Deb created this wardrobe out of an old air force footlocker that came from the (now defunct) Saint Marie Montana air force base.

When she started, it was wood colored. First she painted it black (you can see it after the first coat of paint on the left, there, along with some hints of the wood color still peeping through), then added some hardware for the handles found on EBay, then made the padded sections, routed the trim and painted it gold.

The final result is on the right. This thing is six feet tall and holds lots of my clothes on hangers. It is very useful to me, as the building we're turning into a home was essentially a box with literally zero closet space.

The whole project probably cost less than $50. One more step in creating a home that doesn't cost an arm and a leg... but feels like it did, at least to us.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background

With the ending of World War II in 1945, the Valtion Lentokonetehdas and other state owned factories were merged into the company Valtion Metallitehtaat Lentokonetehdas (State Metal Factories, often abbreviated to V.M.T. or VMT). This company did not only focus on aircraft but on anything from general house-hold machinery to engines.

Only 55 Salamas I were built, and none survived the type's short career: after only 5 years it was clear that the piston-engined fighter was outdated. Together with the remaining Finnish Me 109 G the Salama continued in service until spring 1954 when the FAF entered the Jet Age. The last flight was on 21 March 1954.

General characteristics

Crew: One pilot

Length: 9.74 m (31 ft 11 in)

Wingspan: 10.95 m (35 ft 11 in)

Height: 4.00 m (13 ft 1 in)

Wing area: 17.2 m² (185 ft²)

Empty weight: 3,200 kg (7,050 lb)

Loaded weight: 4,085 kg (8,987 lb)

Powerplant: 1 × SNECMA 12H00 inverted V-12 piston engine with 1,750 PS (1,726 hp, 1,287 kW); the engine could produce 2,100 PS (2,071 hp, 1,545 kW) of emergency power with MW 50 injection

Performance

Maximum speed: 724 km/h (450 mph)

Service ceiling: 11,600 m (38,030 ft)

Wing loading: 238 kg/m² (49 lb/ft²)

Power/mass: 0.36 kW/kg (0.22 hp/lb)

Armament

1 × 30 mm (1.18 in) ADEN 30 cannon, 65 RPG

2 × 20 mm (.78 in) Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon, 250 RPG

Up to 900kg (2.000 lbs) extrenal ordnance on three hardpoints under the wings and fuselage

The kit and its assembly

Finland is another country with a relatively rich aircraft industry and with one of the oldest air forces in the world. So, why not "contribute" a fictional whif aircraft?

Anyway, the pitfall is that the use of a German aircraft as a development basis in Finland after WWII was rather unlikely after the Paris peace talks of 1947. The Fins were inventive, though, and why shouldn’t they have taken the Pyörremyrsky fighter from 1944 further – only 1 prototype had ever been assembled? It would have certainly looked like the Me 209 V5. And the Fins could have used the import loophole for the Jumo 213 from France, so: why not?

The basic kit is HUMA’s German Me 209 V5 from WWII. In the real world only four prototypes were eventually built, and the design was superseded by the Focke Wulf Ta 152 and the evn more promising Me 262 jet fighter. Just in the whiffy outline above, a great aircraft just came to late.

HUMA's kit is simple, with recessed panel lines and a sprue with very fine injected styrene materials (instead of etched parts). Fit is average, though, the HUMA kit is more or less like a good Mtahcbox kit. You need some experience and dedication to make something from it, and for what you get it is IMHO overpriced, despite being an exotic aircraft.

I did not modify much, just the spinner was exchanged for a longer, more pointed piece (from a Matchbox Wellington), and the tail wheel received a well with covers - the original Me 209 V5 only had a semi-retractable tail wheel. The gun pods come with the original kit. I just added a pilot figure and cut the canopy open, and some struts were added inside of the landing gear wells. Other small changes include the omitted engine-mounted machine guns (just filled them with putty), as well as lowered flaps and slats for a non-static look.

Painting

I must admit that I love the unique, typical Finnish WWII camouflage scheme very much. Officially, the upper colors are called Oliivinvihreä (Olive Green), Musta (Black) and Vaaleansininen (Light Blue) or Vaaleanharmaa (Very Light Grey) for the undersides, separated by a wavy demarcation.

Finding appropriate tones is not easy, manufacturers' recommendations are contradictive, so checking pictures of real life aircraft is IMHO the best way to go. My choice fell on Testors 2027 (FS 34096, a grayish-green tone, originally used on SAC B-52s!) and mix of Humbrol 66 with 33, for a very dark olive drab color with potential for some even darker shades. Pure black is just too dark, and many pictures show the dark tone in a very deteriotated state, yielding a greenish hue. For the lower sides I went for Testors 2078 - this is German RLM 65 from WWII, and the authentic tone for light blue Finnish aircraft underside. The Testors paint is not as bright as the Humbrol color, adding to a rather worn and faded look. This was further enhanced by some shading with lighter basic tones on the upper surfaces (including Humbrol 86 and some RLM 02 from Testors, plus some Humbrol 168, Hemp), as well as a light emphasis of panel lines with darker tones and a light black ink wash.

The interior was painted with Humbrol 225 (Mid Stone) and 81 (Chromate Yellow) - not certain if this would fit, but I know that Finnish P-36 had this color inside, and I did not want a uniform greyish tone like RLM 02, since the exterior bears a similar basic color.

The black and yellow spiral on the spinner is a fantasy detail, even though I found several Bf 109Gs with similar decorations, or with black spinner of which a 1/3 segment has been painted white. Anyway, it's a nice, colorful detail on the otherwise simple aircraft.

The Finnish roundels and the squadron emblem were puzzled together from the scrap box, from various MiG-21 kits. The bort numbers were improvised with single aftermarket decal letters/digits from TL Modellbau. Overall, the aircraft was supposed to look simple and reveal its whiffy nature only at second glance.

Not a spectacular whif, but IMHO a good story for an aircraft that failed to live up to its expectations.

Konica Autoreflex-T

AR Hexanon 2.8/35

Kodak Farbwelt 100 (expired 2006)

B&W conversion in PSE

+++ 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 Percival P.56 Provost was a British ab initio trainer that was developed for the Royal Air Force in the 1950s as a replacement for the Percival Prentice. It was a low-wing, monoplane with a fixed, tailwheel undercarriage and had an unusual side-by-side seating arrangement. The Provost has the distinction of being the last piston-engine basic trainer aircraft to be operated by the RAF.

Much flying was done, with plenty of flag-waving and sabre-rattling, the aircrew enjoying the post due to the lack of restrictions, and challenging missions. Eventually operations were confined to Charlie/Delta and Foxy/Golf hides for the Harriers which went through a slow metamorphosis to permanent semi-hardened hides with concrete surfaces and taxi-ways and block built buildings (including accommodation, kitchen and bars). The Provosts were finally retired in 1988, but the RAF's Belize engagement went on until closure on 6 July 1993, when the whole BRITFORBEL contingent was disbanded in the light of improved relations between Guatemala and Belize.

General characteristics.

Crew: 2

Length: 29 ft 2 in (8,89 m)

Wingspan: 35 ft 0 in (10,7 m)

Height: 12 ft 0 in (3,70 m)

Wing area: 214 ft² (19,9 m²)

Empty weight: 3.580 lb (1.625 kg)

Loaded weight: 4.912 lb (2.230 kg)

Powerplant:

1 × Alvis Leonides 127 9-cylinder radial engine, 700 hp (515 kW)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 220 mph (187 knots, 350 km/h) at sea level

Range: 560 nm (650 mi, 1,020 km)

Endurance: 4 hours

Service ceiling: 25,000 ft (7620 m)

Rate of climb: 2,200 ft/min (11.2 m/s)

Wing loading: 20.6 lb/ft² (100 kg/m²)

Power/mass: 0.276 hp/lb (0.206 kW/kg)

Climb to 10,000 ft 3.27 minutes

Armament:

2x 7.62mm machine guns in the wings,

plus four underwing hardpoints for up to 900 kg (2.000 lbs.) of bombs or rockets

The kit and its assembly:

I had this project on the agenda for a long time, but getting hands on a Provost was harder than expected - after all, the simple Matchbox kit is the only one around in 1:72 and these tend to score surreal prices. After long hunting I was lucky to find one at a reasonable price, and work started quickly.

The kit was built OOB, just some details were modified/added to create the GR.2A version.

Internally, the cockpit received a dashboard and the pilots some safety belts. Into the inside of the clear but thick canopy a sun shield (a simple piece of white paper) was glued, and I put a map behind the wind screen. The pilots are OOB, I just modified the co-pilot to make him look outside of the window.

The wheels come from a Matchbox Brewster Buffalo, the wing hardpoints come from two Matchbox AH-1Gs. The propeller actually belongs to a 1:100 AN-24 airliner from VEB Plasticart, but its shape and size were perfect and it considerably beefs up the look of the trainer.

The armor plates are simple styrene sheet, and other details like the many antennae were scratched or puzzled together from the spares box. The M134 pods belong to a Matchbox AH-1G, the LAU-7 launchers come from an Italeri AH-64.

Painting and markings:

Conservative choice, simple Extra Dark Slate Grey and Extra Dark Sea Grey for the upper sides, and Light Aircraft Grey for the undersides, with the upper cammo taken around the wings' leading edges.

Basic tones are the respective Humbrol enamels, 163, 164 and 166, and some weathering with lighter tones was done - I saw pictures of 1417 Flight Harriers with strongly bleached grey that almost looked deep blue.

All decals were puzzled together from the scrap box. "XP764" actually belongs to a BAC Lightning F.3, but one can overdo things, I guess. The red and blue 1417 Flight sailfish emblem was completely scratched, too.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

When the U.S. 8th Air Force re-opened its bombing campaign on Germany in early 1944 with the Big Week offensive, the bombers returned to the skies with the long-range P-51 Mustang in escort, and now performing air supremacy offensive "fighter sweeps" well ahead of the 8th Air Force's combat box massed bomber formations, intended to clear the skies well ahead of the bombers of any Luftwaffe opposition.

Compared to the He 162, handling and rate of climb were much improved, thanks to a much bigger wing area. Overall performance became also slightly better, since the He 273 was lighter than the conventional He 162. MTOW could even be increased, so that the canard fighter was even able to carry an external ordnance under its fuselage.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1, pilot

Length (incl. pitot): 7,98 m (26 ft 4¼ in)

Wingspan: 7.63 m (25 ft)

Height: 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)

Wing area: 16.4 m² (177 ft²)

Empty weight: 1.570 kg (3.458 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 3.000 kg (6.607 lb)

Powerplant:

1× BMW 003E-1 axial flow turbojet, rated at 7.85 kN (1,760 lbf)

Fuel capacity of 695 litres (183 US gallons)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 790 km/h (491 mph) at normal thrust at sea level; 840 km/h (522 mph) at 6000 m; using short burst extra thrust 890 km/h (553 mph) at sea level and 905 km/h (562 mph) at 6000 m. (562 mph)

Range: 1.050 km (652 mi)

Service ceiling: 12.500 m (10.900 400 ft)

Rate of climb: 1.650 m/min (5.400 ft/min)

Armament:

2× 20 mm MG 151/20 autocannons with 120 rpg (He 273 A-1) or 2× 30 mm MK 108 cannons with 50 rpg (He 273 A-2); provision for a 500kg (1.101 lb) hardpoint under the fuselage for a drop tank, bombs, a rack with 24 R4M unguided missiles or a gun pod.

The kit and its assemby:

A small, totally fictional Luft '46 build - and actually not my original idea, it is based on a similarly modified He 162 kit that fellow user Tophe at whatifmodelers.com built in 1977(!) and had posted in 2005 - I stumbled across an image of that little thing and was inspired. Tophe's model had the original wings installed, though, moved backwards, while the horizontal stabilizer was fixe under the nose, very straightforward.

Anyway, I liked the idea, but wanted to take it a step further. The basis is the simple He 162 kit from Hobby Boss, which is O.K. but lacks any cockpit interior, and the canopy is a bit thick. But the surface details are good, the landing gear is fine, and for this conversion project it was a good basis.

The wing surfaces were totally changed, though: the swept main wings come from a Revell G.91, with the original landing gear wells closed and the original He 162's fins added as end plates. The canard foreplanes are stabilizers from an Italeri Fw 190, and in my case fixed to the nose flanks. I tested several options, including swept canards, but the straight solution eventually looked the most plausible to me, reminding of the J7W Shinden's layout.

The fuselage (it is a massive piece of styrene!) was simply cut away behind the engine and sanded into an aerodynamic shape.

In the rough cockpit a small pilot figure was implanted (covering up the emptiness inside...), and a dashboard with a gunsight added.

The rest was taken OOB, except for finer antennae and pitot replacements, and a mesh cover in the air intake. The latter is a nice detail I found on real life He 162 pictures, the round piece was simply punched out of a piece of plastic meshwork.

Painting and markings:

I did not want to use the typical, uniform He 162 look, even though I wanted a typical late Luftwaffe look. I used a Me 163 Komet profile as benchmark for the paint scheme, which is standard RLM 81/82/76 (all Model Master enamels). The hard-edged blotches were painted with brush and by hand onto the grey basis, and the kit received a light weathering through a light black ink wash and some dry-painting. Nothing fancy. All interior surfaces were painted in dark grey (RLM 66), the decals were puzzled together from various sheets, including markings from a Revell Me 262 and squadron emblems from a TL Modellbau sheet.

A nice and simple model project, done in about a week. Even though it is not a "real" Luft '46 design this He 162 conversion has some very plausible look about it? Who knows...?

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

BEWARE: nothing you see here is real, even though many conversions and their respective background stories were built upon historical facts.

The Messerschmitt Me 510 was a further development of the Me 410 Hornisse ("Hornet"), a German heavy fighter and Schnellbomber used by the Luftwaffe during World War II. The 410 itself had a troubled start, because it essentially had only been a straightforward modification of the Me 210, which had suffered from serious stability flaws and had a bad reputation among its crews.

This weapon soon was replaced by the even more effective MK 214 B gun of 55mm caliber (Rüstsatz 'U5'). The BK 214 B fired at 180 RPM and proved to be a highly effective weapon at long ranges, outside of the bombers’ defensive armament range. As a drawback the heavy system (the gun plus the ammunition belt with 96 shells weighed 1.124 kg/2.475 lb) filled the whole internal bomb bay and precluded heavy external stores. Therefore, the 13mm machine guns in the nose were frequently removed in order to save weight, sometimes the weapons in the side barbettes, too. But: a single hit with one of the 1.54kg (3.4 lb) shells was enough to bring down a four-engined bomber, so that the fast Me 510 with this weapon became a serious threat in the course of late 1946.

510 general characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 42 ft (12,60 m)

Wingspan: 49 ft (14.69 m)

Height: 13 ft 1½ in (4.0 m)

Wing area: 480.11 ft² (44.78m²)

Empty weight: 10.665 lb (4.842 kg)

Loaded weight: 14.405 lb (6.540 kg)

Max. take-off weight: 18.678 lb (8.480 kg)

Maximum speed: 790 km/h (490 mph) at 7.200m (23.500 ft)

Range: 1.400 mi (2.300 km ) with full combat TOW

Service ceiling: 40.900 ft (12.500 m)

Rate of climb: 4.635 ft/min (23,6 m/s)

Wing loading: 29.8 lb/ft² (121.9 kg/m²)

Power/mass: 0.24 hp/lb (0.39 kW/kg)

Engine:

2× Heinkel-Hirth HeS 021 turboprop engines, 1.438 kW (2.500 hp) plus 980 kp (2.158 lb) residual thrust each

Armament: Varied, but typical basic equipment was:

2× 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons with 350 rpg, fixed in the nose

2× 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns with 500 rpg in the nose flanks

2× 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns with 500 rpg, each firing rearward from FDSL 131/1B remote-operated turret, one per side;

Up to 1.200 kg (2.643 lb) of disposable stores in- and externally

In the field, many modifications were made and several additional weapon packages with guns, guided and unguided missiles or special weapons were available (so-called ‘Rüstsätze’).

The kit and its assembly:

I am not certain when inspiration struck me for this fantasy aircraft - I guess it was when I tinkered together the Hü 324 whif, which was itself based on a 1:72 scale Il-28 bomber. When I browsed for a respective donation kit I also came across the 1:100 scale kit of the Soviet light bomber from Tamiya, and that stirred something: The Il-28's vintage contours would perfectly suit a Luft '46 aircraft, and with some calculations it was clear that the 1:100 wings would be suitable for something in the class of a 1:72 DH Mosquito or Bf 110. Then, the ill-fated Me 410 came to the scene as a potential late war basis aircraft, and from this starting point the idea of an evolutionary next step of the type, the Messerschmitt Me 510, was born.

Basically this model is a kitbashing of a Tamiya Il-28 in 1:100 (wings & engine nacelles) and the fuselage of a Matchbox Me 410. The IL-28's wings were turned upside down, so that the nacelles would now ride on the wings' top.

This not only looks cool and 'different', it's also plausible because the landing gear could retract into the wings under the nacelles (with the main landing gear doors closed, just like the original Me 410), it would also reduce the angle of the aircraft on the ground to a sensible degree - with the engines under the wings plus the landing gear would have been much to steep!

Fitting the wings to the fuselage was pretty easy, even though the original Me 410 wing profile was much thicker than the slender Il-28 wings. Cleaning and blending the wing root areas was a bit tricky, but the parts get together well.

As a design twist and for a uniform look I also replaced the whole tail section, matching the angular look of the thin new main wings. The horizontal stabilizers are wing tips from a Matchbox Me 262, the vertical fin is a modified outer wing part from a Matchbox Grumman Panther.

The engine nacelles were taken OOB. I just filled the Il-28's landing gear wells and their covers with putty, since they'd end on top of the new engines.

The propellers come from Matchbox P-51 Mustangs, outfitted with pointed spinners and held by a metal pin in a polystyrene tube which runs through the original intake splitter. Looks pretty martial, even though the nacelles ended up a bit close to the fuselage. The overall look reminds of the Short Sturgeon, but is not inplausible. A compact aircraft!

The cockpit received some side panels, news seats and some equipment, since the original Matchbox kit features almost nothing beyond a floor plate, two broad benches as seats and pilot figures. I also opened the cockpit hatches, since the aircraft would be built for ground display, with the landing gear extended.

From the original kit the BK 5 cannon installation was taken over, but I added a scratch-built, bigger muzzle brake. Since the aircraft was to become a high speed interceptor/Zerstörer for daylight operations, I did not add any further external ordnance.

Painting and markings:

I pondered about a potential livery for a long time. Almost any Me 410 was delivered in RLM 74/75/76 livery, and some at the Western front in France were operated in RLM 70/71/65, with a low waterline. But I found this pretty... boring. So I made up a fantasy livery which I found suitable for high altitude operations and based on my knowledge of late Luftwaffe paint scheme - pretty complex:

The aircraft was to be light in color, primarily camouflaged for aerial combat. I ended up with something that was planned as something that could have almost been called 'low-viz': all lower surfaces received a basic tone of RLM 76 (from Testors), with a raised waterline on all flanks. This light blue-grey would blend into a slightly darker FS 36320 on the higher flanks, almost up to the upper surfaces.

But in the end, the flanks received more spots than intended, and I ended up with a rather conservative livery - but it ain't bad at all. But so it goes...

The upper wing surfaces received a wavy scheme in RLM 71 (Drak Green) and 75 (Middel Grey). These are not typical late war colors, I rather used them due to the lighter shades. On the fuselage, just the fuselage crest was painted with more or less dense blotches of these tones, blending into more patches of RLM 02 on the flanks.

To add some more unconventional detail, the fuselage sides and undersides also received large, cloudy patches of RLM 77 - a very light grey. This detail was featured on some late-war He 177 bombers, but you can hardly tell these extra blotches because they have only little contrast to the RLM 76.

The tail fin was painted all white - a formation sign for a squadron leader, typical for German late WWII fighters. The black and white fuselage stripe is the ID of Jagdgeschwader 26 (which operated Fw 190D-9 from airfields in northern Germany, Flensburg was one of them), the red number abd the "+" code identify the machine as being part of the eighth Staffel.

In the end, a very subtle whif. The new engines are most obvious, and they change the look of the Me 410 dramatically. But only on second glance you recognize the other changes. The new wings/stabilizers with their square-shaped tips create a very slender and elegant look, the aircraft just looks fast and agile like a true heavy fighter should. Mission accomplished!

Actually is was about 250 feet when we were finished.

+++ 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 Bell AH-1 Cobra (company designation: Model 209) is a two-blade, single engine attack helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was developed using the engine, transmission and rotor system of the Bell's UH-1 Iroquois. The AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake.

At the moment it is uncertain if more AH-1CZ will be bought, or if these as well as the Mi-35 fleet will be replaced by a more modern, single helicopter type - the Czech Mi-35 will definitively be retired in 2018.

General characteristics:

Crew: 2: one pilot, one co-pilot/gunner (CPG)

Length: 53 ft (16.1 m) (with both rotors turning)

Fuselage length: 44 ft 7 in (13.6 m)

Stub wing span: 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m)

Rotor diameter: 44 ft (13.6 m)

Height: 13 ft 6 in (4.12 m)

Empty weight: 6,600 lb (2,993 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 10,000 lb (4,500 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Lycoming T53-L-703 turboshaft, 1,800 shp (1,300 kW)

Rotor system: 2 blades on main rotor, 2 blades on tail rotor

Performance:

Never exceed speed: 170 knots (196 mph, 315 km/h)

Maximum speed: 149 knots (172 mph, 277 km/h)

Range: 274 nmi (315 mi, 510 km)

Service ceiling: 12,200 ft (3,720 m)

Rate of climb: 1,620 ft/min (8.2 m/s)

Armament

Chin barbette with a stabilized, flexible twin-barrel GSh-23L cannon, with 300 RPG

Four stub wing hardpoints for up to sixteen 9K121 'Vikhr' laser-guided missiles,

or a mix of unguided missiles (various pods) and GSh-23L gun pods.

The kit and its assembly:

Like some other whiffy projects this kit conversion was inspired by fellow user PantherG at whatifmodelers.com who posted a set of AH-1 profiles in fictional CZAF markings. These looked intereresting, to say the least, and I decided to take this idea to the hardware stage, and add a personal twist. Another factor was the recent introduction of A Model's CZAF Whif AH-1G as an OOB offer - time to put together some creativity against "mass-market stuff". ;)

The kit is the nice AH-1S from Hobby Boss - I had it in the pile for some time and decided to 'sacrifice' it for this project. Basically the kit was built OOB, I just changed the ordnance and the respective sensors to the new background story.

The Vikhr launch tubes were scratched from styrene strips - they are actually just slender, round tubes with ropunded tips and as goos as no features. The gun pods come from a KP Iskra model and received hollow muzzles. The gun turret was modified, too, with two hollow injection steel needles as gun barrels, and on the Cobra's nose a guidance antenna was added. Onn thze stub wings a pair of chaff/flare dispensers (left over from an Italeri AH-1) complete the ordnance load.

Inside, I added a pair of Matchbox pilots, but otherwise the detailed interior was taken OOB.

All just subtle changes that will not immediately be recognized.

Painting and markings:

Even though PantherG provided a lot of potential liveries for a Czech AH-1 I actually settled for the real world livery of CZAF Mi-24/35 - a three-tone scheme consisting of a pale gray, medium gray and olive drab, coupled with an even more pale gray for the lower surfaces. This looks pretty unique and reminds a bit of the USMCs SuperCobras?

I used Humbrol 129 (Gull Grey, FS 36640), Humbrol 126 (FS 36231) and 155 (FS 34087) as basic upper colors, while the lower surfaces were painted with Humbrol 166 (Light RAF aircraft Grey), all pretty good matches to the real CZAF colors.

The interior surfaces were painted in a very dark gray - I used Humbrol 67. The kit received a light black ink wash in order to emphasize the finely engraved panel lines, and also some light dry-brushing as additional contrast - even though the machine was not supposed to look worn.

The CZAF markings come from a Hungarian Aero Decals (a. k. a. HAD Models) aftermarket sheet for various Mi-24s, and I settled for the more subtle low-viz insignia and markings.

Finally, the kit was sealed with a coat of matte acrylic varnish - the CZAF Mi-24s look almost glossy, but I refrained from a semi-matt varnish because this might look a bit odd at the small 1:72 scale?

In the end, about a week of work and a nice result - the Czech Cobra looks odd but appears natural in the vicinity of its real Mi-24 brethren?

Once more, new pics from a old kit (from ~2009), from which I originally had only taken three shots.

This is another, fictional major conversion of an Aoshima (ex Gunze Sangyo) stock PA-36 kit. This one has no OAV paradigm (much like the former "Guntos" conversion), it is rather the interpretation of an idea on the basis of a Dorvack Powered Armor.

This time, the idea or theme was “Russian battle tank”, with both modern and historic elements. Another, separate idea was to apply a brown color scheme to a PA – and finally, both came together in this model.

The inspiration for a Russian version came originally when I saw MiG Production’s KV-X2 resin kit (anyone remember?) of a fictional 4-legged tank which carries a modified KV-2 tank turret on top. This thing looked steampunk, but blunt and IMHO totally unbalanced, and until today I wonder where a driver would be located? "Ground pressure” or “ballistic windows” obviously had also not been anything the designer(s) had ever heard of. But… what if a Dorvack PA would accompany it?

Additionally, I was reading a very interesting book about modern battle tanks, 'Kampfpanzer - heute und morgen', written by Rolf Hilmes in 2007, highly recommended if you are into tank technology. It offered lots of state-of-the art picture material and also technical information, as well as insights into design philosophies of modern military combat vehicles around the world.

The final inspirational spark lured finally in my bathroom! One morning, while pondering about these ideas, I used my deo, and... saw the lines and forms of the can’s spray head! *BINGO*! This form would be a perfect addition to a basic PA-36 kit, changing its helmet lines into a much bulkier design. Consequently, the 'PA-36S' (the 'S' suffix was inspired by the famous Russian WWII shtormovik ground attack planes) project was born. And its name would also fit: “Nove горбун”, or “gorbach”, which means “hunchback” in Russian language – also a reminiscence, to the Ilyushin Il-20 ground attack aircraft prototype.

Work started quickly. The spray head from the can was surprisingly easy to transplant, even though major putty work was necessary to make the lines flush. The spray head's plastic was also a bit waxy (I suppose it is PVC), but with super glue and the help of Tamiya putty, everything held together. Surprisingly, the parts fitted well, and the result looks really COOL and pretty different from the round standard PA design – but still consistent.

From there, I incorporated many Russian tank design elements. Since Russian battle tanks are primarily designed for assault/charge attacks, I decided that the front would need extra protection. The new bulky head already suggests this, but as an additional measure I applied reactive armour plating on the upper body and the front areas, wherever possible/plausible and where it would not hamper mobility – keeping the look in line with the Russian KONTAKT system.

The necessary explosive plates were cut from 1mm polystyrol plates, glued onto the hull, sanded with a brass brush on a mini drill in order to achieve a softer and irregular look, and finally the bolts were manually added with small tips of casein glue.

Further modifications include custom knee caps/protectors. These are parts from a plundered Gundam Endless Waltz “Serpent Custom” kit in 1:144 scale, adapted to their new position and embedded with putty. From the same kit also come the shoulder shields – also modified, dented and put on extenders on the upper arms, so that there is room between them and the arm. The idea behind them is to offer additional protection from hollow explosive charges for the hull, esp. the shoulder and air intake area. These new shields actually had to be added, because the original horizontal shoulder shields in front of the jet pack’s air intakes could not be fitted anymore – the air intakes were replaced by scrap parts from an Airfix Kamov Ka-25 helicopter in 1:72. This helicopter kit also donated two searchlights, which were added on the PA’s front hull.

Furthermore, many small details were changed or added. First of all, a new visor unit with 3 lenses was implanted in the front with a protective frame. These parts come from a PAM-74AM’s hand weapon, and they give the PA-36S quite a grunty retro look. On the PA’s top, the typical hump on the left side was replaced by a bigger/longer piece (a 1:48 scale WWII bomb half). On the back, a heat exchanger (for those cold Russian nights…) was placed and surrounded by reactive armour plates. If I remember correctly, this part comes from the horrible 1:72 'Aliens' Dropship kit from Halcyon and was modified. The PA-36's typical pipelines on the right shoulder were replaced with more rustic, self-made pieces. These hoses are actually made from Christmas tree decoration: fine metal coils, which were fitted onto a steel thread and then cut and bent into shape.

The feet also received some tuning, making them broader in order to improve the PA’s weight distribution in the field and offer improved hold. These parts come from an ESCI 1:72 Jagdpanzer IV kit (track and side skirt parts).

For active defensive measures, I added an IR decoy device on a pole on the PA's back. This thing looks similar to the current Russian ARENA radar defence system's sensor boom. Additionally, on the PA’s helmet sides and on the back, small laser detectors were added, inspired by the similar real Russian SCHTORA (russ. Штора, “curtain”) system. In case of enemy detection and laser designation, the system will trigger IR smoke dischargers (on the PA, four smoke mortars are placed on the left shoulder – parts from an Arii 1:100 Super Valkyrie) for emergency defence.

For armament, I settled for the standard R6 gun which comes with the stock kit, but also modified it for a beefier look. While the basis was kept, a short barrel extension was added and a nozzle brake (from a PAM-74C “Dunc” kit) put in the front. The idea was to create a gun with a smaller calibre, which would not only fire “slow” HE ammunition (which I suppose the R6 cannon uses – it looks like a mortar or howitzer), but faster AP shells. The impressive nozzle break is supposed to catch the stronger recoil of this different weapon concept, and it looks good ;)

On the blank (an ugly!) back of the gun, some technical parts were added which “simulate” recoil and gas pressure compensators. The huge, basically empty box on top of the gun (A visor unit? A camera? A bread basket?) received 3 lenses which double the PA’s new 3-lobed visor unit. Finally, a set of flexible, fabric-covered cables connects the gun with an adapter box on the PA’s breast (the original PA-36 has a small flap under its visor for this purpose). This gun then received my personal designation R6M, “M” for modified , an authentic Russian suffix.

From the beginning, this PA conversion was to be painted in a single colour. Since all-green PA’s frequently appear in the TV series (see e. g. episode 14 & 16) and will definitively show up in my collection, I settled on brown. Another factor was the background picture (see above), which had much influence on the kit's finish. And finally, since I have seen several pictures of all-brown/dark sand Russian WWII tanks, the single brown colour seemed to be plausible. Mmm… brown. Or better: коричневый цвет!

The basic overall tone is Tamiya’s XF-64 “Red Brown”, everywhere. Some details like the inside of the visor unit were painted with Testor’s 2002 “Burnt Umber” from the figure colour series for extra contrast. The joints received a mix of Gold (Testors 1144), a bit gun metal (Humbrol 53) and Burnt Umber.

After a first turn of dry painting with Humbrol 186 and 118, decals were applied. Numbers and unit markings come from a 1:35 scale WWII Russian tank sheet from German decal specialist Peddinghaus. The many light grey Russian labels come from the vast decal sheet of Italieri/Testor’s MiG-37 “Ferret B” kit in 1:72 scale, and typical Dorvack markings come from the original PA-36 and a spare PAM-74 decal sheet. Sadly, most of them disappeared under the final coat of snow...

“Nose art” on the HD-R6M gun consists of a hand-written “плохая новость”, which simply means “Bad news”. What else to expect from this tank on legs? But this, too, unfortunately disappeared under the snow.

After a matte varnish coat the kit received a thorough black ink wash in order to point out the reactive armour plating. Then, several turns with dry paint, including hemp, gulf war sand, light grey, sand and chocolate (Humbrol 168, 187, 64, 63 and 98, respectively) were applied to point out the many surface details. Some dents and blank edges were added with dry-brushed silver, but sparsely. Also, some smoke was simulated with black and dark grey paint (Humbrol 33 and 32), and as a final step some rust and oil was simulated with water-based acrylic paint in burnt umbra and sienna.

In order to enhance the heavy duty impression (and remind of harsh conditions this piece might encounter), the PA finally received a mud treatment around its legs. Plaster, mixed with grass filament, fine sand and water-based mixing colour, was prepared in a shallow bowl and the kit’s feet simply stumped into this artificial sludge – leaving the mud and splashes wherever they might end up.

From above, the kit then received a coat or light snow, made from coloured joint mortar (white, plaster is too grayish!), rinsed through a fine mesh onto the kit which was sprayed with water.

Finally, I must say that this kit was an interesting experience. On one side, it surely was plain fun to convert such a kit into something very different, seeing a vague idea taking shape. But on the other side, this project also has the more or less serious claim to incorporate realistic defence technology – and while building the kit, I became aware how tricky it actually is to construct and protect something like a tank from various battlefield dangers, and how naïve mecha can come along.

My first Polaroid conversion, just some practice on a 110A. I wrote about it at michaeljoachim.blogspot.com

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mono conversion

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

The Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, and also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built. Developed during the Second World War, the Sea Fury entered service two years after the war ended. The Sea Fury proved to be a popular aircraft with a number of overseas militaries, and it was successfully used during the Korean War in the early 1950s where it could keep up with 1st generatiom jet fighters like the MiG-15.

After the end of hostilities, the 'Turbo Furies' were quickly phased out since it had become clear that they had become too vulnerable in battlefield conditions.

General characteristics

Crew: One

Length: 36 ft 2 in (11.05 m)

Wingspan: 38 ft 43⁄4 in (11.69 m)

Height: 15 ft 101⁄2 in (4.84 m)

Wing area: 280 ft2 (26.01 m2)

Empty weight: 10.500 lb (4.767 kg)

Loaded weight: 14,100 lb (6.400 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 15,650 lb (7.105 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Allison T56 turboshaft engine rated at 2.206 kW (3.000 hp) plus 750 lbs of residual thrust

Performance:

Maximum speed: 490 mph (427 knots, 790 km/h) at 18,000 ft (5,500 m)

Range: 700 mi (609 nmi, 1,126 km) with internal fuel;

1,040 mi (904 nmi, 1,674 km) with two drop tanks

Service ceiling: 35,800 ft (10,910 m)

Rate of climb: 4,320 ft/min (21.9 m/s)

Armament:

4× 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk V cannons in the wings

Eight underwing hardpoints for an external load of 4.000 lb (1.814 kg),

including bombs, unguided rockets, napalm tanks or drop tanks

The kit and its assembly:

Well, the combination of a WWII figher design and a C-130 Hercules sounds like an unlikely combination, but that's what I built. The idea of revamped piston-engine aircraft for a post-WWII-use has its charm and continually brings forth impressive designs, so here's another contribution to that wild bunch of whifs.

Inspiration came with a set of 1:72 aftermarket C-130J resin engine nacelles from OzMods, which I had bunkered a while ago. One idea had been to modify a P-51 Mustang, as an alternative to the Cavalier Enforcer. But then I remembered the very succesful Hawker Sea Fury and its many international users - and a check with a fuselage confirmed that an engine swap might be rather easy!

The kit I used is the simple but solid Sea Fury from Pioneer2/PM Models. The Hercules engines are an almost perfect fit - the original fuselage just had to be cut away behind the original exhaust reflectors. Some sculpting had to be done on both sides, and the wing roots filled up in order to match the new, more narrow engine, but things went really smoothly.

For the turboprop's exhaust I drilled up oval holes on the fuselage flanks, under the cockpit, and inserted styrene tubes - the best position I could think of?

The spinner comes from the OzMods set, too, but the C-130J sickle-shaped propeller blades were just a bit too modern and too large for the Sea Fury. I was lucky to have some spare blades from a Pavla propeller set for the Academy B-24 Liberator - these were attached to the pointed spinner, and it looks menacing!

Otherwise, only littel things were changed. In the cockpit a new seat and a dashboard cover were added. The underwing hardpoints were new, too, and I added some antennae for a more modern and purposeful look of the aicraft.

All pylons are new, and the bomb ordnance was puzzled together from the spares box.

Painting and markings:

It took a while to settle on a user and a respective livery. The Netherlands had been a serious option, Myanmar and Morocco, too, but I eventually settled for Pakistan because the timeframe would provide a plausible story, and the PAF would also provide a good, if not unique, paint scheme.

Most PAF Sea Furies had been painted in Mid Stone/Dark Earth/Azure Blue, but some had the dark brown tone replaced by an "Olive Green". I was not able to turn up a photo of such an aircraft, only a profile, though, so there's some guessing involved.

Basic colors are Humbrol 84 (Mid Stone), Modelmaster #2091 (RLM 82) and #2087 (RLM 78), later shaded with Humbrol 83 (ochre), 102 and FS 35414.

The cockpit interior was kept in very dark gray, the landing gear is in Aluminum.

Decals come 100% from the Pakistani option from PM Model's Sea Fury T.61 trainer - they were printed slighlty offset, but I rolled with it as the flaw is not very obvious.

In the end, the "Turbo Fury" looks very conclusive, and the whole thing was tinkered together in less than 3 days (plus some time for the pics). And the conversion is rather easy to realize - there are more potential users of this whiffy creation...

+++ 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 Su-18 was the final evolutionary step in the long journey of the Su-7 fighter bomber. Seeking to improve low-speed and take-off/landing performance of the Su-7B fighter-bomber, in 1963 the Sukhoi OKB with input from TsAGI created a variable-sweep wing technology demonstrator. The Su-7IG (internal designation S-22I, NATO designation "Fitter-B"), converted from a production Su-7BM, had fixed inner portions of the wing with movable outer segments which could be swept to 28°, 45°, or 62°.

Only about 120 Su-18s were produced until 1990, and in a move to eliminate single engine strike aircraft from its inventory the Russian Air Force already retired its last Su-17M4 along with its fleet of MiG-23/27s in 1998, while the Su-18 in Naval Aviation service soldiered on until 2000. Some countries like Peru and Indonesia showed interest in these aircraft, but all were destroyed in the course of the bilateral START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) treaty.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 19.02 m (62 ft 5 in)

Wingspan:

Spread: 13.68 m (44 ft 11 in)

Swept: 10.02 m (32 ft 10 in)

Height: 5.12 m (16 ft 10 in)

Wing area: 38.5 m² (415 ft²) spread, 34.5 m² (370 ft²) swept

Empty weight: 12,160 kg(12.2t) (26,810 lb)

Loaded weight: 16,400 kg(16.5t) (36,155 lb)

Fuel capacity: 3,770 kg (8,310 lb)

Powerplant:

1× Soyuz R-79F-100 turbofan, rated at 99 kN (22.275 lbf) dry thrust and 130 kN (29.250 lbf) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed:

1.400 km/h (755 knots, 870 mph) at sea level, 1,860 km/h (1,005 knots, 1,156 mph, Mach 1.7) at altitude

Range:

1,150 km (620 nmi, 715 mi) combat range in hi-lo-hi attack with 2.000 kg (4.409 lb) warload; ferry range: 2.300 km (1.240 nmi, 1.430 mi)

Service ceiling: 14,200 m (46,590 ft)

Rate of climb: 230 m/s (45,275 ft/min)

Wing loading: 443 kg/m² (90.77 lb/ft²

Thrust/weight: 0.68

G-force limit: 7

Airframe lifespan: 2,000 flying hours, 20 years

Armament:

2 × 30 mm GSh-30-1 cannons, 150 RPG in the lower forward fuselage

Up to 4000 kg (8,820 lb) on ten hardpoints (three under the fixed portion of each wing, four on the fuselage sides), including Kh-23 (AS-7 'Kerry'), Kh-25 (AS-10 'Karen'), Kh-29 (AS-14 'Kedge'), Kh-31A & P (AS-17 ‘Krypton) anti-shipping/anti-radiation missiles and Kh-58 (AS-11 'Kilter') guided missiles, as well as electro-optical and laser-guided bombs, free-fall bombs, rocket pods, cluster bombs, SPPU-22-01 cannon pods with traversable barrels, ECM pods, napalm tanks, and nuclear weapons.

The kit and its assembly:

This whif creation was triggered by a discussion at whatifmodelers.com, circling around an updated/improved Su-17/22. I remembered a photoshop creation of a Su-17 with side air intakes (from an A-4) and a nose radome (probably from an F-14) in USAF-markings – a potential way to go, even though the graphic design had some flaws like the subsonic air intake design or the guns’ position right in front of the intakes. Well, “Let’s tackle that, and do it better”, and the Su-18 is my interpretation of that idea.

The kit the Su-17M4 from Smer, a kit that has nice proportions and good detail, but nothing really fits together – expect lots of putty work! From that basis only few things were actually changed or added:

• Nose intake replaced by a F-15 radome

• Side air intakes with splitter plates come from a PM Model Su-15

• The following ducts are a halved part from an Art Model Bv 155 underwing radiator

• A new seat had to be used in the cockpit

• Main wheels from a Me 262 replace the OOB parts

• New twin front wheel which retracts backwards now

• For the anti-shipping role, a pair of Kh-31 missiles and the launch rails from an ICM weapon set

My biggest concern were the air intakes and the wide ducts, since these had to be blended into the round Su-17 fuselage. For the intakes, the wing roots were cut open and the Su-15 parts inserted. The Bv 155 parts were a lucky find, as they matched perfectly in size and shape – otherwise I had had to sculpt the ducts from 2c Putty. The arrangement still looks a little brutal, but the side intakes look plausible.

The nose radome posed little problems, even though I worried for a long time that the nose section could look too bulbous for the rest of the aircraft. But finally, when the stabilizers were in place, everything looked more balanced than expected.

Changing the front wheel from the original, forward-retracting single-wheel arrangement to a rearward-retracting twin wheel creation also helped selling the new proportions.

Painting and markings:

Very early I had the idea to keep the Su-18 in Soviet/Russian service, but it should feature an unusual, yet plausible paint scheme. The Soviet/Russian Navy actually used the Su-17, but only in tactical camouflage, with green and brown upper surfaces and light blue undersides. While browsing for alternatives I came across the Su-24 (also flown by the Navy regiments), and their typical light grey/white livery was what perfectly fit my story for the aircraft.

Said and done, the model was painted in Humbrol 167 (RAF Barley Grey) from above and painted with the rattle can in a vintage VW car tone called “Grauweiß”, a very dull white. Later, panels were emphasized through dry-brushing (Humbrol 127 and 130), plus a light black ink wash and more overall dry-brushing with light grey tones. Also, some panels were painted all over the fuselage, as well as an overpainted Red Star on the fin which was replaced by a Russian Flag decal – a common experimental practice in the early 90ies, but the idea did not catch on.

Speaking of decals, these mostly come from the very complete Smer decal sheet. Personal additions are only the flags on the fin and the Russian Navy emblem on the nose.

The cockpit was painted in typical psychedelic cockpit interior turquoise, while the landing gear and the wells were painted in blue-grey (Humbrol 87); the wheel discs were kept in bright green (Humbrol 2) – a nice contrast to the rest.

The drop tanks were painted in Aluminum, for some overall contrast, and the Kh-31 missiles according to real-life pics; the launch rails were painted in Russian Underside Blue, again for variety and contrast.

While the finish of the model is far from perfect, I am satisfied with the convincing result. You could certainly place this aircraft in line with other, typical Suchoj types like the Su-7, -15, -17 and -24, and it would not look out of place! A highly effective whif, IMHO. ^^

+++ 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 Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced trainer aircraft co-manufactured by Dornier of Germany and Dassault-Breguet of France. In the early 1960s, European air forces began to consider their requirements for the coming decades. One of the results was the emergence of a new generation of jet trainers. The British and French began a collaboration on development of what was supposed to be a supersonic jet aircraft in two versions: trainer and light attack aircraft. The result of this collaboration, the SEPECAT Jaguar, proved to be an excellent aircraft, but its definition had changed in the interim, and the type emerged as a full-sized, nuclear-capable strike fighter, which two-seat variants were used for operational conversion to the type, not for the general training.

Hence, further development was stopped in September 1989, also under the influence of political changes and the breakdown of the Eastern Block. Even though 98+52 was kept at Manching as a test aircraft for various tasks, the plane was eventually lost in a crash due to hydraulic failure on 3rd of March 1993 – the pilot escaped safely, but 98+52 totally written off.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 12.60 m (41 ft 4 in)

Wingspan: 10.73 m (35 ft 2 1/2 in)

Height: 4.24 m (13 ft 11 in)

Wing area: 213.7 ft² (19.85 m²)

Airfoil: NACA 23015 (modified) at root, NACA 4412 (modified) at tip

Empty weight: 3.680 kg (8.105 lbs)

Loaded weight: 5.900 kg (13.000 lbs)

Max. takeoff weight: 8.200 kg (18.060 lbs)

Powerplant: 2 × SNECMA Turbomeca Larzac 04-C20 turbofans, 14,12 kN (3.176 lbs) each

Performance

Maximum speed: 860 km/h (465 knots, 536 mph)

Stall speed: 167 km/h (90 knots, 104 mph) (flaps and undercarriage down)

Combat radius: 610 km (329 nmi, 379 mi) lo-lo-lo profile, w. underwing weapons incl. two drop tanks

Ferry range: 2,940 km (1,586 nmi, 1,827 mi)

Service ceiling: 14,630 m (48,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 57 m/s (11,220 ft/min)

Armament

1× 35 mm (1.38 in) Oerlikon KDA cannon w/150 rds under the lower forward fuselage, offset to starport side.

Seven hardpoints (one under fuselage, three under each wing) for a total external load of up to 3.085 kg (6.800 lbs), including AGM-65 Maverick, Matra rocket pods with 18× SNEB 68 mm rockets each, a variety of bombs (such as the Hunting BL755 cluster bombs) or Drop tanks for extended range, and AIM-9 Sidewinder or ASRAAM for self-defence

The kit and its assembly

Yes, another whif, and a modern type, too. The idea came when I found a pair of vintage wings from a vintage Matchbox BAC Strikemaster in good shape and thought "Well, where could these fit...?" Being a fan of the Su-25 I considered building something similar from scratch und using these 30 year old parts.

The Alpha Jet has a basically similar layout, and the wings would match in size. Then, the "new" plane should become a dedicated single-seater, not simply a two-seater with a covered rear cockpit. Browsing through the kit stack I found a A-4F from Revell, and its nose section turned out to be an almost perfect fit for the Alpha Jet fuselage (the vintage Heller kit).

Fitting these parts together required some major surgery and putty work, but the result looks quite convincing. Other additions are a Matchbox pilot figure and some cockpit details, a nose cone from a Fiat G.91 R/3 as an integral laser rangefinder housing, the Strikemaster wings, a modified landing gear (main wheels from the Skyhawk, front wheel from an IAI Kfir) and the armament in the form of the gun, seven hardpoints and the mixed ordnance from the German Luftwaffe arsenal - everything collected from the junkyard.

Painting

While German Luftwaffe machines can look rather boring, various camouflage trials have been conducted during the 80ies and 90ies for the F-4F, Alpha Jet and Tornado fleet. Esp. Phantom IIs saw extensive experiments for air superiority and ground attack paint schemes - and these schemes carried inofficial names like "Milchkuh" (Dairy Cow), "Polizeimühle" (Police Jalopy) or "Disco Bomber".

The whiffy Alpha Jet was a nice opportunity to incorporate one of these experimental schemes, and I settled for something which was applied to F-4F '37+07' and inofficially dubbed "Wolkenmaus" (Cloud Mouse). The Alpha Jet is a good subject, since its stepped side structure with engine nacelles and its spine tunnel is similar to the Phantom II, so that the cammo concept could be easily copied.

Anyway, the authentic "Wolkenmaus" colours are supposed to be (and what I used on the kit)...

On the upper sides:

● RAL 6014 Gelboliv (~FS 34087; Olive Drab, Testors 1711)

● RAL 7012 Basaltgrau (~FS 36152; Humbrol 27)

● RAL 9005 Tiefschwarz, even though I rather believe it to be RAL 7021 Schwarzgrau (darker than FS 36081; Humbrol 182)

Flanks::

● Mix of 2/3 RAL 7035 Lichtgrau + 1/3 RAL 7000 Fehgrau (~FS36473; Aircraft Grey, Testors 1731)

Undersides:

● Mix of 5/6 RAL 7035 Lichtgrau + 1/6 RAL 7000 Fehgrau (~RLM 63; Lichtgrau, Testors 2077)

The tones are just approximations, since I did not want to get original tones just for one project. Hey, it's just a model kit!

The landing gear and its wells were painted in aluminum, the respective covers' inside with Humbrol 81 (Olive Yellow) in a primer finish for some contrast. Cockpit interior as well as the air intakes were kept in in Light Gull Grey (FS 36640, Humbrol 129). The complex paint scheme was applied, as per usual, by brush and hand. The kit received a light black ink wash and some dry painting with lighter tones - the model was not supposed to look dirty, only a bit used.

Decals were scrapped together. JaboG 43 emblems and warning signs were taken from the original Heller decal sheet. The national insignia were taken from a Revell PAH-2 kit, the registration '98+52' was puzzled together with single digits from an aftermarket decal sheet from TL Modellbau. AFAIK, '98+52' has not been used yet by the Luftwaffe, which designates its test aircraft in the 98+XX and 99+XX range. A "true" and active Alpha Jet would have received a 40+XX or 41+XX.

Finally, everything was sealed under a water-based/acryllic matte coat - the Testors colours proved to be very touchy to the Humbrol varnish I normally use.

In the end, I achieved what I wanted, even though not truly perfect. But the kit looks like an 'analogue' Su-25, and actually the whiffy Alpha Jet C reminds much of the pre-Su-25 concepts: the SPB and subsequent LSSh/T-8 attack aircraft?

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

With the end of the conflict in Africa in early 1974, the Portuguese Armed Forces went through a reorganization and shifted their focus back from counter-insurgency to honoring Portugal's commitments to NATO and preparing for a possible conflict in Europe against the Warsaw Pact. The Portuguese Air Force's F-86F Sabre and G.91 fighters were considered to be outdated in both the air defense and ground attack roles to face Soviet forces in the European operations theater. Furthermore, only a few Sabre fighters were actually in service due to problems with the engines and lack of spare parts.

The last Saab 35 in Swedish service was retired in 1999, the last Saab 35 Draken was withdrawn from military use in Austria in 2005 – 50 years after the type first flew. However, several aircraft still fly today in private operators’ service.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 15.35 m (50 ft 4 in)

Wingspan: 9.42 m (30 ft 11 in)

Height: 3.89 m (12 ft 9 in)

Wing area: 49.2 m2 (530 ft²)

Airfoil: 5%

Empty weight: 7,865 kg (17,339 lb)

Gross weight: 11,000 kg (24,251 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 11,914 kg (26,266 lb)

Powerplant:

1× Svenska Flygmotor RM6C (license-built Rolls Royce Avon with Swedish afterburner)

turbojet engine, 56.5 kN (12,700 lbf) thrust dry, 78.4 kN (17,600 lbf) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: 2,450 km/h (1,520 mph, 1,320 kn) at 11,000 m (36,089 ft)

Maximum speed: Mach 2

Range: 1.120 km (605 nmi; 696 mi); clean, internal fuel only

Ferry range: 2,750 km (1,480 nmi; 1,710 mi) with four external 500 l drop tanks

Service ceiling: 20,000 m (66,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 199 m/s (39,200 ft/min)

Wing loading: 231.6 kg/m² (47.4 lb/ft²)

Thrust/weight: 0.7

Takeoff roll: 800 m (2,625 ft)

Armament:

2× 30 mm AKAN M/55 ADEN cannon with 100 rounds per gun

4× hardpoints with a capacity of 2,900 kg (6,393 lb); typical interceptor ordnance:

2× 500 l ventral drop tanks and 2× AIM-9 Sidewinder under the wings

The kit and its assembly:

This what-if model came as a spontaneous idea when I browsed through the WWW for inspiration. I stumbled upon the history of the Portuguese Air Force and the fact that it did not operate any dedicated interceptor for 15 years – this task was taken over by the PAF’s A-7s(!) until the F-16 arrived in the Nineties This gap offered a lot of whiffing potential, and I had actually considered to build a whiffy FAP Mirage III for some time, since I knew that this was, together with the F-5, the favored type. However, there was also serious consideration of the Saab 35 as potential fighter alternative, too!

I found this idea so weird/exotic that I decided to build a Draken in FAP colors. The kit is the Hasegawa model, in a Revell re-boxing. I also considered the vintage Revell Saab 35 (a mold from 1957!), but after I saw the kit in a current re-boxing from Polish company Akkura, I took the chance of a reasonably priced Hasegawa kit instead. While the Akkura kit is crisply molded, it would take a lot of work to create a satisfactory “modern” Draken from it. I also had a Heller kit in store (my personal favorite), but I did not want to “sacrifice” it for this project.

The Hasegawa/Revell kit was basically built OOB. The kit is a simple, straightforward affair, with fine recessed engravings and good fit, but it’s IMHO far from extraordinary. It also has its flaws: the dashboard is totally blank, any instruments have to be created by yourself or taken from the decal sheet. There are ejection marks on the wheels and the landing gear covers, and the fit quality of some areas (e .g. the seam between the fuselage and the afterburner section) calls for PSR. The two-piece canopy is thin, very clear and fits well, the landing gear is sufficiently detailed – including the interior of the main landing gear wells.

For the FAP version I did not change much; I just replaced the seat (which OOB looks fine, I just wanted “something else”), added a radar warning antenna to the fin’s tip and chaff dispensers around the tail section, all carved from styrene profiles.

Unfortunately, the Revell re-boxing just comes with a pair of launch rails and underwing pylons, but no AA weapons at all. That’s acceptable for the anniversary machine that you can build from the kit, but leaves the other option, a grey, Swedish J35 H, without any ordnance.

The drop tanks on my build are OOB, together with their ventral hardpoints, and I added a pair of decent AIM-9J Sidewinders from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapon set for a suitable interceptor ordnance. The launch rails were recycled from the kit: they are actually missile rails with attachment points to mount them under the air intakes. The rails were separated and then attached to the OOB underwing pylons, this worked very well.

Painting and markings:

The livery was not an easy choice. Initially I favored a uniform pale grey livery with blue squadron markings, inspired by the late F-86s of FAP 51 squadron, but found this, despite being a plausible look for an interceptor, to look quite boring. For the same reason I rejected an Austria-style “Hill II” scheme or a light-grey USN-inspired “Compass Ghost” livery. The Hellenic “Ghost” wraparound scheme was another potential option, but I recently used something similar on another whif build (the Catalonian L-159 ALCA), and it would not have a typically Portuguese Cold War look.

Keeping in style with the FAP’s livery fashion during the Eighties, I rather settled upon a USAF SEA scheme, which was carried by many PAF aircraft during the Eighties, e .g. the A-7P, the G.91, and their replacement from 1993 onwards, the Alpha Jet. Instead of a wraparound version for ground attack aircraft, I rather gave the Draken light grey undersides.

The camouflage pattern itself was improvised, since I did not want to copy an existing delta wing aircraft (e.g. the USAF’s F-102 or F-106 SEA pattern, or the Belgian Mirage Vs). The basic colors are Humbrol 75 (Bronze Green; the authentic tone is FS 34079, but this lacks IMHO contrast to the lighter green), 117 (FS 34102) and 118 (FS 30219) from above, and Humbrol 28 (FS 36622) underneath.

A large ventral section was, typical for the J 35, left in bare metal, since leaking fuel and oil would frequently eat away any paint there. The section was painted with Steel Metallizer (ModelMaster) and later treated with Matt Aluminum Metallizer (Humbrol).

Internal details like the cockpit and the landing gear were painted with the help of Swedish and Austrian Saab 35 reference pictures. The cockpit tub was painted in a dark, bluish green (Humbrol 76) with grey-green (Revell 67) side walls. A piece of paper tissue covers the cockpit’s back wall, since the kit leaves a visible and rather ugly seam there, which is only partly hidden behind the seat.

The landing gear and its respective wells were painted with Humbrol 56 (Aluminum Dope), parts of the struts were painted in a bright turquoise (a mix of Humbrol 89 and 80; looks quite weird, but I like such details!). The front wheel received a dark green mudguard (Humbrol 30), the same color was also partially used on the extended emergency current generator. Missiles and launch rails were painted in gloss white (Humbrol 22).

As per usual, the model received a light black ink wash and some post-shading in order to emphasize the panels and dramatize the surface. Some extra weathering was done around the gun ports and the jet nozzle with graphite.

For markings I used the contemporary A-7Ps as benchmark: they were minimal, there were even no squadron markings or other decorations, and I think they even lacked roundels on their wings!

I gave the Draken slightly more markings: The small FAP roundels come from a PrintScale A/T-37 sheet, the fin flashes are from a TL Modellbai sheet and the tactical codes belong to a Japanese T-4 trainer. Most stencils were taken from the Revell OOB sheet, which also includes decals for the reddish sealer around the cockpit windows.

I didn’t want to leave the Draken without any squadron marking, though, so I gave it a blue band on top of the fin, as a reminiscence of the FAP 51 squadron’s markings, the former final F-86 operator which became 201 squadron in the early Eighties. These were simply done with layered white and blue decal stripes.

Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri), except for the black radome, which received a sheen varnish coat.

A relatively simple whif project, since the model was mostly built OOB with just minor cosmetic changes. However, despite its exotic operator, the USAF South East Asia scheme suits the Draken well, the whole thing looks disturbingly convincing!?

It’s also a kind of tribute build for “Sport16ing”, apparently a great fan of my what-if builds who frequently re-posts pictures and background stories (with kind permission to do so!) at deviantart.com.

Brian Massey, the Conversion Scientist, leads a DMA workshop entitled "Optimizing Your Web Site for Conversion and Business Success" in Austin, Texas on October 8, 2009.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

The Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, and also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built. Developed during the Second World War, the Sea Fury entered service two years after the war ended. The Sea Fury proved to be a popular aircraft with a number of overseas militaries, and it was successfully used during the Korean War in the early 1950s where it could keep up with 1st generatiom jet fighters like the MiG-15.

After the end of hostilities, the 'Turbo Furies' were quickly phased out since it had become clear that they had become too vulnerable in battlefield conditions.

General characteristics

Crew: One

Length: 36 ft 2 in (11.05 m)

Wingspan: 38 ft 43⁄4 in (11.69 m)

Height: 15 ft 101⁄2 in (4.84 m)

Wing area: 280 ft2 (26.01 m2)

Empty weight: 10.500 lb (4.767 kg)

Loaded weight: 14,100 lb (6.400 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 15,650 lb (7.105 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Allison T56 turboshaft engine rated at 2.206 kW (3.000 hp) plus 750 lbs of residual thrust

Performance:

Maximum speed: 490 mph (427 knots, 790 km/h) at 18,000 ft (5,500 m)

Range: 700 mi (609 nmi, 1,126 km) with internal fuel;

1,040 mi (904 nmi, 1,674 km) with two drop tanks

Service ceiling: 35,800 ft (10,910 m)

Rate of climb: 4,320 ft/min (21.9 m/s)

Armament:

4× 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk V cannons in the wings

Eight underwing hardpoints for an external load of 4.000 lb (1.814 kg),

including bombs, unguided rockets, napalm tanks or drop tanks

The kit and its assembly:

Well, the combination of a WWII figher design and a C-130 Hercules sounds like an unlikely combination, but that's what I built. The idea of revamped piston-engine aircraft for a post-WWII-use has its charm and continually brings forth impressive designs, so here's another contribution to that wild bunch of whifs.

Inspiration came with a set of 1:72 aftermarket C-130J resin engine nacelles from OzMods, which I had bunkered a while ago. One idea had been to modify a P-51 Mustang, as an alternative to the Cavalier Enforcer. But then I remembered the very succesful Hawker Sea Fury and its many international users - and a check with a fuselage confirmed that an engine swap might be rather easy!

The kit I used is the simple but solid Sea Fury from Pioneer2/PM Models. The Hercules engines are an almost perfect fit - the original fuselage just had to be cut away behind the original exhaust reflectors. Some sculpting had to be done on both sides, and the wing roots filled up in order to match the new, more narrow engine, but things went really smoothly.

For the turboprop's exhaust I drilled up oval holes on the fuselage flanks, under the cockpit, and inserted styrene tubes - the best position I could think of?

The spinner comes from the OzMods set, too, but the C-130J sickle-shaped propeller blades were just a bit too modern and too large for the Sea Fury. I was lucky to have some spare blades from a Pavla propeller set for the Academy B-24 Liberator - these were attached to the pointed spinner, and it looks menacing!

Otherwise, only littel things were changed. In the cockpit a new seat and a dashboard cover were added. The underwing hardpoints were new, too, and I added some antennae for a more modern and purposeful look of the aicraft.

All pylons are new, and the bomb ordnance was puzzled together from the spares box.

Painting and markings:

It took a while to settle on a user and a respective livery. The Netherlands had been a serious option, Myanmar and Morocco, too, but I eventually settled for Pakistan because the timeframe would provide a plausible story, and the PAF would also provide a good, if not unique, paint scheme.

Most PAF Sea Furies had been painted in Mid Stone/Dark Earth/Azure Blue, but some had the dark brown tone replaced by an "Olive Green". I was not able to turn up a photo of such an aircraft, only a profile, though, so there's some guessing involved.

Basic colors are Humbrol 84 (Mid Stone), Modelmaster #2091 (RLM 82) and #2087 (RLM 78), later shaded with Humbrol 83 (ochre), 102 and FS 35414.

The cockpit interior was kept in very dark gray, the landing gear is in Aluminum.

Decals come 100% from the Pakistani option from PM Model's Sea Fury T.61 trainer - they were printed slighlty offset, but I rolled with it as the flaw is not very obvious.

In the end, the "Turbo Fury" looks very conclusive, and the whole thing was tinkered together in less than 3 days (plus some time for the pics). And the conversion is rather easy to realize - there are more potential users of this whiffy creation...

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

NAe São Paulo is a Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier currently in service with the Brazilian Navy. São Paulo was first commissioned in 1963 by the French Navy as Foch and was transferred in 2000 to Brazil, where she became the new flagship of the Brazilian Navy. In December 2014 it was announced that São Paulo will be expected to continue active service until 2039, at which time the vessel will be nearly 80 years old.

The two prototypes completed a thorough test program until summer 2015 and subsequently went on a sales tour in South America and Asia. In the meantime, serial production started at EMBRAER's Gavião Peixoto in November 2015. The first serial machines, now officially designated AF-2A, arrived at the Brazilian Navy's São Pedro da Aldeia air base where a new Intercept and Attack Plane Squadron, VF-2 'Arquieros' (Archers) was founded. The squadron became operational in April 2016 and Grifos embarked on NAe São Paulo for the first time in September 2016, serving alongside the venerable AF-1.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Payload: 5,300 kg (11,700 lb)

Length: 13,54 m (44 ft 4 in)

Wingspan (incl. wing tip launch rails): 8.32 m (27 ft 2 in)

Height: 4.25 m (13 ft 11 in)

Wing area: 30.0 m² (323 ft²)

Empty weight: 6,800 kg[330] (14,990 lb)

Loaded weight: 8,500 kg (18,700 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (31,000 lb)

Wheel track: 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)

Powerplant:

1 × General Electric F414-EPE afterburning turbofan with

a dry thrust of 54 kN (12,100 lbf) and 85 kN (19,100 lbf) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: Mach 2 (2,204 km/h (1,190 kn; 1,370 mph) at high altitude

Combat radius: 800 km (497 mi, 432 nmi)

Ferry range: 3,200 km (1,983 mi) with drop tanks

Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)

Wing loading: 283 kg/m² (58 lb/ft²)

Thrust/weight: 0.97

Maximum g-load: +9 g

Armament:

1× 27 mm Mauser BK-27 Revolver cannon with 120 rounds

Eight hardpoints (three on each wing and two under fuselage)

for a wide range of guide and unguided ordnance of up to 14,330 lb (6.5 t)

The kit and its assembly:

The fictional Grifo is the result of a generic idea of converting a canard layout aircraft like the Saab Viggen into a conventional design. The Viggen was actually a serious candidate, but then I found an Italeri Gripen in the stash without a real purpose (it had been cheap, though), and with Brazil's real world procurement as background, the more conservative Grifo was born.

I wanted to use as many OOB Gripen parts as possible, and there are actually only a few external donations involved – with the outlook of converting further Gripens this way. You never know… ;)

Work started with the wings, which were cut off of the fuselage shell. Having the landing gear retract into the fuselage (much like the X-29) is a convenient detail of the Gripen, making the wing transplantation easier than on a Viggen where the wells have to be moved, too.

The original canard attachment points were faired over/hidden. The pointed Gripen nose with its pitot was cut off and replaced by a shorter, more stocky nose tip - from an F-4 Phantom II IIRC. Once the fuselage was completed, the wings were mounted, closer to the air intakes. This went smoothly, only some gaps on the undersides had to be filled.

Once the wings were in place I had to make a decision concerning the stabilizers. Despite the plan to use as many OOB parts as possible I found the OOB canards to be too sharply swept and considered several donation options.

I eventually settled for the most unique option: the stabilizers are actually main wings from a (rather malformed) Italeri/Dragon 1:200 F-117 that comes as a set with the B-2 bomber. A part of the F-117’s fuselage flank was cut off and taken over to the Grifo, too, so that these create ‘muscular’ bulges.

The stabilizers were mounted on scratched consoles/trailing wing root extensions that were somewhat inspired by the F-16’s tail design – putting the stabilizers directly onto the fuselage would have looked awkward, and with this solution I was able to extend the Gripen’s BWB-design all along the fuselage. As a side effect these consoles also offered a plausible place for rearward chaff dispensers.

The rear fuselage was shortened by 3mm, too – through the shorter nose and the wings further forward, the rest of the aircraft looked rather tail-heavy. While 3mm does not sound much, it helped with overall proportions.

The cannon fairing and the OOB pylons were taken over, as well as the cockpit interior. For carrier operations, several details were added, though: folding wing mechanism seams were engraved on the wings and an arrester hook with a fairing added under the tail section, flanked by new stabilizer fins.

The landing gear was basically taken OOB, too, but lengthened with styrene inserts for a higher stance: the main struts are now 2mm longer, while the front strut is 3mm taller. The latter was reversed, so that a catapult hook could be added to the front side, and slightly bigger wheels were mounted, too, so that the Grifo now has a rather stalky stance with a nose-up attitude. Simple, but effective!

The Sidewinders were taken OOB while the pair of AGM-84 Harpoon comes from Italeri’s 1:72 NATO weapons set.

Painting and markings:

I used the contemporary AF-1 paint scheme in three shades of grey as benchmark. These are FS 36187 (RAF Ocean Grey), FS 36307 (Flint Grey) and FS 36515 (Canadian Voodoo Grey) - sourced from a painting guide from Brazilian decal manufacturer FCM and backed by other knowledgeable sources from the region, too. And while the Ocean Grey appears a bit dark, I think that overall the colors are authentic. All paints are Modelmaster enamels.

After basic painting a light black ink wash was applied and panels highlighted through dry-brushing with lighter tones.

The cockpit interior was painted in Neutral Grey (FS 36173), while the landing gear became all-white.

The Brazilian Navy markings had to be improvised - there are 1:72 AF-1 decals available, but either not obtainable or prohibitively expensive - or both. Therefore I rather improvised, with basic Brazilian Navy markings from a vintage FCM Decal sheet for various Brazilian aircraft.

The respective roundels and codes actually belong to helicopters, and I had to wing it somehow. Unfortunately, the old FCM decals turned out to be ...old. Brittle and very delicate, application was already messy and they did not adhere well to the model. To make matters worse the acrylic varnish turned cloudy, so that a lot of paintwork repair had to be done - not helping much with a satisfactory kit finish. :(

Another interesting conversion – I am amazed how purposeful the Grifo looks. It reminds me with its high stance of a modern A-4 Skyhawk (what it somehow is), and there’s also some Super Étendard in it, esp. in the profile? At some point before painting it also had a somewhat Chinese look - maybe because the top view and the wing planform reminds of the classic MiG-21…? The wings might have been placed 3-4mm further backwards, since it is always difficult to judge proportions while work is still, but the Grifo looks convincingly like a real aircraft (model).

Aeronaves bonita! :D

A living, hairy, veiny organism, full of bugs!

Pencil conversions keep my interest for now.

A welcome relief from overly saturated images.

Next on my Desk. The Avatar of Khaine. I changed the proportions of this figure by extending the arms, legs and torso. I also created a display base for it.

Part of my Eldar "Army in a Year" Project

www.eldarproject.com

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The First Chechen War (also known as the First Chechen Сampaign, First Russian-Chechen war, or, from Russian point of view, as “Armed conflict in the Chechen Republic and on bordering territories of the Russian Federation”), was a rebellion by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the Russian Federation, fought from December 1994 to August 1996. After the initial campaign of 1994–1995, culminating in the devastating Battle of Grozny, Russian federal forces attempted to seize control of the mountainous area of Chechnya but were set back by Chechen guerrilla warfare and raids on the flatlands despite Russia's overwhelming advantages in firepower, manpower, weaponry, artillery, combat vehicles, airstrikes and air support. The resulting widespread demoralization of federal forces and the almost universal opposition of the Russian public to the conflict led Boris Yeltsin's government to declare a ceasefire with the Chechens in 1996 and sign a peace treaty a year later.

On 29 December, in a rare instance of a Russian outright victory, the Russian airborne forces seized the military airfield next to Grozny and repelled a Chechen armored counterattack in the Battle of Khankala; the next objective was the city itself. With the Russians closing in on the capital, the Chechens began to hastily set up defensive fighting positions and grouped their forces in the city. Russian Army forces were commanded into Grozny in 1994 but, after two years of intense fighting, the Russian troops eventually withdrew from Chechnya under the Khasavyurt Accord. Chechnya preserved its de facto independence until the second war broke out in 1999.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 15.76 m (51 ft 7½ in) incl. pitot

Wingspan: 7.15 m (23 ft 6 in)

Height: 4.13 m (13 ft 6½ in)

Wing area: 23.0 m² (247.3 ft²)

Empty weight: 5,843 kg (12,870 lb)

Gross weight: 8,200 kg (18,060 lb)

Max. TOW: 9,400 kg (20,700 lb)

Powerplant:

1× Tumansky R-13-300 turbojet, rated at 40,30 kN (9,040 lbf) dry thrust

and 60,70 kN (13,650 lbf) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: 2,230 km/h (1,385 mph/1,205 kts) at 11.000 m

1,300 km/h (807 mph/702 kts) at sea level

Cruising speed: 1,200 km/h (745 mph/650 kts)

Landing speed: 350 km/h (217 mph/190 kts)

Range: (internal fuel) 1,210 km (751 miles)

Combat radius with two AAMs and three drop tanks: 465 ml (750 km)

Service ceiling: 19,000 m (62,200 ft)

Rate of climb: 180 m/s (35,375 ft/min)

Thrust-to-weight ratio: 1.03 maximum

Armament:

1x internal 23 mm GSh-23 cannon with 200 rounds

5x hardpoints for a wide range of ordnance of up to 2.870 lb (1.300 kg)

The kit and its assembly:

This rather simple what-if model had been on my idea list for some time, but the “Captured!” Group Build at whatifmodellers.com in late 2020 was a good occasion and motivation to take the idea to the hardware stage. This what-if model was originally inspired by a PrintScale aftermarket decal sheet for the Aero L-39 Albatros trainer. It contained markings for a lot of exotic operators, including Laos and Ghana, as well as markings for an aircraft of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Air Force from the early stages of the 1st Chechen War, actually a captured aircraft of the Russian Air Force. While the paint scheme was simple - a standard trainer livery, just with overpainted roundels and tactical markings - I found the historic context interesting. I did some legwork and tried to puzzle together the background of these markings, as well as the origins of the Chechen air force, in order to transfer it onto a different aircraft type.

In fact, much of the background given above is authentic (As far as I can tell, during such conflicts, there is always more than a single truth…), the Chechen makeshift air force was pretty small, consisting primarily of trainers, some helicopters and obsolete types (apparently, the single resurrected MiG-17 from storage was “real”!). AFAIK, no MiG-21 single seater was operated in Chechen colors, even though (at least) one MiG-21UM trainer carried Ichkerian roundels. However, all aircraft were destroyed on the ground within the first hours of the conflict, so that the air force did not play any role in the ongoing battles.

The basis of this build is the relatively new KP kit for the MiG-21MF/MA/R, which is apparently a low-budget re-boxing of the RV Aircraft kit without PE parts. Having some surplus MiG-21 kits at hand from a KP “Joy Pack” (with three complete MF/MA/R version kits, w/o decals), I decided to use one of them for a fictional Chechen Fishbed, an MF. This is/was actually an export version of the Fishbed (the MiG-21 SM, to be specific), but this variant was operated by the Soviet/Russian Air Force, too, alongside the more capable MiG-21bis, even though not in large scale. A Su-25 would have been another worthwhile choice, but I found the L-39 markings to be too small for this type, so the slender Fishbed was chosen, being a very common and therefore plausible type.

I had a trio “joy pack” sans decals stashed away some time ago and now is the occasion to build the first of these kits, and I built an MF from it, mostly OOB. So far, I am very impressed by the kit's details. The cockpit has a full tub, with side walls and consoles up to the canopy, rich detail everywhere (there is probably ANY rivet represented on the surface, finely recessed) and there are things like a free-standing shock cone, options for all air brakes to be built in opened position and even an opening for the air outlet in front of the windscreen. However, fit is not stellar, and any surface detail is a separate part. For instance, the small wing fences have to be glued into place - not that problem if they would fit... The fences are rectangular parts, and the wing surfaces are curved - that does not work. There are no locator pins for the wings, they have to be glued directly onto the fuselage flanks – a rather anachronistic approach. And the worst bummer is that the main landing gear wells are somehow located too far ahead - I am not certain how this blatant flaw on such a good model could find its way into the mold? Nevertheless, I am impressed by the many details and options of this kit, but feelings are ambiguous.

The kit was built OOB. I just gave it two pairs of bombs (a pair of FAB-250 bombs and two OFAB-100 fragmentation bombs) as ordnance from the scrap box (from a Kangnam Yak-38 and a KP Su-25). The Fishbeds from the Joy Pack come with drop tanks, some Atoll and Aphid AAMs and a pair of heavy unguided S-24 missiles, but I found none of these really suitable for a Chechen aircraft.

Painting and markings:

I used the L-39 from the PrintScale decal sheet as conceptual benchmark: a former Russian aircraft, captured and pressed into Chechen service on short notice. As such, the Fishbed received a typical Soviet/Russian disruptive four-tone, tactical “steppe” camouflage. A real-world MiG-21 was the benchmark for the pattern, I just replaced the colors. They became pale sand, medium brown, grass green and dark green, with blue undersides (Humbrol 121, 237, 150 and 75, respectively with 115 underneath).

The cockpit interior was painted in characteristic bright turquoise and medium grey, the landing gear became matt aluminum, with bright green wheel discs. The wells were painted with a mix of Humbrol 56 and 81, for a yellowish metallic grey. Humbrol 105 was used for the Fishbed’s typical di-electric fairings on nose, tail and ventral fin.

The kit received a light black ink wash and some post panel shading for a used/worn look, since the MiG-21 would in 1994 have already been a secondary line aircraft with many flying hours on the clock. The areas, where Red Stars and the tactical code had formerly been placed, were overpainted with fresh dark green (Humbrol 195) and light blue under the outer wings (Humbrol 89). The new operator’s markings were added on top of that: early Chechen roundels with a red star as background (which was later changed into green, probably in order to make the aircraft easier and clearer to distinguish, even though I have doubts about contrast on a camouflage background?) from the aforementioned PrintScale L-39 sheet. The large tactical code numbers come from a MiG-17 (Microscale sheet).

The slogan “Ӏожалла я маршо“ (Joƶalla ya marşo, “Death or Freedom”, after the Anthem of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria’s title which was written in 1992 and lasted until 2004) was painted manually with acrylic white and a fine brush. The handwritten style pragmatically suits the aircraft and its situation well. Cheesy and patriotic, but IMHO appropriate and just the detail that sets this Fishbed apart from a simple roundel rebadge.

Some areas were furthermore lightly wet-sanded, for an intentional makeshift and worn look. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and I did some dry-brushing with aluminum on the leading edges and around the cockpit.

A relatively simple whif project, but I like the exotic touch of the Chechen markings – this fictional Fishbed looks pretty believable. I also like the “colorful” livery, despite being a camouflage scheme. However, I am not 100% sold on the relatively new KP/RV Aircraft kit. It looked so good in the box, and it is full of many minute details. But building it revealed some weaknesses and even lethal flaws, like the mispositioned/crippled main landing gear wells in the wings. There’s something fundamentally wrong. WTF?

The A70 could be supplied as a cab/chassis with the back of the cab behind the doors removed allowing body builders to fit their own body. I think that this is one such conversion.

+++ 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 early 1968, the Soviet Ministry of Defense decided to develop a specialized shturmovik armored assault aircraft in order to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The idea of creating a ground-support aircraft came about after analyzing the experience of shturmovaya (ground attack) aviation during World War II, and in local wars during the 1950s and 1960s. The Soviet fighter-bombers in service or under development at this time (Su-7, Su-17, MiG-21 and MiG-23) did not meet the requirements for close air support of the army. They lacked essential armor plating to protect the pilot and vital equipment from ground fire and missile hits, and their high flight speeds made it difficult for the pilot to maintain visual contact with a target. Ordnance load and loiter time were also insufficient.

From 1982 on the Yak-35Ds were quickly replaced by the then-finally-ready Su-25 and relegated into second line services. Most of the remaining Yak-35Ds were kept in use for weapon training, mostly at flight academies along MiG-21 fighters until 1990, and some served as target tugs with frontline units in the Far East. No specimen was ever exported.

General characteristics

Crew: One

Length incl. pitot: 14.54 m (47 ft 7 3/4 in) incl. pitot

Wingspan: 9,52 m (31 ft 2½ in)

Height: 4.6 m (15 ft ½ in)

Empty weight: 6.525 kg (14.375 lb)

Loaded weight: 8.750 kg (19.275 lb)

Max. take-off weight: 11.400 kg (25.110 lb)

Powerplant:

2× Ivchenko AI-25T non-afterburning turbofans, each with a thrust of 1.750 kgp (3.860 lbst)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 1.050 km/h (652 mph/Mach 0.9) at height, clean configuration; 825 km/h (512 mph) with external stores at sea level

Range: 1.450 km (900 mi); high, clean configuration

Ferry range: 2.500 km (1,553 mi)

Service ceiling: 14.000 m (45.850 ft)

Rate of climb: 76 m/s (14.936 ft/min)

Thrust/weight: 0.54

Armament:

2× NR-30 30mm cannons with 100 RPG

7 hardpoints for up to 2.500 kg (5.511 lb) of external ordnance, including rails for 2× IR-guided air-to-air missiles for and a wide variety of general-purpose bombs, cluster bombs, gun pods, rocket pods, drop tanks and radio-guided air-to-surface missiles like the Kh-23 or Kh-25.

The kit and its assembly:

This fantasy thing was spawned by the vague thought that one could turn the rather crude Yak-38 kit from Tsukuda Hobby into "something pretty". The plan had been lingering for some time, and when I got hands on an incomplete Yak-38 (Revell re-boxing of the kit, canopy missing) I eventually started with the surgery, letting inspiration and donation parts flow.

I had a vague idea of what the aircraft should look like, but the overall layout evolved step by step. One initial measure was to shorten the fuselage considerably: plugs from in front of and behind the original wings were cut out, and the remaining three fuselage pieces glued together. As the fuselage has an almost even diameter and shape all along its length, this turned out to be pretty easy, but still needed considerably putty work.

The original fittings for the wings and tail surfaces were then filled with styrene plugs and sanded even.

Moving the wings from their original mid-position to the shoulders was already something I had in mind before the project started. But the eventual solution just evolved as I had the fuselage ready and could judge positions and proportions.

The wings I used come from a Alpha Jet (Heller), and they were not simply stuck to the fuselage. Due to the curved back of the Yak-38 I had to add a kind of console, made from the upper wing's mid section of a Matchbox SBC Helldiver biplane (!). This connector piece was placed into a carved fairing on top of the fuselage, the new wings attached to it, and the missing bodywork sculpted with 2C putty. This way I was able to blend the new arrangement into the rest of the body with matching wing roots, without having it look as if the wings had simple been stuck onto it. The result is pretty good, looks rather organic.

The tail is new, too. Original plan had been to use the Yak-38 tail, maybe with a T-tail arrangement - but that simply did not look good. Finding a replacement was tough, I finally settled on an A-4M (Italeri) fin, which had to be modified with a clipped top, Yak-38 style, in order NOT to remind too much of the Douglas creation! It fits in shape and size, though.

New stabilizers had to be used, too - the original Yak-38 looked much too small and flimsy. A T-tail was not possible anymore, so I used a cruciform tail, A-4 style, even though the stabilizers had to be moved upwards since the Yak-38 tail is much wider than an A-4. The stabilizers themselves are new, too: a pair of F-86 fins(!), leftover from Hobby Boss kits. They are a bit thick, but look great and blend well into the whole arrangement.

The main landing gear was taken OOB, but with new wheels and extra struts fitted. The front wheel is totally new, it belongs to a Fiat G-91. The cockpit received a new seat (from a MiG-29), a pilot figure and a primitive dashboard, and a donation canopy had to be found and integrated (I think it comes from a Tamiya 1:100 F-105).

All around the hull small details were added, including the seven pylons and the rocket pod ordnance.

Painting and markings:

It took a while and some research to turn up a suitable, tactical paint scheme. Normally I keep whifs rather subtle, and I did not want to paint the Yak-35 in a dark green/brown scheme, typical for Eastern Europe aircraft.

Afghanistan was a vague idea, a desert/mountainous scheme, as well as the Su-25 prototype which appreared at Le Bourget ("301 Blue"), with its two-tone brown livery and a few green accents.

I finally found a Su-7UM trainer in a light, three-tone camouflage which I transplanted on my Yak-35. It consists of two sand tones (Humbrol 187 and 63) and a green tone (Humbrol 155). Looks rather surreal! The undersides are kept in Russian Blue (Humbrol 115).

Since much of the fuselage consists of pure putty and re-engraving would be rather hazardous I painted panel lines, with a mix of sepia ink and acrylic matt varnish. A second-best solution, but the result is O.K., when you do not take a closer look...

The whole thing received a light wash with black ink in order to emphasize panel line and details and the leading edges were lightly dry-brushed with pale grey. Basic colors were also ‘tamed down’ trough dry painting with shades of light beige and grey, for a worn and bleached look.

Cockpit interior was painted in typical, Soviet "anti fatigue" turquoise, the landing gear was painted in a mix of Aluminum and Olive Drab. Di-electric panels were painted in a bright green, a mix of Humbrol 2 and 175.

Most markings come from the scrap box, insignia and tactical code come from a Carpena Decals 1:72 MiG17 aftermarket sheet.

This thing was a major surgical act, but turned out nicely. With an arrestor hook this could also have become a maritime fighter bomber, e. g. an alternative to the French Dassault Ètendard or the Jaguar M? It looks familiar, has some serious Su-25 appeal, yet the thing looks unique. And the desert/mountain style paint scheme suits the aircraft well.

José Moreno Carbonero (28 March 1860 – 15 April 1942) was a Spanish painter.

Brian Massey, the Conversion Scientist, leads a DMA workshop entitled "Optimizing Your Web Site for Conversion and Business Success" in Austin, Texas on October 8, 2009.

Data conversion can convert any type of document (e.g. PDF, HTML, XML, etc.) into a format that suits your needs. Get unbeatable data conversion services at DEO.

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Another attempt at 2D/3D conversion of another Anton Semenov work of art.

This was the first. The prototype based on Catachan legs, arms and lasguns with Cadian torso and forgeworld Cadian respirator helmets

... which is seen through at once, if love give a man eyes. ~James Russell Lowell

Taken around the neighborhood. Experimenting with the super macro conversion lens.

alternate style CD cover for big finish audio

+++ 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 early 1968, the Soviet Ministry of Defense decided to develop a specialized shturmovik armored assault aircraft in order to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The idea of creating a ground-support aircraft came about after analyzing the experience of shturmovaya (ground attack) aviation during World War II, and in local wars during the 1950s and 1960s. The Soviet fighter-bombers in service or under development at this time (Su-7, Su-17, MiG-21 and MiG-23) did not meet the requirements for close air support of the army. They lacked essential armor plating to protect the pilot and vital equipment from ground fire and missile hits, and their high flight speeds made it difficult for the pilot to maintain visual contact with a target. Ordnance load and loiter time were also insufficient.

From 1982 on the Yak-35Ds were quickly replaced by the then-finally-ready Su-25 and relegated into second line services. Most of the remaining Yak-35Ds were kept in use for weapon training, mostly at flight academies along MiG-21 fighters until 1990, and some served as target tugs with frontline units in the Far East. No specimen was ever exported.

General characteristics

Crew: One

Length incl. pitot: 14.54 m (47 ft 7 3/4 in) incl. pitot

Wingspan: 9,52 m (31 ft 2½ in)

Height: 4.6 m (15 ft ½ in)

Empty weight: 6.525 kg (14.375 lb)

Loaded weight: 8.750 kg (19.275 lb)

Max. take-off weight: 11.400 kg (25.110 lb)

Powerplant:

2× Ivchenko AI-25T non-afterburning turbofans, each with a thrust of 1.750 kgp (3.860 lbst)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 1.050 km/h (652 mph/Mach 0.9) at height, clean configuration; 825 km/h (512 mph) with external stores at sea level

Range: 1.450 km (900 mi); high, clean configuration

Ferry range: 2.500 km (1,553 mi)

Service ceiling: 14.000 m (45.850 ft)

Rate of climb: 76 m/s (14.936 ft/min)

Thrust/weight: 0.54

Armament:

2× NR-30 30mm cannons with 100 RPG

7 hardpoints for up to 2.500 kg (5.511 lb) of external ordnance, including rails for 2× IR-guided air-to-air missiles for and a wide variety of general-purpose bombs, cluster bombs, gun pods, rocket pods, drop tanks and radio-guided air-to-surface missiles like the Kh-23 or Kh-25.

The kit and its assembly:

This fantasy thing was spawned by the vague thought that one could turn the rather crude Yak-38 kit from Tsukuda Hobby into "something pretty". The plan had been lingering for some time, and when I got hands on an incomplete Yak-38 (Revell re-boxing of the kit, canopy missing) I eventually started with the surgery, letting inspiration and donation parts flow.

I had a vague idea of what the aircraft should look like, but the overall layout evolved step by step. One initial measure was to shorten the fuselage considerably: plugs from in front of and behind the original wings were cut out, and the remaining three fuselage pieces glued together. As the fuselage has an almost even diameter and shape all along its length, this turned out to be pretty easy, but still needed considerably putty work.

The original fittings for the wings and tail surfaces were then filled with styrene plugs and sanded even.

Moving the wings from their original mid-position to the shoulders was already something I had in mind before the project started. But the eventual solution just evolved as I had the fuselage ready and could judge positions and proportions.

The wings I used come from a Alpha Jet (Heller), and they were not simply stuck to the fuselage. Due to the curved back of the Yak-38 I had to add a kind of console, made from the upper wing's mid section of a Matchbox SBC Helldiver biplane (!). This connector piece was placed into a carved fairing on top of the fuselage, the new wings attached to it, and the missing bodywork sculpted with 2C putty. This way I was able to blend the new arrangement into the rest of the body with matching wing roots, without having it look as if the wings had simple been stuck onto it. The result is pretty good, looks rather organic.

The tail is new, too. Original plan had been to use the Yak-38 tail, maybe with a T-tail arrangement - but that simply did not look good. Finding a replacement was tough, I finally settled on an A-4M (Italeri) fin, which had to be modified with a clipped top, Yak-38 style, in order NOT to remind too much of the Douglas creation! It fits in shape and size, though.

New stabilizers had to be used, too - the original Yak-38 looked much too small and flimsy. A T-tail was not possible anymore, so I used a cruciform tail, A-4 style, even though the stabilizers had to be moved upwards since the Yak-38 tail is much wider than an A-4. The stabilizers themselves are new, too: a pair of F-86 fins(!), leftover from Hobby Boss kits. They are a bit thick, but look great and blend well into the whole arrangement.

The main landing gear was taken OOB, but with new wheels and extra struts fitted. The front wheel is totally new, it belongs to a Fiat G-91. The cockpit received a new seat (from a MiG-29), a pilot figure and a primitive dashboard, and a donation canopy had to be found and integrated (I think it comes from a Tamiya 1:100 F-105).

All around the hull small details were added, including the seven pylons and the rocket pod ordnance.

Painting and markings:

It took a while and some research to turn up a suitable, tactical paint scheme. Normally I keep whifs rather subtle, and I did not want to paint the Yak-35 in a dark green/brown scheme, typical for Eastern Europe aircraft.

Afghanistan was a vague idea, a desert/mountainous scheme, as well as the Su-25 prototype which appreared at Le Bourget ("301 Blue"), with its two-tone brown livery and a few green accents.

I finally found a Su-7UM trainer in a light, three-tone camouflage which I transplanted on my Yak-35. It consists of two sand tones (Humbrol 187 and 63) and a green tone (Humbrol 155). Looks rather surreal! The undersides are kept in Russian Blue (Humbrol 115).

Since much of the fuselage consists of pure putty and re-engraving would be rather hazardous I painted panel lines, with a mix of sepia ink and acrylic matt varnish. A second-best solution, but the result is O.K., when you do not take a closer look...

The whole thing received a light wash with black ink in order to emphasize panel line and details and the leading edges were lightly dry-brushed with pale grey. Basic colors were also ‘tamed down’ trough dry painting with shades of light beige and grey, for a worn and bleached look.

Cockpit interior was painted in typical, Soviet "anti fatigue" turquoise, the landing gear was painted in a mix of Aluminum and Olive Drab. Di-electric panels were painted in a bright green, a mix of Humbrol 2 and 175.

Most markings come from the scrap box, insignia and tactical code come from a Carpena Decals 1:72 MiG17 aftermarket sheet.

This thing was a major surgical act, but turned out nicely. With an arrestor hook this could also have become a maritime fighter bomber, e. g. an alternative to the French Dassault Ètendard or the Jaguar M? It looks familiar, has some serious Su-25 appeal, yet the thing looks unique. And the desert/mountain style paint scheme suits the aircraft well.

20 mazorcas == 800 gramos de Cacao en grano == 1 Kg de Chocolate amargo.

Mercedes Benz SL Black Series Conversion. Facelift conversion for SL500, SL55, SL65, SL600 and SL63 AMG

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+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Supermarine 370 “Stalwart” was a British twin-engined long-range maritime patrol flying boat. Originally designed for the Royal Air Force Coastal Command as an anti-submarine aircraft for long range operations over the Atlantic the type saw, with the change of threats and global priorities from 1944 on, only limited production and use in the Pacific theathre of operations in late WWII.

In this role the Stalwart GR.Is were operated primarily by RAF 205 from Ceylon and 357 Squadron from Madras, but after the hostilities ended the flying boats were quickly phased out: the Orion engine and its complicated turbine mechanism proved to be unreliable and hard to service, and the tropical climate of the operation zone did not make things better - even though the Stalwart was easy to fly and a stable platform for various tasks. Nevertheless, all aircraft were scrapped, and the idea of a commercial version was also quickly let down due to the technical advances of land-based aircraft.

General characteristics

Crew: 9—11 (2 pilots, radio operator, radar operator, navigator, engineer, bomb-aimer, 3-5 gunners)

Length: 24,62 m (80 ft 8 in)

Wingspan: 33 m (110 ft)

Height: 7.64 m (25 ft 1 in)

Wing area: 120 m² (1.292 ft²)

Empty weight: 18.827 kg (41.506 lb)

Loaded weight: 23.456 kg (51.711 lb)

Landing weight: 20.928 kg (46.138 lb))

Max. take-off weight: 29.000 kg (64.000 lb)

Powerplant:

2× Bristol Orion PRT II compund radial piston engines with 3.000 hp (2.158 kW) each

Performance:

Maximum speed: 414 km/h (218 kn, 257 mph) at 1.800 m (5.900 ft)

Cruise speed: 280 km/h (173 mph) at 2.000 m (6.600 ft)

Landing speed: 147 km/h (105 kn, 91 mph)

Range: 5.000 km (2.700 kn, 3.100 mi)

Service ceiling: 6.100 m (20.013 ft)

Armament:

10x 0.5 (12.7 mm) Browning machine guns in nose, dorsal, side and rear turrets

2x 0.78 (20 mm) fixed Hispano cannons, firing forward

2× 1.000 kg (2.205 lb) torpedoes plus 4.410 lbs (2.000 kg) of bombs or depth charges, or 10 mines, under the wings

The kit and its assembly

A large flying boat, especially a conversion of the vintage Beriev Be-6 VEB Plasticart kit from the Col War era, had been on my project/idea list for very long. But the sheer size of the aircraft/kit had been holding me back: building sucha thing is one thing, but where to leave it once it's finished?

Anyway, what eventually evolved as Supermarine Stalwart (a tribute to the British aircraft manufacturer who's Spitfire is the most iconic product, but they produced and proposed several flying boats, too) originally was intended as a Be-6 outfitted with turrets from a Vickers Wellington and in 1943/44 Coastal Command colors.

But once I started I thought that the Be-6 would look more modern, so that a late WWII aircraft was more plausible, with heavier guns of American origin. This story also opened the opportunity for SEAC markings and colors (see below).

So, the Wellington idea was dropped, and instead I went for the "big solution": I integrated almost anything a Consolidated PB4Y Privateer (Matchbox kit) had to offer, and added a cockpit plus s scratched beaching gear.

The basic airframe of the VEB kit was retained. OOB, the cockpit is simply... empty. The parts box revealed an old Airfic B-17 cockpit, which could easily be implanted. New seats were added, as well as pilot figures (a total crew of seven polulates cockpit and weapon stations), and bulkheads were added. To my surprise the cockpit glazing is very clear, so that something of the interios can actually be seen.

Behind the cockpit a navigator/observer's bubble (from a Matchbox Beaufighter) was added, plus a floor and more bulkheads inside - an interior would not be recognizable, but leaving the fuselage empty could be seen.

The weapons stations took major body work. The dorsal stand was the easiest, since a round OOB opening was just widened enough to accept a Privateer's Martin turret. For the tail station, the OOB gun station was simply cut off and the Privateer's turret added - the tail had to be widened a bit with putty.

The side stations at first caused major headaches. In the Privateer kit they are integral parts of large fuselage panels, which ceratinly would not fit into the Be-6's lines. So I cut the teardrop fairings out, opened the flanks just far enough and glued the side stations onto the flanks. Some gaps were there, but hiding them with putty was, in the end, easier than expected. Even the gunners could be taken over from the PB4Y.

The nose station was tricky, because I could not simply slice the Be-6 nose off and replace it with the ball turret - the ship hull had to be kept intact, while the turret was to blend neatly with the rest of the fuselage. Width was not a problem, but the height (the Matchbox turret is oversized, anyway) was critical. I eventually assembled the turret and merged it in a trial-and error fashion. Again, putty work was needed to blend the shapes - but the whole thing turned out so well and plausible that there was space left for a bomb aimer/observer station under the turret foundation.

The most critical conversion were new engines. The OOB radials of the Be-6 are... simple. And totally useless, if you want to buidl a real Be-6. Being only a two engine aircraft I first tried to integrate a pair of Centaurus engines, which would have been appropriate for the kit's time frame and also sufficient in regard of power. But these turned out to be MUCH too small in diameter. It would have taken completely new fairings, and even then the result ahd looked rather comical.

I was lucky to have some resin engines for a Constellation airliner at hand. These were still a bit too small, but overall more massive - and together with the five-bladed props a balanced solution.

Still, lots of body work had to be done around the engine fairings, and I am pleased that the results look almost natural.

Another neat resin addition are ASR.III radomes from Pavla which ended up under the outer wings, just outside of the floats (OOB). Other minor additions are a new rudder, the cannon fairings at the nose flanks and underwing hardpoints for torpedos and mines.

In order to populate them I scratched four Mk. 24 acoustic mines - nicknamed "FIDOs" and effectively late WWII predecessors of acoustic torpedos. They were created from NATO 1.000lb bombs, with scratched fins and screws, plus shackles made from thin wire. Not 100% correct, but as ordnance they are more than enough.

Last addition is the scratched beaching gear. It has no real world paradigm, but I took a look ate the devices usedto beach Short Sunderlands or the real Be-6. The main struts are frame parts from a missile dolly (for a Soviet X-20 cruise missile) plus leftover tank wheels, while the tail cart was mostly constructed from styrene strips, and it carries wheels from a Bf 109E.

Painting

One impulse for SEAC markings came from a respective Short Sunderland I came across during research, and the fact that the Revell (ex Matchbox) Wellington I originally had in store as donation kit featured SEAC markings in perfect size, too.

Anyway, I wanted to create a late WWII look, and also avoid white undersides. As a result I came up with a rather classic livery, but uncommon to naval aircraft: upper sides in RAF Dark Green and Ocean Green, combined with black undersides and a high waterline. Experimental, but it suits the Stalwart/Be-6 well and was much easier to apply than dreaded white...

Painting was done with brushes; the upper side was painted with enamels (Dark Green from Modelmaster, plus Humbrol 106) while the lower side received special treatment. Instead of painting the belly black and add flaked paint with brush effects I created this effect just the way as in real life: first, a primer coat with acrylic Aluminum was applied. On top of that came a coat of Humbrol 113, simulating primer and anti-corrosion sealant. Next came acrylic flat black. When this final coat had dried I wet-sanded the planing surfaces, letting the red and metal paint shine through. Did not work 100%, but still the result looks conclusive. Later, some flaw were hidden under dry-brushed Humbrol 173 (Brown Bess), which was slso used, mixed with black, for panel shading, creating the impression that the red sealant was showing through, but much less than on the worn undersides.

The beaching gear was painted dull yellow, and the only color highlights on the aircraft are the blue spinners which are to match the single tactical code's color and the SEAC roundels. I wanted a murky look, and I think that was achieved.

All interior surfaces were painted with FS34096, a darker shade than RAF Interior Green, but still with a gray-ish touch.

After some additional dry-painting with grey tones, a black ink wash and soot stains around the exhausts the kit was sealed under a coat of matt acrlyic varnish.

A literally huge project (the thing has ~23" wings span, almost half a meter!), and taking pics was almost more demanding than building the Stalwart. But I think the result looks cool - reminds a lot of the Martin Mariner, but almost any semblance of the Be-6 is IMHO gone!

Dan Carter's conversion, minute 53 for a 29-10 score.