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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:
Although Japan had designed and manufactured a number of military aircraft before and during World War II, it was forbidden according to the Potsdam Declaration from engaging in the production of airplanes and other products that could be used to rearm a military. These restrictions, however, were lightened by the United States during the Korean War, opening up the possibility for a Japanese company to produce a civilian aircraft.
Actually a consortium of several different manufacturing companies and university professors, NAMC was founded in April 1957 by executives from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Fuji Heavy Industries, Shin Meiwa Manufacturing, Sumitomo, Japan Aircraft, Showa Aircraft, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries with the goal of designing and manufacturing a Japanese civilian turboprop airliner to replace the successful but aging Douglas DC-3. The resulting aircraft, the YS-11, a low-winged twin-turboprop-engine monoplane, capable of seating up to 60 passengers, became a successful civilian airliner.
On 30 August 1962, the first YS-11 prototype performed its maiden flight. Deliveries commenced on 30 March 1965 and commercial operations began the following month. The majority of orders for the type were issued from various Japanese airliners. While sales to such customers were swift in the YS-11's initial years of availability, this limited market soon became saturated, leading to a slump in demand. By the late 1970s, after producing several variations of the YS-11, NAMC hoped to introduce a jet airliner in order to replace and upgrade the primarily domestic operators and compete with those short-haul airliners being produced in the U.S. by companies such as Boeing and McDonnell Douglas.
This project was called YS-21 and work started in 1968. During the design phase, a high level of attention was paid to market research and operator concerns – even though this was almost exclusively limited to the domestic, Japanese market. Amongst other changes made, the prospective jetliner was increased in size, changing its maximum seating capacity from the YS-11’s 60 to at least 85 passengers in a five-abreast configuration, with a maximum of 100 seats in a tight single-class arrangement.
The aircraft’s general layout resembled the contemporary Boeing 737: a low-wing twin-jet airliner with a conventional tail and podded engines slung under the only slightly swept (just 25°at quarter chord) wings. However, the engines were not directly mounted under the wings, but rather in pods on pylons that set them apart from the wings’ undersurfaces. Fuel was stored within both the outer wings and within the lower fuselage. As a special feature, additional pylon-mounted tanks could be installed under the outer wings for extended range operations if so required.
Special care was taken to allow the aircraft to operate from the same smaller airfields as the YS-11, and various elements of the YS-21 were designed to maximize passenger comfort and operator convenience during operations on 2nd class airfields. One such measure was the rear entry door with built-in stairs that, while adding structural complexity, meant that mobile airport stairs were unnecessary for boarding. In order to ensure operations on smaller airfields and reduce ground pressure, the aircraft received, despite its compact size, four-wheel bogies on its main landing gear. The machine furthermore feature an autonomous power unit (APU) for operations independent from most airfield equipment.
However, a central problem of the YS-21’s development became the powerplant: there was no indigenous engine available to power the aircraft, and developing one at a timely schedule for the YS-21 program turned out to be prohibitively expensive and time-consuming. At one stage of development, NAMC had reportedly intended the YS-21 to be powered by a pair of Bristol Siddeley BS.75 turbofans. However, this selection was hotly contested by rival British engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce, who proposed their Rolls-Royce Spey Junior, a simplified version of the Rolls-Royce Spey.
The engine procurement from foreign sources caused a lot of debate, not only among the NAMC engineers, but also on a political level, since the YS-21 was intended to be a 100% domestic product. Eventually, pragmatism prevailed and the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9 with thrust reversers and an output of 14,500 lbf (64.50 kN) was chosen, because it was, at the time of the YS-21’s development, to be built under license by Mitsubishi for the Kawasaki C-1 JASDF military jet transport aircraft. A compromise that more or less saved face of the project leaders and the political powers that promoted the aircraft.
A distinctive design trademark of the YS-21 became its engine pods: in order to gain as much ground clearance as possible and keep the landing gear short, the JT8s’ auxiliary installations were mounted to the engines’ sides, resulting in a noticeable bulge on the pods’ outer flanks and a noticeable oval air intake orifice.
Initial domestic market response was quite positive, mostly boosted by national pride, though, and NAMC tried to attract the interest of major national airlines (primarily JAL and ANA, but also smaller companies) and several foreign regional airlines, touting the YS-21 as the better alternative to the foreign Douglas DC-9 or Boeing 737. A few airlines, also from other countries, showed some initial interest but only ANA and JAL placed concrete orders. These were (mis)interpreted as a very positive sign, though, and production was prematurely greenlighted with only 15 firm orders and 10 options in the books.
This lack of interest could be, despite the YS-21’s qualities, contributed to several factors. The main influence was the oil crisis of the 1970s, but another factor was the YS-21’s limited capacity and range – suitable for domestic service in Japan with many short routes, but unattractive for many other potential users. At maximum payload, the aircraft's range was only a mere 1,700 km (a comparable early Boeing 737 had a range of 2.800km), and the optional underwing tanks did not help much since drag and extra weight almost entirely compensated for the potential increase in range. This inherent flaw resulted in a high refueling frequency that grounded the aircraft more often than other types and, as a further effect, relatively high operating costs.
Consequently, the YS-21 achieved no foreign sales, and beyond JAL and ANA as launch customers and main operators of the type, only Japan Transocean Air ordered four machines. With a total of only thirty-three sales and with one of the three prototypes refurbished and sold as the 11th YS-21 to ANA, the airliner represented a severe failure for NAMC and the Japanese commercial airliner industry. Plans for an enlarged version with a stretched fuselage for up to 120 passengers never left the drawing board, since both the domestic and the international markets for short and medium range passenger aircraft were already dominated by other types like the Boeing 727 and 737.
In service, the YS-21 was quickly nicknamed “Karigane” (かりがね; Wild Goose), due to its slender fuselage, the streamlined cockpit section that resembled a goose’s head on a long neck, and the engine nacelles under the rather straight wings, which reminded of the bird’s stretched feet upon landing. This nickname was never officially adopted, though, but frequently used by the crews and in public.
The YS-21 turned out to be a reliable and sturdy aircraft, popular among its crews for its good low speed handling. On 29 April 1995, the last YS-21s in service flew their last commercial flights. Throughout their combined cumulative operational lifetimes, the YS-21s accumulated a total of 1.18 mio. flight hours, during which 80.4 million passengers were carried across 1.3 mio. individual flights, without any accidents and an impressive 98% in-service reliability.
General characteristics:
Crew: 3
Capacity: 85 with 8,400 kg (18,519 lb) payload
Length: 32.40 m (106 ft 1 1/2 in)
Wingspan: 34.3 m (112 ft 6 in)
Height: 10.80 m (35 ft 4 1/2 in)
Wing area: 146.7 m2 (1,579 sq ft)
Empty weight: 22,200 kg (48,943 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 46,000 kg (101,413 lb)
Powerplant:
2× Mitsubishi-built Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9 low bypass turbofans, 64 kN (14,500 lbf) thrust each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 590 mph (950 km/h, 510 kn) at 6,100 m (20,000 ft)
Cruise speed: 470–530 mph (750–850 km/h, 400–460 kn) at 6,100 m (20,000 ft)
Range: 1,700 km (1,100 mi, 920 nmi)
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 16.7 m/s (3,300 ft/min) at 2,135 m (7,005 ft)
Takeoff roll: 1,859 m (6,099 ft)
Landing roll: 1,755 m (5,670 ft)
The kit and its assembly:
Even though I am not a fan of small-scale airliners, I have recently (and successfully) built two what-if conversions, and I still had the idea of this short-haul airliner in the back of my mind since my Il-60 airliner build. The latter was based on a Caravelle airliner and featured two turboprops on the wings in new nacelles as well as a low tail. However, when I built it, I already considered a similar conversion, just with podded jet engines under the wings like the Dassault Mercure or the Boeing 737.
I had based the Il-60 on the rather crappy Caravelle kit from Mastercraft, so that I switched this time to the new (but much more expensive) Amodel kit – in this case the Caravelle 10R model, which comes with proper JT8 engine pods.
Despite a completely new layout of the aircraft, I wanted to change as little as possible and use only few donor parts. In fact, the only additional/new parts are the radome (actually a propeller spinner from a Matchbox He 115, simply glued onto the Caravelle’s nose and blended into the fuselage with PSR) and longer landing gear struts, because the re-located engines under the wings called for a bigger ground clearance. The front leg was completely replaced (taken from a 1:200 Space Shuttle, but still with OOB wheels), while on the main struts only the legs were replaced with longer parts from a 1:72 F4U. A weird detail: the kit comes with separate struts and bogies, but this makes this surgery relatively easy. In order to change the profile of the aircraft I replaced the round fin tip with a square one, scratched with styrene sheet and PSR.
Lots of PSR went into the build, in part because of peculiar solutions the mold designers chose. For instance, the window section consists of three clear panels per side, to be glued into recesses on the flanks, which have back walls. The benefit of this construction is beyond me, because it just causes surface mess and calls for sanding and filling. Naturally, the three panels per side do not lie perfectly flat or even in their recesses, and they are in total 2mm too long for their intended openings…? WHY!? If Amodel had wanted a clean solution, they could (and should) have molded the complete fuselage halves as clear parts? Another weak point I came across was the windshield, which comes (Minicraft style) as a clear cockpit area section and seemed to belong to an altogether different aircraft – it did not fit into the respective fuselage opening at all and called for massive trimming and more PSR…
These problems with the clear parts almost ruined everything, and that’s a shame because the Amodel Caravelle is a nice kit of this airliner, with fine, recessed surface details and delicate details. Nevertheless, even though it is a modern mold the kit does not get together easily, a typical short-run affair without locator pins.
As a typical feature of my airliner builds, I added a vertical styrene tube in the fuselage’s center of gravity as a display holder adapter for the in-flight scenes.
Painting and markings:
I had a hard time figuring out a potential manufacturer and operator for this aircraft – placed into the Seventies time frame, there were many similar designs on the market, so why add another short-/medium range airliner with a rather limited capacity which would rather be a Sixties design? After long considerations I settled upon a Japanese aircraft – national pride and stubborn processes might certainly lead to such an aircraft, and the YS-11 shows that the idea is not far-fetched.
I also considered a fictional airline as operator, but when I checked options for an aftermarket decal sheet, I realized that the early ANA livery, the so-called “Mohican” scheme due to the blue dorsal stripe, featured a da Vinci helicopter as a logo. I never noticed this before or wasn’t able to identify it, and I found this badge so charming and weird that I eventually settled for ANA as the aircraft’s operator. After some more search I even found a decal sheet from 26decals for an ANA Boeing 767 from 2009 in a retro scheme, and I was also able to organize a Mohican livery sheet from a Hasegawa 1:200 Boeing 737, because the 767 fin emblems were simply oversized for the Caravelle’s fin.
Creating and adapting the early ANA scheme to the model was complicated, though. In an initial step I gave the model’s underside and the upper wing surfaces a coat of White Aluminum from the rattle can – I opted for this simple quasi-NMF finish because of its retro look. The upper fuselage became white, with the help of decal sheet material and enamel paint (Humbrol 22). The blue spine and the fin were also painted with a brush in French Blue (Modelmaster), which came close to the cheat lines’ blue tone from the retro 767 sheet – even though these are IMHO a bit dark. Some fine-tuning and decal trimming had to be done in order to make the livery work, though, but I think the result looks quite good – better than expected after this material mish-mash.
Once the basic livery had been applied, the windows were added with decals. The cockpit windows had to be improvised, since Amodel’s Caravelle sheet does not offer a decal option for the windscreen. But I am not sure if it would have matched the modified nose section at all? So I trimmed down the Boeing 767 windscreen from the 26decal sheet and improvised. The cabin windows were taken from the 767, too. I wanted a very different look from the Caravelle’s original triangular window rows, and with the 767 windows' rather oval shape and higher density, this worked well. It also makes the YS-21 look bigger than it actually is.
After that, the airline markings and some more details like walkways on the wings (created with generic decal strips from TL Modellbau) were added.
In a final step, the landing gear was finished and some more detail painting (position lights, exhausts and thrust reversers) was done, before the kit was sealed with an overall coat of gloss acrylic varnish for a clean and shiny look.
I am torn about the outcome of this build, esp. the Amodel base. After long waiting, I hoped for a decent Caravelle kit in 1:144 scale. It is basically there, but the weird window panel construction really ruins what could have been a crisp up-to-date offering. This does not ruin the model as such, but the panel solution is IMHO far from perfect and user-friendly. :(
The layout conversion into the 737-style YS-21 whif worked well, despite some problems, and I think there’s only little left of what reminds of the model’s Caravelle heritage. The ANA Mohican livery also looks stylish, it adds a nice retro touch to the aircraft, very Seventies (if not Sixties?). With the glossy and bright finish, the model even looks, from certain angles, like a vintage Chinese tin toy?
The base has gotten three coats of Future. The ship has had as many or more. All decals are on aside from a few niggling detail decals here and there. I’ll finish that today and apply the finishing clearcoats. I figure no Glosscote with all the Future but about three coats of Dullcote might be needed to bring her down to a more satin finish.
Tom Copeland and Dave Doty of the Visual Media Team get an early start to the office as they cross Console Bridge during the 2023 National Scout Jamboree at The Summit Bechtel Reserve in Mount Hope, West Virginia. (BSA Photo by Dan Glass)
**********Beginning of Shooting Data Section**********
20230724-06-33-31-65-DG date - 7/24/23 time - 6:33:31 AM
So another shot of the eagle 1 looking ship with a shot of Saturn in the distance ?
So maybe Major Mars honed his skills on Mars and now he is moving on to Saturn ???
Made by TootsieToy in 1977.
so another Space themed toy inspired by Star Wars ?
The year of production 1977 makes that a likely guess !
TootsieToy adding in some monochromatic figures to
their metal and plastic vehicles assortment.
The two figures and all the great fantasy art based on the figures on the box make up for the lack luster vehicles .
So these fantasy themed play sets from TootsieToy are most appealing sealed in the box. Which is amazing to find any intact . As the toys are just laid in a tray and cellophane wrapped over. A very thin cellophane wrap.
So they get tears easily. And people will clear tape spots on the cellophane. The astronaut is Major Mars. The green robot is Zoltan/ Android . Says on the bottom of their feet bases.
I found these figures loose in the wild years ago before I ever knew what they were or went to. So as an adult collector I got to solve the riddle of the TootsieToy fantasy figures.
No known back story for these characters, other than what we can gather from the art work on the box.
It would appear Zoltan may be an assistant to Major Mars. But in one of the scenes Zoltan appears to be shooting a laser at Major Mars. So I don't know !
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This is my seventh Lego Space set, and the first that is from the later generation of Lego Space Classic line. Introduced in 1984, this set comes with yellow, blue, and black astronaut minifigures (blue and black are new to me, and were new for 1984), an axle piece inside the rocket to hold the rocket together, and studless tiles for sliding the launchpad assembly.
The three minifigures, situated in and around the two completed vehicles: a jet scooter on top, and a plane on bottom. The scooter needs a pair of black cylindrical exhaust pieces, which are missing and will need to be acquired via Lego enthusiast sites later. The plane will be launched from a launchpad that is part of the base infrastructure.
+++ 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?
These classic plain old boys jeans are going to be really cute little shorts. The high rise and pure cotton denim makes an authentic looking, old fashioned, vintage look.
I've no idea who Base Travel were but on 3rd July, 2009, they had sent their Dennis R series Caetano Enigma to Brighton. FJ53 VDD had been new to Reliant, Heather.
Kids dont try this at home ! Wingsuit base-jumping is a dangerous sport like many others extreme sports. Everybody should best-considered all the time and all the years of training to accomplish something like that.
Based on a Fiat 500 apparently. Correctly identified here by Jamie-A.
Seen in one of North London's most exclusive areas, photo taken from a distance...
U.S. Air Force basic military graduation is held Apr. 9, 2020, at the 321st Training Squadron’s Airman Training Complex on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Due to current world events, the graduation ceremonies will be closed to the public until further notice for safety and security of the newly accessioned Airmen and their family members due to coronavirus (COVID-19).
The colonization of the Moon is the proposed establishment of permanent human communities on the Moon. Advocates of space exploration have seen settlement of the Moon as a logical step in the expansion of humanity beyond the Earth. Recent indication that water might be present in noteworthy quantities at the Lunar poles has increased interest in the Moon. Polar colonies could also avoid the problem of long Lunar nights (about 354 hours, a little more than two weeks) and take advantage of the sun continuously.
Permanent human habitation on a planetary body other than the Earth is one of science fiction's most prevalent themes. As technology has advanced, and concerns about the future of humanity on Earth have increased, the argument that space colonization is an achievable and worthwhile goal has gained momentum. Because of its proximity to Earth, the Moon has been seen as a prime candidate for the location of humanity's first permanently occupied extraterrestrial base.
A lunar outpost was an element of the George W. Bush era Vision for Space Exploration, which has been replaced with President Barack Obama's space policy. The outpost would have been an inhabited facility on the surface of the Moon. At the time it was proposed, NASA was to construct the outpost over the five years between 2019 and 2024. The United States Congress directed that the U.S. portion, "shall be designated the Neil A. Armstrong Lunar Outpost".
On December 4, 2006, NASA announced the conclusion of its Global Exploration Strategy and Lunar Architecture Study. The Lunar Architecture Study's purpose was to "define a series of lunar missions constituting NASA's Lunar campaign to fulfill the Lunar Exploration elements" of the Vision for Space Exploration. What resulted was a basic plan for a lunar outpost near one of the poles of the Moon, which would permanently house astronauts in six-month shifts. These studies were made before the discovery of water ice (5.6 ± 2.9% by mass) in a polar crater, which may substantially affect plans.
United States Department of Agriculture Acting Secretary Kevin Shea watches recorded remarks by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom VIlsack as USDA resumes hosting its annual Ramadan Iftar Celebration on Thursday, April 13, 2023 in Washington, D.C. The celebration brings faith leaders, USDA representatives, and community members together to observe religious pluralism. This celebration has been hosted by the USDA Center for Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships 15 times in the past 17 years. The event is part of the long running strategic collaboration with Islamic Relief USA and provides an opportunity to celebrate with our Muslim American partners during this important time. (USDA photo by Tom Witham)
A childhood dream come true: This is the Moon Base I would have loved to have when I was a kid: 9×3 baseplates filled with stations, vehicles and spaceships.
10/20: Top view (left side)
Base B8301786
Camera 3 (X8111806)
Text 1: Pete's Food Plot
Battery Level: 25%
Pics on camera: 0
camera3/p_000560.jpg: PIR Trigger
+++ 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 US Marine Corps' lessons learned from the Korean war included the need for a ground attack aircraft with a better performance than the AU-1 Corsair, as well as a higher effectiveness than the jet fighters of the 50ies era.
The AU-1 (re-designated from F4U-6) had been a dedicated U.S. Marines attack variant of the Vought F4U fighter with extra armor to protect the pilot and fuel tank, and the oil coolers relocated inboard to reduce vulnerability to ground fire. The fighter's supercharger had been simplified as the design was intended for low-altitude operation. Extra weapon racks were also fitted.
Ready for combat the AU-1 weighed 20% more than a fully loaded F4U-4 and was capable of carrying 8,200 lb of bombs, missiles or drop tanks. The AU-1 had a maximum speed of 238 miles per hour at 9,500 ft, when loaded with 4,600 lb of bombs and a 150-gallon drop-tank. When loaded with eight rockets and two 150-gallon drop-tanks, maximum speed was 298 mph at 19,700 ft. When not carrying external loads, maximum speed was 389 mph at 14,000 ft.
First produced in 1952, the AU-1 had been a useful addition. But it had become clear, by the end of the Korean War, that the age of the piston engine fighter plane was more or less over. Based on this insight and several studies based on the experience since WWII, Vought offered the USMC an improved ground attack aircraft on a private venture basis under the internal project handle V-381.
The machine was the result of initial attack aircraft studies and roughly based on the F4U's outlines, and a more conservative alternative to the A2U, a proposed attack derivative of the F7U Cutlass, which never came to fruition.
The V-381 study incorporated proven elements like the characteristic inverted gull wing, which allowed a short and sturdy landing gear, but it differed considerably in many other details and its internal structure, due to a different engine. The aircraft was to be powered by a T-56 turboprop engine and would fit into a heavier class than the F4U, rather comparable to the US Navy's AD Skyraider but almost as fast as a jet fighter of its time – yet more reliable and rugged for low level operations in direct range of small caliber weapons.
The USMC was immediately interested, while the USN declined the proposal (even though much of the V-381’s insights were re-used in the V-406). Compared with the AU-1, the XA3U featured many detail improvements. One of these distinctive modifications was a new cockpit with a bubble canopy. Thanks to the different internal layout of the aircraft the cockpit could be moved forward by about 3', eliminating the abysmal field of view from the F4U's cockpit on the ground and during deck landings. Another significant change was a cruciform tail. This new arrangement had become necessary in order to avoid damage and turbulences from the hot turboprop efflux - the latter's exhaust was bifurcated and placed in the fuselage flanks, slightly deflected downwards and right at the wings' trailing edge, where the residual thrust from the engine helped during liftoff. The characteristic tail arrangement also became the source of the aircraft's official name, the 'Sea Scorpion'.
Armament consisted of four 0.79 in (20 mm) M2 cannon with 250 RPG in the wings, plus a total of fifteen hardpoints under fuselage and wings for a wide range of ordnance and a total weight of 8,000 lb (3,600 kg). The landing gear retracted backwards into the wings, rotating 90°, and the tail wheel with an attached arrester hook was fully retractable, too. The T-56 turboprop with 4.050 hp (2.977 kW) replaced the R-2800 radial and its complex compressor installment, driving a four-blade Hamilton propeller on the XA2U.
In June 1954 the first XA3U prototype made its maiden flight. Initial flights tests showed a very good performance at low and medium altitude, but directional stability was rather poor and the fin area had to be enlarged, resulting in the X3AU-1. Another new feature became a reversible six blade propeller of smaller diameter, which would improve reaction time to throttle input. In this guise, the A3U-1 entered series production and USMC service in early 1956, just in time to take the place of the AU-1 which was phased out in 1957.
But, by that time, the technical development had already rendered the A3U at least questionable, if not obsolete, so only a single batch of 45 aircraft was ordered and eventually built. Types like the North American FJ-4 Fury or the Douglas A4D Skyhawk offered a better performance as well as a nuclear strike capability that the A3U lacked, even though the turboprop aircraft was popular because of its ruggedness and good low altitude handling.
With its sophisticated design the A3U served well in its intended shipborne CAS role. In 1958 the machines were upgraded to carry AGM-12 Bullpup missiles, becoming subsequently designated A3U-2. Up to four missiles could be carried under the wings, plus a guidance pod that was carried on one of the outermost wing hardpoints.
The A3Us were deployed during several occasions, including Cuba from 1959 to 1960 to protect Americans during the Cuban Revolution, Thailand in May-July 1962 to support the government's struggles against Communists as well as Operation Power Pack in 1965 in Haiti to prevent a second Communist nation on America's doorstep.
Anyway, no A3U actually fired in anger, their main task had rather been sabre-rattling and representing the USMC with dramatic weapon loads at low altitude. Since ever more potent aircraft entered the USMC, like the F-4 Phantom II, the Sea Scorpion's career ended already in 1968 – and despite its usefulness in the theatre of operations, the A2U was not deployed to Vietnam.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1 pilot
Length: 33 ft 8 in (10.2 m)
Wingspan: 41 ft 0 in (12.5 m)
Wingspan, folded: 17 ft 0.5 in (5.2 m)
Height: 14 ft 9 in (4.50 m)
Empty weight: 11,968 lb (5,429 kg)
Loaded weight: 18,106 lb (8,213 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 25,000 lb (11,340 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Allison T-56-A-6 turboprop engine, rated at 4.050 hp (2.977 kW)
plus approximately 750 lbs of thrust from the exhaust
Performance:
Maximum speed: 446 mph (717 km/h) at 26.200 ft (using emergency power)
Stall speed: 89 mph (143 km/h) clean
Range: 1,316 mi (1,144 nmi, 2,115 km) on internal fuel
Service ceiling: 41,500ft (12,649 m)
Rate of climb: 3,870ft/min (19.7 m/s) at sea-level
Armament:
4 × 0.79 in (20 mm) M2 cannon with 250 RPG in the wings
15 hardpoints for a total of up to 8,000 lb (3,600 kg) of ordnance, including bombs,
torpedoes, mine dispensers, unguided rockets, and gun pods
The kit and its assembly:
Well, this Frankenstein creation was actually spawned by the rather simple idea of a turboprop-powered F4U, following a discussion at whatifmodelers.com concerning my “Turbo Fury” conversion and the potential of T-56 engine nacelles from a C-130 on other aircraft. After three Turbo Furies I still had a final T-56 resin nacelle left in the stash (from OzMods), and eventually tackled this project with the idea of an AU-1 replacement for the USMC in the mid Fifties.
Anyway, with such a modernized version in mind, new ideas popped up – e.g. square wing tips. When I found a pair of leftover outer wings from a Matchbox A3D Skyknight (and they matched up well in shape and size, even the wing profile!) things unfolded into something … different.
The basis for this project was an Italeri F4U-5 from 1994 (a very nice kit!), even though in the later Revell re-boxing. The Skyknight wings replaced the F4U’s outer wings and added about 1” total wingspan to the kit. In order to compensate for this, I thought about moving the tail fin further back, but eventually implanted a completely new and slightly longer tail section from an A.W. Meteor night fighter (also Matchbox), because it perfectly extends the F4U’s fuselage lines! Consequently, the original tail wheel well had to be closed and moved backwards.
Another idea was to move the cockpit forward and lower the rear fuselage, for a more up-to-date bubble canopy. The OOB cockpit from the F4U was kept but placed under a new opening – more or less located where the F4U’s main fuselage tank would have been. The ejection seat is new, too, and the canopy comes from a vintage NOVO Supermarine Attacker. The whole spine was cut away and re-sculpted with putty, as well as the fuselage section around the canopy.
For the new resin T-56, the front end of the fuselage was cut away and lots of putty and sculpting created a new transition between the narrower Herc engine with its oval diameter and the round F4U fuselage.
The spinner comes from the OzMod engine set, but the propeller blades were scratched: these once belonged to a vintage Airfix D.H. Mosquito kit. The rather massive, single blades were cut off, their originally round tips squared and then glued onto the resin spinner. A metal axis and a styrene adapter inside of the resin engine were added as adapters, allowing a free spin.
Once the fuselage and the wings were mated, the horizontal stabilizers had to be added. The F4U parts could not be used because of their round tips, and they had become just too small for the bigger airframe. Implants had to be used once more, and in this case the stabilizers are the outer wing sections from a heavily rivet-infected 1:100 Breguet Alize from Heller. Odd, but they had just the right shape and chord length for the new position.
After these had been fitted, the fin turned out to be too small for the new and overall bigger aircraft. Finding a solution was not easy, and I eventually added a new fin tip, a part from a Revell (FROG) P-39 stabilizer, maybe 30 years old!
In order to make the intended CAS role believable a LOT of hardpoints were added, all taken from an old Airfix/Heller A-1E Skyraider. The ordnance is an iron bomb mix, IIRC these come from a Monogram A-10 and a Matchbox A-7D.
Anyway, building this monstrosity was massive kitbashing work, and the whole thing evolved rather gradually: What started as a simple engine swap and maybe some cosmetic surgery ended up in multiple body transplants and a bigger aircraft than originally envisaged, kind of a ‘Skyraider 2.0’.
Painting and markings:
Nothing truly fancy, rather the standard USN high-viz livery with Light Gull Grey (FS 36440, Modelmaster enamel) upper surfaces and white undersides and rudders. Compared to the USN, the USMC machines would be rather timid and less flamboyant concerning marking colors, so I only added a little red trim to the fin and around the cockpit. The landing gear and the respective wells were kept in white, like the undersides, with bright red trim around the edges, and the cockpit is Zinc Chromate Green.
The decals were puzzled together from the scrap box. Since almost and surface details was lost due to the massive bodywork on fuselage and wings, I painted some panel lines with a pencil and emphasized them with lighter, dry-brushed panel shadings. The effect, at least from some distance, turned out much better than expected! Additionally, some wear and dirt was simulated through a light black in wash. Soot stains, esp. around the jet exhausts, were created with grinded graphite, and some dry painting with silver was done on the leading edges. Finally, everything was sealed under a coat of matt acrylic varnish.
Well, what was to simply become a turboprop-powered F4U turned into something …different. The A3U looks exotic, but not bad or implausible – the thing reminds me of the offspring between a Ju 87 dive bomber and a Westland Whirlwind fighter, and there’s some Fairey Firefly an Il-2 single-seater lineage to it, too? As a positive aspect, this kitbash model reminds IMHO at first glance only remotely of the F4U that it once was, so I think the whiffing work is quite effective. :D
Xerém, RJ - Brasil - 14/10/2017 - CTVL - .
Torneio OPG. Jogo Fluminense x Americano.
FOTO DE MAILSON SANTANA/FLUMINENSE FC.
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IMPORTANTE: Imagem destinada a uso institucional e divulgação, seu uso comercial está vetado incondicionalmente por seu autor e o Fluminense Football Club...
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IMPORTANT: Image intended for institutional use and distribution. Commercial use is prohibited unconditionally by its author and Fluminense Football Club.
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IMPORTANTE: Imágen para uso solamente institucional y distribuición. El uso comercial es prohibido por su autor y por el Fluminense Football Club.
A young seagull scrounging around in the last of the light comes in to check if I'm one of the people who can't read the "No Bird Feeding, Hazard to Aircraft" signs at the seaplane base. I've got to head downisland today, will catch up with everyone tonight or tomorrow. Have a fine Sunday.
A few days ago, at the beginning of December 2024, celebrations televised worldwide heralded the coming back to life of the Notre–Dame Cathedral in Paris, after the accidental and disastrous timber roof fire of April 2019. This joyous occasion was an opportunity to vaunt the vastness of the cathedral.
Well, today and over the following days, I invite you to discover a much-less known, but much more surprising, church, the abbey church of Pontigny, in the equally little known département of Yonne (a part of Burgundy), about 150 kilometers southeast of Paris. There, at the edge of a small village and framed by the tall trees of a dark forest, an enormous vessel of stone stands in the middle of wheat fields, towering above everything else, even though it doesn’t have towers nor spire...
It has two things in common with the cathedral of Paris: at 120 meters, the length of its nave almost that of Notre–Dame (130 meters), and in addition to being an abbey church, Pontigny is also a cathedral... It is also the oldest, as when the first stone of Notre–Dame was laid in 1163, Pontigny was already built.
The abbey of Pontigny was founded in 1114 by a group of monks led by Hugues of Mâcon. For the second time after the foundation of La Ferté the year before, monks of the Cîteaux Abbey left the mothership to found a new monastery. Pontigny thus became and will forever remain “the second daughter of Cîteaux”, an important claim in an order than will number more than 2,200 monasteries of monks and nuns.
Donations flow in. Counting more than a dozen Kings of France among its benefactors, not to mention a good half-dozen Kings of England, the abbey will also give refuge to three archbishops of Canterbury, two of them saints: Thomas Becket and Edme (or Edmund) of Abingdon, whose relics are still buried in the choir of the church.
Built largely thanks to generous funding by Thibaut the Great, Earl of Champagne whose daughter Adele will marry King Louis VII, the church we can still admire today is built between 1138 and around 1150, although additions will be made to it as late as the early 1200s. It is mostly Romanesque, but the influence of the Gothic style can be seen in the latest rows of the nave, and of course in the ceiling, which is rib-vaulted —the first time this architecture was ever used in Burgundy.
During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the abbey will be one of the richest and most powerful of the Western world, counting more than forty priories, vast lands and assorted properties in many different cities. Its library was also famous.
Listed as a Monument historique (Historic Landmark) on the very first list drawn up in 1840 by Minister Prosper Mérimée, the abbey church is almost all that’s left of the abbey, which was severely damaged during the Hundred Years War, then during the Wars of Religion, and finally during the French Revolution.
Since 1954, the abbey church is also the legal seat and headquarters of the “Mission de France” territorial prelature, which inspired the so-called “worker priests” which are quite well known in France. For that reason, the abbey church was granted by the Pope the status of cathedral of that prelature.
I’ve had the pleasure to visit this grandiose church, the largest ever in the Cistercian order, in late May 2024, within the scope of a photographic mission for the Fondation pour La Sauvegarde de l’Art Français, one of the not-for-profit organizations I work for as a pro bono photographer. I was given access to what’s left of the cloister, a part which is normally off-limits.
The base of some columns in the nave has been decorated, while most of them remain bare. I have used the rotating and tilting possibilities of my lens to restrict sharp focus to the two bases I meant to showcase in this photograph.
+++ 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:
The Latvian Air Force was first founded during the Latvian War of Independence in 1919. In 1939, the Aviation Regiment consisted of three fighter squadrons, armed with 24 Gloster Gladiator and 6 Bristol Bulldog (a fourth squadron was in organization), three reconnaissance squadrons, armed with up to 12 Letov Š-16LS, 2 Hawker Hind and 10 Stampe SV.5, and a naval reconnaissance squadron with 4 Fairey Seal and two other planes. The Soviet occupation in 1940 ended the activities of the Air Force. At that time there were almost 130 aircraft in service.
The post-Soviet Latvian Air Force was formed on 24 February 1992 at Spilve Airport. In August 1994, the air force moved to an ex-soviet Lielvārde Air Base. In the beginning of the new century two new and more heavy Mi-8MTV Hip helicopters were bought for search and rescue equipment duties, but they were also used for transportation of troops, evacuation and support of the Special Forces. In March 2004 Latvia joined NATO and the Ministry of Defense made the decision to improve the small country’s air defense with a dedicated fighter squadron. The country also bought two more Mi-8MTV's at the Russian Ulan Ude helicopter (rework) factory that year, augmenting the SAR fleet.
In 2005, soldiers of the Air Force Air Defense Wing started a training course in order to prepare an upgraded air defense. At the same time, the Latvian Air Force commenced the modernization of the surface air defense capabilities by signing a contract regarding procurement of RBS-70 manpads missiles from Sweden and negotiated the purchase or leasing of 2nd hand Saab JAS 39 Gripen. Coming from a neutral country, the Gripen was the LAF’s wish candidate for the new interceptor aircraft, but eventually Latvia could be convinced (primarily through the USA and with generous financial support thorugh the “Baltic Peace II” program) to buy eight F-5E fighters and two F-5F trainers with relatively low flying hours and in good overall condition from Switzerland. Besides the financial support, the type’s ruggedness and relatively low maintenance costs led to this choice.
The Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II itself was part of a highly successful supersonic light fighter family, initially designed in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. Being smaller and simpler than contemporaries such as the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II, the F-5 cost less to both procure and operate, making it a popular export aircraft. The F-5 started life as a privately funded light fighter program by Northrop in the 1950s. The design team wrapped a small, highly aerodynamic fighter around two compact and high-thrust General Electric J85 engines, focusing on performance and low cost of maintenance. Though primarily designed for the day air superiority role, the aircraft was also a capable ground-attack platform.
After winning the International Fighter Aircraft competition in 1970, a program aimed at providing effective low-cost fighters to American allies, Northrop introduced the second-generation F-5E Tiger II in 1972. This upgrade included more powerful engines, higher fuel capacity, greater wing area and improved leading edge extensions for a better turn rate, optional air-to-air refueling, and improved avionics including air-to-air radar. A total of 1,400 Tiger IIs were built before production ended in 1987, and the type is still in operational use in many countries round the world.
The Swiss F-5E airframes for Latvia were overhauled and the avionics suite modernized in 2006 and 2007 by SAI in Italy. Elbit Systems from Israel became the sub-contractor responsible for systems integration. Upgrades for the fighters included an Italian FIAR Grifo-F X band multi-mode radar with BVR (beyond-visual-range) missile and Look-down/shoot-down capabilities, making the modernized F-5E capable of deploying AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles, which were, together with AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs, part of the Baltic Peace II support for Latvia. The new radar necessitated an enlarged radome for its scanner antenna, resulting in a duckbill shape. The fighters’ port side M39 20 mm cannon was removed to make way for the additional avionics.
All machines received a revamped cockpit with new MIL-STD-1553R databuses, a GEC/Ferranti 4510 Head-up display/weapons delivery system, two BAE Systems MED-2067 Multi-function displays, Litton LN-93 inertial navigation system and Hands On Throttle-And-Stick controls (HOTAS) to reduce pilot workload. Reportedly, the Elisra SPS2000 radar warning receiver and countermeasure system was also installed.
The modernization process was completed by early 2007 and the machines were re-designated F-5L/M. By late 2007, the Latvian air defense had become operational and worked closely together with its Baltic neighbors and the NATO forces that were frequently deployed to the Baltic NATO countries.
The small Latvian F-5 fleet is expected to remain in service until 2024, even tough, if there is sufficient funding, the machines will certainly be replaced beforehand by more capable models. The Saab Gripen is still a favored candidate, but F-16C/Ds from USAF stocks are a potential option, too.
By end of 2009, the LAF’s Fighter Squadron moved to Lielvārde Air Base, in an attempt to ensure centralization of Air Force units and to establish an efficient command and control system, which will result in a reduction of the Air Force units’ maintenance costs. With the Fighter Squadron the Air Force carries out Latvian airspace surveillance, control and defense and provides air defense support to the Land Forces units.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 47 ft 4¾ in (14.45 m)
Wingspan: 26 ft 8 in (8.13 m)
Height: 13 ft 4½ in (4.08 m)
Wing area: 186 ft² (17.28 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 65A004.8 root, NACA 64A004.8 tip
Empty weight: 9,558 lb (4,349 kg)
Loaded weight: 15,745 lb (7,157 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 24,722 lb (11,214 kg)
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.02
Drag area: 3.4 ft² (0.32 m²)
Aspect ratio: 3.82
Internal fuel: 677 U.S. gal (2,563 L)
External fuel: up to 3× 275 U.S. gal (1,040 L) drop tanks
Powerplant:
2× General Electric J85-GE-21B turbojet with 3,500 lbf (15.5 kN) dry thrust
and 5,000 lbf (22.2 kN) thrust with afterburner each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 917 kn (Mach 1.6, 1,060 mph, 1,700 km/h) at altitude
Range: 760 nmi (870 mi, 1,405 km)
Ferry range: 2,010 nmi (2,310 mi, 3,700 km)
Service ceiling: 51,800 ft (15,800 m)
Rate of climb: 34,400 ft/min (175 m/s)
Lift-to-drag ratio: 10.0
Armament:
1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M39A2 Revolver cannon in the nose with 280 rounds
7 hardpoints (2× wing-tip AAM launch rails, 4× under-wing & 1× under-fuselage pylon stations,
only pylon stations 3, 4 and 5 are wet-plumbed) with a capacity of 7,000 pounds (3,200 kg)
The kit and its assembly:
A relatively simple build, originally inspired by a Blue Rider decal sheet for Latvian Air Force aircraft that I had bought some time ago, as part of a vague plan to build a modern what-if aircraft for each of the young and small Baltic states’ air forces. The first one had been a Lithuanian MiG-21, Estonia is still pending (even though there’s a vague idea), and the Lithuanian interceptor was recently spawned when I bought an Italeri F-5E as part of a kit lot, even though it lacked box, decals and instructions and had a slight damage.
The Tiger II was built mostly OOB, the only changes I made are replaced wing tip launch rails (they were damaged beyond repair), I omitted port side cannon and created a modified “shark nose” radome, which was sculpted with putty; in real life, the enlarged radome for the upgraded radar is 33cm deeper than the original F-5E radome, even though the aircraft’s overall length remained the same, as well as the nose profile. In order to make the model look a little less static I slightly lowered the slats and the flaps – easy to realize on this model. The leftover cannon received a better barrel, made from a hollow steel needle. The pair of AIM-120s and their respective launch rails come from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapons set. The ventral drop tank came from the kit.
The Italeri F-5E is a simple affair and goes together well, even though the section ahead of the air intakes called for considerable PSR work – not certain if that’s my fault or an innate flaw of the kit (which comes with an upper and lower fuselage half)? The raised panel lines are another weak point – the kit cannot conceal its age, and there are certainly better options today (e .g. from Hobby Boss).
Painting and markings:
I wanted something that would neither look too Western, nor a typical Soviet-style livery. The resulting paint scheme is purely fictional and was inspired by a grey North Korean MiG-21 and USAF aggressor schemes for F-5Es – both reminiscent of the Soviet “Pumpkin” paint scheme for export MiG-21s. For the choice of colors, the complex “Norm 81” scheme from German Luftwaffe F-4Fs had an influence.
The result became a primarily grey air superiority scheme with uniform light grey undersides (FS 36495, Humbrol 147) and light Ghost Grey (FS 36375, Humbrol 127) fuselage and fin. The wings’ upper surfaces became mostly Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231, Testors 1740) and patches of the same tone were applied to the fuselage and the fin, too. On the wings’ upper surfaces, some patches in a dull, greenish grey (Humbrol 111, Uniform Grey) were finally added in order to break the aircraft’s outlines from above. The result somewhat reminds of German WWII camouflage, even though unintentionally.
The radome was painted in Revell 75 (Light Grey, with a brownish hue) to set it apart from the rest of the aircraft. Humbrol 140 was used for the cockpit interior. The landing gear became classic glossy white, while the air intake interior was painted in Humbrol 127, matching the aircraft’s flanks. Only subtle post-shading and weathering was done.
As mentioned above, the Latvian air force markings came from a Blue Rider decal sheet. The tactical codes and the matching serial number come from a Begemot MiG-21sheet. Other fictional elements are the NATO emblem on the fin and a small squadron emblem on the nose, which is a vintage Polish air force motif.
Most stencils had to be salvaged from secondary sources, since the kit came without a decal sheet. Fortunately, I had a spare F-5E sheet left over from a Hobby Boss kit. As a final step, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
A rather simple project, but re-sculpting the nose was a tedious task. However, I am happy with the outcome and how the fictional paint scheme works. Together with the exotic Latvian roundels, this creates an interesting, if not plausible, look.
+++ 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 Supermarine Spitfire became the backbone of RAF Fighter Command, and saw action in the European, Mediterranean, Pacific and the South-East Asian theatres during World War II. Much loved by its pilots, the Spitfire served in several roles, including interceptor, photo-reconnaissance, fighter-bomber, carrier-based fighter, and trainer. It was built in many variants, using several wing configurations. Although the original airframe was designed to be powered by a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine producing 1,030 hp (768 kW), it was adaptable enough to use increasingly powerful Merlin and later Rolls-Royce Griffon engines producing up to 2,035 hp (1,520 kW). It was exported and used by many countries, even after WWII, including Chile.
The first step towards the current Chliean Air Force was taken by Teniente Coronel Pedro Pablo Dartnell, when he founded the Servicio de Aviación Militar de Chile (Military Aviation Service of Chile) on December 20, 1910, being trained as a pilot in France. In those early years many aviation milestones were achieved; conquering the height of the Andes was one of the main targets as well as long distance flights. On 21 March 1930, the existing aviation elements of the army and navy were amalgamated into a dedicated department: the Subsecretaria de Aviación (Department of the Air Force) effectively creating the current independent Air Force. Its baptism of fire was in the 1931 sailors' rebellion in Coquimbo, where Air Force attack aircraft and bombers and 2 transport planes converted into bombers contributed to its failure.
The first outlines of the organization of the current air force were visible in 1945 with the inception of Grupo de Transporte No.1 (First Transport Group), later renumbered Grupo 10, with two C-45s and a single T-6 Texan at Los Cerrillos. Beyond that, Chile also sought the modernization of its fighter fleet, and turned towards the USA and overseas for supplies and assistance, primarily in the form of surplus aircraft from WWII.
One of Chile’s initial procurements were 32 Supermarine Spitfire Mk 22 directly from Great Britain, a post-war, Griffon-powered variant of the British fighter.
By early 1942, it was evident that Spitfires powered by the new two-stage supercharged Griffon 61 engine would need a much stronger airframe and wings. The proposed new design was called the Mk 21, which at first displayed poor flight qualities that damaged the excellent Spitfire reputation. The wings were redesigned with a new structure and thicker-gauge light alloy skinning. The new wing was torsionally 47 per cent stiffer, allowing an increased theoretical aileron reversal speed of 825 mph (1,328 km/h). The ailerons were 5 per cent larger and the Frise balanced type were dispensed with, the ailerons being attached by continuous piano-hinges. They were extended by eight inches, meaning that with a straighter trailing edge, the wings were not the same elliptical shape as previous Spitfires. The Mk 21 armament was standardized as four long-barreled 20mm Hispano II cannon with 150 rpg and no machine guns.
The Griffon engine drove an 11 ft (3.4 m)-diameter five-bladed propeller, some 7 in (18 cm) larger than that fitted to the Mk XIV. To ensure sufficient ground clearance for the new propeller, the undercarriage legs were lengthened by 4.5 in (11 cm). The undercarriage legs also had a 7.75 in (19.7 cm) wider track to help improve ground handling. The designers used a system of levers to shorten the undercarriage legs by about 8 in (20 cm) as they retracted, because the longer legs did not have enough space in which to retract; the levers extended the legs as they came down. The larger diameter four-spoke main wheels were strengthened to cope with the greater weights; post-war these were replaced by wider, reinforced three spoke wheels to allow Spitfires to operate from hard concrete or asphalt runways. When retracted the wheels were fully enclosed by triangular doors which were hinged to the outer edge of the wheel wells.
After intensive test flying, the most serious problems were solved by changing the gearing to the trim tabs and other subtle control modifications, such that the Mk 21 was cleared for instrument flying and low level flight during trials in March 1945. Spitfire 21s became operational on 91 Squadron in January 1945, but the squadron had little opportunity to engage the Luftwaffe before the war ended.
The Mk 22 was identical to the Mk 21 in all respects except for the cut-back rear fuselage, with a tear-drop canopy, and a more powerful 24 volt electrical system in place of the 12 volt system of all earlier Spitfires. Most of the Mk 22s were built with enlarged tail surfaces, similar to those of the Supermarine Spiteful, and a few were outfitted with six blade contraprops, too. A total of 287 Mk 22s were built after WWII: 260 at Castle Bromwich and 27 by Supermarine at South Marston.
The Mk 22 was used by only one regular RAF unit, 73 Squadron based on Malta, but twelve squadrons of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force used the variant and continued to do so until March 1951, when they were gradually retired. Many of these Mk 22s were sold back to Vickers-Armstrongs for refurbishment and then sold to foreign air forces including Southern Rhodesia, Egypt and Syria from 1955 onward.
In contrast to this, Chile was an early buyer of the Mk 22, sealing the contract with Vickers Supermarine already in 1946 when production was still running. The first original Mk 22s for Chile arrived, disassembled and transported via ship, in April 1947, and deliveries lasted until late 1948.
In service, the machines received tactical codes in the range from 200 to 230, but there were exceptions. Upon delivery and during their relatively short career, the FACh Spitfires carried the standard RAF livery of Dark Green and Ocean Grey, with Medium Sea Grey undersides. The only exception were two pairs of machines which were painted with different, experimental schemes back at the British factory: two Spitfires (in service carrying the tactical codes “152” and “212”) carried the RAF Tropical scheme (Dark Earth/Mid Stone with Azure Blue undersides) and another pair (“213” and “217”) was delivered in a unique, modified variant in which Dark Earth was replaced with Ocean Grey, inofficially dubbed "Cordillera" or "Desert Mountain" scheme. Neither of these proposals was adopted for service, but, strangely, these four machines retained their unique liveries throughout their service life, even after overhauls and re-paintings.
The fifties meant entry into the jet age for the FACh, and Grupo 7 was the first unit to receive them in 1954. As a consequence, the Chilean Spitfires were soon replaced by Lockheed F-80 fighters, procured from the United States of America, and the last Chilean Spitfire Mk 22s were retired in 1963.
[b][u]General characteristics:[/u][/b]
Crew: 1
Length: 32 ft 11 in (10.04 m)
Wingspan: 36ft 11 in (11.26 m)
Height: 10 ft 0 in (3.05 m)
Wing area: 243.6 sq ft (22.63 m2)
Empty weight: 6,900 lb (3.132 kg)
Gross weight: 8.500 lb (3,860 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 9.200 lb (4,176 kg)
[u]Powerplant:[/u]
1× Rolls-Royce Griffon 61 supercharged V12 with 2,050 hp (1,530 kW) at 8,000 ft (2,438 m)
driving a 5-bladed Jablo-Rotol propeller
[u]Performance:[/u]
Maximum speed: 454 mph (730 km/h; 395 kn.) at 26.000 ft.
420 mph (676 km/h; 365 kn.) at 12.000 ft.
Combat range: 490 mi (788 km; 426 nmi) with internal fuel only
Ferry range: 880 mi (1.417; 766 nmi) with three drop tanks
Service ceiling: 43,500 ft. (13,300 m)
Initial climb: 4,850 ft./min (24.79 m/sec.)
Time to 20.000 ft.: 8 min (at max. weight)
Wing loading: 32.72 lb/ft² (159.8 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.24
[u]Armament:[/u]
4× 20 mm (0.787-in) Hispano Mk II cannon, 175 RPG inboard, 150 RPG outboard
1× underfuselage and 2× underwing hardpoints for 1.000 lb (454 kg) and 500 lb (227 kg), respectively;
alternatively 6× underwing launch rails for unguided 60 lbs missiles
The kit and its assembly:
This build was inspired by a series of South American what-if profiles created by fellow member PantherG at whatifmodelers.com, posted there in February 2019. These included, among others, several Chilean Supermarine Spitfire Mk 22s, including exotic livery variants. I found one of them very attractive (yet ugly...), and when I found an appropriate Special Hobby kit in my stash I decided spontaneously to turn the profile into (model) hardware.
The Special Hobby kits for Griffon-powered Spitfires are excellent, and they all actually contain a vast collection of optional parts that allow LOTS of land- and sea-based late Spitfires to be built, including subtle fictional combinations. The parts are crisply molded, the styrene is easy to work with, fit is very good and surface details are just great – the kit almost falls together. The thing is pricy, but you get good value and lots of spares for future projects. In my case it is a proper Mk 22 kit, and this one even came with resin wheels and exhaust stubs as extras, plus a masking set for the canopy.
The kit was built almost 100% OOB as a Mk 22, I just modified the propeller with an axis so that it can spin freely (for the pictures). The drop tank comes from the kit, but otherwise I left the aircraft in clean condition, leaving away optional rocket attachment points under the wings or slipper tanks.
Painting and markings:
As mentioned above, this build was inspired by a profile drawing, and I stuck as close as possible to this benchmark, even though I changed some details or filled some gaps.
The most striking feature of the specific profile (aircraft “213”) I chose was/is the experimental choice of colors: RAF Mid Stone and Ocean Grey on the upper surfaces, and Azure Blue underneath. I just slightly tweaked the pattern on the model, staying closer to the original RAF scheme and resulting in a slightly different pattern on the fuselage. Consequently, I gave the aircraft a different tactical code and “217” was born.
The basic tones I used are Humbrol 106, Modelmaster 2052 and Humbrol 157. The cockpit interior was painted in a post-WWII black (Revell 9) instead of the former pale green-grey. The interior of the landing gear wells became Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165); the idea behind this choice is that the late Spitfire types had their landing gear wells painted in the same color as the wings' undersides. In the case of this specific aircraft I thought that it originally carried the standard RAF scheme, but received a superficial overspray in the experimental Chilean colors at the UK workshop. For the same reason, some Dark Green shines through under the Mid Stone on the leading edges and around the cockpit, created through dry-brushing and thinned paint (acrylic Revell 65, Bronze Green). The propeller spinner became black - very simple, and in line with the benchmark profile.
The decals were puzzled together. The Chilean roundels on the wings actually belong to an EE/BAC Canberra, the tactical code was created with black RAF code numbers from an Xtradecal Lightning sheet and another post-war Spitfire (a Special Hobby Mk. 24, IIRC).
The flash on the rudder was created with paint (the blue tone was mixed to match the wing roundels) and a single, white star decal. The squadron emblem, which was not featured on the inspiring profile, was taken from an Xtradecal sheet for D.H. Vampire T.55s, which features two FACh options, one of them operated by Grupo 7. Most stencils come from the Mk 22’s OOB sheet.
Some soot stains were added around the exhaust stubs and very little dry-brushing with aluminum and light grey was done to the wings' leading edges, the propeller (spinner tip and blades) and around the cockpit hatch. And, finally, everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
A simple project, and just an "operator travesty" whif. The kit went together easily, and the result is pretty exotic - but not unbelievalbe, despite the weird choice of colors.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
I.M.A.M. (Industrie Meccaniche e Aeronautiche Meridionali) was an Italian aircraft manufacturer based in Naples. Originally, the company was part of the Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali ("Southern Railway Works"), which began to manufacture aircraft in 1923. From 1925 Fokker aircraft were built under license and I.M.A.M. also manufactured aircraft for Fiat.
The aircrafts’ abbreviation “Ro” before the number means Romeo. This abbreviation had been used by all types since 1925 and was derived from the surname of the company’s owner, Nicola Romeo, who was also the owner of a Milanese automobile and aircraft engine manufacturer (effectively, the designation lived on in the car manufacturer Alfa Romeo).
In 1934, Società Anonima Industrie Aeronautiche Romeo, which was founded for this purpose, took over this part of the now insolvent railway supplier and it immediately started with the construction of own aircraft. In 1936, Breda took over the Romeo works and finally formed the Società Anonima Industry Meccaniche e Aeronautiche Meridionali.
I.M.A.M. aircraft were not particularly successful, though, the few notable constructions were the reconnaissance aircraft Ro.37, the Ro.43 seaplane and the Ro.70 fighter, which were all only produced in limited numbers, though. The Ro.70 was designed in response to a late 1939 tender for a fighter built around the Daimler-Benz DB 601, built in license as the Alfa Romeo RA.1000 R.C.41-I Monsone liquid-cooled V-12 engine, rated at 1,175 PS (864 kW). The all-metal, semi-monocoque fuselage was basically oval in cross-section, changing to a tapered, semi-triangular oval behind the cockpit canopy, with a maximum depth of 1.35 m (4 ft 5 in). Overall, the aircraft's outlines reminded a lot of the german Bf 109E, but the Ro.70 had overall bigger dimensions.
An unusual feature of the Ro.70 was that the engine bearers were constructed as an integral part of the forward fuselage, with the cowling side panels being fixed. For servicing or replacement, only the top and bottom cowling panels could be removed. A tapered, rectangular supercharger air intake was located on the port-side cowling. Behind the engine bulkhead were the ammunition boxes feeding a pair of synchronized 12.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns which were set in a "staggered" configuration (the port weapon slightly further forward than that to starboard) in a bay just above and behind the engine. The breeches partly projected into the cockpit, above the instrument panel. The ammunition capacity was limited, having only around 250 rounds for each weapon. A single 20mm MG 151/20 cannon of German production was mounted between the cylinder banks, firing though the propeller hub.
A self-sealing fuel tank with a capacity of 165 L (44 US gal) was located behind the pilot's seat. The windshield was armored and there was a 13 mm (.51 in) armor plate behind the pilot. The radiator and oil cooler for the liquid-cooled engine were in a ventral location below the fuselage and wing trailing edge, covered by a rectangular section fairing with a large, adjustable exit flap.
The evenly-tapered wings had an aspect ratio of 7.2 with a gross area of 20 m² (215.28 ft²) and featured three spars; a Warren truss main spar and two auxiliary spars. The rear spar carried the split flaps and long, narrow-chord ailerons, while the front spar incorporated the undercarriage pivot points. The undercarriage track, which retracted inwards, was relatively wide at 4 m (13 ft 1.5 in). Each wing had a partially self-sealing 190 L (50 US gal) fuel tank behind the main spar, just outboard of the fuselage. A single weapon (initially 7.7 mm Breda-SAFAT machine guns with 500 RPG) was able to be carried in a weapons bay located behind the main spar.
The first prototype first flew in December 1941 at I.M.A.M. factory airfield near Naples. Although test pilots were enthusiastic about its self-sealing fuel tanks, upgraded armament, and good dive performance, the wing loading of 146.3 kg/m² (30 lb/ft²) at an all-up weight of 2,950 kg (6,500 lb) was viewed with skepticism by many of the senior officers and pilots of the Regia Aeronautica, who still believed in the light, highly maneuverable, lightly armed fighter.
Besides, by the time it first flew, one year after the Macchi C.202's first flight and three years after the first Bf 109E, the engine was already underpowered compared to the new 1,120 kW (1,500 hp) inline or 1,491 kW (2,000 hp) radial engines being developed (and already nearing the mass-production stage) to power the next generation of combat aircraft such as the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
But due to the waging war the Ro.70 was put into production using imported DB 601Aa engines, while Alfa Romeo set up license production of the respective powerplant. Due to initial delays in engine production and quality issues, production rates and numbers of effectively operational aircraft were low. Consequently, by late 1942, Macchi Folgores outnumbered the Ro.70 and all other fighter aircraft in the Regia Aeronautica and became the Italian standard fighter.
The Ro.70’s first deployment was during the Battle of Bir Hakeim (26 May 1942 – 11 June 1942), in which a dozen of the new fighters performed successfully against Desert Air Force fighters, using "dive and zoom" tactics, similar to those of the German Luftwaffe, scoring two air victories. At the end of the year, the growing strength of the Allied forces was overwhelming and after the defeat in the skies over Malta as well as El-Alamein the last operational Axis units lost their air superiority in the Mediterranean.
The Ro.70s continued fighting while retreating to Tunisia and then in the defense of Sicily, Sardinia and Italy against an increasingly stronger Allied opponent. Eventually, after roundabout 180 aircraft had been delivered to the Regia Aeronautica, the I.M.A.M. factory was captured by Allied troops in September 1943, with the facilities and many airframes intact. From this stock, a further 30 aircraft in various states of assembly were made airworthy and immediately allocated to the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force (Aeronautica Co-Belligerante, ACI), also known as Air Force of the South (Aeronautica del Sud). 15 more machines were built from spares and surplus parts until February 1944, two of these machines were sent to the United States for flight evaluation.
The ACI's Ro.70s never operated over Italian territory, its objectives being always in the Balkans (Yugoslavia or Albania). This was a general order to avoid any possible encounter between Italian-manned aircraft fighting on opposite sides, since the National Republican Air Force (Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, or ANR) was ostensibly part of the forces of the Benito Mussolini's Fascist state in northern Italy and fighting on the Axis’ side. During the entire history of ACI, though, no encounter, let alone combat, was ever reported between ACI and ANR aircraft.
Clashes with Italian aircraft still occurred, though, e. g. over Croatia in 1944, where about 20–22 C.202s were used by Croatia as interceptors of Allied bombers by the Air Force of the Independent State of Croatia (Zrakoplovstvo Nezavisne Države Hrvatske/ZNDH). Ro.70s of the 51° Stormo Caccia, based in Lecce, claimed a total of three victories against the Croatian forces over the Adriatic Sea and near Mostar.
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 8.94 m (29 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 12.00 m (39 ft 4 in)
Height: 3.70 m (12 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 20.00 m² (215.28 ft²)
Airfoil: NACA 2R 16 wing root, NACA 24009 tip
Internal fuel capacity: 550 l (121 Imp gal)
Empty weight: 2,630 kg (5,800 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,470 kg (7,650 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Alfa Romeo RA.1000 R.C.41-I Monsone liquid-cooled supercharged inverted V-12 engine,
rated at 1,175 PS (864 kW) at 2,500 rpm for takeoff
Performance:
Maximum speed: 580 km/h (360 mph) at 5,000 m (16,405 ft)
Range: 580 km (360 mi)
Service ceiling: 11,600 m (38,100 ft)
Rate of climb: 15.2 m/s (2,983 ft/min)
Wing loading: 173.5 kg/m² (35.5 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 0.25 kW/kg (0.15 hp/lb)
Time to altitude: 7.0 min to 5,000 m (16,405 ft)
Armament:
1× 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon, 200 rounds, firing though the propeller hub
2× 12.7 mm (0.50”) Breda-SAFAT machine guns with 250 RPG above the engine
2× 7.7 mm (0.303”) Breda-SAFAT machine guns with 500 RPG in the outer wings*;
*these were later often replaced by another pair of 12.7 mm (0.50”) Breda-SAFAT machine guns
with 300 RPG or two 20mm (0.787”) machine cannon with 150 RPG.
2× underwing hardpoints for 2x 200 l (44 Imp gal) drop tanks or bombs of up to 250 kg (550 lb) caliber
The kit and its assembly:
This Italian whif is both a simple and a complicated affair, because it is a travestied Kawasaki Ki-61 that fits into a small historic slot.
The Hasegawa kit was mostly built OOB, it is simple and easy to build - except for the sprue attachment points which extend on many parts onto the surfaces that are glued together. What did the Hasegawa engineers think, if they thought at all about it? O.K., it's just a matter of cleaning the parts, but that's an avoidable flaw!?
Only three small modifications were made:
- The wing tips were clipped into a square shape
- The stabilizers were replaced in order to match the wings' new outline
- I gave the kit a different spinner (from a Matchbox He 111, plus a central gun port)
The OOB drop tanks were left away, and I lowered the flaps since this was easy to realize. I also added short gun barrels to the wings, and the tail wheel became retractable through a pair of small covers.
Painting and markings:
This was supposed to become one of the machines that were found by Allied forces at the I.M.A.M. plant. Originally, it was built and painted according to German standards, but, as operational war bounty, its former markings were painted over, it received US markings and was quickly handed over to the co-belligerent air force. Hence, inspired by Allied aircraft like former USAAF P-39s that were operated by the ACI, the Italian roundels were simply and quickly painted over the US "Stars and Bars" markings.
Consequently, I gave the Ro.70 a conservative German splinter scheme in RLM 74/75/76 with some RLM 02 mottles added to the flanks and a black propeller spinner with a white spiral.
The cockpit interior was painted in "Verde anticorrosione", which is a unique Italian tone and a relatively bright and intense green, I used Modelmaster's RLM83, which comes IMHO close. The landing gear interior was painted in aluminium (Humbrol 56)
As Allied ID markings for the Mediterranean TO I added yellow bands on the wings and around the fuselage (created with yellow decal sheet, except for the nose ring, which was painted with Humbrol 69). Inspired by Allied aircraft like former USAAF P-39s that were operated by the ACI, the Italian roundels received additional bars. These had the star simple painted over by the Italian roundel, sometimes the bar was overpainted, too, and I adapted this weird detail. The place where a former Regia Aeronautica tactical code or national marking had been placed was overpainted with US olive drab (Neutral Grey under the wings), and the new code letter placed on top of that. Since the aircraft would have been pressed quickly into service, I did not give it any other extra markings beyond the code letter.
Finally, some soot stains around the gun nozzles and the exhausts were created with graphite and the wings' leading edges treated with dry-brushed light grey, before the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
A relatively simple what-if model, but an exotic an effective one: a Japanese aircraft in a German livery, outfitted with US "Stars & Bars" eventually in Italian hands! The paint finish turned out nicely, as well as the mottled fuselage flanks (always a challenge, esp. w/o an airbrush).
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