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Journal of Doctor S. Finnigan – Leading doctor of Project B27
Entry 104
After three months of the modification project, we are finally starting the last phase. The subject’s immune system is no longer fighting the medication and his muscles have been dissolved from the bones. According to Professor Rosenfeld’s calculations, they will easily reattach to the carbon skeleton after the procedure. Our head engineer Mr. Gordon and his team finished the prototype ten days ago and produced the first usable version. We are now making the final calibrations. The subject has been sedated and the observation team has arrived. The insertion procedure will start at 3pm, after the gouvernment‘s permission is given.
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This is something I wanted to upload for years now ! In 2011, n7mereel, Mr. Grievous and me built this, but never came around to uploading it for several reasons. Now I finally found the photos on my PC, reedited them and we decided to uploade them.
I still like it very much, even though it is a bit old.
Hope you agree !
Candid street shot, Brixham Pirate festival 2018.
---------------------------------
With a few modifications to the lighting courtesy of "lightroom" and "Silver EFx Pro"
Projector lens with 3D-printed sleeve and M42-NEX Helicoid-adapter(17-31mm).
No Optics Were Harmed in the Making of this modification :).
Photo taken with Sony a7II & Vivitar Series1 28-90mm f2.8-3.5 VMC Macro Focusing
Giving the rear wheel wells a plate more of clearance. While I'm at it, I'll rework the steering. Which might create a new problem: while the front half of the body is very sturdy, it connects to the chassis with only six studs. Altering the steering might reduce that number to four.
Should I sacrifice the opening doors for more structural strength?
Modifications on the Technic set 8110 Unimog U400.
- blue cabine
- steering steeringwheel
- black wheels, closed
- moving bucket (3 sides)
- Train bogey front and back
- Snowplough
+++ 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:
In 1935, the German Reich Air Ministry (RLM, Reichsluftfahrtministerium) produced a requirement for a twin engined general purpose floatplane, suitable for patrol and for anti-shipping strikes with bombs and torpedoes. Proposals were received from Heinkel Flugzeugwerke and from the Blohm & Voss aircraft subsidiary Hamburger Flugzeugbau. On 1 November 1935, orders were placed with Heinkel and Hamburger Flugzeugbau for three prototypes each of their prospective designs, the He 115 and the Ha 140.
The first prototype Heinkel flew in August 1937, testing was successful and the He 115 design was selected over the Ha 140 early in 1938, leading to an order for another prototype and 10 pre-production aircraft. The first prototype was used to set a series of international records for floatplanes over 1,000 km (620 mi) and 2,000 km (1,200 mi) closed circuits at a speed of 328 km/h (204 mph).
Defensive armament initially consisted of two 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 15 machine guns, one in the nose and one in the dorsal position. Late He 115s were fitted with a fixed forward-firing 15 mm or 20 mm MG 151 cannon and two fixed, rearward-firing 7.92 mm (.312 in) MG 17 machine guns in the engine nacelles.
As main armament, the early He 115 variants carried LTF 5 or LTF 6b torpedoes and SD 500 500 kg (1,100 lb) or SC 250 250 kg (550 lb) bombs. Some also carried LMB III or LMA mines, and later variants could trade fuel for ordnance, so that their range was extended.
At the beginning of the war, the He 115 was used for dropping parachute mines in British waters, normally aiming for narrow passages close to busy ports on the English south coast; the River Thames was also a prime target. Apart from its use as a minelayer and torpedo bomber, the He 115 was used for coastal reconnaissance and by KG 200 to drop agents behind enemy lines.
However, the He 115’s slow speed and relatively light defensive armament remained a constant weakness, and in order to eradicate this flaw, Heinkel proposed in 1939 a new variant with a crew of four (instead of three), considerably more powerful BMW 801 radial engines and an additional weapon station in a ventral position behind the bomb bay.
An initial prototype, called He 115 D-0 and fitted with BMW 801C engines rated at 1,147 kW (1,560 PS) each, was produced in 1940 and successfully field-tested. Especially the new engines made a considerably change: the He 115 D’s top speed rose from a ponderous 327 km/h (203 mph) of the early variants with BMW 132K 9-cylinder radial engines to more than 400 km/h (248) in level flight, and other performance figures were improved. Nevertheless, the additional weapon station did not find approval – it turned out to be obsolete, because instead of more, heavier weapons with a longer range and a higher weight of fire were needed. Additionally, the accommodation for a fourth crew member added much dead weight to the aircraft, so that the whole proposal was regarded as ineffective ans subsequently deleted.
However, in this refined form, the upgraded machine was accepted by the RLM in 1940. He 115 production was not resumed, though, but rather turned into an upgrade program for the fleet of in-service aircraft (He 115 B and C in various sub-versions), leading to a variety of He 115 D variants.
The He 115 D upgrade primarily consisted of engine upgrades, now with BMW 801A engines. For defense, the He 115 D's rear gunner/radio operator became armed with two 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine guns, which replaced his former light MG 17 machine gun as well as the optional fixed machine guns in the rear of the engine fairings, which had proven themselves to be highly ineffective, once enemy pilots had become aware of them. Since the He 115’s narrow body precluded any powered turret on the upper or lower fuselage, the defensive armament was moved to the flanks: Each of the heavy machine guns was fitted into half-teardrop-shaped Ferngerichtete Drehringseitenlafette FDSL 131/1B turrets and mounted on each side of the aircraft. This unusual installation was remote-controlled from the gunner's position in the rear of the glazed cockpit area with a sophisticated gun-aiming setup, and could cover a wide section of the aircraft’s rear hemisphere – even under it, which was a major improvement.
The unit was controlled through a pivoting handgun-style grip, trigger and gunsight at its center, to aim the guns vertically - with both turrets elevating and depressing together when operated - and horizontally, in pivoting each gun separately, outward away from the fuselage side when aimed to one side or the other. Aiming was facilitated through a bifurcated telescopic sight that allowed almost free sight above and below the fuselage in almost any rearward-facing direction. The guns were electrically moved and fired, and an electrical contact breaker acted as a form of "interrupter", as used on many forms of multi-engined, turret-armed WW II aircraft, preventing the gunner from shooting off the He 115’s tail plane.
Another armament improvement for all He 115 D variants consisted of the replacement of the light, nose-mounted MG 17 machine gun with a heavier MG 131. The fixed MG 151/20 cannon under the nose, carried in a fairing in front of the bomb bay, was retained or retrofitted to all D conversions.
Several variants were introduced: The D-1 was the initial, standardized torpedo bomber and mine layer, while the D-2 had reinforced floats and special equipment for operation from ice or snow. The D-3 was a dedicated mine layer. For this special role these machines received enlarged bomb bay doors, so that two parachute-droppable sea mines could be carried instead of just one, exploiting the type’s improved ordnance capacity of 2.000 kg (4.400 lb).
The D-4 variant was a specifically modified version for anti-shipping operations. Some were direct conversions, but many D-1s and D-2s were upgraded to this standard, too, all receiving the new designation.
For its special role, the He 115 D-4 variant was outfitted as a carrier aircraft for the guided Henschel Hs 293 glide bomb and the Hs 294 glide torpedo. Due to its weight and size, only a single Hs 294 could be carried externally under the fuselage, and it was rarely deployed since the weapon’s weight and drag drastically affected the He 115’s handling. The weapon’s deployment was also hazardous, due to the struts under the He 115’s fuselage. The Hs 293 saw more frequent (and successful) use. Theoretically, two Hs 293 bombs could be carried on pylons under each of the reinforced outer wings (which could carry up to 1.000 kg (2.200 lb) each), but, typically, only a single Hs 293 was carried under the starboard wing and a drop tank as counterweight and range compensation for the extra drag under the port wing. Furthermore, the He 115 D-4 was outfitted with either the FuG 203 “Kehl” radio guidance and control transmitter system and a steering console at the bomb aimer’s station, who visually guided the bomb to its target through a simple joystick, or, alternatively, the FuG 203 with its draggy antenna array was replaced by the more reliable FuG 207 “Dortmund” wire guidance system (incl. a spool with 18 km /11 ml of 0.3mm wire attached to the weapon pylon). The respective machines were differentiated by an “a” and “b” suffix.
The final variant that entered service was the D-5, a fast, long-range reconnaissance aircraft. It featured a reduced armor and armament, but carried additional fuel tanks and camera equipment.
Field modifications and other upgrades were also common: Some machines received a manually operated MG 151/20 machine cannon in the nose weapon station instead of the standard MG 131 for a better defense of the front sector, and some machines were upgraded with a MK 103 30 mm machine cannon in a more voluminous fairing under the bomb aimer’s station.
A few D-1 and D-4 machines were also experimentally outfitted with a 37 mm (1.46 in) Bordkanone 3,7 (a.k.a. BK 3,7) with 28 rounds and even a 50mm (1.96 in) MK 214 machine cannon with 22 rounds in a drum magazine in this position – primarily against ship targets, but also against slow Allied patrol bombers, which could be attack out of their defensive weapons’ range.
In total, about 100 He 115 B and Cs were upgraded to the D standard, which was finished by late 1943. The aircraft had its finest moment on anti-shipping operations against Arctic convoys from bases in northern Norway. Because the first convoys lacked air cover, the slow and lightly armed He 115 was less vulnerable than near the English coast. With the appearance of carriers and escort carriers, coupled with new Soviet heavy fighters like the Petlyakov Pe-3bis, Luftwaffe air superiority over the convoys was challenged and losses increased. The remaining He 115 B and Cs were consequently taken out of front line service in 1944 (but still served in search and rescue duties or in covert operations), but some of the He 115 D, esp. the more sophisticated D-4 and D-5 versions, soldiered on until 1945.
General characteristics:
Crew: 3 (pilot, bomb aimer, radio operator/rear gunner)
Length: 17.30 m (56 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 22.28 m (73 ft 1 in)
Height: 6.60 m (21 ft 7.75 in)
Wing area: 87.5 m² (942 ft²)
Empty weight: 6,150 kg (13,564 lb)
Loaded weight: 12,200 kg (26,872 lb)
Powerplant:
2x BMW 801A 14-cylinder radial engine, 1,560 PS (1,539 hp, 1,147 kW) each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 403 km/h (250 mph)
Cruising speed: 365 km/h (227 mph)
Combat radius: 2,100 km (1,305 mi)
Service ceiling: 7,400 m (24,240 ft)
Wing loading: 139.4 kg/m² (28.2 lb/ft²)
Power/mass: 188 W/kg (0.116 hp/lb)
Armament:
1× fixed 20 mm (.787 in) MG 151/20 machine cannon under the front fuselage
1× flexible 13mm (.51 in) MG 131 machine gun in nose position
2× remote-controlled 13 mm (.51 in) MG 131 in FDSL 131/1B barbettes on the flanks
A total internal and external ordnance load of 2.000 kg (4.400 lb),
including up to 5× 250 kg (550 lb) bombs, or two such bombs and one torpedo of 800 kg (1,800 lb),
or one 920 kg (2,030 lb) sea mine in the Internal bomb bay.
A single Hs 294 guided glide torpedo, carried externally under the fuselage.
Alternatively, two underwing hardpoints could carry loads of up to 1.000 kg each, including iron bombs
and drop tanks (up to 900 l), Hs 293 guided glide bombs and unguided LT10 “Friedensengel” or LT 11
“Schneewittchen“ glide torpedoes.
The kit and its assembly:
A project I had on the agenda for a long time, even collecting donor parts and kits, but never had the drive to tackle it. But the “Amphibian” GB at whatifmodelers.com in late 2017 gave the impulse to finally build a model of the semi-fictional upgrade of the rather overlooked He 115 floatplane.
The whole thing is not purely fictional, since the BMW 801-powered He 115 D actually existed – but only as a single prototype. However, I wondered if some more upgrades would have been possible, and this led to this model.
The basic kit is Matchbox’ venerable He 115 B/C – a simple affair, but the He 115 is, to be honest, a simple aircraft, slender and big. In my case, it’s a Revell re-boxing, and the dark green styrene, in which it is moulded, turned out to be rather brittle, not making it a truly pleasant build (unlike the light grey styrene Revell frequently uses for the Matchbox re-issues, which is somewhat smoother).
As the only IP alternative there’s just the FROG mould (and, beware, it comes in a Revell re-boxing, too!), but I am not certain if it is anything good at all? The Matchbox kit appears to be a bit more modern, even though it is very, well, simple, and basically goes together well. But it needs attention at every seam, and the nose section is tricky to mount, too.
The model was built mostly OOB, but received some superficial mods and enhancements:
The BMW 801 engine transplants come from an Italeri Do 217 K-1, including the propellers and the engine mounts/adapters. The problem: the diameter of the 14-cylinder engines is markedly smaller than the original 9-cylinder radials, so that the “adapters” had to be used to bridge this difference. But even with this help, some serious sanding and PSR were necessary. Additionally, the BMW 801s are longer than the original engines, and the adapters push them forward even a little more. Thanks to the aircraft’s sheer size, this change of proportions is not too obvious.
The FDSL 131 barbettes were taken from an Italeri/Bilek Me 210 kit, which has been earmarked for a conversion (without them). In order to mount the weapon stations, holes were drilled into the He 115’s flanks and, internally, a construction to hold them in place, made from styrene strips, was added. The periscopic sights above and below the fuselage were scratched from round styrene strips. As a side effect, the original hole in the canopy for the manual machine gun was elegantly covered.
Under the nose, a fairing for the machine cannon was scratched – it consists of sections from an F-14 recce pod. The MK 103’s barrel was scratched from styrene, with an improvised muzzle brake. The manually operated MG 17 in the nose was replaced by a heavy MG 151/20.
The Hs 293 comes from a Revell He 177 A-6, together with its pylon. Just a small fairing (a modified 1:144 F-16 centerline drop tank) was added as a container for the wire spool. The drop tank on the other side is a find from the scrap box (IIRC, it belongs to an ART Model F8F Bearcat), modified with fins to (vaguely) resemble the Luftwaffe’s 900 l drop tanks for the Do 217 (which carried the Hs 293 in a similar fashion).
Under the floats I added scratched ice skids, a suitable upgrade for an aircraft operated in Norway and over the Northern Atlantic.
Inside of the cockpit, a few details were added like a floor for the bomb aimer figure, and some internal structures added (all scratched from cardboard, and styrene strips and bits), plus a rack for the bomb aimer from an Italeri He 111, IIRC. Not much effort was put into this area of the model, since the kit would have its canopies closed, and the many braces on the clear parts would preclude any good view, anyway.
Painting and markings:
Finally a good occasion to apply a scheme that some He 177 bombers, operated over the Atlantic, carried around 1944, consisting of a disruptive pattern of RLM02 greenish grey and (supposedly) dark green RLM 73, with hard edges and a low, hard waterline to light blue undersides.
However, based on the illustrations and a few real world He 177 color pics in that scheme, I rather changed the dark green tone to RLM 72, which is rather a dull, dark greyish olive drab than the bluish RLM 73. The undersides became Lichtblau, RLM 76 – another deliberate choice instead of the typical, brighter RLM 65 for sea-borne aircraft. The upper camouflage was taken around the wings’ leading edges and onto the floats.
The paints come from the different sources: for the RLM 02, I used Revell’s acrylic 45 (which is a tad more olive green and darker than RLM 02), the RLM 72 was approximated with Humbrol 66 (Olive Drab), which IMHO comes very close to the murky German tone. RLM 76 for the undersides comes from the ModelMaster Authentic line.
Due to the sheer size and the complex structure of the aircraft with its floats and the many struts, painting took some time. Everything was painted with brushes, freehanded, only for the waterline on the rear fuselage some tape was used.
After the basis scheme was settled and dry, the kit received a light black ink wash and some panel post-shading with lighter versions of the basic tones, including “pure” RLM 02 (Humbrol 240).
The markings/decals were puzzled together from the scrap box – on the upper surfaces, simplified white crosses with thin outlines were used, almost resulting in a low-viz livery, and the tactical code was created from single letters (TL Modellbau). The “angry penguin” emblem is not really correct, but I thought that it would be a suitable mascot for the aircraft and its theatre of operations.
After that the model received some weathering with dry-brushed light grey on the leading edges and walkway areas. Exhaust soot behind the engines was created with grinded graphite and also some dry-brushing with light grey, simulating burnt areas due to lean fuel mixtures. On the floats I also added a waterline – a frequent sign of wear on the He 115 when it would stay aground/afloat for some time, with a mix of greens and greys.
The interior became RLM 66 (Dark Grey, used Humbrol 67, which is supposed to be that tone), as a typical late-war color instead of the earlier RLM 02 in which the He 115 was originally delivered. Both Hs 293 and the drop tank were painted in RLM 65 (Humbrol 65), as a subtle color contrast to the otherwise rather subdued aircraft.
A relatively subtle conversion, of a rather overlooked (and actually pretty boring) aircraft. Looks more interesting now, I think, and everything that went into the conversion was picked from real life and mixed up for something new.
The longer, slender BMW 801 engines make the aircraft IMHO look more elegant and purposeful, and the barbettes, as well as the bigger guns in general, are a suitable upgrade, too. The Hs 293 might be a little over the top, but for a slightly futuristic Luft ‘46 touch it’s just the ticket – and from an ordnance load perspective it’s even plausible. And, finally, the special paint scheme (which is real, too) just underlines the modernization of the venerable aircraft type for the late 1944 era.
Though I thought this set looked great from the get go there were some things I really wanted to tweak; particularly the rather skimpy rockwork in front and the lack of seating room for the shadow theater. So here's my modified version - you can read more about how I did it here!
Work in progress:
ready modification of 'Taiga' face mold, but I still need to smooth all the surface.
Рабочий процесс: модификация модели лица "Тайга" готова, но ещё нужно сгладить всю поверхность.
Few more long due modifications on the yellow citybus from City Corner set 7641. I'm particularly fond of this bus, because it's color scheme resembles the busses in my home city.
Added details for authenticity include poles for passengers to hold on to, cleared midsection for trolleys, dividing glass panels between sections and a bus card reader.
My friend Monica and I both fell in love with Doll-In-Mind's Lalia doll. I painted them as twins, thinking it would be fun to photograph them together. This is the first time I've painted identical faces so that was interesting. The girls are wearing dresses that I made. My Doll is #1 and she's wearing the black bow, Monica's doll is #2 and she's wearing the green bow in many of the pictures.
I modified Lalia's neck opening and her feet. I took photos of the modifications and posted those to my blog: www.MadWifeInTheAttic.com There are more dolls and crafts there.
My first ever resin modification. Feeple65 Roke came with dragon ears, which the owner didn't like. So I turned him into an elf, and I think he looks so much better! I didn't like wearing the respirator mask, but everything else was a lot of fun!
Fairyland F65 Roke belongs to PocketWolf.
Faceup done by PocketWolf as well.
+++ 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 G.91Y was an increased-performance version of the Fiat G.91 funded by the Italian government. Based on the G.91T two-seat trainer variant, the single Bristol Orpheus turbojet engine of this aircraft was replaced by two afterburning General Electric J85 turbojets which increased thrust by 60% over the single-engine variant. 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. The first pre-series 'Yankee' (the nickname of the new aircraft) flew in July 1968.
AMI (Italian Air Force) placed orders for two batches, 35 fighters followed by another 20, later cut to ten. The last one was delivered around mid 1976, so the total was two prototypes, 20 pre-series and 45 series aircraft. No immediate export success followed, though, and the Italian G.91Ys’ service lasted until the early '90s as attack/recce machines, both over ground and sea, until the AMX replaced them until 1994.
However, upon retirement some G.91Ys were still in good condition and the airframes had still some considerable flight hours left, so that about thirty revamped aircraft were put up for sale from 1992 onwards. At the same time, Poland was undergoing a dramatic political change. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union the Eastern European country immediately turned its political attention westward, including the prospects of joining NATO. The withdrawal of Russian forces based in Poland and partly obsolete military equipment of the Polish forces themselves led to a procurement process from 1991 onwards, which, among others, included a replacement for the Polish MiG-17 (domestic Lim-5, Lim-6 and Lim-6bis types), which had been operated by both Polish air force and navy since the late Sixties, primarily as fighter bombers in their late career, but also for reconnaissance tasks.
The G.91Y appeared, even though a vintage design, to be a suitable replacement option, since its performance envelope and the equipment outfit with three cameras in the nose made it a perfect package – and the price tag was not big, either. Especially the Polish Navy showed much interest, and after 10 months of negotiations Poland eventually bought 22 G.91Y from Italy, plus five G.91T two-seaters for conversion training, which were delivered between June 1993 and April 1994.
For the new operator the machines only underwent minor modifications. The biggest change was the addition of wirings and avionics for typical Polish Air Force ordnance, like indigenous MARS-2 pods for 16 unguided 57mm S-5 missiles, iron bombs of Russian origin of up to 500 kg (1.100 lb) caliber, SUU-23-2 gun pods as well as R-3 and R-60 missiles (which were very similar to the Western AIM-9 Sidewinder and actually date back to re-engineered specimen obtained by the USSR during the Korea war!). All machines were concentrated at Gdynia-Babie Doły in a newly founded, dedicated fighter bomber of the 1 Naval Aviation Squadron, which also operated MiG-21 fighters and PZL Iskra trainers. The Polish G.91Ys, nicknamed “Polski Fiat” by their crews (due to their compact size and overall simplicity, in reminiscence of the very popular, locally license-built Fiat 126), not only replaced the vintage MiG-17 types and some Polish Navy MiG-21 fighters, but also the handful of MiG-15UTI trainer veterans which were still used by the Polish Navy for observation duties over the Baltic Sea.
When Poland joined NATO on 12 March 1999, the G.91Ys (18 were still in service, plus all five trainers) received another major overhaul, a new low-visibility paint scheme, and they were updated with avionics that ensured inter-operability with other NATO forces, e .g. a GPS positioning sensor in a small, dorsal hump fairing. In 2006, when deliveries of 48 F-16C/D fighters to Poland started, the G.91Ys were to be retired within 12 months. But problems with the F-16s’ operability kept the G.91Y fleet active until 2011, when all aircraft were grounded and quickly scrapped.
General characteristics:
Crew: one
Length: 11.67 m (38 ft 3.5 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: 3,900 kg (8,598 lb)
Loaded weight: 7,800 kg (17,196 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 8,700 kg (19,180 lb)
Powerplant:
2× General Electric J85-GE-13A turbojets, 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: 1,150 km (621 nmi, 715 mi)
Max. ferry range with drop tanks: 3,400 km (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 with 120 RPG
4× under-wing pylon stations with a capacity of 1,814 kg (4,000 lb)
The kit and its assembly:
This whiffy Yankee Gina was inspired by a profile that had popped up during WWW picture search a while ago. Tracking it back, I found it to be artwork created and posted at DeviantArt by user “Jeremak-J”, depicting a G.91Y in polish markings and sporting a two-tone grey camouflage with light blue undersides and a medium waterline. I found the idea bizarre, but attractive, and, after some research, I found a small historic slot that might have made this “combo” possible.
When I recently delved through my (growing…) kit pile I came across a Matchbox G.91Y in a squashed box and with a cracked canopy – and decided to use that kit for a personal Polish variant.
The Matchbox G.91Y bears light and shadow galore. While it is IIRC the only IP kit of this aircraft, it comes with some problem areas. The fit of any major kit component is mediocre and the cockpit tub with an integral seat-thing is …unique. But the overall shape is IMHO quite good – a typical, simple Matchbox kit with a mix of (very fine) raised and engraved panel lines.
The OOB canopy could not be saved, but I was lucky to find a replacement part in the spares box – probably left over from the first G.91Y I built in the early Eighties. While the donor part had to be stripped from paint and was quite yellowed from age, it saved the kit.
It was built almost OOB, since major changes would not make sense in the context of my background story of a cheap 2nd hand purchase for an air force on a lean budget. I just added some details to the cockpit and changed the ordnance, using missile pods and iron bombs of Soviet origin (from a Kangnam/Revell Yak-38).
The exhausts were drilled open, because OOB these are just blank covers, only 0.5 mm deep! Inside, some afterburners were simulated (actually main wheels from an Arii 1:100 VF-1).
The flaps were lowered and extended, which is easy to realize on this kit.
The clumsy, molded guns were cut away, to be later replaced with free-standing, hollow steel needles.
In order to add some more exterior detail I also scratched the thin protector frames around the nozzles with thin wire.
Since the replacement canopy looked quite old and brittle, I did not dare cutting the clear part in two, so that the cockpit remained closed, despite the effort put into the interior.
A personal extra is the pair of chaff/flare dispensers on the rear fuselage, reminiscent of Su-22 installations.
Painting and markings:
The inspiring profile was nice, but I found it to be a bit fishy. The depicted tactical code format would IMHO not be plausible for the aircraft’s intended era, and roundels on the fuselage flanks would also long have gone in the Nineties. Therefore, I rather looked at real world benchmarks from the appropriate time frame for my Polish Gina’s livery, even though I wanted to stay true to the artist’s original concept, too.
One direction to add more plausibility was the scheme that Polish Su-22 fighter bombers received during their MLU, changing the typical tactical camouflage in up to four hues of green and brown into a much more subdued two tone grey livery with lighter, bluish-grey undersides, combined with toned-down markings like tactical codes in white outlines only. Some late MiG-21s also received this type of livery, and at least one Polish Fishbed instructional airframe received white low-viz national insignia.
For the paint scheme itself I used the MiG-21 pattern as benchmark (found in the Planes & Pilots MiG-21 book) and adapted it to the G.91Y as good as possible. The tones were a little difficult to define – some painting instructions recommend FS 36118 (US Gunship Grey) for the dark upper grey tone, but this is IMHO much too murky. Esp. on the Su-22s, the two upper greys show only little contrast, and the lower grey does not stand out much against the upper tones, either. On the other side, I found a picture of a real-life MiG-21U trainer in the new grey scheme, and the contrast between the grey on the upper surfaces appeared much stronger, with the light grey even having a brownish hue. Hmpf.
As a compromise I settled for FS 36173 (F-15E Dark Grey) and 36414 (Flint Grey). For the undersides I went for FS 35414 (Blue Green), which comes close to the typical Soviet underside blue, but it is brighter.
After basic painting, the kit received a light black ink wash and subtle post-shading, mostly in order to emphasize single panels, less for a true weathering effect.
The cockpit was painted in Dark Gull Grey (Humbrol 140), with a light blue dashboard and a black ejection seat. The OOB pilot was used and received an olive drab suit with a light grey helmet, modern and toned down like the aircraft itself. The landing gear as well as the air intake interior were painted in different shades of aluminum.
The decals were, as so often, puzzled together from various sources. The interesting, white-only Polish roundels come from a Mistercraft MiG-21. I also added them to the upper wing surfaces – this is AFAIK not correct, but without them I found the model to look rather bleak. Under the wings, full color insignia were used, though. The English language “Navy” markings on the fuselage might appear odd, but late MiG-21s in Polish Navy service actually had this operator designation added to their spines!
The typical, tactical four-digit code consists of markings for Italian Tornados, taken from two different Italeri sheets. The squadron emblem on the fin came from a Mistercraft Su-22, IIRC.
Most stencils were taken from the OOB sheet, some of them were replaced with white alternatives, though, in order to keep a consistent overall low-viz look.
Finally the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
An interesting result. Even though this Polish Gina is purely fictional, the model looks surprisingly convincing, and the grey low-viz livery actually suits the G.91Y well.
Soon the approaching rain storm will make very slight modifications to this desert landscape. Those tiny changes eventually lead to these natural beauty sites that all photographers love.
Marcus los his tooth piece ;)
I made it of apoxie for him and painted it. The thing looks like some creepy monster on its own :P
So...what did I do to this EAH body?
Long story short:
After I shortened the neck and upper arms, I put the bits that were cut off in an acetone resistent lidded jar and added pure acetone ( don't smell the stuff! Work in a well ventilated area!). Once the plastic had melted to the right consistency, I used it to thicken the neck, glue back together the upper arms and to elongate the knees, then once the plastic was solid again I used sandpaper to make everything smooth.
I also cut a little bit of lenght from the bottom of her forearms, and slimmed down the calves ( her forearms and lower legs are made from different types of plastic and won't melt with acetone)
Short story long:
Like people who repaint dolls know well, acetone won't damage a doll's vinyl head, but it will melt its plastic body. In the past I used this fact to my advantage to remove the kind of copyright information that's molded ( insted of printed ) on some dolls and to glue back some doll torsos that I had cracked open and limbs that I had shortened.
When I had to modify this EAH body to fit my custom mini unoa head, I first thought about thickening the neck with epoxy putty, but then I would have had to use paint to cover the mods, and paint chips and it's difficult to match anyway. That's when I remembered the plastic melting properties of acetone, and after a quick internet search which returned a lot of results about car repairs... AND this tutorial www.flickr.com/photos/6_6tina/albums/72157646135456221 I was finally able to obtain my ideal closest equivalent to a 1/6 scale Unoa body... that's not a resin fluorite Unoa light *cries*
By the way:
Almost a year ago, when I posted the first pictures of this body, I included a brief "how to" underneath a pic of the naked body, hybridized with the head of Barbie's little sister Chelsea. That photo gained thousands of views in a suspiciously very short time.
Now... I'm not bothered -AT ALL- by doll nudity, but somehow, the fact that what was basically a child's head on a fairly realistically sculpted naked body was gaininig so many views so fast made me a bit uneasy, lol :| so I deleted the picture... totally forgetting about the tutorial underneath it, so here it is again :P
In case you have missed it, on my website I explain why I believe the rear suspension of the LEGO 42083 Bugatti Chiron has a design flaw and how I think it could have been solved: www.nkubate.com/model-optimization-a-42083-showcase/
Chronodex Mods by Folks at Fountain Pen Network
Here's an update of the Chronodex Weekly Planner for 2012.
I'm very happy to find like minded people who love the Chronodex idea. Although it was first designed for the Midori Traveler's Notebook format, folks at Fountain Pen Network really took it to the next level.
Coronado took the time to modify it into a more popular portrait format and in half letter size for his Levenger Circa. He also changed the grid background into dots so it is less intrusive. You can download Coronado's version of the Chronodex here.
Coronado also made a Levenger Circa version of the bookmark I portrayed. Like minded.
jsButterfly, who has just started a new blog called Paper Spaces, made Chronodex her 2012 diary too, also following Coronado's bookmark hack.
If you are into radial thinking for heightened creativity, or simply want to have a little change of your scheduling method, please do try Chronodex and share with us fans here on Scription or the Chronodex Flickr group.
Lastly, Boris from Russia, how do you find using Chronodex? I'm yet to receive any comments from people from Hong Kong and Japan. どのようにスケジューリングのChronodex方法が好きですか？
More on Scription blog: scription.typepad.com/blog/2011/12/chronodex-mods-by-folk...
Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/MagnumTi
I don't know if there are any more strobists out there who own larger scale not-so-portable strobes like I do, but I think this would be more geared to you I think. I have 4 Alien Bee strobes, along with the grid spots that I really enjoy using, but they aren't the greatest thing to go "portable" with.
I like using the AlienBee/White Lightning 7" reflectors and grid spots, and wanted to find a way to use them with my SB-800 (although this could be fitted to any flash unit I believe). So, I set out to Home Depot to search the isles to see if anything would work. In the electrical section, I found this 3" to 2" pvc bushing that fit very snuggly into the 7" reflector.
It was a little long, so with a hacksaw I cut off the excess lip up to the inside support bars. Next, I outlined with a marker the shape of the SB800 onto the bushing. With a file set, I filed down the area that I outlined with marker until the flash unit fit all the way in until it was all the way in (this took a little while to shape out correctly to fit).
Once I had a good tight fit, I removed SB800 from the pvc, placed the pvc into the reflector, then re-inserted the flash unit back into the bushing (this gave a nice tight fit into the reflector).
Like I said, if you don't already own these, I don't know if this will be of any help to you. Also, maybe someone can find a better way to improvise this, but it works great for me, and maybe it will work for someone else as well!
Check out the lighting spread from using this here.
Modified version of the LEGO Brick Bank (#10251).
There's now an ATM and the additional floor provides room for an insurance agent, who might not be the most respectable one.
Ça faisait longtemps que je voulais retailler son nez - Voilà c'est fait !
Since a long time, i want to modified her nose - well, it's done !
Direction le make up maintenant
This is a modification of my hot rod pickup. It still has everything that you might like (motorized/remotely controlled driving/steering, lights, turn signals, working steering wheel, working V8 and radiator fan, working door handles, gearbox…) and some new features (wheels, suspension, engine, roof, front lights, interior, fuel tank, movable license plate, chrome details…). Like the old one, it is 50 studs long and 28 studs wide but it is heavier - it weighs 1285g.
VIDEO: youtu.be/jR0rCEck7_0
Characteristics:
-Leaf spring suspension with height-adjustable rear
-License plate with simple mechanism to hide it (manual)
-Lights (front and rear) manually controlled with a lever connected to a speed dial of 8878 battery (which allows you to switch between low and high beam)
-Turn signals (front and rear) connected to a servo motor via coupled PF switches (2 switches)
-Working steering wheel
-Manual gearbox – 4 gears (5:1, 3:1, 5:3, 1:1)
-Suicide doors with working door handles
-It is powered by two L motors and 7.4 V (8878) rechargeable battery box.
-Servo motor for steering
-Working V8 fake engine with some details to make it resemble real V8 engine, connected directly to the driving motors so it works at the same speed no matter what gear you choose (in neutral also)
-Working radiator fan, connected directly to a V8 engine
-Rear doors can be opened.
-Roof window, fire extinguisher, fuel tank…
-Front tires from 8070 supercar, and rear from 42000 Grand Prix Racer.
I hope you like it, feel free to comment…
p.s. it has been blogged: thelegocarblog.com/2014/07/03/rod-mod/
Well I will let you in on a secret, ok it is not but anyway, when my wife comes across Lego sets on sale for about 50% off she lets me know and I thought on this one it might be worth the parts but then I decided to try an alternate build so here it is. Except for one part, a 2x4 white tile on the trunk, it would be considered an alternate.
Police, Fire and Ambulance authorities in London will use Peugeot cars and vans as specialist vehicles from next year.
Criminals will soon find a fleet of Peugeot cars coasting the London streets in the fight against crime.
Peugeot cars will be seen throughout the London area being used as mobile prison cells, police dog cars and even undercover police cars.
The French manufacturer will supply the police with 308 hatchbacks and the new 508 saloon for use as beat cars and Peugeot Expert and Partner vans for police dog vehicles.
Criminals will be transported in a converted Peugeot Export van, which doubles up as a cell, under the new deal.
Meanwhile, undercover police cars will include the 207 hatchback, 3008 crossover, 5008 seven-seat MPV and 4007 SUV.
The Metropolitan Police will even go green from next year when it takes delivery of the tiny Peugeot iOn electric car and the Peugeot 3008 crossover hybrid.
Peugeot’s conversions team will revamp its cars and vans for use with the police force, and the new designs even stretch as far as bespoke Peugeot Boxer van which will be put into use by London’s fire stations.
The modifications will be completed at Peugeot’s Specialist Vehicles Operation (PSVO) in Coventry.
PSVO is an established provider of cars and vans to the UK Emergency Services Market which has dedicated Peugeot trained technicians who work on the vehicles and as a result have an intimate knowledge of the architecture of Peugeot’s vehicle systems.
+++ 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:
In the early days of World War II, Royal Navy fighter requirements had been based on cumbersome two-seat designs, such as the fighter/dive-bomber Blackburn Skua (and its turreted derivative the Blackburn Roc) and the fighter/reconnaissance Fairey Fulmar, since it was expected that they would encounter only long-range bombers or flying boats and that navigation over featureless seas required the assistance of a radio operator/navigator. The Royal Navy hurriedly adopted higher-performance single-seat aircraft such as the Hawker Sea Hurricane and the less robust Supermarine Seafire alongside, but neither aircraft had sufficient range to operate at a distance from a carrier task force. The American Vought F4U Corsair was welcomed as a more robust and versatile alternative.
In November 1943, the Royal Navy received its first batch of 95 "birdcage" Vought F4U-1s, which were given the designation "Corsair [Mark] I". The first squadrons were assembled and trained on the U.S. East Coast and then shipped across the Atlantic. The Royal Navy put the Corsair into carrier operations immediately. They found its landing characteristics dangerous, suffering a number of fatal crashes, but considered the Corsair to be the best option they had.
The Royal Navy cleared the F4U for carrier operations well before the U.S. Navy and showed that the Corsair Mk II could be operated with reasonable success even from escort carriers. It was not without problems, though: one was excessive wear of the arrester wires, due both to the weight of the Corsair and the understandable tendency of the pilots to stay well above the stalling speed, and because of the limited hangar deck height in several classes of British carrier, many Corsairs had their outer wings "clipped" by 8 in (200 mm) to clear the deckhead. However, the change in span brought about the added benefit of improving the sink rate, reducing the F4U's propensity to "float" in the final stages of landing. The Royal Navy developed further modifications to the Corsair that made carrier landings more practical. Among these were a bulged canopy (similar to the P-51 B/C’s Malcolm Hood), raising the pilot's seat 7 in (180 mm), and wiring shut the cowl flaps across the top of the engine compartment, diverting frequent oil and hydraulic fluid spray around the sides of the fuselage so that the windscreen remained clear.
The Corsair Mk I was followed by 510 "blown-canopy" F4U-1A/-1Ds, which were designated Corsair Mk II (the final 150 equivalent to the F4U-1D, but not separately designated in British use). 430 Brewster Corsairs (334 F3A-1 and 96 F3A-1D), more than half of Brewster's total production, were delivered to Britain as the Corsair Mk III. 857 Goodyear Corsairs (400 FG-1/-1A and 457 FG-1D) were delivered and designated Corsair Mk IV. A total of 2,012 Corsairs were supplied to the United Kingdom during WWII, and British Corsairs served both in Europe and in the Pacific. Despite the large number of aircraft, the Mk IIs and IVs were the only versions to be actually used in combat.
The first, and also most important, European FAA Corsair operations were the series of attacks in April, July, and August 1944 on the German battleship Tirpitz (Operation Tungsten), for which Corsairs from HMS Victorious and HMS Formidable provided fighter cover. From April 1944, Corsairs from the British Pacific Fleet took part in several major air raids in South-East Asia beginning with Operation Cockpit, an attack on Japanese targets at Sabang island, in the Dutch East Indies. In July and August 1945, RN Corsairs took part in a series of strikes on the Japanese mainland, near Tokyo, operating from Victorious and Formidable. It was during this late phase of the war that the Admiralty was expecting new and more powerful indigenous naval fighters to become available, primarily Griffon-powered Seafires and the Hawker Sea Fury, a navalized derivative of the Hawker Tempest fighter powered by the new Centaurus radial engine. Both types, however, faced development problems, so that the Royal Navy approached Vought and requested a new variant of the proven Corsair, powered by the British Centaurus engine and further tailored to the Royal Navy’s special needs. This became the Corsair Mark V.
The Corsair V was based on the newest American variant, the F4U-4, but it differed in many aspects, so much that it effectively was a totally different aircraft. The F4U-4 was the last American Corsair variant that would be introduced during WWII, but it only saw action during the final weeks of the conflict. It had a 2,100 hp (1,600 kW) dual-stage-supercharged -18W engine, and when the cylinders were injected with the water/alcohol mixture, power was boosted to 2,450 hp (1,830 kW). To better cope with the additional power, the propeller was changed to a four-blade type. Maximum speed was increased to 448 miles per hour (721 km/h) and climb rate to over 4,500 feet per minute (1,400 m/min) as opposed to the 2,900 feet per minute (880 m/min) of the F4U-1A. The unarmored wing fuel tanks of 62 US gal (230 L) capacities were removed for better maneuverability at the expense of maximum range. Other detail improvements were introduced with the F4U-4, too: The windscreen was now flat bullet-resistant glass to avoid optical distortion, a change from the curved Plexiglas windscreens with an internal armor glass plate of the earlier variants. The canopy was furthermore without bracing and slightly bulged – an improvement adopted from the Royal Navy Corsairs.
The original "4-Hog" retained the original armament of six 0.5” machine guns and had all the external load (i.e., drop tanks, bombs, HVARs) capabilities of the F4U-1D. A major sub-type, the F4U-4B, was the same but featured an alternate gun armament of four 20 millimeters (0.79 in) AN/M3 cannon, and the F4U-4P was a rare photo reconnaissance variant with an additional camera compartment in the rear fuselage, but fully combat-capable.
The Royal Navy agreed to adopt the new F4U-4 but insisted on the British Centaurus as powerplant and demanded British equipment and armament, too. The latter included four Hispano 20 mm cannon in the outer wings, adapted wirings for British unguided rockets under the outer wings and a four-channel VHF radio system, a radio altimeter and a G2F compass. Vought reluctantly agreed, even though the different engine meant that a totally different mount had to be developed in short time, and the many alterations to the F4U-4’s original airframe would require a separate, new production line. Since this would block valuable resources for the running standard F4U production for the USN, the Corsair V was outsourced to the newly established Kaiser-Fleetwing company (a ship builder with only limited aircraft experience so far) and designated FK-1 in American circles.
As expected, the development of the FK-1 alone took more time than expected – not only from a technical point of view, but also due to logistic problems. The Centaurus engines and most vital equipment pieces had to be transported across the Atlantic, a hazardous business. The first precious Centaurus engines for the development of the modified engine mount were actually transferred to the USA through the air, hanging in the bomb bays of American B-24 bombers that were used as transporters to supply Great Britain with vital materials.
Because Kaiser-Fleetwings had to establish a proper production line for the FK-1 and supplies for raw F4U-4 airframes had to be diverted and transported to the company’s factory at Bristol, Pennsylvania, delays started to pile up and pushed the Corsair Mk. V development back. The first Centaurus-powered Corsair flew in January 1945 and immediately revealed massive stability problems caused by the engine’s high torque. Enlarged tail surfaces were tested and eventually solved the problem, but this measure changed the F4U-4s standard airframe even more. It was furthermore soon discovered that the early Centaurus engine suffered frequent crankshaft failure due to a poorly designed lubrication system, which led to incidents of the engine seizing while in mid-flight. The problem was resolved when Bristol's improved Centaurus XVIII engine replaced the earlier variant. Tests and adaptations of British equipment to the airframe continued until May 1945, when the Corsair V was eventually cleared for production. But when the first of 100 ordered machines started to roll off the production lines the war was already over.
At that time many of the Fleet Air Arm's carrier fighters were Seafires and Lend-Lease Corsairs. The Seafire had considerable drawbacks as a naval aircraft, notably the narrow undercarriage, while the Corsairs had to be returned or purchased. As the UK did not have the means to pay for them, the Royal Navy Corsairs were mostly pushed overboard into the sea in Moreton Bay off Brisbane, Australia.
Since the Corsair V had not been part of the Lend Lease agreement with the United States, the Royal Navy was not able to easily retreat from the production contract and had to accept the aircraft. Because the Royal Navy’s intended new standard shipborne fighter, the Hawker Sea Fury, was delayed and almost cancelled during this period of re-organizations and cutbacks, the Admiralty bit the bullet, used the inevitable opportunity and procured the Corsair V as a stopgap solution, even though the original production order from May 1945 was not extended and effectively only 95 Corsair Vs were ever produced in the USA and transferred as knocked-down kits via ship to Great Britain.
The first re-assembled Corsair Vs entered Royal Navy service in August 1946, but their frontline service with 802 and 805 NAS, both based at Eglington (Northern Ireland), was only brief. Following the successful completion of weapons trials at the A&AEE Boscombe Down, the Sea Fury was eventually cleared for operational use on 31 July 1947 and quickly entered service. The Corsair Vs were gradually replaced with them until late 1948; 805 NAS was the first unit to abandon the type when 805 Squadron was reformed as a Royal Australian Navy FAA squadron operating Hawker Sea Fury Mk II aircraft. In 1950, 802 NAS was assigned to HMS Ocean and equipped with the Hawker Sea Fury, too, and sent to Korea.
Most Corsair Vs were then relegated to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in August 1951, where they replaced Supermarine Seafires and took over their role as classic fighter aircraft, despite the Corsair V’s strike/attack potential with bombs and unguided missiles. Most of the time the Corsairs were used for lang range navigation training. RNVR units that operated the Corsair V included Nos. 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835 and 1836 Squadrons. No. 1832, based at RAF Benson, was the last RNVR squadron to relinquish the type in August 1955 for the jet-powered Supermarine Attacker, and this ended the Corsair V’s short career.
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 34 ft (10.37 m)
Wingspan: 40 ft 8 in (12.10 m)
Height: 15 ft 4 in (4.68 m)
Wing area: 314 sq ft (29.17 m²)
Empty weight: 9,205 lb (4,238 kg)
Gross weight: 14,670 lb (6,654 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 14,533 lb (6,592 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Bristol Centaurus XVIII 18-cylinder air-cooled radial engine with
2,470 hp (1,840 kW) take-off power, driving a 4-bladed
Rotol constant-speed propeller with 14 ft (4.3 m) diameter
Performance:
Maximum speed: 453 mph (730 km/h, 397 kn) at sea level
Cruise speed: 215 mph (346 km/h, 187 kn) at sea level
Stall speed: 89 mph (143 km/h, 77 kn)
Range with internal fuel, clean: 1,005 mi (1,617 km, 873 nmi)
Combat range with max. ordnance: 328 mi (528 km, 285 nmi)
Service ceiling: 41,500 ft (12,600 m)
Rate of climb: 4,360 ft/min (22.1 m/s)
Armament:
4× 20 mm (0.787 in) Hispano Mk II cannon in the outer wings, 250 RPG
A total of 11 hardpoints under the wings and the fuselage for a total ordnance of
4,000 pounds (1.800 kg), including drop tanks, up to 16× 60 lb unguided aircraft rockets on twin
launch rails and/or bombs of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) caliber
The kit and its assembly:
My first submission to the 2023 “Re-engine” group build at whatifmodellers.com, and a British Corsair with a Centaurus instead of the original R-2800 is almost a no-brainer. But taking the idea to hardware turned out to be a bit trickier than expected. I based my fictional conversion on an Italeri F4U-4, which would have been the appropriate late-WWII basis for a real-life conversion. The kit has good ex- and internal detail with fine engraved panels and offers the late Corsairs’ all-metal wings, too.
The engine replacement is a massive resin piece from OzMods, part of a conversion twin set for a Bristol Brigand; I assume it’s intended for the Valom kit? The set includes resin four-blade props with deep blades which I rather wanted to use than the Sea Fury’s typical five-blade prop.
The Italeri Corsair was basically built OOB, but beyond the different engine, which caused some trouble in itself (see below), I incorporated several mods to change the aircraft’s appearance. The streamlined Centaurus was insofar a problem because it has s slightly smaller diameter than the original R-2800 cowling. Not much, but enough to make a simple exchange impossible or at least look awkward. While the upper cowling section and its curvature blended well into the Corsair fuselage, the difference became more obvious and complicated underneath: late Corsairs have a “flattened” bottom, and from below the Centaurus appears somewhat undersized. To smooth the intersection out I grinded much of the cooling flaps away, and to even out the profile I added a shallow air scoop from an Italeri F4U-7 under the engine, which required some PSR. A good compromise, though. The resin propeller was mounted onto a metal axis and fitted into a hole/channel that was drilled through the Centaurus’ massive resin block.
As an FAA Corsair the wing tips were clipped, which was easy to realize thanks to the massive parts in this area. The Corsair’s original oil coolers in the wing roots were retained, but the four guns in the wings (separate parts in the Italeri kit with quite large holes) were replaced with faired Hispano cannon for/from an early Hawker Tempest, aftermarket brass parts from Master Models.
To change the model’s look further I modified the tail surfaces, too; the rounded fin was replaced with a rather square and slightly bigger donor, a stabilizer from a Novo Supermarine Attacker. The original stabilizers were replaced, too, with trapezoidal alternatives from a Matchbox Meteor night fighter, which offer slightly more area. Since the tail surfaces were all graft-ons now I implanted a vertical styrene tube behind the rear cockpit bulkhead as a display holder adapter for later flight scene pictures. Together with the clipped/squared-off wingtips the new tail creates a consistent look, and with the propeller and its dominant spinner in place the Corsair V reminds a lot of a late Bristol Firebrand mark or even of an Unlimited Class Reno Racer? It looks fast and purposeful now!
Even though unguided missiles and/or bombs could have been a valid ordnance option I decided to leave the Corsair V relatively clean as a pure gun fighter; I just used the OOB drop tank on the centerline station.
Painting and markings:
Very dry and using real 1948 Royal Navy aircraft as benchmark, the Corsair V ended up with a rather simple and dull Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky (Humbrol 123 and 90, respectively) with a low waterline, and still with wartime Type C roundels with “Identification red (dull)”, even though the RAF officially had reverted to bright identification colors in 1947 and started to use the high-viz Type D roundel as standard marking. To add a British flavor the cockpit interior was painted in very dark grey (Revell 06, Tar Black) while the interior of the landing gear wells was painted in a pale cream yellow (Humbrol 74, Linen) to mimic zinc chromate primer. The only highlight is a red spinner, a contemporary unit marking of 805 NAS.
The kit received a light black ink washing and post-shading to emphasize and/or add surface structures, and this nicely breaks up the otherwise uniform surfaces. Decals/markings came from Xtradecal Hawker Sea Fury und late WWII FAA/RN aircraft sheets, and some decals were mixed to create a fictional serial number for the Corsair V (TF 632 was never allocated, but the code fits into the model’s era). Some light oil and exhaust stains were also added, but not as severely as if the aircraft had been operated under wartime conditions. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
While a classic F4U with a British Centaurus engine sounds simple, and actually is, getting there was not as easy as it sounds – the ventral air scoop came to the rescue. With some more small mods like the new tail surfaces the aircraft got a subtly different look from its American ancestor(s). The Corsair V IMHO has now a very Blackburn-ish look, thanks to the big spinner and the square fin! And I wonder what I will do with the other Centaurus from the conversion set?
A small side project for a friend, I made a minor change to the nose to give it a slightly more realistic texture.
+++ 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:
Tyne was the second of the five River-class light cruisers in the Royal Navy, which were introduced during the interwar period and played, after modifications, an active role in World War II, especially in the Mediterranean theatre of operations.
After the construction of the Danae-class cruiser, the demerits of the small cruiser concept became apparent. At the end of 1917, plans for an additional six C-class vessels, plus three new-design 7,200 ton-class scouting cruisers were shelved, in favor of an intermediate 5,500 ton-class vessel which could be used as both a long-range, high speed scout ship, and also as a command vessel for destroyer or submarine flotillas. The resulting River-class vessels were essentially enlarged versions of the Danae-class cruisers, with greater speed, range, and weaponry. With improvements in geared-turbine engine technology, the River-class vessels were capable of the high speed of 36 knots (67 km/h), and a range of 9,000 nmi (17,000 km) at 10 kn (12 mph; 19 km/h). The number of BL 6-inch (152.4 mm) L/45 Mark XII guns was increased from only three to seven in single mounts and provision was made for 48 naval mines. However, the four triple torpedo launchers on the Danae-class were reduced to just two double launchers, and the River-class remained highly deficient in anti-aircraft protection, with only two QF 3 in 20 cwt L/45 Mk. I and two QF 2-pounder L/39 Mk. II guns. A total of eight ships were ordered, but, with less pressure after the end of WWI, only five were built and finished.
The first River-class ship, H.M.S. “Trent”, was laid down in December 1918 and launched in August 1919. H.M.S. “Tyne” was the second cruiser of this new class, laid down 8 July 1919, launched 24 September 1920 and completed at Chatham Royal Dockyard 2 June 1922. Completed too late to see action in the First World War, “Tyne” was initially assigned to operate in the Baltic Sea against the Bolshevik revolutionaries in Russia. She was then on detached service in the West Indies. Following this assignment, she was attached to the 1st Light Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet for the following five years. 1923/24, “Tyne” became a member of the Cruise of the Special Service Squadron, also known as the “Empire Cruise”. Following this tour, she went with the squadron to the Mediterranean for the next few years.
In May 1928 “Tyne” was assigned to the North America and West Indies Station, based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda. She ran aground on 2 July 1928 on the Thrum Cap Shoal, 5 nautical miles (9.3 km) off Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and was badly damaged, suffering the breach of her engine room and of one of her boiler rooms. She was abandoned by most of her 445 crew, the officers remaining on board. Subsequently, all her guns and torpedo tubes and much of her other equipment had to be removed to lighten her. She was finally refloated on 11 July 1928 and towed off by H.M.S. “Despatch” and several tugs. She was repaired throughout 1929 and then reduced to the reserve.
In 1930, however, due to a shortage of ships at foreign theatres of operation, she was reactivated and transferred back to the America and West Indies Station. During 1931-1933 she served with the South American Division, and in 1934 she relieved the cruiser “Curlew” in the Mediterranean and was reassigned to the 3rd Cruiser Squadron. In 1935 she returned to Britain to be paid off into the reserve, but “Tyne” was kept active in British coastal waters for cadet training.
On the outbreak of the Second World War, “Tyne” was recommissioned and thoroughly modernized, since the original armament and other equipment had become obsolete by 1939. All five River-class ships were re-designed as light trade protection cruisers and were outfitted with new, state-of-the-art equipment and armament, including six new and very compact turrets. Pairs were placed at the bow and at the stern each, with another two placed singly at port and starboard amidships. Each was armed with twin 5.25-inch (133 mm) guns in high angle mountings. These new, quick-firing weapons were primarily surface weapons, but it was intended to fire the heaviest shell suitable for anti-aircraft defense, so that the ships could be used for convoy protection from aerial attacks.
The ballistic performance of the QF 5.25 was very good, with a maximum range of 24,070 yd (22,010 m) at 45 degrees with an 80 lb (36.3 kg) HE shell. In comparison, the contemporary French 138 mm (5.4 in) Mle 1934 guns as used on the Mogador-class destroyers had a maximum range of 21,872 yards (20,000 m) at 30 degrees with an 88 lb (39.9 kg) SAP shell, and the Italian 135/45 mm gun as used on the Capitani Romani-class cruisers had a maximum range of 21,435 yards (19,600 m) at 45 degrees with a 72.1 lb (32.7 kg) AP shell.
The new turrets were far more modern in design than previous light cruiser turrets and offered efficient loading up to 70 degrees to provide the intended dual-purpose capability. Furthermore, “Tyne” was, like its revamped sister ships, outfitted with four twin QF 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-poms" and a pair of triple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tube launchers, mounted under the main deck. The latter carried a steam catapult for a reconnaissance waterplane, initially a Fairey Swordfish on floats but later replaced by a Supermarine Walrus amphibious flying boat. The depth charge racks were augmented by two new launchers.
After her modifications at Portsmouth Royal Dockyard, field tests in the Channel and receiving a light disruptive Admiralty paint scheme, “Tyne” joined the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, escorting convoys to Scandinavia and engaged in the hunt for the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. After the Norwegian Campaign she participated in the operations hunting the German battleship Bismarck and, together with the cruiser “Kenya”, intercepted one of the German supply ships, “Belchen”, on 3 June 1941.
Between July and August 1941, as part of Force K with the Home Fleet, she was involved in “Operation Gauntlet”, with operations to Spitzbergen and Bear Island. After one of these sorties, in company with the cruiser “Nigeria”, she intercepted a German troop convoy off Northern Norway, and the German ship “Bremse” was sunk. Later that year she was transferred to the Mediterranean and arrived in Alexandria on 21 October 1941 to join a new Force K, where the ship received a new high-contrast paint scheme, typical for this theatre of operations.
On 9 November 1941, Force K, consisting of “Tyne”,”Aurora”, “Penelope”, “Lance” and “Lively”, she was involved in the destruction of the Beta Convoy. In the resulting battle the Italian destroyer “Fulmine” was sunk, as well as the German transports “Duisburg” and “San Marco”, the Italian transports “Maria”, “Sagitta” and “Rina Corrado”, and the Italian “Conte di Misurata” and “Minatitlan”. The Italian destroyers “Grecale” and “Euro” were damaged.
On 24 November Force K, intercepted an Axis convoy about 100 nautical miles west of Crete. The Axis convoy was bound from the Aegean to Benghazi. The two German transports in the convoy, “Maritza” and “Procida”, were both sunk by H.M.S. “Penelope” and H.M.S. “Lively” despite the presence of the Italian torpedo boats “Lupo” and “Cassiopea”. On 1 December 1941 Force K, with “Tyne”, “Penelope” and ”Lively”, attacked the Mantovani Convoy. The Italian destroyer “Alvise Da Mosto” and the sole cargo ship “Mantovani” were sunk. H.M.S. “Tyne” next participated in the First Battle of Sirte on 17 December 1941. On 19 December, while steaming off Tripoli, she was heavily damaged in a mine field and was forced to retire to Malta for hull repairs.
After repairs, which lasted several months into summer 1942, she returned to service in the MTO and joined Force H. In November she became part of the Centre Task Force for the Landings in North Africa, Operation Torch. Off Oran, she engaged the Vichy French destroyers “Tramontane” and “Tornad”e on 8 November 1942, damaging the former so badly that it had to be beached. The following day she badly damaged the destroyer “Épervier” and drove it ashore. By early December 1942 she was operating as part of Force Q at Bône against the Axis evacuation and supply convoys between Trapani and Tunis.
However, “Tyne” was hit on 20 December 1942 off Trapani (Sicily) by an air-dropped torpedo. She caught fire, had two of her turrets out of action and was badly flooded. Later that day she was attacked once more by German dive-bombers, and a fatal bomb hit at the ship’s stern eventually led to her loss the following day. 115 men were killed through the attacks, the rest, more than two-thirds of the crew, was rescued.
All River-class ships had a very active war career and proved to be satisfactory in service, even though they were hardly a match for full-fledged battleships and worked best in conjunction with other ships. Especially in the Mediterranean they were very effective in protecting crucial convoys to Malta and even managed to see off some ships of the Italian Royal Navy. However, their outdated WWI machinery became their Achilles heel and limited their potential, and the relatively light main guns lacked range and firepower to take on major enemy ships their own.
From 1940 on the ships were to be replaced by the much more modern and better-equipped new Dido-class cruisers, but a shortage of guns for them, due to difficulties in manufacturing them, delayed their introduction so that the River-class cruisers had to soldier on. Two ships, “Tyne” and “Thames”, were lost, and the three post-war survivors “Trent”, “Severn” and “Mersey”, were immediately put into reserve after the end of hostilities in Europe and quickly broken up.
General characteristics:
Displacement: 5,100 long tons (5,200 t) (standard)
Length: 500 ft (152.4 m)
Beam: 47 ft (14.2 m)
Draft: 16 ft (4.8 m)
Draught: 12 ft 6 in (3.8 m) (deep)
Armor: Belt: 64 mm (3 in), Deck: 29 mm (1 in)
Complement: 450
Propulsion:
12× Admiralty boilers with 4× geared steam turbines, developing 90,000 shp (67,000 kW)
and driving four shafts
Performance:
Top speed: 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range: 5,000 nmi (9,300 km; 5,800 mi) at 14 kn (26 km/h; 16 mph)
Armament (after conversion):
12× 5.25 guns (133 mm) 50 caliber guns in six twin turrets
4× twin QF 2-pounder (40 mm) "pom-pom" AA guns in powered mounts
2× triple 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes
2× throwers and 2× racks astern with 48 depth charges
The kit and its assembly:
The Royal Navy’s River-class light cruisers never existed. These fictional interwar ships were based on the Dido-class cruisers’ concept, just placed in an earlier generation and realized on the basis of an old/outdated ship. Inspiration came with an aftermarket set of six 1:700 white metal turrets that I came across recently, and I wanted to use it to build something like the American Atlanta-class light cruisers with a specialized AA armament.
However, this armament called for a suitable and bigger hull than my former destroyer builds, and I was eventually able to hunt down a cheap Tamiya kit of a Japanese Kuma-class light cruiser as starting point. It was perfect in size (almost exactly as big as a Dido-class cruiser!), shape and time frame, even though I I basically only used the kit’s single-piece hull as starting point. I had to modify the superstructures thoroughly to adapt the Japanese ship to the new role and also to a more Western layout and silhouette.
For instance, the typically Japanese tall “pagoda” bridge/command section of that era had to disappear, and I changed the superstructures almost completely, because the new twin turrets needed much more space than the small single guns of the Kuma cruiser. I also wanted to place them at different levels, and this called for suitable staggered platforms, too.
Initially there was the plan to mount the six turrets in groups of three at both bow and stern, but it was soon clear that this would not work – this arrangement would have been too long and too high, too, so that I went with two staggered pairs. I also wanted to give the ship – unlike the American Atlanta-class ships – a catapult for an on-board aircraft, and this required some free space on deck.
With this framework I scratched new/additional superstructures, using leftover pieces from the two recently built Matchbox K-class destroyers and from a Revell H.M.S. Ark Royal carrier. Everything evolved through trial-and error, in an attempt to find a plausible layout for all the deck equipment. The lowered hull section for the Kuma-class’ front torpedo tubes was filled with a cabin and re-purposed for lifeboats. Then the initially continuous superstructure was split to make room for the steam catapult amidships at deck level. The rear turrets eventually found their final places on a separate superstructure that would also carry the secondary mast and the crane for the floatplane, and I mounted the last two turrets in lateral positions (again somewhat inspired by the Atlanta-class arrangement with similar positions), above the Kuma-class’ openings for the rear torpedo launch tubes. These did not make sense at this position anymore, so that the OOB openings were closed/filled and moved further forward, under the new “flight deck”. Some PSR had to be done, too, in order to blend some disparate donor parts and fill the worst gaps. Therefore, the finish is certainly not as crisp as an OOB model – but I think that these flaws remained on an acceptable level.
Once the general deck layout had been settled, detail work began. This included a re-arrangement of bridge, masts and funnels, and the main deck had to offer enough space for the re-located catapult, together with the turrets in the side positions, lifeboats and AA stations, which found their place at deck level and in two twin alcoves in higher positions. Fiddly stuff, and I must admit that “creating” such a battleship is conceptually not easy.
The aircraft on board is actually the OOB Kawanishi E7K floatplane from the Kuma-class cruiser kit – but it looks similar enough to a Swordfish that this illusion could be easily supported with a suitable paint scheme.
Painting and markings:
I used the opportunity to apply another typical Royal Navy paint scheme, a so-called “Alexandria-style” pattern. This was a high-contrast scheme, sometimes described as consisting of black and white, but it was typically made up from 507a (Dark Grey) and 507c (Light Grey). It had been christened after the dockyard where it had been initially applied, and it was actually not a defined pattern (like the Admiralty schemes, which had been designed at offices by people who frequently had no practical naval experience!), but rather a common but individual application of standard paints that had been in ample supply at most dockyards! The ships had to be painted with what was at hand, and so the disruptive scheme caught on and was applied, like Mountbatten Pink, to a considerable number of British ships operating in the MTO. This two-tone scheme was not intended to conceal the ships, but rather to confuse the observer concerning speed, direction and what the ship actually was.
The pattern I applied to the model was loosely based on what the cruiser H.M.S. Devonshire carried in 1941, a kind of zebra pattern with wide, well-defined block stripes. As a visual gimmick these stripes were kind of “mirrored” along a line on the hull, as if reflected by the water and therefore making assessing size or distance even more difficult.
The paints are Humbrol 147 (Light Grey, FS 36495) and 27 (Sea Grey). The deck was painted as if the wooden areas had not been overpainted yet and allowed to weather, so that the once-holystoned, yellow-ish light wood had become dull and rather grey-ish. I used Humbrol 168 (RAF Hemp) and Revell 87 (Beige) as basis, and some light shading with thinned sepia ink was done to enhance the wooden look – and it’s nice contrast to the rather cold, grey camouflage. Metal decks, turret tops and the bow area were painted with Revell 47, simulating 507b (Medium Grey). Areas around the bridge were painted with Humbrol 62 (Leather) to simulate Corticene coating.
I originally wanted to paint the model in separate elements before final assembly, but this was not possible due to the many adjustments. The model was slightly weathered with a highly thinned black ink wash. Some Sienna Brown water paint was used for rust stains here and there. Portholes along the hull and on the superstructures were created with a thin black felt tip pen. The same tool was used to paint the muzzles of the guns. The crisp black boot topping was easy to create through the kit’s separate waterline bottom – OOB it comes in red, and it just had to be re-painted.
The kit’s segments were sealed with a coat of acrylic matt varnish before final assembly. Finally, rigging with heated and extended dark grey sprue material was done and paper flags were added.
It is not obvious, but the fictional H.M.S. “Tyne” took more scratchwork and mods than one would expect – it was/is almost a scratch build on the basis of a stock cruiser hull. More or less, the whole superstructure was re-arranged and the whole armament is new, but I think that the outcome looks quite plausible. The camouflage – even though only consisting of two shades of grey - looks interesting, too, and I think that the confusing effect becomes obvious in some of the beauty pics.