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+++ 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:
The Messerschmitt Me 262 F was a series of multi-purpose jet planes designed by Messerschmitt for the Luftwaffe that entered service during the final phase of the Second World War in Europe. The aircraft’s design was begun in the summer of 1943 under the project handle P.1099, intended as an improvement to the successful Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighter and also as a replacement for the Arado Ar 234 bomber/reconnaissance aircraft. The primary focus was on more payload, being either usable for more fuel (since early jet engines had poor mileage and therefore range and endurance) or for weapons, including bombs in an internal bomb bay that would enable the aircraft to fulfil a similar tactical role as the British de Havilland Mosquito. Beyond this high-speed bomber (Schnellbomber) variant, the P.1099 would also be a suitable basis for a fast reconnaissance plane, interceptors and night fighters, and trainer versions were also planned.
The Messerschmitt P.1099 was a 12 m long, conventional-looking aircraft with a wingspan of 12.6 m. It had a much wider fuselage than the Messerschmitt Me 262. It had a circular shape with a diameter of 1.7m (5 ft 6¾ in) and the cockpit was now moved closer to the aircraft’s nose, above the front landing gear well. The baseline aircraft featured a side-by-side cockpit for a crew of two, even though different layouts were envisioned for the specialized variants, including single-seaters. To save development time and to use existing jigs and tools as much as possible, the P.1099 retained the wings and the tail section of the Me 262A-2a. Despite a higher total weight (the P.1099’ MTOW was about 3 tons higher), the planned powerplants were initially two uprated Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engines, later to be replaced by more powerful Heinkel HeS 011 turbojets.
In January 1944 the P.1099 was accepted by the RLM and received, despite the aircraft’s different structure, the designation “Me 262 F”. The first variant, the Me 262 F-1 (internally designated P.1099A), was the baseline aircraft under the handle “Jäger I”, a jet-powered single seat daytime fighter. There were three planned versions, differing mainly in armament: Version F-1a was armed with four MK 108 30 mm cannon in the lower fuselage, comparable with the earlier Me 262 A fighter, just with more fuel and ammunition. Version F-1b carried two MK 103 30 mm cannon with longer range, firepower and ammunition supply, and Version F-1c was a heavy daytime fighter with two MK 108 and two MK 103 cannon in the nose.
In parallel the Me 262 F-2 was developed as a more heavily armed and armored variant, as a dedicated heavy bomber interceptor (“Pulkjäger” or “Zerstörer”) under the handle “Jäger II”. Again, three versions were foreseen: Version F-2a would be armed with a single MK 108 cannon and a heavy MK 112 55 mm cannon in the nose. Version F-2b was the same, but it was armed with a MK 114 50 mm cannon instead of the Mk 112. Both were single seaters with a heavily armored cockpit and canopy.
The F-2c was a more thoroughly modified two-seater version; it was armed with a single MG151/20 in a small nose turret, a pair of Mk 103 in the rear of the cockpit firing up- and backwards and two defensive MG 131 in remote-controlled FDL 151 barbettes in the tail. Due to the significant changes this model had the internal project designation P.1099B.
Another two-seater, the F-2d, remained very close to the original baseline aircraft with a crew of two in a side-by-side cockpit. This aircraft was armed with the standard four MK 108 in the nose, plus one launch rail under each wing for Ruhrstahl X-4 guided missiles, which were launched and steered by the second crewman via a wire connection with the mothership. This variant did not come to fruition, however, after the X-4 missile project had been cancelled in early 1945.
All P.1099 fighters also had hardpoints under the outer wings for racks with twelve 55mm R4M unguided air-to-air missiles each, a detail taken over from the Me 262 A, even though the fuel load had to be reduced to carry them. The radio equipment of all these versions would be a FuG 16, Peil G6, FuG 101 radio altimeter, FuBl 2 blind landing equipment, as well as the FuG 25a Erstling identification friend or foe transceiver.
Beyond these initial day fighter variants, further types based on the P.1099 airframe were envisioned, too. The F-3 was a dedicated night fighter version, developed in parallel to the Me 262 G. It was based on the F-2a heavy day fighter, but it carried a crew of two (the pilot and a rearward-facing radar operator) and was equipped with a FuG 240 “Berlin” radar set and a rotating dish antenna under a streamlined plywood cover in the nose. The armament consisted of four MK 108 under the nose, similar to the F-1a day fighter, plus two additional, upward-firing MK 108 cannon (“Schräge Musik”) in the rear fuselage.
Other proposed variants (with less priority, though) were the F-4 and the F-5, which were to become the basis for fast bombers and reconnaissance aircraft with only light defensive armament, typically only a pair of MG 131 in remote-controlled tail barbettes was to be carried. The F-4 resembled the baseline P.1099A, with two bomb bays in front of and behind the main landing gear wells and a crew of two seated side-by-side in a pressurized cockpit. Two MK 108 were carried in the nose, plus the MG 131 tail barbettes. The F-5 was similar but featured a glazed bomb aimer/navigator station in the nose instead of the MK 108’s and the glazing above the pilot’s station was reduced and asymmetrical. In both bomber variants the fuselage tanks were re-arranged to make room for a single SC 1.200 in the front bomb bay, but combinations of smaller bombs could be carried, too. Alternatively, mounts for up to three cameras or a 1.350 l auxiliary tank for extended range could be carried in the bays, too.
Initial flight tests of the Me 262 F in late 1944 showed severe directional instability: especially after fuel and ammunition had been depleted and the center of gravity shifted the aircraft tended to become nose-heavy and ditch down if it was not carefully monitored and trimmed by the pilot. To cope with this problem, the engine mounts were modified, so that the CoG was shifted back. Compared with the original Me 262 the engines were placed roughly 900 mm (35.5 in) further back under the wings. The emptying sequence of the fuselage tanks was also changed, and this mostly mended the problems. Another measure to mend the directional instability issues was the enlargement of the tail surfaces, even though later production aircraft frequently had smaller Me 262 A stabilizers fitted due to material shortages and simple lack of parts.- However, due to the higher weight the Me 262 F’s handling and agility were very limited – but most of its intended roles rather relied on speed, anyway, so that dogfights could be avoided.
From 1944 on the war situation worsened considerably, and production of the new Me 262 F superseded the A variant only on selected production lines. A disused mine complex under the Walpersberg mountain was adapted for the production of complete aircraft. These were hauled to the flat top of the hill where a runway had been cleared and flown out. Between 20 and 30 Me 262 Fs were built here until early 1946, primarily fighters, the underground factory being overrun by Allied troops before it could reach a meaningful output. Wings were produced in Germany's oldest motorway tunnel at Engelberg, to the west of Stuttgart. At B8 Bergkristall-Esche II, a vast network of tunnels was excavated beneath St. Georgen/Gusen, Austria, where fully equipped fuselages for the Me 262 at a planned monthly rate of 450 units on large assembly lines were to be produced from early 1945.
After the type’s introduction to frontline units in early 1945 further handling problems arose through the aircraft’ weight, resulting from its high wing load. Both starting and landing run were excessive, so that the number of airfields from which it could be operated was relatively small. No real short-term solution could be found without fully re-designing the wings, so that RATO bottles were frequently used to get a fully loaded Me 262 F up into the air from standard airfields. These were typically fitted to racks which were mounted under the fuselage, flanking the rear bomb bay.
The Me 262 F’s landing speed was dangerously high, too. A retrofittable brake parachute, housed in a simple tubular fairing under the tail, was developed to reduce the landing distance and save brakes, which frequently overheated and could set the landed aircraft aflame.
From the Me 262 F-2a “Pulkzerstörer I”, only a small number were built and eventually entered service. Its main armament, the MK 112, was a heavy German machine cannon produced by Rheinmetall-Borsig from 1945 on – in fact, the MK 112 was basically a scaled-up MK 108, a very compact weapon with relatively low weight. The MK 112 had a caliber of 55 mm and thus fired much larger shells than the 30 mm MK 108, but the rate of fire was significantly lower (300 rounds / min compared to about 600-660 rounds / min of the MK 108). This large-caliber gun was designed primarily to combat heavy bombers, its rate of fire would have been too slow for effective aerial battles with escort fighters – but the Me 262 F would not have been a dogfighter, anyway, so that the “hit-and-run” mission profile suited the aircraft well. Fire tests showed that a single MK 112 hit with mine grenades could destroy a bomber, and with a rate of fire of five shells per second this weapon could inflict considerably higher losses on the incoming streams of Allied bombers compared to other on-board weapons used on the German side. Only the unguided R4M missiles were as effective, but the MK 112 offered considerably higher accuracy and the opportunity to execute more than just a single attack run on an incoming bomber formation.
The MK 112 was mounted in the lower starboard section of the Me 262 F-2a’s nose, its barrel protruded more than 2 m (7 ft) from its nose. The gun’s drum magazine with sixty rounds partly took up the rear space of the cockpit behind the pilot and the gun mount even used up space of the weapon bay on port side, so that only a single MK 108 with 100 rounds as an additional weapon was mounted in the lower port side weapon bay.
Its sister, the Me 262 F-2b, remained on the drawing board, because its main weapon, the 50 mm MK 114 autocannon that had been derived from the 5 cm Pak 38 anti-tank gun, had turned out to be over-complicated, overweight and unreliable. A refined version was developed as the MK 214A, though, but after flight test from February 1945, but the weapon was not deployed operationally.
Only a handful Me 262 F-2a Pulkzerstörer were eventually fielded and operated before the end of hostilities – beyond the low production numbers the lack of fuel and loss of suitable airfields highly limited the aircraft’s potential. Probably less than ten were used by operational units, including JG 53 “Pik As”, in which they served alongside other interceptors, including other Me 262 variants. Typically, bomber formations were approached from the side of a bomber formation, where their silhouettes were widest, and while still out of range of the bombers' machine guns. This broadside-attack tactic was very effective, and the aircraft’s high speed allowed the interceptors to turn around 180° and make at least a second attack run from the opposite side, before the machines dashed off and returned to their bases.
General characteristics
Crew: One
Length: 14,32 m (46 ft 11 in) overall
12,00 m (39 ft 3¾ in) fuselage only, w/o brake parachute housing
Wingspan: 12,61 m (41 ft 3¾ in)
Height: 4,43 m (14 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 24,2 m² (236 sq ft)
Empty weight: 5.061 kg (11,148 lb)
Loaded weight: 8.762 kg (19,300 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 10.062 kg (22,163 lb)
Powerplant:
2× Junkers Jumo 004 C turbojets with 12 kN (2,697 lb st) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 930 km/h (577 mph, 505 kn)
Cruising speed: 805 km/h (500 mph, 438 kn) at 6.500 m (21,290 ft)
Range: 1.340 km (830 ml, 728 nm) at 6000 m with internal fuel only
Service ceiling: 11,450 m (37,570 ft)
Rate of climb: 18 m/s (3,540 ft/min) at max. weight
Armament:
1× 55 mm (1.96 in) MK 112 machine cannon with 60 rounds
1× 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 machine cannon with 100 rounds
Hardpoints under the outer wings for racks with twelve 55mm R4M unguided air-to-air missiles
The kit and its assembly:
This became a submission to the late 2021 “Gunships” group build at whatifmodellers.com – what would such a competition be without at least one gun-toting German Luft ’46 interceptor? The Messerschmitt P.1099 lent itself for such a build. Since 1996 Revell offers a 1:72 IP model kit of this paper aircraft, depicting more or less the two planned versions: a basic single-seat day fighter and a heavy two-seater Zerstörer, both based on the same basis.
This what-if model was based on Revell’s interpretation of the P.1099A, and the kit goes together well. Fit is very good, even though some designs are IMHO a bit dubious. The kit’s weakest point: Revell unfortunately missed the important detail of the modified engine nacelles: the kit comes with standard Me 262 wings and engines, but due to CoG reasons the P.1099 would have had its engines moved back by about 900 mm, as mentioned in the background. I corrected this on this build with some PSR – sounds simple, but since the nacelles are not expected to be stuck to the wings in their new position roughly 1 cm further back, some serious bodywork had to be done.
Otherwise the kit was basically built OOB. I just left away the inner wheels from the main landing gear because I found the twin wheels to be “too much” for this upgraded Me 262. The P.1099 might have been heavier than the Me 262, but…? And the wheels’ tractor-like tread design looks IMHO out of place, too, so that I replaced them with a pair of MiG-21 wheels, left over from a KP kit.
The cockpit was taken OOB, even though I have doubts concerning the canopy. And when you look at mockup pictures of the P.1099 you realize that cockpit access had been facilitated through a side door at starboard, similar to the D. H. Mosquito. The cockpit tub does not consider this hatch at all, and the engraved door on the fuselage (it’s actually there!) is so tiny that only a Halfling might use it?
Well, I stuck with it “as is” and just added a pilot figure (specifically from a Matchbox Hawker tempest, because it is one of the rare cases that you get a WWII pilot wearing an oxygen mask) and a “barrel” behind the bulbous pilot seat because there’s a lot of free space in this single seat variant that is otherwise occupied by a rear gunner in Revell’s P.1099B kit. I also have doubts concerning the kit’s canopy, since the original P.1099 had a cockpit for two seated side-by-side, with a canopy that resembled the D.H. Mosquito’s a lot. I am also not certain about the stabilizers – the kit comes with standard Me 262 parts, but trustworthy sources I consulted suggest that not only the fin had been enlarged (depicted well in Revell’s kit), but also the stabilizers? To improve this, I implanted a pair of modified stabilizers that came from a Heller PZL P.23 light bomber. Sounds odd, but they were a very good match in size, shape and thickness!
The only major modification concerns the armament, even though it became just a “graft-on” solution. On the lower left side, the upper gun port was PSRed away. On the right side I added a bulged fairing for the MK 112. It was sculpted from a Matchbox Saab J29 drop tank and blended into the hull with PSR. Protruding spent cases fairings were added for both guns. The MK 112 gun barrel is a resin piece, left over from a ModelTrans tank conversion set and actually depicts a German 55 mm gun, so that this became a perfect donor piece.
Since the airframe still looked rather clean and boring I finally added a pair of JATO bottle racks to the rear fuselage (scratched from styrene profile but left empty) and a brake parachute fairing under the fin, carved from a piece of sprue.
Furthermore, a display adapter was installed into the fuselage for in-flight pictures.
Painting and markings:
This became a challenge, because I wanted a rather unusual livery, neither a standard RLM 81/82/76 late-war combo nor an improvised-cammo-over-bare-metal finish. After some research I settled upon something that was actually carried by some He 177 bombers around 1944: a uniform RLM 74 (Graugrün, Humbrol 245) upper surface with “cloudy” mottles in RLM 76 (Humbrol 247). This appears like a winter camouflage, but it’s actually quite effective at medium altitude, esp. over a cloudy landscape. The original bombers had light blue (RLM 65) undersides, but for the P.1099 from a later period and as a fighter I rather used a darker shade of RLM76 in the form of Tamiya XF-23 (Light Blue). The model received a black ink washing and some post-panel-shading.
The cockpit interior became RLM 66 (Schwarzgrau, Humbrol 67) while the landing gear and the well were painted in uniform RLM 02 (I used Revell 45, a slightly more greenish tone), with wheel discs in RLM 66, too.
Unit markings became minimal and quite sober. I gave the aircraft a typical late-war “Reichsverteidigung” fuselage band, and in JG 53’s case it is plain black. The black band was deliberately chosen because it is a good, much darker contrast to the murky RLM 74, so that the latter appears lighter than it actually is, lowering the contrast to the RLM 76 spots.
The decals were puzzled together from various sources. As an aircraft of the 3rd group the unit’s ID color would be yellow, reflected in the tactical code and the fin tip. For some contrast and to emphasize the long gun barrel I gave it white and black stripes – as a security measure for ground handling. For some more variety I painted one air intake in very dark grey (Revell 06, Anthracite) and the other one in steel Metallizer, simulating replacement parts. The Balkenkreuze come from various sheets – I used simplified “low viz” versions all around. The undulating yellow bar for the 3rd group comes from a TL Modellbau sheet, while the yellow “4” came from a Fw 190 A sheet from Sky Models. A small “4” on the nose was added as a wacky detail, too, the “Pik As” unit markings came IIRC from a Hobby Boss Bf 109 sheet. Since they turned out to have poor contrast/opacity I only used a few stencils from the P.1099A sheet, but due to the disruptive paint scheme this is not apparent.
Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and a wire antenna, scratched from heated black sprue material, was added between cockpit and fin.
Well, this modified Messerschmitt P.1099A looks simple, but the modified engine nacelles as well as the gun fairing under the nose called for serious PSR. The result looks quite natural, though, and AFAIK this weapon configuration was actually on German drawing boards. However, I am not certain about the cockpit canopy and other details on Revell’s kit, reference information is contradictive.
The paint scheme looks good, even though it was lent from a heavy bomber, and the poor Humbrol enamels did not yield a finish that I had hoped for – the paintwork could certainly have been better, but the overall impression of a late-war Pulkzerstörer is O.K., and this eventually counts.
Time for some support! This is one of my older models. Finished way back in 2013, you can see my very early painting style. It has been a blast painting the model, and it is great to use it in game. And yes, it is the metal version!
I only glued the necessary parts and magnetized the Techmarine. This way it is easy for transport and cannot be damaged that quick :)
The paintjob had been kept as simple as possible, but i should have opted for the decals at least on the gun itself... but yeah, mistakes have been made, will do a better job next time!
Stay tuned for more! I will upload another picture by the end of the week. If you can't wait to see what i have painted already, visit my page at DeviantArt or follow me on Facebook
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Aero L-39 Albatros is a high-performance jet trainer aircraft developed in Czechoslovakia to meet requirements for a "C-39" (C for cvičný – trainer) during the 1960s to replace the L-29 Delfín as the main training aircraft. It was the first of the second-generation jet trainers, and the first turbofan-powered trainer produced.
The L-39 first flew on 4 November 1969. Serial production began in 1971. The basic trainer was not armed, but had two underwing pylons for drop tanks and practice weapons. Light-attack variants (e. g. the L-39ZO) had four underwing hardpoints for ground attack stores, the later ZA also had an underfuselage gun pod.
To date, more than 2.800 L-39s have served with over 30 air forces around the world. The Albatros is probably the most widely used jet trainer in the world; in addition to performing basic and advanced pilot training, it has also flown combat missions in a light-attack role. Atypically, it never received a NATO reporting name.
Germany became an operator of the L-39 through the demise of the GDR and its armed forces, the Nationale Volksarmee (NVA). The NVA's air arm, the Luftstreitkräfte (LSK), had been operating a considerable L-39 fleet, including 52× L-39ZO armed trainers plus two L-39V target tugs. In the wake of the unification of Western and Eastern Germany, the NVA was dissolved and almost all of its equipment retired - except for some specialized items like Mi-14 naval rescue helicopters (operated in the Baltic Sea region), a few MiG-29s as well as a small L-39 force.
The majority of the ex-NVA's Albatros fleet had been withdrawn from use in 1990 and partly sold to other countries, e.g. Hungary. But a total of eight L-39ZO airframes with low flying hours were retained and modified to serve as target tugs for the German Bundeswehr and its various forces in the air, at sea and on land. This heritage came as a timely and cost-effective opportunity, since the Luftwaffe just had retired its OV-10B Bronco target tug fleet after 20 years of service.
The dedicated target tug L-39V, with an internal winch and other specialized equipment, was refused because it was not compatible with Western target systems. Furthermore, the starting procedure with an aerial KT-04 Schleppziel target of Russian origin on a dolly behind the aircraft was deemed to be too hazardous by Bundeswehr officials – even though it had successfully been practiced by the NVA LSK fpr years.
Another fact that spoke against the L-39V was simply the limited number of available aircraft from the NVA heritage: there had only been two machines, formerly operated by the NVA-LSK’s ZDK-33 (Zieldarstellungskette) in Peenemünde. This lone couple had had to be augmented by further, externally procured machines in order to build and maintain a decent fleet and its respective infrastructure. Therefore, the L-39Vs were sold together with the NVA LSK L-39 fleet’s rest.
However, the opportunity to adopt the L-39 and benefit from the NVA air and ground crews’ experience with the type was too big to turn down, and consequently the aircraft was modified for specialized target tug and target simulation services by the Bundeswehr. Several modifications were made to the eight ex NVA L-39 ZOs, even though only few were actually visible. Most visible change was the deletion of the gun pod under the forward fuselage. Under the hood, many systems and cockpit instruments were replaced by Western equipment, and Martin Baker Mk. 10 ejection seats were mounted. Another fundamental modification was a new engine: the original Al-25 turbofan was replaced by a Garrett TFE731-2-2N turbofan with slightly less power, but much improved fuel economy, higher reliability and lower maintenance intensity.
Any tug towing equipment was carried externally under the wings, in various pods. Even though the machines were frequently operated with a single pilot only, the second seat and full dual controls were retained.
The revamped L-39s (plus three unpowered airframes for spares) were allocated to the German Navy's air arm, the Marineflieger, because hot weapon training for the Luftwaffe's F-4F Phantom II's would typically take place over the North and Baltic Sea. The machines lost their former NVA LSK livery and received instead a naval wrap-around paint scheme, with tactical codes in the 28+01 to 28+08 range. The official Bundeswehr designation of the type became L-39M(Z) (‘M’ for ‘modifiziert’ = modified, with an additional ‘(Z)’ for ‘Zieldarstellung’ = aerial target simulation).
Despite their trainer potential, the Marineflieger L-39s exclusively served in the target simulation role, either as aerial target tugs for air and ground crews, or, alternatively and outfitted with special radar reflectors, for low-level cruise missile simulations. Most of the machines received additional orange high visibility markings during their career, even though their placement and size varied between individual airframes. Curiously enough, 28+01 and 28+03 were left in the original three-tone camouflage paint scheme.
The L-39M(Z)s were initially allocated to MFG1 at Jagel, but this squadron was soon disbanded and partly integrated into MFG2. In late 1993 the small Albatros fleet moved to MFG2's Eggebek AB. The machines were not only used over German territory, but also deployed to foreign NATO bases, including Decimomannu AB on Sicily, where German and other NATO forces’ aircraft crews frequently practiced hot weapon fire as a part of NATO Dissimilar Air Combat Training (DACT).
The machines served faithfully until 2003, when the fleet was completely retired, the airframes having expended their structural lifetime, only 28+04 having been lost prematurely in 1996 due to a bird collision, though. The retirement was further promoted by the fact that the German defense budget had been massively reduced after the end of the Cold War, and as one of the consequences the Naval Air Arm was about to lose its offensive elements, e.g. the complete Tornado fleet.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2 (even though frequently operated by only a single pilot in the front seat)
Length: 12.13 m (39 ft 9½ in)
Wingspan: 9.46 m (31 ft 0½ in)
Height: 4.77 m (15 ft 7¾ in)
Wing area: 18.8 m² (202 ft²)
Wing loading: 250.0 kg/m² (51.3 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.37
Airfoil: NACA 64A012 mod
Empty weight: 3,455 kg (7,617 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 5,275 kg (11.618 lbs.)
Powerplant:
1× Garrett TFE731-2-2N turbofan, 15.57 kN (3,500 lbf)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 750 km/h (405 knots, 466 mph) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft)
Never exceed speed: Mach 0.80 (609 mph, 980 km/h)
Range: 1.300 km (593 nmi, 683 mi) on internal fuel
2.000 km, (944 nmi, 1,087 mi) ferry range with drop tanks
Endurance: 2 hr 50 min (internal fuel), 4 hr 30 min (internal and external fuel)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,100 ft)
Rate of climb: 21 m/s (4,130 ft/min)
Climb to 5,000 m (16,400 ft): 5 min
Take-off roll: 530 m (1,740 ft)
Landing roll: 650 m (2,140 ft)
Armament:
4x underwing hardpoints for up to 2.425 lb (1.100 kg) of weapons,
including bombs, rocket pods, gun pods, a five-camera reconnaissance pod, or two fuel drop-tanks
The kit and its assembly:
Maybe the final contribution for the 2016 “In the Navy” Group Build at whatifmodelers.com – issued through the GB’s deadline extension by two weeks into September. :D
This is another idea/build I had on the long idea list, with the kit already stashed away long time ago and basically all other ingredients at hand, too. Again, the GB was a good trigger to dig out the parts and finally start the target tug project.
The kit is the Eduard Aero L-39ZA Albatros (Weekend edition, without PE parts or masks): a nice and simple offering with good detail and engraved panel lines. But for a modern mould (from 2002, AFAIK) I am amazed that it features some avoidable weak points like massive (and poorly fitting) wing trailing edges or sinkholes in the (massive!) wing tip tanks or above the exhaust? But, nevertheless, it’s probably the best L-39 around at the moment.
As a side note, the completely closed landing gear wells appear like a flaw, too, but this detail is correct: the real aircraft encloses its wheel-wells when the undercarriage is extended! Looks very clean.
The kit was mostly built OOB, I just replaced the election seats and mounted an aerial target pod. Originally, this was to be the TDU-10B "Dart" from Hasegawa’s "Aircraft Weapons: IV" set, since it was used by the Luftwaffe, too - and finally a good use for that huge kite! The whole target pod package was placed under the port wing’s inner pylon, while an original Albatros drop tank was placed on the other side.
Painting and markings:
The more interesting part of the build. The German Marineflieger, as well as the Luftwaffe, experimented a lot with different and sometimes exotic and complex camouflage schemes during the late 70ies and in the 80ies. And while the late low-viz Luftwaffe machines looked similar, almost each type carried its own scheme and colors, in some cases there were even alternative patterns with the same tones.
For the L-39 I used the definitive Westland Sea King scheme as benchmark (Norm '87), which were (until today) painted with all-over blotches of RAL 7030 (Steingrau), 7009 (Grüngrau) and 7012 (Basaltgrau) – the latter two tones are hard to differentiate. I used Revell acrylics, since the authentic tones are available.
For some color contrast and the aircraft’s supportive role I added orange hi-viz markings on the wings and the tail. These were made from generic decal sheet from TL Modellbau. This works very well and is less hazardous than trying to paint these markings, with an extra coat of white primer and probably a rather uneven finish through brush application.
As standard procedure, the kit received a thinned black ink wash, emphasizing the engraved panel lines, and some panel shading with lighter tones of the basic camouflage colors.
The cockpit was painted in Dark Gull Gray and a greenish blue-gray (instead of the original Soviet non-fatigue teal), with black ejection seats. The air intake interior and the inside of the main landing gear covers became Chromate Yellow.
The winch pod became white, for some contrast, while the target was painted with dayglow orange on a yellow primer base. The counterweight drop tank received, as a remnant of the aircraft’s origins, the type’s NVA camouflage in Ochre and Olive Drab with a pale gray underside (Humbrol 83, 155 and 129, respectively). Looks odd and adds diversity. :D
The Luftwaffe markings were puzzled together from various sheets, primarily from a Tornado aftermarket sheet. Most stencils came from the Eduard OOB sheet. Finally the kit was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish.
Some background:
The MBR-04 series were the first combat-ready Destroids and the most successful land-combat weapon Destroids that were built with OverTechnology of Macross. The abbreviation MBR (Main Battle Robot) indicates the model was developed as a walking humanoid weapon emphasizing the heavy armor firepower of an artillery combat vehicle, designed to replace mainline battle tanks. The Type 04 series was developed jointly by Viggers and Chrauler. Unlike the variable fighters, which had to be designed to accommodate transformation mechanisms, the MBR series featured a structure with a large capacity that allowed plenty of room for machinery and armor.
The initial development line, the "Tomahawk" multipurpose battle robot and comparable in its intended role with former main battle tanks, had inferior anti-aircraft abilities, even though it boasted firepower like no other biped vehicle from the Destroid series. Originally, the Tomahawk was just called "MBR Mk. I", but once its systems and structural elements became the basis for other models, its designation changed into the "Type 04" Destroid. The main frame from the waist down, a module which consolidated the thermonuclear reactor and ambulatory OverTechnology system of the Destroids, was common to all of the Type 04 series of biped battle robots. Production line integration using this module was a key goal of Destroid development, and the quick development of further variants.
The ADR-04-Mk. X Defender Destroid was one of these family members, a walking weapon developed using OverTechnology for deployment by the United Nations Military. During development of the MBR-04-Mk I, a version of the Destroid ambulatory system with the anti-aircraft Contraves system (for use during the early stages of battle) was simultaneously being developed in a joint effort by Viggers-Chrauler under direction from the United Nations. This initial support Destroid, tentatively designated ADR-04-Mk. II, which still shared many components and even hull sections with the Tomahawk, did not progress beyond prototype stage - primarily because of a focus on the Tomahawk as UN's primary ground weapon. It nevertheless provided vital input for the ADR-04-Mk. X Defender, which became an important defensive asset to protect ground troops and vital locations, as well as for operations in space on board of the SDF-1.
Designed for the purpose of super-long-range firing in atmosphere and space, the Defender was rolled out in March 2009 and immediately put into action against the Zentraedi military. Unfortunately, the cost of the unit was high and posed significant difficulties for manufacturing, especially installing the high-definition targeting system, which lead to a bottleneck during mass production.
The ADR-04-Mk. X Defender's only weapons were two stub arms, each featuring a pair of large-caliber, specialized interception capability guns instead of manipulators, similar to the eventual mass-produced MBR-04-Mk. VI Tomahawk. The anti-aircraft engagement model (anti-tank class) wide-bore guns each fired 500 rounds per minute and all four barrels firing in combination were able to unleash continuous 2,000 rounds per minute, even though only short bursts of four rounds or just single shots were typically fired to save ammunition. The 78 mm rounds were aimed via an Erlikon Contraves fire control system and fired at an impressive muzzle velocity of 3,300 meters per second. A wide range of ammunition types could be fired, including HE, AP, APDS high speed, massive kinetic impact rounds, EMP grenades and rounds with chaff/flare/thermal mist charges. The internal belt magazines made it was possible to load up to three different types per twin gun and deliberately switch between them. The overall supply was, however, rather limited.
The rotating mechanism structure of the upper body allowed the unit to respond quickly to enemies approaching even from the rear, for a full 360° coverage of the whole hemisphere above the Destroid. Due to the independent arms, the Defender could even engage two targets separately and split its firepower among them. Additionally, the targeting system was capable of long-range firing in space and could perform extremely precise shooting at long distances in a vacuum/zero-G environment. Hence, the Defender Destroid was more a next generation anti-aircraft tank and in service frequently moonlighted as a movable defensive turret. However, despite featuring a common Destroid ambulatory system, the Defender's mobility was rather limited in direct comparison with a variable fighter Battroid, and it lacked any significant close-combat capability, so that it remained a dedicated support vehicle for other combat units.
180 ADR-04-Mk. X Defenders were ordered, built and operated by UN ground and space forces, about half of them were deployed on board of SDF-1. During the First Space War, around sixty more Defenders were converted from revamped MBR-04 series chassis, mostly from battle-damaged Tomahawks, but some later Phalanx' units were modified, too.
During its career the Defender was gradually upgraded with better sensors and radar systems, and its armament was augmented, too. A common upgrade were enlarged ammunition bays on the shoulders that could hold 50 more rounds per gun, even though this stressed the ambulatory system since the Defender's center of gravity was raised. Therefore, this modification was almost exclusively executed among stationary "gun turret" units. Another late upgrade was the addition of launch rails for AMM-1 anti-aircraft missiles on the gun pods and/or the torso. Again, this was almost exclusively implemented on stationary Defenders.
A short-range sub-variant, under the project handle "Cheyenne", was developed in 2010, too, but it was only produced in small number for evaluation purposes. It was based on the Defender's structure, but it carried a different armament, consisting of a pair of 37 mm six-barrel gatling guns plus AMM-1 missiles, and a more clutter-resistant radar system against fast and low-flying targets. The Cheyenne was intended as a complementary aerial defense unit, but the results from field tests were not convincing, so that the project was mothballed. However, in 2012 the concept was developed further into the ADR-04-Mk.XI "Manticore", which was fully tailored to the short-range defense role.
General characteristics:
Equipment Type: aerial defense robot, series 04
Government: U.N. Spacy
Manufacturer: Viggers/Chrauler
Introduction: March 2009
Accommodation: 1 pilot
Dimensions:
Height 11.37 meters (overall)
10.73 meters (w/o surveillance radar antenna)
Length 4.48 meters (hull only)
7.85 meters (guns forward)
Width 8.6 meters
Mass: 27.1 metric tons
Power Plant:
Kranss-Maffai MT828 thermonuclear reactor, output rated at 2800 shp;
plus an auxiliary GE EM10T fuel power generator, output rated at 510 kW
Propulsion:
2x thrust nozzles mounted in the lower back region, allowing the capability to perform jumps,
plus several vernier nozzles around the hull for Zero-G manoeuvers
Performance:
Max. walking speed: 72 kph when fully loaded
Design features:
- Detachable weapons bay (attaches to the main body via two main locks);
- Type 966 PFG Contraves radar and fire control set (a.k.a. Contraves II)
with respective heat exchanger on the upper back
- Rotating surveillance antenna for full 360° air space coverage
- Optical sensor unit equipped with four camera eyes, moving along a vertical slit,
protected by a polarized light shield;
- Capable of performing Zero-G manoeuvers via 16 x thrust nozzles (mounted around the hull);
- Reactor radiator with exhaust ports in the rear;
- Cockpit can be separated from the body in an emergency (only the cockpit block is recovered);
- Option pack featuring missiles or enlarged ammunition bays;
Armament:
2x Erlikon 78mm liquid-cooled high-speed 2-barrel automatic cannon with 200 rounds each,
mounted as arms
The kit and its assembly:
A kind of nostalgia trip, because my first ever mecha kit I bought and built in the Eighties was this 1:100 Destroid Defender! It still exists, even though only as a re-built model, and I thought that it was about time to build another, “better” one, to complete my collection of canonical Macross Destroids.
With this objective, the vintage kit was built basically OOB, just with some detail enhancements. The biggest structural change is a new hip joint arrangement, made from steel wire. It allows a more or less flexible 3D posture of the legs, for a more dynamic “walking” pose, and the resulting gaps were filled with paper tissue drenched in white glue and acrylic paint.
A more cosmetic change concerns the Defender’s optical sensor array on its “head”. OOB it just consists of a wide “slit” with a square window – very basic, but that’s how the defender is depicted in the TV series. However, I have a Macross artbook with original design sketches from Studio Nue, which reveal more details of this arrangement, and these include a kind of louvre that covers the mobile sensor array’s guide rails, and the sensor array itself consists of several smaller optical units – the relatively new 1:72 Defender from WAVE features these details, too, but the old 1:72 Defender from Arii (and later Bandai) also only has a red box, even though under a clear cover, which is IMHO dubious, though. The louvres were created from hemispherical styrene profile bits, the sensor array was scratched with a front wheel from an 1:100 VF-1 and more styrene bits.
The guns/arms were taken OOB, but I reduced the opening at the shoulder (and with it the angle the arms can be swiveled) with styrene profile material, which also hides the foo fit of the shoulder halves that hold the guns and a reinforcement styrene plate inside of them.
While I could have enlarged the ammunition boxes on the Defender’s shoulders (they are extended backwards), I left them in the original and OOB configuration. Another hull mod I eventually did not carry out were clear replacements for the molded searchlights. Having some visible depth and true clear covers would have been nice, but then I doubted the benefits vs. the mess their integration into the body would mean, so that I went for a simple paint solution (see below).
A final cosmetic modification tried to improve the look of the shanks – but it did not help much. On the Defender, there are two continuous ridges that run across the lower legs. This is a molding simplification and wrong because the Defender (and all other 04-Series chassis’) only features the ends of the ridges.
I tried to sand the inner sections away, but upon gluing the parts finally together I realized that the fit of these parts is abysmal, and PSRing on the resulting concave surface between the leftover humps was a nightmare. Did not work well, and it looks poor.
With this in mind, a general word about the Arii 1:100 Destroids with the Series 04 chassis: there are three kits (Defender, Tomahawk and Phalanx), and you’d expect that these used the same lower body just with different torsos. But that’s not the case – they are all different, and the Defender is certainly the worst version, with its odd “toe” construction, the continuous ridges and the horrible fit of the lower leg halves as well as the shoulders that hold the stub arms. The Tomahawk is better, but also challenging, and IMHO, when you are only looking for the lower body section, the Phalanx is the best kit or the trio.
Painting and markings:
This Defender was supposed to remain canonical and close to the OOB finish, so this became a simple affair.
All Macross Destroids tend to carry a uniform livery, and esp. the Tomahawk/Defender/Phalanx family is kept in murky/dull tones of green, brown and ochre: unpretentious "mud movers".
The Defender appears to carry an overall olive drab livery, and I settled on RAL 7008 (Khakigrau), which is - according to the RAL color list - supposed to be a shade of grey, but it comes out as a dull, yellowish green-brown.
This tone was applied overall from a rattle can, and the few contrast sections like the ammunition boxes or the dust guards of the knee joints were painted with NATO olive green (RAL 6014, Gelboliv, Revell 46). The hull was later treated with Modelmaster Olive Drab (FS 34087), which adds a more greenish hue to the basic paint.
The kit received a thorough black ink washing, then some dry-brushing with Humbrol 72 (Khaki Drill) was applied. The decals came next, taken from the OOB sheet, plus four decals for those vernier thrusters that had not been molded into the kit’s surface. The only change is a different piece of “nose art” on the left leg, replacing the original, rather small decal. It actually belongs to a Czech AF MiG-21MF (one of the two famous Fishbeds from Pardubice in 1989, aircraft “1114”) and filled the bumpy area over the lower leg’s seam (see above) well – a kind of visual distraction from the PSR mess underneath...
Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, its major sub-assemblies put together. The optical sensors received lenses with clear paint over a silver base. The large searchlights were painted, too, with a silver base plus white and clear blue reflections on top, covered with a generous coat of Humbrol’s Clearfix to mimic a clear, glossy cover.
After final assembly, some mineral pigments were dusted onto the model’s lower areas with a soft, big brush.
I knew that the Defender was trouble, but esp. the legs turned out to be horrible to build. However, the small cosmetic changes really improve the model’s look, and I am quite happy with the result.
Bild von meinem Modell des Wiesel 1A0 MK20 Unosom.
Mehr Bilder und der Baubericht auf www.abisz-modellbau.de/modellbau/wiesel-i-von-afv-club/
MAN TGS M Abrollcontainer-LKW Feuerwehr Hannover
MB Actros MP3 WLF 6 Flughafenfeuerwehr Frankfurt am Main
MAN TGS M Abrollcontainer-LKW Feuerwehr Hannover
MB Actros MP3 WLF 6 Flughafenfeuerwehr Frankfurt am Main
MAN TGA Abrollmulden-LKW Feuerwehr Dortmund
MB Actros WLF Lüftung Feuerwehr Stuttgart
The kit and its assembly:
A rare thing concerning my builds: an alternative reality whif. A fictional air force of an independent Scotland crept into my mind after the hysterical “Brexit” events in 2016 and the former (failed) public vote concerning the independence of Scotland from the UK. What would happen to the military, if the independence would take place, nevertheless, and British forces left the country?
The aforementioned Scottish National Party (SNP) paper from 2013 is real, and I took it as a benchmark. Primary focus would certainly be set on air space defense, and the Gripen appears as a good and not too expensive choice. The Sk 90 is a personal invention, but would fulfill a good complementary role.
Nevertheless, another multi-role aircraft would make sense as an addition, and both M-346 and T-50 caught my eye (Russian options were ruled out due to the tense political relations), and I gave the TA-50 the “Go” because of its engine and its proximity to the Gripen.
The T-50 really looks like the juvenile offspring from a date between an F-16 and an F-18. There’s even a kit available, from Academy – but it’s a Snap-Fit offering without a landing gear but, as an alternative, a clear display that can be attached to the engine nozzle. It also comes with stickers instead of waterslide decals. This sounds crappy and toy-like, but, after taking a close look at kit reviews, I gave it a try.
And I am positively surprised. While the kit consists of only few parts, moulded in the colors of a ROCAF trainer as expected, the surfaces have minute, engraved detail. Fit is very good, too, and there’s even a decent cockpit that’s actually better than the offering of some “normal” model kits. The interior comes with multi-part seats, side consoles and dashboards that feature correctly shaped instrument details (no decals). The air intakes are great, too: seamless, with relatively thin walls, nice!
So far, so good. But not enough. I could have built the kit OOB with the landing gear tucked up, but I went for the more complicated route and trans-/implanted the complete landing gear from an Intech F-16, which is available for less than EUR 5,- (and not much worth, to be honest). AFAIK, there’s white metal landing gear for the T-50 available from Scale Aircraft Conversions, but it’s 1:48 and for this set’s price I could have bought three Intech F-16s…
But back to the conversion. This landing gear transplantation stunt sounds more complicated as it actually turned out to be. For the front wheel well I simply cut a long opening into the fuselage and added inside a styrene sheet as a well roof, attached under the cockpit floor.
For the main landing gear I just opened the flush covers on the T-50 fuselage, cut out the interior from the Intech F-16, tailored it a little and glued it into its new place.
This was made easy by the fact that the T-50 is a bit smaller than the F-16, so that the transplants are by tendency a little too large and offer enough “flesh” for adaptations. Once in place, the F-16 struts were mounted (also slightly tailored to fit well) and covers added. The front wheel cover was created with 0.5 mm styrene sheet, for the main covers I used the parts from the Intech F-16 kit because they were thinner than the leftover T-50 fuselage parts and feature some surface detail on the inside. They had to be adapted in size, though. But the operation worked like a charm, highly recommended!
Around the hull, some small details like missing air scoops, some pitots and antennae were added. In a bout of boredom (while waiting for ordered parts…) I also added static dischargers on the aerodynamic surfaces’ trailing edges – the kit comes with obvious attachment points, and they are a small detail that improves the modern look of the T-50 even more.
Since the Academy kit comes clean with only a ventral drop tank as ordnance, underwing pylons from a SEPECAT Jaguar (resin aftermarket parts from Pavla) and a pair of AGM-65 from the Italeri NATO Weapons set plus launch rails were added, plus a pair of Sidewinders (from a Hasegawa AAM set, painted as blue training rounds) on the wing tip launch rails.
Since the T-50 trainer comes unarmed, a gun nozzle had to be added – its position is very similar to the gun on board of the F-16, on the upper side of the port side LERX. Another addition are conformal chaff/flare dispensers at the fin’s base, adding some beef to the sleek aircraft.
Für die Messe Westfalenhallen Dortmund verwirklichte medienrauschen Weblog & Facebook-Seite zur INTERMODELLBAU 2011.
MAN TGS M Abrollcontainer-LKW Feuerwehr Hannover
MB Actros MP3 WLF 6 Flughafenfeuerwehr Frankfurt am Main
MAN TGS M Abrollcontainer-LKW Feuerwehr Hannover
MB Actros MP3 WLF 6 Flughafenfeuerwehr Frankfurt am Main
MB Actros WLF Lüftung Feuerwehr Stuttgart
The kit and its assembly:
A kind of distraction from my usual model topics. I am not a big fan of large-scale car models, but I had a more or less complete Nissan Cedric kit left over from the “Blue Lights” group build in March 2021.It originally is/was a police car, bought as a donor bank, and I used the extra police car parts and decals on a Daihatsu Move to create a kawaii police kei car. Since then, the stripped Cedric lingered in The Stash™, even though I had a vague idea of what I wanted to create from it.
I liked the Cedric 430’s baroque lines, with lots of chrome and its boxy shape, and already had the plan to build it later as a slightly tuned sedan. Since I do not have many parts for car conversions at hand, not much was changed. I used the police car’s front grille with four round headlights (instead of the standard US-style square front grille and headlights), and from certain angles the car looks like a 1st generation BMW 7 Series with them. The rear also has a certain BMW-ish look? What’s a little odd is the fact that the bonnet has a slight kink at the front, so that it leaves a small gap to the grille? Not certain if that’s “real” or some kind of kit bug? It’s only apparent in a direct frontal view – I just recognized it during the photo session!
As a mild tuning measure I procured an aftermarket set with Japanese 15” “RS Watanabe” alloy wheels in gunmetal grey from Fujimi, which replaced the original 14” steel rims with hubcaps. The bigger and slightly wider wheels had to be adapted to the suspension (which can apparently be built in a lowered position, even though some suspension parts for this stunt appear to miss in the kit), they make the car look a little more aggressive, but rather subtly. The oval chromed exhaust is an OOB part.
The interior was taken OOB, too, and I opted for a manual gearbox and retained the RHD steering, together with a somewhat sporty three-spoke steering wheel.
Painting and markings:
I wanted a simple and rather unobtrusive overall metallic tone that would complement the dark wheels as well as the masses of chrome. Finding a suitable paint was not easy, though – I had preferred a more subdued grey-green (classic Jaguar XJs became a kind of inspirational benchmark), but I did not want to use a metallic car paint on the model because the mica flakes in car paints is much too coarse for a model kit. The result would rather look like a “disco flakes” paintjob.
Eventually I settled for a rather bright green metallic tone from Tamiya, TS-60 (Pearl Green), which is actually not a classic metallic paint but rather a pearlized opaque teal tone, with suitably small mica particles.
The car body and the platform received a matt black primer coat, which was in the interior accentuated with various shades of matt and semi-gloss black and anthracite. The Pearl Green was then generously applied to hull, bonnet and bumpers, plus a coat of glossy clear acrylic varnish. The chrome parts were attached with Clearfix and super glue. The grey alloy wheels were taken OOB and not painted at all, because their finish looked just fine.
The few decals came from the OOB sheet, and the aforementioned Daihatsu Move also provided some typical Japanese stickers.
Back view of the "Moa" bastard.
The (enhanced) cockpit is from a Takara Dougram kit (Revell re-issue in the mid 80ies), the legs and waist from a 1:144 kit "Ma-Drum" from a series called "Megaro Zamac", then there are 1:100 Macross Battroid parts involved, the arms were part of 1:100 hydraulic cranes, etc., etc.... Paint was inspired by German WWII vehicles, with dark blue-gray and brick red. The lighting makes it brighter as it actually is.