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Veterinary ambulance in Devon. Good use of an Old ambulance.
I love the front 'blue' repeater lights!
I spent a lot of time doing this conversion just because I didn't know quite what needed to go where. I'm in the middle of the first roll right now, and things are going smoothly so far.
The camera takes 6cm x 10.5cm negatives, so I get 6 per roll right now. I may make a mask later so I can get that to a more manageable 6x9 format if I don't like the results.
Notice all the felt. I removed quite a few components and I'm worried it's gonna leak light like crazy. hopefully I've sealed it up.
2nd version - attempt to improve mis-synch in the horizon by applying foggy blur (with PS) to help hide anamolies.
Red/Cyan 3D glasses needed to view anaglyph 2D-3D conversion. SPM was used for the conversion.
The ZIL-157 is a general purpose 2 1⁄2-ton 6x6 truck, produced in post-World War II Soviet Union ZiL. It was the standard Soviet truck.
Der ZIL-157 (russisch ЗИЛ-157), gelegentlich auch als SIL-157 transkribiert, ist ein dreiachsiger mittelschwerer Lastkraftwagen, der 1958 bis 1994 in der Sowjetunion beziehungsweise Russland zuerst vom Sawod imeni Lichatschowa gebaut wurde.
Vehicle: Iveco Daily 59.12 Classic.
Date of registration: 24th November 1997.
Registration region: Worcester.
Date taken: 15th August 2018.
Album: Street Spots
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In March 1941 Saab was given the task to design a better fighter than the Seversky Republic P-35s and Reggiane 2000s, at that time the only fighter aircraft Sweden was able or allowed to buy and the air force’s most modern fighters. Several other foreign designs, including the German Bf 109 or even the Japanese Mitsubishi Zero had also been considered.
Anyway, during the ongoing war the procurement of foreign equipment had no predictable future, and so a program for an indigenous fighter aircraft was launched the same year. This resulted in two different designs, which were both initially constructed around an imported German DB 603 engine – a deal which had become possible through the allowance of German transport flights to Norway over Swedish territory, a reason why no Allied equipment was sold to Sweden.
The resulting designs, the L-21 and L-23, differed considerably from each other. The Saab L-21 was a futuristic twin-boom pusher. This unconventional layout was a technological risk, with ejection seat and all, but it was expected to exploit the DB603 engine to the max, with a low-drag airframe (e .g. with a totally buried radiator installation inside of the inner wings) and a well-balanced center of gravity, which was expected to improve handling and turn radius. It was the favored design of Saab’s engineers.
As a fall-back option, though, the L-23 was added. It was a more conservative design with the same DB 603 engine, but with the engine in the classic nose position, a tunnel radiator under the rear fuselage, low tapered wings and a conventional tail. The overall outline resembled the P-51B/C Mustang. Most interestingly, the J 23 was to have a Bofors ejection seat, too, despite its conventional layout.
In December 1941 both designs were approved for prototypes, so that a direct comparison of both layouts could be made. The first of three J 21 prototypes flew on 30 July 1943, while the first three J 23 fighters followed on 10 August, just two weeks later.
Flight tests and evaluation continued until mid-1944 and, despite less weight and size, the J 23 turned out to be fast (Max. speed 626 km/h (388 mph) with the DB 603), but considerably less maneuverable than the J 21, which in itself was also not a perfect aircraft and frequently faced overheating problems.
Faced with two mediocre designs and an urgent need for a modern fighter, it was eventually decided to go ahead with the J 21 for serial production, but a pre-production batch of upgraded J 23 was also ordered for field tests and further development. In the meantime, Sweden had acquired rights to produce the DB 605 in license, and the new fighter was to be adapted to this more modern and powerful engine – it was hoped that the new engine would improve the J 23’s performance, and it was also fitted to the production J 21.
This re-engined variant was the J 23A, of which twelve aircraft were constructed at the main plant in Trollhättan and delivered from August 1945, too late to be involved in typical interception duties at the Swedish borders.
Deliveries of the favored J 21 started in December of the same year. The latter’s field performance turned out to be unsuited for the interceptor role, and the cooling problems persisted. Relegated mainly into the bomber and CAS role (the J 21 turned out to be a passable ground attack aircraft and a stable gun platform), the limitation of the J 21’s pusher design led to a revival of the front-engine J 23.
The resulting J 23B became the aircraft’s actual production variant, incorporating many improvements which had been developed and tested on the prototypes and the pre-production J 23As. These included aerodynamic modifications like a different airfoil on the outer wings and a lowered horizontal stabilizer, coupled with an extended rear fuselage for better directional stability and a slimmed-down radiator fairing for less drag. These machines were delivered from late 1946 on, and a total of forty-six J 23B airframes were produced until early 1948.
In service, the lighter J 23Bs proved to be a better interceptor than the J 21, with a higher top speed and rate of climb, but its handling was less responsive than the pusher aircraft with the same engine and armament.
Overall the J 23B was regarded as inferior to the very similar J 26 (the P-51D) in almost any respect, and the J 23B was never really popular with its flight or ground crews. Consequently, the J 23Bs active fighter career was short and the machines were only operated by the F 16 fighter wing and the F 20 Air Force Academy, both based at Uppsala Airfield, primarily used for advanced weapon and air combat training.
A new evaluation of the J 21 and the J 23 in 1947 led to the decision to retain the J 21 series but to consider the modification of the airframe to accommodate a jet engine. While production line J 21A series aircraft were first selected for conversion, the initial piston-engine version continued in production in five series "batches" that were completed in 1948–49.
Further J 23B production was not resumed, instead the J 26 and J 27 were procured. Anyway, the age of the piston-engine fighter came soon to a close and the Swedish Air Force entered the jet age. Consequently, the J 23B was already phased out, together with the J 21, after 1954.
General characteristics:
Crew: one
Length: 9.58 m (31 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 11.3 m (37 ft 8 in)
Height: 3.96 (13 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 20.00 m² (215.28 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,535 kg (5,583 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,445 kg (7,588 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 3,663 kg (8,068 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Daimler-Benz liquid-cooled, supercharged, 60° inverted V12 DB 605B engine,
rated at 1,085 kW (1,455 hp / 1,475 PS) and license-built by SFA.
Performance:
Maximum speed: 680 km/h (367 knots, 422 mph)
Cruise speed: 495 km/h (265 knots, 308 mph)
Range: 750 km (466 mi)
Service ceiling: 11,200 m (36,685 ft)
Rate of climb: 17 m/s (3,340 ft/min)
Armament:
1× engine-mounted 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 or Bofors cannon,
firing through the propeller hub
4× 13 mm Bofors-built Colt machine guns in the outer wings nose
Underwing hardpoints for various bombs, drop tanks and unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
The “Swedish Season” continues! The Saab 23 is another “phantom of the past”, a real world design that never left the drawing board. The J 23 actually started as an alternative to the J 21, but was discarded in late 1941 in favor of the more promising, yet bigger and heavier, pusher design. But that would not stop modelers from trying to build one, even though I have never seen a model of this aircraft? Having recently tried to build a Saab 27 fighter caught me in the right mood for another whiffy Swedish design, so I took a chance on the J 23, too.
At first glance you can mistake the J 23 for a P-51B with an engine from a late Bf 109, some sources describe it as “a Swedish Messerschmitt”. But that’s only superficial, much like the later Griffon-powered J 27 project which can be described as a “Super Spitfire”, but this does not do justice to the aircraft’s construction.
Both were independent developments, even though the P-51 (some early specimen were forced to land in Sweden and closely examined) certainly had a massive impact on both designs.
Anyway, the information basis surrounding the J 23 is worse than the J 27’s, and I only had rather vague profile drawings/sketches at hand for reference. A basis model was also hard to find: the rear section from a P-51B (in this case an Intech kit from Poland) was settled, since the Mustang’s cockpit shape, dorsal section and fin come really close to the J 23. But you cannot simply mate a P-51 with a Bf 109 nose, it would result in a rather wacky Mustang-thing because the proportions are not right.
Finding a good solution was not easy, and I was lucky to find a Hasegawa Ki-61 in the stash – it has a German engine (an earlier DB 601, though) and an overall layout similar to the P-51B. But the Ki-61 is considerably larger than a Bf 109, more in the P-51’s size class. Despite many detail modifications I decided to mate these unlikely aircraft for the J 23s basis – engraved panel lines on both kits made the combination less obvious, too.
The InTech P-51B gave its tail and the cockpit section (excluding the radiator tunnel and the wing roots), cut away from the rest of the Mustang fuselage with a Z-shaped cut. With a matching cut on the Ki-61’s fuselage, the engine and the whole wing/fuselage intersection were used. Styrene strips held the fuselage sections in place, on the outside the seams were later blended with nitrous compound putty. One benefit of this solution is that the OOB P-51 canopy could be used (even though the rear end fit necessitated some body work), and the resulting cockpit position was just as far forward as on the J 23, right above the wings. As a consequence the rear fuselage behind the cockpit appears to be rather long, but that is AFAIK correct, the J 23 had these slightly odd proportions!
For the J 23’s DB 605 engine a different, bigger spinner had to be mounted – scratched from a massive PZL 23 spinner and single blades (from the Hasegawa Ki-61), together with a metal axis and a styrene tube adapter inside of the nose. Some putty work was necessary to fair over the Ki-61 guns on the cowling, the typical DB 601 front bulge and blend the bigger, new spinner to the rest of the fuselage, but the result looks O.K.
The Ki-61’s original wings and landing gear could, thanks to the original fuselage section from the Hasegawa kit, be carried over and easily mounted, even though the wing tips were clipped for a square, Mustang-esque shape (the J 23’s look in all illustrations I’ve seen like upscaled Bf 109E wings).
The InTech P-51’s horizontal stabilizers were used, but for a J 23 they had to be placed in a different position: further back (so that wedges for the vertical rudder had to be cut out) and considerably lower, necessitating some (more) body work to hide the original attachment points. The new position adds to the impression of an extended fuselage section behind the cockpit, even though the P-51 donor fuselage section is only a little longer than the Ki-61’s. All tail surface outlines were slightly modified, too.
The J 23’s typical, shallow radiator tunnel had to be scratched, the semi-buried construction sits far behind the wings’ training edge. In an initial step, the removed Ki-61 radiator’s gap as well as the P-51 tail wheel well were faired over with styrene sheet and new intake/outlet ramps integrated into the lower rear fuselage. The tunnel itself is the narrow, aerodynamic fairing of a Boulton Paul Defiant’s machine guns behind the turret (raised when not in use), left over from a Pavla kit, opened at both ends.
As a consequence of the new and long radiator tunnel, the P-51 tail wheel well was moved about 5mm further back and the fuselage profile under the tail fin re-shaped.
One of the final steps was the cockpit interior, because I was not sure concerning the relative position of the P-51’s canopy (cut into three pieces for open display) and dashboard and the Ki-61’s cockpit floor panel and seat. But both turned out to match relatively well, and I added a tank and radio dummy behind the seat in order to prevent a clear view into the rear fuselage.
The landing gear was taken OOB from the Ki-61 – it looks similar to the real J 23 arrangement, so I stuck with it. The tail wheel comes from the InTech P-51, just the covers were scratched for the re-located well.
All gun barrels on spinner and wings are hollow steel needles, no ordnance was hung under the wings, even though the Ki-61 hardpoints were retained. After all, it’s a fighter aircraft.
Painting and markings:
Once more a classic, if not conservative, livery for a fictional aircraft – and in this case I chose the simple olivgrön/ljust blågrå camouflage of the late Fourties, coupled with contemporary color-coded letters identifying the individual aircraft and its squadron within the Flygflöttilj group.
The uniform upper surfaces were painted with RAF Dark Green (Humbrol 163). This tone has an olive drab touch and comes IMHO pretty close to the original Swedish color, the frequently recommended FS 34079 is IMHO too blue-ish. For the underside I used Humbrol 87 (Steel Gray), which is a blue-greenish gray. The authentic tone would be FS 36270, but on a model it appears much too dark, so that the lighter Steel Gray is a handy and individual alternative.
A light black ink was applied in order to emphasize the panel lines, some more depth was added through dry-painted panels with lighter shades of the basic colors (in this case, Humbrol 155 and 128).
The cockpit interior was painted in dark gray (Humbrol 32), while the landing gear and the wells became Aluminum (Humbrol 56).
As an aircraft of the air staff flight, this J 23 received a white spinner and a white code letter on the tail. These and other markings came from various sources and spare decal sheets. Some extra color was added with red warning markings on the wings above the flaps, plus some visual markings - all made with generic decal stripes. The cock nose art is a personal addition - taken from a Spanish Bf 109D, but AFAIK such personal markings were not uncommon on Swedish Air Force aircraft in the post WWII era.
An eye-catcher and some variety on the otherwise simple green/gray livery are white high-viz markings on the wing tips and a wide fuselage band. Such additional markings were frequently used in the post WWII-era during exercises, training or public displays. Styles varied considerably, though, between “color blocks” and wide single bands which I used (seen on a J 21) and even dense, thin zebra stripes on wings and fuselage. In this case, the white markings were painted onto wings and fuselage (Humbrol 34).
Since most panel lines on the fuselage were lost I painted some new ones with a soft pencil. Finally, after some gun soot and exhaust stains made with grinded graphite as well as some dry-brushed silver on the wings’ leading edges and around the cockpit were added, the kit received a coating with matt acrylic varnish.
Another scratch build of an obscure Swedish aircraft that never reached the hardware stage – and pretty successful, IMHO. This sleek J 23 model looks just as harmless and innocent, but involved massive construction work in almost every area as the kitbashed J 27 before. It’s actually the first model rendition of the J 23 I have seen so far – and another funny fact is that this “Swedish Messerschmitt” was built without any Bf 109 part at all!
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In October 1951, a heavy tank project was underway to mount an oscillating turret with an automatically loading 120mm Gun on the hull of the 120mm Gun Tank T43. (The T43 would later be serialized as the 120mm Gun Tank M103, America’s last heavy tank.). This was the T57, and the Rheem Manufacturing Company were granted a contract to design and build two pilot turrets and autoloading systems.
During the T57’s development, it became clear that it was feasible to mount a lighter armored version of the T57 turret on the hull of the 90mm Gun Tank T48 (The T48 later became the 90mm Gun Tank M48 Patton). This combination granted the possibility of creating a ‘heavy gun tank’ that was considerably lighter (and therefore more agile and tactically flexible) than any previously designed.
In May 1953, a development project was started to create such a tank. It would be designated the 120mm Gun Tank T77, and another contract was signed with Rheem to create two pilot tanks. The T77 weighed about 50 tons, with armor of the hull being up to 110mm thick. It was originally powered by a 650 hp Continental AVSI-1790-6 V12, air-cooled twin-turbo gasoline engine. This would propel the tank to a speed of 30 mph (48 km/h). The tank was supported on a torsion bar suspension, attached to six road wheels. The drive sprocket was at the rear, while the idler was at the front. The idler wheel was of the compensating type, meaning it was attached to the closest roadwheel by an actuating arm. When the roadwheel reacted to terrain, the idler was pushed out or pulled in, keeping constant track tension. The return of the track was supported by five rollers.
The T77 had a crew of four: The driver’s position was standard for M48 hulls, located centrally in the bow at the front of the hull. Arrangements inside the turret were standard, too: The loader was positioned to the left of the gun, the gunner was on the right with the commander behind him.
The T77’s oscillating turret could be easily mounted to the unmodified 2.1 m (85 inch) turret ring of the M48 hull, and on other tanks, too. It consisted of two actuating parts: a collar that was attached to the turret ring, allowing 360° horizontal traverse, and a pivoting upper part with a long cylindrical ‘nose’ and a low profile flat bustle that held the gun, which could elevate to a maximum of 15 degrees, and depress 8 degrees. It also held the complex loading mechanism and the turret crew.
Both turret halves utilized cast homogeneous steel armor. The sides of the collar were made to be round and bulbous in shape to protect the trunnions that the upper half pivoted on. Armor around the face was 127mm (5 inches) thick, angled at 60 degrees, what meant an effective 10 in (254 mm) equivalent of RHA at the turret front. Maximum armor strength was 137mm (5.3 inches) on the convex sides of the turret, and this dropped to 51 mm (2 inches) on the bustle.
Though it looked like two, there were actually three hatches in the turret’s roof: There was a small hatch on the left for the loader, and the slightly raised cupola for the commander on the right, which featured six periscopes. These two standard hatches were part of a third large, powered hatch, which took up most of the middle of the roof, granting a larger escape route for the crew but also allowed internal turret equipment to be removed easily. It was also a convenient way to replenish the ammunition storage, even though a use under battle conditions was prohibitive. In front of the loader’s hatch was a periscope, housings for a stereoscopic rangefinder were mounted on the sides of the swiveling turret part, and there was another periscope above the gunner’s position, too. Behind the large hatch was the ejection port for spent cartridges, to its right was the armored housing for the ventilator.
The initial Rheem Company turret concept had the gun rigidly mounted to the turret without a recoil system, and the long gun barrel protruded from a narrow nose. The gun featured a quick change barrel but was otherwise basically identical to the 120mm Gun T123E1, the gun being trialed on the T43/M103. However, for the T57/77 turret and the autoloader, it was modified to accept single piece ammunition, unlike the T43/M103, which used separately loading ammo due to the round’s high weight. This new gun was attached to the turret via a conical adapter that surrounded the breech end of the gun. One end screwed directly into the breech, while the front half extended through the ‘nose’ and was secured in place by a large nut. The force created by the firing of the gun and the projectile traveling down the rifled barrel was resisted by rooting the adapter both the breech block and turret ring. As there was no inertia from recoil to automatically open the horizontally sliding breech block, a hydraulic cylinder was introduced. Upon firing the main gun, this hydraulic cylinder was triggered via an electric switch. This new variant of the T123 cannon was designated the 120mm Gun T179. It was fitted with a bore evacuator (fume extractor) and a simple, T-shaped muzzle brake.
A single .30 Caliber (7.62mm) machine gun was mounted coaxially, and another such weapon or a medium 0.5” machine gun could be attached to a mount on the commander’s cupola.
Using standard Armor-Piercing Ballistic Cap Tracer Rounds, the T179 was capable of penetrating 221-millimetre (8.7 in) of 30-degree sloped rolled-homogenous armor at 1,000 yards and 196-millimetre (7.7 in) at 2,000 yards. It could also penetrate 124-millimetre (4.9 in) 60-degree sloped rolled-homogenous armor at 1,000 yards and 114-millimetre (4.5 in) at 2,000 yards.
The T179’s automatic loader was located below the gun and it gave the weapon a projected rate of fire of 30 rounds per minute, even though this was only of theoretical nature because its cylinder magazine only held 8 rounds. After these had been expended, it had to be manually re-loaded by the crew from the inside, and the cannon could not be operated at that time. Ammunition types such as High-Explosive (HE), High-Explosive Anti-Tank (HEAT), Armor Piercing (AP), or Armor-Piercing Ballistic-Capped (APBC) could be fired and be selected from the magazine via a control panel by either the gunner or the tank commander, so that it was possible to quickly adapt to a changing tactical situation – as long as the right rounds had been loaded into the magazine beforehand.
The cannon itself was fed by a ramming arm that actuated between positions relative to the breech and magazine, operating in five major steps:
1) The hydraulically operated ramming arm withdrew a round and aligned it with the breach.
2) The rammer then pushed the round into the breach, triggering it to close.
3) Gun was fired.
4) Effect of gun firing trips the electric switch that opens the breech.
5) Rammer picks up a fresh round, at the same time ejecting the spent cartridge through a trap door in the roof of the turret bustle.
Beyond the 8 rounds ready-for fire in the magazine, the main gun had only a very limited ammunition supply due to the large size of the 1-piece rounds: only 21 more 120 mm rounds could be stored in the hull and at the base of the turret.
After thorough trials, the T77 was, powered by a more fuel-efficient Continental AVDS-1790-2 V12, air-cooled twin-turbo diesel engine with 750 bhp (560 kW), accepted as a replacement for the U.S. Army‘s unloved heavy M103 and introduced as the M77. The first M77s were assembled at the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant in March 1964. However, the M77 was primarily a support vehicle for standard tank units and reserved for special operations. Therefore, the type’s production numbers remained low: only 173 tanks were eventually built until 1968 and exclusively allocated to U.S. Army units in Western Germany, with a focus on West Berlin and Southern Germany (e.g. in the Fulda Gap), where they were to repel assaults from Eastern Germany and defend vital installations or critical bottlenecks.
Due to its high rate of fire and long range, the M77 was ideally suited for defensive tasks and hit-and-run tactics. But this was, unfortunately, the type’s only selling point: The oscillating turret turned out to be complex, concerning both handling as well as maintenance, and in practice it did not offer the same weapon stability as the M48’s or the later M60’s conventional design, especially when firing during movement. The cramped interior and the many mechanical parts of the bulky autoloader inside of the turret did not make the tank popular among its crews, either. Several accidents occurred during manoeuvers while the loader tried to refill the magazine under combat pressure. A further weakness was the type’s low ammunition stock and the fact that, despite the autoloader, there was still a loader necessary to feed the magazine. The low ammunition stock also heavily limited the tactical value of the tank: typically, the M77 had to leave its position after expending all of its ammunition and move to a second line position, where the huge one-piece rounds could be replenished under safer conditions. But this bound other resources, e. g. support vehicles, and typically the former position had to be given up or supplanted by another vehicle. Operating the M77 effectively turned out to be a logistic nightmare.
During its career, the M77 saw only one major upgrade in the mid-Seventies: The M77A1 was outfitted with a new multi-chamber muzzle brake, muzzle reference and crosswind sensors (the latter was mounted in a small mast on the rear of the turret) and an improved turret stabilization system along with an upgraded turret electrical system. All of these measures were intended to improve the tank’s 1st shot kill probability, esp. at long range. A large AN/VSS-1(V)1 white/IR searchlight was added above the gun barrel, too. All tanks in service were upgraded in this fashion, no new tanks were built. Unlike the M48, neither the M77 nor the Rheem turret or its autoloader system were cleared for export, even though Israel showed interest.
In the early Eighties, there were further plans for another upgrade of the M77 fleet to a potential A2 status. This would have introduced a laser rangefinder (instead of the purely optical device) and a solid state M21 ballistic computer with a digital databus. The M21 would have allowed a pre-programmed selection and fire sequence of different ammunition types from the magazine’s chambers, plus better range and super-elevation correction. However, this did not happen because the M77 had become obsolete through the simple depletion of its exotic 120 mm ammunition from the army’s stocks. Therefore, another plan examined the possibilities of replacing the T179 gun with the 105 mm M68 rifled anti-tank gun, a license-built version of the British L7 gun, which had, despite the smaller caliber, a performance comparable to the bigger 120 mm T179. But since the M48 chassis and its armor concept had become outdated by the time, too, the M77A1 fleet was by 1986 fully replaced by the M60A3, the US Army’s new standard MBT.
Specifications:
Crew: 4 (commander, driver, loader, gunner)
Weight: 51 tons
Length: 6.946 m (22 ft 9.5 in) hull only, 10,66 m (34 ft 11 in) overall w. gun forward
Width: 3.63 m (11 ft 11 in)
Height: 3.08 m (10 ft 1 in)
Suspension: Torsion-bar
Ground clearance: 1 ft 6.2 in (0.46 m)
Fuel capacity: 385 US gal (1,457 l)
Armor:
0.5 – 5.3 in (13 – 137 mm)
Performance:
Speed:
- Maximum, road: 30 mph (48 km/h)
- Sustained, road: 25 mph (40 km/h)
- Cross country: 9.3 to 15.5 mph (15 to 25 km/h)
Climbing capability:
- 40% side slope and 60% max grade
- Vertical obstacle of 36 inches (91 cm)
- 102 inches (2.59 m) trench crossing
Fording depth: Unprepared: 4 ft (1.219 m), prepared: 8 ft (2.438 m)
Operational range: 287 ml (463 km) on road
Power/weight: 16.6 hp (12.4 kW)/tonne
Engine:
1× Continental AVDS-1790-2 V12, air-cooled twin-turbo diesel engine, 750 bhp (560 kW)
Transmission:
General Motors CD-850-3, 2-Fw/1-Rv speed GB
Armament:
1× 120 mm T179 L/60 rifled anti-tank gun with an autoloader and a total of 29 rounds
1× co-axial 7.62 mm M240C machine gun with 3.000 rounds
1× .50 cal (12.7 mm) M2 Browning (600 rounds) or .30 cal (7.62 mm) M73 machine
anti-aircraft machine gun (1.000 rounds) on the commander’s cupola with 600 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This is another fictional creation, but, like many of my whif builds, it is rooted in reality and an extrapolation of what could have been. The oscillating tower with the M103’s 120 mm cannon and an autoloader was actually developed, and there were several tank projects that made use of it. The T77 was the final proposal, but, like the T57 on the M103 basis and other designs from the Rheem Company, the T77’s development was arduously slow, so that the project was finally canceled in 1957 by the US Ordnance Department. Two turrets were actually built, though, but they were scrapped in February 1958, and the T77 only existed on paper or in model form.
The impulse for this build actually came from a 1:72 resin turret for the T57 project from ModelTrans/Silesian Models. I found the concept cool and the turret had a very futuristic look, so that I bought a set with the vague intention to use it for a mecha conversion someday. Then it gathered dust in the stash, until I recently stumbled upon the 1:72 M103 kit from Dragon and considered a T57 build. But this kit is very rare and expensive, at least here in Germany, so I shelved this plan again. However, I started to play with the idea of a U.S. Army vehicle with a Rheem Company turret. Then I found a Revell M60 kit in the stash and considered it for a whiffy build, but eventually rejected the idea because a turret concept from the late Fifties would hardly make its way onto a tank from the late Seventies or later. When I did further research concerning the Rheem turret, I came across the real T77 project on the basis of the M48, and dug out an ESCI M48A5 from the pile (realizing that I had already hoarded three of them…!), so the M77 project was finally born.
Otherwise, the build was a straightforward affair. The T57 turret is a massive resin piece with a separate barrel and very fine surface details. Some of them, delicate lugs, were unfortunately broken off, already OOB but also by me while handling the pieces. They could be easily replaced with brass wire, though, which was also used to add small rails to the collar. The very long and thin barrel was replaced with a white metal aftermarket piece. It’s actually a barrel for a Soviet T-10 with a complex muzzle brake (made from brass), but the size was just fine and looks very good on this fictional tank.
Some details were added to the turret or transplanted from the M48 kit, e. g. the prominent IR searchlight or the machine gun on the commander cupola. Furthermore, I added a textile seal to the gap between the turret sections and to the barrel’s root, made from paper tissue drenched in thinned white glue. The same method was used to create the searchlight cover, too.
Since the turret base had a smaller diameter than the M48’s attachment opening, I had to improvise a suitable adapter with styrene strips. The M48A5 hull itself was taken OOB.
Painting and markings:
I was happy that I could place this model into a later time frame, so that the U.S. Army’s uniform Olive Drab times were already over. In the 1970s, the US Mobility Equipment Research & Design Command (MERDC) developed a system of camouflage patterns for US Army vehicles. These consisted of a set of standardized patterns for each vehicle, to be used with a set of twelve colours. The local terrain conditions and colours decided which of the paints were to be used, and on which parts of a vehicle. Then, if conditions altered, for example by a change in the weather, or by the unit moving into a new area of operations, the scheme could be quickly adjusted to suit them by replacing only one or two colours by different ones.
For example, if a vehicle was painted in the US & European winter scheme, which had a dark green and a medium brown as its predominant colours, and it started to snow, by overpainting either the green or the brown with white, one of the two snow schemes could be created. This gave a high degree of flexibility, though in practice it was hardly ever actually made use of—most vehicles were painted in one scheme and kept that.
I gave the M77 the “Winter Verdant” MERDC scheme, which was frequently used in Germany. It consists of Forest Green (FS 34079), Earth Red (FS 30117), Sand (FS 30277) and Black (FS 37038). The pattern itself was adapted from the standardized M60 MERDC scheme. Colors used were ModelMaster 1701 and 1710, plus Humbrol 238 and Revell 06. The seals on the turret and the searchlight cover were painted in a faded olive drab, the track segments with a mix of iron, dark grey and red brown.
After basic painting with brushes, the kit received a washing with thinned black and red brown acrylic paint. Decals (taken from the ESCI kit) came next, then the model received an overall dry brushing treatment with Humbrol 72 (Khaki Drill) and 168 (Hemp). Finally, everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish from the rattle can and the lower hull areas were dusted with mineral pigments, simulating dust and mud.
Another relatively simple conversion, since only the (oscillating) turret was swapped. However, I was skeptical at first because the turret was originally intended for an M103 hull - but mounting it on a smaller M48 chassis worked well, just like in real life!
Infrared Landscape shot with Canon EOS 7D using a 590 nm converted infrared lens with Conversion by LifePixel
ANAGLYPH, conversion of original card stereoview in my collection. "8632 The Graf Zeppelin's Renezvous with the Eternal Desert and Ancient Pyramids of Giza, Egypt." copyright Keystone View Company.
This image views in 3D when wearing RED/CYAN 3D glasses. More images of this type can be found by searching "anaglyph"
The Original Stereoview is here: www.flickr.com/photos/depthandtime/4730116666/
My first Polaroid conversion, just some practice on a 110A. I wrote about it at michaeljoachim.blogspot.com
Leica MP
28mm Summicron
Kodak T-Max 400
Developed ID11 1+3
Conversion to Digital via Nikon D3 + Micro 105mm AIS
I prefer scatterscapes to fireworks at Halloween!
I have managed to post a picture for each day of Arachtober again.
The Fireworks - All The Time
+++ 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 TIE/LN starfighter, or TIE/line starfighter, simply known as the TIE Fighter or T/F, was the standard Imperial starfighter seen in massive numbers throughout most of the Galactic Civil War and onward.
The TIE Fighter was manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems and led to several upgraded TIE models such as TIE/sa bomber, TIE/IN interceptor, TIE/D Defender, TIE/D automated starfighter, and many more.
The original TIEs were designed to attack in large numbers, overwhelming the enemy craft. The Imperials used so many that they came to be considered symbols of the Empire and its might. They were also very cheap to produce, reflecting the Imperial philosophy of quantity over quality.
However, a disadvantage of the fighter was its lack of deflector shields. In combat, pilots had to rely on the TIE/LN's maneuverability to avoid damage. The cockpit did incorporate crash webbing, a repulsorlift antigravity field, and a high-g shock seat to help protect the pilot, however these did next to nothing to help protect against enemy blaster fire.
Due to the lack of life-support systems, each TIE pilot had a fully sealed flight suit superior to their Rebel counterparts. The absence of a hyperdrive also rendered the light fighter totally dependent on carrier ships when deployed in enemy systems. TIE/LNs also lacked landing gear, another mass-reducing measure. While the ships were structurally capable of "sitting" on their wings, they were not designed to land or disembark their pilots without special support. On Imperial ships, TIEs were launched from racks in the hangar bays.
The high success rate of more advanced Rebel starfighters against standard Imperial TIE Fighters resulted in a mounting cost of replacing destroyed fighters and their pilots. That, combined with the realization that the inclusion of a hyperdrive would allow the fleet to be more flexible, caused the Imperial Navy to rethink its doctrine of using swarms of cheap craft instead of fewer high-quality ones, leading to the introduction of the TIE Advanced x1 and its successor, the TIE Avenger. The following TIE/D Defender as well as the heavy TIE Escort Fighter (or TIE/E) were touted as the next "logical advance" of the TIE Series—representing a shift in starfighter design from previous, expendable TIE models towards fast, well armed and protected designs, capable of hyperspace travel and long-term crew teams which gained experience and capabilities over time.
The TIE/E Escort, was a high-performance TIE Series starfighter developed for the Imperial Navy by Sienar Fleet Systems and it was introduced into service shortly before the Battle of Endor. It was a much heavier counterpart to the agile and TIE/D fighter, and more of an attack ship or even a light bomber than a true dogfighter. Its role were independent long range operations, and in order to reduce the work load and boost morale a crew of two was introduced (a pilot and a dedicated weapon systems officer/WSO). The primary duty profile included attack and escort task, but also reconnoiter missions. The TIE/E shared the general layout with the contemporary TIE/D fighter, but the cockpit section as well as the central power unit were much bigger, and the ship was considerably heavier.
The crew enjoyed – compared with previous TIE fighter designs – a spacious and now fully pressurized cockpit, so that no pressurized suits had to be worn anymore. The crew members sat in tandem under a large, clear canopy. The pilot in front had a very good field of view, while the WSO sat behind him, in a higher, staggered position with only a limited field of view. Both work stations had separate entries, though, and places could not be switched in flight: the pilot mounted the cockpit through a hatch on port side, while the WSO entered the rear compartment through a roof hatch.
In a departure from the design of previous TIE models, instead of two parallel wings to either side of the pilot module, the TIE Escort had three quadanium steel solar array wings mounted symmetrically around an aft section, which contained an I-s4d solar ionization reactor to store and convert solar energy collected from the wing panels. The inclusion of a third wing provided additional solar power to increase the ship's range and the ship's energy management system was designed to allow weapons and shields to be charged with minimum loss of power to the propulsion system.
Although it was based on the standard twin ion engine design, the TIE/E’s propulsion system was upgraded to the entirely new, powerful P-sz9.8 triple ion engine. This allowed the TIE/E a maximum acceleration of 4,220 G or 21 MGLT/s and a top speed of 144 MGLT, or 1,680 km/h in an atmosphere — almost 40 percent faster than a former standard TIE Fighter. With tractor beam recharge power (see below) redirected to the engines, the top speed could be increased to 180 MGLT in a dash.
In addition to the main thrusters located in the aft section, the TIE Escort's triple wing design allowed for three arrays of maneuvering jets and it featured an advanced F-s5x flight avionics system to process the pilot's instructions. Production models received a class 2, ND9 hyperdrive motivator, modified from the version developed for the TIE Avenger. The TIE/E also carried a Sienar N-s6 Navcon navigation computer with a ten-jump memory.
Special equipment included a small tractor beam projector, originally developed for the TIE Avenger, which could be easily fitted to the voluminous TIE Escort. Models produced by Ysanne Isard's production facility regularly carried such tractor beams and the technology found other uses, such as towing other damaged starfighters until they could achieve the required velocity to enter hyperspace. The tractor beam had limited range and could only be used for a short time before stopping to recharge, but it added new tactics, too. For instance, the beam allowed the TIE/E crews to temporarily inhibit the mobility of enemy fighters, making it easier to target them with the ship's other weapon systems, or prevent enemies from clear shots.
The TIE Escort’s weapons systems were primarily designed to engage bigger ships and armored or shielded targets, like armed freighters frequently used by the Alliance. Thanks to its complex weapon and sensor suite, it could also engage multiple enemy fighters at once. The sensors also allowed an effective attack of ground targets, so that atmospheric bombing was a potential mission for the TIE/E, too.
.
The TIE Escort Fighter carried a formidable array of weaponry in two modular weapon bays that were mounted alongside the lower cabin. In standard configuration, the TIE/E had two L-s9.3 laser cannons and two NK-3 ion cannons. The laser and ion cannons could be set to fire separately or, if concentrated power was required, to fire-linked in either pairs or as a quartet.
The ship also featured two M-g-2 general-purpose warhead launchers, each of which could be equipped with a standard load of three proton torpedoes or four concussion missiles. Depending on the mission profile, the ship could be fitted with alternative warheads such as proton rockets, proton bombs, or magnetic pulse warheads.
Additionally, external stores could be carried under the fuselage, which included a conformal sensor pallet for reconnaissance missions or a cargo bay with a capacity for 500 kg (1.100 lb).
The ship's defenses were provided by a pair of forward and rear projecting Novaldex deflector shield generators—another advantage over former standard TIE models. The shields were designed to recharge more rapidly than in previous Imperial fighters and were nearly as powerful as those found on capital ships, so that the TIE/E could engage other ships head-on with a very high survivability. The fighters were not equipped with particle shields, though, relying on the reinforced titanium hull to absorb impacts from matter. Its hull and wings were among the strongest of any TIE series Starfighter yet.
The advanced starfighter attracted the attention of several other factions, and the Empire struggled to prevent the spread of the technology. The ship's high cost, together with political factors, kept it from achieving widespread use in the Empire, though, and units were assigned only to the most elite crews.
The TIE/E played a central role in the Empire's campaign against rogue Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin, and mixed Defender and Escort units participated in several other battles, including the Battle of Endor. The TIE Escort continued to see limited use by the Imperial Remnant up to at least 44 ABY, and was involved in numerous conflicts, including the Yuuzhan Vong War..
The kit and its assembly:
Another group build contribution, this time to the Science Fiction GB at whatifmodelers.com during summer 2017. Originally, this one started as an attempt to build a vintage MPC TIE Interceptor kit which I had bought and half-heartedly started to build probably 20 years ago. But I did not have the right mojo (probably, The Force was not strong enough…?), so the kit ended up in a dark corner and some parts were donated to other projects.
The sun collectors were still intact, though, and in the meantime I had the idea of reviving the kit’s remains, and convert it into (what I thought was) a fictional TIE Fighter variant with three solar panels. For this plan I got myself another TIE Interceptor kit, and stashed it away, too. Mojo was still missing, though.
Well, then came the SF GB and I took it as an occasion to finally tackle the build. But when I prepared for the build I found out that my intended design (over the years) more or less actually existed in the Star Wars universe: the TIE/D Defender! I could have built it with the parts and hand and some improvisation, but the design similarity bugged me. Well, instead of a poor copy of something that was more or less clearly defined, I rather decided to create something more individual, yet plausible, from the parts at hand.
The model was to stay a TIE design, though, in order to use as much donor material from the MPC kits as possible. Doing some legwork, I settled for a heavy fighter – bigger than the TIE Interceptor and the TIE/D fighter, a two-seater.
Working out the basic concept and layout took some time and evolved gradually. The creative spark for the TIE/E eventually came through a Revell “Obi Wan’s Jedi Starfighter” snap fit kit in my pile – actually a prize from a former GB participation at phoxim.de (Thanks a lot, Wolfgang!), and rather a toy than a true model kit.
The Jedi Fighter was in so far handy as it carries some TIE Fighter design traits, like the pilot capsule and the characteristic spider web windscreen. Anyway, it’s 1:32, much bigger than the TIE Interceptor’s roundabout 1:50 scale – but knowing that I’d never build the Jedi Starfighter OOB I used it as a donor bank, and from this starting point things started to evolve gradually.
Work started with the cockpit section, taken from the Jedi Starfighter kit. The two TIE Interceptor cockpit tubs were then mounted inside, staggered, and the gaps to the walls filled with putty. A pretty messy task, and once the shapes had been carved out some triangular tiles were added to the surfaces – a detail I found depicted in SW screenshots and some TIE Fighter models.
Another issue became the crew – even though I had two MPC TIE Interceptors and, theorectically, two pilot figures, only one of them could be found and the second crewman had to be improvised. I normally do not build 1:48 scale things, but I was lucky (and happy) to find an SF driver figure, left over from a small Dougram hoovercraft kit (from Takara, as a Revell “Robotech” reboxing). This driver is a tad bigger than the 1:50 TIE pilot, but I went with it because I did not want to invest money and time in alternatives. In order to justify the size difference I decided to paint the Dougram driver as a Chiss, based on the expanded SW universe (with blue skin and hair, and glowing red eyes). Not certain if this makes sense during the Battle of Endor timeframe, but it adds some color to the project – and the cockpit would not be visible in much detail since it would be finished fully closed.
Reason behind the closed canopy is basically the poor fit of the clear part. OOB, this is intended as an action toy – but also the canopy’s considerable size in 1:50 would prevent its original opening mechanism.
Additional braces on the rel. large window panels were created with self-adhesive tape and later painted over.
The rear fuselage section and the solar panel pylons were scratched. The reactor behind the cockpit section is actually a plastic adapter for water hoses, found in a local DIY market. It was slightly modified, attached to the cockpit “egg” and both parts blended with putty. The tail opening was closed with a hatch from the OOB TIE Interceptor – an incidental but perfect match in size and style.
The three pylons are also lucky finds: actually, these are SF wargaming/tabletop props and would normally be low walls or barriers, made from resin. For my build, they were more or less halved and trimmed. Tilted by 90°, they are attached to the hull with iron wire stabilizers, and later blended to the hull with putty, too.
Once the cockpit was done, things moved more swiftly. The surface of the hull was decorated with many small bits and pieces, including thin styrene sheet and profiles, steel and iron wire in various strengths, and there are even 1:72 tank tracks hidden somewhere, as well as protective caps from syringes (main guns and under the rear fuselage). It’s amazing how much stuff you can add to such a model – but IMHO it’s vital in order to create some structure and to emulate the (early) Star Wars look.
Painting and markings:
The less spectacular part of the project, even though still a lot of work because of the sheer size of the model’s surface. Since the whole thing is fictional, I tried to stay true to the Imperial designs from Episode IV-VI and gave the TIE/E a simple, all-light grey livery. All basic painting was done with rattle cans.
Work started with a basic coat of grey primer. On top of that, an initial coat of RAL 7036 Platingrau was added, esp. to the lower surfaces and recesses, for a rough shading effect. Then, the actual overall tone, RAL 7047, called “Telegrau 4”, one of Deutsche Telekom’s corporate tones, was added - mostly sprayed from abone and the sides onto the model. Fuselage and panels were painted separately, overall assembly was one of the final steps.
The solar panels were to stand out from the grey rest of the model, and I painted them with Revell Acrylic “Iron Metallic” (91) first, and later applied a rather rich wash with black ink , making sure the color settled well into the many small cells. The effect is pretty good, and the contrast was slightly enhanced through a dry-brushing treatment.
Only a few legible stencils were added all around the hull (most from the scrap box or from mecha sheets), the Galactic Empire Seal were inkjet-printed at home, as well as some tactical markings on the flanks, puzzled together from single digits in "Aurebash", one of the Imperial SW languages/fonts.
For some variety and color highlights, dozens of small, round and colorful markings were die-punched from silver, yellow, orange, red and blue decal sheet and were placed all over the hull - together with the large panels they blur into the the overall appearance, though. The hatches received thin red linings, also made from generic decals strips.
The cockpit interior was a bit challenging, though. Good TIE Fighter cockpit interior pictures are hard to find, but they suggest a dark grey tone. More confusingly, the MPC instructions call for a “Dark Green” cockpit? Well, I did not like the all-grey option, since the spaceship is already monochrome grey on the outside.
As a compromise I eventually used Tamiya XF-65 "Field Grey". The interior recieved a black ink in and dry-brushing treatment, and some instruments ansd screens were created with black decal material and glossy black paint; some neon paint was used for sci-fi-esque conmtraol lamps everywhere - I did not pay too much intention on the interior, since the cockpit would stay closed, and the thick clear material blurs everything inside.
Following this rationale, the crew was also painted in arather minimal fashion - both wear a dark grey uniform, only the Chiss pilot stands aout with his light blue skin and the flourescent red eyes.
After an overall black ink wash the model received a dry brusing treatment with FS 36492 and FS 36495, for a weathered and battle-worn look. After all, the "Vehement" would not survive the Ballte of Endor, but who knows what became of TIE/E "801"'s mixed crew...?
Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, and some final cosmetic corrections made.
The display is a DIY creation, too, made from a 6x6" piece of wood, it's edges covered with edgebonder, a steel wire as holder, and finally the display was paited with semi-matt black acrylic paint from the rattle can.
A complex build, and the TIE/E more or less evolved along the way, with only the overall layout in mind. Work took a month, but I think it was worth the effort. This fantasy creation looks pretty plausible and blends well into the vast canonical TIE Fighter family - and I am happy that I finally could finish this mummy project, including the surplus Jedi Starfighter kit which now also find a very good use!
An epic one, and far outside my standard comfort zone. But a wothwhile build!
Drawn and converted 2D>3D
Giovanna Casotto is a great designer and author of erotic comics, of which she is also the model. My drawing is taken from a photo of her.
CROSSVIEW
To view 3D pics cross your eyes focusing between at the pictures until both images overlap one another in the middle.
Per vedere le foto in 3D incrociare (strabuzzare) gli occhi fino a che le due immagini si sovrappongono formandone una sola centrale.
2D-3D conversion to Anaglyph. Red/Cyan filtered 3D glasses required to view. Image from a wallpaper site on the web. The artist name is Ciruelo Cabral. Signed as "Ciruelo".
"You have heart, Murray."
"Hey, Loki? Why are you talking to my shoes when I'm behind you, and why are you hanging outside the bath while I was having a shower?"
+++ 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 origins of the mighty Hawker Harpy date back until the late 1940ies, when the British MoD issued a specification for "an interceptor fighter with supersonic performance" under the handle F.23/49. In May 1949 OR.268 was prepared and finally issued in April 1950. It called for a twin-engine single-seat supersonic fighter to operate in Europe and desirably any other part of the world. The initial design requirements were not too demanding: a top speed of at least Mach 1.2 was called for, with climb to 50.000' (15.240m) in no more than 360 seconds. The fighter had to have a rate of climb of at least 1.000'/min (305m/min) and a minimum endurance from take-off to landing of at least 60min. At least two 30mm Aden cannon were to be carried.
At this stage, two companies submitted proposals: English Electric with the P.1, which should become the eventual winning design as the formidable Mach 2-capable BAC Lightning, and Hawker with the P.1082 and P.1086 designs. P.1082 was a sleek, supersonic development of the Hawker Hunter, which was rejected, as it only featured a single, reheated engine and too little future development potential. P.1086 vaguely resembled the later Soviet Su-15 interceptor with two engines side by side in the rear fuselage, fed by lateral air intakes and featured a cropped delta wing, paired with swept tail surfaces. P.1086 was rejected, too, as it fell short in performance in comparison with the P.1, even though the range would have been better.
As the Lightning entered production and service after a long and troublesome development phase until the late 1950ies, technical advances and new threats through supersonic bombers like the Tupolev Tu-22, armed with long range air-to-ground missiles had emerged. While the Lightning was an excellent interceptor with an outstanding rate of climb and a top speed of more than Mach 2.0at height, it had several shortcomings that could never really be rectified: one flaw was its limited payload of two guided AAMs (initially IR-guided Firestreaks, later radar-guided Red Top AAMs), but its biggest shortcoming was the very limited range that left esp. in the northern regions of Great Britain a defense gap.
This led in in 1955 to the requirement for a 'Day-Night High Altitude Fighter Aircraft' under OR.239/F.155, which was to be able to operate against enemy bombers coming in at 60.000' (18.288m) altitude and at Mach 1.3, with service entry as soon as possible and not beyond 1963 (the BAC Lightning was considered to be sufficient until about 1960). A new radar was to be developed for the aircraft, operated by a second crew member.
Almost all British manufacturers submitted designs, including Hawker with several proposals like the P.1103, a large aircraft based on the Hunter with a chin air intake and missile rails on its wing tips. There was also the P.1110, a much revised P.1086 design - basically an enlarged and much refined version of the 1950 concept, but now with an area-ruled fuselage and powered by two Sapphire Sa.7LR engines, rated at 11.000lb (48.9kN) dry thrust and at 15.400lb (68.4kN) with full afterburner and optimized for high altitude duty.
The P.1110 was still a single-seater, though, equipped with the same AI.23B radar as the BAC Lightning, which it was to support, not to replace. The Ferranti AI.23 radar supported autonomous search, automatic target tracking, and ranging for all weapons, while the pilot attack sight provided gyroscopically derived lead angle and backup stadiametric ranging for gun firing. The radar and gunsight were collectively designated the AIRPASS: Airborne Interception Radar and Pilot Attack Sight System.
The P.1110’s selling point was its long range (the combat radius exceeded the Lightning’s maximum range), coupled with a top speed of more than Mach 2 and the ability to carry up to six (normal payload would be four) AAMs, plus two internal cannons. Another factor that made the Hawker aircraft attractive was that it was a simple design, bearing no visible development risk, and that the bigger radome offered the option to install not only a larger antenna, but also offered the possibility to install an overall much more powerful radar system that would be more suitable for the primary long-range interception task of the type.
Even though Fairey’s (based on the famous Delta research aircraft) and Armstrong Whitworth’s designs were officially favored, things went in a totally different direction: in early 1957 the MoD issued its infamous White Paper that basically rang the death knell to all new fighter developments - axing the F.155 program in favor of ground-based missile defense systems – the manned fighter was considered obsolete over night!
Anyway, things would not change that fast in real life, and this gave way for the “last manned fighter” for the RAF: the P.1110. It was clear that it was just a stopgap solution, as the Lightning would, if any interceptor development was cut down, be the only operative interceptor for Great Britain in the near future, leaving the aforementioned weak spots esp. at the northern borders. A foreign potential option for the required aircraft, the mighty CF-105 'Arrow' from Canada, had also been recently cancelled, so the modified P.1110 was seen as the most cost-efficient domestic solution.
Work started fast and at good pace: the first P.1110 prototype (a total of four were to be built, one of them only a static airframe for ground tests) already made its maiden flight in September 1959. As it relied on proven avionics the type became ready for service in early 1961. The new aircraft was christened ‘Harpy F.1’ and it served alongside the BAC Lightning interceptors on long range patrol flights, high altitude interceptions and in QRA service. It partly replaced older Gloster Javelin versions in the all-weather fighter role.
Beyond the primary missile-toting interceptor role the Harpy could also carry an impressive load of up to 10.000 lb (4.540 kg) of other ordnance, including Matra rocket pods and iron or cluster bombs of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) caliber.
The Harpy was a big aircraft and not really suited for dogfight scenarios, but it had - in contrast to the Lightning - a spacious cockpit which made long flights agreeable. Take-off and landing speeds were comparatively high, though, with a take-off speed of 231 mph (370 km/h). While the controls were responsive and precise, the aircraft was unforgiving of pilot error. Indeed, the type's attrition rate was high: 18 aircraft would be lost through accidents.
As only 65 were built, operating the type was costly, and towards the late 1960s already a more economical solution was searched for. The aging Lightning fleet also started to call for a replacement. The pure missile air defense had quickly turned out to be a political error, but in its wake it had caused severe consequences for Britain's aircraft industry, as aircraft development had been cut back. Eventually, as domestic types were lacking, the Spey-engined McDonnell F-4 Phantom II entered RAF service (after having been bought for the Royal Navy in the first place) in 1969.
Both Lightning and Harpy suffered in service under the high work load for the pilot, who had not only to engage a potential enemy at high speed but also had to operate the radar and weapons system at the same time. Another limiting factor for both types' effectiveness was the more and more obsolete Firestreak and Red Top missiles, which only had an effective range of up to 7.5 miles (12 km) and relied on IR homing. Plans to outfit the Lightning with American Falcons, Sparrows or even Sidewinders in 1958 were fruitless (either necessitating an altogether new fire control system or limiting the aircraft's performance), so that the Harpy would not benefit from more capable weapons, too - even though it offered the better development basis with its bigger radome, range and payload.
Only few hardware updates were actually made during the Hawker Harpy’s active service period, including the addition of a removable, fixed in-flight refueling probe, an improved escape system along with additional room for more electronic counter-measures equipment. By 1973 all machines were modified accordingly and re-designated F.1A.
Both Harpy and Lightning were hard to replace, though, as the RAF Phantoms initially also had to fill out an attack and reconnaissance role (a gap which was to be filled with the SEPECAT Jaguar), so both interceptors soldiered on until the early 1980ies. Both were replaced by the Phantoms, the large Harpy made its final flight in May 1982 while the last Lightning was retired in 1988, as the Tornado ADV was under development and would unite what even the couple of Harpy and Lighning never achieved in their service career.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 21.52 m (70 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 9.34 m (30 ft 8 in)
Height: 5.41 m (17 ft 9 in)
Wing area: 42.2 m² (454 ft 3 in)
Empty weight: 10,371 kg (22,864 lb)
Loaded weight: 15,288 kg (33,704 lbf)
Max. take-off weight: 18,879 kg (41,621 lbf)
Powerplant:
2× reheated Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire Sa.7LR engines, rated at 11.000lb (48.9kN) dry thrust and at 15.400lb (68.4kN) with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: Mach 2.1
Combat radius with 5 min combat: 647 nmi (746 mi, 1,200 km)
Ferry range: 1.403 nmi (1.615 mi, 2.600 km) with 3 external fuel tanks
Service ceiling: 18.100 m (59.383 ft)
Rate of climb: 83 m/s (16.405 ft/min)
Wing loading: 447.4 kg/m² (MAX T-O Weight) (91.63 lb/ft² (MAX T-O Weight))
Thrust/weight: 0.5; 0.91 with afterburner (MAX T-O Weight)
Armament:
2× Aden 30mm (1.18”) cannons under the air intakes with 120 RPG
7× hard points (6 under wing and one centerline hard point) for air-to-air missiles (Firestreak or, from 1965 on, primarily Red Top), fuel on three wet pylons, or bombs, Matra pods with 18 unguided 68mm SNEB rockets, for a total maximum load of 10.000 lb (4.540 kg)
The kit and its assembly:
Hopefully royalists will forgive me for this... but did you ever see an aircraft and get the spontaneous idea what it actually could be or have been? Well, the Chinese J-8II is such a case. In fact, the J-8 was born as a scaled-up MiG-21F with two engines, and it was later modified to carry a nose radome and lateral air intakes. Somehow this large jet fighter had IMHO a British look about it… I couldn't help, it HAD to become an RAF aircraft! Totally anachronistic, but worth the try ;).
Anyway, it is still SO retro that I had to put even the modernized version back in time by about 20 years, when it would have been up to date. Just for reference: imagine that the real J-8II entered service in China when the Harpy was retired after 20 years of service in my fictional background story…
Well, to be honest I have had this one on my idea list for a long time, but as it would ‘just’ be an almost OOB build I always held in back, favoring more complicated works. Anyway, as I had a Trumpeter J-8II kit in store AND appropriate decals I decided to work the Harpy out as the first kit in 2014.
As already mentioned, this is an almost OOB build of the Trumpeter J-8II (NATO code 'Finback B'), with only minor modifications. The kit is very nice: Fit is good, you get recessed panel lines, as many details as you can ask for – just some fit issues with the fuselage halves and slight sink holes at the air intakes. While you need some putty, anyway, the thing goes together very easily.
Personal mods to create the Hawker Harpy include a Matchbox pilot figure for the cockpit, two fins ('Finback A' style) instead of the J-8II's single MiG-23 style folding fin, new drop tanks (from a Matchbox Hawker Hunter, with fins added) and four Red Top missiles (from an Eastern Express Sea Vixen) – all for a convincing RAF look.
Other small mods include e. g. getting rid of some typical Soviet-style antennae (even though I kept the almost iconic anti-flutter weights on the tailplane) and the GSh-23-2 cannon fairing under the fuselage, which was replaced by two single gun fairings for 30mm Aden cannons under the air intakes.
Painting and markings:
Classic RAF colors from the Sixties, with Dark Slate Gray/Dark Sea Gray from above and Light Aircraft Gray below (Humbrol 163, 164 and 166, respectively). The aircraft received a light black ink wash in order to emphasize the kit’s fine engraved panel lines, as well as some dry-painting with lighter shades (including Dark Slate Gray/Dark Sea Gray from Modelmaster – these tones are a tad lighter than the Humbrol counterparts, and Humbrol 196, RAL 7035).
The cockpit interior was painted in dark gray, while the landing gear wells and the other interiors were left in Aluminum. The landing gear was painted in Steel, the wheel discs white and the air brakes in red from the inside.
Decals/markings come from an Xtradecal sheet for RAF Phantom FG.1/FGR.2s, "XL196" is, AFAIK, a ‘free’ (never used) RAF serial number that fits around 1962. Some additional stencils and markings were painted onto the fuselage by brush.
After decal application the kit received an overall coat of semi-gloss Tamiya acrylic varnish.
The Hawker Harpy is/was simple kit travesty, but IMHO the resulting ‘British product’ looks very convincing and late-1950ies style?
+++ 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 Messerschmitt Bf 94 was a fighter aircraft built in Germany shortly before World War II. It was designed to meet a 1935 requirement by the Czechoslovakian Air Force for a replacement for their B-534 fighter biplanes. It was developed by the Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (at which the engineer Messerschmitt led the development of the plane), primarily intended for export customers since the German Luftwaffe already planned more advanced types. It was actually built on a level inferior to the tactical requirements for a single-seat fighter that the RLM had issued in the document L.A. 1432/33 in late March 1933.
The Bf 94 was a sleek, low-wing monoplane with a fixed, spatted landing gear. As with the earlier Bf 108, the aircraft was based on Messerschmitt's "lightweight construction" principle, which aimed to minimise the number of separate parts in the aircraft. Examples of this could be found in the use of two large, complex brackets which were fitted to the firewall. These brackets incorporated the lower engine mounts and landing gear pivot point into one unit. A large forging attached to the firewall housed the main spar pick-up points, and carried most of the wing loads. Contemporary design practice was usually to have these main load-bearing structures mounted on different parts of the airframe, with the loads being distributed through the structure via a series of strong-points. By concentrating the loads in the firewall, the structure of the Bf 94 could be made relatively light and uncomplicated, and this principle was later also found in the famous Bf 109 fighter.
The Bf 94's fuselage was constructed from welded steel tube, covered in metal. Only the rudders were covered with fabric. The cockpit was not completely closed - the windscreen was fixed and two side panels could be lowered for access or taxiing, but a roof was missing. Power was to be provided by the new Junkers Jumo 210 engine of about 522 kW (700 hp), driving a wooden 2 blade propeller with fixed pitch.
Despite the rather outdated overall layout, the first prototype, the Bf 94 A-0, displayed excellent flying characteristics and high speed. Testing continued with a total of three prototypes until 22 November 1937. Until then, several orders had been placed, e. g. from Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Estonia and Lithuania. The Czechoslovakian Air Force had lost interest, though, preferring the indigenous Avia B.35 instead.
Total production numbers remained low, since more modern aircraft with retractable landing gear and and more powerful engines and armament were steadily introduced - only about eighty aircraft were produced and entered service with smaller European air forces during the advent of WWII.
The Lithuanian Air Force operated a single squadron with Bf 94 A-1 (a total of 16 aircraft), which were to replace the Gloster Gladiators. The German machines received locally a modified armament consisting of a pair of 0.303” Browning machine guns, so that the standard ammunition could be used. In 1940, the Lithuanian Air Force consisted of eight Air Squadrons, including reconnaissance, fighter, bomber and training units. Air Force bases had been established in the cities and towns of Kaunas /Žagariškės, Šiauliai /Zokniai (Zokniai airfield), Panevėžys /Pajuostis. In the summer time, airports in the cities of Palanga and Rukla were also used. A total of 117 aircraft and 230 pilots and observers were listed in the books at that time.
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 8.70 m (28 ft 6 in)
Wingspan: 9,9 m (32 ft 5 in)
Height: 2,45 m (8 ft 1 in)
Wing area: 16,35 m² (175.41 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,510 kg (3,325 lb)
Loaded weight: 1,940 kg (4,273 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 2,150 kg (4,735 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Jumo 210 D inverted V12 engine, rated at 700 hp (522 kW),
driving a wooden two-blade, fixed pitch propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 495 km/h (308 mph)
Range: 500 km (311 miles)
Rate of climb: 13.0 m/s (2,560 ft/min)
Armament:
2× 7,92 mm MG17 on top of the engine, synchronized to fire through the propeller arc
(In Lithuanian machines replaced with a pair of 0.303" (7,7mm) Browning machine guns)
The kit and its assembly:
This whif kit was inspired by a similar build at whatifmodelers.com: an early Bf 109 with spats! This looked so nice and convincing that I had to “try this at home”. As donation parts for the landing gear I also had a pair of Avia B.35 spats from a vintage KP at hand – easy and straightforward.
Basis is the Bf 109 B/C Heller kit, which is rare but available at affordable prices if you are patient. It was mostly built OOB, the only major mod were the closed landing gear wells, using the original covers and some putty, the addition of the B.35 spat, and for an even more retrograded look I also exchanged the canopy. The original, closed cockpit was replaced by an open alternative, taken from a Macchi C.200. This screen is consideraly shorter and not as deep as the Bf 109 parts, so the cockpit walls had to be raised, too, and the spine elongated forward. But it works and adds to the retro look. A HUMA pilot was added in the cockpit, too.
Et voilà, a simple German export aircraft!
As a side note: the “94” is one of the RLM type numbers that had not been used in Germany. It had been allocated to Heinkel though, but I wanted to use the highest possible number before the “109” for this whif, so the manufacturer switch is IMHO acceptable.
Painting and markings:
Finding a potential user was a bit more tricky. I finally settled for Lithuania – exotic, but with a colorful air force before WWII. The whiffy Bf 94 could have been the country's first monoplane fighter!
For the paint scheme I kept things simple, partly inspired by contemporary Bf 109 during the Spanish Civil War and Lithuanian Gloster Gladiators of the pre WWII era. I combined a light grey (RLM 63) upper fuselage, fin and spats with light blue undersides (RLM 65), together with dark Green (FS 34079) upper wing surfaces. This green was also used for the contrast background under the national insignia under the wings, while the rudder became white. It's actually not bright and colorful, but different from typical cammo paint schemes or bare metal, and Lithuanian aircraft appear to have carried such dry schemes.
The decals were puzzled together. The Lithuanian insignia come from a Blue Rider sheet, the tactical code actually belongs to a Hobby Boss F-86 in Luftwaffe markings, and the horse emblem is from an Italian Fiat C.32. The white stripes on the wings are a personal addition, I wanted to add some more contrast to the national insignia, since the overall livery is rather simple and subdued.
The interior was painted in dark grey (Humbrol 111), but the canopy is so tight that you cannot see anything inside except for the pilot's head. For some contrast, all trim tabs were painted in a reddish brown (Humbrol 100), and the two-blade propeller reveiced an aluminum front and a black back side.
A simple whif, but again it's one less on the long idea an project list. Realized in just three days from box to dry varnish, plus some additional time for the pics.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
The origins of the Mosquito can be traced to Air Ministry Specification P.13/36 issued on 24th August 1936 by Air Commodore R.H.Verney on behalf of the RAF Directorate of Technical Development (DTD). Specification P.13/36 called for a 'twin-engined medium bomber for world-wide use'. Well, the resulting aircraft was a very fast, agile and versatile machine, with more than forty specialized variants and which saw use even after WWII – e. g. in Egypt.
The Egyptian Army Air Service was formed in 1930, and became an independent air force in 1937. It had little involvement in the Second World War, but as the Egyptian border was threatened by an Italian and German invasion during the Second World War, the Royal Air Force established more bases in Egypt. The Egyptian Air Force was sometimes treated as a part of the Royal Air Force, at other times a strict policy of neutrality was followed as Egypt maintained its official neutrality until very late in the war.
As a result, few additional aircraft were supplied by Britain. However, the arm did receive its first modern fighters, Hawker Hurricanes and a small number of Curtiss P-40 Tomahawks, and in the immediate post-war period, cheap war surplus aircraft were acquired. These included a large number of Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IXs, as well as De Havilland Mosquitos and Avro Lancaster bombers. The Egyptian De Havilland Mosquitos were special export variants, tailored to the REAF’s needs. The batch consisted of 22 fighter bombers and 16 night fighters (with British-built, centimetric AI Mk IX radar), designated FB.51 and NF.52, respectively, delivered in early 1947.
These aircraft considerably differed from any former Mosquito, since they were powered radial engines, namely Bristol Hercules. The prototypes featured XVII with 1,735 hp (1,294 kW) each, otfitted with British propellers that featured a spinner. But the final serial aircraft received Hercules 100 engines, rated at 1.800 hp (1.324 kW) and optimized for tropical climate, as well as spinner-less Hamilton propellers, which allowed a better cooling air flow to the engines.
The Hercules' larger engine nacelles created more drag, so that these Mosquito versions were not as fast as the late Merlin variants, but the Hercules engines were found to be better suited for the high temperatures in North Africa, and easier to maintain.
As a benefit, though, the Merlins’ radiator installations in the wing roots could be omitted. This extra space was used for additional fuel tanks, making both variants suitable for long-range duties - esp. the NF.52 with its extra fuel tanks in the unused bomb bay.
Another unique feature of the radial-engined Mosquitos was an added fin fillet, which became necessary due to the fact that directional stability considerably suffered when one Hercules failed - the asymmetrical drag became very strong.
The Egyptian Mosquitos quickly saw ‘hot action’: Following the British withdrawal from Palestine and the establishment of the State of Israel on 14 May 1948, Egyptian forces crossed into Palestine as part of a wider Arab League military coalition in support of the Palestinians against the Israelis. On 22 May, Egyptian Spitfires and Mosquitos attacked the British RAF airfield at Ramat David, believing the base had already been taken over by Israeli forces. The first raid surprised the British and resulted in the destruction of several RAF aircraft on the ground. The British were uncertain whether the attacking aircraft had come from Arab or Israeli forces. When second and third raids followed shortly afterward, they met a well prepared response, and the entire Egyptian force was shot down – the last aircraft being baited for some time, as the RAF pilots attempted to get a close look at its markings.
Relations with Britain were soon restored, and the continuing official state of war with Israel ensured that arms purchases continued. New Spitfire Mk. 22s were bought for the REAF to replace earlier models, and in late 1949, Egypt received its first jet fighter, the British Gloster Meteor F.4, and shortly afterwards the first De Havilland Vampire FB.5s.
These jets quickly replaced the few Mosquito FB.51s which had been left in service, mostly for ground training purposes and as instructional airframes. The NF.52 soldiered on, though, primarily for long range patrol and reconnaissance over Northern Egypt and the Mediterranean, until they'd been replaced by Meteor NF.13 in 1955 from British surplus stocks.
Anyway, the REAF quickly started to sort out any British material: After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the Egyptian Government was determined to move away from reliance on British armaments. In 1955, under President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt began acquiring weaponry, including aircraft, from the Soviet Union. In 1957, no Mosquito was left in Egyptian Air Force Service.
Apart from Egypt, the FB.51 and NF.52 variants also served in small numbers with the air forces of Myanmar and Malaysia, the last examples were retired in 1959.
General D.H.98 Mosquito NF.52 characteristics:
Crew: 2: pilot, navigator/radar operator
Length: 41 ft 2 in (13.57 m)
Wingspan: 54 ft 2 in (16.52 m)
Height: 17 ft 5 in (5.3 m)
Wing area: 454 ft² (42.18 m²)
Empty weight: 13,356 lb (6,058 kg)
Loaded weight: 17,700 lb (8,028 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 18,649 lb (8,549 kg)
Powerplant:
2× Bristol Hercules 100 with 1.800 hp (1.324 kW) each, driving three-bladed Hamilton propellers
Performance:
Maximum speed: 330 kn (380 mph, 612 km/h) at 21,400 ft (6,500 m)
Range: 1.950 nmi (2.250 mi, 3.620km) with internal fuel at 20,000 ft (6,100 m)
Service ceiling: 29,000 ft (8,839 m)
Rate of climb: 1,740 ft/min (8.8 m/s)
Armament:
4× 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk II cannon (fuselage) with 500 RPG
Wing hardpoints for 500 lb (230 kg) bombs, up to eight RP-3 25lb or 60 lb rockets, or 50 imperial gallons (230 ) or 100 imperial gallons (450 l) drop tanks to be carried under each wing
Internal bomb bay occupied by two overload fuel tanks, each of 66.5 imperial gallons (302 l) capacity
The kit and its assembly:
Ah, Egypt, land of the pyramids, the pharaos ...and a suitable home for what-if aircraft. The idea for this rather subtle whif came when I found pictures of Egyptian Avro Lancaster bombers, which had been in use during the 50ies with little success. Somehow I found their simple livery with black undersides, a high waterline and Medium Sea Grey upper sides, plus the green and white insignia, pretty attractive, though. And when I remembered that I had an Airfix Mosquito NF XIX in store and found out that the type had never been in Egyptian service, the whif project was born.
What started as a simple livery variant quickly turned into more when I considered different engines (since I plan to use the Mossie’s Marlins for another whif conversion in the far future...). I found a pair of Hercules engines from a Matchbox Wellington, together with parts of the engine nacelles and the flame damper exhaust. A perfect match for a night fighter! The resulting problem, though, were the Mossie's engine nacelles, which are much too slender for radials. Further search in the junk yard turned up engine nacelles from an Italeri B-25 - they are designed to fit under the wings and the diameter is a perfect match to the Hercules engines.
As a side note: this whif conversion is not as fantastic as one might think. Even though AFAIK no Mosquito ever carried radial engines, not even for trials or as a protytype, the I.Ae. 24 ‘Calquin’ from Argentina, a light bomber patterned after the Mosquito in 1947 as a domestic development, carried radials, but less powerful Pratt & Whitney R-1830-G ‘Twin Wasp’ engines.
The biggest consequential conversion work included the integration of the new nacelles onto the wings, which turned out to be more problematic than expected. While mounting the nacelles wet rather straightforward (just the front part of the original nacelle top sides had to be cut back and), the radials were too high to mount the flush with the wings' upper sides - I had to add a bulge on top of the wing. Fortunately I was able to implant parts from the Wellington nacelles, but the result looks rather bulky now. This is not a Mosquito anymore, rather a bumblebee...
Some NC putty sculpting was necessary around the nacelles, and the radiator air intakes in the wing roots were cut back and closed with halves from styrene tubes - simple solution. The rest was rather basic work, most of the Mosquito kit remained OOB.
As a match and a visual countre-balance, I added a fin fillet, a simple piece of styrene. It adds to the overall, more massive look - without this, the Mosquito looked quite head-heavy.
Desaster struck, though: after mounting the nacelles in place I tested the landing gear, and it was too far back - maybe by 5mm. This does not sound much, but it was more than enough to make the Mossie look rather odd! So, I had to fix this problem through major surgery and a re-design of the land gear wells and covers, moving everything forward. This was an unpleasant task, since I was more or less ready for painting... Hmpf. Anyway, the landing gear is now in a relative position to the wing leading edge (under the main spar) where the real Merlin Mosquito would have it, so the effort was worthwhile.
Another proplem occured when I wanted to use the B-25 propellers. They not only turned out to be too large, the axis' diameter would also not fit the Matchbox engines... So, after fruitless attempts to convert some of the Airfix parts, I decided to donate parts from the extra box: Hamilton Standard aftermarket propellers from Quickboost. These are actually intended for a 1:72 B-24, but they were perfect in shape and size, and the solution without spinners reduced the front bulk impression.
Painting and markings:
As mentioned above, this night fighter Mosquito’s simple livery was inspired by Egyptian Avro Lancaster bombers, with simple black (Humbrol 33) undersides and Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165) from above. Very basic, but it suits the Mossie well and adds to the subtle look of this whif. And I was happy to find an authentic scheme apart from silver/MNF or the typical RAF Mid-Stone/Dark Earth/Azure Blue livery, known from REAF Hurricanes and Spitfires.
Painting was straightforward and simple, as per usual only done with brushes. On top of the basic tones, the few panel lines and details were emphasized with slightly different shades of grey and some Hemp (Humbrol 64, 167 and 168). Only colorful extra are the green spinners, painted in Humbrol 172 (Locomotive Green, OOP) - rather dark, but a good match to the insignia colors from the decals (see below). A wash with highly thinned black ink and umbra acrylics added to a worn look, too.
The interior was painted with Humbrol 78 and received a dry painting with Humbrol 130 - since the cockpit remains closed, I did not put much effort into it. The landing gear was painted in shiny Aluminum (Testors), according to real life Mosquito pics I found.
The Egyptian markings come from a Colorado Decals Spitfire aftermarket sheet. The Arabic numbers on the fin come from an Iraqi MiG-21, these were repeated in white under the wings, painted by hand.
Finally, some exhaust and soot stains were added though dry-painted black, and everything sealed under a matt varnish.
So, not a spectacular whif, and the engine conversion was more work than necessary - the thing turned out to be bulkier than envisioned. But the result is quite good, it’s a rather exotic and subtle whif - a “Grey Ghost from the Nile”.
Again this squad member is differently posed, advancing rather than firing and further decoration to the base. I think you can see the right shoulder armour on this one that helps to merge the cadian and catachan parts
+++ DISCLAIMER +++Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Aeroflot is one of the oldest airlines in the world, tracing its history back to 1923. During the Soviet era, Aeroflot was the Soviet national airline and the largest airline in the world. Following the dissolution of the USSR, the carrier has been transformed from a state-run enterprise into a semi-privatized company which ranked 19th most profitable airline in the world in 2007. Aeroflot is still considered to be the de facto national airline of Russia, being 51%-owned by the Russian Government.
After WWII, Aeroflot's route network had extended to 295,400 kilometers (183,600 mi), and by 1950 it carried 1,603,700 passengers, 151,070 tonnes (333,050,000 lb) of freight and 30,580 tonnes (67,420,000 lb) of mail during the same year. The 20th Communist Party Congress, held in 1956, saw plans for Aeroflot services to be dramatically increased. The airline would see its overall activities increased from its then current levels by 3.8 times, and it was set the target of the carriage of 16,000,000 passengers by 1960. In order to meet these goals, Aeroflot introduced higher capacity turbojet and turbine-prop aircraft on key domestic routes, and on services to Aeroflot destinations abroad.
A major step for Aeroflot occurred on 15 September 1956 when the Tupolev Tu-104 jet airliner entered service on the Moscow-Omsk-Irkutsk route, marking the world's first sustained jet airline service. The airline began international flights with the type on 12 October 1956 with flights from Moscow to Prague. The aircraft placed Aeroflot in an envious position, as airlines in the West had operated throughout the 1950s with large piston-engine aircraft. By 1958 the route network covered 349,200 kilometers (217,000 mi), and the airline carried 8,231,500 passengers, and 445,600 tons of mail and freight, with fifteen percent of all-Union services being operated by jet aircraft.
Aeroflot introduced the Antonov An-10 and Ilyushin Il-18 in 1959, and together with its existing jet aircraft, the airline was able to extend services on modern aircraft to some twenty cities during 1960. The Tupolev Tu-114, then the world's largest airliner, entered service with the Soviet carrier on 24 April 1961 on the Moscow-Khabarovsk route; covering a distance of 6,980 kilometers (4,340 mi) in 8 hours 20 minutes. The expansion of the Aeroflot fleet saw services with modern aircraft being extended to more than forty cities in 1961, with fifty percent of all-Union services being operated by these aircraft. This fleet expansion also saw the number of passengers carried in 1961 skyrocketing to 21,800,000.
Further expansion came in 1962 when various medium and short-haul routes were started and respective aircraft types such as the Tupolev Tu-124, Ilyushin Il-60 and Antonov An-24 entered regular service with Aeroflot. The Tu-124 was a jet airliner, technically an 75% version of the Tu-104, while the An-24 was a lighter twin turboprop aircraft in the class of the Fokker F.27. The Il-60 was the latest addition to the domestic services, falling in between both other types.
Development of the Ilyushin Il-60 dated back to 12 October 1951, when the Soviet Council of Ministers published a specification for a medium-range aircraft carrying 50 to 70 passengers and 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) of cargo on routes up to 2,000 km (1,100 nmi; 1,200 mi) with a cruising speed of about 600 km/h (320 kn; 370 mph). The type was to replace the piston engine Ilyushin Il-14 on domestic routes. The number and type of engines were not specified, but jet or turboprop engines were expected and emphasis was put on ruggedness and ease of operations for operations on rural airstrips with a minimum of infrastructure.
Ilyushin’s OKB-240 responded at first with a scaled-down Il-18 turboprop airliner, somewhat inspired by an idea of Czech manufacturer Avia for a smaller, short-range airliner for the CSA’s Central European routes. This machine had only two engines and overall reduced dimensions, but used many components of the original airliner. But it soon became clear that the Tu-104 with its jet engines had already set higher standards, so that a completely new and more innovative design was started.
Internally known as “Aircraft 60”, the machine introduced some innovations while still being a conservative design. The aircraft was a two turboprop-engine low-wing monoplane with slightly swept (20° at quarter chord) wings, a circular pressurized fuselage and a conventional, yet markedly swept tail (both fin and stabilizer at 45°). The aircraft had two entry doors on the port-side before and after the wing, two overwing emergency exits on each side, and featured a retractable stairway under the rear fuselage so that passengers could directly enter the aircraft from the airfield. An APU was integrated in the rear fuselage, under the fin, for independent operation of the air condition system and starting the engines without external support.
The tricycle landing gear had four wheels fitted on the main leg bogies, which retracted inwards to lie under the fuselage instead of into the engine nacelles. The front wheel also had twin wheels, retracting forward in a well under the cockpit floor, and the aircraft’s low-pressure tires allowed operations even from grass airfields or snowy ground. Another novel feature at the time was the fitting of a weather radar in the nose, a civilian RPSN-2 "Emblema" system, doing away with the typical glazed navigator position of other former Soviet airliner designs. In order to support all-weather operations and ease the pilots’ work, “Aircraft 60” was also outfitted with an automatic approach system, supported by the radar which allowed blind navigation.
Despite vibration and noise problems, experienced with the earlier Il-18 airliner, Ilyushin insisted on turboprop propulsion because it was the more fuel-efficient option. He furthermore expected that no another jet-driven airliner would be politically “allowed” along the Tu-124 short haul airliner, at that time under parallel development.
“Aircraft 60” was powered by a pair of Kuznetsow NK-6K turboprops. This engine was one of several developments after World War II by a team of Russian scientists and deported German engineers under Ferdinand Brandner, which had worked for Junkers previously, evolving from late war German turboprop studies. This the post-war development was based on the wartime Jumo 022 turboprop design that developed 6000 eshp in a 3000 kg engine. The efforts continued with a 5000 ehp engine that weighed in at 1700 kg, completed by 1947, and with further weight savings and more modern materials, the NK-6, one of several development directions, became a large single-spool engine that was optimized for use on board of commercial aircraft like “Aircraft 60”.
For security reasons, the engines were mounted in front and above of the wings’ leading edge. In order to keep the wing structure as clean and simple and possible and not risk collateral damage to the landing gear in case of an engine fire, the landing gear was retracted into wells under the wing roots. This measure also kept the engine nacelle’s dimensions in very compact limits.
In order to minimize noise and vibrations, 2x4-bladed contraprops with an automatic feathering system were mounted, resulting in a characteristic humming noise when the engines were running. Due to the lower speed of these propellers, compared to a standard four- or five-blade propeller, the internal and external noise level could be significantly reduced (compared to the Il-18, which could drone at 110db in the cabin above the wings!), even though the lower frequency caused other problems, mainly vibrations at certain speeds that shook the whole airframe.
The standard seating of the initial version, the Il-60A, was 52 seats at a 90cm distance between the five-seat rows (two seats on port side and three on starboard). Alternatively, a maximum of 72 could be mounted in a cramped “tourist class” configuration with only 78cm distance between the seat rows, which became the late production standard configuration as Il-60B.
The first of two prototypes made its first flight from Zhukovsky airfield on 24 March 1960. The second prototype followed in June 1960. Two other airframes served as a static test cells. Testing was successful, and the aircraft entered production at Machinery Plant No. 30 located at Khodynka, near Moscow, replacing the Il-18 in production. Deliveries to Aeroflot began in August 1962, with the type operating its first scheduled passenger service, between Moscow and Tallinn in Estonia, on 2 October 1962.
The Il-60’s production remained only on a small scale, though: being a pure jet, the Tu-124 was preferred by the Aeroflot for short haul duties, as well as by the Powers That Be. Despite the type’s merits esp. in harsh climate conditions (most Il-60 were allocated to Aeroflot’s feederline services in the Soviet Union’s northern regions), the type was not popular among its crews. While the two turboprops gave sufficient power, had good handling across the whole speed envelope and the aircraft had no trouble remaining airborne with one engine shut down, the asymmetrical drag/thrust in this emergency condition was considerable and navigating the Il-60, and even more landing the aircraft, with only one engine was a challenging task.
Furthermore, the stalky landing gear, which prompted the crews' inofficial nickname "косино́жки" (kosinozhki = daddy longlegs), could start to vibrate under certain conditions and wobble, making a start or landing run a shaky if not dangerous affair, esp. on snow-packed and non-permanent runways. Furthermore, two Il-60 crashed on runways or airfields after hitting obstacles ubnder snow - the long front landing gear collapsed. Nobody on board was seriosuly hurt in both cases, but these accidents did not improve the type's reputation among both pilots and passengers alike.
Only a total of 44 machines were built: 18 Il-60As for selected connections abroad (e. g. to Scandinavia and Poland), plus 26 Il-60Bs with higher seat capacity for purely domestic service. Both machines were identical from the outside, though, and all production aircraft featured a characteristic spinal fin root extension that covered several radio and navigation antennae.
Ilyushin had plans for a stretched version (with two plugs inserted into the fuselage in front of and behind the wings) with a 2.2m longer fuselage and a maximum capacity of 85 passengers, and also worked on a jet-powered update with engine nacelles on pylons under and in front of the wings. But none of these improvements was turned into hardware, since not only the Tu-124 had become the preferred short/medium haul airliner for Aeroflot, the following Tu-134 had also become the political favorite, and OKB-240 focused on its long-range airliner Il-62.
Il-60 production already ended after only two years in 1964, and Aeroflot decommissioned its last twelve Il-60s on 21 January 1980, after more and more structural problems (wing spar cracks, caused by the NK-6’s vibrations) had become apparent and several aircraft had to be grounded.
General characteristics:
Crew: 3 (captain, first officer and a flight engineer),
plus another seat for an optional navigator or a radio officer,
plus a three- or four-person cabin crew
Capacity: 52 – 72
Payload: 8.4 t (9.3 short tons)
Length: 32,54 m (106 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 34.3 m (112 ft 6 in)
Height: 11,74 m (38 ft 5 1/2 in)
Wing area: 146.7 m² (1,579 sq ft)
Empty weight: 22.2 t (24.5 sT)
Max. takeoff weight: 46 t (50.7 sT)
Powerplant:
2× Kusnetzow NK-6K turboprop engines, rated at 3,318 kW (4,612 ehp) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 805 km/h (500 mph/435 knots)
Cruise speed: 665 km/h (424 mph/370 knots)
Range (Typical payload, 2 hr reserve): 2,400 km (1,300 nmi/1,490 mi)
Rate of climb: 2,750 ft/min (14.0 m/s)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,000 ft)
The kit and its assembly:
“In Soviet Union, Aeroflot flies you!” And in order to prove this theory, this whiffy airliner is contribution #3 to the “Soviet Group Build” at whatifmodelers.com in early 2017.
It’s been a very long time that I had built a small-scale airliner, but then I found a (crappy!) 1:144 Mistercraft Caravelle III in my stash (actually, a re-boxed kit from a company called “Ruch” from the Sixties!), that I had originally bought just for the wings as a pure donor kit. This appears to be a blunt copy of the also rather vintage Airfix kit, but the latter has much more crisp details. O.K., the Mistercraft kit was cheap – but you have to pay otherwise…
Anyway, anything Soviet without an elegant Aeroflot airliner would not be complete, so I tackled this idea on short notice. The project had also been fueled by another project idea: a modern short-haul airliner like the Tu-204, but outfitted with turboprops instead of turbofan engines. For this idea (and other uses), I also had a conversion set from a Russian company called “Kompakt Mir” stashed away, with four resin 1:144 NK-14 engines. It’s actually as an aftermarket upgrade set for the Trumpeter Tu-95 model kit, but came in handy – and it is excellent stuff, by the way, with crisp detail, almost no flash or sinkholes.
With these ingredients, work went on quickly and straightforward, and wings and fuselage were started separately. The wings (a combined piece with a mutual underside) received fairings for engine nacelles, made basically from drop tank halves glued to the upper wing surface. Then the resin engines were mounted to the fairings’ front ends the gaps and the nacelles’ underside sculpted with 2C putty, plus some later fine-tuning with NC putty. The Caravelle’s inward-retracting landing gear was retained, keeping the engine fairings rather short and compact.
On the fuselage, the Caravelle's original engines and their attachment points disappeared. The triangular windows were drilled open into circular shape, later, as a final finishing step, filled with Humbrol ClearFix for shiny window panes - this improves the overall look a lot.
Lead was added in the nose, the retractable stairway under the rear fuselage kept (a very Soviet design detail!) and the Caravelle’s characteristic round fin tip was cut away, to be replaced with a square scratch transplant. The stabilizers were moved down and their round tips clipped, too.
On the nose, a scratched thimble radome was added and blended into the fuselage, for an Il-18-ish look. While these were rather simple, cosmetic measures on the fuselage, the look of the whole aircraft was changed into a much more modern design!? This was even more emphasized when the wings and stabilizers were added – the Il-60 looks very contemporary, nothing of the Caravelle’s Fifties flavor remains.
The landing gear is new, bashed from the bogies of the recently slashed Dragon 1:144 B-1B bomber I abused for my Fastback build, and leftover struts from an Acedemy 1:144 Tu-22M. The latter also donated a pair of main wheels for the front leg, which is, again, from the B-1B.
The new arrangement is considerably taller than the Caravelle’s, but with the large propellers this is a convenient and plausible arrangement, despite a rather stalky appearance due to the relatively short wheelbase. The eight main wheels were taken from the RUCH kit, even though the attachment point would not fit the B-1 struts at all...
Painting and markings:
One can argue about Soviet aircraft design or reliability – but I must admit that I liked the Aeroflot aircraft liveries since I can remember them as a child, sometimes even witnessing Tupolev or Yak jets at the local airport. The white-and-blue outfit with almost baroque trim and details was and is IMHO a very elegant design, worthy of a state airline (which had a menacing, if not mysterious Big Brother image during the Cold War times in which I grew up).
Another interesting fact is that, despite the basic colors were set, each Aeroflot type bore a typical and different paint scheme, plus some exotic designs like the polar service machines with lots of red added.
Consequently, I had a lot of freedom, and work was made even more easy through the Mistercraft Caravelle kit: it actually contains markings for a Caravelle in Aeroflot markings! “Nonsense!”, you might say – but this aircraft actually existed: it was a movie prop (actually Air France’s F-BJTR) for filming “Enigma” at Le Bourget Airport in 1981 (check this for reference: www.airliners.net/photo/Aeroflot-%28Air-France%29/Sud-SE-...). As a side note, there was another Caravelle in fictional Interflug or ČSA colors, too, as well as a camouflaged SMB2 Super Mystère and a NMF Mystère IV with red stars on white discs, both playing the role of Soviet MiG-19s!
Anyway, the OOB decal sheet offered enough material for my plans, even though the blue trim was created from generic decal sheet. But door decals and most Aeroflot markings came from the movie aircraft.
Painting was also a pretty straightforward affair: the fuselage was painted white with acrylic paint from the rattle can, the lower fuselage by brush with Polished Aluminum Metallizer from Humbrol (which creates a very bright and clean finish) on top of a Revell Acrylics Aluminum primer coat.
For some contrast to the white and blue I painted the fixed wing parts with light grey, the rudders in Aluminum and Steel, and orange wing and stabilizer tips were added as small, additional contrasts, later even highlighted with dayglow orange.
In order to add some weirdness to the look, the propeller blades were painted bright blue with yellow tips. Unusual, but a common Soviet/Russian/Chinese practice.
A rather simple conversion, but highly effective. The Caravelle’s traces are almost not to be identified anymore, even though fuselage and wings consist of OOB material with only superficial modifications or re-locations. The engines on the wings change the look, too, and despite being massive NK-12’s they are a good match for the compact airliner – I am very happy with the outcome, even though the overall lines look much more modern than late Fifties design – even though no more modern parts were actually integrated? Weird, but entertaining. J