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The USMF's elite pilots (those given the rank of Paladin) are a tough breed whose exploits are well known across the galaxy. Though qualified on a wide array of different craft (including ones not used by the USMF) most Paladins operate solo or in small groups; often great distances from allied bases or capital ships and thus have found great use in one-man fighter craft with FTL capability.
Miniaturizing FTL jump drives is a complex and costly process, but the benefits of a faster-than-light starfighter are numerous. For years, the USMF Paladins utilized the AX-20 "Katana" in this role. While a sturdy and fast ship, the Katana's production foundry was completely destroyed in the beginning stages of the Dimension Wars, and as such, it's service numbers dwindled further from the already small amount (in comparison to non-FTL fighters in the fleet).
Starcom Solution's answered the call for a "faster-than-light jack of all trades" by introducing the "Tekkan" (a name of Japanese origin inspired by its spiritual predecessor "Katana"). Starcom Solutions, living up to it's name, conquered the complex issue of small FTL jump drives with a unique solution; the drive systems were built at the capital ship shipyards on Saturn and then shipped to Neptune where quantum technology was used to shrink the units down to a smaller size.
Impressed by the originality of Starcom Solutions' engineering prowess, the USMF quickly requested a Tekkan for immediate trial runs. The first Tekkan produced (which was painted red with white markings as tribute to the Katana) passed its tests with flying colors (no pun intended) and was assigned to Paladin Kira Janus.
The Tekkan features twin heavy repeating lasers (much like those found on Hyperius Industries' "Scorpion"-class heavy fighter) and twin "Mjölnir"-type lightning cannons, which fire thunderous bolts of energy across great distances. These weapons pack quite the punch and require no ammunition, but require a great amount of charge time. If safety protocols are bypassed, the capacitor banks can overcharge and result in a devastating chain reaction.
Spencer Flack's Hawker Sea Fury sits on the apron at Greenham Common resplendent in its house livery of red with white and grey trim, a livery shared by a Spitfire and a Hunter.
G-FURY was originally a Royal Navy aircraft WJ244 and after being disposed of by the military was kept at Southend and later Biggin Hill in private ownership. However, it was not to take to the air in civilian ownership until Spencer Flack took it back into the sky in June 1980.
The beast is seen here in June 1981 and it was only a few weeks later that the aircraft was destroyed at Waddington August 2nd. The owner survived the crash, but died in a classic car race in Australia in February 2002.
Greenham Common, Berkshire
27th June 1981
Pentax MX, Kodachrome
19810627 18206 GFURY IMG_0003 clean std
Fighter I made a while ago, surprisingly fiddly for something that looks so simple, unfortunately I didn't think to take any better shots of it before I took it apart.
Many moons ago before I had Photoshop I would Take a picture of the sky and another of a jet in a museum, the careful clone the jet on the framed sky picture.. Photoshop makes it much easier now days
The dragonfly is a high speed, maneuverable space gunship capable of in-atmosphere flight. It is primarily used to back up starfighters and complete bombing runs at high speeds. Built for Shiptember 2019. I really wanted so see more smaller fighter craft in shiptember, so I made one. Also the old gray part literally changed on me in the four weeks since I originally built this.
..cause it makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
It makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter
Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
Makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter...
Perchè le esperienze ci fanno crescere, tirano fuori la forza che abbiamo dentro, ci mettono alla prova...
Ma poi l'importante è non diventare troppo duri, soprattutto con sè stessi...
Local MMA professional fighter Barry who was a fantastic subject to photograph putting in 100% effort during his shoot.
Though technically they have eight eyes, seven on their head and their ‘belly-eye’ the first humans to see them described the new alien race as being ‘cyclops’ and this name has stuck, mainly due to the Cyclopians own pleasure in the name. As their first ambassador to the Terran system put it: “We are a species of singular vision; there is no compromise, no bending of our will, and no changing of our precepts. To do so just wouldn’t be us, so we bear your Earth language name with pride.”
Of course this singular vision and lack of compromise means they often end up in conflict with each other and other species. The Cyrana fighter (named for a species of fish on their home world of Monoth) is an effective, maneuverable and well armed craft that holds up well against most comparable craft. It is said that the Ooze Queen of Monoth has one in her personal garage, but it has also been said “She is too fat and covered in stinking crusted ooze to fit in an Octan Space Tanker.” Though that’s why the Cyclopians went to war with the Squidites, so let’s not spread that around too much.
Dissention and defection from the Monocrasy of the Ooze Queen has increased in recent decades and many otherwise law-abiding Cyclopians have been drawn into criminal gangs in an attempt to find security from punishment death gangs loyal to the Queen. The Space Police have expressed concern to Terran Gov over these acts of violence and protests have been made to the Cyclopian ambassador, as is to be expected no change to Cyclopian policy has been made.
A selection of Tomcats take rest at the rear of the USS Theodore Roosevelt during the types final combat cruise in the Persian Gulf. 18/01/2006.
PLEASE TAKE A SECOND TO COMMENT IF YOU ADD TO FAVORITES! (i see already someone didn't listen lol)
As a photographer and an artist having the feeling of lack of creativity sometimes really sucks, as it has for me lately. Thankfully however all it takes is a single shock to your central creative system to jolt you back into reality and for me this image gave me that much needed jolt.
This was a spur of the moment edit and I absolutely love how it came out. Comments welcome, enjoy!
Strobist: 1 ab800 overhead in a 22'' ebay beauty dish, 2 ab800's back left and right gridded, triggered with PW.
Post: Basically consists of bumping the exposure in lightroom and clarity, then going into Photoshop and creating a dodge and burn layer for the highlights and shadows, from there a few high pass filters and my secret sauce, then back to lightroom where I turn down the saturation and bump the luminance in the oranges to make the highlights pop a bit more and a little bit more clarity and viola.
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Copyright 2011 Robert Gordon Photography - Please do not use w/o my explicit permission.
+++ 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:
The origins of the Ethiopian Air Force have been traced to (then Ras) Haile Selassie witnessing a show of the British Royal Air Force in November 1922, in Aden. Having never seen an airplane before, he was captivated by this demonstration of their power and abilities, and spontaneously asked if he could go up in one of the biplanes, proclaiming that it was "very fitting that he, as regent of Abyssinia should be the first Abyssinian to take flight in an aeroplane." As a result of this experience, he afterwards advocated the development of the Imperial Ethiopian Air Force. This small air arm began with the delivery of a Potez 25-A2 to the capital Addis Ababa on 18 August 1929. The Ethiopian Air Force was organized by Mishka Babitchef, the first Ethiopian pilot, who was of Russian descent. A Junkers W 33c followed on 5 September.
On 31 March 1930, three of the biplanes from Ethiopia's air arm played a dramatic role in a battle between Haile Selassie (not yet crowned Emperor) and conservative forces seeking to oust him. During the Battle of Anchem, biplanes were effectively used to give Haile Selassie's forces the upper hand.
A few transport aircraft were also acquired during 1934–35 for ambulance work. The air force was commanded by Colonel John Robinson (African-American, took command May 1935), recruited by Haile Selassie, and who remained until the Italian conquest of Ethiopia, when the small air arm ceased to exist.
After the liberation of Ethiopia, the country started reorganizing the embryonic air force that had existed prior to the Italian invasion, commanded by Colonel John Robinson (African-American). In 1944, a group of World War II African-American veterans set up a flying school at Lideta airport in Addis Ababa. The nation acquired a few aircraft through military aid from the United States and United Kingdom and the school had some 75 students by 1946. As neither the United States nor the United Kingdom were initially interested in providing further military assistance, Ethiopia turned to Sweden to help create a modern air arm. Sweden agreed to support, and Carl Gustaf von Rosen was appointed as the chief instructor of the newly re-formed Imperial Ethiopian Air Force (IEAF).
The Swedish contingent played a critical role in setting up a solid foundation. It sent Safir trainers and B-17A light bombers from Sweden, and the Ethiopian government acquired C-47 Skytrain transport aircraft from the United States to equip the flight training, bomber, and transport squadrons, respectively. In 1951, the IEAF formed its first fighter/attack squadron by acquiring Fairey Firefly fighters from the United Kingdom, later augmented with more aircraft of this type procured from Canada. One year later a fighter/reconnaissance squadron was founded, equipped with former British Supermarine Spitfire Mk. 18s.
The Mk. 18 was a refinement of the Griffon-powered Mk XIV from WWII. It was identical in most respects including engine (the Griffon 65) and cockpit enhancements, but it had from the start a bubble canopy for a better field of view for the pilot. It carried an additional 31-gallon fuel tank in the rear fuselage which extended range to about 610 miles (980 km) on internal fuel and the type had a revised, stronger wing structure. Its handling was nearly identical to the Mk. XIV and so it was not put through any performance tests before production started. But despite this sped-up development phase, the Mk. 18 missed the war and it was only built for a short period.
The Spitfire Mk. 18 was, like the earlier Mk. XIV, produced in pure fighter (F. Mk. 18) and armed fighter reconnaissance variants (FR. Mk. 18) which only differed through ventral camera ports and/or lateral camera windows at port and starboard as well as the respective camera mounts behind the cockpit. The Mk. 18 was delivered with standard elliptical wings, but some aircraft, especially the reconnaissance machines, were outfitted with clipped wing tips for better handling at low altitude.
Some 300 F. Mk. 18s and FR. Mk. 18s were built until 1946, but it was not until January 1947 that an RAF unit, 60 Squadron operating from RAF Seletar, Singapore, was re-equipped with the new variant, and other squadrons in the Far East and Middle East would receive them, too. In RAF service the Mk. 18s saw little action apart from some involvement against guerrillas in the Malayan Emergency. Beyond Ethiopia, who bought twenty retired RAF machines with few flying hours from surplus stock based in Iraq (formerly operated by RAF No. 6, 8 and 73 Squadron), the Royal Indian Air Force purchased 20 ex-RAF Mk. 18s, too.
Beyond these initial procurements, Ethiopia’s quest for an up-to-date air arm continued. In 1953, a military agreement between the United States and Ethiopia was signed for a military assistance program. Its aim was to provide Ethiopia with a capable military force for defensive purposes. The IEAF benefited immensely from the program. The US Air Force sent a team of officers and NCOs to assess the force and provide recommendations as part of the Military Advisory and Assistance Group undertaking the comprehensive study of the Ethiopian military and possible threats that it had to counter. The IEAF was to be restructured organizationally and adopt US-style operating procedures, and emphasis was given to building up IEAF's training institutions. Several Ethiopian personnel were sent to the US for training, including 25 Ethiopian pilots for jet training, and many more were trained locally by US Defense personnel. In 1957, the first three of several T-33A jet trainers were supplied, but the vintage piston engine combat aircraft still played a central role and became involved in the smoldering conflict with Somalia, which eventually escalated into the Ogaden War.
After its independence in 1960, Somalia started making claims to all of its precolonial territories that were occupied by France, Ethiopia and the British. However, majority of the land claimed was in Ethiopia which made it Somalia's main target. After failing to get support within the Organization of African Unity, Somalia declared war on Ethiopia in 1964. The Somali forces launched their attack at Togochale, a border town east of Jijiga, but the Ethiopians were no match to the comparatively well-equipped air forces of Somalia and suffered heavy losses. The brief conflict provided the IEAF with valuable experience, though. Lessons learned included the need for heavy bombers, an air defense complex, a secure and reliable communication system, and better coordination with ground forces. As a result, Canberra bombers and air defense radars were acquired from Great Britain and the US, respectively. F-86F fighters from the USA followed in 1960 and during the next year T-28s were acquired for advanced training. This influx of equipment and training made the IEAF, in the opinion of historian Bahru Zewde, "the most prestigious show-piece of American aid in Ethiopia. It was also reputedly the most modern and efficient unit of the armed forces."
In 1964, the neighboring Somalis began receiving large quantities of weaponry, ground equipment, and MiG-17 fighters from the Soviet Union. In response, the US started delivering the supersonic F-5A jet fighters in 1965 to counter this new threat. Careful not to escalate the situation further, the USA delivered the F-5As without providing major weapon systems for the aircraft, the ability to use air-to-air missiles. This deal, however, marked the start of the eventual retirement of the IEAF’s remaining early first-line propeller aircraft, even though some Fireflies and Spitfire FR. Mk. 18s soldiered on into the Seventies and were among the last vintage WWII fighters that were still in operation worldwide.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 32 ft 8 in (9,96 m)
Wingspan: 36 ft 10 in (11,23 m) with full span elliptical tips
Height: 10 ft (3,05 m)
Wing area: 242.1 sq ft (22,49 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 2213 (root), NACA 2209.4 (tip)
Empty weight: 6,578 lb (2.984 kg)
Gross weight: 7,923 lb (3.594 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 8,400 lb (3.810 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Rolls-Royce Griffon 65 supercharged V12 with 2,050 hp (1,530 kW) at 8,000 ft (2.438 m),
driving a 5-bladed Jablo-Rotol propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 441 mph (710 km/h, 383 kn) in FS supercharger gear at 29,500 ft.
391 mph in MS supercharger gear at 5,500 ft.
Combat range: 610 mi (960 km, 520 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,240 mi (2.000 km, 1,085 nmi)
Service ceiling: 43,500 ft (13.300 m)
Rate of climb: 5,040 ft/min (25,6 m/s) in MS supercharger gear at 2,100 ft.
3,550 ft/min in FS supercharger gear at 22,100 ft.
Time to altitude: 7 mins to 22,000 ft (at max weight)
Wing loading: 32.72 lb/sq ft (159,8 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.24
Armament:
2× 20 mm (0.787-in) Hispano Mk II cannon, 120 RPG
2× 0.50 in (12,7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, 250 RPG
Ventral and underwing hardpoints for alternative loads of:
● 2× 250 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs (500 lb total)
● 3× 250 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs (750 lb total)
● 1× 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bomb (500 lb total)
● 1× 500 lb G.P. Mk.IV bomb + 2 x 250 lb G.P. Mk.IV bombs (1,000 lb total)
● 8× RP-3 rockets
● 1x 90 gal. drop tank
The kit and its assembly:
This exotic what-if Spitfire was inspired by a F-5A decal sheet that I had recently bought, which featured – among many others – markings for an Ethiopian aircraft. That made me remember the odd Fairey Fireflies in desert camouflage and I wondered what other aircraft could have been operated by Ethiopia, too? One candidate was the Saab J29 Tunnan (because Sweden provided massive support to build and equip the Ethiopian Air Force), but then stumbled upon an MPM Spitfire Mk. 18 in the Stash™ that had been lingering there for years because I had bought it long ago as a part of a cheap lot, so that I had no concrete ideas for it so far. While I favored the J29 idea (esp. as a recce variant, possible with the Heller kit) I eventually used the opportunity to build the Spitfire, and it would, as an FR. Mk. 18, also become a late submission to the “Reconnaissance and Surveillance” group build at whatifmodellers.com in Sep. 2021.
That said, the simple but nicely detailed MPM kit from 1993 with a vacu canopy (actually two, one as a generous spare part should something go wrong…) and PE parts for cockpit and landing gear was basically built OOB. However, it is a typical short-run kit, so it bears some traps and surprises. What’s positive: very fine (even though somewhat soft) engraved surface details all over hull and wings as well as molded structures on the cockpit walls.
But this is countered by a wide range of weak or at least challenging points. For instance, the kit lacks ANY locator pins, the sprues are very thick, there’s flash and some parts like the machine guns or the propeller (with all five blades molded onto the spinner) are very rough in shape. PE parts are used everywhere: inside of the cockpit (you can build either a simple IP version of an almost fully-photo-etched alternative – I did a mix of both), the landing gear wells or the radiators, which are otherwise massive IP parts with a blurry interior and poor fit under the wings. The PE parts, however, are crisp and rather thick, so that they can be easily cut off from their blank and handled, and they fit surprisingly well, too.
Wings and fin each consist of two complete halves, so that they are quite massive, especially their trailing edges. Confusingly, the stabilizers come with pins - but there are no openings for them in the fuselage to hold or align them. The wheels are similar: there are pins on the legs, but no holes in the wheels themselves… Once the stabilizers are mounted in place you realize that they do not align with the fuselage shape: the visual axis through the rudders is “swept backwards” and needs further adjustments. The carburetor intake is molded into the lower wing section and the fuselage halves, and since it pointlessly consists of three thick-walled sections that do not align well, this calls for some serious PSR or even a total replacement (which I unfortunately did not have at hand). The wing roots on the fuselage do not match the wings well, either: they are much too wide for the assembled wing section, so that they had to be cut down (almost 1mm per side!) and the resulting inconsistencies had to be PSRed, too.
You see, the kit itself bears already a lot of challenges and work, and beyond this basic stuff I made some other amendments. Most importantly, I replaced the original and rather crude single-piece propeller with a leftover alternative from a Special Hobby Griffon-powered Spitfire, which fits well and looks MUCH better. It was mounted with the help of my standard metal-axis-in-a-styrene-tube-adapter construction. This revealed, however, that the front wall behind the spinner is not perfectly aligned with the propeller axis: there’s a noticeable gap that had to be filled with putty during the final assembly stages.
The ventral camera ports as well as the round openings on both flanks were drilled open and later received windows created with Humbrol ClearFix.
Due to the makeshift cockpit opening and the only vaguely fitting vacu canopy I decided to leave the cockpit closed, but added a (Matchbox) pilot figure with chopped-off legs to fit into the seat and vivify the model. The canopy itself was attached with superglue and later PSRed into the spine.
Painting and markings:
The more entertaining part of the build. I wanted to give this Spitfire a mix of desert camouflage, as seen on the Fireflies or the Saab B17 bombers, and, as a recce aircraft of British origin, classic PRU Blue.
The two-tone camouflage on the upper surfaces consists of RAF Dark Earth (Humbrol 29) and Light Stone (Humbrol 121), inspired by color photographs from contemporary Ethiopian aircraft – there’s a very helpful Air Enthusiast magazine article about the IEAF Fireflies (that can be accessed online under issuu.com/mtaye/docs/the_long_life_of_ethiopian_fairey_fi...). The undersides were painted with ModelMaster 2061, and the aircraft received a high waterline just under the cockpit and an all-blue fin – an interesting contrast, esp. with the colorful IEAF roundels and similar to the Royal Navy post-war scheme, just with different colors.
Even though the IEAF apparently added red spinners to the Fireflies, I kept it camouflaged on the model. No distractions.
The cockpit interior was painted with RAF Cockpit Green (Humbrol 78, according to pictures of real Mk. 18 cockpits – the typical RAF post-WWII black interior must have been introduced later?), as well as the landing gear wells. The inside of the main gear covers was painted in Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165), as if this ex-RAF aircraft from Iraq had only been re-painted externally. The pilot received – using references from the aforementioned IEAF Firefly article – a pale greyish-beige jumpsuit, a dark skin, and I even tried to add a black beard for more authenticity.
As usual, the model received an overall washing with black ink and some post-panel shading. Some light weathering was done with dry-brushed light grey on the wings’ leading edges – IEAF aircraft seem to have been kept in very good shape during the Fifties. Therefore, only minimal exhaust stains were added to the flanks and no gun soot to the wings.
Decals were kept simple, just the IEAF roundels and three-digit tactical codes on the fin and under the exhaust stubs, all coming from the inspiring F-5 sheet.
The finished IEAF Spitfire FR. Mk. 18 does not look spectacular – but I like the mix of a contrast desert camouflage with the deep PRU Blue and the high waterline, which IMHO also underlines the Spitfire’s elegant lines. The colorful Ethiopian roundels are an interesting contrast, too. Somehow this model almost looks like a creation for/from a Tintin comic, even though unintentionally?
The MPM kit, however, turned out to be a so-so affair. It would be unfair to call it bad, because it is a very good representation of the aircraft it depicts, and it comes with ample detail. It is a typical short-run kit, though, and therefore nothing for beginners or people who are faint at heart. There are certainly better Griffon-Spitfire kits around, but I am quite happy that I eventually found a good use for this rather comatose case from The Stash™. And I like the outcome, despite its flaws and weaknesses.
Thanks for your visit, fav, & comment (even short!) :) :
Location: Paris, Parc des Expositions, France
Event: PARIS MANGA & SCI-FI SHOW
Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED | f/3.5 | ISO 800 | 1/10s
No HDR
Parisian Photowalk with viandoxine.
Balade parisienne avec viandoxine.
Breitling Fighters operated FG-1D Cosair G-BXUL painted as US Navy 92844/8 at Duxford in October 2003.
Another shot from earlier today.
See today's 365: www.flickr.com/photos/oliviabellphotography/5396412296/in...
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Today at about 11.30AM we heard sirens, then more sirens, followed by more, and more and more…
One of the thatch houses (actually 4 houses!) was on fire. The thatch house is just on the edge of the village, so pretty much on one of the main roads. 9 fire engines, ambulance, police cars etc completely closed off the main road, and parked in it - this main road is the kind of road you'd get huge lorries on every 2-5 minutes.
At one point there was about 60/70 fire fighters and fire engines kept turning up for back up. It's now 7PM and the fire is still going - it's expected to last another 48hrs so the Red Cross Army and Salvation Army have turned up to keep the fire fighters fed and watered.
I spent the best part of 4hrs with my sisters and my mother along with the entire village, moving the stuff which had been salvaged from the houses -- absolutely incredible.
I took a handful of photographs so here's one of more to come!
I'll tell you what it makes me think though… always sweep your chimney (the fire was started because of a chimney fire!) and also how amazing the fire fighters are.
Hope you've all had a great Friday!
Processed using Lightroom and my Vibrant Colours Lightroom Preset!
Facebook Page - Twitter - Olivia Bell Photography (website) - Formspring - Tumblr
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Olivia Bell
So, I decided that if the Lel-11 was a Su-9/11, and the Lel-9 was an Su-7, and the real planes were both developed from the same airframe, then shouldn't the same go for my models? So I present to you all a vastly improved Lel-9. Nothing stats-wise has changed, just the model. Fluff is on the other photo.
Muh P&Q for DC6:
Lel-9: 2nd gen fighter
Payload - 6 (+1) [2x30mm guns]
Agility - Mediocre (-1)
Range - 1000km (-1)
Speed: - Mach 2 (+2)
All-Weather (+1)
Tonka Tough (+1)
Drop Tanks (0)
Compressor Stalls (-1)
Faulty Ejection Seats (-1)
Terrifying Landings (-1)
+++ 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:
Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, vice president of engineering and research at Lockheed's Skunk Works, visited USAF air bases across South Korea in November 1951 to speak with fighter pilots about what they wanted and needed in a fighter aircraft. At the time, the American pilots were confronting the MiG-15 with North American F-86 Sabres, and many felt that the MiGs were superior to the larger and more complex American design. The pilots requested a small and simple aircraft with excellent performance, especially high speed and altitude capabilities. Armed with this information, Johnson immediately started the design of such an aircraft on his return to the United States.
Work started in March 1952. In order to achieve the desired performance, Lockheed chose a small and simple aircraft, weighing in at 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) with a single powerful engine. The engine chosen was the new General Electric J79 turbojet, an engine of dramatically improved performance in comparison with contemporary designs. The small L-246 design remained essentially identical to the Model 083 Starfighter as eventually delivered.
Johnson presented the design to the Air Force on 5 November 1952, and work progressed quickly, with a mock-up ready for inspection at the end of April, and work starting on two prototypes that summer. The first prototype was completed by early 1954 and first flew on 4 March at Edwards AFB. The total time from contract to first flight was less than one year.
The first YF-104A flew on 17 February 1956 and, with the other 16 trial aircraft, were soon carrying out equipment evaluation and flight tests. Lockheed made several improvements to the aircraft throughout the testing period, including strengthening the airframe, adding a ventral fin to improve directional stability at supersonic speed, and installing a boundary layer control system (BLCS) to reduce landing speed. Problems were encountered with the J79 afterburner; further delays were caused by the need to add AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. On 28 January 1958, the first production F-104A to enter service was delivered.
Even though the F-104 saw only limited use by the USAF, later versions, tailored to a fighter bomber role and intended for overseas sales, were more prolific. This was in particular the F-104G, which became the Starfighter's main version, a total of 1,127 F-104Gs were produced under license by Canadair and a consortium of European companies that included Messerschmitt/MBB, Fiat, Fokker, and SABCA.
The F-104G differed considerably from earlier versions. It featured strengthened fuselage, wing, and empennage structures; a larger vertical fin with fully powered rudder as used on the earlier two-seat versions; fully powered brakes, new anti-skid system, and larger tires; revised flaps for improved combat maneuvering; a larger braking chute. Upgraded avionics included an Autonetics NASARR F15A-41B multi-mode radar with air-to-air, ground-mapping, contour-mapping, and terrain-avoidance modes, as well as the Litton LN-3 Inertial Navigation System, the first on a production fighter.
Germany was among the first foreign operators of the F-104G variant. As a side note, a widespread misconception was and still is that the "G" explicitly stood for "Germany". But that was not the case and pure incidence, it was just the next free letter, even though Germany had a major influence on the aircraft's concept and equipment. The German Air Force and Navy used a large number of F-104G aircraft for interception, reconnaissance and fighter bomber roles. In total, Germany operated 916 Starfighters, becoming the type's biggest operator in the world. Beyond the single seat fighter bombers, Germany also bought and initially 30 F-104F two-seat aircraft and then 137 TF-104G trainers. Most went to the Luftwaffe and a total of 151 Starfighters was allocated to the Marineflieger units.
The introduction of this highly technical aircraft type to a newly reformed German air force was fraught with problems. Many were of technical nature, but there were other sources of problems, too. For instance, after WWII, many pilots and ground crews had settled into civilian jobs and had not kept pace with military and technological developments. Newly recruited/re-activated pilots were just being sent on short "refresher" courses in slow and benign-handling first-generation jet aircraft or trained on piston-driven types. Ground crews were similarly employed with minimal training and experience, which was one consequence of a conscripted military with high turnover of service personnel. Operating in poor northwest European weather conditions (vastly unlike the fair-weather training conditions at Luke AFB in Arizona) and flying low at high speed over hilly terrain, a great many Starfighter accidents were attributed to controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). German Air Force and Navy losses with the type totaled 110 pilots, around half of them naval officers.
One general contributing factor to the high attrition rate was the operational assignment of the F-104 in German service: it was mainly used as a (nuclear strike) fighter-bomber, flying at low altitude underneath enemy radar and using landscape clutter as passive radar defense, as opposed to the original design of a high-speed, high-altitude fighter/interceptor. In addition to the different and demanding mission profiles, the installation of additional avionic equipment in the F-104G version, such as the inertial navigation system, added distraction to the pilot and additional weight that further hampered the flying abilities of the plane. In contemporary German magazine articles highlighting the Starfighter safety problems, the aircraft was portrayed as "overburdened" with technology, which was considered a latent overstrain on the aircrews. Furthermore, many losses in naval service were attributed to the Starfighter’s lack of safety margin through a twin-engine design like the contemporary Blackburn Buccaneer, which had been the German navy air arm’s favored type. But due to political reasons (primarily the outlook to produce the Starfighter in Southern Germany in license), the Marine had to accept and make do with the Starfighter, even if it was totally unsuited for the air arm's mission profile.
Erich Hartmann, the world's top-scoring fighter ace from WWII, commanded one of Germany's first (post-war) jet fighter-equipped squadrons and deemed the F-104 to be an unsafe aircraft with poor handling characteristics for aerial combat. To the dismay of his superiors, Hartmann judged the fighter unfit for Luftwaffe use even before its introduction.
In 1966 Johannes Steinhoff took over command of the Luftwaffe and grounded the entire Luftwaffe and Bundesmarine F-104 fleet until he was satisfied that the persistent problems had been resolved or at least reduced to an acceptable level. One measure to improve the situation was that some Starfighters were modified to carry a flight data recorder or "black box" which could give an indication of the probable cause of an accident. In later years, the German Starfighters’ safety record improved, although a new problem of structural failure of the wings emerged: original fatigue calculations had not taken into account the high number of g-force loading cycles that the German F-104 fleet was experiencing through their mission profiles, and many airframes were returned to the depot for wing replacement or outright retirement.
The German F-104Gs served primarily in the strike role as part of the Western nuclear deterrent strategy, some of these dedicated nuclear strike Starfighters even had their M61 gun replaced by an additional fuel tank for deeper penetration missions. However, some units close to the German borders, e.g. Jagdgeschwader (JG) 71 in Wittmundhafen (East Frisia) as well as JG 74 in Neuburg (Bavaria), operated the Starfighter as a true interceptor on QRA duty. From 1980 onwards, these dedicated F-104Gs received a new air superiority camouflage, consisting of three shades of grey in an integral wraparound scheme, together with smaller, subdued national markings. This livery was officially called “Norm 82” and unofficially “Alberich”, after the secretive guardian of the Nibelung's treasure. A similar wraparound paint scheme, tailored to low-level operations and consisting of two greens and black (called Norm 83), was soon applied to the fighter bombers and the RF-104 fleet, too, as well as to the Luftwaffe’s young Tornado IDS fleet.
However, the Luftwaffe’s F-104Gs were at that time already about to be gradually replaced, esp. in the interceptor role, by the more capable and reliable F-4F Phantom II, a process that lasted well into the mid-Eighties due to a lagging modernization program for the Phantoms. The Luftwaffe’s fighter bombers and recce Starfighters were replaced by the MRCA Tornado and RF-4E Phantoms. In naval service the Starfighters soldiered on for a little longer until they were also replaced by the MRCA Tornado – eventually, the Marineflieger units received a two engine aircraft type that was suitable for their kind of missions.
In the course of the ongoing withdrawal, a lot of German aircraft with sufficiently enough flying hours left were transferred to other NATO partners like Norway, Greece, Turkey and Italy, and two were sold to the NASA. One specific Starfighter was furthermore modified into a CCV (Control-Configured Vehicle) experimental aircraft under control of the German Industry, paving the way to aerodynamically unstable aircraft like the Eurofighter/Typhoon. The last operational German F-104 made its farewell flight on 22. Mai 1991, and the type’s final flight worldwide was in Italy in October 2004.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 54 ft 8 in (16.66 m)
Wingspan: 21 ft 9 in (6.63 m)
Height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Wing area: 196.1 ft² (18.22 m²)
Airfoil: Biconvex 3.36 % root and tip
Empty weight: 14,000 lb (6,350 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 29,027 lb (13,166 kg)
Powerplant:
1× General Electric J79 afterburning turbojet,
10,000 lbf (44 kN) thrust dry, 15,600 lbf (69 kN) with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,528 mph (2,459 km/h, 1,328 kn)
Maximum speed: Mach 2
Combat range: 420 mi (680 km, 360 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,630 mi (2,620 km, 1,420 nmi)
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m)
Rate of climb: 48,000 ft/min (240 m/s) initially
Lift-to-drag: 9.2
Wing loading: 105 lb/ft² (510 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.54 with max. takeoff weight (0.76 loaded)
Armament:
1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan six-barreled Gatling cannon, 725 rounds
7× hardpoints with a capacity of 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), including up to four AIM-9 Sidewinder, (nuclear)
bombs, guided and unguided missiles, or other stores like drop tanks or recce pods
The kit and its assembly:
A relatively simple what-if project – based on the question how a German F-104 interceptor might have looked like, had it been operated for a longer time to see the Luftwaffe’s low-viz era from 1981 onwards. In service, the Luftwaffe F-104Gs started in NMF and then carried the Norm 64 scheme, the well-known splinter scheme in grey and olive drab. Towards the end of their career the fighter bombers and recce planes received the Norm 83 wraparound scheme in green and black, but by that time no dedicated interceptors were operational anymore, so I stretched the background story a little.
The model is the very nice Italeri F-104G/S model, which is based on the ESCI molds from the Eighties, but it comes with recessed engravings and an extra sprue that contains additional drop tanks and an Orpheus camera pod. The kit also includes a pair of Sidewinders with launch rails for the wing tips as well as the ventral “catamaran” twin rail, which was frequently used by German Starfighters because the wing tips were almost constantly occupied with tanks.
Fit and detail is good – the kit is IMHO very good value for the money. There are just some light sinkholes on the fuselage behind the locator pins, the fit of the separate tail section is mediocre and calls for PSR, and the thin and very clear canopy is just a single piece – for open display, you have to cut it by yourself.
Since the model would become a standard Luftwaffe F-104G, just with a fictional livery, the kit was built OOB. The only change I made are drooped flaps, and the air brakes were mounted in open position.
The ordnance (wing tip tanks plus the ventral missiles) was taken from the kit, reflecting the typical German interceptor configuration: the wing tips were frequently occupied with tanks, sometimes even together with another pair of drop tanks under the wings, so that any missile had to go under the fuselage. The instructions for the ventral catamaran launch rails are BTW wrong – they tell the builder to mount the launch rails onto the twin carrier upside down! Correctly, the carrier’s curvature should lie flush on the fuselage, with no distance at all. When mounted as proposed, the Sidewinders come very close to the ground and the whole installation looks pretty goofy! I slightly modified the catamaran launch rail with some thin styrene profile strips as spacers, and the missiles themselves, AIM-9Bs, were replaced with more modern and delicate AIM-9Js from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapons set. Around the hull, some small blade antennae, a dorsal rotating warning light and an angle-of-attack sensor were added.
Painting and markings:
The exotic livery is what defined this what-if build, and the paint scheme was actually inspired by a real world benchmark: some Dornier Do-28D Skyservants of the German Marineflieger received, late in their career, a wraparound scheme in three shades of grey, namely RAL 7030 (Steingrau), 7000 (Fehgrau) and 7012 (Basaltgrau). I thought that this would work pretty well for an F-104G interceptor that operates at medium to high altitudes, certainly better than the relatively dark Norm 64 splinter scheme or the Norm 83 low-altitude pattern.
The camouflage pattern was simply adopted from the Starfighter’s Norm 83 scheme, just the colors were exchanged. The kit was painted with acrylic paints from Revell, since the authentic tones were readily available, namely 75, 57 and 77. As a disrupting detail I gave the wing tip tanks the old Norm 64 colors: uniform Gelboliv from above (RAL 6014, Revell 42), Silbergrau underneath (RAL 7001, Humbrol’s 127 comes pretty close), and bright RAL 2005 dayglo orange markings, the latter created with TL Modellbau decal sheet material for clean edges and an even finish.
The cockpit interior was painted in standard medium grey (Humbrol 140, Dark Gull Grey), the landing gear including the wells became aluminum (Humbrol 56), the interior of the air intakes was painted with bright matt aluminum metallizer (Humbrol 27001) with black anti-icing devices in the edges and the shock cones. The radome was painted with very light grey (Humbrol 196, RAL 7035), the dark green anti-glare panel is a decal from the OOB sheet.
The model received a standard black ink washing and some panel post-shading (with Testors 2133 Russian Fulcrum Grey, Humbrol 128 FS 36320 and Humbrol 156 FS 36173) in an attempt to even out the very different shades of grey. The result does not look bad, pretty worn and weathered (like many German Starfighters), even though the paint scheme reminds a lot of the Hellenic "Ghost" scheme from the late F-4Es and the current F-16s?
The decals for the subdued Luftwaffe markings were puzzled together from various sources. The stencils were mostly taken from the kit’s exhaustive and sharply printed sheet. Tactical codes (“26+40” is in the real Starfighter range, but this specific code was AFAIK never allocated), iron crosses and the small JG 71 emblems come from TL Modellbau aftermarket sheets. Finally, after some light soot stains around the gun port, the afterburner and some air outlets along the fuselage with graphite, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
A simple affair, since the (nice) kit was built OOB and the only really fictional aspect of this model is its livery. But the resulting aircraft looks good, the all-grey wraparound scheme suits the slender F-104 well and makes an interceptor role quite believable. Would probably also look good on a German Eurofighter? Certainly more interesting than the real world all-blue-grey scheme.
In the beauty pics the scheme also appears to be quite effective over open water, too, so that the application to the Marineflieger Do-28Ds made sense. However, for the real-world Starfighter, this idea came a couple of years too late.
A Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II "Joint Strike Fighter" is inspected before for take-off at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., Feb. 1, 2018. This year was the first time the F-35 participated in the Haboob Havoc, a fighter pilot competition, hosted by Thunderbolts.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Lockheed Martin F-35 "Lightning II" is a family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather, stealth, fifth-generation, multirole combat aircraft, designed for ground-attack and air-superiority missions. It is built by Lockheed Martin and many subcontractors, including Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney, and BAE Systems.
The F-35 has three main models: the conventional takeoff and landing F-35A (CTOL), the short take-off and vertical-landing F-35B (STOVL), and the catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery, carrier-based F-35C (CATOBAR). The F-35 descends from the Lockheed Martin X-35, the design that was awarded the "Joint Strike Fighter" (JSF) program over the competing Boeing X-32. The official "Lightning II" name has proven deeply unpopular and USAF pilots have nicknamed it Panther, instead.
The United States principally funds F-35 development, with additional funding from other NATO members and close U.S. allies, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Australia, Canada, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, and formerly Turkey. These funders generally receive subcontracts to manufacture components for the aircraft; for example, Turkey was the sole supplier of several F-35 parts until its removal from the program in July 2019. Several other countries have ordered, or are considering ordering, the aircraft.
As the largest and most expensive military program ever, the F-35 became the subject of much scrutiny and criticism in the U.S. and in other countries. In 2013 and 2014, critics argued that the plane was "plagued with design flaws", with many blaming the procurement process in which Lockheed was allowed "to design, test, and produce the F-35 all at the same time," instead of identifying and fixing "defects before firing up its production line". By 2014, the program was "$163 billion over budget [and] seven years behind schedule". Critics also contend that the program's high sunk costs and political momentum make it "too big to kill".
The F-35 first flew on 15 December 2006. In July 2015, the United States Marines declared its first squadron of F-35B fighters ready for deployment. However, the DOD-based durability testing indicated the service life of early-production F-35B aircraft is well under the expected 8,000 flight hours, and may be as low as 2,100 flight hours. Lot 9 and later aircraft include design changes but service life testing has yet to occur. The U.S. Air Force declared its first squadron of F-35As ready for deployment in August 2016. The U.S. Navy declared its first F-35Cs ready in February 2019. In 2018, the F-35 made its combat debut with the Israeli Air Force.
The U.S. stated plan is to buy 2,663 F-35s, which will provide the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps in coming decades. Deliveries of the F-35 for the U.S. military are scheduled until 2037 with a projected service life up to 2070.
Development
F-35 development started in 1992 with the origins of the "Joint Strike Fighter" (JSF) program and was to culminate in full production by 2018. The X-35 first flew on 24 October 2000 and the F-35A on 15 December 2006.
The F-35 was developed to replace most US fighter jets with the variants of a single design that would be common to all branches of the military. It was developed in co-operation with a number of foreign partners, and, unlike the F-22 Raptor, intended to be available for export. Three variants were designed: the F-35A (CTOL), the F-35B (STOVL), and the F-35C (CATOBAR). Despite being intended to share most of their parts to reduce costs and improve maintenance logistics, by 2017, the effective commonality was only 20%. The program received considerable criticism for cost overruns during development and for the total projected cost of the program over the lifetime of the jets.
By 2017, the program was expected to cost $406.5 billion over its lifetime (i.e. until 2070) for acquisition of the jets, and an additional $1.1 trillion for operations and maintenance. A number of design deficiencies were alleged, such as: carrying a small internal payload; performance inferior to the aircraft being replaced, particularly the F-16; lack of safety in relying on a single engine; and flaws such as the vulnerability of the fuel tank to fire and the propensity for transonic roll-off (wing drop). The possible obsolescence of stealth technology was also criticized.
Design
Overview
Although several experimental designs have been developed since the 1960s, such as the unsuccessful Rockwell XFV-12, the F-35B is to be the first operational supersonic STOVL stealth fighter. The single-engine F-35 resembles the larger twin-engined Lockheed Martin F-22 "Raptor", drawing design elements from it. The exhaust duct design was inspired by the General Dynamics Model 200, proposed for a 1972 supersonic VTOL fighter requirement for the Sea Control Ship.
Lockheed Martin has suggested that the F-35 could replace the USAF's F-15C/D fighters in the air-superiority role and the F-15E "Strike Eagle" in the ground-attack role. It has also stated the F-35 is intended to have close- and long-range air-to-air capability second only to that of the F-22 "Raptor", and that the F-35 has an advantage over the F-22 in basing flexibility and possesses "advanced sensors and information fusion".
Testifying before the House Appropriations Committee on 25 March 2009, acquisition deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force, Lt. Gen. Mark D. "Shack" Shackelford, stated that the F-35 is designed to be America's "premier surface-to-air missile killer, and is uniquely equipped for this mission with cutting-edge processing power, synthetic aperture radar integration techniques, and advanced target recognition".
Improvements
Ostensible improvements over past-generation fighter aircraft include:
Durable, low-maintenance stealth technology, using structural fiber mat instead of the high-maintenance coatings of legacy stealth platforms.
Integrated avionics and sensor fusion that combine information from off- and on-board sensors to increase the pilot's situational awareness and improve target identification and weapon delivery, and to relay information quickly to other command and control (C2) nodes.
High-speed data networking including IEEE 1394b and Fibre Channel (Fibre Channel is also used on Boeing's Super Hornet.
The Autonomic Logistics Global Sustainment, Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS), and Computerized maintenance management system to help ensure the aircraft can remain operational with minimal maintenance manpower The Pentagon has moved to open up the competitive bidding by other companies. This was after Lockheed Martin stated that instead of costing 20% less than the F-16 per flight hour, the F-35 would actually cost 12% more. Though the ALGS is intended to reduce maintenance costs, the company disagrees with including the cost of this system in the aircraft ownership calculations. The USMC has implemented a workaround for a cyber vulnerability in the system. The ALIS system currently requires a shipping-container load of servers to run, but Lockheed is working on a more portable version to support the Marines' expeditionary operations.
Electro-hydrostatic actuators run by a power-by-wire flight-control system.
A modern and updated flight simulator, which may be used for a greater fraction of pilot training to reduce the costly flight hours of the actual aircraft.
Lightweight, powerful lithium-ion batteries to provide power to run the control surfaces in an emergency.
Structural composites in the F-35 are 35% of the airframe weight (up from 25% in the F-22). The majority of these are bismaleimide and composite epoxy materials. The F-35 will be the first mass-produced aircraft to include structural nanocomposites, namely carbon nanotube-reinforced epoxy. Experience of the F-22's problems with corrosion led to the F-35 using a gap filler that causes less galvanic corrosion to the airframe's skin, designed with fewer gaps requiring filler and implementing better drainage. The relatively short 35-foot wingspan of the A and B variants is set by the F-35B's requirement to fit inside the Navy's current amphibious assault ship parking area and elevators; the F-35C's longer wing is considered to be more fuel efficient.
Costs
A U.S. Navy study found that the F-35 will cost 30 to 40% more to maintain than current jet fighters, not accounting for inflation over the F-35's operational lifetime. A Pentagon study concluded a $1 trillion maintenance cost for the entire fleet over its lifespan, not accounting for inflation. The F-35 program office found that as of January 2014, costs for the F-35 fleet over a 53-year lifecycle was $857 billion. Costs for the fighter have been dropping and accounted for the 22 percent life cycle drop since 2010. Lockheed stated that by 2019, pricing for the fifth-generation aircraft will be less than fourth-generation fighters. An F-35A in 2019 is expected to cost $85 million per unit complete with engines and full mission systems, inflation adjusted from $75 million in December 2013.
A versatile ship designed to take down fighters and small frigates. Center section rotates. Carries 4 small nukes.
Wikipedia: The Lockheed Martin–Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American twin-engine, jet-powered, all-weather, supersonic stealth fighter aircraft. As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, the aircraft was designed as an air superiority fighter, but also incorporates ground attack, electronic warfare, and signals intelligence capabilities. The prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, built most of the F-22 airframe and weapons systems and conducted final assembly, while program partner Boeing provided the wings, aft fuselage, avionics integration, and training systems.
The rarest of starfighter class, the Strike Fighter is equipped with the freedom of Faster-Than-Light travel, giving it a unique tactical advantage over most fightercraft.
With no need for a carrier, Strike Fighters can respond to threats quickly and independently. This capability has made them perfect for operations in the lawless Outer Rim territories, where various Sol governments have colonial and business interests but no military infrastructure to rely on.
They are better armed than their carrier-based counterparts, with heavier shields to boot. With such capability comes a hefty price tag and costly maintenance budgets. The loss of just one of these ships, as well as it's usually elite pilots, is seen as a grave event. Many a commander has been demoted for frivolous risk of their strike fighter assets. The protection afforded these ships and their crews has led to a irate rivalry from regular pilots.
The British Albacore is the better shielded, quickest of the three pictured. The Tomcat is the best armed and most nimble. The Caracan features better armour and a sturdy construction all around. Each class is operational in the Galactic Rim, though rarely seen by civilian traffic. The Black Moon Union pirate group once took down two Tomcats (at the cost of 26 of their own ships). They rarely shut up about it.
From left to right:
- The Commonwealth Albacore
- The American Tomcat
- The European Union Caracan
MV-18 Manta Viper is a single-seat, single engine light multirole fighter designed for close air support and ground attack. The main design is to create a small visual frame with high manoeuvrability. The wing would be foldable to cater more space within the hangar.
A 124th Fighter Wing crew chief at Gowen Field, Bosie, Idaho, works on an A-10 Thunderbolt II with the 190th Fighter Squadron after a training sortie, April 25, 2019. The 190th FS participated in training operations with the Strike Fighter Squadron 32, Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, Va. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Airman 1st Class Mercedee Wilds)
LEGO MOC of Sukhoi Su-34 fighter-bomber in scale of 1:34
The Sukhoi Su-34 (Russian: Сухой Су-34; NATO reporting name: Fullback) is a Soviet-origin Russian twin-engine, twin-seat, all-weather supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber/strike aircraft. It first flew in 1990, intended for the Soviet Air Forces, and it entered service in 2014 with the Russian Air Force.
we had such with friends Martin & Sian at chocks away diner, so I had to go and have another mooch around the old fighters that are on the grass.....
Three fighter pilots from Captain Ahola’s flight examining a scale model of a Brewster.
The model appears to be Brewster BW-384, ”orange 3”, Lauri Nissinen’s aircraft from 2/LeLv 24.
The men from left to right: Paavo Koskela, Urho Lehto, and Sulo Lehtiö, 2nd Flight / Fighter Squadron 24.
Paavo Koskela (Feb 3, 1920 – Feb 16, 2017), 2½ aerial victories, Flight Master (Lentomestari).
Urho Johannes Lehto (Apr 20, 1919 – May 15, 1989), 4½ aerial victories, Staff Sergeant (Ylikersantti).
Sulo Armas Lehtiö (Mar 27, 1914 – Aug 31, 1943), 1 aerial victory, Sergeant (Kersantti).
Lehtiö was killed near Koivisto when shot down by Soviet fighters and sank into the Gulf of Finland with his aircraft.
SA-photo # 92853, photographer: Pärttyli Virkki
Tiiksjärvi, May 21, 1942
"This ADU fighter is built for speed while being armed with simple but deadly missile and laser weaponry. This makes it ideal for high speed pursuit and elimination of UFOs."
A couple of years ago, almost immediately after disassembling my 7067: Jet Copter Encounter set, I started to build a fighter using the pieces from the set. However I never really got to finish the model until now. Fortunately I'm very happy with the result, and glad I kept it until I was finally able to complete it.
As always I've taken great care to make it robust and it is highly swooshable. In terms of play-feature it includes retractable landing gear, two concealed spring loaded shooters operated from above as well as two top-mounted stud shooters.
If you find anything you like/dislike in particular, please don't hesitate to share your thoughts so I can learn from it and improve myself :-)