter of inch of rain, while the mountains were predicted to receive a full inch. The Sierras was also hit with its 1st significant snowfall of the season. “We’re definitely seeing a pattern shift to what we’d expect to see this time of year,” Behringer said. Pray for more rain (and snow)!
Two worlds. High efficiency (Klipsch RF7 mk2- 101 dB) and ESL Loudspeakers (Martin Logan Sequel II- 89 dB). Each of the qualities and disadvantages.
For klipsch: an old Marantz PM6, 2 x 30 Watts RMS class A.
For Martin Logan: 2 Crown XTI 2002 and 1002 with active biamplification with a Behringer Crossover. Martin Logan requires a big big power ( 2x 800 Watts and 2x 500 Watts:/ 4 Ohms.
At the right is a Mackie 32-channel board on a home-built desk, with a Behringer 16 channel board above it. The Beringer is used to mix the output of the multitrack into a stereo pair, then route it into the Mackie. While the Mackie can switch any number of channels into tape-in mode, when you do so, you can't use the channels for anything else; since a lot of what I do is play over material I've already laid down, that's not very convenient. Hence the auxiliary mixer.
All the Mackie's channels are dedicated to something, usually in pairs. 1/2: floor bass processor. 3/4: floor guitar processor. 5/6: Drum kit. 7/8: rack bass processor. 9/10: rack guitar processor. 11/12: Roland drum machine. 13: Bass output from Roland. 14: Bass output from Kawai. 15/16: Kawai band-in-a-box. 17/18: AM/FM tuner. 19/20/21/22: Vocalist harmony outputs. 23: Wired vocal mic. 24/25: Jamstation. 26/27: Behringer mixer. 28/29: Keyboard. 30/31: 2 GB, dual-core Intel Mac. 32 is the rack mic system. The cassette deck comes back into the Mackie's 2-track inputs, and the main outs go to the amp rack. The 8-buss outs go right to the Fostex 24-track recorder (which is limited to recording 8 tracks at once, anyway, though it can play back all 24 simultaneously.)
There are three equipment racks; one is recording gear, one is effects, and one is amplification.
At the top left is the 8U amp rack. Top to bottom, there is a power distribution/filtering unit, a 24-bit crossover, power amp for mid/high, poweramp for the subs, and an EQ. Mids are handled by a pair of 10" driver and horn cabinets, sub by a dual-12" Fender bassman cabinet. 200 watts RMS to the sub, 50 watts RMS to each of the mid/highs. Audio comes from the main outs of the Mackie, into the EQ, then the crossover, which feeds the sub and mid/high amps.
Below that is the 16U FX rack. Top to bottom, power distribution/filtering, Digitech's Vocalist voice harmony system, a guitar / bass tuner, a two channel compressor / expander, a sub-bass and harmonic enhancer, an EQ, an SGX bass FX / preamp unit, GSP-21 guitar FX / preamp unit, Digitech IPS-33 guitar harmony generator, and a DBX RF mic unit with enhancement FX. Underneath the rack units, you can just see a Roland drum machine.
The right 16U rack is the recording gear, top to bottom, power distribution / filtering, power supply for the Mackie board, Nikko tuner, Fostek 24-track digital HD recorder, Tascam 2-track cassette recorder, Vestax 6-track cassette recorder.
Elsewhere are a Jamstation, a Kawai band in a box, a fender twin, a Behringer twin, a GNX-3 guitar FX floor unit, and a Digitech bass pedal.
Seven guitars, two basses, a drum kit, various mikes and a 61-key keyboard round out the studio.
I have a vintage Gibson Les Paul and a Fender Strat. Neither really suits me; the Strat's neck is too narrow, and the LP's is too flat (no appreciable radius.) I use them when I want that signature sound, which isn't all that often. Of all of my instruments, the guitars I prefer are a Washburn MG-74 and an Ibanez "Flying Squid", and the best bass (by far) is also an Ibanez, an SRX-705 5-string.
Modern technology has done so much to improve the necks, pickups and resonance characteristics of the bodies, it is almost a given that if you go out and play these, you'll be able to find a superb instrument for under a grand.
The studio consisting of the following materials:
Mixing:
* Technics SL-1200 (2 pieces)
* Denon DN-2500F
* Rodec MX-180 & JB Classic 9
* Rodec amp, JBL speakers & Phoenix Booster
* Digital Mystique, Audigy2, SB Live Gold for PC recording
* DJ-100 sampler
remixing & (re)mastering:
* Akai S2000 sampler with 8 outputs & digital
* Akai S3000XL sampler with 8 outputs & digital
* Mackie 1602 VLZ mixing table
* Behringer Ultralink Pro MX882
* Behringer Ultrapatch Pro PX3000
* Behringer Ultramatch Pro SRC2496
* Korg Kaosspad 3 effects processor
Producing:
* Roland A880 patchbay
* CME Bitstream 3X midi controller
* Roland Sonic Cell midi instrument
* Roland MC-808 midi sequencer/groovebox
* Korg Kontrol49 midi keyboard
* Korg Electribe MX midi sequencer/groovebox
* KRK Rokit 6 studio monitors
* KRK Rokit 10s sub woofer
* AKG Perception 200 microphone with standard & popfilter
Recording:
* Alesis Masterlink ML-9600
* Fostex D-80 multitrack recorder
* Neuros 40 & 800
Antique:
* Pioneer CT1280 WR Analog tape recorder
* Sony TC-K4A Analog Dolby tape recorder
* Akai 1722 Mk2 reel-2-reel recorder
* JBS DJS-1 sampler with 2mb ram
Freaking Wildchild Productions created with this studio:
Pretty happy with my desk set up at the new house. Have natural light beaming into the room all day. The desk will probably be replaced soon and a matching second monitor added.
It is a pretty quick and nasty photo too, may do a better one when the rest of the office isn't full of boxes.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Following the RLM’s selection of the Bf 109 as its next single-seat fighter (beating Heinkel’s He 112, based on a tactical requirement dating back to 1933), Ernst Heinkel became interested in a new fighter that would leap beyond the performance of the Bf 109 as much as the Bf 109 had over the biplanes it replaced. Other German designers had similar ambitions, including Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf. There was never an official project on the part of the RLM, but new designs were important enough to fund projects from both companies to provide "super-pursuit" designs for evaluation. This would result in the single-engined He 100 fighter, and the promising twin-engine Fw 187 Falke Zerstörer-style heavy fighter.
The He 100 was a radical, new approach with the aim of ultimate performance in a simple airframe. Walter Günter, one half of the famous Günter brothers, looked at the existing He 112, which had competed against the Bf 109 in 1936 and already been heavily revised into the He 112B version. Looking at the aircraft’s potential he decided it had reached the end of its evolution. So he started over with a completely new design, called "Projekt 1035".
Learning from past mistakes on the 112 project, the design was to be as easy to build as possible, yet 700 km/h (440 mph) was a design goal. To ease production, the new design had considerably fewer parts than the 112 and those that remained contained fewer compound curves. In comparison, the 112 had 2,885 parts and 26,864 rivets, while the P.1035 was made of 969 unique parts with 11.543 rivets. The new straight-edged wing was a source of much of the savings; after building the first wings, Otto Butter reported that the reduction in complexity and rivet count (along with the Butter brothers' own explosive rivet system) saved an astonishing 1.150 man hours per wing.
The super-pursuit type was not a secret, but Ernst Heinkel preferred to work in private and publicly display his products only after they were developed sufficiently to make a stunning first impression. As an example of this, the mock-up for the extremely modern-looking He 100 was the subject of company Memo No.3657 on 31 January that stated: "The mock-up is to be completed by us... as of the beginning of May... and be ready to present to the RLM... and prior to that no one at the RLM is to know of the existence of the mock-up."
In order to get the promised performance out of the aircraft, the design included a number of drag-reducing features. On the simple end were a well-faired cockpit and the absence of struts and other drag-inducing supports on the tail. The landing gear (including the tail wheel) was retractable and completely enclosed in flight.
The He 100 was based on the DB 601 power plant, the same engine as the Bf 109 (and also used in the Bf 110 heavy fighter). In order to achieve the designed performance increase, drag reduced as well as weight and frontal area: the engine was mounted directly to the forward fuselage, which was strengthened and literally tailored to the DB 601, as opposed to conventional mounting on engine bearers. The cowling was very tight-fitting, and as a result the aircraft had something of a slab-sided appearance.
Walter turned to the somewhat risky and still experimental method of cooling the engine via evaporative cooling. Such systems had been in vogue in several countries at the time. Heinkel and the Günter brothers were avid proponents of the technology, and had previously used it on the He 119, with promising results. Evaporative or "steam" cooling promised a completely drag-free cooling system. The DB 601 was a pressure-cooled engine in that the water/glycol coolant was kept in liquid form by pressure, even though its temperature was allowed to exceed the normal boiling point. Heinkel's system took advantage of that fact and the cooling energy loss associated with the phase change of the coolant as it boils.
Beyond the technical risk of the cooling system, the engine itself became a problem: the production priority for Messerschmitt aircraft caused a serious shortage of advanced aero engines in Germany during the late 1930s, as there was insufficient capacity to support another aircraft using the same engines. The only available alternate engine was the Junkers Jumo 211, and Heinkel was encouraged to consider its use in the He 100. However, the early Jumo 211 then available did not use a pressurized cooling system, and it was therefore not suitable for the He 100's innovative evaporative cooling system. Furthermore, a Jumo 211-powered He 100 would not have been able to outperform the contemporary DB 601-powered Bf 109 because the supercharger on the early Jumo 211 was not fully shrouded.
In order to provide as much power as possible from the DB 601, the 100 used exhaust ejectors for a small amount of additional thrust. The supercharger inlet was moved from the normal position on the side of the cowling to a location in the leading edge of the left wing. Although cleaner-looking, the long, curved induction pipe most probably negated any benefit.
One aspect of the original Projekt 1035 was the intent to capture the absolute speed record for Heinkel and Germany. Both Messerschmitt and Heinkel vied for this record before the war. Messerschmitt ultimately won that battle with the first prototype of the Me 209, but the He 100 briefly held the record when Heinkel test pilot Hans Dieterle flew the eighth prototype to 746.606 km/h (463.919 mph) on 30 March 1939.
The third and eighth prototypes were specially modified for speed, with unique outer wing panels of reduced span. The third prototype crashed during testing. The record flight was made using a special version of the DB 601 engine that offered 2,010 kW (2,700 hp) and had a service life of just 30 minutes.
Despite all these successes, the He 100 did not catch up immediately: it took until 1941 that series production was started - or better: allowed. The reason for this delay is subject to debate. Officially, the Luftwaffe rejected the He 100 for years to concentrate single-seat fighter development on the Messerschmitt Bf 109, despite its shortcomings. Following the adoption of the Bf 109 and Bf 110 as the Luftwaffe's standard fighter types, the RLM also announced a "rationalization" policy that placed fighter development at Messerschmitt and bomber development at Heinkel.
Based on the "D" model, which was a refined version of the prototypes and pre-production aircraft, the "G" model became the final evolution of the He 100 and was in late 1943 finally put into service as a pure interceptor, when massive Allied bomber raids started to threaten Germany.
The He 100 G had the D's enlarged horizontal stabilizer, but the big change was the eventual abandonment of the surface cooling system, which proved to be too complex and failure-prone. Instead a larger and simpler version of the D’s retractable radiator was installed, and this appeared to completely cure the vaporization system problems with only a little sacrifice in top speed and rate of climb. The radiator was inserted in a "plug" below the cockpit, and as a result the wings were widened slightly.
Armament was also improved: the engine-mounted 20mm MG FF Motorkanone (firing through the propeller hub) was replaced by the new, very powerful and compact MK 108 30mm cannon. The original pair of 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns in the wing roots (synchronized to fire through the propeller disc) was replaced by a pair of more powerful 13mm MG 131 machine guns, necessitating characteristic bulges on the wings’ upper surface – the MG 131s were placed behind the landing gear wells, their barrels running through them.
This initial G-1 type was soon followed by the G-2 variant, which featured a new canopy with a lowered spine, offering a much better all-round view. The first He 100 G-2s were delivered in early 1944, and many of these aircraft had additional weapons installed, e. g. a pair of 20mm MG 151/20 machine cannons in the outer wings – the “leftover” internal space from the defunct vaporization cooler system was effectively recycled . From late 1944 on, these machines were also outfitted with the more powerful DB 601E engine, even though there was no dedicated designation of this version.
While the aircraft didn't match its original design goal of 700 km/h (430 mph) once it was loaded down with weapons, and despite the larger canopy and the external radiator, it was still capable of sustained speeds in the 644 km/h (400 mph) range. Additionally, the low drag airframe proved to be good for both speed and range: as a result the He 100 had a combat range between 900 and 1.000 km (560 to 620 mi) compared to the Bf 109's 600 km (370 mi). While not in the same league as the later escort fighters, this was at the time a superb range and might have offset the need for the Bf 110 to some degree.
The He 100 only filled a niche role, though, and the Bf 109 and Fw 190 became the backbone of the Jagdwaffe (Fighter Force). The He 100 did not prove flexible enough to be used in different roles, as its external ordnance load was very limited. In spite of its successes in the interceptor role and the fact that it was well liked by its pilots, the He 100 never was able to rival both Bf 109 and also the later Fw 190. Production numbers remained low, only a total of about 300 aircraft were built (50 G-1 and 250 G-2, 150 of them powered by the DB 601E) until early 1945, when production ceased and was switched to other types, including jet and rocket fighters.
General characteristics:
Crew: One (pilot)
Length: 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)
Height: 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 14.6 m2 (157 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,810 kg (3,990 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 2,500 kg (5,512 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Daimler-Benz DB 601E supercharged V12 piston engine, rated at up to 1,350 PS (993 kW) at sea-level with 2,700 RPM and up to 1,450 PS (1,066 kW) at 2.1 km altitude with 2,700 rpm
Performance:
Maximum speed: 685km/h (425 mph; 378 kn)
Cruising speed: 552 km/h (343 mph; 298 kn)
Range: 1,010 km (628 mi; 545 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,089 ft)
Time to altitude: 2.2 minutes to 2,000 meters (6,600 ft), 7.9 minutes to 6,000 meters (20,000 ft)
Armament:
1x 30mm MK 108 cannon, firing through the propeller hub
2x 13mm MG 131 machine guns or 20mm MG 151/20 machine cannons in the wing roots
2x hardpoints under the wings, each able to carry up to 250kg (550lb), including bombs, drop tanks or unguided missiles; optional placement of additional guns (e .g. 2x MG 131 or 2x MG 151/20) in this position instead of external stores
The kit and its assembly:
This one is a kind of tribute work, dedicated to fellow user Franclab at flickr.com from Canada who came up with a profile of/for this model as a reaction to my He 100 Reno Racer conversion (The orange "Jägermeister"):
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/franclab/9485705184/]
It's a fantasy aircraft, as the He 100 did not enter service and production was stopped after about 20 aircraft. But I liked Franclab's realistic and colorful profile, and only at second glance it reveals a twist: a sliding canopy from a Fw 190 instead of the Bf 109-like original. A nice challenge for a whif kit conversion!
Said and done, I tried to create a 1:72 scale model from/for that profile. The basic kit is the Special Hobby He 100, mostly built OOB. It is a very good model, with fine recessed panel lines and some PE parts, and the recent re-issue with Russian and Japanese markings let the prices drop.
What outwardly looks simple - the implantation of a Fw 190 canopy - became more tricky than expected. The He 100 is small! It’s much smaller and slender than the Fw 190, which itself is not a big bird. I had a complete spare glazing sprue from an Italeri Fw 190 D-9 in store which I tried to install, and after some trials the front window ended up steeper than on a Fw 190.
The sliding canopy is actually shorter and higher than on Franclab's sketch (doing mash-ups in Photoshop is probably much easier than in real life!), so I had to improvise and re-sculpt the rear fuselage step by step. As a consequence, the new glazing looks rather "bubbletop"-like and tall, reminiscent of a P-51D? It took some serious surgery (including some implanted styrene wedges under clear parts) and putty work to integrate the Fw 190 parts. While I was successfully able to blend these into the He 100 fuselage, the result still looks a bit odd?
Other, less obvious kit mods are a metal axis for the propeller and an added pair of guns in the outer wings, taking up Franclab's idea of heavier armament (which the original He 100 did not feature). The cannon nozzles are hollow steel needles of different diameter, those in the wing root even run through the landing gear wells. A pilot figure was added, too (from a HUMA kit).
Painting and markings:
Well, the profile was the benchmark, and I tried to stay true to it. It looks like a typical Fw 190 paint scheme from 1943 on. The grey/green upper color would be RLM 75/83, coupled with RLM65 on the lower side. The latter is a bit unlikely, as RLM 76 became the standard at that time. Still, it looks good, esp. with the rather light upper tones, so that's what I went for.
I used Model Master Authentic tones for the RLM 75/83/65 combo, and later some lighter Humbrol shades for a subtle counter-shading of panels and upper surfaces (e. g. with 140, 120 and 65). The yellow ID markings (typical for the Eastern Front) were painted with Revell 310, Lufthansa Gelb. It’s a RAL tone (RAL 1028), but matches RLM 04 very well.
The cockpit interior was painted in Schwarzgrau (RLM 66) and dry-brushed with lighter shades, the landing gear wells are in RLM 02 – everything very conventional, Fw 190s from late 1944 were the benchmark.
The black-white-black stripe on the real fuselage was created with decal strips, instead of trying to paint this delicate detail by hand. In contrast to that, the propeller spinner with the B/W spiral was done with a brush and “free hand”. The same goes for the unique mottling on the flanks and fin – this was also done with a brush, and partly with thinned paint in order to create a “washed” effect and blurred contours. The result looks O.K..
A dubious element in the profile is the "ace of spades" emblem under the canopy. The tactical stripe codes on the rear fuselage were introduced in 1943, and the BWB-marking correctly belongs to JG 4, which was preliminarily formed as I./JG 4 on August 7, 1942 in Mizil, Romania, from the Ölschutzstaffel/JG 77. It became a full home defense Geschwader much later, on June 15, 1944 in Ansbach - but the spade symbol actually belongs to JG 53. There have been cases that pilots decorated their aircraft with symbols from former units, though, so this small detail is not impossible – but unlikely and a bit controversial. In order to fit into the time frame, this He 100 would be one of the final I./JG 4 aircraft used to defend the Romanian refineries and oil fields - a suitable task for the aircraft.
Additionally, the red number and the absence of any other code symbol identifies the machine as part of the 2nd Gruppe of I./JG 4, everything is very plausible! Anyway, in September 1944 the Jagdgeschwader 4 was finally commanded back to German home territory, after heavy losses against B-24 interceptions, and re-grouped in the Reichsverteidigung.
In order to avoid logical conflicts I decided to replace the squadron emblem with a more generic “Ace of Spades” game card icon. I found it on a Fantasy Forge decal sheet for 28mm miniatures in the scrap box.
AFAIK, some JG 4 aircraft displayed the Geschwaderzeichen on the engine cowling, a blue escutcheon with a grey or silver knight’s helmet with a red (red-white) plume. This insignia was first used by II. Gruppe, but later also appeared on other JG 4 Gruppen aircraft.
National markings and the red "10" come from TL Modellbau sheets - a lucky and handy purchase, as I had these in store for the recent Wellesley conversion: I wanted to use the red letters for the tactical code, but had to drop this idea because the German letters have a black rim. Now they come in just with perfect timing, and the letters/digits are even in the right typo for Franclab's profile!
The warning stencils were taken from the original Special Hobby sheet.
After that, I did some additional detail painting with thinned Humbrol 224 (Dark Slate Gray) and light exhaust and soot stains were added with dry-brushed black. Finally, the kit received a thin coat with Revells’ Acrylic Matt Varnish.
All in all, a nice and quick project, even though I invested more work (and putty!) than expected or what is finally visible. It’s (relatively) colorful, and the light livery beyond the typical RLM 70/71/65 paint scheme of the early He 100 Ds suits the elegant aircraft very well. The Heinkel He 100 has some serious whif potential!
Merci bien à Franclab pour l’inspiration!
Time to make sure that all those microphone cables work....
Behringer cable tester
Canon EOS 5D3, EF24-104 L, 25mm extension tube
U.S. Soldiers assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, pull a rope attached to a Latvian Mi-17 helicopter as they land during special purpose insertion extraction training, Lielvarde Air Base, Latvia, April 21, 2016. Allies from Latvia, Canada, Lithuania and Germany participated in the event, which included cold and hot load training on UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and fast rope insertion extraction exercises. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Paige Behringer)
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Following the RLM’s selection of the Bf 109 as its next single-seat fighter (beating Heinkel’s He 112, based on a tactical requirement dating back to 1933), Ernst Heinkel became interested in a new fighter that would leap beyond the performance of the Bf 109 as much as the Bf 109 had over the biplanes it replaced. Other German designers had similar ambitions, including Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf. There was never an official project on the part of the RLM, but new designs were important enough to fund projects from both companies to provide "super-pursuit" designs for evaluation. This would result in the single-engined He 100 fighter, and the promising twin-engine Fw 187 Falke Zerstörer-style heavy fighter.
The He 100 was a radical, new approach with the aim of ultimate performance in a simple airframe. Walter Günter, one half of the famous Günter brothers, looked at the existing He 112, which had competed against the Bf 109 in 1936 and already been heavily revised into the He 112B version. Looking at the aircraft’s potential he decided it had reached the end of its evolution. So he started over with a completely new design, called "Projekt 1035".
Learning from past mistakes on the 112 project, the design was to be as easy to build as possible, yet 700 km/h (440 mph) was a design goal. To ease production, the new design had considerably fewer parts than the 112 and those that remained contained fewer compound curves. In comparison, the 112 had 2,885 parts and 26,864 rivets, while the P.1035 was made of 969 unique parts with 11.543 rivets. The new straight-edged wing was a source of much of the savings; after building the first wings, Otto Butter reported that the reduction in complexity and rivet count (along with the Butter brothers' own explosive rivet system) saved an astonishing 1.150 man hours per wing.
The super-pursuit type was not a secret, but Ernst Heinkel preferred to work in private and publicly display his products only after they were developed sufficiently to make a stunning first impression. As an example of this, the mock-up for the extremely modern-looking He 100 was the subject of company Memo No.3657 on 31 January that stated: "The mock-up is to be completed by us... as of the beginning of May... and be ready to present to the RLM... and prior to that no one at the RLM is to know of the existence of the mock-up."
In order to get the promised performance out of the aircraft, the design included a number of drag-reducing features. On the simple end were a well-faired cockpit and the absence of struts and other drag-inducing supports on the tail. The landing gear (including the tail wheel) was retractable and completely enclosed in flight.
The He 100 was based on the DB 601 power plant, the same engine as the Bf 109 (and also used in the Bf 110 heavy fighter). In order to achieve the designed performance increase, drag reduced as well as weight and frontal area: the engine was mounted directly to the forward fuselage, which was strengthened and literally tailored to the DB 601, as opposed to conventional mounting on engine bearers. The cowling was very tight-fitting, and as a result the aircraft had something of a slab-sided appearance.
Walter turned to the somewhat risky and still experimental method of cooling the engine via evaporative cooling. Such systems had been in vogue in several countries at the time. Heinkel and the Günter brothers were avid proponents of the technology, and had previously used it on the He 119, with promising results. Evaporative or "steam" cooling promised a completely drag-free cooling system. The DB 601 was a pressure-cooled engine in that the water/glycol coolant was kept in liquid form by pressure, even though its temperature was allowed to exceed the normal boiling point. Heinkel's system took advantage of that fact and the cooling energy loss associated with the phase change of the coolant as it boils.
Beyond the technical risk of the cooling system, the engine itself became a problem: the production priority for Messerschmitt aircraft caused a serious shortage of advanced aero engines in Germany during the late 1930s, as there was insufficient capacity to support another aircraft using the same engines. The only available alternate engine was the Junkers Jumo 211, and Heinkel was encouraged to consider its use in the He 100. However, the early Jumo 211 then available did not use a pressurized cooling system, and it was therefore not suitable for the He 100's innovative evaporative cooling system. Furthermore, a Jumo 211-powered He 100 would not have been able to outperform the contemporary DB 601-powered Bf 109 because the supercharger on the early Jumo 211 was not fully shrouded.
In order to provide as much power as possible from the DB 601, the 100 used exhaust ejectors for a small amount of additional thrust. The supercharger inlet was moved from the normal position on the side of the cowling to a location in the leading edge of the left wing. Although cleaner-looking, the long, curved induction pipe most probably negated any benefit.
One aspect of the original Projekt 1035 was the intent to capture the absolute speed record for Heinkel and Germany. Both Messerschmitt and Heinkel vied for this record before the war. Messerschmitt ultimately won that battle with the first prototype of the Me 209, but the He 100 briefly held the record when Heinkel test pilot Hans Dieterle flew the eighth prototype to 746.606 km/h (463.919 mph) on 30 March 1939.
The third and eighth prototypes were specially modified for speed, with unique outer wing panels of reduced span. The third prototype crashed during testing. The record flight was made using a special version of the DB 601 engine that offered 2,010 kW (2,700 hp) and had a service life of just 30 minutes.
Despite all these successes, the He 100 did not catch up immediately: it took until 1941 that series production was started - or better: allowed. The reason for this delay is subject to debate. Officially, the Luftwaffe rejected the He 100 for years to concentrate single-seat fighter development on the Messerschmitt Bf 109, despite its shortcomings. Following the adoption of the Bf 109 and Bf 110 as the Luftwaffe's standard fighter types, the RLM also announced a "rationalization" policy that placed fighter development at Messerschmitt and bomber development at Heinkel.
Based on the "D" model, which was a refined version of the prototypes and pre-production aircraft, the "G" model became the final evolution of the He 100 and was in late 1943 finally put into service as a pure interceptor, when massive Allied bomber raids started to threaten Germany.
The He 100 G had the D's enlarged horizontal stabilizer, but the big change was the eventual abandonment of the surface cooling system, which proved to be too complex and failure-prone. Instead a larger and simpler version of the D’s retractable radiator was installed, and this appeared to completely cure the vaporization system problems with only a little sacrifice in top speed and rate of climb. The radiator was inserted in a "plug" below the cockpit, and as a result the wings were widened slightly.
Armament was also improved: the engine-mounted 20mm MG FF Motorkanone (firing through the propeller hub) was replaced by the new, very powerful and compact MK 108 30mm cannon. The original pair of 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns in the wing roots (synchronized to fire through the propeller disc) was replaced by a pair of more powerful 13mm MG 131 machine guns, necessitating characteristic bulges on the wings’ upper surface – the MG 131s were placed behind the landing gear wells, their barrels running through them.
This initial G-1 type was soon followed by the G-2 variant, which featured a new canopy with a lowered spine, offering a much better all-round view. The first He 100 G-2s were delivered in early 1944, and many of these aircraft had additional weapons installed, e. g. a pair of 20mm MG 151/20 machine cannons in the outer wings – the “leftover” internal space from the defunct vaporization cooler system was effectively recycled . From late 1944 on, these machines were also outfitted with the more powerful DB 601E engine, even though there was no dedicated designation of this version.
While the aircraft didn't match its original design goal of 700 km/h (430 mph) once it was loaded down with weapons, and despite the larger canopy and the external radiator, it was still capable of sustained speeds in the 644 km/h (400 mph) range. Additionally, the low drag airframe proved to be good for both speed and range: as a result the He 100 had a combat range between 900 and 1.000 km (560 to 620 mi) compared to the Bf 109's 600 km (370 mi). While not in the same league as the later escort fighters, this was at the time a superb range and might have offset the need for the Bf 110 to some degree.
The He 100 only filled a niche role, though, and the Bf 109 and Fw 190 became the backbone of the Jagdwaffe (Fighter Force). The He 100 did not prove flexible enough to be used in different roles, as its external ordnance load was very limited. In spite of its successes in the interceptor role and the fact that it was well liked by its pilots, the He 100 never was able to rival both Bf 109 and also the later Fw 190. Production numbers remained low, only a total of about 300 aircraft were built (50 G-1 and 250 G-2, 150 of them powered by the DB 601E) until early 1945, when production ceased and was switched to other types, including jet and rocket fighters.
General characteristics:
Crew: One (pilot)
Length: 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)
Height: 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 14.6 m2 (157 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,810 kg (3,990 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 2,500 kg (5,512 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Daimler-Benz DB 601E supercharged V12 piston engine, rated at up to 1,350 PS (993 kW) at sea-level with 2,700 RPM and up to 1,450 PS (1,066 kW) at 2.1 km altitude with 2,700 rpm
Performance:
Maximum speed: 685km/h (425 mph; 378 kn)
Cruising speed: 552 km/h (343 mph; 298 kn)
Range: 1,010 km (628 mi; 545 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,089 ft)
Time to altitude: 2.2 minutes to 2,000 meters (6,600 ft), 7.9 minutes to 6,000 meters (20,000 ft)
Armament:
1x 30mm MK 108 cannon, firing through the propeller hub
2x 13mm MG 131 machine guns or 20mm MG 151/20 machine cannons in the wing roots
2x hardpoints under the wings, each able to carry up to 250kg (550lb), including bombs, drop tanks or unguided missiles; optional placement of additional guns (e .g. 2x MG 131 or 2x MG 151/20) in this position instead of external stores
The kit and its assembly:
This one is a kind of tribute work, dedicated to fellow user Franclab at flickr.com from Canada who came up with a profile of/for this model as a reaction to my He 100 Reno Racer conversion (The orange "Jägermeister"):
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/franclab/9485705184/]
It's a fantasy aircraft, as the He 100 did not enter service and production was stopped after about 20 aircraft. But I liked Franclab's realistic and colorful profile, and only at second glance it reveals a twist: a sliding canopy from a Fw 190 instead of the Bf 109-like original. A nice challenge for a whif kit conversion!
Said and done, I tried to create a 1:72 scale model from/for that profile. The basic kit is the Special Hobby He 100, mostly built OOB. It is a very good model, with fine recessed panel lines and some PE parts, and the recent re-issue with Russian and Japanese markings let the prices drop.
What outwardly looks simple - the implantation of a Fw 190 canopy - became more tricky than expected. The He 100 is small! It’s much smaller and slender than the Fw 190, which itself is not a big bird. I had a complete spare glazing sprue from an Italeri Fw 190 D-9 in store which I tried to install, and after some trials the front window ended up steeper than on a Fw 190.
The sliding canopy is actually shorter and higher than on Franclab's sketch (doing mash-ups in Photoshop is probably much easier than in real life!), so I had to improvise and re-sculpt the rear fuselage step by step. As a consequence, the new glazing looks rather "bubbletop"-like and tall, reminiscent of a P-51D? It took some serious surgery (including some implanted styrene wedges under clear parts) and putty work to integrate the Fw 190 parts. While I was successfully able to blend these into the He 100 fuselage, the result still looks a bit odd?
Other, less obvious kit mods are a metal axis for the propeller and an added pair of guns in the outer wings, taking up Franclab's idea of heavier armament (which the original He 100 did not feature). The cannon nozzles are hollow steel needles of different diameter, those in the wing root even run through the landing gear wells. A pilot figure was added, too (from a HUMA kit).
Painting and markings:
Well, the profile was the benchmark, and I tried to stay true to it. It looks like a typical Fw 190 paint scheme from 1943 on. The grey/green upper color would be RLM 75/83, coupled with RLM65 on the lower side. The latter is a bit unlikely, as RLM 76 became the standard at that time. Still, it looks good, esp. with the rather light upper tones, so that's what I went for.
I used Model Master Authentic tones for the RLM 75/83/65 combo, and later some lighter Humbrol shades for a subtle counter-shading of panels and upper surfaces (e. g. with 140, 120 and 65). The yellow ID markings (typical for the Eastern Front) were painted with Revell 310, Lufthansa Gelb. It’s a RAL tone (RAL 1028), but matches RLM 04 very well.
The cockpit interior was painted in Schwarzgrau (RLM 66) and dry-brushed with lighter shades, the landing gear wells are in RLM 02 – everything very conventional, Fw 190s from late 1944 were the benchmark.
The black-white-black stripe on the real fuselage was created with decal strips, instead of trying to paint this delicate detail by hand. In contrast to that, the propeller spinner with the B/W spiral was done with a brush and “free hand”. The same goes for the unique mottling on the flanks and fin – this was also done with a brush, and partly with thinned paint in order to create a “washed” effect and blurred contours. The result looks O.K..
A dubious element in the profile is the "ace of spades" emblem under the canopy. The tactical stripe codes on the rear fuselage were introduced in 1943, and the BWB-marking correctly belongs to JG 4, which was preliminarily formed as I./JG 4 on August 7, 1942 in Mizil, Romania, from the Ölschutzstaffel/JG 77. It became a full home defense Geschwader much later, on June 15, 1944 in Ansbach - but the spade symbol actually belongs to JG 53. There have been cases that pilots decorated their aircraft with symbols from former units, though, so this small detail is not impossible – but unlikely and a bit controversial. In order to fit into the time frame, this He 100 would be one of the final I./JG 4 aircraft used to defend the Romanian refineries and oil fields - a suitable task for the aircraft.
Additionally, the red number and the absence of any other code symbol identifies the machine as part of the 2nd Gruppe of I./JG 4, everything is very plausible! Anyway, in September 1944 the Jagdgeschwader 4 was finally commanded back to German home territory, after heavy losses against B-24 interceptions, and re-grouped in the Reichsverteidigung.
In order to avoid logical conflicts I decided to replace the squadron emblem with a more generic “Ace of Spades” game card icon. I found it on a Fantasy Forge decal sheet for 28mm miniatures in the scrap box.
AFAIK, some JG 4 aircraft displayed the Geschwaderzeichen on the engine cowling, a blue escutcheon with a grey or silver knight’s helmet with a red (red-white) plume. This insignia was first used by II. Gruppe, but later also appeared on other JG 4 Gruppen aircraft.
National markings and the red "10" come from TL Modellbau sheets - a lucky and handy purchase, as I had these in store for the recent Wellesley conversion: I wanted to use the red letters for the tactical code, but had to drop this idea because the German letters have a black rim. Now they come in just with perfect timing, and the letters/digits are even in the right typo for Franclab's profile!
The warning stencils were taken from the original Special Hobby sheet.
After that, I did some additional detail painting with thinned Humbrol 224 (Dark Slate Gray) and light exhaust and soot stains were added with dry-brushed black. Finally, the kit received a thin coat with Revells’ Acrylic Matt Varnish.
All in all, a nice and quick project, even though I invested more work (and putty!) than expected or what is finally visible. It’s (relatively) colorful, and the light livery beyond the typical RLM 70/71/65 paint scheme of the early He 100 Ds suits the elegant aircraft very well. The Heinkel He 100 has some serious whif potential!
Merci bien à Franclab pour l’inspiration!
Looking NNE from I-64 near 11th St..
Towboat "Richard E. Hodges" upbound at head of Portland Canal, passing the upper tip of Shippingport Island.
Conrail (later L&I) Bridge in left distance.
[Another name for this bridge which remains constant despite changes in ownership is the Fourteenth Street Bridge.]
In foreground are shipping containers at Kentucky Container Service.
As of 2016, this area is being considered for development into Waterfront Park Phase IV.
.
Twin-screw towboat "Richard E. Hodges" (doc. # 584006 / length 140 feet / breadth 42 feet / GM 16-645E7B diesels, 6000 hp. / Falk reduction drives with ratio of 4.345:1 / Kort nozzles).
Built 1977 by Dravo Corp., Neville Island, PA.
Originally "Richard E. Hodges", operated by Indiana Michigan Power Co., Lakin, WV.
Sold 9/1987 to American Commercial Lines LLC, Jeffersonville, IN
Renamed 12/1990 "Tom Behringer".
.
Ohio River mile 605
Feb. 1988.
file # 88b211.
35 mm Kodachrome.
Plustek OpticFilm 7600i.
Siverfast 8.
Picture Window 6.
Cabinet card by A. T. Wettle, Hennepin, Illinois. Wettle also worked in nearby Spring Valley, Illinois. 1880's I believe.
Behringer X32 for the main mix, Behringer Compact X32 sending drum kit and orchestra mix to the main Behringer X32, iMax Mini with Waves and Stream Deck setup, and another iMac mini with Dante, Shure Wireless Workbench, and Behringer X32 remote, also shown is the Clear Coms setup.
Soldiers of 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, bid farewell to Lt. Col. Steven Wallace, the outgoing battalion commander, and welcomed Lt. Col. Christopher Rowe, the incoming Polar Bear battalion commander, during a Change of Command ceremony, February 20, 2020, at Fort Drum, New York. During the ceremony, Wallace added the Meritorious Unit Citation streamer to the battalion colors, awarded for the unit’s deployment to Afghanistan from October 2018 to July 2019. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Paige Behringer)
My home studio:
Macbook 2.4, Oberheim Matrix-6, NI Maschine, Novation Remote SL Zero, Korg MS-20ic, krkr Rockit 8 Monitors, Alesis USB 2.0 Mixer, Etc...
Live Performance, Amersfoort.
Gear: Electribe SX, SU700, Machinedrum, Electribe A, Electribe R, Boss distortion/overdrive, Korg Pandora FX (distortion^2)
Mix (200 BPM+, you have been warned) can be downloaded for free: www.syntaxterror.com
Una de las primeras fotos que subí a flickr es del mixer que tanto me entretiene en las noches, ahora, un remake.
The set of a Short Feature I filmed for my 2013 DemoReel of Film & Motion Graphics.
Available on rcstudios.com.ve
A slight update/revamp in the office.
New speakers, Edifier RT1700BTS, new audio interface, behringer UM2 which has really surprised me how good it is for the money as has my new mic, a BM800.
Other new additions to the office, a Raspberry Pi, 3 Pi 'cluster', the 5,1 Mac Pro is down from the loft running ProxMox with various work and home related VM's, its space in the loft has now been taken up by a Dell R710 setup basically as a NAS.
I also have a 2012 Mac Mini setup as a Plex server now hidden away in the unit on the right. Again for a fairly dated bit of kit, it performs really well.
I've also put some of my fountain pens and cameras out on a new shelf unit that I still need to stain.
The only thing I really want to replace now is the monitors. I want to replace them with a 49".
I may start using the Mac Pro for a daily machine with and push its services to the R710.