View allAll Photos Tagged background
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Under the Treaty of Trianon (1920), Hungary was forbidden from owning military aircraft. However, a secret air arm was gradually established under the cover of civilian flying clubs. During 1938, as a result of the Bled agreement, the existence of the Royal Hungarian Air Force (Hungarian: Magyar Királyi Honvéd Légierő (MKHL)), was made known. The army's aviation service was reorganized and expanded.
Late 1938 the army aviation was once again reorganized. Admiral Horthy, the head of state, ordered that the army aviation should become an independent service with effect of 01.09.1939. It subsequently participated in clashes with the newly established Slovak Republic and in the border confrontation with the Kingdom of Romania.
In 1940, the decision was made to unite the Air Force, the anti-aircraft forces, and the civilian air defense organizations under one central headquarters. In April 1941, operations were conducted in support of the German invasion of Yugoslavia and, on 27 June 1941, Hungary declared war on the Soviet Union.
On 01.06.1941, the Air Defense Corps was established, and Lieutenant General Béla Rákosi became Commander of Army Aviation. In effect the Air Force had once again become part of the Army. In the summer of 1942, an air brigade was attached to the Luftwaffe's VIII. Fliegerkorps at the Eastern Front.
At that time, most of the Hungarian Air Force's fighter equipment was of German origin, consisting of types like Bf 109 F and G, Fw 190 A/F, Me 210. But some indigenous designs were under development, too, e. g. at the RMI, Repülo Muszaki Intézet, or Aviation Technical Institute. Its aircraft were primarily (but not exclusively) by László Varga, and as a result, RMI designs were often given the Varga name (in some cases, even when he was not the major designer). But the RMI designation was used in parallel, too.
One of the domestic developments was the RMI-11 'Sólyom' (= Falcon) fighter. This single engine aircraft drew heavily upon the Bf 109 design, but featured some changes and improvements like an inward-retracting landing gear or a bubble canopy. It also incorporated elements from the heavy RMI-8 fighter, a push/pull design with twin tail booms, but the RMI-8’s sole prototype was destroyed by Allied air raids before a serious test program could be launched.
In contrast to the complex RMI-8 the RMI-11 was a small and light aircraft, a conventional but clean design, based on simple shapes for easy, modular production. Most of its structure was made from wood, saving sparse metal whenever possible. Empty weight was, for instance, about 200 kg less than a contemporary Bf- 109 G.
The RMI-11 was driven by a liquid-cooled DB 605 inverted V12 engine, rated at 1.475 hp. Thanks to the low weight of the airframe, the machine achieved a high top speed and an exceptional high rate of climb.
Originally designed as a fast and agile interceptor in the early stages of WWII, the RMI was only armed with two 13mm MG 131 with 300 RPG and two 7.92 mm MG 17 in the outer wings. Two underwing hardpoints could carry up to 100 kg each.
The RMI-11 prototype made its maiden flight in late 1943 and after a basic but successful test program immediately ordered into production – in a hurry, though, and beginning March 1944, Allied bomber raids began on Hungary and progressively increased in intensity.
Production of the RMI-11 gained only slowly momentum, due to material shortages, because the RMI-11was primarily of plywood bonded with a special phenolic resin adhesive that was supplied from German sources. Due to Allied bombing raids on the glue’s original production sites the plywood glue had to be replaced by one that was not as strong, and was later found to react chemically, apparently in a corrosive manner, with the wood in RMI-11’s structure. In November 1944, several RMI-11s crashed with wing and tail failures due to plywood delamination. This same problem also critically affected the German Focke Wulf Ta 154 and Heinkel He 162 programs.
Late in 1944 all efforts were redirected towards countering the advancing Red Army. Soon it was clear that the type needed long range cannons with higher caliber in order to encounter heavy Allied bombers, so plans were made to add heavier German armament. This was realized through an extra pair of MG 151/20 20 mm cannons with 150 RPG, which were added in fairings under the wings instead of the original bomb hardpoints (which were hardly ever used in service at all). During the same refit, the rather ineffective MG 17s were deleted, saving weight and leaving more room inside of the wings for the MG 131s’ ammunition supply (now with 400 RPG)
At that time only about 60 production aircraft had been completed and modified, and production was halted due to the severe structural problems. These machines were nevertheless thrown into service, with repairs and upgrades done at the Hungarian airfields – but the glue problem was a constant operational danger.
Still, all these efforts were to no avail: All fighting in Hungary ended on 16 April 1945, and all RMI-11’s were scrapped after hostilities ended.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 8.82 m (28 ft 10 ½ in)
Wingspan: 10.58 m (34 ft 8 in)
Height: 4.10 m (13 ft 5 in)
Wing area: 16.82 m² (181.00 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,964 kg (4,330 lb)
Loaded weight: 2,200 kg (4,840 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 2,395 kg (5,280 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1 liquid-cooled inverted V12, 1,475 PS (1,085 kW)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 640 km/h (398 mph) at 6,300 m (20,669 ft)
Cruise speed: 590 km/h (365 mph) at 6.000 m (19.680 ft)
Range: 850 km (528 mi)
Service ceiling: 12.000 m (39.370 ft)
Rate of climb: 17.0 m/s (3.345 ft/min)
Wing loading: 196 kg/m² (40 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 344 W/kg (0.21 hp/lb)
Armament:
2× 13mm MG 131 (.51 in) machine guns in the wings,400 RPG, plus 2× 20mm MG 151/20 (.51 in) machine cannons, 150 RPG, in external underwing fairings.With the cannons deleted up to 8× 15 kg (33 lb) or 2× 50, 100, or 150 kg (110, 220, or 330 lb) bombs under the wings
The kit and its assembly:
This is a serious kitbash and a totally fictional aircraft - and you are IMHO an expert modeler if you recognize what basically went into it!
This build was inspired when I recently bought an RS Models Nakajima Kikka jet fighter, the double seater kit. As a bonus it comes with two fuselages: effectively, it is the single seater kit with an extra sprue and a different canopy. Looking at the Kikka's profile I found that it HAD to be converted into a piston engine aircraft, with a liquid-cooled engine. Wings and anything else would come from the scrap box, but it should become a sleek fighter aircraft, a late WWII design.
From that, things went straightforward:
● Fuselage from a RS Models Nakajima N9J1 "Kikka", front end cut away
● Wings from an Revell Macchi C.200 Saetta
● Stabilizers from an Art Model MiG I-210 fighter
● Canopy from a late Supermarine Spitfire (Special Hobby, IIRC)
● Nose/engine and radiators from an RS Models Ki-78
● The propeller was scratched from single pieces/blades and the Ki-78 spinner
● The landing gear is a Ki-78/C.200 parts mix.
I settled for the Ki-78's radiator installment on the rear flanks because it is a unique feature and simply does not hamper the sleek side profile. I also thought that this might have been a smart solution for modular production - fuselage and wings could be completed separately.
The Ki-78 engine had to be widened considerably to match the Kikka’s trapezoidal fuselage diameter, putty and major sculpting resulted in a relatively smooth and subtle intersection. As per usual, an axis construction for the propeller was added, too, so that it can spin freely. Mating wings and fuselage necessitated a new cockpit floor (which acts at the same time as landing gear well interior), and a 3mm bridge at the wing roots had to filled – but that was easy.
The cockpit interior was outfitted with spares, the Spitfire canopy needed some small styrene wedges under the windshield to make it fit onto the Kikka fuselage.
Things went rather smoothly until I fixed the wings to the completed fuselage. However I placed them, it looked odd – too far back, and the nose stood out; too far forward, and the tail was too long. Somehow, proportions did not match – only slightly, but it bugged me. So far that I eventually decided to shorten the fuselage – after having completed it, radiators already in place and everything sanded even. I made a vertical cut behind the cockpit and removed ~7mm of length – and suddenly the aircraft looked good! Needed some extra body work, but the aircraft looks much more balanced now.
The underwing fairings for the cannons were late additions, too. I wanted to keep the fuselage clean, with no nose guns, but adding heavier armament turned out to be tricky. The fairing solution was inspired by a real-world Fw 190 Rüstsatz which featured two MG 151/20 apiece. I had appropriate parts from an Academy Fw 190 left over, so I sliced these up and narrowed them for a single cannon each, and this was the right size for the slender aircraft. All gun barrels were created through heated and pulled-out styrene tubes.
Painting and markings:
Deciding what this aircraft was to become was tougher than building it! With its clearly German origin it had to be a WWII Axis type, but I did neither want a German nor a Japanese aircraft, even Italy was ruled out – all too obvious. With Hungary and its RMI designs I eventually found a good potential origin, and this also allowed a rather "colorful" livery. With the Hungarian background this kitbash became the RMI-11.
The paint scheme was inspired by an experimental Hungarian camouflage in Green, Gray and Brown, seen on a Bf 109G. I could not find color indications, but in the end I settled for three RLM tones for the upper sides, RLM 71, 75 and 79, coupled with RLM 76 for the lower sides. All tones are enamels from Modelmaster's Authentic range, panels and leading edges were slightly emphasized with lighter shades. As a small design twist I added a wavy, medium waterline on the fuselage sides.
Interior surfaces were, lacking any reference, kept in RLM 02. In order not to be too fanciful, the spinner became black with a green tip (RLM 62), and the blades were painted with a mix of RLM 70 (Black Green) and Black, for a very dark and dull green tone, Luftwaffe style.
The yellow markings correspond to German Luftwaffe markings of the late WWII era, the yellow 45° “V” under the lower left wing was introduced in the Balkan region in 1944, it was also carried by Luftwaffe aircraft in this conflict theatre.
The flashy decoration on all tail surfaces disappeared at that time on real aircraft (only small Hungarian flags were carried on the tail rudder), but I still incorporated the full national insignia because it's unique and a colorful contrast to the rest of the aircraft.
Most markings belong to a real Hungarian Bf 109G (from a Print Scale aftermarket sheet), I just scratched the national markings on the fuselage and the yellow markings (all cut from stock decal material) and parts of the Hungarian flag insignia on the tail: the tips were painted with red, the white and green bands were cut to measure from a Frecce Tricolori sheet.
A light black ink wash was applied and some dry painting added with gray and black (for soot and exhaust stains), for a lightly weathered effect. As final step, everything was sealed under matt acrylic varnish (Revell).
A quickie, done in just a week, but with a very convincing look. One might recognize Bf 109 F/G, Ki-78 and even He 100 features, but none of these aircraft really matches up with the RMI-11 at second glance, there are too many individual differences. If it gets you wondering – mission accomplished! ;)
This image is provided for use in your artwork or similar other uses, either private or for sale. However, please do not re-distribute images as your own.
***Please feel free to use this Background in your Artwork, if you do use it i would love it if you would please post your work in my group here****
www.flickr.com/groups/1296873@N23/
Do not re-distribute in ANY WAY ~
~ Please do not use to create your own stock ~
Thank you ***
Gold foil digital paper, avocado paper, textured backgrounds with shiny foil patterns: chevron, stripes, polkadots, triangles pattern. You can use these patterned backgrounds for scrapbooking, wedding invites, birthday party decorations, card making, gift wrapping,...
Thanks to Bex Lewis for the source photo taken of The Screen, Winchester. See this:
Intended for use as a desktop wallpaper.
Finishing up my second day of solo Dad duties. We never had this kind of homework in second and fourth grade!
From the Washington DC Tidal Basin area. The yellow was natural vegetation in the background.
Dragonfly Sunset Background graphic available for download at dryicons.com/free-graphics/preview/dragonfly-sunset-backg... in EPS (vector) format.
View similar vector graphics at DryIcons Graphics.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on authentic facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In Autumn 1946, the Saab company began internal studies aimed at developing a replacement aircraft for the Saab B 18/S 18 as Sweden's standard attack aircraft. In 1948, Saab was formally approached by the Swedish Government with a request to investigate the development of a turbojet-powered strike aircraft to replace a series of 1940s vintage attack, reconnaissance, and night-fighter aircraft then in the Flygvapnet’s inventory. On 20 December 1948, a phase one contract for the design and mock-up of the proposed aircraft was issued. The requirements laid out by the Swedish Air Force were demanding: the aircraft had to be able to attack anywhere along Sweden's 2,000 km (1,245 miles) of coastline within one hour of launch from a central location, and it had to be capable of being launched in any weather conditions, at day or night.
In response, Saab elected to develop a twin-seat aircraft with a low-mounted swept wing and equipped with advanced electronics. On 3 November 1952, the first prototype, under the handle “Fpl 32” (flygplan = aircraft) conducted its first flight. A small batch of prototypes completed design and evaluation trials with series production of the newly designated Saab 32 Lansen beginning in 1953. The first production A 32A Lansen attack aircraft were delivered to the Swedish Air Force and proceeded through to mid-1958, at which point manufacturing activity switched to the Lansen’s other two major scheduled variants, the J 32B all-weather fighter and the photo reconnaissance S 32C, optimized for maritime operations.
The idea behind the J 32 originated from the late 1940s: Even before the SAAB 29 Tunnan had taken to the air, discussions began between SAAB and the Swedish Aviation Administration regarding a future night fighter aircraft with a jet engine. Since the end of the war, the Swedish Air Force had wanted a night fighter aircraft but was forced to put these on the shelf due to cost reasons. In the end, they managed to obtain sixty de Haviland Mosquito night fighter aircraft (then designated J 30) from Great Britain as a low-budget solution, but the J 30 was far from modern at the end of the 1940s and talks with SAAB regarding a domestic alternative continued.
At the beginning of the 1950s, the Fpl 32 project was in full swing and the aircraft was selected as the basis for an indigenous all-weather jet night fighter with a sighting radar and various heavier weapons to be able to shoot down bombers – at the time of the J 32B’s design, the main bomber threat was expected to enter Swedish airspace at subsonic speed and at high altitude. The original idea was that this aircraft would replace the J 30 Mosquito from 1955 onwards, but this proved to be impossible as the J 30 fleet needed to be replaced long before this and the A 32A as initial/main varia of the Fpl 32 had priority. Because of this operational gap, in January 1951 the Swedish Air Force ordered the British de Haviland Venom (then designated J 33) as an interim all-weather fighter and plans for the J 32B were postponed until later with the idea that the Lansen’s fighter variant would replace the J 33 at the end of the 1950s and benefit from technological progress until then.
On 7 January 1957, the first J 32B conducted its maiden flight, and it was a considerable step forward from the A 32A attack aircraft – in fact, excepts for the hull, it had only little in common with the attack variant! The new fighter version was powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon Mk 47A (locally designated RM6A) which gave as much thrust without an afterburner as the SAAB A 32A's original RM5A2 did with an afterburner, greatly improving the aircraft’s rate of climb and acceleration, even though the J 32B remained only transonic.
The armament consisted of four heavier fixed 30 mm ADEN m/55 automatic cannon in a slightly re-contoured nose, plus Rb 24/AIM-9B Sidewinder IR-guided AAMs and various unguided rockets against air and ground targets. Instead of the A 32A’s Ericsson mapping and navigation radar, which was compatible with the indigenous Rb 04C anti-ship missile, one of the earliest cruise missiles in western service, the J 32B carried a PS-42/A. This was a search/tracking X-band radar with a gyro-stabilized antenna with a swivel range of 60° to each side and +60°/−30° up/down. The radar featured the option of a 3D display for both WSO and pilot and its data could be directly displayed in the pilot’s Sikte 6A HUD, a very modern solution at the time.
A total of 118 aircraft (S/N 32501-32620) were produced between 1958 and 1960, serving in four fighter units. However, the J 32B only served for just under 12 years as a fighter aircraft in the Swedish Air Force: aviation technology progressed very quickly during the 1960s and already in 1966, the J 32B began to be replaced by the J 35F, which itself was already an advanced all-weather interceptor version of the supersonic Draken. In 1969 only the Jämtland's Air Flotilla (F4) still had the J 32B left in service and the type began to be completely retired from frontline service. In 1970 the plane flew in service for the last time and in 1973 the J 32B was officially phased out of the air force, and scrapping began in 1974.
However, the J 32Bs’ career was not over yet: At the beginning of the 1970s, Målflygdivisionen (MFD for short, the “Target Air Division”) was still using old J 29Fs as target tugs and for other training purposes, and they needed to be replaced. The choice fell on the much more capable, robust and readily available J 32B. Twenty-four machines were transferred to the MFD in 1971 to be used for training purposes, losing their radar and cannon armament. Six of these six J 32Bs were in 1972 modified into dedicated target tugs under the designation J 32D, six more J 32Bs were left unmodified and allocated to various second-line tasks such as radio testing and ground training.
The other twelve J 32Bs (s/n 32507, -510, -512, -515, -529, -541, -543, -569, -571, -592, -607 and -612) became jamming aircraft through the implementation of ECR equipment under the designation J 32E. This electronics package included internally:
- An INGEBORG signal reconnaissance receiver with antennae in the radome,
covering S, C and L radar frequency bands
- A G24 jamming transmitter, also with its antenna in the radome, covering alternatively
S, C and L frequency bands. This device co-operated with the external ADRIAN jamming pod
- Apparatus 91B; a broadband jammer, later integrated with INGEBORG
- MORE, a jammer and search station for the VHF and UHF bands
- FB-6 tape player/recorder; used, among other things, to send false messages/interference
Additional, external equipment included:
- PETRUS: jamming pod, X-band, also radar warning, intended for jamming aircraft
and active missile radars
- ADRIAN: jamming pod, active on S- and C-band, intended for jamming land-based and
shipboard radars
- BOZ-1, -3, -9 and -100 chaff dispenser pods
Outwardly, the J 32E differed from its brethren only through some blade antennae around the hull, and they initially retained the fighters’ blue-green paint scheme and their tactical markings so that they were hard to distinguish from the original fighters. Over time, orange day-glow markings were added to improve visibility during training sessions. However, during the mid-Nineties, three machines received during scheduled overhauls a new all-grey low-visibility camouflage with toned-down markings, and they received the “16M” unit identifier – the only MFD aircraft to carry these openly.
When a J 32E crashed in 1975, three of the remaining six training J 32Bs were modified into J 32Es in 1979 to fill the ranks. The MFD kept operating the small J 32Ds and Es fleet well into the Nineties and the special unit survived two flotilla and four defense engagements. At that time, the Målflygdivisionen was part of the Swedish Air Force’s Upplands Flygflottilj (F16), but it was based at Malmen air base near Linköpping (where the Swedish Air Force’s Försökscentralen was located, too) as a detachment unit and therefore the machines received the unit identifier “F16M”, even though the “M” suffix did normally not appear on the aircraft. However, through a defense ministry decision in 1996 the Target Air Division and its associated companies as well as the aircraft workshop at Malmen were to be decommissioned, what meant the end of the whole unit. On June 26, 1997, a ceremony was held over the disbandment of the division, where, among other things, twelve J 32Es made a formation flight over Östergötland.
After the decommissioning of the division, however, the Lansens were still not ‘dead’ yet: the J 32D target tugs were kept operational by a private operator and received civil registrations, and eight flightworthy J 32Es were passed over to FMV:Prov (Provningsavdelningen vid Försvarets materielverk, the material testing department of the Swedish Air Force’s Försökscentralen) to serve on, while other airframes without any more future potential were handed over to museums as exhibition pieces, or eventually scrapped. The surviving J 32Es served on in the electronic aggressor/trainer role until 1999 when they were finally replaced by ten modified Sk 37E Viggen two-seaters, after their development and conversion had taken longer than expected.
However, this was still not the end of the Saab 32, which turned out to be even more long-lived: By 2010, at least two Lansens were still operational, having the sole task of taking high altitude air samples for research purposes in collaboration with the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, and by 2012 a total of three Lansens reportedly remained in active service in Sweden.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 14.94 m (49 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 13 m (42 ft 8 in)
Height: 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in)
Wing area: 37.4 m² (403 sq ft)
Airfoil: NACA 64A010
Empty weight: 7,500 kg (16,535 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 13,500 kg (29,762 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Svenska Flygmotor RM6A afterburning turbojet
(a Rolls Royce Avon Mk.47A outfitted with an indigenous afterburner),
delivering 4,88 kp dry and 6,500 kp with reheat
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,200 km/h (750 mph, 650 kn)
Range: 2,000 km (1,200 mi, 1,100 nmi) with internal fuel only
Service ceiling: 15,000 m (49,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 100 m/s (20,000 ft/min)
Armament:
No internal weapons.
13× external hardpoints (five major pylons and eight more for light weapons)
for a wide variety of up to 3.000 kg of ordnance, typically only used
for ECM and chaff/flare dispenser pods and/or a conformal ventral auxiliary tank
The kit and its assembly:
This is a what-if project that I had on my idea list for a long time, but never got the nerve to do it because it is just a mild modification – the model depicts a real aircraft type, just with a fictional livery for it (see below).
The plan to create a J 32E from Heller’s A 32 kit from 1982 predated any OOB option, though. Tarangus has been offering a dedicated J 32B/E kit since 2016, but I stuck to my original plan to convert a Heller fighter bomber which I had in The Stash™, anyway)- also because I find the Tarangus kit prohibitively expensive (for what you get), even though it might have saved some work.
The Heller A 32A kit was basically built OOB, even though changing it into a J 32B (and even further into an “E”) called for some major modifications. These could have been scratched, but out of convenience I invested into a dedicated Maestro Models conversion set that offers resin replacements for a modified gun bay (which has more pronounced “cheek fairings” than the attack aircraft, the lower section is similar to the S 32C camera nose), a new jet exhaust and also the Lansen’s unique conformal belly tank – for the cost of a NIB Heller Saab 32 kit alone, though… :-/
Implanting the Maestro Models parts was straightforward and relatively easy. The J 32B gun bay replaces the OOB parts from the Heller kit, fits well and does not require more PSR than the original part. Since the model depicts a gun-less J 32E, I faired the gun ports over.
The RM6A exhaust was a bit more challenging – it is a bit longer and wider than the A 32A’s RM5. It’s not much, maybe 1mm in each dimension, so that the tail opening had to be widened and slightly re-contoured to accept the new one-piece resin pipe. The belly tank matched the kit’s ventral contours well. As an extra, the Maestro Models set also offers the J 32B’s different tail skid, which is placed further back on the fighter than on the attack and recce aircraft.
The J 32E’s characteristic collection of sizable blade antennae all around the hull was scratched from 0.5 mm styrene sheet. Furthermore, the flaps were lowered, an emergency fuel outlet was added under the tail, the canopy (very clear, but quite thick!) cut into two parts for optional open display, and the air intake walls were extended inside of the fuselage with styrene sheet.
Under the wings, four pylons (the Heller kit unfortunately comes totally devoid of any ordnance or even hardpoints!) from the spares box were added that carry scratched BOZ-1 chaff dispensers and a pair of ADRIAN/PETRUS ECM pod dummies – all made from drop tanks, incidentally from Swedish aircraft (Mistercraft Saab 35 and Matchbox Saab 29). Sure, there are short-run aftermarket sets for this special equipment that might come closer to the real thing(s), but I do not think that the (quite considerable) investments in all these exotic aftermarket items are worthwhile when most of them are pretty easy to scratch.
Painting and markings:
The paint scheme was the actual reason to build a J 32E: the fundamental plan was to build a Lansen in the Swedish air superiority low-viz two-tone paint scheme from the Nineties, and the IMHO only sensible option beyond pure fantasy was the real J 32E as “canvas”. I used JAS 39 Gripens as reference: their upper tone is called Pansargrå 5431-17M (“Tank Grey”, which is, according to trustworthy sources, very close to FS 36173, U.S. Neutral Grey), while the undersides are painted in Duvagrå 5431-14M (“Dove Grey”; approximately FS 36373, a tone called “High Low Visibility Light Grey”). Surprisingly, other Swedish types in low-viz livery used different shades; the JA 37s and late J 35Js were painted in tones called mörkgrå 033M and grå 032M, even though AJSF 37s and AFAIK a single SK 37 were painted with the Gripen colors, too.
After checking a lot of Gripen pictures I selected different tones, though, because the greys appear much lighter in real life, esp. on the lower surfaces. I ended up with FS 36231 (Dark Gull Grey, Humbrol 140, a bit lighter than the Neutral Grey) and RLM 63 (Lichtgrau, Testors 2077, a very pale and cold tone). The aircraft received a low waterline with a blurry edge, and the light grey was raised at the nose up to the radome, as seen on JA 37s and JAS 39s. To make the low-viz Lansen look a little less uniform I painted the lower rear section of the fuselage in Revell 91 and 99, simulating bare metal – a measure that had been done with many Lansens because leaking fuel and oil from the engine bay would wash off any paint in this area, leaving a rather tatty look. Di-electric fairings like the nose radome and the fin tip were painted with a brownish light grey (Revell 75) instead of black, reducing contrast and simulating bare and worn fiber glass. Small details like the white tips of the small wing fences and the underwing pylons were adapted from real-world Lansens.
After a light black ink wash, I emphasized single panels with Humbrol 125 and 165 on the upper surfaces and 147 and 196 underneath. Additionally, grinded graphite was used for weathering and a grimy look – an effective method, thanks to the kit’s fine raised panel lines. The silver wing leading edges were created with decal sheet material and not painted, a clean and convenient solution that avoids masking mess.
The ECM and chaff dispenser pods were painted in a slightly different shade of grey (FS 36440, Humbrol 40). As a subtle contrast the conformal belly tank was painted with Humbrol 247 (RLM 76), a tone that comes close to the Lansens’ standard camouflage from the Sixties’ green/blue livery, with a darker front end (Humbrol 145) and a bare metal tail section.
The cockpit interior was, according to pictures of real aircraft, painted in a greenish grey; I used Revell 67 (RAL 7009, Grüngrau) for most surfaces and slightly darker Humbrol 163 for dashboards and instrument panels. The landing gear wells as well as the flaps’ interior became Aluminum Bronze (Humbrol 56), while the landing gear struts were painted in a bluish dark green (Humbrol 195) with olive drab (Revell 46) wheel hubs - a detail seen on some real-life Saab 32s and a nice contrast to the light grey all around.
All markings/decals came from RBD Studio/Moose Republic aftermarket sheets for Saab 32 and 37. From the latter the low-viz national markings and the day-glo orange tactical codes were taken, while most stencils came from the Lansen sheet. Unfortunately, the Heller kit’s OOB sheet is pretty minimalistic – but the real A/S 32s did not carry many markings, anyway. Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish. As a confusing detail I gave the aircraft an explicit “16M” unit identifier, created with single black 4 mm letters/numbers. As a stark contrast and a modern peace-time element I also gave the Lansen the typical huge day-glo orange tactical codes on the upper wings that were carried by the Swedish interceptors of the time.
A relatively simple build, thanks to the resin conversion set – otherwise, creating a more or less believable J 32E from Heller’s A 32 kit is a tough challenge. Though expensive, the parts fit and work well, and I’d recommend the set, because the shape of the J 32B’s lower nose is quite complex and scratching the bigger jet pipe needs a proper basis. The modern low-viz livery suits the vintage yet elegant Lansen well, even though it reveals the aircraft’s bulk and size; in all-grey, the Lansen has something shark- or even whale-ish to it? The aircraft/livery combo looks pretty exotic, but not uncredible - like a proven war horse.
Background right: Canary Wharf glass-steel skyscrapers
----
Foreground right: preserved vintage Stothert & Pitt travelling dockside level luffing cranes
----
Nikon Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED-IF AF-S VR DX
DSC_6058 Anx2 1400h Q90
Background texture for use by anyone for any purpose. Attribution only - no need to ask permission or to link back.
WHITE BACKGROUND by magistus.photography #photoshoot #photography #portraitphotography #picoftheday #fujifilm #fujixt4 #portraitmadeingermany #portraitfotografie #photomodel #darmstadt #hessen
+++ 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 Fiat G.91Y was an Italian ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft that first flew in 1966. Resembling its predecessor, the Fiat G.91, the aircraft was a complete redesign, a major difference being its twin-turbojet engines for a considerably increased performance.
Funded by the Italian government, the G.91Y prototype was based on the G.91T two-seat trainer variant with a single Bristol Orpheus turbojet engine. This was replaced with two afterburning General Electric J85 turbojets which increased thrust by 60%. Structural modifications to reduce airframe weight increased performance further and an additional fuel tank occupying the space of the G.91T's rear seat provided extra range. Combat manoeuvrability was improved with the addition of automatic leading edge slats.
The avionics equipment of the G.91Y was considerably upgraded with many of the American, British and Canadian systems being license-manufactured in Italy.
Flight testing of three pre-production aircraft was successful with one aircraft reaching a maximum speed of Mach 0.98. Airframe buffeting was noted and was rectified in production aircraft by raising the position of the tailplane slightly.
An initial order of 55 aircraft for the Italian Air Force was completed by Fiat in March 1971, by which time the company had changed its name to Aeritalia (from 1969, when Fiat aviazione joined the Aerfer). The order was increased to 75 aircraft with 67 eventually being delivered. In fact, the development of the new G.91Y was quite long, and the first order was for about 20 pre-series examples that followed the two prototypes.
Like the G.91 before, the G.91Y attained much interest as it was a versatile light fighter bomber. One of the countries that ahd an eye on the upgraded Gina was Switzerland, looking for a dedicated support or even replacement for the Hawker Hunters, which were primarily used in the interceptor role, as well as the outdated D. H. Venom fighter bombers.
Fiat's answer was the G.91YS, a version tailored to Swiss needs. A first prototype with enhanced avionics, a strengthened structure for higher external loads as well as for typical operations on short runways with steep climbs and extra hardpoints to carry AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles for evaluation by Switzerland.
The first G.91YS flew on 16 October 1970, but at that time it was already clear that the machine was to carry smart weapons, primarily the AGM-65 'Maverick', which was also earmarked as new, additional Hawker Hunter ordnance.
In order to get things moving the Swiss Air Force ordered in 1972 an initial batch of 22 G.91YS, knowing that an upgrade would become necessary soon. It was a kind of stopgap purchase, though, because the original types for that role, Vought A-7 or the Mirage III derivative Milan S, were rejected after long negotiations. The G.91YS was a more simple and cost effective option, and also as a better option than a short-notice offer for second hand A-4Bs in late 1972.
The new machines were delivered until summer 1974 and allocated to Fliegerstaffel 22 which exclusively operated the fighter bomber. This came just in time because by 1975 plans were laid to replace the Hunter in the air-to-air role with a more modern fighter aircraft, the Northrop F-5E Tiger II (which became operational in 1978). The Hunter remained in a key role within the Swiss Air Force, though. Like the RAF's Hunter fleet, the type transitioned to become the country's primary ground attack platform, completely replacing the Venom, while the G.91YS was regarded as more sophisticated attack aircraft against small, single targets, including tanks (with Soviet mobile tactical missile launch platforms in mind), relying on the AGM-65 as its main armament. Four of these missiles could be carried under the wings, plus a pair of AIM-9 for self-defense. Alternative loads included unguided missiles of various sizes (incl. podded launchers), iron bombs or napalm tanks of up to 1.000 lb caliber, or drop tanks on the inner pylons.
The G.91YS’s primary mission as precision strike aircraft was further emphasized through a massive upgrade program in 1982, including improved sensors, a modernized radio system, a nose-mounted laser tracker/range finder (replacing the former Vinten cameras and greatly improving single pass attack capability and accuracy) and the integration of electronic countermeasure (ECM) systems. The upgraded machines were easily recognizable through their more rounded nose shape with a pitot tube mounted on top, a characteristic spine fairing and a radar warning system housing at the top of the fin.
In this form the G.91YS was kept in operational service until 1994, when it was retired together with the Swiss Hunter fleet. Six aircraft had been lost through accidents during the type’s career. Author Fiona Lombardi stated of the retirement of the Hunter and the G.91YS, the Swiss Air Force "definitively lost the capability to carry out air-to-ground operations". With the retirement of the G.91YS fleet Fliegerstaffel 22 was disbanded, too.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length (incl. pitot): 12.29 m (40 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 9.01 m (29 ft 6.5 in)
Height: 4.43 m (14 ft 6.3 in)
Wing area: 18.13 m² (195.149 ft²)
Empty weight: 4.000 kg (8.810 lb)
Loaded weight: 8.000 kg (17.621 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 9.000 kg (19.825 lb)
Powerplant:
2× General Electric J85-GE-13A turbojets with afterburners, 18.15 kN (4,080 lbf) each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1.110 km/h (600 kn, 690 mph,
Mach 0.95 at 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
Range: 3,400 km (ferry range with droptanks) (2,110 mls)
Service ceiling: 12,500 m (41,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 86.36 m/s (17,000 ft/min)
Wing loading: 480 kg/m² (98.3 lb/ft² (maximum)
Thrust/weight: 0.47 at maximum loading
Armament:
2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA cannons
6× under-wing pylon stations holding up to maximum of 2.270 kg (5.000 lb) of payload.
The kit and its assembly:
A classic whif – the G.91YS for the Swiss Air Force actually existed, and I just spun the idea further. The compact fighter would have been a suitable addition to the small nation’s air force, and I interpreted it as an addition to the big Hawker Hunter fleet with a dedicated role and with suitable special equipment.
The basis is the Matchbox G.91Y kit with some minor changes:
• A new nose from a Fujimi Harrier GR.3
• The jet exhausts were opened and some interior added
• Flaps were lowered
• Some added detail to the ejection seat
• The spine extension, a simple piece of sprue
• The radar warning fairing is a square piece of styrene sheet
• Replacement of the cast-on guns with hollow steel needles
• The Sidewinder hardpoints come from a Revell F-16A
• The AGM-65s and their launch rails come from a Hasegawa weapon set
Painting and markings:
The bigger challenge, because I did not want to use the typical “Hunter livery” in Extra Dark Sea Grey/SlateGrey/Aluminum – even if it would have been the natural choice for a Swiss aircraft. Choice for alternative yet authentic schemes is narrow, though – late Mirage III or the F-5Es carry a two-tone grey air superiority scheme, and I found this rather unsuitable for an attack aircraft.
So I developed my own design: a mix of the original Italian grey/green scheme and a two-tone pattern that late Turkish RF-4E/TMs carried - but with different colors and all mashed up into a modern, disruptive scheme. Experimental schemes of the German Luftwaffe in the late 70ies for their Alpha Jets and the F-4F fleet (leading to the complex Norm ’81 patterns) also had an influence.
As basic tones I used RAL 6007 (Grüngrau, Revell 67) and Dark Gull Grey (FS36231, Modelmaster, turned out to be a bit too pale for what I wanted to achieve), with added fields of RAL 7000 (Fehgrau, Revell 57) on the upper surfaces and on the mid-waterline flanks – lighter and softer than the original NATO tones and with disruptive lighter blotches that break up the silhouette.
The underside was simply painted in uniform FS36375 (Humbrol 127), which was also carried onto the fin. After a thin black ink wash panels were lightened through dry-brushing.
Cockpit interior was painted with Humbrol 140, the landing gear with a mix of White and Aluminum, trying to emulate look of real aircraft. In order not to make them stand out too much I painted the AGM-65s in olive drab, even though I think all Swiss missiles of that type were white. Artistic freedom…
Decals were puzzled together, e. g. from a Mirage III Carpena sheet and an Italieri Bae Hawk sheet, most stencils come from the OOB sheet (despite being slightly yellowed...).
A simple whif, done in a week, and based on an obscure real-life project. And the G.91 bears more whiffing potential, at least one more is to come!
Abstract scrapbooking background. Created using photoshop and various filters from a plain green and yellow banded background.
I fell into designing these abstract backgrounds completely by accident and it was suggested I continue doing these as there is a now a demand from scrapbooking hobbyists, and cardmakers whether they be amateur, semi-professional or full blown business. I am now in the process of uploading these to Flickr, but please be aware. THESE IMAGES ARE NOT PUBLIC DOMAIN, they belong to me and can only be used by you or anyone else after mutual agreement.
If you wish to use this image CONTACT ME via the messaging system. Thank you.
you can download full set here -> www.texturezine.com/free-high-res-polygon-backgrounds-vol-1/
copyright © Texturezine.com
The above photo has been shot with the Samsung SMART CAMERA NX20, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics. Co., Ltd.