View allAll Photos Tagged modifications
It wasn't long ago since Boeing restarted deliveries of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner after what has been a tumultuous 2020 and 2021 for the company after production and subsequent deliveries were halted for well-over a year; whilst those manufactured and in storage across the United States undergo necessary modifications with Charleston, Everett and Victorville are just a number of locations that are providing the necessary work to get the Boeing 787 re-certified for delivery.
American Airlines was the first airline to receive the Boeing 787 since deliveries restarted back in August 2022; at present, the carrier is in the process of taking delivery of the second batch of Boeing 787-8s. The order for 47 additional Boeing 787s back in 2018, at the time included 22 Boeing 787-8s and 25 Boeing 787-9s were part of a second-batch destined for American Airlines would enable the replacement of the Airbus A330 fleet (now all gone) and ageing Boeing 767-300ER fleet.
Deliveries commenced for this batch started in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, starting with the Boeing 787-8s which would feature the same interiors as the Boeing 787-9s, owing the original batch of 20 Boeing 787-8s delivered between 2015 to 2017 featured the much-maligned customisable Safran Cirrus Business Class seats, opting instead for the Collins Super Diamond Business Class seats.
For American Airlines, the carrier received only 4 of the Boeing 787-8s until deliveries were paused after quality control issues and production deficiencies. During COVID-19, orders were swapped around, with 5 Boeing 787-8s converted to Boeing 787-9s with 30 now on-order, meaning American Airlines will only receive 17 Boeing 787-8s, of which 8 more examples are due to arrive.
As for where the Boeing 787-8s are usually found, they are based from Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami and Philadelphia.
Currently, American Airlines operates 51 Boeing 787s, which includes 29 Boeing 787-8s and 22 Boeing 787-9s. American Airlines have 8 Boeing 787-8s and 30 Boeing 787-9s on-order.
November Eight Seven One Alpha Yankee is one of 29 Boeing 787-8s operated by American Airlines, delivered new to the carrier on lease from BOC on 29th April 2020 and she is powered by 2 General Electric GEnx-1B engines.
Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner N871AY on short finals into Runway 28L at Dublin-Collinstown (DUB) on AA208 from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), Illinois.
This old barn had attached timber corrals and stalls. It appears as though the timber rails were removed with a saw of some sort leaving the remnants of the timber rails behind.
288 has made it out of Rio and is coming up on Doylestown. I intercept him at Long Crossing Road, where a Milwaukee Road-era WRRS crossing setup still remains.
Both the lead engine and the crossing set up are very old, but have upgrades to make them useable. 6306 is an SD60-3, rather than an SD60, so it has newer software and electrical equipment. The old WRRS setup still retains the original gate mast and base, however a WCH E-Bell and LED lights are in place of the mechanical bell and incandescent lights that once ruled the Milwaukee.
66790 LEFT 66791 RIGHT @ EMD LONGPORT Having modifications for work on the UK Network having arrived from Europe , 27th April 2020
This was more of an exercise rather than an updated version because I still prefer the old one. It's not obvious, but there are some significant changes for this version, among them:
-larger head (perhaps to large?)
-longer tail
-longer arms (yes!)
-obviously a spiky sail achieved by adding two more pleats
-and the biggest difference is this one uses a 10 x 10 grid rather than a 9 x 9 one!
Designed by Shuki Kato
14" square Tant paper
~4 hours to fold
This a modification on the umulius rectangulum design by the late Thoki Yenn. It has the same number of units, (6; 2/ring) but uses 30 degree knee joints in stead of 90 degree joints.
Picture of my girlfriend Valérie. Probably one of my favorite out there. Making of video coming soon!
These are my three latest mods before the modding began. Total break-down.
The RPK was the hardest one, seeing as I drilled a few pieces (stock, handle), although it was a great adventure. :P
Oh, and that M4-type mod's red dot is not backwards. I took it straight off of a vector, hince it's whatever side it was before. Don't hate.
Thanks for viewing and all of the positive feedback! My last currently done mod will be up shortly.
Minor modifications to the head as you can see.
Designed by: myself
Folded from: one 30 inch square of tracing paper painted with acrylic spray paint.
Time spent folding: ~25 hours
size: 13" wingspan; 7" tall
So, here's another modification of the Green Grocer (#10185).
Actually the plan was to dismantle the Green Grocer to make some space for other MOCs, but instead I ended up rebuilding it for the second time.
Now I really like it, I guess.
Added another floor, rebuilt the roof and stairs again and added some more furnishings.
Credits for the kitchen and the sunbed: Sarah Beyer
More photos for Ravelry. I will be updating the pattern and adding these modifications within the next few days. Everyone who has already purchased the pattern will receive the updates.
A follower and friend edited the pictures for me.
Watch his account: www.flickr.com/photos/189882455@N02
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) T-45 Goshawk was a highly modified version of the BAe Hawk land-based training jet aircraft. Manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing) and British Aerospace (now BAe Systems), the T-45 was used by the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps (USMC) as an aircraft carrier-capable trainer.
The Goshawk's origins began in the mid-1970s, when the US Navy began looking for a single aircraft replacement for both its T-2 and TA-4 jet trainers. The US Navy started the VTXTS advanced trainer program in 1978. Several companies made submissions, e. g. North American or Northrop/Vought. Due to the size of the potential contract, European companies made submissions, too, including a navalized Alpha Jet from Dassault/Dornier and a fully carrier-capable version of the BAe Hawk Mk.60, mutually proposed by British Aerospace (BAe) and McDonnell Douglas (MDC). The latter eventually won the competition and BAe and MDC were awarded the T-45 contract in 1981.
The Hawk had not been designed for carrier operations and numerous modifications were required to make it suitable for use on carriers. These included improvements to the low-speed handling characteristics and a reduction in the approach speed. It was found that the aircraft was apt to stall at the low approach speed required. Modifications were designed by BAe in England; most notably a simple slat system was devised, operated by an actuator and linkage mechanism to fit into the small space available. Strakes were also added on the fuselage to improve airflow. Other changes were a strengthened airframe, a more robust and wider landing gear with a two-wheel nose landing gear, a catapult tow bar attachment and an arresting hook. The modified aircraft was christened “Goshawk”, flew in 1988 for the first time and became operational in 1991.
Beyond being a naval trainer the T-45 was also adapted for first-line duty with strike capabilities, in the form of the OA-45 for the USMC. The role of this aircraft dated back to the Vietnam War when twenty-three A-4 two-seaters were converted into OA-4Ms for “FastFAC” (Fast Forward Air Controller) missions, in order to control interdiction sorties dedicated to shaping the battlefield for future operations. Basically, the OA-4M was a TA-4F equipped with A-4M electronics. The most visible and characteristic change was the fitting of the A-4M’s dorsal electronics hump, neatly faired into the rear of the two-seat canopy. The nose sensor group of the OA-4M was basically the same as that of the A-4M, but the Angle/Rate Bombing system was not installed as it would not be needed.
When the T-45 was introduced in the early Nineties, the USMCs OA-4Ms had reached the end of their service life and the USMC started looking for a replacement, wanting a comparable, light and fast fixed-wing aircraft. The USMC did not accept the LTV A-7 as an A-4 replacement (even though a two-seater version was available), because it was already dated, too, and not part of the USMC inventory. The USMC's A-4Ms were supposed to be replaced by the VTOL AV-8 by the mid-nineties, but the AV-8, even as a two-seater, was deemed unsuitable for FFAC duties. The new T-45 looked like a good and economical alternative with future potential, since the airframe was brand new and the type's infrastructure was fully established, so that a small number of specialized aircraft could easily be supported without much extra cost.
With fresh experience from the 1st Gulf War in 1990-91 the decision was made to buy 25 extra T-45A airframes and convert them to OA-45A standard. Most important change were modified wings, using structures and systems from the BAe Hawk 100 series. While the T-45 only had two underwing and a single ventral hardpoint, the OA-45A featured a total of seven: four underwing and one ventral hardpoints, plus wingtip stations for defensive air-to-air missiles. Upgraded avionics allowed the deployment of a wide range of external stores, including air-to-ground missiles and rocket launchers, a reconnaissance pod, retarded and free-fall bombs of up to 1,000 pounds (450 kg) caliber, runway cratering, anti-personnel and light armor bombs, cluster bombs, practice bombs as well as external fuel tanks and ECM pods. This was a vital asset, since Desert Storm had proved that FFAC aircraft had to have an offensive capability to handle targets of opportunity on their own, when no air assets to control were available. A total ordnance load of up to 6,800 lb (3,085 kg) was possible, even though the aircraft was not supposed to play an offensive role and rather act from a distance, relying on its small size and agility.
Communication modifications for the FastFAC role included a KY-28 secure voice system, an ARC-159 radio and an ARC-114 VHF radio. Similar to the Skyhawk, a hump behind the cockpit had to be added to make room for the additional electronic equipment and a heat exchanger. Other additions were a continuous-wave Doppler navigation radar under a shallow ventral radome underneath the cockpit, a ground control bombing system, an APN-194 altimeter, an ALR-45 radar warning suite, a retrofitted, fixed midair refueling probe and cockpit armor plating that included Kevlar linings on the floor and the lower side walls as well as externally mounted armor plates for the upper areas.
VMA-131 of Marine Aircraft Group 49 (the Diamondbacks) retired its last four OA-4Ms on 22 June 1994, and the new OA-45A arrived just in time to replace the venerable Skyhawk two-seaters in the FastFAC role. Trainer versions of the Skyhawk remained in Navy service, however, finding a new lease on life with the advent of "adversary training". OA-45A deliveries were finished in 1996 and the 25 aircraft were distributed among the newly established Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron (MALS, formerly Headquarters & Maintenance Squadron/H&MS) 12 & 13. The USMC crews soon nicknamed their new mounts "GosHog", to underlöine ist offensive capabilities and to set themselves apart from the USN's "tame" trainers. Even though thos name was never officially approved it caught on quickly.
After initial experience with the new aircraft and in the wake of technological advances, the USMC decided to upgrade the OA-45As in 2000 to improve its effectiveness and interaction capabilities with ground troops. This primarily resulted in the addition of a forward-looking infrared camera laser in the aircraft’s nose section, which enabled the aircraft to execute all-weather/night reconnaissance and to illuminate targets for laser-guided infantry shells or ordnance launched by the OA-45 itself or by other aircraft. Through this measure the OA-45 became capable of carrying and independently deploying light laser-guided smart weapons like the GBU-12 and -16 “Paveway II” glide bombs or the laser-guided AGM-65E “Maverick” variant. The update was gradually executed during regular overhauls in the course of 2001 and 2002 (no new airframes were built/converted), the modified machines received the new designation OA-45B.
After this update phase, the OA-45Bs were deployed in several global conflicts and saw frequent use in the following years. For instance, MALS 13 used its OA-45Bs operationally for the first time in October 2002 when the squadron was tasked with providing support to six AV-8B Harrier aircraft in combat operations in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. This mission lasted until October 2003, four aircraft were allocated and one OA-45B was lost during a landing accident.
On 15 January 2003, MALS 13 embarked 205 Marines and equipment aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard in support of combat operations in Southwest Asia during Operation Southern Watch. Four OA-45Bs successfully supported these troops from land bases, marking targets and flying reconnaissance missions.
Furthermore, six MALS 13 OA-45Bs took actively part in Operation Iraqi Freedom from Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, and An Numiniyah Expeditionary Air Field, Iraq, where the aircraft worked closely together with the advancing ground troops of the USMC’s 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit. They successfully illuminated targets for US Navy fighter bombers, which were launched from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the Persian Gulf, and effectively guided these aircraft to their targets. Two OA-45Bs were lost during this conflict, one through enemy MANPADS, the other through friendly AA fire. In late May 2003 the surviving machines and their crews returned to MCAS Yuma.
On 16 March 2007, the 200th T-45 airframe was delivered to the US Navy. From this final batch, six airframes were set aside and modified into OA-45Bs in order to fill the losses over the past years.
Later T-45 production aircraft were built with enhanced avionics systems for a heads-up display (HUD) and glass cockpit standard, while all extant T-45A aircraft were eventually converted to a T-45C configuration under the T-45 Required Avionics Modernization Program (T-45 RAMP), bringing all aircraft to same HUD plus glass cockpit standard. These updates, esp. concerning the cockpit, were introduced to the OA-45Bs, too, and they were re-designated again, now becoming OA-45Cs, to reflect the commonality with the Navy’s Goshawk trainers. Again, these modifications were gradually introduced in the course of the OA-45s’ normal maintenance program.
In 2007, an engine update of the whole T-45 fleet, including the OA-45s, with the Adour F405-RR-402 was considered. This new engine was based on the British Adour Mk 951, designed for the latest versions of the BAe Hawk and powering the BAe Taranis and Dassault nEUROn UCAV technology demonstrators. The Adour Mk 951 offered 6,500 lbf (29 kN) thrust and up to twice the service life of the F405-RR-401. It featured an all-new fan and combustor, revised HP and LP turbines, and introduced Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC). The Mk 951 was certified in 2005, the F405-RR-402 derived from it was certified in 2008, but it did not enter service due to funding issues, so that this upgrade was not carried out.
The final delivery of the 246th T-45 airframe took place in November 2009, and both T-45 and the OA-45 "GosHog" are supposed to remain in service until 2035.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2 (pilot, observer)
Length: 39 ft 4 in (11.99 m)
Wingspan: 30 ft 10 in (9.39 m)
Height: 13 ft 5 in (4.08 m)
Wing area: 190.1 ft² (17.7 m²)
Empty weight: 10,403 lb (4,460 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 14,081 lb (6,387 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Rolls-Royce Turbomeca F405-RR-401 (Adour) non-afterburning turbofan with 5,527 lbf (26 kN)
Performance:
Maximum speed: Mach 2 (2,204 km/h (1,190 kn; 1,370 mph) at high altitude
Combat radius: 800 km (497 mi, 432 nmi)
Ferry range: 3,200 km (1,983 mi) with drop tanks
Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)
Wing loading: 283 kg/m² (58 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.97
Maximum g-load: +9 g
Armament:
No internal gun; seven external hardpoints (three on each wing and one under fuselage)
for a wide range of ordnance of up to 6,800 lb (3,085 kg), including up to six AIM-9 Sidewinder for
self-defense, pods with unguided rockets for target marking or ECM pods, but also offensive weapons
of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) weight, including iron/cluster bombs and guided AGM-65, GBU-12 and -16.
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional T-45 variant is actually the result of a long idea evolution, and simply rooted in the idea of a dedicated OA-4M replacement for the USMC; in real life, the FFAC role has been transferred to F-18 two-seaters, though, but the T-45 appeared like a sound alternative to me.
There's only one T-45 kit available, a dubious T-45A from Italeri with poor wings and stabilizers. Wolfpack also offers a T-45, but it’s just a re-boxing of the Italeri kit with some PE parts and a price tag twice as big – but it does not mend the original kit’s issues… After reading the A-4 Skyhawk book from the French "Planes & Pilots" series, I was reminded of the USMC's special OA-4M FAC two-seaters (and the fact that it is available in kit form from Italeri and Hasegawa), and, cross-checking the real-world timeline of the T-45, I found that it could have been a suitable successor. The ide of the USMC’s OA-45 was born! :D
Building-wise the Italeri T-45 remained close to OOB, even though I transplanted several parts from an Italeri BAe Hawk Mk. 100 to create a different look. I modified the nose with the Mk. 100’s laser fairing and added some radar warning sensor bumps. This transplantation was not as easy as it might seem because the T-45’s nose is, due to the different and more massive front landing gear quite different from the Hawk’s. Took some major PSR to integrate the laser nose.
An ALR-45 “hot dog” fairing from a late A-4M (Italeri kit) was added to the fin, together with a small styrene wedge extending the fin’s leading edge. This small detail markedly changes the aircraft’s look. I furthermore added a refueling probe, scratched from coated wire and some white glue, as well as a low “camel back” fairing behind the cockpit, created from a streamlined bomb half with air outlets for an integrated heat exchanger. Blade antennae were relocated and added. A shallow bump for the Doppler radar was added under the fuselage behind the landing gear well – left over from an Airfix A-4B (from an Argentinian A-4P, to be correct, actually a dorsal fairing).
On the wings, a tailored pair of pylons and wing tip launch rails from the Italeri BAe Hawk Mk. 100 kit were added, too, as well as the donor kit’s pair of Sidewinders. The rest of the ordnance consists of drop tanks and LAU-19 pods for target marking missiles. The tanks were taken from the Hawk Mk. 100 kit, too, the rocket launchers came from an Italeri NATO aircraft weapons set. The centerline position carries an ALQ-131 ECM pod from a Hasegawa US aircraft weapons set on a pylon from the scrap box.
Painting and markings:
The low-viz idea prevailed, since I had some leftover OA-4M decals from Italeri kits in store, as well as some other suitable low-viz decals from a Revell A-4F kit. However, an all-grey livery was IMHO not enough, and when I came across a picture of a USN low-viz A-7E with an improvised desert camouflage in sand and reddish brown applied over the grey (even partly extending over its markings) from Operation Iraqi Freedom, I had that extra twist that would set the OA-45 apart. MALS-13 was chosen as operator because I had matching codes, and, as another benefit, the unit had actually been deployed overseas during the 2003 Iraq War, so that the whif’’s time frame was easily settled, adding to its credibility.
The livery was built up just like on the real aircraft: on top of a basic scheme in FS 36320 and 36375 (Humbrol 128 and 127) with a slightly darker anti-glare panel in front of the cockpit (FS 35237, I used Revell 57 as a slightly paler alternative) I applied the low-viz marking decals, which were protected with a coat of acrylic varnish. Next, additional desert camouflage was added with dry-brushed sand and millitary brown (supposedly FS 33711 and 30400 in real life, I used, after consulting pictures of aircraft from both Gulf Wars, Humbrol 103 (Cream) and 234 (Dark Flesh). They were applied with a kind of a dry-brushing technique, for a streaky and worn look, leaving out the codes and other markings. The pattern itself was inspired by an USMC OV-10 Bronco in desert camouflage from the 1st Gulf War.
On top of that a black ink washing was applied. Once things had thoroughly dried over night, I wet-sanded the additional desert camouflage away, carefully from front to back, so that the edges became blurred and the underlying grey became visible again.
The cockpit interior was painted in standard Dark Gull Grey (Humbrol 140), while the air intakes and the landing gear became white, the latter with red trim on the covers’ edges – just standard. Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
The upgraded T-45 is an interesting result. The add-ons suit the aircraft, which already looks sturdier than its land-based ancestor, well. The improvised desert paint scheme with the additional two-tone camouflage over the pale grey base really makes the aircraft an unusual sight, adding to its credibility.
Hardware-wise I am really happy how the added dorsal hump blends into the overall lines – in a profile view it extends the canopy’s curve and blends into the fin, much like the A-4F/M’s arrangement. And the modified fin yields a very different look, even though not much was changed. The T-45 looks much beefier now, and from certain angles really reminds of the OA-4M and sometimes even of a diminutive Su-25?
Well he is kinda finished. I see a lot of things I could've done better. But I will alter him when I have time again.
I will sand his eyes a tad better for example. They are a tad bit grainy now. So it needs to be smoother.
But in the end I am happy with the result. He is the little snarling guy I wanted him to be, haha.
Fun project ^^
This is the long-lost update, I didn't come for half a year? ! Thank you for your attention.
I try to speed up the update. : P
If you want to be my faceups, go to "Den of Angels", in the "♠ ♠ ♠〖WHITE DEER GARDEN〗♠ ♠ ♠ faceups & Modifications", you can see my detailed instructions.
This is a modification of the camper and truck from Lego's Transport Ferry 4997.
I started with Pierre Normandin's four-wide SUV, adding the set's luggage rack with cargo shell as is.
I like the way some four and five-wide vehicle combinations work together, so I improved the scale of the camper relative to the truck by lengthening it and increasing its width to five studs.
+++ 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 Reno Air Races, officially known as the National Championship Air Races, is a multi-day event tailored to the aviation community that takes place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, Nevada. Air racing is billed as "the world's fastest motor sport" and Reno is one of the few remaining venues. The event includes races in 6 classes and demonstrations by airshow pilots.
The probably most spectacular race class is the "Unlimited". With the exception of very few “scratch-built” aircraft, the Unlimited Class has generally been populated by stock or modified WWII fighters with the P-51 Mustangs, F-8F Bearcats and Hawker Sea Fury being flown most often, flying in speeds exceeding 500 mph.
One of the many P-51 custom racers was the "Gulf Mirage". It was a former military aircraft (ex s/n 44-73350), formerly operated by the Swiss Air Force and bought for around $3,500, that had undergone several successive modifications during its career in order to reduce the aircraft's drag and make it more and more competitive.
"Gulf Mirage" started its racing career in 1968 as an almost original P-51D which had been stripped off of any military equipment, under the ownership of Daniel Haskin, owner of Aeropart Service Inc. and WWII and Korea War pilot veteran. The aircraft's original name was "Mirage", with the civil registration N613C. The debut with the racing number 83 saw only a mediocre result, and, for the next season, the yellow and purple Mustang underwent its first major modifications.
These were carried out by Aero Trans Corp. DBA in Ocala, Florida, and included clipped wings and ailerons (the wing span was reduced by a total of ~5'), and the Mustang's characteristic tunnel radiator was replaced by two recessed radiators, which now occupied the former machine gun compartments in the wings. In this guide, the aircraft took part in the 1969 National Air Races, but severe cooling problems and numerous leaks in the almost untested radiator system prevented an active participation in the Unlimited Class races.
1970, "Mirage" was back, now tested and most technical bugs sorted out, and was able to achieve a respectable 4th place. In 1971, the modified Mustang was back, but during the main race a piston jammed and the aircraft could hardly be controlled - ending in a rugged belly landing after the landing gear had collapsed upon touchdown, which also caused a crack in the motor block.
However, the airframe was mostly intact, and Daniel Haskin started to search for sponsors for a rebuild and upgrade of "Mirage", as well as a new pilot. Through his industrial connections, he was able to win Grady Davis, vice president of Gulf Oil, who was an avid motorsport enthusiast and had founded the Gulf Oil Racing Team in 1966, for his project. In the course of 1972, "Mirage" underwent, thanks to financial and technical support, its second radical modification: the ruined Merlin engine was replaced by a bigger Rolls Royce Griffon (salvaged from an ex RAF Supermarine Spitfire PR Mk 19 reconnaissance aircraft) and its respective engine mounts, now driving a five blade propeller. The wing radiators were slightly enlarged in order to match the Griffon's increased power, and the aircraft was rebuilt with an eye to weight reduction. In the end, 600 pounds (270 kg) were removed from the airframe. The Mustang's original bubble canopy was replaced by a much smaller, streamlined fairing, and, after initial flight tests, the fin was slightly extended in order to counter the new propeller's torque and improve directional stability.
Outwardly, the new sponsorship resulted in a new name - the aircraft was now called "Gulf-Mirage" - a new, very different livery in the typical Gulf Racing colors: light blue with bright orange trim. With Peter Holm, a new pilot was found, too.
1973 saw the first start of the refurbished aircraft with the new starting number 63, but "Gulf-Mirage" did not finish its first race due to oil pressure problems, and any further flights were cancelled. In 1974 the pale blue Mustang was back - and this time everything worked fine and "Gulf-Mirage" was able to score a 3rd place in the Unlimited Class Gold Race. In 1975 the aircraft raced at the California National Air Races and finished in 2nd place - with a speed of 422 miles per hour (679 km/h).
After racing for several years with limited success, the aircraft was sold in 1983 to Wiley Sanders of Sanders Truck Lines, and it lost its characteristic blue and orange livery. After frequent participations in various air races, the aircraft was sold again in late 1989 and moved to the United Kingdom, not to return to the United States again until 1995. Since then, the aircraft has not made any public appearance yet.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
Wingspan: 32 ft 6½ in (9.93 m)
Height: 13 ft 5 in (4.10 m; tail wheel on ground, vertical propeller blade.)
Wing area: 197.6 sq ft (18.42 m²)
Empty weight: 7,030 lb (3,194) kg
Loaded weight: 8,750 lb (3,972 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 11,450 lb (5,200 kg)
Powerplant:
1× modified Rolls Royce Griffon 65 supercharged V12,
with a race output of ~3,000 hp (2,160 kW) at low altitude
Performance:
Maximum speed: 473 mph (763 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7,600 m)
Stall speed: 100 mph (160 km/h)
Mach limit 0.82
The kit and its assembly:
This is another group build submission, this time the topic was “Racing and Competition” – and what’s more obvious than a (fictional) Reno Racer? The Mustang is a classic choice for the Unlimited Class, with many warbirds and some exotic, dedicated constructions with high-volume piston engines. I wanted something plausible, though, that perfectly blends into the class’ pedigree, so I took inspiration from different real P-51 racers and modified my build with whatever I considered plausible.
The basic kit is Academy’s P-51D, which I like because of its good fit, surface structure and nice details like the good cockpit and landing gear, as well as the option to build the model with lowered flaps. Just the tail wheel is IMHO a little short and needs an extension at its base for a proper stance of the model.
However, in order to turn the Mustang into a mutated Reno Racer and high speed aircraft, I gave it the following modifications – everything gathered from real-world Mustang modifications throughout the years:
Clipped wings, a traditional way to reduce drag and improve low altitude handling. I cut away about 1cm from each wing – and there have been more radical modifications in real life, even including the transplantation of swept wings from a Learjet! The original wing tips were retained, though, and slightly extended so that they would match with the slightly deeper, shortened wing.
The ventral radiator was cut away and faired over; instead, two smaller radiators were integrated into the wings where the machine gun bays had been, scratched from styrene sheet material. This was inspired by Anson Johnson’s Mustang N13Y, as flown in 1949.
The spacious bubble canopy was replaced by a much smaller hood. At first, I wanted to use a Spitfire or Typhoon bubble canopy, but, after some dry fitting tests, these were still too big for a radical racer. Eventually I came up with a weird combo: the cockpit glazing from an 1:100 Tamiya Il-28 bomber (which, unfortunately, turned out to be quite thick), extended rearwards with the rear section of an 1:72 Academy Fw 190 cockpit canopy/fairing. Both had to be tailored to match each other, as well as the Mustang’s different fuselage shape, and the cockpit opening itself in the fuselage had to be drastically made smaller, with the help of styrene sheet and lots of PSR.
The engine was upgraded from a V-1710/Merlin to a Griffon engine; this was pretty easy, thanks to the transplantation of conformal rocker cam fairings from a Special Hobby Spitfire kit: they almost match the cowling shape perfectly!
In order to create a more Griffon-esque look (using the Griffon-powered RB-51 “Red Baron” Mustang as benchmark), I made the original carburetor air intake under the propeller disappear and modified the lower cowling. A new carburetor intake was scratched from a piece of a small drop tank and placed further back, just in front of the landing gear wells. Looks very Spitfire-like now!
Additionally, a different propeller with more blade area was incorporated, a one-piece five-blade propeller from a Frog Spitfire Mk. XIV. The new piece was mounted onto a metal axis and a styrene tube adapter was inserted into the Mustang’s nose. Since the new propeller’s spinner came with a slight increase in diameter (overall maybe just 1mm, but it would be recognizable), the cowling was adjusted accordingly, realized through some PSR work.
As a visual counterbalance to the bigger nose section, the fin tip was slightly extended (maybe by 2mm) through the integration of a piece from a Special Hobby He 100.
Finally, the OOB pitot under the wing was replaced by a more delicate alternative made from thin wire, and no other antennae were fitted, for a sleek and clean look.
In the end, a lot of changes - but the overall effect is IMHO still subtle, and the whole thing looks quite plausible. And there had been more radical conversions in real life!
Painting and markings:
This started as a tough challenge, since I wanted a simple livery, yet something well-known from the Seventies. One option was a black “JPS Special” livery, but I eventually came across a very nice “Gulf Racing” sponsor markings set from A.C.B.-Shop, a German car model specialist. The team’s light blue and orange cars are still iconic and popular today, and why should Gulf Oil not even have sponsored a Reno Racer…?
Painting started with an overall coat of pastel blue from the rattle can – a generic tone from Duplicolor, which comes close to RAL 5024, but it’s less saturated. Initially I thought that the blue tone was just too pale, but things became more convincing once I added orange bands (Humbrol 18, it comes very close to the decals’ tone) to the wings and the fuselage, as well as to the nose section and the spinner. The latter received a chrome silver tip, created with Humbrol’s Polished Aluminum metallizer, which was also used on the blades’ front side. Their back side became black. Black was also used for a narrow anti-glare panel in front of the windscreen.
The cockpit interior became dark grey while the landing gear wells and covers were painted in zinc chromate yellow (Humbrol 81) – an ugly but deliberate contrast to the colorful exterior. The struts were painted in aluminum (Humbrol 56). As another color highlight, the wheel discs were painted in bright red – seen on a WWII Mustang, probably a personal addition of the pilot?
Once dry, the kit received a light black ink wash, in order to emphasize the engraved panel lines. Then orange sections received black rims, created with generic 2mm decal stripe material from TL Modellbau. The lowered flaps were a bit problematic, but the curved trim under the nose posed serious problems because the straight decal stripes had to be bent into curves. Thanks to some Gunze decal softener, this eventually worked – not perfect, but O.K. for what I wanted to achieve.
Next came the major sponsor markings and the race numbers. The Gulf logos came from the aforementioned decal set while the number was puzzled together with white decal circles from a Hasegawa Ki-61 (actually foundations for hinomaru with white borders!) and single numerals, which actually belong to contemporary Russian Air Force aircraft, from a Begemot sheet with generic tactical codes in various sizes.
In the scrap box I also found some sponsor decals (from a Heller 1:43 Lancia Delta), and some stencils were taken from an Academy P-47D sheet.
Finally, after some finishing touches, the kit was sealed with semi-gloss acrylic varnish from Italeri.
Well, the “Gulf-Mirage” looks simple and plausible, but in the end a lot of modifications were integrated that shift the Reno Racer away from the standard warbird. I am actually quite pleased with the outcome, because neither the technical modifications, nor the fictional/adapted Gulf Racing livery look out of place. The combo works well!
angry tony, mk3 head, smiley tony.
do whatever you want with these, c&c welcome
based off the pyromasters ironman head with slight modification and used both cygnetUD and Metrodesigns' tony stark heads to make this
This was a long lasting project.
The clothes are made by Raouken.
The head is from Minimee, and the body is from ResinSoul Doll, orderered in partly white and partly blue skin. (One leg and one arm are white).
I modified the arm and hand by sanding it severely and working with apoxie.
The head was originally white skin but is airbrushed. Face-up is done by me as well. :)
Note: This will be my last custom project. I won't take any new projects from now on. It's been too hard to combine these with my work. This project took me over a year, so the client has been immensely patient with me and I am very thankful for that :)
Radical Ducati Matador
this is a modification of the Ducati 900SS I saw on the internet. I tried my best to capture as many details as I can. It was really fun putting all those small details, even the kick start, and the stand. The battery is inside and quite difficult to show. Hopefully, I gave justice to this beast ahahaha.
What do you think?
#ducati #lego #ducati900SS #moc #afol #toystagram #bikes #toyphotography #toyartistry_lego #art #beast #ride #ride #muscle #speed #matador #radical #900ss
A forza di tatuaggi, piercing, scarificazioni e body modification (tutto fortunatamente VIRTUALE) guardate con che profilo ci si presenta oggi come oggi quel fulminato di un Ricky!!! :-))))
I purchased and built my Speed Champions Model A this weekend and was thoroughly disappointed with it once built. So of course I had to fix it. I do like the printed doors, but I felt that the rest of the model had the proportions and lines all wrong for a Model A. I cleaned up the body profile, and fixed the horrible front wheel/axle placement, and generally lined everything up a little better so it wasn't so awkward in profile. I lost a bit of the extreme rake which is fine by me, I think this looks much more...plausible, if not realistic. I also eliminated a few pieces to keep it from looking so overly chunky and piece-bloated. I tried to stick with parts from the set but I subbed a few minor pieces here and there. Can you spot all the modifications? I wish I had taken a few "before" photos for comparison. Anyway, enjoy!