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This is such a yuck nighttime photo! Thanks for the fun challenge Barb - I just had to use my all time favourite flower! I'll add the supplies later.
A better (daytime) photo is here www.flickr.com/photos/38067075@N02/5153568233/
Minolta XE-7, Ilford FP5
Image ©Philip Krayna, BoxxCarr, all rights reserved. This image is not in the public domain. Please contact me for permission to download, license, reproduce, or otherwise use this image, or to just say "hello". I value your input and comments. See more at www.boxxcarr.com.
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Katie Grogan, left, administers the COVID-19 vaccine to a New Jersey National Guard Soldier at the 108th Wing, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., Feb. 21, 2021. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Matt Hecht)
NAVAL BASE GUAM (Aug. 9, 2017) Sailors take in mooring lines as the guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) a prepares to depart Guam at the conclusion of a scheduled port visit. Sterett is deployed in support of maritime security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific and is operating under the command and control of U.S. 3rd Fleet. U.S. 3rd Fleet operating forward offers additional options to the Pacific Fleet commander by leveraging the capabilities of 3rd and 7th Fleets. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Byron C. Linder/Released)
A busy scene within the Kronstadt military seaport on Kotlin Island near Saint Petersburg sees Russian tanker Aral in the foreground, with RFS KARPATY Rescue-raising Vessel (Project 530) and RFS RASTOROPNYY Sovremennyy Class Destroyer Pennant No. 420 (Project 956) moored together behind it, along with the Non-self-propelled SFDR (Arcticheskaya) ARCTIC (Project 15402M) moored behind them all.
This is a Clone base I half built a year ago, and recently finished. I am going to Marine Recruit Training today, so this will be my last post till November
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The First Chechen War (also known as the First Chechen Сampaign, First Russian-Chechen war, or, from Russian point of view, as “Armed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian Federation”), was a rebellion by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the Russian Federation, fought from December 1994 to August 1996. After the initial campaign of 1994–1995, culminating in the devastating Battle of Grozny, Russian federal forces attempted to seize control of the mountainous area of Chechnya but were set back by Chechen guerrilla warfare and raids on the flatlands despite Russia's overwhelming advantages in firepower, manpower, weaponry, artillery, combat vehicles, airstrikes and air support. The resulting widespread demoralization of federal forces and the almost universal opposition of the Russian public to the conflict led Boris Yeltsin's government to declare a ceasefire with the Chechens in 1996 and sign a peace treaty a year later.
The conflict started in 1991, when Chechnya declared, in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, independence and was named the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. According to some sources, from 1991 to 1994, tens of thousands of people of non-Chechen ethnicity (mostly Russians, Ukrainians and Armenians) left the republic amidst reports of violence and discrimination against the non-Chechen population. Other sources do not identify displacement as a significant factor in the events of the period, instead focusing on the deteriorating domestic situation within Chechnya, the aggressive politics of the Chechen President, Dzhokhar Dudayev, and the domestic political ambitions of Russian President Boris Yeltsin.
On 11 December 1994, Russian forces launched a three-pronged ground attack towards Grozny. The main attack was temporarily halted by the deputy commander of the Russian Ground Forces, General Eduard Vorobyov, who then resigned in protest, stating that it was "a crime" to "send the army against its own people." Many in the Russian military and government opposed the war as well. Yeltsin's adviser on nationality affairs, Emil Pain, and Russia's Deputy Minister of Defense General Boris Gromov (esteemed commander of the Afghan War), also resigned in protest of the invasion ("It will be a bloodbath, another Afghanistan", Gromov said on television), as did General Boris Poliakov. More than 800 professional soldiers and officers refused to take part in the operation; of these, 83 were convicted by military courts and the rest were discharged. Later General Lev Rokhlin also refused to be decorated as a Hero of the Russian Federation for his part in the war.
The Chechen Air Force (as well as the republic's civilian aircraft fleet) at the time of the 1st Chechen War consisted of a small, mixed fleet of annexed former Soviet air force types that had been based on Chechen ground. The backbone of the “Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Air Force”, how it was officially called, were a handful L-39 Albatros, L-29 Delfin and MiG-21UM jet trainers, augmented by single specimen of full-fledged combat aircraft like the MiG-21 and Su-25. Even a single vintage MiG-17, until then used as an instructional airframe, was revived and became part of the Chechen Air Force!
However, many of these were not fit for sustained operations due to lack of service, spares, weapons and qualified pilots.
The few aircraft that could be brought into the air within the very first hours of the conflict only made minor impression on the Russian forces, rather acting as distractions than being effective combat units. A few air strikes were flown, but no air-to-air combat occurred. Beyond the poor condition, most of the Chechen military aircraft fleet was destroyed or damaged beyond repair in the air strikes that occurred on the first days of the conflict, which included massive attacks against Khankala air base and its infrastructure. Single machines that had been on missions at that time escaped and were able to land on other airfields, but they became unusable within a few days due to the lack of maintenance, fuel and ordnance.
Boris Yeltsin's cabinet's expectations of a quick surgical strike, quickly followed by Chechen capitulation and regime change, were misguided: Russia found itself in a quagmire almost instantly. The morale of the Russian troops, poorly prepared and not understanding why and even where they were being sent, was low from the beginning. Some Russian units resisted the order to advance, and in some cases, the troops sabotaged their own equipment. In Ingushetia, civilian protesters stopped the western column and set 30 military vehicles on fire, while about 70 conscripts deserted their units. Advance of the northern column was halted by the unexpected Chechen resistance at Dolinskoye and the Russian forces suffered their first serious losses. Deeper in Chechnya, a group of 50 Russian paratroopers surrendered to the local Chechen militia after being deployed by helicopters behind enemy lines and then abandoned.
Yeltsin ordered the Russian Army to show restraint, but it was neither prepared nor trained for this. Civilian losses quickly mounted, alienating the Chechen population and raising the hostility that they showed towards the Russian forces, even among those who initially supported the Russians' attempts to unseat Dudayev. Other problems occurred as Yeltsin sent in freshly trained conscripts from neighboring regions rather than regular soldiers. Highly mobile units of Chechen fighters inflicted severe losses on the ill-prepared and demoralized Russian troops. Although the Russian military command ordered to only attack designated targets, due to the lack of training and experience of Russian forces, they attacked random positions instead, turning into carpet bombing and indiscriminate barrages of rocket artillery, and causing enormous casualties among the Chechen and Russian civilian population.
On 29 December, in a rare instance of a Russian outright victory, the Russian airborne forces seized the military airfield next to Grozny and repelled a Chechen armored counterattack in the Battle of Khankala; the next objective was the city itself. With the Russians closing in on the capital, the Chechens began to hastily set up defensive fighting positions and grouped their forces in the city. Russian Army forces were commanded into Grozny in 1994 but, after two years of intense fighting, the Russian troops eventually withdrew from Chechnya under the Khasavyurt Accord. Chechnya preserved its de facto independence until the second war broke out in 1999.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 15.76 m (51 ft 7½ in) incl. pitot
Wingspan: 7.15 m (23 ft 6 in)
Height: 4.13 m (13 ft 6½ in)
Wing area: 23.0 m² (247.3 ft²)
Empty weight: 5,843 kg (12,870 lb)
Gross weight: 8,200 kg (18,060 lb)
Max. TOW: 9,400 kg (20,700 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Tumansky R-13-300 turbojet, rated at 40,30 kN (9,040 lbf) dry thrust
and 60,70 kN (13,650 lbf) with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: 2,230 km/h (1,385 mph/1,205 kts) at 11.000 m
1,300 km/h (807 mph/702 kts) at sea level
Cruising speed: 1,200 km/h (745 mph/650 kts)
Landing speed: 350 km/h (217 mph/190 kts)
Range: (internal fuel) 1,210 km (751 miles)
Combat radius with two AAMs and three drop tanks: 465 ml (750 km)
Service ceiling: 19,000 m (62,200 ft)
Rate of climb: 180 m/s (35,375 ft/min)
Thrust-to-weight ratio: 1.03 maximum
Armament:
1x internal 23 mm GSh-23 cannon with 200 rounds
5x hardpoints for a wide range of ordnance of up to 2.870 lb (1.300 kg)
The kit and its assembly:
This rather simple what-if model had been on my idea list for some time, but the “Captured!” Group Build at whatifmodellers.com in late 2020 was a good occasion and motivation to take the idea to the hardware stage. This what-if model was originally inspired by a PrintScale aftermarket decal sheet for the Aero L-39 Albatros trainer. It contained markings for a lot of exotic operators, including Laos and Ghana, as well as markings for an aircraft of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Air Force from the early stages of the 1st Chechen War, actually a captured aircraft of the Russian Air Force. While the paint scheme was simple - a standard trainer livery, just with overpainted roundels and tactical markings - I found the historic context interesting. I did some legwork and tried to puzzle together the background of these markings, as well as the origins of the Chechen air force, in order to transfer it onto a different aircraft type.
In fact, much of the background given above is authentic (As far as I can tell, during such conflicts, there is always more than a single truth…), the Chechen makeshift air force was pretty small, consisting primarily of trainers, some helicopters and obsolete types (apparently, the single resurrected MiG-17 from storage was “real”!). AFAIK, no MiG-21 single seater was operated in Chechen colors, even though (at least) one MiG-21UM trainer carried Ichkerian roundels. However, all aircraft were destroyed on the ground within the first hours of the conflict, so that the air force did not play any role in the ongoing battles.
The basis of this build is the relatively new KP kit for the MiG-21MF/MA/R, which is apparently a low-budget re-boxing of the RV Aircraft kit without PE parts. Having some surplus MiG-21 kits at hand from a KP “Joy Pack” (with three complete MF/MA/R version kits, w/o decals), I decided to use one of them for a fictional Chechen Fishbed, an MF. This is/was actually an export version of the Fishbed (the MiG-21 SM, to be specific), but this variant was operated by the Soviet/Russian Air Force, too, alongside the more capable MiG-21bis, even though not in large scale. A Su-25 would have been another worthwhile choice, but I found the L-39 markings to be too small for this type, so the slender Fishbed was chosen, being a very common and therefore plausible type.
I had a trio “joy pack” sans decals stashed away some time ago and now is the occasion to build the first of these kits, and I built an MF from it, mostly OOB. So far, I am very impressed by the kit's details. The cockpit has a full tub, with side walls and consoles up to the canopy, rich detail everywhere (there is probably ANY rivet represented on the surface, finely recessed) and there are things like a free-standing shock cone, options for all air brakes to be built in opened position and even an opening for the air outlet in front of the windscreen. However, fit is not stellar, and any surface detail is a separate part. For instance, the small wing fences have to be glued into place - not that problem if they would fit... The fences are rectangular parts, and the wing surfaces are curved - that does not work. There are no locator pins for the wings, they have to be glued directly onto the fuselage flanks – a rather anachronistic approach. And the worst bummer is that the main landing gear wells are somehow located too far ahead - I am not certain how this blatant flaw on such a good model could find its way into the mold? Nevertheless, I am impressed by the many details and options of this kit, but feelings are ambiguous.
The kit was built OOB. I just gave it two pairs of bombs (a pair of FAB-250 bombs and two OFAB-100 fragmentation bombs) as ordnance from the scrap box (from a Kangnam Yak-38 and a KP Su-25). The Fishbeds from the Joy Pack come with drop tanks, some Atoll and Aphid AAMs and a pair of heavy unguided S-24 missiles, but I found none of these really suitable for a Chechen aircraft.
Painting and markings:
I used the L-39 from the PrintScale decal sheet as conceptual benchmark: a former Russian aircraft, captured and pressed into Chechen service on short notice. As such, the Fishbed received a typical Soviet/Russian disruptive four-tone, tactical “steppe” camouflage. A real-world MiG-21 was the benchmark for the pattern, I just replaced the colors. They became pale sand, medium brown, grass green and dark green, with blue undersides (Humbrol 121, 237, 150 and 75, respectively with 115 underneath).
The cockpit interior was painted in characteristic bright turquoise and medium grey, the landing gear became matt aluminum, with bright green wheel discs. The wells were painted with a mix of Humbrol 56 and 81, for a yellowish metallic grey. Humbrol 105 was used for the Fishbed’s typical di-electric fairings on nose, tail and ventral fin.
The kit received a light black ink wash and some post panel shading for a used/worn look, since the MiG-21 would in 1994 have already been a secondary line aircraft with many flying hours on the clock. The areas, where Red Stars and the tactical code had formerly been placed, were overpainted with fresh dark green (Humbrol 195) and light blue under the outer wings (Humbrol 89). The new operator’s markings were added on top of that: early Chechen roundels with a red star as background (which was later changed into green, probably in order to make the aircraft easier and clearer to distinguish, even though I have doubts about contrast on a camouflage background?) from the aforementioned PrintScale L-39 sheet. The large tactical code numbers come from a MiG-17 (Microscale sheet).
The slogan “Ӏожалла я маршо“ (Joƶalla ya marşo, “Death or Freedom”, after the Anthem of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria’s title which was written in 1992 and lasted until 2004) was painted manually with acrylic white and a fine brush. The handwritten style pragmatically suits the aircraft and its situation well. Cheesy and patriotic, but IMHO appropriate and just the detail that sets this Fishbed apart from a simple roundel rebadge.
Some areas were furthermore lightly wet-sanded, for an intentional makeshift and worn look. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and I did some dry-brushing with aluminum on the leading edges and around the cockpit.
A relatively simple whif project, but I like the exotic touch of the Chechen markings – this fictional Fishbed looks pretty believable. I also like the “colorful” livery, despite being a camouflage scheme. However, I am not 100% sold on the relatively new KP/RV Aircraft kit. It looked so good in the box, and it is full of many minute details. But building it revealed some weaknesses and even lethal flaws, like the mispositioned/crippled main landing gear wells in the wings. There’s something fundamentally wrong. WTF?
Here's how I attached the acetate as the front of the card: I stamped and colored the image using Efflorescence from Penny Black on 4.25 x 5.5 card stock. Then I attached it with temporary adhesive to the card base and fussy cut the outline. Finally, I sandwiched the acetate between the two layers.
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska (March 25, 2022) - A formation of 42 F-35A Lightning IIs during a routine readiness exercise at Eielson Air Force Base (EAFB), Alaska, March 25, 2022. The formation demonstrated the 354th Fighter Wing’s (FW) ability to rapidly mobilize fifth-generation aircraft in arctic conditions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jose Miguel T. Tamondong) 220325-F-XX992-1107
** Interested in following U.S. Indo-Pacific Command? Engage and connect with us at www.facebook.com/indopacom | twitter.com/INDOPACOM |
www.instagram.com/indopacom | www.flickr.com/photos/us-pacific-command; | www.youtube.com/user/USPacificCommand | www.pacom.mil/ **
+++ 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 S 13A was a reconnaissance aircraft that entered the Swedish armed forces in 1940, and it was only built and operated in a very limited number - actually only a pre-production batch of 20 aircraft. Originally, the aircraft was known as the "P7", and it was to be the only design of AB Förenade Flygverkstäder (AFF for short) that entered the hardware stage before the company was integrated into Saab again.
AFF had been formed in 1937 by ASJA and Saab as a measure to push the Swedish aircraft industry forward, in a complicated historical period with looming war in Europe, a tense, competitive situation in the domestic aircraft/military industry and Sweden's pursuit of neutrality. AFF was more or less a joint venture in defense against the Bofors group, and the design bureau not only consisted of Swedish engineers but also a considerable number of American technicians.
One of AFF's first designs was the P7 in response to a competition in 1938 for a new Army and Naval reconnaissance aircraft. Good visibility for both pilot and observer was an important factor for the military, so that a high-winged layout was chosen. The mission envelope included tactical reconnaissance and artillery reconnaissance capability – photographic reconnaissance and observation of artillery fire in daylight – up to about 15,000 yards (14 km) behind the enemy front. The top speed had to be at least 400 km/h (250 mph), the aircraft was to operate from short, unprepared airfields and the engine had to be a domestic design - or at least a licensed product, in order to ensure Sweden's independence from other countries as suppliers.
The resulting aircraft resembled the British Westland Lysander a lot, with high wings of a high aspect ratio The wings had a reverse taper towards the root, which gave the impression of a bent gull wing from some angles, although the spars were straight. It had a girder type construction faired with a light wood stringers to give the aerodynamic shape. The wing itself was fabric covered, and with its thickness maximized at the lift strut anchorage location,
Unlike the Lysander, the complete fuselage was duralumin tube joined with brackets and plates, which were cut from channel extrusions rather than forming from sheet steel. The front spar and lift struts were extrusions, too. The complete tail was fabric-less, too.
Unlike the Lysander, with its spatted, fixed landing gear, the P7 had a fully retractable landing gear - a kind of desperate measure to improve aerodynamic somewhat and achieve the 400 km/h goal. The tail wheel retracted forward into the rear fuselage, while the main wheels retracted inwards into thick stub wings, which also carried a single stabilizer strut each supporting the high and slender wings.
The crew of two sat under a well-glazed greenhouse canopy, separated by the internal wing support structure. The pilot enjoyed very good view over the short nose cowling for the license-built Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial engine, while the observer faced rearwards and had good side view. Armament consisted of a single, fixed 0.303" (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun in the outer starboard stub wing. Another machine gun was available for the observer on a manual mount for rear defense. Under the fuselage a single hardpoint could take bombs of up to 500 lb caliber (227 kg), or a 250l drop tank.
The P7 was developed in a hurry, since the political situation worsened day by day, and the first prototype made its maiden flight in May 1939. As already suggested by wind tunnel tests, the stub wing configuration was almost as draggy as the Lysander's fixed, spatted landing gear, and the extra weight for the retraction mechanisms was also not in favor of the P7's performance. Despite the stronger engine and a better aerodynamic quality than the Lysander, the P7 would hardly become faster than 380 km/h (236 mph) in level flight. The initial flights also revealed serious stability and airflow problems around the stabilizers, induced by the stub wings, and these issues had to be cured before the P7 could enter military service.
In the meantime, the original service profile for the aircraft had been changed to include a light bomber role - a task that was out of the P7's scope. Anyway, the Swedish army direly needed a modern reconnaissance aircraft. There had been high hopes for the Dornier Do 215 from Germany, but the outbreak of WWII prevented any exports and Sweden was left with no modern recce type in its arsenal.
As a consequence, the P7 was - after changes to the aircraft's tail section with a taller fin and a higher position of the stabilizers - an initial batch of 20 aircraft was ordered in late 1939. In service, the AFF P7 became known as S 13A; the designation had formerly been reserved for the Fokker G.I, but that type never entered Swedish service after the German inavion of the Netherlands. Anyway, despite the type's production, the P7 had only little hope for a prolonged production, since modern fighters and bombers now had top priority and its performance was mediocre, at best. Another lethal blow for the company in general and the P7 in specific came in March 1940, when AFF's American staff was ordered back to the United States and left the company so crippled that business had to be shut down. The firm was later re-integrated into Saab, but production of the P7 or any further development was never resumed.
Eventually, the P7's competitor, the Saab 17 dive bomber/recce aircraft entered serial production and took the P7's aspired place in the Swedish Air Force's arsenal. The few S 13s in service mostly served in observation and recce roles, or were used for liaison duties and target tugging, and the war survivors remained in service until the late Forties when all remaining airframes were scrapped.
General characteristics:
Crew: two (Pilot and observer or passenger)
Length: 30 ft 5 in (9.27 m)
Wingspan: 50 ft 0 in (15.24 m)
Height: 12 ft 6 in (3.81 m)
Wing area: 260 ft² (24.2 m²)
Empty weight: 4,365 lb (1,984 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 6,330 lb (2,877 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S1C3G Twin Wasp 14 cylinder radial engine
with 1,050 hp (780 kW), driving a three blade metal propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 236 mph (210 knots, 380 km/h) at 5,000 ft (1,520 m)
Range: 600 miles (522 nmi, 966 km)
Service ceiling: 21,500 ft (6,550 m)
Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): 8 min
Take-off run to 50 ft (15 m): 305 yards (279 m)
Armament:
One fixed 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine gun in the starboard stub wing outside of the
propeller arc, firing forward, plus another, moveable Browning machine gun for the observer
A single hardpoint under the fuselage for 500 lb (227 kg) of bombs or a 250 l drop tank
The kit and its assembly:
Despite the weird looks the AFF P7 isactually a real Swedish aircraft project from early WWII - but it never entered any hardware stage and it's also one of those funky designs between the World Wars that took both old and modern design details and mixed them into something ...strange!
The only visual referrence for the P7 I know is a drawing by C. G. Ahrenmark which pops up everywhere in literature and in the WWW when the obscure P7 is mentioned:
It shows an aircraft that resembles a Westland Lysander a lot in general layout and outlines, but with a different tail surface shapes and low stub wings instead of the Lysander's large, spatted landing gear - and into these the landing gear could be fully retracted, inlcusing the tail wheel. Even the wing planform looks very Lysander-esque, even though there are only single stabilizer struts. I copuld not find information concerning the engine - but I assume that the P&W R-1830 was a serious option, since it was used in other Swedish contemporary designs like the Saab 17 and later in the FFVS 22, too.
So, it's no wonder to start with a Westland Lysander as a conversion basis - in my case, it's the Matchbox kit, even though in Revell's "Vintage Kit" re-boxing.
Anyway, only the fuselage, wings, propeller and interior was used, and several donor parts added in order to come closer to the P7's illustration:
- Rear fuselage and fin from a P-47 (actually from an MPM kit)
- Stabilizers from a Heller Curtiss SBC Helldiver
- A Twin Wasp engine, left over from a Matchbox PB4Y-2 Privateer
- Wing tips from a VEB Plasticart 1:100 An-24 as stub wings
The propeller is from the Matchbox Lysander, but with a new, stout spinner. On the rear fuselage, the fabric-covered, tubular structure was hidden under a coat of putty. The flaps were lowered for a less static appearance, and the whole Lysander tail chopped off and replaced by the Thunderbolt fin and tail section. While the change is subtle, I think the different fin shape changes the overall look of the Lysander a lot - somehow the profile reminds me now of a DHC Beaver or a Noorduyn Norseman?
The landing gear is a mix of Spitfire struts and wheels (Airfix) and covers from a Hawker Tempest (Matchbox), IIRC, with lots of improvisation. For example, the wells had to be drilled out of the massive and brittle VEB Plasticart material. Looks a bit shaggy if you look directly into them, but when the model rests on the ground, noone will ever tell... ;)
Painting and markings:
Well, this was a bit experimental. I wanted to add another unique Swedish Air Force aircraft to my growing collection, and a simple olive green/blue grey livery would certainly have been the more conservative option. But there were exceptions in the P7's time frame, had the aircraft entered service around 1939. One of these was the J 9 fighter, how the Severski P-35A was called in Swedish service. These American machines were delivered in NMF, but locally received a rather special camouflage: a zinc chromate yellow overall base coat with olive green streaks and mottles applied on top, so that the primer would still show through - reminding a bit of Italian aircraft camouflage (e. g. the Fiat CR.42, which was flown in Sweden, too, and basically retained its original Italian paint scheme). The undersides were standard blue grey.
To make things even more exciting I decided to add temporary winter camouflage on top of the basic scheme - inspired by a picture of J 9s in wintertime and the fact that there was an official pattern catalogue for tactical whitewash application. The creative patterns would leave the original camouflage partly visible and create dark shapes on the white surroundings, including shapes that look like small rivers or paths, and even bushes and leafless trees were part of the styles!
At first, the kit received a basis of uniform Humbrol 225 (Mid Stone), which is very yellow-ish and darker than true inc chromate yellow (Humbrol 81). The latter was added for some post-shading, though.
Once dry, I created the blurred, green pattern through thinned acrylic paints. A first layer was done with a mix of Revell 16 and 65 (Sand and Bronze Green, respectively), and on top of that - once dry - another layer with pure 65.
Then the decals were applied, puzzled together from various sources. Around these, the whitewash winter camouflage was added - again with acrylic paint, but this time with a more viscous artist paint: titanium white, with a bit of grey and beige added, and applied with a relatively small brush for visible streaks and a hand-made, provisional impression.
After some soot stains (with Tamiya's Smoke) and a few pencil-painted panel lines, the kit received a final coat of matt acrylic varnish.
Finally, a model of a rather obscure Swedish aircraft. Except for the landing gear (which is not exactly like the benchmark drawing, a compromise through the parts at hand) I am quite happy with the result, and the paint scheme with the added whitewash on top really makes the P7 model different.
In New Harmony, Indiana, an artist came in and wove mostly willow branches through the existing trees to create a series of rooms. Some of them are connected by low doorways; all of them have "second story" windows but no second story.
We never got around to taking more photographs of them. I wanted to take a panorama of the square, but I wanted to go home more.
And apparently the artist is Patrick Dougherty, although I'm not quite sure how the esteemed smgerdes found this photo without a "Patrick Dougherty" tag...which I will now add.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
After the division of Czechoslovakia by Germany in 1939, Slovakia was left with a small air force composed primarily of Czechoslovak combat aircraft. This force defended Slovakia against Hungary in March 1939, in the Slovak–Hungarian War in March 1939 in which Hungary reoccupied Carpathian Ruthenia and parts of southern Slovakia. In this the SVZ suffered some losses against Royal Hungarian Air Force. Later, the SVZ also took part in the German Invasion of Poland. The SVZ took part in Axis offensives in the Ukraine and Russian Central front sectors of the Eastern Front under the lead of Luftwaffe in the Stalingrad and Caucasus operations. This engagement resulted in great losses of aircraft and personnel, though.
During the World War II, the Slovak Air force was charged with the defense of Slovak airspace, and, after the invasion of Russia, provided air cover for Slovak forces fighting against the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. For the rest of the war the SVZ fought US Army Air Forces and Royal Air Force raids against Slovakia.
Among the many more or less outdated German aircraft types inherited from the Luftwaffe during the early stages of WWII was a small number of Hs 123 A-1 dive bombers. The Henschel Hs 123 was a small single-seat biplane dive bomber and close-support attack aircraft. The aircraft was designed to meet the 1933 dive bomber requirements for the reborn Luftwaffe. Both Henschel and rival Fieseler (with the Fi 98) competed for the production contract requirement, which specified a single-seat biplane dive bomber. The first prototype, the Hs 123 V1, was cleared for its maiden flight on 1 April 1935; General Ernst Udet, a World War I ace, flew it on its first public demonstration flight on 8 May 1935. The first three Henschel prototypes, with the first and third powered by 485 kW (650 hp) BMW 132A-3 engines and the second by a 574 kW (770 hp) Wright Cyclone, were tested at Rechlin in August 1936. Only the first prototype had "smooth" cowlings; from that point on, all aircraft had a tightly fitting, characteristic cowling that included 18 fairings covering the engine valves. The Henschel prototypes did away with bracing wires and although they looked slightly outdated with their single faired interplane struts and cantilever main landing gear legs attached to smaller (stub) lower wings, the Hs 123 featured an all-metal construction, clean lines and superior maneuverability. Its biplane wings were of a "sesquiplane" configuration, whereby the lower wings were significantly smaller than the top wings.
The overall performance of the Hs 123 V1 prototype prematurely eliminated any chance for the more conventional Fi 98, which was cancelled after a sole prototype had been constructed. During testing, the Hs 123 proved capable of pulling out of "near-vertical" dives; however, two prototypes subsequently crashed due to structural failures in the wings that occurred when the aircraft were tested in high-speed dives. The fourth prototype incorporated improvements to cure these problems; principally, stronger center-section struts were fitted. After it had been successfully tested, the Hs 123 was ordered into production with a 656 kW (880 hp) BMW 132Dc engine.
The Hs 123 was intended to replace the Heinkel He 50 biplane reconnaissance and dive bomber as well as acting as a "stop-gap" measure until the more modern and capable Junkers Ju 87 became available. As such, production was limited and no upgrades were considered, although an improved version, the Hs 123B, was developed by Henschel in 1938. A proposal to fit the aircraft with a more powerful 716 kW (960 hp) "K"-variant of its BMW 132 engine did not proceed beyond the prototype stage, the Hs 123 V5. The V6 prototype fitted with a similar powerplant and featuring a sliding cockpit hood was intended to serve as the Hs 123C prototype.
About 265 aircraft were produced and production of the Hs 123A ended in Autumn 1938. It was flown by the German Luftwaffe during the Spanish Civil War and the early to midpoint of World War II. At the outbreak of hostilities, Hs 123s were committed to action in the Polish Campaign. Screaming over the heads of enemy troops, the Hs 123s delivered their bombs with devastating accuracy. A frightening aspect of an Hs 123 attack was the staccato noise of its engine that a pilot could manipulate by changing rpm to create "gunfire-like" bursts. The Hs 123 proved rugged and able to take a lot of damage and still keep on flying. Operating from primitive bases close to the front lines, the type was considered by ground crews to be easy to maintain, quick to re-equip and reliable even under dire field conditions.
The Polish campaign was a success for an aircraft considered obsolete by the Luftwaffe high command. Within a year, the Hs 123 was again in action in the Blitzkrieg attacks through the Netherlands, Belgium and France. Often positioned as the Luftwaffe's most-forward based combat unit, the Hs 123s flew more missions per day than other units, and again proved their worth in the close-support role. With Ju 87s still being used as tactical bombers rather than true ground support aircraft and with no other aircraft capable of this mission in the Luftwaffe arsenal the Hs 123 was destined to continue in service for some time, although numbers were constantly being reduced by attrition.
The Hs 123 was not employed in the subsequent Battle of Britain as the English Channel proved an insuperable obstacle for the short-ranged aircraft, and the sole leftover operator, II.(Schl)/LG 2, went back to Germany to re-equip with the Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighter bomber (Jabo) variant. The Bf 109E fighter bomber was not capable of carrying any more bombs than the Hs 123. It did, however, have a greater range and was far more capable of defending itself. On the downside were the notoriously tricky taxiing, ground handling, and takeoff/landing characteristics of the Bf 109, which were exacerbated with a bomb load.
At the beginning of the Balkans Campaign, the 32 examples of the Hs 123 that had been retired after the fall of France were taken back into service and handed over to the Slovak Air Force to replace the heavy losses on the Eastern Front after combat fatigue and desertion had reduced the pilots' effectiveness. Most of Slovakia's obsolete biplanes were replaced with modern German combat aircraft, including the Messerschmitt Bf 109, so that the Hs 123s were initially regarded with distrust – but the machines proved their worth in the ensuing battles. The Slovak Hs 123s took part in the Battle of Kursk and supported ground troops, some were outfitted with locally designed ski landing gears which proved to be a very effective alternative to the Hs 123’s spatted standard landing gear which was prone to collect snow and mud and even block. After this deployment at the Russian front, the Slovak Air Force was sent back to defend Slovak home air space, primarily executed with Messerschmitt Bf 109 E and G types, Avia B-534, and some other interceptor types, also helped by Luftwaffe units active in the area.
Being confined to national borders, the Slovak Hs 123s were put in reserve and relegated to training purposes, even though they were occasionally activated to support German ground troops. From late August 1944 the remaining Hs 123s also actively took part in the suppression of the Slovak National Uprising against Germany.
Since Hs 123 production had already stopped in 1940 and all tools had been destroyed, the permanent attritions could not be replaced - due to a lack of serviceable airframes and spare parts the type’s numbers dwindled. When Romania and the Soviet Union entered Slovakia, they organized with some captured aircraft and defectors a local Insurgent Air Force to continue the fight against Axis forces in country, including the last operational Slovak Hs 123s. No aircraft survived the war.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 8.33 m (27 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 10.5 m (34 ft 5 in)
Height: 3.2 m (10 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 24.85 m² (267.5 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,500 kg (3,307 lb)
Gross weight: 2,215 kg (4,883 lb)
Powerplant:
1× BMW 132Dc 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine with 660 kW (880 hp),
driving a 2-bladed metal variable-pitch propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 341 km/h (212 mph, 184 kn) at 1,200 m (3,937 ft)
Range: 860 km (530 mi, 460 nmi) with a 100 l drop tank
Combat range: 480 km (300 mi, 260 nmi) with 200 kg (440.9 lb) of bombs
Service ceiling: 9,000 m (30,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 15 m/s (3,000 ft/min)
Armament:
2× 7.92 mm MG 17 machine guns, 400 rpg
Up to 450 kg (992.1 lb) of bombs under fuselage and wings
The kit and its assembly:
A relatively simple what-if project, and it took a while to figure out something to do with a surplus Airfix Hs 123 A kit in The Stash™ without a proper plan yet. The Hs 123 is an overlooked aircraft, and the fact that all airframes were used during WWII until none was left makes a story in Continental Europe a bit difficult. I also did not want to create a German aircraft – Finland was an early favorite, because I wanted to add a ski landing gear (see below), but since I won’t build anything with a swastika on it this option was a dead end. Then I considered an operator from the Balkans, e. g. Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia or Slovakia – and eventually settled for the latter because of the national markings.
The kit was built almost OOB, and the Airfix Hs 123 is a nice offering. Yes, it’s a simple kit, but its is IMHO a very good representation, despite the many rivets on the hull, a rather bleak interior and some sinkholes (e. g. on the massive outer wings struts). It goes together well, just a little PSR here and there. I just added a dashboard (scratched from styrene sheet) and modified the OOB 50 kg bombs with extended impact fuzes with a flat, round plate at the tip, so that the bomb itself explodes above soft ground or snow for a bigger blast radius.
The only major modification is a transplanted ski landing gear from a PM Model (Finnish) Fokker D.XXI, which had to be reduced in length to fit under the compact Hs 123. A small tail ski/skid was scratched from styrene sheet material.
Thankfully, the Hs 123 only calls for little rigging – just between the central upper wing supports and there is a characteristic “triangle” wiring in the cowling. All these, together with the wire antenna, were created with heated sprue material.
Painting and markings:
Finland had been a favorite because I would have been able to apply a more interesting paint scheme than the standard Luftwaffe RLM 70/71/65 splinter scheme with a low waterline that was typical for the Hs 123 during WWII. However, as a former Luftwaffe aircraft I retained this livery but decided to add a winter camouflage as a suitable thematic supplement to the skis.
The basic colors became Humbrol 65 underneath and 30 and 75 from above – the latter for a stronger contrast to the Dunkelgrün than Humbrol 91 (Schwarzgrün). Thanks to the additional whitewash mottles, which were inspired by a similar livery seen on a contemporary Bulgarian Avia B.534, I did not have to be too exact with the splinter camouflage.
The cockpit and cowling interior were painted with RLM 02 (Humbrol 240), the propeller blades became Schwarzgrün (Humbrol 91, further darkened with some black) and the bombs were painted in a dark grey (Revell 77) while the small 100 l drop tank became bare aluminum (Revell 99).
However, before the white mottles could be added, the kit received its decals so that they could be painted around the markings, just as in real life. The Slovak national markings had to be scratched, and I used standard white simplified German Balkenkreuze over a cross made from blue decal stripes. Later a separate red decal circle was placed on top of that. The only other markings are the red “7” codes, edged in white for better contrast (from a Heller Bf 109 K) and the fuel information triangles on the fuselage from the Hs 123’s OOB sheet. As an ID marking for an Eastern Front Axis aircraft, I retained the wide yellow fuselage stripe from the OOB, sheet, too, and added yellow tips on the upper wings’ undersides.
The whitewash camouflage was then created with white acrylic paint (Revell 05), applied with a soft brush with a rounded tip. Once this had dried, I treated the surfaces with fine wet sandpaper for a weathered/worn look.
Finally, after some soot stains behind the exhausts and around the machine gun nozzles, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and the rigging (see above) was done.
The Hs 123 might not be the sexiest aircraft of WWII, but I like this rugged pug which could not be replaced by its successor, the Ju 87, and served in its close support role until literally no aircraft was left. Putting one on skis worked quite well, and the exotic Slovak markings add a special touch – even though the national markings almost disappear among the disruptive whitewash camouflage! The result looks quite plausible, though, and the old Airfix kit is IMHO really underestimated.
BASE Orlando hosted a community event in Downtown Orlando, bodypainting 49 volunteers in different shades of the rainbow to honor and remember the 49 victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting.
Cremorne Point / Kurraba Point - Manly ferry base from RSYS Club
Dated: no date
Digital ID: NRS-9856-2-141-6438
Rights: No known copyright restrictions www.records.nsw.gov.au/about-us/rights-and-permissions
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The Power Miner's mini base opening up ready for play. It can be transported on a trailer attached to the Thunder Driller and dropped off when the Power miner's need a forward operating base in a hurry. Built in 2011 when we didn't have very many tiles!
BASE AÉREA DE MORÓN (LEMO) SPAIN / BOEING B52H STRATOFORTRESS (MSN 464439) USAF (61-0012) / BOMBER TASK FORCE DEPLOYMENT
B-52H Stratofortresses, assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, depart out of Morón Air Base, Spain, in support of Bomber Task Force Europe May 19, 2021. Strategic bomber missions enhance the readiness and training necessary to respond to any potential crisis or challenge across the globe.
seen parked up at the depot in Ludlow are Ford R192 Plaxton Derwent 11, 6367 YHA367J and ex Trent Daimler Fleetline Alexander DRC543J now 2543 in the Midland Red fleet.
Pararescuemen from the 31st Rescue Squadron touch down in a landing zone at Yokota Air Base, Japan, Jan. 7, 2015 during Jump Week. Members of the 31st RQS train with their 36th AS counterparts to maintain mission readiness and rescue tactics in preparation for real-world emergencies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Osakabe Yasuo/Released) "For more photos from around the Air Force, visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/usairforce."; United States Air Force