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examples of blank journals created as favors for baby shower
inspired by Roben-Marie in her Art Journal Conversion workshop
+++ 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:
The Hawker Fury was a British biplane fighter aircraft used primarily by the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. It was a development of the earlier Hawker F.20/27 prototype fighter, replacing the radial engine of the F.20/27 with the new Rolls-Royce F.XI V-12 engine (later known as the Rolls-Royce Kestrel), which was also used by Hawker's new light bomber, the Hawker Hart. The new fighter prototype, known as the Hawker Hornet, first flew at Brooklands, Surrey, in March 1929. The Hornet was a single-engine biplane, with single bay wings. It was initially powered by a 420 hp (313 kW) Rolls-Royce F.XIC engine enclosed by a smooth, streamlined cowling, but was quickly re-engined with a 480 hp (358 kW) Kestrel IS.
The prototype was evaluated against the similarly powered Fairey Firefly II, being preferred because of its better handling and its all-metal structure, compared with the mainly wooden construction of the Firefly.
The Hornet was eventually won the competition and was purchased by the Air Ministry in early 1930. It was, however, subjected to more tests, with a small initial production order for 21 aircraft placed during 1930. At this stage the Hornet was renamed Fury, as the Air Ministry wanted fighter names that "reflected ferocity". The ultimate production Fury Mk. I made its maiden flight at Brooklands on 25 March 1931.
The Fury was the first operational RAF fighter aircraft to be able to exceed 200 mph (322 km/h) in level flight. It had highly sensitive controls which gave it superb dogfight characteristics and aerobatic performance. It was designed partly for the fast interception of bombers and to that end it had an outstanding climb rate of almost 2,400 ft/min (730 m/min) when powered by a 525 hp/391 kW Kestrel engine. Firmly believing in the aircraft’s potential, Sidney Camm even designed in 1933 a monoplane version of the Fury, but it was not developed further until Rolls-Royce produced what became their famous Merlin engine. The design was then revised according to Air Ministry specification F5/34 to become the prototype Hawker Hurricane.
The Fury I entered squadron service with the RAF in May 1931, but owing to finance cuts in the Great Depression, only relatively small numbers of Fury Is were ordered. The improved Fury II entered service in 1936–1937, increasing total number of operational RAF Fury squadrons to six. Furies remained with RAF Fighter Command until January 1939, replaced primarily with Gloster Gladiators and other types, such as Hawker Hurricane. During the Thirties the Fury was furthermore exported to several customers, including Portugal, Spain, Persia and South Africa. These aircraft were supplied with a variety of engines, including Kestrels, Hispano Suiza and Lorraine Petrel vee-type engines, and Armstrong Siddeley Panther, Pratt & Whitney Hornet and Bristol Mercury radials. A total of 262 Furies were eventually produced.
A major foreign operator of the Fury was Yugoslavia. Initially, Yugoslavia ordered a version called Mk. IA, which was similar to the RAF’s Fury Mk I, for trials and potential license production. It was powered by a Kestrel IIS piston engine, and six were built by Hawker. One was delivered fitted with a 500 hp (373 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12 NB engine, with poorer performance, and was re-fitted with a Kestrel, while a second was later used for trials with a 720 hp (537 kW) Lorraine Petrel HFrs engine.
The valuations were successful and led to the so-called “ Yugoslav Fury”, a thoroughly revised aircraft, powered by a 745 horsepower (556 kW) Kestrel XVI piston engine, fitted with a low drag radiator and a Dowty cantilever undercarriage with internally sprung wheels (similar to the contemporary Gloster Gladiator). Beyond the standard pair of machine guns in the upper front fuselage, these aircraft had provisions for two more machine guns under the lower wings in streamlined pods. Ten were made by Hawker and delivered 1936–37, with a further 40 license-built in Yugoslavia by Ikarus (24) and Zmaj (16).
At that time the RAF was already phasing the Fury out, and twenty of these retired aircraft – originally scheduled to be sold to Persia and already re-engined with new, tropicalized Bristol Mercury radial engines and designated Mk. IB – were taken over by the Royal Yugoslav Air Force, too. The more powerful Mercury engine appreciably improved the Fury’s performance, despite a slightly higher all-up weight and poorer aerodynamics: top speed rose by 30 mph (50 km/h), service ceiling by 3.000 ft (1.000 m) and time to 10.000 ft (3.000 m) was reduced by 20 seconds to just 3½ minutes.
The Mk. IBs arrived in Yugoslavia in mid-1938 and were further upgraded by Zmaj with elements from the license-produced Yugoslav Furies. The most obvious detail were the additional Browning machine guns under the lower wings, and weapons of the same type replaced the original fuselage-mounted Vickers Mk IV machine guns. A new three-blade variable-pitch metal propeller replaced the wooden single-pitch two-blade propeller, greatly improving the aircraft’s handling and fuel economy. The original landing gear was retained, but the wheels were upgraded with Dowty wheels with internal springs (like the Fury Mk. IA) and a tail wheel replaced the original tailskid, making the aircraft better suited for operations on paved runways.
Yugoslav Furies soon saw action against Axis forces in the German invasion of 1941. On 6 April 1941, a squadron of Furies took off against the invading German Messerschmitt Bf 109Es and Messerschmitt Bf 110s. In the resulting air battle 10 Furies were destroyed, almost the entire squadron. In an unequal battle against superior adversaries, five aircraft were destroyed while taking off and eight pilots killed. Two more Furies and Bücker Bü 131 trainers were destroyed on the ground. Of the attacking German aircraft, five Bf 109s and two Bf 110s failed to return, though most were non-combat losses, and at least one was lost after having been rammed by a Yugoslav Fury.
The other active Yugoslav Fury squadron at the time of the invasion strafed enemy tanks and ground forces, some aircraft being lost to ground fire and one was destroyed in a dogfight with an Italian Fiat CR.42. The rest of the Yugoslav Furies were destroyed at the time of Armistice on 15 April or when they became unserviceable.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 26 ft 7 in (8.11 m)
Wingspan: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
Height: 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m)
Wing area: 252 sq ft (23.4 m²)
Empty weight: 2,9514 lb (1,340 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 3,814 lb (1,732 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Bristol Mercury IX 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 830 hp (620 kW)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 253 mph (407 km/h, 220 kn) at 14,500 ft (4,420 m)
Range: 270 mi (430 km, 230 nmi)
Service ceiling: 32,800 ft (10,000 m)
Time to altitude: 3 min 35 sec. to 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
Armament:
4× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns; two in the upper front fuselage, synchronized to fire
through the propeller disc with 600 RPG, plus one with 400 RPG beneath each lower wing
The kit and its assembly:
This quick build was based on the remnants of a Matchbox Hawker Fury biplane, which had donated its engine to another build, and leftover pieces from at least two Matchbox Gloster Gladiator kits, all mashed into one to create a fictional late Fury variant with a radial engine and some other updates. The Fury kit is a late Revell re-boxing, and while it retained the crisp details of the original, the molds seem to have suffered a little because the fuselage halves did not fit well and called for considerable PSR.
The Fury – or what was left of it – was built OOB, I just had to improvise the cowling ahead of the cockpit and scratch a front end to replace the inline engine. This was done with a piece from a bulbous (probably 1:48) drop tank, which was tailored to take the upper wing struts, and the rest of the fuselage was sculpted with 2C putty around an engine mount at the core, which was made from styrene profiles.
The different engine was 100% taken from a Matchbox Gladiator, even though I added a matching grid from another 9-cylinder radial for a different look. The three-blade propeller is new, too, probably from a Hobby Boss Fw 190A. From another Gladiator came the underwing machine gun pods as well as the Dowty wheels, which look more modern than the Fury’s OOB wheels. For an even more modernized look I replaced the Fury’s tailskid with a self-castoring tailwheel – apparently from a Gladiator, too.
The exhaust pipes were scratched from wire, the carburetor intake for the Mercury engine is a piece of sprue and the ventral oil cooler is a piece from a backrest (from a Matchbox Heinkel 70).
Painting and markings:
While the idea of an update Fury was quickly settled and defined by the ingredients at hand, finding a suitable operator was not an easy task. I considered various options and eventually settled for Yugoslavia, because this country was major Fury operator and I had appropriate national markings at hand.
The tri-color camouflage was based on the individual und very disruptive schemes that Yugoslavian Hawker Hurricanes carried. Information concerning the colors is quite contradictive, but AFAIK the schemes consisted of a yellowish sand brown, a medium khaki green and a dark, reddish brown, over light blue undersides with a low, wavy waterline raising from the wings to the stabilizers. Every aircraft carried a different pattern, and some machines of British origin also carried the former Temperate Land Scheme (Dark Green/Dark Earth/alu dope undersides), at least for a while.
I used Humbrol 63 (Sand), Modelmaster 2027 (FS 34096, Dark Olive) and Modelmaster 2106 (Burnt Umber), over Humbrol 87 (Steel Grey), because I wanted colors with good contrast from each other. The cockpit interior became anthracite (Revell 09), while the wing struts were painted in a dirty black (Revell 06).
The “windmill” roundels for the wings came from an Xtradecal sheet for Bristol Blenheims, the small fin flash was created with single decal stripes in red, white and blue, trying to match the roundels’ colors. The roman codes were typical for the Hurricanes between 1938-40 and created with single white letters from TL Modellbau. According to the typical Yugoslavian liveries of the era, the aircraft did, beyond national markings and tactical codes, not carry any colorful decoration, but I could not resist and added small unit badges in front of the fin flash.
The model received a light ink washing to emphasize the nice fabric structure on the wings, as well as some post-shading and weathering through dry-brushing with beige. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and the rigging was added, created with heated and stretched black sprue material.
A relatively simple and quick build, and an attempt to “create something plausible” from leftover stuff. While Yugoslavia is not the most exotic operator of the Fury, I think that the fictional aircraft looks good in these colors and markings, even though the bulky radial really kills the Fury’s elegant lines, esp. its streamlined nose section. It looks quite backdated and reminds of a juvenile Fairey Swordfish?
Unusual conversion of the SP250 Dart, featuring a sliding hardtop which drops into recesses either side of the boot - spotted at the NEC Classic Show November 2012.
Thank you to Leo Laporte and Chris Marquardt for very honorable mention in your July 2013, Tech Guy Labs,1000th episode assignment "Heat"! First photo and entry in any of your contests - very fun!
notes: no fuel starter or assist, minimal photo processing - wonderful setting (people, sunset, view, etc)!
www.flickr.com/groups/techguy/discuss/72157634835363966/
Camera:SONY DSC-HX9V, auto, ISO: 100, 1/500 sec, Aperture: 4.0, Focal Length: 7.4mm - processing: removed some shadows and gave the sky some vibrance.
To my shock, I've been able to transfer all of my 650b components over to the Katakura Silk with NO MODIFICATIONS WHATSOEVER. Comparing measurements to my "made for 650b" bike frame, everything is exactly - and I mean EXACTLY - the same spacing. For the moment, I am as far along as I can be: fenders and rack can't be permanently installed until my brake calipers arrive sometime next week. I've run out of red housing; that, too, will arrive next week. Meanwhile, the wheels spin with more than adequate clearance for the 650b x 38 tires - ironic, because 25's were about the best I could do with 700c. Front and rear derailleurs are fine tuned and shifting perfectly on the stand. If I decide to keep the Brooks Pro rather than use a black Brooks Cambium C17 that I have, I'll need to add a pair of the VO bag loops for a saddle bag. Had I decided upon center-pulls rather than the dual pivots I chose, I would have installed a French mini-front rack for a small, lightweight, traditional front bag. Still not sure why I didn't go that route to be honest.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The origins of the Saab 19 date back before the onset of WWII. At that time, the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) was equipped with largely obsolete Gloster Gladiator (J 8) biplane fighters. To augment this, Sweden ordered 120 Seversky P-35 (J 9) and 144 P-66 Vanguard (J 10) aircraft from the United States.
However, on 18 June 1940, United States declared an embargo against exporting weapons to any nation other than Great Britain. As the result, the Flygvapnet suddenly faced a shortage of modern fighters.
Just in time, Saab had presented to the Ministry on Sep 4th 1939 a fighter that had been meant to replace the obsolete Gloster Gladiators. The aircraft carried the internal development code ‘L-12’ and had been designed in collaboration with US engineers in Sweden, who were to aid with license production of Northrop 8-A 1s and NA-16-4 Ms.
The L-12 looked very much like the contemporary, Japanese Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” (which had been seriously considered by the Flygvapnet, but import or license production turned out to be impractical). The aircraft was a very modern all-metal construction with fabric covered control surfaces. The L-12 was to be powered by a 1.065 hp Bristol Taurus and maximum speed was calculated to be 605 km/h. Its relatively heavy armament consisted of four wing-mounted 13.2mm guns and two synchronized 8 mm MGs on top of the engine, firing through the propeller arc.
The design was quickly approved and the new aircraft was to be introduced to the Flygvapnet as the ‘J 19A’. Production aircraft would be outfitted with a more powerful Bristol Taurus II, giving 1.400 hp with 100-octane fuel and pushing the top speed to 630 km/h. But the war’s outbreak spoiled these plans literally over night: the L-12 had to be stopped, as the intended engine and any import or license production option vanished. This was a severe problem, since production of the first airframes had already started at Trollhättan, in the same underground factory where the B 3 bomber (license-built Ju-86K of German origin with radial engines) was built. About 30 pre-production airframes were finished or under construction, but lacked an appropriate engine!
With only half of a promising aircraft at hand and the dire need for fighters, the Swedish government decided to outfit these initial aircraft with non-license-built Wright R-2600-6 Twin Cyclone radial engines with an output of 1.600 hp (1.194 kW). The fuselage-mounted machine guns were deleted, due to the lack of internal space and in order to save weight, and the modified machines were designated J 19B. This was only a stop-gap solution, though. P&W Twin Wasp engines had also been considered as a potential power plant (resulting in the J 19C), but the US didn't want to sell any engines at that time to Sweden and this variant never materialized.
An initial batch of 24 J 19B aircraft was eventually completed and delivered to F3 at Lidköping in late 1940, while airframe construction was kept up at small pace, but only seven more J 19Bs were completed with R-2600 engines. Uncompleted airframes were left in stock for spares, and further production was halted in mid 1941, since the engine question could not be solved sufficiently.
The J 19B proved to be a controversial aircraft, not only because of its dubious engine. While it was basically a fast and agile aircraft, the heavy R-2600 engine was rather cumbersome and not suited for a fighter. Handling in the air as well as on the ground was demanding, due to the concentration of weight at the aircraft’s front – several J 19Bs tipped over while landing. As a consequence, the J 19B simply could not live up to its potential and was no real match for modern and more agile fighters like the Bf 109 or the Spitfire – but the Swedish equipment shortages kept the machines in service throughout WWII, even though primarily in a ground attack role and fulfilling other secondary line duties.
Towards the end of WWII, the J 19’s intended role was eventually filled by the indigenous FFVS J 22 fighter – ironically, it was outfitted with a license-built P&W Twin Wasp. By that time, about forty J 19 airframes were more or less complete, just lacking a proper engine. Mounting the now available Twin Wasp to these had seriously been considered, but the aircraft’s performance would not suffice anymore. Consequently, a thorough modification program for the J 19 was started in late 1944, leading to the post-WWII J 19D.
The J 19D was another stopgap program, though, and the economical attempt to bring the fighter’s performance on par with contemporary fighters like the American P-47 or the P-51; both of these types had been tested and considered for procurement, and the P-51 was eventually ordered in early 1945 from US surplus stock as the J 26, even though deliveries were postponed until 1946. The J 19D was to bridge the time until the J 26 was fully introduced, and would later serve in the attack role.
Since the J 19 airframe could not take a large and powerful radial engine like the R-2800, Saab made a radical move and decided to integrate an inline engine – despite the need for some fundamental changes to the airframe. The choice fell on the Packard V-1650, the same engine that also powered the J 26 fighters, so that procurement, maintenance and logistics could be streamlined.
Integration of the very different engine necessitated a complete re-design of the engine attachment architecture, a new, streamlined cowling and the addition of a relatively large radiator bath under the fuselage. A new four blade propeller was introduced and enlarged, all-metal stabilizers were integrated, too, in order to compensate the changed aerodynamics induced by the new radiator arrangement (which made the aircraft pitch down in level flight). A new bubble canopy with minimal framing was introduced, too, offering a much better all-round field of view for the pilot.
Even though the inline engine had a lower nominal output than the J 19B’s heavy R-2600, performance of the J 19D improved appreciably and it became, thanks to improved aerodynamics, a better overall weight distribution, more agile – finally living up to its original design plans, even though its performance was still not outstanding.
Armament was upgraded, too: the inner pair of wing-mounted 13.2mm machine guns was replaced by 20mm Bofors cannons (license-built Hispano-Suiza HS.404), considerably improving weapon range and firepower. Under the outer wings, hardpoints could take a pair of 250 kg bombs, 300 l drop tanks or up to eight 50 kg bombs and/or unguided missiles.
After WWII, the J 19B survivors were kept in service and soldiered on until 1948, when all remaining aircraft were scrapped. Wright was also paid the overdue license fees for the originally unlicensed engines. The J 19D served together with the J 22 and J 26 fighters until 1950, when all of these piston engine fighters were gradually replaced by de Havilland Vampires (J 28) and the indigenous J 29 Tunnan, which rapidly brought the Swedish Air Force into the jet age. The last four J 19Ds, used as liaison aircraft at F 8 at Barkarby, were retired in 1954.
Saab J 19A General characteristics
Crew: One
Length: 9.68 m (31 ft 8 1/2 in)
Wingspan: 12.0 m (39 ft 4 in)
Height: 3.05 m (10 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 22.44 m² (241.5 ft²)
Empty weight: 1,630 kg (3,590 lb)
Loaded weight: 2,390 kg (5,264 lb)
Aspect ratio: 6.4
Powerplant:
1× Packard V-1650-7 liquid-cooled V-12, with a 2 stage intercooled supercharger,
rated at 1,490 hp (1,111 kW) at 3,000 rpm
Performance
Maximum speed: 640 km/h (397 mph) at 4.550 m (14.930 ft)
Cruise speed: 380 km/h (236 mph)
Landing speed: 140 km/h (90 mph)
Range: 1.500 km (930 mi; 810 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11.800 m (38.650 ft)
Rate of climb: 15.9 m/s (3,125 ft/min)
Armament:
2× 20 mm Bofors (Hispano-Suiza HS.404) cannons with 120 RPG
2× 13.2 mm (0.53 in) M/39A (Browning M2) machine guns with 500 RPG
Underwing hardpoints for an ordnance of 500 kg (1.100 lb), including a pair of 300 l drop tanks,
two 250 kg (550 lb) bombs, eight 50 kg (110 lb) bombs or eight unguided missiles.
The kit and its assembly
This is actually the second J 19 I have converted from a Hobby Boss A6M – and this build addresses two questions that probably nobody ever asked:
● What would a Mitsubishi Zero with an inline engine look like?
● Could the fictional Swedish aircraft have survived WWII, and in which form?
The Saab J 19 never saw the hardware stage, but it was a real life project that was eventually killed through the outbreak of WWII and the lack of engines mentioned in the background above. Anyway, it was/is called the “Swedish Zero” because it resembled the Japanese fighter VERY much – wing shape, fuselage, tail section, even the cockpit glazing!
This build/conversion was very similar to my first one, which ended up as a J 19B with an R-2600 engine from a Matchbox B-25 Mitchell bomber. However, due to the later time frame and different donor parts at hand things took a different route – this time, the key idea was the modernization/update of a rather outdated airframe, and the old J 19B model was the benchmark.
Again, much of the literally massive(!) Hobby Boss Zero was taken OOB, but changes this time included:
● The nose/cowling from a Matchbox P-51D
● A modified ventral radiator bath from a HUMA Me 309
● New horizontal stabilizers from a Griffon Spitfire
● A new propeller (Pavla resin parts for a post WWII P-51D/K with uncuffed blades)
● OOB main landing gear was inverted, so that the wheel discs face inwards
● New main wheels from an AZ Models Spitfire, IIRC
● New retractable tail wheel, from a Bf 109 G; the arrestor hook opening was closed
● A vacu canopy for a late mark Hawker Typhoon, plus some interior details behind the seat
In order to adapt the Mustang’s nose to the slender and circular A6M fuselage, a wedge plug was inserted between the fuselage halves from the Matchbox kit and a styrene tube added inside as a propeller mount. The latter, a resin piece, received a long metal axis and can spin freely.
For the new bubble canopy the cockpit opening and the basic interior was retained, but the dorsal section around the cockpit re-sculpted with putty. Took some time, but worked well and everything blends surprisingly well into each other – even though the aircraft, with its new engine, somehow reminds me of a Hawker Hurricane now? From certain angles the whole thing also has a P-39 touch? Weird!
Painting and markings
Again the dire question: how to paint this one? Once more I did not want to use a typical olive green/light blue Swedish livery, even though it would have been the most plausible option. I eventually settled for a pure natural metal finish, inspired by the post-WWII J 26/Mustangs in Swedish service, which furthermore carried only minimal tactical markings: roundels in six positions, the Flygflottilj number on the fuselage and a colored letter code on the tail, plus a spinner in the same color. Very simple and plain, but with more and more Swedish whiffs piling up, I am looking for as much camouflage/livery diversity as possible, and an NMF machine was still missing. :D
All interior surfaces were painted in RLM 02, and for the NMF I used my personal “recipe” with a basis of Revell 99 (Aluminum, acrylics) plus a black ink wash, followed by panel post-shading with Humbrol “Polished Aluminum” Metallizer (27002), rubbing/polishing with a soft cotton cloth and finally and a light rubbing treatment with grinded graphite for weathering effects and a worn, metallic shine of the surfaces.
Around the exhaust stubs, slightly darker panels were painted with Revell Acyrlics 91 (Iron) and ModelMaster Magnesium Metallizer. A black anti glare panel was added in front of the cockpit (P-51 style). The green propeller boss was painted with a mix of Humbrol 3 and 131 – emulating the color of the green code letter on the fin as good as possible.
The decals were puzzled together; the bright roundels belong to a Swedish Fiat CR.42, from a Sky Models sheet. The “8” on the fuselage comes from an early WWII Swedish Gloster Gladiator code (SBS Models), while the green “E” is an RAF code letter from a Heller Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XVI – actually a total print color disaster, since this deep green is supposed to be Sky!? For better contrast on the Aluminum the letter was placed on a white background, created from single decal strips (generic material from TL Modellbau).
After some soot stains around the exhaust stubs and the fuselage flanks with more graphite, as well as around the gun muzzles, the kit was sealed with a 4:1 mix of gloss and matt acrylic varnish, only the anti glare panel and the propeller blades became 100% matt. Some more matt varnish was also dabbed over the soot stains.
So, another J 19, and the “Zero with an inline engine” looks pretty strange – not as streamlined as other late WWII designs like the P-51 or Griffon-powered Spitfires, yet with a modern touch. The NMF livery looks a bit boring, but the unusual green code (used by liason J 26s from F 8 and some rare 4th or 5th divisions) is a nice contrast to the bright and large Swedish roundels, underlining the pretty elegant lines of the converted Zero!
+++ DISCLAIMER +++Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
On 27th November 1940, Moldova followed closely behind its neighbor and protector, Romania, and joined the Axis Powers. Now eligible for German military equipment, the Royal Moldovan Air Force sought to update its inventory with German types and gain access to German training. In January 1941 an agreement was reached that enabled both; by then, German troops had already entered Moldova to “secure the border [with the Socialist Union] from Red aggression.”
Moldovan air and ground crews were soon sent for training with the Luftwaffe and the first (second-hand) Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3s to enter Moldovan service arrived in May 1941. This first batch of 14 planes was allocated to the 1st Fighter Squadron, where they replaced Romanian-built PZL P.11fs. They were in combat from the first day of Operation Barbarossa, crossing the border into the Transnistrian and Ukrainian republics of the Socialist Union to conduct escort, strafing and fighter sweep missions on 22 June 1941.
Soon thereafter, more and more modern (but still mostly second hand) equipment of German origin was provided. Beyond the Bf 109 E, several Bf 109F and early G fighters were delivered, some Fw 190A and F, a handful of Ju 87 and Hs 123 dive bombers as well as some Ju 52 transporters and Junkers Ju 88 bombers.
Most of these aircraft had formerly taken part in the North Africa campaign or the Mediterranean TO. As a consequence, many Moldovan aircraft were outfitted with special equipment like dust filters, and a high number of machines still carried desert camouflage upon their arrival at the Russian Front. The latter was quickly modified in the field workshops, with whatever alternative paints at hand, but due to the aircrafts’ immediate use in combat, only hasty and minimal adaptations were made.
During its peak in June 1943, the Royal Moldovan Air Force had grown to a total of 150 aircraft. However, its contribution to the Axis forces was not significant, even though some individual Moldovan fighter pilots scored considerable air victory counts.
With the advance of Soviet Forces by late 1944 and the liberation of the Crimean peninsula, most Moldovan aircraft had been severely damaged or destroyed. Through the withdrawal of the Axis forces the Moldovan machines became unserviceable, so that the small air arm effectively ceased to exist. The few remaining, airworthy machines were retired to the west and absorbed in Romanian units. It would take until 1991 that the Moldovan Air Force would be re-formed, after the country’s newly gained independence from the dissolved Soviet Union as Republic of Moldova.
(Background and model inspired by fellow modeler comrade harps at whatifmodelers.com)
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 8.95 m (29 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 9.925 m (32 ft 6 in)
Height: 2.60 m (8 ft 2 in)
Wing area: 16.05 m² (173.3 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,247 kg (5,893 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,148 kg (6,940 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 3,400 kg (7,495 lb)
Powerplant:
1× DB 601 E V12 engine, rated at 1,350 PS (1,332 hp, 993 kW), driving a VDM 9-12010 propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 659 km/h (410 mph) at 6,200 m (20,341 ft)
Cruise speed: 590 km/h (365 mph) at 6,000 m (19,680 ft)
Range: 850 km (528 mi) with internal fuel only
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
Rate of climb: 17.0 m/s (3,345 ft/min)
Wing loading: 196 kg/m² (40 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 344 W/kg (0.21 hp/lb)
Armament:
2× 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17s with 500 RPG in the upper cowling
1× 20 mm Mauser MG 151/20 with 200 RPG, firing through the propeller hub (Motorkanone)
Underfuselage hardpoint for 1× 250 kg (551 lb) bomb, 4× 50 kg (110 lb) bombs
or 1× 300-litre (79 US gal) drop tank
The kit and its assembly:
A simple, quick build, and effectively the use of leftover material for which I had lacked an idea so far. The kit, the Heller Bf 109F, had been resting very low in the pile for ages, since I had bought it years ago with no real plan – it had just been dead cheap…
Well, this build is more or less a tribute to another modeler’s idea, comrade harps from whatifmodelers.com, who came up with a Moldovan Bf 109E and a respective background story. After all, the Russian Liberation Army (ROA) also operated German aircraft like the Bf 109G, so the idea was not as weird as it might seem at first. I liked the idea of an overlooked Moldovan operator very much, and since I had a surplus set of Moldovan Air Force markings, too…
Concerning the kit and the build, I must admit that I got what I paid for. The Bf 109 F is one of the (really) weak Heller kits: It’s basically of simple construction, like many other Heller kits of its era (1972), but there are some crisp offerings that are still impressive today and a pleasant build. The Bf 109 F is not one of these, though, it reminds me a lot of the “soft” Airfix kits of that time. You get lots of raised rivets and a minimal cockpit interior. The landing gear struts are just a pair of bare, L-shaped stilts. Nothing really fits, esp. the wing/fuselage intersection is questionable, and everything appears somewhat rounded-off. Ugh!
Anyway, I wanted a quick build with focus on the livery, so I did not invest too much effort into improvements. But some things were nevertheless changed, for the better, I hope:
· Foamed plastics inside of the air intakes as radiator bath dummies (& sight blockers)
· Flaps were lowered, for a more lively look
· The main landing gear struts and covers and the tail wheel were replaced (Hobby Boss Bf 109)
· The propeller received a metal axis and an adapter tube in the fuselage
In considered a 300l drop tank under the fuselage, too, but the Bf 109 F is so beautiful and clean, I left it away. No distractions in this case.
Painting and markings:
Since the Bf 109 F base remained untouched, livery and exotic markings make this a whif. I added in my complemented background the idea that withdrawn German aircraft from Northern Africa were transferred to the Eastern Front, matching Heller’s kit of a tropicalized Bf 109 F variant. This is not as fantastic as the idea might sound, such transfers frequently happened within the Luftwaffe at that time.
The livery was to “tell” this story, and I wanted to visualize the rushed period of time between the aircraft’s arrival at the Russian Front from Northern Africa and its immediate employment in Moldovan hands.
Consequentially, the livery would be based on standard German desert colors, but with the former operator’s markings painted over, and an additional makeshift camouflage and markings of the new operator and Axis forces tactical markings in the Eastern TO around late 1941 applied on top. Sounds complicated – but it’s the logical translation of the made-up background, and I think that such a concept makes a whif more convincing than just putting some obscure markings on an off-the-rack kit.
The original German scheme consists of a uniform RLM 79 (Sandbraun) on the upper surfaces and RLM 78 (Himmelblau) from below, with a hard, wavy medium height waterline. I just added some RLM 80 (Olivgrün) blotches to the upper surfaces, a typical field modification in Northern Africa. All RLM tones are enamels from Modelmaster’s Authentic line. Wing tips, propeller spinner and a ring on the cowling right behind it became initially white, because these original markings were to be barely visible on the finished kit.
The next step was to paint over the former German and African TO markings. This would probably have been done by German field crews, so I used RLM 76 (newly introduced in late 1941) and classic all-round RLM 02 for this task. With these tones, a virtual/non-existent white fuselage band was painted over, too. As a weird twist, the propeller boss remained white, though, somewhat reflecting the aircraft’s tactical code.
The new yellow ID markings (wing tip and engine undersides (both painted with Revell 310) and fuselage band (decal) were added at this stage, too. This already created a rather shaggy look. The red rudder is not a tactical marking – it is just a replacement part (basically painted with Humbrol 180), another weird color detail.
Finally, the new Moldovan operator’s markings were added. Since the desert camouflage is rather light, a darker makeshift camouflage was retrofitted. Many upper areas, mostly where the underlying RLM 79 was still visible, were crudely painted over with mottles and streaks in a tone I found in literature, called “Romanian Air Force Dark Green”, which is supposed to be close to classic US Olive Drab.
I used highly diluted Humbrol 108, unevenly applied with a short and hard brush, in an attempt to create a finish that looks as if different 1:72 mechanics had hastily overpainted the aircraft by hand, area by area. This final layer was taken down on the flanks into the RLM 78, as well as over the already overpainted former markings and onto the red replacement rudder, too.
In a final step, after the kit had been treated with a light black ink wash in order to emphasize contrast, the surfaces and esp. the leading edges as well as the cockpit area received a wet sanding treatment, lightening up again the final, dark camouflage and revealing the raised surface details of the Heller kit here and there.
Then the Moldovan markings were applied. The distinct roundels come from a Begemot MiG-29 decal set, the tactical code number comes from a Lend Lease P-40 in Soviet service (Trumpeter kit). On the fin, a flash in blue, yellow and red was added at the tip, too – these come from an Italeri HS 129, IIRC. I could not resist them due to the fact that the colors match up so well with the roundels and add another nice detail to the Bf 109! The yellow fuselage band comes from a Matchbox Me 262 kit, and a few stencils (e.g. the typical gasoline warning markings) were added, too, but not many. The decals also received another light sanding treatment for weathering, and, here and there, some very light dry-brushing with light grey (Revell 75) was done in order to simulate dust and more wear.
Finally the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and some gun and exhaust soot stains added with grinded graphite, as well as some traces of flaked paint on the wings’ leading edges and around the cockpit.
What started as a quick build eventually became a complex operation – trying to improve the weak kit was one thing, but the multi-layer livery also took some time and effort. The result cannot be called “pretty”, but I think the extra work paid out. The fictional Moldovan Bf 109 F looks really …different, especially in the BW beauty shots, the aircraft looks pretty convincing.
"La conversión espiritual de San Ignacio de Loyola", atribuído a Miguel Cabrera. Óleo sobre tela, siglo XVIII. Colección del Museo Nacional de Arte de México.
The white livery and work-stained appearance of ATI 767 N791AX shows up the window configuration from its passenger days. This aircraft started its working career with All Nippon Airways in Japan back in 1985. It is seen taxiing at Houston for a cargo flight to Wilmington Air Park Airport, Ohio.
Aircraft: Air Transport International (8C/ATN) Boeing 767-200BDSF N791AX.
Location: Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH/KIAH), Texas, United States of America.
Fenders and rack are fitted. All fabricating is done, it's now just a matter of bolting the rest on.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In March 1941 Saab was given the task to design a better fighter than the Seversky Republic P-35s and Reggiane 2000s, at that time the only fighter aircraft Sweden was able or allowed to buy and the air force’s most modern fighters. Several other foreign designs, including the German Bf 109 or even the Japanese Mitsubishi Zero had also been considered.
Anyway, during the ongoing war the procurement of foreign equipment had no predictable future, and so a program for an indigenous fighter aircraft was launched the same year. This resulted in two different designs, which were both initially constructed around an imported German DB 603 engine – a deal which had become possible through the allowance of German transport flights to Norway over Swedish territory, a reason why no Allied equipment was sold to Sweden.
The resulting designs, the L-21 and L-23, differed considerably from each other. The Saab L-21 was a futuristic twin-boom pusher. This unconventional layout was a technological risk, with ejection seat and all, but it was expected to exploit the DB603 engine to the max, with a low-drag airframe (e .g. with a totally buried radiator installation inside of the inner wings) and a well-balanced center of gravity, which was expected to improve handling and turn radius. It was the favored design of Saab’s engineers.
As a fall-back option, though, the L-23 was added. It was a more conservative design with the same DB 603 engine, but with the engine in the classic nose position, a tunnel radiator under the rear fuselage, low tapered wings and a conventional tail. The overall outline resembled the P-51B/C Mustang. Most interestingly, the J 23 was to have a Bofors ejection seat, too, despite its conventional layout.
In December 1941 both designs were approved for prototypes, so that a direct comparison of both layouts could be made. The first of three J 21 prototypes flew on 30 July 1943, while the first three J 23 fighters followed on 10 August, just two weeks later.
Flight tests and evaluation continued until mid-1944 and, despite less weight and size, the J 23 turned out to be fast (Max. speed 626 km/h (388 mph) with the DB 603), but considerably less maneuverable than the J 21, which in itself was also not a perfect aircraft and frequently faced overheating problems.
Faced with two mediocre designs and an urgent need for a modern fighter, it was eventually decided to go ahead with the J 21 for serial production, but a pre-production batch of upgraded J 23 was also ordered for field tests and further development. In the meantime, Sweden had acquired rights to produce the DB 605 in license, and the new fighter was to be adapted to this more modern and powerful engine – it was hoped that the new engine would improve the J 23’s performance, and it was also fitted to the production J 21.
This re-engined variant was the J 23A, of which twelve aircraft were constructed at the main plant in Trollhättan and delivered from August 1945, too late to be involved in typical interception duties at the Swedish borders.
Deliveries of the favored J 21 started in December of the same year. The latter’s field performance turned out to be unsuited for the interceptor role, and the cooling problems persisted. Relegated mainly into the bomber and CAS role (the J 21 turned out to be a passable ground attack aircraft and a stable gun platform), the limitation of the J 21’s pusher design led to a revival of the front-engine J 23.
The resulting J 23B became the aircraft’s actual production variant, incorporating many improvements which had been developed and tested on the prototypes and the pre-production J 23As. These included aerodynamic modifications like a different airfoil on the outer wings and a lowered horizontal stabilizer, coupled with an extended rear fuselage for better directional stability and a slimmed-down radiator fairing for less drag. These machines were delivered from late 1946 on, and a total of forty-six J 23B airframes were produced until early 1948.
In service, the lighter J 23Bs proved to be a better interceptor than the J 21, with a higher top speed and rate of climb, but its handling was less responsive than the pusher aircraft with the same engine and armament.
Overall the J 23B was regarded as inferior to the very similar J 26 (the P-51D) in almost any respect, and the J 23B was never really popular with its flight or ground crews. Consequently, the J 23Bs active fighter career was short and the machines were only operated by the F 16 fighter wing and the F 20 Air Force Academy, both based at Uppsala Airfield, primarily used for advanced weapon and air combat training.
A new evaluation of the J 21 and the J 23 in 1947 led to the decision to retain the J 21 series but to consider the modification of the airframe to accommodate a jet engine. While production line J 21A series aircraft were first selected for conversion, the initial piston-engine version continued in production in five series "batches" that were completed in 1948–49.
Further J 23B production was not resumed, instead the J 26 and J 27 were procured. Anyway, the age of the piston-engine fighter came soon to a close and the Swedish Air Force entered the jet age. Consequently, the J 23B was already phased out, together with the J 21, after 1954.
General characteristics:
Crew: one
Length: 9.58 m (31 ft 4 in)
Wingspan: 11.3 m (37 ft 8 in)
Height: 3.96 (13 ft 0 in)
Wing area: 20.00 m² (215.28 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,535 kg (5,583 lb)
Loaded weight: 3,445 kg (7,588 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 3,663 kg (8,068 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Daimler-Benz liquid-cooled, supercharged, 60° inverted V12 DB 605B engine,
rated at 1,085 kW (1,455 hp / 1,475 PS) and license-built by SFA.
Performance:
Maximum speed: 680 km/h (367 knots, 422 mph)
Cruise speed: 495 km/h (265 knots, 308 mph)
Range: 750 km (466 mi)
Service ceiling: 11,200 m (36,685 ft)
Rate of climb: 17 m/s (3,340 ft/min)
Armament:
1× engine-mounted 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 or Bofors cannon,
firing through the propeller hub
4× 13 mm Bofors-built Colt machine guns in the outer wings nose
Underwing hardpoints for various bombs, drop tanks and unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
The “Swedish Season” continues! The Saab 23 is another “phantom of the past”, a real world design that never left the drawing board. The J 23 actually started as an alternative to the J 21, but was discarded in late 1941 in favor of the more promising, yet bigger and heavier, pusher design. But that would not stop modelers from trying to build one, even though I have never seen a model of this aircraft? Having recently tried to build a Saab 27 fighter caught me in the right mood for another whiffy Swedish design, so I took a chance on the J 23, too.
At first glance you can mistake the J 23 for a P-51B with an engine from a late Bf 109, some sources describe it as “a Swedish Messerschmitt”. But that’s only superficial, much like the later Griffon-powered J 27 project which can be described as a “Super Spitfire”, but this does not do justice to the aircraft’s construction.
Both were independent developments, even though the P-51 (some early specimen were forced to land in Sweden and closely examined) certainly had a massive impact on both designs.
Anyway, the information basis surrounding the J 23 is worse than the J 27’s, and I only had rather vague profile drawings/sketches at hand for reference. A basis model was also hard to find: the rear section from a P-51B (in this case an Intech kit from Poland) was settled, since the Mustang’s cockpit shape, dorsal section and fin come really close to the J 23. But you cannot simply mate a P-51 with a Bf 109 nose, it would result in a rather wacky Mustang-thing because the proportions are not right.
Finding a good solution was not easy, and I was lucky to find a Hasegawa Ki-61 in the stash – it has a German engine (an earlier DB 601, though) and an overall layout similar to the P-51B. But the Ki-61 is considerably larger than a Bf 109, more in the P-51’s size class. Despite many detail modifications I decided to mate these unlikely aircraft for the J 23s basis – engraved panel lines on both kits made the combination less obvious, too.
The InTech P-51B gave its tail and the cockpit section (excluding the radiator tunnel and the wing roots), cut away from the rest of the Mustang fuselage with a Z-shaped cut. With a matching cut on the Ki-61’s fuselage, the engine and the whole wing/fuselage intersection were used. Styrene strips held the fuselage sections in place, on the outside the seams were later blended with nitrous compound putty. One benefit of this solution is that the OOB P-51 canopy could be used (even though the rear end fit necessitated some body work), and the resulting cockpit position was just as far forward as on the J 23, right above the wings. As a consequence the rear fuselage behind the cockpit appears to be rather long, but that is AFAIK correct, the J 23 had these slightly odd proportions!
For the J 23’s DB 605 engine a different, bigger spinner had to be mounted – scratched from a massive PZL 23 spinner and single blades (from the Hasegawa Ki-61), together with a metal axis and a styrene tube adapter inside of the nose. Some putty work was necessary to fair over the Ki-61 guns on the cowling, the typical DB 601 front bulge and blend the bigger, new spinner to the rest of the fuselage, but the result looks O.K.
The Ki-61’s original wings and landing gear could, thanks to the original fuselage section from the Hasegawa kit, be carried over and easily mounted, even though the wing tips were clipped for a square, Mustang-esque shape (the J 23’s look in all illustrations I’ve seen like upscaled Bf 109E wings).
The InTech P-51’s horizontal stabilizers were used, but for a J 23 they had to be placed in a different position: further back (so that wedges for the vertical rudder had to be cut out) and considerably lower, necessitating some (more) body work to hide the original attachment points. The new position adds to the impression of an extended fuselage section behind the cockpit, even though the P-51 donor fuselage section is only a little longer than the Ki-61’s. All tail surface outlines were slightly modified, too.
The J 23’s typical, shallow radiator tunnel had to be scratched, the semi-buried construction sits far behind the wings’ training edge. In an initial step, the removed Ki-61 radiator’s gap as well as the P-51 tail wheel well were faired over with styrene sheet and new intake/outlet ramps integrated into the lower rear fuselage. The tunnel itself is the narrow, aerodynamic fairing of a Boulton Paul Defiant’s machine guns behind the turret (raised when not in use), left over from a Pavla kit, opened at both ends.
As a consequence of the new and long radiator tunnel, the P-51 tail wheel well was moved about 5mm further back and the fuselage profile under the tail fin re-shaped.
One of the final steps was the cockpit interior, because I was not sure concerning the relative position of the P-51’s canopy (cut into three pieces for open display) and dashboard and the Ki-61’s cockpit floor panel and seat. But both turned out to match relatively well, and I added a tank and radio dummy behind the seat in order to prevent a clear view into the rear fuselage.
The landing gear was taken OOB from the Ki-61 – it looks similar to the real J 23 arrangement, so I stuck with it. The tail wheel comes from the InTech P-51, just the covers were scratched for the re-located well.
All gun barrels on spinner and wings are hollow steel needles, no ordnance was hung under the wings, even though the Ki-61 hardpoints were retained. After all, it’s a fighter aircraft.
Painting and markings:
Once more a classic, if not conservative, livery for a fictional aircraft – and in this case I chose the simple olivgrön/ljust blågrå camouflage of the late Fourties, coupled with contemporary color-coded letters identifying the individual aircraft and its squadron within the Flygflöttilj group.
The uniform upper surfaces were painted with RAF Dark Green (Humbrol 163). This tone has an olive drab touch and comes IMHO pretty close to the original Swedish color, the frequently recommended FS 34079 is IMHO too blue-ish. For the underside I used Humbrol 87 (Steel Gray), which is a blue-greenish gray. The authentic tone would be FS 36270, but on a model it appears much too dark, so that the lighter Steel Gray is a handy and individual alternative.
A light black ink was applied in order to emphasize the panel lines, some more depth was added through dry-painted panels with lighter shades of the basic colors (in this case, Humbrol 155 and 128).
The cockpit interior was painted in dark gray (Humbrol 32), while the landing gear and the wells became Aluminum (Humbrol 56).
As an aircraft of the air staff flight, this J 23 received a white spinner and a white code letter on the tail. These and other markings came from various sources and spare decal sheets. Some extra color was added with red warning markings on the wings above the flaps, plus some visual markings - all made with generic decal stripes. The cock nose art is a personal addition - taken from a Spanish Bf 109D, but AFAIK such personal markings were not uncommon on Swedish Air Force aircraft in the post WWII era.
An eye-catcher and some variety on the otherwise simple green/gray livery are white high-viz markings on the wing tips and a wide fuselage band. Such additional markings were frequently used in the post WWII-era during exercises, training or public displays. Styles varied considerably, though, between “color blocks” and wide single bands which I used (seen on a J 21) and even dense, thin zebra stripes on wings and fuselage. In this case, the white markings were painted onto wings and fuselage (Humbrol 34).
Since most panel lines on the fuselage were lost I painted some new ones with a soft pencil. Finally, after some gun soot and exhaust stains made with grinded graphite as well as some dry-brushed silver on the wings’ leading edges and around the cockpit were added, the kit received a coating with matt acrylic varnish.
Another scratch build of an obscure Swedish aircraft that never reached the hardware stage – and pretty successful, IMHO. This sleek J 23 model looks just as harmless and innocent, but involved massive construction work in almost every area as the kitbashed J 27 before. It’s actually the first model rendition of the J 23 I have seen so far – and another funny fact is that this “Swedish Messerschmitt” was built without any Bf 109 part at all!
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background
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.
This left the original requirement unfulfilled and so the French began discussions with West Germany for collaboration. A joint specification was produced in 1968. The trainer was now subsonic, supersonic trainers having proven something of a dead end. A joint development and production agreement was signed in July 1969 which indicated that the two nations would buy 200 machines, each assembled in their own country.
The Luftwaffe decided to use the Alpha Jet mainly in the light strike role, preferring to continue flight training in the United States on American trainer types instead of performing training in cloudy and crowded Germany. The first production German Alpha Jet performed its maiden flight on 12 April 1978, with deliveries beginning in March 1979. This version was designated the Alpha Jet A (the "A" standing for Appui Tactique or "Tactical Strike") or Alpha Jet Close Support variant. The Luftwaffe obtained 175 machines up to 1983, with the type replacing the Fiat G91R/3. Manufacture of Alpha Jet subassemblies was divided between France and Germany, with plants in each country performing final assembly and checkout. The different avionics fit made French and German Alpha Jets easy to tell apart, with French machines featuring a rounded-off nose and German machines featuring a sharp, pointed nose.
Even though the Alpha Jet A was suitable in the ground attack role and had even been tested in aerial combat against helicopters in 1979, the German Luftwaffe decided in the mid-80ies that – facing the Cold War threat from the east – a more powerful but still economic plane for the close attack role, esp. against hardened ground targets and attack helicopters like the Mi-24 would be needed. Even though such "Alternate Close Support" versions of the Alpha Jet were available at that time, even though these were modified two-seaters. Such planes were bought by Cameroon and Egypt, but from the German Luftwaffe a specialized, more capable plane with a higher strike and survival potential was requested.
In 1986, Dornier developed a respective specialized version, called the Alpha Jet C (for "combat"). This plane was heavily modified, optimized for the ground attack role. It featured a new, single-seated nose section with an armoured cockpit in a much higher position than on the original two-seater. The Alpha jet C version's prominent, pointed nose quickly gave it among its test pilots the nickname "Nasenbär" (Coati).
The new space was used for avionics and an internal Oerlikon 35mm cannon – a variant of the same cannon used in the Gepard anti aircraft tank, firing armour piercing shells with a muzzle velocity of 1,440 m/s (4,700 ft/s) and a range of 5.500m. Avionics includecd SAGEM ULISS 81 INS, a Thomson-CSF VE-110 HUD, a TMV630 laser rangefinder in a modified nose and a TRT AHV 9 radio altimeter, with all avionics linked through a digital databus.
New wings were developed, with a thicker profile and less sweep, and non-jettisonable wing tip tanks as well as two more weapon hardpoints (for a total of six, plus one under the fuselage) added. The landing gear was reinforced for a higher TOW and operation on improvised runways. Fuselage and tail externally looked much the same as the original Alpha Jet A, but internally most structures were reinforced and technical modules placed in new positions.
The C version was from the start powered by two more powerful Larzac 04-C20 turbofans which would also be used in an update for the Luftwaffe’s Alpha Jet As. The hydraulic system was doubled, so that both engines could run separately, and kevlar and titanium armour plating added to vital areas around the lower hull.
The first prototype 98+52 made its maiden flight at Friedrichshafen on 1st of June 1988. It was officially allocated to the JaboG 43 in Oldenburg, but actually spent almost all the time at the Luftwaffe’s Waffentechnische Dienststelle (Flight test center) WTD 61 in Manching near Munich, where it underwent a thorough testing program. More than once the prototype was transferred to Beja, Portugal, for weapon tests and training, as well as direct comparison with the standard Alpha Jet A and other NATO planes. A second airframe was built in 1987 but only used for static tests, system integration and finally damage resilience tests, after which it was written off and scrapped.
While the Alpha Jet C showed high agility at low level and a high survival potential in a hostile battlefield environment, the prototype remained a one-off. In the end, the German Luftwaffe did not want to add another type to its arsenal, despite its similarity with the standard Alpha Jet. Export chances for such a specialized, yet light aircraft were considered as low, since modified Alpha Jet versions were already available and other planes like the AMX or BAe Hawk offered more versatility, and were simply more up to date.
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 historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In September 1939, the US Army was ill-prepared as far as armored vehicles, training and tactics went. Soon, it became clear that a new model, which could be favorably compared to the European models, had to be studied for mass production. The very early M1 Combat Car was nothing more than a very small tank with two machine guns. Its main purpose was scouting and as such ordered for “cavalry” units. This was in 1937, and became the forerunner of all light tanks to come.
In 1935, a new model, the M2 Light Tank, was designed. At first, it was an immediate upgrade of the M1, but with the heavier .50 (12.7 mm) caliber machine gun, immediately followed by the M2A2 with twin turrets equipped with .30 (7.62 mm) caliber M1919 machine guns. The “Mae West” gave way in 1938 to a small series of M2A3 37 mm (1.45 in) single turret tanks, and then to the final M2A4 in 1940, with improved armor, motorization and equipment. These fought at Guadalcanal with the US Marine Corps, and with the British Army through Lend-Lease, performing well in Burma and India against the Japanese, despite being obsolete.
The following M3 was built under the light of recent events in France. The quick fall of France, due to inadequate tactics, quickly led the US Army Corps to think about a new doctrine, which led to an independent US armored force. From the material point of view, the latest M2A4 and the M3 were both designed to be more effective than only infantry support units, their main duty was scouting and screening.
The M3 was, at first, a simple upgrade of the last M2, with a more powerful Continental petrol engine, a new vertical volute spring suspension system and up to four machine guns in addition to a main, quick-firing M5 (and later M6) 37 mm (1.45 in) anti-tank gun, with a new gun recoil system.
Most of the initial M3 tanks were provided to the British and Commonwealth forces through Lend-Lease. Some were immediately thrown into action in Northern Africa, where they immediately became popular for their speed, sturdiness and reliability. Although the official British designation was “Stuart”, paying homage to Civil War Confederate general J.E.B. Stuart, they found themselves affectuously dubbed “Honey”, because of their smooth ride.
Beyond British and Commonwealth forces, the US Forces used many M3s in their first major operation in the west, the North African invasion in November 1942 (Operation Torch). They had some success against Italian tanks, but were butchered by German 88 mm (3.46 in) artillery and the up-gunned Panzer IIIs and IVs. It was clear that their high profile and the flat squared hull was too vulnerable. However, the M3 was popular, reliable and mobile, and the introduction of a diesel engine in the M3A1 made the small tank even more suitable for reconnaissance missions, so that the British Army asked by late 1941 for a dedicated scout variant that would trade-in the weak cannon armament (and the fourth crewman associated with it) for more mobility and range. This led to the M3A2, better known under the British name “Parsival”, because it was never adopted and operated by the U.S. Army.
The Parsival Mk. I used the standard M3 hull, but the lateral sponsons that formerly housed fixed machine guns were outright deleted in order to save weight and to reduce manufacturing effort as well as frontal area. Another major modification concerned the running gear: in order to improve speed and handling at higher speed, the M3’s vertical springs were replaced by a modified Christie running gear, which consisted of the standard drive wheel at the front, four large road wheels and three return rollers per side. The last pair of road wheels was mounted on trailing swing arms for increased ground contact and also acted as idler wheels. The M3A1’s optional 9-cylinder Guiberson T-1020 diesel became the Parsival’s standard engine, and, beyond the internal tanks, two additional external fuel drums could be mounted to the rear hull, extending range from 100 to 150 miles.
A new cast turret, similar in shape to the airborne M22 Locust tank, was mounted, which had a much lower profile and offered better ballistic protection than the M3’s original turret with vertical side walls. The reduced height was a trade-off for firepower, though: the turret did not carry a full-fledged cannon anymore, only a medium 0.5” (12.7 mm) machine gun as well as a light, coaxial 0.303” (7.62 mm) machine gun, all operated by the commander. The machine gun in the front bow, handled by the radio operator, was retained, and another light machine gun could optionally be mounted on top of the turret against aircraft. The turret was furthermore equipped with a set of two smoke grenade launchers.
Through the different weight saving measures, the Parsival’s weight could be reduced from 12.7 to 10.8 tons, resulting in a slight improvement in overall performance but with a much better handling, esp. when moving off-road.
In the summer of 1942, the first Parsival Mk. Is arrived in the North African theatre of operations where they excelled in their dedicated reconnaissance role. Concerning the standard M3, the British usually kept the Stuarts out of direct tank-to-tank combat, using them primarily for reconnaissance, too. In consequence, the turret was removed from some British M3 examples to save weight and improve speed and range, but these were inferior to the Parsival and became known as "Stuart Recce". Some others were converted to armored personnel carriers known as the "Stuart Kangaroo", and some were converted into command vehicles and known as "Stuart Command".
After the Africa campaign, British Stuarts and Parsival took successfully part in the liberation of Italy. About 500 were produced, 160 of them were delivered to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease, the rest was exclusively operated by the British Army in Europe. Parsivals, M3s, M3A3s, and M5s continued in British service until the end of the war.
Specifications:
Crew: Three (commander, driver, radio operator)
Weight: 10.8 tons
Length: 14ft 2in (4.33 m)
Width: 7ft 4in (2.33 m)
Height: 2.49 metres (8 ft 1 1/2 in)
Suspension: Christie system
Ground clearance: 16.5" (419 mm)
Fuel capacity: 54 US gal (200 l)
Armor:
0.52 - 2 in (13 - 51 mm)
Performance:
Speed:
- Maximum, road: 40 mph (65 km/h)
- Cross country: 22 mph (36 km/h)
Climbing capability:
- 40% side slope and 60% max grade
- Vertical obstacle of 24 inches (61 cm)
- 72 inches (1,8 m) trench crossing
Fording depth: 36 inches (91 cm)
Operational range: 100 ml (160 km) on road with internal fuel
Power/weight: 23.1 hp/t
Engine:
1× Guiberson T-1020 9-cylinder radial diesel engine with a 1,021 cu in (16.73 l) displacement,
delivering 250 hp (190 kW)
Transmission:
Hydramatic, 4 speeds forward, 1 reverse
Armament:
1× 0.5” (12.7) mm M2 machine gun with 900 rounds
3× 0.303” (7,62 mm) M1919A4 machine guns
(co-axial in the turret, in the front bow and as an AA weapon on top of the turret)
with a total of 6,750 rounds
2× smoke dischargers on the turret’s right side
The kit and its assembly:
This M3 conversion was spawned by the idea of a dedicated recce variant of the popular Stuart tank. Originally, I just planned to use the chassis from a Hasegawa 1:72 kit and replace the turret with a smaller option (including lighter armament), I already had organized a resin turret for/from an American T17 “Staghound” WWII recce car. But, as always, you can drive a simple idea easily further, so that I also thought about a different suspension and other modifications that would improve the tank’s agility. This led to a Christie-style running gear and the deletion of the M3’s machine gun sponsons, which were in practice used as storage space after the machine guns had been deleted.
The Staghound turret came from a ModelTrans/Silesian Models conversion set, which also includes a nice commander figure as well as two fuel drums. The sponsons were simply cut away and the gaps filled with 0.5 mm styrene sheet – a small modification, and thanks to the M3’s boxy hull design a simple affair. Only some small PSR on the side wall implants as well as on the mudguards (which are segmented) was necessary, and this modification changes the M3’s look considerably!
The running gear was scratched and more complicated, in particular because assembly and painting had to go hand in hand. The eight road wheels actually come from a 1:72 T-72 tank from ModelCollect, their width perfectly matched the track’s and they had the same size as the M3’s large idler wheel at the rear. The road wheels’ depth just looks a little disturbing, but not implausible. The trailing idler wheel (using the original suspension arm) defined the stance and the other wheels were mounted on plastic rods to the hull, with simulated suspensions arms (styrene profile) behind them. Since the drive and idler wheels’ position effectively remained unchanged, I was able to use the OOB vinyl tracks, which are really smooth and easy to handle. However, this move necessitated to retain the return wheels – I wanted to omit them, for an even more Christie-esque look, but without them the track would have been too long and slacked through, with a lot of space between the tracks and the mudguards. Nevertheless, the return wheels’ position was slightly changed, in order to reflect the modified road wheels’ position. And the whole affair simply looks different from the original, so I am fine with it.
In order to liven the small tank up, I added the fuel drums from the Staghound set to the rear fenders and added some more boxes and folded tarpaulins (made from paper tissue drenched in thinned white glue) on the mudguards, somewhat masking the new side walls from sight. I also mounted the M3’s OOB AA machine gun to the turret.
Painting and markings:
I wanted a Northern Africa paint scheme and at first considered the iconic Caunter scheme, but then I thought that, since this livery was also used on the real British Stuarts, I rather wanted something different.
I eventually settled for a simple two-tone scheme, used on British cruiser tanks like the Crusader as well as on M3 Lee medium tanks of American origin. The basic colors I used are Humbrol 168 (Hemp) for the Light Stone tone, and Humbrol 98 (Chocolate) for the dull, dark brown.
As common practice, the basic colors were separated with thin, white lines in order to emphasize the contrast between them. Sometimes in practice, an additional black line was added, too, but due to the model’s small size I just painted a white line.
Another common practice of the British army, esp. on cruiser tanks with large wheels, was to paint the front and rear road wheels in a uniform, light color, while the wheels between them became dark – an attempt to mimic a lorry, esp. when a light “Sunshield” canopy was mounted over the hull that resembled a truck’s outline.
The model received a light wash with a mix of black, grey and brown, the decals (taken from the OOB sheet) were applied next. Over this came some dry-brushing with light grey and ochre and the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (from the rattle can). Once the tracks were mounted, the lower areas of the tank were finally dusted with a mix of sand and light grey pigments.
Even though the Hasegawa M3 was a simple basis to start with, the conversions, esp. the running gear, were quite challenging. But I like the result a lot: the Parsival looks like a slimmed-down race variant of the M3, just what I wanted to achieve, and the British camouflage suits the small tank well, too – the white contrast line adds an exotic touch.
+++ 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 Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet-engine Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later by McDonnell Douglas. The Skyhawk was a relatively light aircraft, with a maximum takeoff weight of 24,500 pounds (11,100 kg) and had a top speed of 670 miles per hour (1,080 km/h). The aircraft's five hardpoints supported a variety of missiles, bombs, and other munitions, including nuclear bombs, with a bomb load equivalent to that of a World War II–era Boeing B-17 bomber.
Since its introduction, the Skyhawk had been adopted by countries beyond the United States and saw a very long career, with many baseline variants and local adaptations. Israel was, starting in 1966, the largest export customer for Skyhawks, and a total of 217 A-4s were eventually procured, plus another 46 that were transferred from U.S. units in Operation Nickel Grass to compensate for large losses during the Yom Kippur War.
The Skyhawk was the first U.S. warplane to be offered to the Israeli Air Force, marking the point where the U.S. took over from France as Israel's chief military supplier. A special version of the A-4 was developed for the IAF, the A-4H. This was an A-4E with improved avionics and an uprated J52-P-8A engine with more thrust from the A-4F that had replaced the Wright J65 in earlier Skyhawk variants. Armament consisted of twin DEFA 30 mm cannon in place of the rather unreliable Colt Mk.12 20 mm cannons. Later modifications included the avionics hump and an extended tailpipe, implemented in Israel by IAI to provide greater protection against heat-seeking surface-to-air missiles.
Deliveries began after the Six-Day War, and A-4s soon formed the backbone of the IAF's ground-attack force. In Heyl Ha'avir (Israels Air Force/IAF) service, the A-4 Skyhawk was named as the Ayit (Hebrew: עיט, for Eagle). A total of 90 A-4Hs were delivered and became the IAF’s primary attack plane in the War of Attrition between 1968 and 1970. They cost only a quarter of a Phantom II and carried half of its payload, making them highly efficient attack aircraft, even though losses were high and a number of A-4Es were imported to fill the gaps.
In early 1973, the improved A-4N Skyhawk for Israel entered service, based on the A-4M models used by the U.S. Marine Corps, and it gradually replaced the simpler and less capable A-4Hs, which were still operated in 2nd line duties. Many of the A-4Hs and A-4Es were subsequently stored in reserve in flying condition, for modernization or for sale, and two countries made purchases from this overstock: Indonesia and Uruguay.
Due to the declining relationship between Indonesia and the Soviet Union, there was a lack of spare parts for military hardware supplied by the Communist Bloc. Soon, most of them were scrapped. The Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) acquired ex-Israeli A-4Es to replace its Il-28 Beagles and Tu-16 Badgers in a covert operation with Israel, since both countries did not maintain diplomatic relationships. A total of thirty-two A-4s served the Indonesian Air Force from 1982 until 2003.
Uruguay was the other IDF customer, even though a smaller one. The Uruguayan Air Force was originally created as part of the National Army of Uruguay but was established as a separate branch on December 4, 1953, becoming the youngest, and also the smallest branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay.
Since the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, the Air Force was involved in the fight against the guerrilla activity that was present in the country, focusing against the MLN-T (Movimiento de Liberación Nacional – Tupamaros or Tupamaros – National Liberation Movement), that later triggered a participation in the country's politics.
On February 8, 1973, President Juan María Bordaberry tried to assert his authority over the Armed Forces by returning them to their normal duties and appointing a retired Army general, Antonio Francese, as the new Minister of National Defense. Initially, the Navy of Uruguay supported the appointment, but the National Army and Uruguayan Air Force commanders rejected it outright. On February 9 and 10, the Army and Air Force issued public proclamations and demanded his dismissal and changes in the country's political and economic system. Bordaberry then gave up to the pressure, and on February 12, at the Cap. Juan Manuel Boiso Lanza Air Base, Headquarters of the General Command of the Air Force, the National Security Council (Consejo de Seguridad Nacional) was created. The Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force was one of its permanent members, and the Armed Forces of Uruguay from now on were effectively in control of the country, with Bordaberry just participating in a self-coup.
During this period of time, the Air Force took control of the country's airdromes, some aircraft that were seized from the subversion, appointed some of its general officers to led the flag carrier PLUNA, reinforced the combat fleet with Cessna A-37B Dragonfly and FMA IA-58A Pucará attack aircraft in 1976 and 1981, modernized the transport aircraft with the purchase of five Embraer C-95 Bandeirante in 1975 and five CASA C-212 Aviocar and one Gates Learjet 35A in 1981, introduced to service two brand new Bell 212 helicopters, and achieved another milestone, with the first landing of a Uruguayan aircraft in Antarctica, on January 28, 1984, with a Fairchild-Hiller FH-227D.
Since the end of the military government, the Air Force returned to its normal tasks, and always acting under the command of the President and in agreement with the Minister of National Defense, without having entered the country's politics again, whose participation, in addition, has been forbidden in almost all activities for the Armed Forces. Towards the late Eighties, the Uruguayan Air Force underwent a fundamental modernization program: Between 1989 and 1999 a total number of 48 aircraft were acquired, including twelve Skyhawks (ten single seaters and two trainers), followed by three Lockheed C-130B Hercules in 1992, to carry out long-range strategic missions, six Pilatus PC-7U Turbo Trainers, also acquired in 1992 for advanced training (replacing the aging fleet of Beechcraft T-34 Mentors in Santa Bernardina, Durazno, that had been in service with the Air Force since 1977), two Beechcraft Baron 58 and ten Cessna U-206H Stationair in 1998 (with Uruguay becoming the first operator of this variant, used for transport, training and surveillance). Two Eurocopter AS365N2 Dauphin for search and rescue and transport followed, also in 1998, and 13 Aermacchi SF-260 in 1999, to fully replace the aging fleet of T-34 training aircraft and become the new basic trainer of the Uruguayan Air Force within the Military School of Aeronautics (Escuela Militar de Aeronáutica) in Pando, Canelones. Furthermore, on April 27, 1994, through Decree No. 177/994 of the Executive Power, a new Air Force Organization was approved, and the Tactical Regiments and Aviation Groups disappeared to become Air Squadrons, leading to the current structure of the Uruguayan Air Force.
The Skyhawks were procured as more capable complement and partial replacement for the FAU’s Cessna A-37B Dragonfly and FMA IA-58A Pucará attack aircraft fleet. Being fast jets, however, they would also be tasked with limited airspace defense duties and supposed to escort and provide aerial cover for the other attack types in the FAU’s inventory. The Skyhawks were all former IDF A-4H/TA-4Hs. They retained their characteristic tail pipe extensions against IR-guided missiles (primarily MANPADS) as well as the retrofitted avionics hump, but there were many less visible changes, too.
After several years in storage, a full refurbishment had taken place at Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). The single seaters’ original Stewart-Warner AN/APG-53A navigation and fire control radar was retained, but some critical avionics were removed before export, e. g. the ability to carry and deploy AGM-45 Shrike anti-radar-missiles or the rather unreliable AGM-12 Bullpup, as well as the Skyhawk’s LABS (toss-bombing capability) that made it a potential nuclear bomber. On the other side avionics and wirings to carry AIM-9B Sidewinder AAMs on the outer pair of underwing pylons were added, so that the FAU Skyhawks could engage into aerial combat with more than just their onboard guns.
The A-4Hs’ 30 mm DEFA cannons were removed before delivery, too, even though their characteristic gondola fairings were retained. In Uruguay they were replaced with 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.804 autocannons, to create communality with the FAU’s Pucará COIN/attack aircraft and simplify logistics. MER and TER units (Multiple/Triple Ejector Racks), leased from Argentina, boosted the Skyhawks’ ordnance delivery capabilities. A Marconi ARL18223 360° radar warning receiver and a Litton LTN-211 GPS navigation system were introduced, too. Despite these many modifications the FAU’s A-4Hs retained their designation and, unofficially, the former Israeli “Eagles” were aptly nicknamed “Águila” by their new crews and later by the public, too.
Upon introduction into service the machines received a disruptive NATO-style grey/green camouflage with off-white undersides, which they should retain for the rest of their lives – except for a single machine (648), which was painted in an experimental all-grey scheme. However, like the FAU Pucarás, which received grim looking but distinctive nose art during their career, the Skyhawks soon received similar decorations, representing the local ‘Jabalí’ (wild boars).
During the Nineties, the Uruguayan Skyhawks were frequently deployed together with Pucarás along the Brazilian border: Brazilian nationals were detected removing cattle from Uruguayan territory! Dissuasive missions were flown by the Pucarás departing from Rivera to Chuy in eastern Uruguay, covering a span of more than 200 nm (368 km) along the Uruguay/Brazil border, relaying the location of the offending persons to Uruguay’s Army armored units on the ground to take dissuading action. The Skyhawks flew high altitude escorts and prevented intrusion of the Uruguayan airspace from Brazil, and they were frequently called in to identify and repel intruders with low-level flypasts.
The Skyhawks furthermore frequently showed up around the Uruguayan city Masoller as a visible show of force in a longstanding border and territory dispute with Brazil, although this had not harmed close diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries. The disputed area is called Rincón de Artigas (Portuguese: Rincão de Artigas), and the dispute arose from the fact that the treaty that delimited the Brazil-Uruguay border in 1861 determined that the border in that area would be a creek called Arroyo de la Invernada (Portuguese: Arroio da Invernada), but the two countries disagree on which actual stream is the so-named one. Another disputed territory is a Brazilian island at the confluence of the Quaraí River and the Uruguay River. None of these involvements led to armed conflict, though.
The Uruguayan Skyhawk fired in anger only over their homeland during drugbusting raids and for interception of low performance, drug trafficking aircraft which were increasingly operating in the region. However, the slower IA 58 Pucará turned out to be the better-suited platform for this task, even though the Skyhawks more than once scared suspicious aircraft away or forced them to land, sometimes with the use of gunfire. At least one such drug transport aircraft was reputedly shot down over Uruguayan territory as its pilot did not reply or react and tried to escape over the border into safe airspace.
These duties lasted well into the Nineties, but Uruguay’s small Skyhawk fleet was relatively expensive to operate so that maintenance and their operations, too, were dramatically cut back after 2000. The airframes’ age also showed with dramatic effect: two A-4Hs were lost independently in 2001 and 2002 due to structural fatigue. Active duties were more and more cut back and relegated back to the A-37s and IA 58s. In October 2008, it was decided that the Uruguayan A-4 Skyhawk fleet would be withdrawn and replaced by more modern aircraft, able to perform equally well in the training role and, if required, close support and interdiction missions on the battlefield. The last flight of an FAU A-4 took place in September 2009.
This replacement program did not yield any fruits, though. In May 2013 eighteen refurbished Sukhoi Su-30 MKI multirole air superiority fighters were offered by the Russian Federation and Sukhoi in remarkably favorable condition that included credit facilities and an agreement branch for maintenance. These conditions were also offered for the Yak-130 Mitten. By December 2013 Uruguayan personnel had test flown this plane in Russia. In the meantime, a number of A-37B Dragonfly were purchased from the Ecuadorian Air Force in January 2014 to fill the FAU’s operational gaps. Also, the Uruguayan and Swiss governments discussed a possible agreement for the purchase of ten Swiss Air Force Northrop F-5Es plus engines, spare parts and training, but no actual progress was made. The Uruguayan Air Force also used to show interest on the IA-58D Pucará Delta modernization program offered by Fábrica Argentina de Aviones, but more recently, among some of the possible aircraft that the Air Force was considering, there were the Hongdu JL-10 or the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master. But despite of how necessary a new attack aircraft is for the FAU, no procurements have been achieved yet.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 40 ft 1.5 in (12.230 m)
Wingspan: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m)
Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)
Wing area: 260 sq ft (24 m²)
Airfoil: root: NACA 0008-1.1-25; tip: NACA 0005-.825-50
Empty weight: 9,853 lb (4,469 kg)
Gross weight: 16,216 lb (7,355 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 24,500 lb (11,113 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Pratt & Whitney J52-P-8A turbojet engine, 9,300 lbf (41 kN) thrust
Performance:
Maximum speed: 585 kn (673 mph, 1,083 km/h) at sea level
Range: 1,008 nmi (1,160 mi, 1,867 km)
Ferry range: 2,194 nmi (2,525 mi, 4,063 km)
g limits: +8/-3
Rate of climb: 5,750 ft/min (29.2 m/s)
Wing loading: 62.4 lb/sq ft (305 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.526
Armament:
2× 20 mm (0.79 in) Hispano-Suiza HS.804 autocannon with 100 RPG
5× hardpoints with a total capacity of 8,500 lb (3,900 kg)
The kit and its assembly:
The third build in my recent “Uruguayan What-if Trip”, and a rather spontaneous idea. When I searched for decals for my Uruguayan Sherman tank, I came across a decal sheet from an Airfix IA 58 Pucará (2008 re-boxing), which included, beyond Argentinian markings, a Uruguayan machine, too. This made me wonder about a jet-powered successor, and the omnipresent Skyhawk appeared like a natural choice for a light attack aircraft – even though I also considered an IAI Kfir but found its Mach 2 capability a bit overdone.
Checking history I found a suitable time frame during the Nineties for a potential introduction of the A-4 into Uruguayan service, and this was also the time when Indonesia indirectly bought 2nd hand A-4E/Hs from Israel. This was a good match and defined both the background story as well as the model and its details.
The model kit is an Italeri A-4E/F (Revell re-boxing), built mostly OOB with a short/early fin tip (the kit comes with an optional part for it, but it is too short and I used the alternative A-4M fin tip from the kit and re-shaped its leading edge) and the bent refueling probe because of the radar in the nose (the original straight boom interfered with it). I just implanted an extended resin tailpipe (from Aires, see below), used the OOB optional brake parachute fairing and scratched fairings for the A-4H’s former DEFA guns (which were placed, due to their size, in a lower position than the original 20 mm guns and had an odd shape) from styrene rods.
I also modified the ordnance: the OOB ventral drop tank was taken over but the kit’s original LAU-19 pods molded onto the inner wing pylons were cut off and moved to the outer stations. The inner pylons then received MERs with five Mk. 82 500 lb iron bombs each (left over from a Hasegawa Skyhawk kit) – typically for the Skyhawk, the inner front stations on the MERs (and on TERs, too) were left empty, because anything bigger than a 250 lb Mk. 81 bomb interfered with the landing gear covers.
Building posed no real problems; some PSR was necessary on many seams, though, but that’s standard for the Italeri Skyhawk kit. Just the extended tailpipe caused unexpected trouble: the very nice and detailed Aires resin insert turned out to be a whole 2mm(!) wider than the Skyhawk’s tail section, even though its height and shape was fine. I solved this pragmatically and, after several trials, glued the extended pipe between the fuselage halves, closed them with some force and filled the resulting wedge-shaped ventral gap that extended forward almost up to the wings’ trailing edge with putty. Under the paint this stunt is not obvious, and I suspect that the Italeri Skyhawk’s tail is simply too narrow?
Different/additional blade antennae were added under the front fuselage and behind the canopy as well as a tiny pitot in front of the windscreen (piece of thin wire) and fairings for the radar warning receivers were integrated into the fin’s leading edge and above the extended tail pipe, scratched from styrene sheet material. And, finally, a thin rod (made from heated styrene) was added for the Skyhawk’s steerable front wheel mechanism.
A good thing about the Italeri Skyhawk is that its clear part encompasses the whole canopy, including its frame. It comes as a single piece, though, but can be easily cut in two parts to allow an open cockpit display. The alternative Hasegawa A-4E/F has the flaw that the clear part is molded without the canopy frame, which has a rather complex shape, so that modding it into open position is a very complicated task.
Painting and markings:
Basically very simple: I relied upon FAU Pucarás as benchmark, which carry a rather unremarkable NATO-style livery in dark grey and dark green over very light grey, almost white undersides. This does not sound interesting, but it’s not a color combo typically seen on a Skyhawk, so that this already offers a subtle whiffy touch – and it suits the Skyhawk IMHO well.
To make the simple scheme more interesting, though, I decided to apply the camouflage in a more disruptive, higher resolution pattern, using the Kuwaiti A-4KU pattern as benchmark, just with replaced colors. On real-life pictures, the Uruguayan Pucarás as well as some early A-37s show a good contrast between the green and the grey, so that I chose Tamiya XF-62 (U.S. WWII Olive Drab) and Humbrol 156 (RAF Dark Camouflage Grey) as basic tones; the undersides were painted in Humbrol 147 (FS 36495), leaving a brightness margin for post-shading with an even lighter tone.
The landing gear as well as the air intakes’ interior were painted in white, the landing gear covers’ edges received a thin red edge. The cockpit interior became standard Dark Gull Grey.
For good contrast with the light undersides, the rocket launchers became light grey (Humbrol 127) drab. The MERs became classic white and the ten 250 lb bombs were painted in olive drab.
As usual, the kit received an overall light black ink washing and some post-panel shading, which also acts as a weathering measure. Esp. the Pucarás’ grey appears very bleached on many photos.
Roundels, fin flash and FAU taglines came from the aforementioned Airfix Pucará sheet, even though they turned out to be rather thick and not printed sharply. Most stencils were taken from an Airfix A-4Q Skyhawk, one of the new mold kits, which also came with Argentinian markings and stencils in Spanish. The respective sheet also provided a decal for the black anti-glare panel, even though it had to be cut in two halves to fit in front of the wider A-4E windshield, and the resulting gap was painted out with black. The tactical codes once belonged to a Kawasaki T-4 (Hasegawa). The soot-hiding squares above the gun muzzles are generic black decals. The only decal that was taken over from the Skyhawk’s OOB decal sheet were the rings around the arrester hook.
Overall, the FAU Skyhawk still looked rather dry. To add some excitement, I gave the aircraft a wild boar “face”, similar to the FAU Pucarás. The decoration originally belongs to an USAF A-10 and came from a HiDecal sheet. Unfortunately, this boar face was carried by a rather special A-10 with an experimental desert paint scheme consisting of Brown (FS 20140), Tan Special (FS 20400) and Sand (FS 20266) that was applied before deployment to Saudi Arabia in November 1990. This scheme did not catch on, though, and most A-10s retained their murky Europe One/Lizard scheme. Therefore, the artwork consists primarily of black and sand – white would have been better, stylistically. But I took what I could get and, as a kind of compensation, the sand color does not make the boar snout stand out too much. To my surprise, the four decals that create the wraparound hog face fitted quite well in size and around the Skyhawk’s rather pointed nose. I just left the nostrils away because they’d look odd together with the small black radome and a small ventral gap between the mouth halves had to be bridged with black paint and another piece of decal sheet that simulates a di-electric cover.
Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and ordnance as well as landing gear were mounted.
The third and for now the last build in my recent ‘Uruguayan whif’ model series. I like the grey-green Skyhawk a lot – it’s not spectacular and looks very down-to-earth (except for the nose art, maybe), but it’s very believable. The NATO style livery is rather unusual for the A-4, it was AFAIK not carried by any real in-service Skyhawk, but it suits the aircraft well.
Bellows clips from binder clips.
I'm in the process of converting a Polaroid 110b to a square shooter (type 85). In hindsight... 'kind of wish I hadn't done such a hack job of removing(destroying) the original steel framework for retaining the bellows. Here's one method of replacement and reattaching the bellows to body.
I removed the felt gasket and adhered the bellows to the body with Permatex Black Silicone. Clamped with 5/32" capacity 1/4" Binder clips. After that set, removed the clips and trimmed them with a Dremel reinforced cutoff wheel to make bellows retainers. Pressed those into position and followed up with a little JB Weld along the inner edge to further strengthen the bellows/body bond.
+++ 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.
At that time the Ilmavoimat, the Finnish air Force, was left with Messerschmitt 109 Gs and some other obsolete types. The Finnish aircraft design declined during a number of years and it was not until 1947 when a new design was flown – the VMT
The aircraft was not completely new. It was based on the VL Pyörremyrsky (Hurricane) from 1944, a local evolution of the Me 109 G. The use of wood in the construction of the aircraft was maximised due to the sparseness of metals. The goal was to create a fighter with similar flight qualities to the German Messerschmitt Bf 109G. The engine and the propeller were directly taken from the Bf 109G. The landing gear was significantly widened in order to address one of the German fighter's most noteworthy shortcomings, the handling on ground.
Like its stillborn progenitor, the VL Pyörremyrsky, the new Salama (‘Lightning’) would share most of its airframe with a proven model, and in fact the Salam's structure was by more than 60% based on the Bf 109G airframe. Unfortunately for the design team around Torsti Verkkola, the Salama's proposed DB 603A engine was not available anymore due to the Paris peace talks of 1947. These forbade the use of German technology and put other limitations on the FAF, so the Finnish designers and engineers had to look for an alternative and chose the French SNECMA 12H00 engine, ultimately a derivative of the German Jumo 213A engine from WWII.
This different inverted V-12 engine required some reconstruction of the engine cowling. The supercharger intake was relocated to the starboard side of the cowling, and cooling system had to be adapted, too. Furthermore, the new aircraft featured an enlarged wing area, a taller tail, an Erla Haube-style canopy of later Bf 109G variants, a broad-track landing gear which improved ground handling considerably, and an annular radiator for the inline engine which gave the aircraft a superficial resemblance to a radial engine and to the very similar installation on the German WWII Focke-Wulf Fw 190D.
As the project progressed, the Salama I evolved from a simple, enhanced version of the Bf 109 to a progressively more capable fighter - a measure to keep up with the fast jet fighter development after WWII. The Salama I lacked the high turn rate and higher rate of roll of the Bf 109, but it was faster, however, with a maximum speed of more than 700km/h (434 mph) at 6,600 meters (21,650 ft), and it handled well.
Serial production started in December 1949. The Salama featured armament of one engine-mounted 30 mm (1.18 in) ADEN 30 cannon with 65 RPG, plus two 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannons in the wing roots with 250 RPG. The machines also featured three weapon hardpoints: one under the fuselage, for a drop tank or bombs up to 500kg, one under each wing, for lighter bombs, unguided rockets or podded 20mm guns with 135 RPG each.
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.
Hello Reddit!
Ground up moon rocks - pure poison.
If you haven't had the PLEASURE of playing portal OR portal 2... YOU ARE MISSING OUT MY FRIENDS. Anyways, I was so enamored with the 50's portion of this second installment that I had to make some designs. Should I play through the game again?
YES.
2D-3D conversion using SPM. This is a poster for the movie "Premonition" with Sandra Bullock in 2007. I have collected these types of illusions for years but this is the first I tried to turn into an anaglyph. Red/Cyan 3D glasses required for viewing.
8-13-11, I tied for 2nd place in an FAA contest - Scream Queens...
fineartamerica.com/contests/scream-queens.html?tab=leader...
2D-3D conversion using SPM. I found the image as wallpaper on the web. Red/Cyan 3D glasses required for viewing.
The Metric Conversion Poster is just one of the Mathematics Classroom Poster set available from The Write Prescription online teaching aid store.
Available in letter size and now 11"x17".
A single shot of my flying Hive Tyrant armed with 2 converted twin linked Devourers with Brainleech worms
BMW E90 3 Series Widebody M3 Conversion for Non-M3. Fits your 335i 328i 325i and all other Non M3 E90 models. The kit includes the front bumper, front fenders, side skirts rear fender flares, and rear bumper. Also available is a decklid with integrated spoiler and a vented M3 Style hood.
This is a super high quality kit with perfect fitment. Our kit sets a new level of perfection for aerodynamic tuning companies.
Prior Design is a German Aerodynamic Company Designing and Manufacturing Body Kits and Wheels for European Cars.
For more information please visit our website at www.PriorDesignNA.com.
You can also give us a call at
(866) 997-2336
Prior Design North America
(866) 997-2336
priordesignusa@gmail.com
Nikon D800E with lens Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 AIS. HDR made from 3 bracketed exposures at f/8 and ISO 200. Monochrome conversion in post processing (lightroom)
Do you want to get the most out of your attic space? Then, why don't you consider doing attic conversion with GM Carpentry & Construction? We specialize in handling different attic conversions with great care and attention to detail. In addition, our attic conversion specialists work on never allowing your attic space to go to waste. For more information about our attic conversions, please call us at 087 615 9429.
+++ 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:
Due to increasing tensions in Europe which led to World War 2, AVRO Aircraft started developing combat aircraft, and as a subsidiary of Hawker, they had access to the Hurricane plans. At the time that the Hurricane was developed, RAF Fighter Command consisted of just 13 squadrons, each equipped with either the Hawker Fury, Hawker Demon, or the Bristol Bulldog – all of them biplanes with fixed-pitch wooden propellers and non-retractable undercarriages. After the Hurricane's first flight, Avro started working on a more refined and lighter aircraft, resulting in a similar if not higher top speed and improved maneuverability.
The result was Avro’s project 675, also known as the "Swallow". The aircraft was a very modern and lightweight all-metal construction, its profile resembled the Hawker Hurricane but its overall dimensions were smaller, the Swallow appeared more squatted and streamlined, almost like a race version. The wings were much thinner, too, and their shape reminded of the Supermarine Spitfire’s famous oval wings. Unlike the Spitfire, though, the Swallow’s main landing gear had a wide track and retracted inwards. The tail wheel was semi-retractable on the prototype, but it was replaced by a simpler, fixed tail wheel on production models.
The Swallow made its first flight on 30th December 1937 and the Royal Air Force was so impressed by its performance against the Hurricane that they ordered production to start immediately, after a few minor tweaks to certain parts of the aircraft had been made.
On 25 July 1939, the RAF accepted their first delivery of Avro Swallow Mk. Is. The first machines were allocated to No.1 Squadron, at the time based in France, where they were used in parallel to the Hurricanes for evaluation. These early machines were powered by a 1.030 hp (770 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk II liquid-cooled V-12, driving a wooden two-bladed, fixed-pitch propeller. The light aircraft achieved an impressive top speed of 347 mph (301 kn, 558 km/h) in level flight – the bigger and heavier Hurricane achieved only 314 mph (506 km/h) with a similar engine. Like the Hurricane, the Swallow was armed with eight unsynchronized 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in the outer wings, outside of the propeller disc.
In spring 1940, Avro upgraded the serial production Swallow Mk.I's to Mk.IA standard: the original wooden propeller was replaced by a de Havilland or Rotol constant speed metal propeller with three blades, which considerably improved performance. Many aircraft were retrofitted with this update in the field workshops in the summer of 1940.
In parallel, production switched to the Swallow Mk. II: This new version, which reached the frontline units in July 1940, received an uprated engine, the improved Rolls-Royce Merlin III, which could deliver up to 1,310 hp (977 kW) with 100 octane fuel and +12 psi boost. With the standard 87 Octane fuel, engine performance did not improve much beyond the Merlin II's figures, though. A redesigned, more streamlined radiator bath was mounted, too, and altogether these measures boosted the Swallow’s top speed to 371 mph (597 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,096 m). This was a considerable improvement; as a benchmark, the contemporary Hurricane II achieved only 340 mph (547 km/h).
However, several fundamental weak points of the Swallow remained unsolved: its limited range could not be boosted beyond 300 miles (500 km) and the light machine gun armament remained unchanged, because the Swallow’s thin wings hardly offered more space for heavier weapons or useful external stores like drop tanks. Despite these shortcomings, the pilots loved their agile fighter, who described the Swallow as an updated Hawker Fury biplane fighter and less as a direct competitor to the Hurricane.
Being a very agile aircraft, the Swallow Mk. II became the basis for a photo reconnaissance version, too, the PR Mk. II. This was not a true production variant of the Swallow, though, but rather the result of field modifications in the MTO where fast recce aircraft were direly needed. The RAF Service Depot at Heliopolis in Egypt had already converted several Hurricanes Is for photo reconnaissance duties in January 1941, and a similar equipment update was developed for the nimble Swallow, too, despite its limited range.
The first five Swallow Mk. IIs were modified in March 1941 and the machines were outfitted with a pair of F24 cameras with 8-inch focal length lenses in the lower rear fuselage, outwardly recognizable through a shallow ventral fairing behind the cooler. Some PR Mk. IIs (but not all of them) were also outfitted with dust filters, esp. those machines that were slated to operate in Palestine and Northern Africa. For night operations some PR Mk. IIs also received flame dampers (which markedly reduced the engine’s performance and were quickly removed again) or simpler glare shields above the exhaust stacks.
The machines quickly proved their worth in both day and night reconnaissance missions in the Eastern Mediterranean theatre of operations, and more field conversions followed. Alternative camera arrangements were developed, too, including one vertical and two oblique F24s with 14-inch focal length lenses. More Swallow Mk. IIs were converted in this manner in Malta during April (six) and in Egypt in October 1941 (four). A final batch, thought to be of 12 aircraft, was converted in late 1941.
Even though the Swallow PR Mk. IIs were initially left armed with the wing-mounted light machine guns, many aircraft lost their guns partly or even fully to lighten them further. Most had their wing tips clipped for better maneuverability at low altitudes, a feature of the Swallow Mk. III fighter that had been introduced in August 1941. Some machines furthermore received light makeshift underwing shackles for photoflash bombs, enabling night photography. These were not standardized, though, a typical field workshop donor were the light bomb shackles from the Westland Lysander army co-operation and liaison aircraft, which the Swallow PR Mk. IIs partly replaced. These allowed a total of four 20 lb (9.1 kg) bombs or flash bombs for night photography to be carried and released individually through retrofitted manual cable pulls. The mechanisms were simply mounted into the former machine gun bays and the pilot could release the flash bombs sequentially through the former gun trigger.
For duties closer to the front lines a small number of Swallow PR Mk. IIs were further converted to Tactical Reconnaissance (Tac R) aircraft. An additional radio was fitted for liaison with ground forces who were better placed to direct the aircraft, and the number of cameras was reduced to compensate for the gain of weight.
However, by 1942, the Swallow had already reached its limited development potential and became quickly outdated in almost any aspect. Since the Supermarine Spitfire had in the meantime been successfully introduced and promised a much bigger development potential, production of the Avro Swallow already ceased in late 1942 after 435 aircraft had been built. Around the same time, the Swallows were quickly phased out from front-line service, too. Several machines were retained as trainers, messenger aircraft or instructional airframes. 20 late production Mk. IIs were sold to the Irish Air Corps, and a further 50 aircraft were sent to Canada as advanced fighter trainers, where they served until the end of the hostilities in 1945.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 28 ft 1 in (8.57 m)
Wingspan: 33 ft 7 in (10.25 m)
Height: 8 ft 6 in (2.60 m)
Wing area: 153 ft² (16.40 m²)
Empty weight: 3,722 lb (1,720 kg)
Gross weight: 5,100 lb (2,315 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Rolls-Royce Merlin III liquid-cooled V-12, rated at 1,310 hp (977 kW) at 9,000 ft (2,700 m)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 381 mph (614 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,096 m)
Range: 360 miles (580 km)
Service ceiling: 36,000 ft (10,970 m)
Rate of climb: 2,780 ft/min (14.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 29.8 lb/ft² (121.9 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (0.25 kW/kg)
Armament:
No internal guns
2x underwing hardpoints for a pair of 19-pound (8.6 kg) photoflash bombs each
The kit and its assembly:
This is the third incarnation of a whif that I have built some time ago for a Battle of Britain Group Build at whatifmodellers.com. This fictional machine – or better: its model – is based on a profile drawing conceived by fellow forum member nighthunter: an Avia B.135, outfitted with a Merlin engine, a ventral radiator in the style of a Hawker Hurricane, and with RAF markings. It was IIRC a nameless design, so that I created my own for it: the Avro 675 Swallow, inspired by the bird's slender wing and body that somehow resonates in the clean B.35 lines (at least for me).
I’ve already built two of these fictional aircraft as early WWII RAF fighters, but there was still potential in the basic concept – primarily as a canvas for the unusual livery (see below). The basis became, once again, the vintage KP Models B.35 fighter with a fixed landing gear. It’s a sleek and pretty aircraft, but the kit’s quality is rather so-so (the molds date back to 1974). Details are quite good, though, especially on the exterior, you get a mix of engraved and raised surface details. But the kit’s fit is mediocre at best, there is lots of flash and the interior is quite bleak. But, with some effort, things can be mended.
Many donation parts for the Swallow, beyond the Merlin engine, propeller and (underwing) radiator, and pitot, were taken in this case from a Revell 1:72 Spitfire Mk. V. Inside of the cockpit I used more Spitfire donor material, namely the floor, dashboard, seat and rear bulkhead/headrest with a radio set. The blurry, single-piece canopy was cut into three pieces for optional open display on the ground, but this was not a smart move since the material turned out to be very thin and, even worse, brittle – cracks were the unfortunate result.
New landing gear wells had to be carved out of the massive lower wing halves. Since the original drawn Swallow profile did not indicate the intended landing gear design, I went for an inward-retracting solution, using parts from the Spitfire and just mounted them these “the other way around”. Due to the oil cooler in one of the wing roots, though, the stance ended up a little wide, but it’s acceptable and I stuck to this solution as I already used it on former Swallow builds, too. But now I know why the real-world B.135 prototype had its landing gear retract outwards – it makes more sense from an engineering point of view.
The Merlin fitted very well onto the B.35 fuselage, diameter and shape are a very good match, even though there’s a small gap to bridge – but that’s nothing that could not be mended with a bit of 2C putty and PSR. A styrene tube inside of the donor engine holds a styrene pipe for a long metal axis with the propeller, so that it can spin freely. The large chin fairing for a dust filter is a transplant from an AZ Models Spitfire, it helps hide the ventral engine/fuselage intersection and adds another small twist to this fictional aircraft. From the same source came the exhaust stacks, Revell’s OOB parts are less detailed and featured sinkholes, even though the latter would later hardly be recognizable.
With the dust filter the Swallow now looks really ugly in a side view, it has something P-40E-ish about it, and the additional bulge behind the radiator for the cameras (certainly not the best place, but the PR Hurricanes had a similar arrangement) does not make the profile any better!
Further small mods include anti-glare panels above and behind the exhaust stacks (simple 0.5 mm styrene sheet), and the small underwing flash bombs were scratched from styrene profile material.
Painting and markings:
The livery was the true motivation to build this model, as a canvas to try it out: Long ago I came across a very interesting Hawker Hurricane camouflage in a dedicated book about this type, a simple all-over scheme in black blue, also known as “Bosun Blue”, together with very limited and toned-down markings. As far as I could find out this livery was used in the Middle East and later in India, too, for nighttime photo reconnaissance missions.
However, defining this color turned out to be very difficult, as I could not find any color picture of such an aircraft. I guess that it was not a defined color, but rather an individual field mix with whatever was at hand – probably roundel blue and black? Therefore, I mixed the obscure Bosun Blue myself, even though this took some sorting out and experiments. I initially considered pure Humbrol 104 (Oxford Blue) but found it to have a rather reddish hue. FS 35042 (USN Sea Blue) was rejected, too, because it was too greenish, even with some black added. I eventually settled on a mix of Humbrol 15 (Midnight Blue) and 33 (Flat Black), which appeared as a good compromise and also as a very dark variant of a cyan-heavy blue tone.
The cockpit interior and the inside of the landing gear wells were painted with RAF cockpit green (Humbrol 78), while the landing gear struts became aluminum (Humbrol 56) – pretty standard.
The decals/markings were puzzled together from various sources. Using a real-world RAF 208 Squadron MTO night photography Hurricane as benchmark I gave the aircraft a light blue individual code letter (decals taken from the Revell Spitfire Mk. V's OOB sheet, which has the letters’ Sky tone totally misprinted!). The spinner was painted in the same tone, mixed individually to match the letter.
Markings were apparently generally very limited on these machines, e. g. they did not carry any unit letter code) and the Type B roundels only on fuselage and upper wings. The latter were improvised, with wacky Type B-esque roundels from a Falkland era Sea Harrier placed on top of RAF roundels with yellow edges. The sources I consulted were uncertain whether these rings were yellow, white, or maybe even some other light color, but I went for yellow as it was the RAF's markings standard. Looks odd, but also pretty cool, esp. with the Type B roundels’ slightly off proportions.
The subdued two-color fin flash on the dark aircraft was/is unusual, too, and following real world practice on some PR Hurricanes I added a thin white edge for better contrast. The small black serial on a white background, as if it was left over from an overpainted former fuselage band, came from a Latvian Sopwith Camel (PrintScale sheet); in RAF service N8187 would have been used during the pre-WWII period and therefore a plausible match for the Swallow, even though it belongs to a batch of RN aircraft (It would probably have been a Fairey Fulmar)..
No black ink washing was applied to the model due to its dark overall color, just the cockpit and the landing gear were treated this way. Some light weathering and panel shading was done all over, and soot stains as well as light grey “heat-bleached” areas due to lean combustion around the exhausts were painted onto the fuselage. Finally, everything was sealed under a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and wire antennae (stretched sprue material) were added.
A simple project, realized in a couple of days – thanks to the experience gathered during former builds of this fictional aircraft. However, the Avro Swallow looked already promising in nighthunter's original profile, almost like a missing link between the sturdy Hurricane and the more glorious Spitfire. The result looks very convincing, and the all-blue livery suits the aircraft well! . At first glance, the Swallow looks like an early Spitfire, but then you notice the different wings, the low canopy and the shorter but deeper tail. You might also think that it was a travestied Yak-3 or LaGG aircraft, but again the details don’t match, it’s a quite subtle creation.
I am amazed how good this thing looks overall, with its elegant, slender wings and the sleek fuselage lines – even though the dust filter and the camera fairing strongly ruin the side profile. Maybe another one will join my RAF Swallow collection someday, this time in Irish Air Corps colors.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
The aircraft that became known as ’The Jägermeister’ was an ambitious racing aircraft project from Germany, that took part in the US National Air Races at Reno during 1967-69.
The Jägermeister was built from a disassembled He 100D wreck which was found in 1962. It was found during constructions at the Heinkel plant at Bremen, buried in the ground, probably during the final days of WWII before Allied troops took over the site. The aircraft was in poor condition, but complete and still structurally intact.
The find was a minor sensation, since none of the few He 100 built were known to have survived the Second World War – but unfortunately no public funding for restoration could be achieved. In 1964 Heinkel finally sold the airframe to a private owner, the company Mast-Jägermeister SE and its respective owners, the Findel-Mast family. Mast was (and still is) famous for its herb flavored 70-proof (35%) liqueur Jägermeister, which was first brought to market in 1935.
The Wolfenbüttel-based company had been sponsoring car racing, and as an innovative PR measure it was decided to re-build the He 100D and attack the absolute air speed record!
What sounded like megalomania had a sound basis: The Heinkel He 100 was a German pre-World War II fighter aircraft design from Heinkel which proved to be one of the fastest fighter aircraft in the world at the time of its development. But the design was not ordered into series production, less than 20 prototypes and pre-production machines were built.
Re-building the aircraft proved to be difficult, though: Because there were no complete surviving examples, and since many factory documents - including all blueprints for the He 100 - were destroyed during a bombing raid, there was limited specific information about the aircraft’s design and its unique systems. The most significant feature of the original He 100 design (which was missing in the later D variant, though) was an evaporative cooling system. This installation under the wing surfaces and without a draggy radiator bath for the liquid-cooled Daimler Benz engine allowed a very clean airframe and high aerodynamic efficiency. For the re-built aircraft, this revolutionary system was to be re-constructed, as well as an original Daimler Benz DB 601 engine, tuned for high performance. The latter was expected to yield around 2.000hp instead of the original, pre-war 1.200hp, even though for just short periods.
Despite these challenges the project was tackled and the aircraft re-built as a civil high speed race plane. This reconstruction was done at Vereinigte Flugtechnische Werke in Hamburg, an association of many former German aircraft manufacturers, including Heinkel.
The resurrected He 100D was christened ‘Jägermeister’ and made its maiden flight in August 1966, bearing the civil registration ‘D-WILD’. But by then the idea of attacking the air world speed record had been dropped – despite the theoretical potential of the aircraft to break the 800 km/h (500 mph) barrier. Funds for the project from the Mast family were reduced, and eventually the finished aircraft was sold to the United States. The aircraft kept its all-orange livery, though, as Mast-Jägermeister SE was still a sponsor and hoped for PR in the USA as a potential new market.
In September 1967 and with the American pilot George Fransworth at the controls, ‘The Jägermeister’ made its debut at Reno’s National Championship Air Races in the Unlimited Class with the grid number ‘43’, where it raced against several much bigger warbirds. The compact and slender aircraft looked diminutive between the much larger Mustangs, Corsairs and Sea Furies - but thanks to its good aerodynamics the aircraft was very competitive, despite only half of the “Big Birds’” power, and even though extra weight had to be added in order to reach the 4.500 lb minimum empty weight limit for the Unlimited Racer class!
During the 1969 Reno Air Races, The Jägermeister suffered a major engine failure. While Farnsworth could keep the aircraft under control and bring it down, the landing attempt ended in disaster and the airframe had to be written off.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 26 ft 11 in (8.20 m)
Wingspan: 26 ft 5 1/2 in (8.08 m)
Height: 8 ft 2 in (2.5 m)
Wing area: 134 ft² (12.5 m²)
Empty weight: 4.361 lb (1.980 kg)*
Loaded weight: 5.420 lb (2.460 kg)
*raised to 4.500 lb when starting at the National Championship Air Races
Powerplant
1× modified DB 601M V12 race engine with up to 2.000hp (1.470kW), driving a five-bladed propeller
Performance
Maximum speed (theoretical): 800 km/h (432 kn, 496 mph) at 20.000 ft
Range: n/a
Service ceiling: 10.000 m (28.250 ft)
Rate of climb: n/a
Wing loading: 158,4 kg/m² (32,5 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 742,4 W/kg (0.46 hp/lb)
The kit and its assembly
Primiraly, this fictional Unlimited Class Reno Air Racer was a contribution to an air racer group build at whatifmodelers.com, but also a nice distraction from military vehicles/aircraft. You rarely have the chance to turn a weapon into a sport item.
Conceptually it was clear from the start that I wanted to build something that would be plausible/realistic, still with a twist. When I wondered about a potential German type for the Reno Air Race after WWII (where a lot of US, British and recently some Soviet warbirds were used), I passed the 'typical candidates' of Bf 109 or Fw 190 and settled for the unlucky pre-war He 100.
Originally, the He 100 had been a rival to the Bf 109 and the He 112, and it was definitively the best aircraft of both of these. The real He 100 flew for the first time in early 1938, and it was used for record attempts (e .g. on a 100km round course, and also for the absolute speed record - and the eight prototype even reached 746,61 km/h (462,58 mph)! Anyway, the Bf 109 was preferred and the He 100 became a passed opportunity.
Since the He 100's DB 601 engine was reserved for the Bf 109, the He 100 was not 'allowed' into German service and serial production and only a few He 100D (slightly modified, with a new cooler and an enlarged tail fin) were built - even though the type was offered for export and license production, e .g. to Japan or the Soviet Union.
The fifteen built aircraft were primarily used for propaganda purposes, or ended up as local defense of the Heinkel plant in Rostock-Marienehe.
Anyway, the elegant and fast He 100D would be a perfect candidate for a fast racing aircraft. In order to make a Reno Racer from it, the kit (Special Hobby kit, the optional Lindberg kit is a joke) saw some basic modifications:
● Clipped wing tips, which would reduce the real life span by about 3'
● A new propeller with five blades and a bigger spinner
● New exhaust pipes
● A new, more modern and streamlined canopy
● A modern pilot figure
● Omittance of the belly radiator
Around the fuselage, any sign of armament disappeared. Clipped wings are a common practice on racing warbirds, as it reduces drag and G-forces in tight turns, so the wing span was reduced and new wing tips sculpted. The new propeller comes from a Griffon Spitfire: the spinner from a Pavla aftermarket kit, the propeller blades from a Special Hobby kit. In order to fit the slightly bigger diameter spinner onto the tiny He 100 fuselage I had to cut the latter by about 3mm, I wanted to use the original lines instead of adding a fat nose with putty.
The propeller was mounted with a metal axis in a styrene tube, so that it could rotate freely.
The cockpit was taken OOB, but a modern pilot from an Academy kit was used - this pilot wears a jumpsuit and a 'bone dome', but no oxygen mask, so it is a perfect choice for a low altitude racer.
The canopy actually is a rear canopy part from a Hobby Boss P-51, just facing rearwards. Fairings from styrene and putty had to be added to make the new piece fit, but its slender like looks much more aerodynamic than the original He 100 part, and such simple modifications are frequently done to warbird racers.
The rest of the kit was taken more or less OOB - I just left the water cooler under the fuselage away. The original He 100 did not have this piece either, as the DB 601 was cooled by a complicated but aerodynamically very effective evaporative cooling system - and for short race distances, falling back to this option would IMHO make sense. Actually, this has also been employed in real life Reno Racers, so it's plausible.
Painting and markings:
Well, a German Reno Racer was the idea, and I found a nice livery/sponsor option when I browsed through Germany's touring car history: thorough many years, the Rauch destilery sponsored race cars for their herbal liquor 'Jägermeister', and this old brand has orange as ID color, as well as promiment logos and typo. What else could you ask for?
Consequently, the He 100 racer became 'The Jägermeister; in a simple, all-orange livery, just like the respectice race cars. The original tone is, as far as I could find out, RAL 2004 (Reinorange). I used Testors 1595 (Semigloss Orange), since the tone comes pretty close. Panels were later emphasized through light dry-brushing with Humbrol 18 (Gloss Orange), which is slightly lighter, and some Humbrol 132 for depth. The intention was to make the kit not look too uniform, but not dirty or dented, as air racers are frequently kept clean and in best possible shape.
The logos, sponsor stickers and typo come from an aftermarket decal sheet for 1:43 race cars and were deliberately scattered across the aircraft, using real life racers as benchmark for details like grid number positions and orientation.
The German registration D-WILD is fictional and was created through single letters from TL Modellbau aftermarket sheets. These also provided the German flag on the tail.
The cockpit interior was painted in medium grey. The pilot received a dark brown jumpsuit with white and orange trim, as well as a white helmet.
The landing gear and the interior of the wells were painted in Aluminum (Humbrol 56), the wheel discs are black so that they'd not stand out too much.
The spinner tip was painted with glossy silver (Humbrol 11), the propeller blades were painted black from behind, light grey from the front, with yellow warning tips.
Finally, everything was sealed under a double coat of gloss acrylic varnish.
As the kit was built OOB and any ingredients at hand, the whole thing was puzzled together in less than three days – it actually took longer to wait for the right weather condition to take the pictures.
It is a nice and colorful whif that would have certainly looked great (if not somewhat dwarfish) among other Reno warbirds?
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Fiat G.91Y was an Italian ground attack and reconnaissance aircraft that first flew in 1966. Resembling its predecessor, the Fiat G.91, the aircraft was a complete redesign, a major difference being its twin-turbojet engines for a considerably increased performance.
Funded by the Italian government, the G.91Y prototype was based on the G.91T two-seat trainer variant with a single Bristol Orpheus turbojet engine. This was replaced with two afterburning General Electric J85 turbojets which increased thrust by 60%. Structural modifications to reduce airframe weight increased performance further and an additional fuel tank occupying the space of the G.91T's rear seat provided extra range. Combat manoeuvrability was improved with the addition of automatic leading edge slats.
The avionics equipment of the G.91Y was considerably upgraded with many of the American, British and Canadian systems being license-manufactured in Italy.
Flight testing of three pre-production aircraft was successful with one aircraft reaching a maximum speed of Mach 0.98. Airframe buffeting was noted and was rectified in production aircraft by raising the position of the tailplane slightly.
An initial order of 55 aircraft for the Italian Air Force was completed by Fiat in March 1971, by which time the company had changed its name to Aeritalia (from 1969, when Fiat aviazione joined the Aerfer). The order was increased to 75 aircraft with 67 eventually being delivered. In fact, the development of the new G.91Y was quite long, and the first order was for about 20 pre-series examples that followed the two prototypes.
Like the G.91 before, the G.91Y attained much interest as it was a versatile light fighter bomber. One of the countries that ahd an eye on the upgraded Gina was Switzerland, looking for a dedicated support or even replacement for the Hawker Hunters, which were primarily used in the interceptor role, as well as the outdated D. H. Venom fighter bombers.
Fiat's answer was the G.91YS, a version tailored to Swiss needs. A first prototype with enhanced avionics, a strengthened structure for higher external loads as well as for typical operations on short runways with steep climbs and extra hardpoints to carry AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles for evaluation by Switzerland.
The first G.91YS flew on 16 October 1970, but at that time it was already clear that the machine was to carry smart weapons, primarily the AGM-65 'Maverick', which was also earmarked as new, additional Hawker Hunter ordnance.
In order to get things moving the Swiss Air Force ordered in 1972 an initial batch of 22 G.91YS, knowing that an upgrade would become necessary soon. It was a kind of stopgap purchase, though, because the original types for that role, Vought A-7 or the Mirage III derivative Milan S, were rejected after long negotiations. The G.91YS was a more simple and cost effective option, and also as a better option than a short-notice offer for second hand A-4Bs in late 1972.
The new machines were delivered until summer 1974 and allocated to Fliegerstaffel 22 which exclusively operated the fighter bomber. This came just in time because by 1975 plans were laid to replace the Hunter in the air-to-air role with a more modern fighter aircraft, the Northrop F-5E Tiger II (which became operational in 1978). The Hunter remained in a key role within the Swiss Air Force, though. Like the RAF's Hunter fleet, the type transitioned to become the country's primary ground attack platform, completely replacing the Venom, while the G.91YS was regarded as more sophisticated attack aircraft against small, single targets, including tanks (with Soviet mobile tactical missile launch platforms in mind), relying on the AGM-65 as its main armament. Four of these missiles could be carried under the wings, plus a pair of AIM-9 for self-defense. Alternative loads included unguided missiles of various sizes (incl. podded launchers), iron bombs or napalm tanks of up to 1.000 lb caliber, or drop tanks on the inner pylons.
The G.91YS’s primary mission as precision strike aircraft was further emphasized through a massive upgrade program in 1982, including improved sensors, a modernized radio system, a nose-mounted laser tracker/range finder (replacing the former Vinten cameras and greatly improving single pass attack capability and accuracy) and the integration of electronic countermeasure (ECM) systems. The upgraded machines were easily recognizable through their more rounded nose shape with a pitot tube mounted on top, a characteristic spine fairing and a radar warning system housing at the top of the fin.
In this form the G.91YS was kept in operational service until 1994, when it was retired together with the Swiss Hunter fleet. Six aircraft had been lost through accidents during the type’s career. Author Fiona Lombardi stated of the retirement of the Hunter and the G.91YS, the Swiss Air Force "definitively lost the capability to carry out air-to-ground operations". With the retirement of the G.91YS fleet Fliegerstaffel 22 was disbanded, too.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length (incl. pitot): 12.29 m (40 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 9.01 m (29 ft 6.5 in)
Height: 4.43 m (14 ft 6.3 in)
Wing area: 18.13 m² (195.149 ft²)
Empty weight: 4.000 kg (8.810 lb)
Loaded weight: 8.000 kg (17.621 lb)
Max. take-off weight: 9.000 kg (19.825 lb)
Powerplant:
2× General Electric J85-GE-13A turbojets with afterburners, 18.15 kN (4,080 lbf) each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1.110 km/h (600 kn, 690 mph,
Mach 0.95 at 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
Range: 3,400 km (ferry range with droptanks) (2,110 mls)
Service ceiling: 12,500 m (41,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 86.36 m/s (17,000 ft/min)
Wing loading: 480 kg/m² (98.3 lb/ft² (maximum)
Thrust/weight: 0.47 at maximum loading
Armament:
2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA cannons
6× under-wing pylon stations holding up to maximum of 2.270 kg (5.000 lb) of payload.
The kit and its assembly:
A classic whif – the G.91YS for the Swiss Air Force actually existed, and I just spun the idea further. The compact fighter would have been a suitable addition to the small nation’s air force, and I interpreted it as an addition to the big Hawker Hunter fleet with a dedicated role and with suitable special equipment.
The basis is the Matchbox G.91Y kit with some minor changes:
• A new nose from a Fujimi Harrier GR.3
• The jet exhausts were opened and some interior added
• Flaps were lowered
• Some added detail to the ejection seat
• The spine extension, a simple piece of sprue
• The radar warning fairing is a square piece of styrene sheet
• Replacement of the cast-on guns with hollow steel needles
• The Sidewinder hardpoints come from a Revell F-16A
• The AGM-65s and their launch rails come from a Hasegawa weapon set
Painting and markings:
The bigger challenge, because I did not want to use the typical “Hunter livery” in Extra Dark Sea Grey/SlateGrey/Aluminum – even if it would have been the natural choice for a Swiss aircraft. Choice for alternative yet authentic schemes is narrow, though – late Mirage III or the F-5Es carry a two-tone grey air superiority scheme, and I found this rather unsuitable for an attack aircraft.
So I developed my own design: a mix of the original Italian grey/green scheme and a two-tone pattern that late Turkish RF-4E/TMs carried - but with different colors and all mashed up into a modern, disruptive scheme. Experimental schemes of the German Luftwaffe in the late 70ies for their Alpha Jets and the F-4F fleet (leading to the complex Norm ’81 patterns) also had an influence.
As basic tones I used RAL 6007 (Grüngrau, Revell 67) and Dark Gull Grey (FS36231, Modelmaster, turned out to be a bit too pale for what I wanted to achieve), with added fields of RAL 7000 (Fehgrau, Revell 57) on the upper surfaces and on the mid-waterline flanks – lighter and softer than the original NATO tones and with disruptive lighter blotches that break up the silhouette.
The underside was simply painted in uniform FS36375 (Humbrol 127), which was also carried onto the fin. After a thin black ink wash panels were lightened through dry-brushing.
Cockpit interior was painted with Humbrol 140, the landing gear with a mix of White and Aluminum, trying to emulate look of real aircraft. In order not to make them stand out too much I painted the AGM-65s in olive drab, even though I think all Swiss missiles of that type were white. Artistic freedom…
Decals were puzzled together, e. g. from a Mirage III Carpena sheet and an Italieri Bae Hawk sheet, most stencils come from the OOB sheet (despite being slightly yellowed...).
A simple whif, done in a week, and based on an obscure real-life project. And the G.91 bears more whiffing potential, at least one more is to come!