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Took a break from working and did a quick photoshoot since it's been a while. So much fun! Happy Twosday everyone! (Tuesday 2-2-22)
Quick, rough mockup of the wing shape to verify the accuracy of my plans. Next step is designing all the movable surfaces... which will take a long time. But, it seems like I have the shape down fairly well!
I had to some shopping and it had been sooo long since I went out dressed, so I quickly put this outfit together. The warm temperatures demanded I wear sheer pantyhose vs my usual opaque tights. It was so much of a thrill… didn’t want to leave the store!
Quick walk around Buttermere turned into a not so quick walk after I spotted this waterfall. Ended up climbing about 1000 feet to reach the best spot.
Random puddle reflection shot in Amsterdam. Taken with my HTC Desire using the Camera360 Android app. No editing or magic tricks besides whatever that app did to the picture, no Photoshop :)
I've bitched and complained about this already a lot in the last 3 months, I am currently working 5 instead of my usual 4 days, and this is taking away all the time I usually reserve for shooting pictures and movies, so I have to improvise and take any chance I get to be able to create some photos on my way to the office, or the supermarket, or wherever it is I'm going. This is no fun, and the quality and quantity of my creative output is diminishing on a daily basis, something I don't appreciate and that I intend to reverse as soon as possible. Until then, these quick snap shots will have to do, I hope you're not too upset that you're having to look at these not-so-wicked reflections, lol :D
'Like' me on Facebook :)
Ingredients
1,5 cup raw cashews soaked for two hours
7 – 10 dates
A bit of water or fresh lemon juice
Shredded coconut
Hemp seeds
For the full recipe, click on this link www.flexiblevegan.com/recipes/quick-cashew-cookies/
A bit of visual fun. Just waiting for the right moment. Someone to walk past texting on their phone. Didn’t have to wait long. A recent study showed that people check their phones on average once every twelve minutes. The sign behind her is the Next logo but I had the idea to use it in a different way. Goodness knows where these ideas come from. I just ‘see it’.
Have not painted for a while, because of my neck pain. People joke about pain in the neck. Now I really understand what that feels :- ) hahaha
This is a quick impression, 30 min.
Now I feel better.
Quick session using cool new age LED Panels as continuous light source. Nice light source actually, runs cool does not heat up like Tungsten or Halogens, runs Continuous so it may be used for Video as opposed to Strobes or Flash Heads, Daylight balanced throws a decent white color temp, Dimmable to control intensities and ratios, even comes with its own light modifiers like barn doors, diffuser ala softbox, warm filter, a bag, and a grid, not to mention it has a remote to control intensity so you wont have to walk back and forth to your lights. Nice...
After an unbelievably quick setout and power swap in Rush City, a "south" crew has 90 sand empties continuing their journey to North Branch with GP9 #1363 in the lead. The train is passing through Harris, MN.
A lunch-cum-evening snack.
While taking shots of it .. I simple couldn't resist and took a huge byte (bite, sp? This is what software engineering can do to you ;))
And yes I love black pepper ... loads of it on everything :)
Some quick photos of the box, I like how the illustrations show him with the lantern and have the antlers motif as decoration. All that's needed is a lil' Sven!
Celebrate the heritage of Disney animation with the Disney Animators Collection, created under the guidance of Disney's most renowned animators, these young renditions of your favourite characters are brought to life with creativity and imagination.
Supervising animator for Disney's Frozen, Tony Smeed is an accomplished animator with credits including Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, and Chicken Little, Smeed grew up with a passion for drawing and stop motion, but his excitement grew when he discovered computer animation, which allowed him to bring characters to life in a whole new way.
Character Designer Supervisor for Disney's Frozen. Bill Schwab is an award-winning character designer credited on many Disney hits including Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph, Schwab began drawing at an early age and was further inspired by a Disney animation book he received on his 15th birthday.
Integral in bring the Frozen characters to life on the big screen, Jin Kim is an accomplished character designer with credits including Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph and The Princess and the Frog, beginning his illustration career in Korea, Kim joined Walt Disney ANimation Studios in 1995.
Not sure if this is a Alvis Scimitar, Spartan or Scorpion.
Pyrotechnics at "Wartime in the Vale" 2016
In no particular order, Gianluca Brambilla, Rémi Cavagna, Fernando Gaviria (waving), Yves Lampaert & Maximillian Schachmann. Hammer Series; Sprint. Sittard, Netherlands, 2017.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The AMD Mystère S represents one of the many evolutionary steps in French 2nd generation jet fighter aircraft design, which began with the straight-wing Dassault Ouragan and progressed through the Mystère II/III and Mystère IV to the supersonic Super Mystère SM2B. Internally designated AMD 461 and originally called the Mystère X (Roman numeral “10”, not the letter “X”), the new aircraft was the attempt to improve the successful Mystère IV from 1953 in many respects, following Marcel Dassaults strategy to take small, evolutionary steps instead of radical quantum leaps. While the overall outlines were similar and followed the proven layout of the former Dassault jet fighters, the AMD 461 was a completely new design, though.
First of all, the machine was from the start designed around the indigenous axial-flow Atar 101 jet engine, since it had become obvious that the former radial-flow engines used in Dassault’s fighters, like the Rolls-Royce Tay and its French-built version, the Hispano-Suiza Verdon 350, did not offer the potential for sustained supersonic performance in level flight. As a result, the fuselage became thinner and the aircraft had a less tubby look. Furthermore, in order to achieve the ambitious performance goals, a new wing was devised, and it incorporated leading edges made from novel composite materials. The wing shape was more complex than previous AMD designs: unlike the simple trapezoid Mystère II and IV wing designs, the AMD 461’s wings had kinked wing leading edges at about half span, so that the wing root sections were extended forward and had a slightly stronger sweep than the outer wing sections (47° vs. 45°), resulting in a crescent planform with rounded tips. Dogteeth at the kinks’ position increased the wings’ critical Mach number, augmented by small boundary layer fences. A novelty were power-operated ailerons. The tail surfaces were swept, too, and featured a variable-incidence tail plane.
The Mystère IV’s circular nose air intake arrangement was retained, but the intake received a sharper lip for better aerodynamic efficiency at high speed. The intake ducts were split deeper down inside of the fuselage, flanking the cockpit and the weapon bay behind it (see below) on both sides. The small ranging radar, originally developed for the upgraded Mystère IVB (which never made it into series production due to a fatal prototype crash and the progress of AMD’s other supersonic projects), was relocated and now mounted on top of the intake section, reminiscent of the F-86’s arrangement. A gun camera was placed outside of the intake in a small fairing on the starboard side. Two pitots under the air intake (one main and a secondary sensor) replaced the Mystère IV’s single wing-mounted sensor boom.
Being a classic “gunfighter”, the AMD 461’s main armament comprised a pair of 30mm DEFA cannon in the lower front fuselage, taken over from the Mystère IV, and a retractable Type 103 pannier for 45 unguided MATRA missiles against air or ground targets behind the front wheel well. Four underwing hardpoints could carry a total payload of 1.500 kg (3.300 lb), including a pair of supersonic 625 l drop tanks on the inner pair of pylons. A typical fighter weapon were lightweight Matra Type 116M launchers, each with 19 unguided SNEB-68 air-to-air rockets. Up to four could be carried under the wings. In a secondary attack/fighter bomber role, bombs of various caliber (up to 500 kg/1.100 lb on the inner and 250 kg/550 lb on the outer hardpoints) and other unguided missiles/pods were possible, too.
The first Mystère X prototype was powered by the Atar 101D with 29,420 N (6,610 lbf) of thrust, and it flew successfully in June 1953. However, due to the lack of an afterburner at this stage, the machine could only become supersonic in a dive, just like the former Mystère fighters, and it offered in this guise only minimal performance improvements – even though the handling near Mach 1 was already noticeably better. The initial flight test program was successful, though, and the Armée de l’Air immediately placed an order for 100 Mystère X aircraft, intended to improve the Armée de l’Air’s interception capabilities as soon as possible. Serial production started instantaneously, even while the flight tests were still ongoing, and the production machines were powered by the newly developed Atar 101F, which had just been cleared for production and operation on the Mystère X prototype. The Atar 101F was basically a D model with an afterburner added to it, to produce a temporary thrust of 37,300 N (8,400 lbf) and ensure the desired top speed in level flight of more than Mach 1. As a result, the Mystère X’s tail section had to be modified to accommodate the new engine’s longer tailpipe, which did not feature an adjustable nozzle yet – it was simply extended beyond the fin’s trailing edge, and even then the longer jet pipe protruded from the hull. However, this modification was successful and incorporated into the serial aircraft. With the Atar 101F, the serial production Mystère X’s performance was appreciably improved: beyond supersonic top speed, initial rate of climb was almost doubled in comparison with the Mystère IV, but the thirsty afterburner engine almost nullified any gain in range from the new type’s higher internal fuel capacity. Drop tanks had to be carried almost all the time.
The quick (if not hastened) order for the Mystère X also served as an insurance policy in the event of the AMD effort failing to produce an even more capable supersonic aircraft with the Mystère XX, a project that had been under development as a private venture in parallel, but with a time lag of about two years and benefitting from the research that had been done for the AMD 461. However, both designs turned out to be successful and both were adopted for service. They became known to the public as the Mystère S (for ‘supersonique’) and the Super Mystère, respectively. The first Super Mystère prototype, powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon RA.7R, took to the air on 2 March 1955, and the promising aircraft already broke the sound barrier in level flight the following day. The Super Mystère turned out to be the more capable and modern aircraft thanks to its new, more powerful Atar 109G-2 engine.
The more capable Super Mystère was immediately favored and, as a consequence, the running Mystère S order was cancelled in May 1955 and its initial production run limited to a mere 54 airframes - the number that had been completed until that point. The Super Mystère became the Armée de l’Air’s standard fighter for the late Fifties and production was quickly switched to the new type, 180 specimen were eventually built. Since a mix of types in the operational fighter squadrons was not economical, the Armée de l’Air decided to separate them and find a different role for the young but relatively small Mystère S fleet. Since the aircraft had a rugged airframe and had shown very good handling characteristics at medium to low altitude, and because the Armée de l’Air was lacking a fast, tactical and indigenous reconnaissance aircraft at that time (the standard type was the RF-84F), the Armée de l’Air decided in 1956 to convert the Mystère S fighters accordingly.
This modification was a relatively easy task: The retractable missile pannier (which was hardly ever used) was removed and its well behind the cockpit offered sufficient internal space for optical reconnaissance equipment in a conditioned compartment. This comprised four OMERA cameras (less than the RF-84F’s six cameras), covered by a ventral canoe fairing. One camera was facing forward, two were set on mounts that allowed vertical photography or camera orientation to either port or starboard, and the fourth camera had a panoramic field of view. After these modifications, the machines were re-designated Mystère SR to reflect their new role and capabilities.
Initially, the converted machines retained the twin DEFA cannon armament and full external stores capability. Typical load in the new photo-recce role was the standard pair of drop tanks, plus optional flares for night photography. In this guise the Mystère SR fleet was distributed among two reconnaissance units, ER 2/33 “Savoie” and ER 3/33 “Moselle” in Eastern France, close to the German border, starting service in April 1957.
Later in their career, the Mystère SR’s guns and also the ranging radar equipment (even though the empty small radome was retained) were often removed. This was initially a weight-saving measure for better performance, but due to their short legs many Mystère SRs had extra fuel tanks added to the former gun and ammunition bays. In some cases the space was used to house additional mission equipment, the aircrafts’ designation did not change, though. The integration of the new Matra R.550 Magic AAM was considered briefly in 1970, but not deemed relevant for the Mystère SR’s mission profile. However, eight late-production Mystère SRs received a new, bigger panoramic OMERA camera, which necessitated a larger ventral fairing and some other internal changes. These machines were re-designated Mystère SRP (‘panoramique’). Another early Mystère SR was used for the development of indigenous infra-red linescan and side looking airborne radar systems, which were both later incorporated in an under-fuselage pod for the Mirage IIIR.
Having become quickly obsolete through the introduction of 3rd generation jet fighters in the early Sixties – namely the Mirage III – the Mystère SR’s active career only lasted a mere 10 years, and the Mirage III’s fighter variants quickly replaced the Super Mystère, too. Due to its many limitations, the Mystère SR was soon replaced by the Mirage IIIR reconnaissance version, by 1974 all aircraft had been retired. Another reason for this early operational end were durability problems with the composite elements on the aircraft’s wings – there had been no long-term experience with the new material, but the elements tended to become brittle and collapse under stress or upon bird strikes. AMD conceived a plan to replace the affected panels with light metal sheets, but this update, which would have prolonged service life for 10 more years, was not carried out. After spending 5 years in mothballed storage, all surviving Mystère SR airframes were scrapped between 1980 and 1981.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 42 ft 3 in (12.88 m) overall
42 ft 3 in (12.88 m) w/o pitots
Wingspan: 32 ft 4 in (9.86 m)
Height: 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in)
Wing area: 345.5 sq ft (32.2 m²)
Empty weight: 13,435 lb (6,094 kg)
Gross weight: 21,673 lb (9,831 kg)
Fuel capacity: 3,540 l (778 imp gal; 934 US gal) internally
plus 2x 625 l (72 imp gal; 165 US gal) drop tanks
Powerplant:
1× Atar 101F turbojet, rated at 29.42 kN (6,610 lbf) dry thrust
and with 37.3 kN (8,400 lbf) with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,110 km/h (600 kn, 690 mph) at sea level
1,180 km/h (637 kn 732 mph,) at 11,000 m (36,089 ft)
Combat range: 915 km (494 nmi, 570 mi) with internal fuel only
Maximum range: 1,175 km (730 mi, 634 nmi)
Service ceiling: 45,800 ft (14,000 m)
Rate of climb: 14,660 ft/min (74.5 m/s)
Time to altitude: 40,000 ft (12,000 m) in 4 minutes 41 seconds
Armament:
2x 30mm (1.18 in) DEFA 552 cannon with 150 rounds per gun (later frequently deleted)
Four underwing hardpoints for 1.500 kg (3.300 lb) of ordnance,
including a pair of 625 liter drop tanks, flares and various unguided missiles and iron bombs
The kit and its assembly:
A project I had on my idea list for a long time – there were so many AMD jet fighter designs (both that entered service but also many paper projects and prototypes) during the Fifties and Sixties that I wondered if I could smuggle a what-if type somewhere into the lineage. A potential basis appeared when I recognized that the British Supermarine Swift had a fuselage shape quite similar to the contemporary French fighters, and from this impression the idea was born to “Frenchize” a Swift.
This called for a kitbash, and I used a Matchbox Mystère IV (Revell re-boxing) for the French donor elements that would be grafted onto an Xtrakit FR.5 model, which looks good in the box but has serious fit issues, e.g. between the rear fuselage halves or when the wings have to be mated with the completed fuselage.
The transplantations from the rather primitive/blunt Matchbox Mystère included the whole cockpit section except for the interior, which was taken from the in this respect much better Swift, the glazing, the spine and the whole tail with fin and stabilizers. The Swift provided most of the fuselage, the wings and the landing gear, even though I used the Mystère’s main wheels because of their characteristic hub caps/brake arrangement.
Mating the fuselage sections from the two models became a major stunt, though, because the diameters and shapes were rather different. Three-dimensional gaps and steps behihd the cockpit had to be bridged, initially with 2C putty for the rough overall shape and then with NC putty for a smooth finish. A gap in the spine in front of the fin had to be improvised/filled, too, and the Mystère’s fin had to be tailored to the different Swift rear fuselage shape, too.
The result looks a little odd, though, the Swift’s original air intake ducts now look from certain angles like hamster cheeks – but after all, the ducts have to pass the central cockpit section on both sides somehow, so that the arrangement makes nonetheless sense. And the small dorsal spine taken over from the Mystère changes the Swift’s profile considerably, as well as the shorter Dassault-style canopy.
The small ranging radar radome is just a piece of sprue from the Mystère kit, blended into the rest of the fuselage with putty. The interior of the air intake was heavily modified – the original splitter, positioned directly inside of the intake, was deleted and the walls trimmed down for a much thinner/sharper lip. Inside of the intake a bulkhead was added as a sight blocker, and a new splitter was mounted to the new bulkhead in a much deeper position. The gun camera fairing is a piece of styrene profile, the new twin pitots (reminiscent of the SM2B’s arrangement) were made from heated sprue material.
The camera fairing is the lower half from a P-47 drop tank, left over from a Hobby Boss kit, IIRC, and in order to fit the Swift’s cockpit tub into the Mystère’s fuselage the rear bulkhead had to be re-created with the help of paper tissue drenched with white glue.
The drop tanks come from a KP MiG-19, which had the benefit of integral, thin pylons at a suitable position for the Mystère SR. For a different look I just canted their fins downwards.
Painting and markings:
For a subtle impression I settled for an authentic livery: the French rendition of the USAF SEA scheme for the F-100 with local CELOMER tones, which was not only applied to the Armée de l’Air’s F-100s (these were originally delivered in NMF and camouflaged later in the Sixties), but also to the Super Mystères - the SM2Bs actually carried a quite faithful adaptation of the USAF’s F-100 pattern! However, the indigenous CELOMER paints differed from the original U.S. Federal Standard tones (FS 30219, 34102, 34079 and 36622, respectively), esp. the reddish light tan was more of an earth tone, and the dark green had a more bluish hue.
This offered some freedom – even more so because real life pictures of French reference aircraft show a wide range of shades of these basic tones and frequent serious weathering. Instead of the U.S. tan I went for RAF Dark Earth (Humbrol 29), the dark Forest Green was replaced with Humbrol 75 (Bronze Green). The light green became a 2:1 mix of Humbrol 117 (the original FS 34102) with Humbrol 78 (RAF Cockpit Green), for more contrast and less yellow in the tone. The undersides were painted with Humbrol 166 (RAF Light Aircraft Grey).
After a black ink wash I gave the model a thorough panel post-shading and recreated some lost panel lines with the help of silver paint, too. I also added some paint patches and touch-ups, for a rather worn look of the aircraft.
The black areas around the gun muzzles were created with the help of decal material, generic black decal sheet material was also used to create the camera windows. Grey (Revell 75) dielectric panels were added to the fin tip and behind the cockpit. The cockpit interior became very dark grey (Revell 09, Anthracite, with some dry-painted medium grey on top), while the landing gear and the respective wells were left in aluminum (Humbrol 56).
The decals are a mix from various sources. The ER 2/33 markings came from a Heller Mirage III sheet, which offers an optional IIIR from 1984. I also settled for relatively small roundels (from a Mirage F.1C) – a trend which started in the Armée de l’Air in the early Seventies and also comprised the deletion of the fin flash. Contemporary real world SM2Bs with the French SEA cammo frequently carried a similar type of subdued markings instead of earlier, bigger roundels found on the machines in NMF finish or on the aircraft from EC 1/12 "Cambresis" with their unique and different camouflage in two shades of green and a rather sandy tan, almost like a desert paint scheme. The white tactical code “33-PS” was improvised with single 4mm letters from TL Modellbau. The stencils were puzzled together from various Mirage III/V/F.1C sheets and also from an IAI Kfir.
The kit received some additional dry-painting with silver to simulate more wear, and was finally sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish.
Another “missing link” build, but I think that my Mystère S fits stylistically well into the (non-existent, though) gap between the Mystère IV and the Super Mystère, sporting vintage details like the round air intake but coupled with highly swept wings and the Swift’s elegant lines. The “traditional” French paint scheme adds to the realism - and, when put in the right background/landscape context, turns out to be very effective. Not a spectacular model, despite serious body work around the cockpit, but a convincing result.
Midleton is an attractive town not far from Cork city.
The town is located in a fertile valley below hills to the north with Cork Harbour and the coast to the south. In times past, the channel from the Harbour to nearby Ballinacurra , was navigable by barges up to 300 tonnes. Due to silting over the years, the channel is now extremely shallow.
The town is the site of Cork Distilleries, formed in 1825, merged into Irish Distillers in 1967, and as of 2011 owned by French spirits group Pernod Ricard. Distilling of whiskey, vodka and gin now takes place at the new Midleton distillery complex opened in 1975. The Old Midleton Distillery which boasts the world's largest pot still – a copper vessel with a capacity of 140,000 litres – has been restored as a visitor-centre and hosts a number of attractions, including Ireland's largest working water-wheel (with a diameter of 7m).
Paddy Whiskey, produced in the town, takes its name from Patrick J Flaherty, a salesman for Cork Distilleries in the 1920s. The world-famous Jameson Whiskey is produced in the town.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Hawker Fury was a British biplane fighter aircraft used primarily by the Royal Air Force in the 1930s. It was a development of the earlier Hawker F.20/27 prototype fighter, replacing the radial engine of the F.20/27 with the new Rolls-Royce F.XI V-12 engine (later known as the Rolls-Royce Kestrel), which was also used by Hawker's new light bomber, the Hawker Hart. The new fighter prototype, known as the Hawker Hornet, first flew at Brooklands, Surrey, in March 1929. The Hornet was a single-engine biplane, with single bay wings. It was initially powered by a 420 hp (313 kW) Rolls-Royce F.XIC engine enclosed by a smooth, streamlined cowling, but was quickly re-engined with a 480 hp (358 kW) Kestrel IS.
The prototype was evaluated against the similarly powered Fairey Firefly II, being preferred because of its better handling and its all-metal structure, compared with the mainly wooden construction of the Firefly.
The Hornet was eventually won the competition and was purchased by the Air Ministry in early 1930. It was, however, subjected to more tests, with a small initial production order for 21 aircraft placed during 1930. At this stage the Hornet was renamed Fury, as the Air Ministry wanted fighter names that "reflected ferocity". The ultimate production Fury Mk. I made its maiden flight at Brooklands on 25 March 1931.
The Fury was the first operational RAF fighter aircraft to be able to exceed 200 mph (322 km/h) in level flight. It had highly sensitive controls which gave it superb dogfight characteristics and aerobatic performance. It was designed partly for the fast interception of bombers and to that end it had an outstanding climb rate of almost 2,400 ft/min (730 m/min) when powered by a 525 hp/391 kW Kestrel engine. Firmly believing in the aircraft’s potential, Sidney Camm even designed in 1933 a monoplane version of the Fury, but it was not developed further until Rolls-Royce produced what became their famous Merlin engine. The design was then revised according to Air Ministry specification F5/34 to become the prototype Hawker Hurricane.
The Fury I entered squadron service with the RAF in May 1931, but owing to finance cuts in the Great Depression, only relatively small numbers of Fury Is were ordered. The improved Fury II entered service in 1936–1937, increasing total number of operational RAF Fury squadrons to six. Furies remained with RAF Fighter Command until January 1939, replaced primarily with Gloster Gladiators and other types, such as Hawker Hurricane. During the Thirties the Fury was furthermore exported to several customers, including Portugal, Spain, Persia and South Africa. These aircraft were supplied with a variety of engines, including Kestrels, Hispano Suiza and Lorraine Petrel vee-type engines, and Armstrong Siddeley Panther, Pratt & Whitney Hornet and Bristol Mercury radials. A total of 262 Furies were eventually produced.
A major foreign operator of the Fury was Yugoslavia. Initially, Yugoslavia ordered a version called Mk. IA, which was similar to the RAF’s Fury Mk I, for trials and potential license production. It was powered by a Kestrel IIS piston engine, and six were built by Hawker. One was delivered fitted with a 500 hp (373 kW) Hispano-Suiza 12 NB engine, with poorer performance, and was re-fitted with a Kestrel, while a second was later used for trials with a 720 hp (537 kW) Lorraine Petrel HFrs engine.
The valuations were successful and led to the so-called “ Yugoslav Fury”, a thoroughly revised aircraft, powered by a 745 horsepower (556 kW) Kestrel XVI piston engine, fitted with a low drag radiator and a Dowty cantilever undercarriage with internally sprung wheels (similar to the contemporary Gloster Gladiator). Beyond the standard pair of machine guns in the upper front fuselage, these aircraft had provisions for two more machine guns under the lower wings in streamlined pods. Ten were made by Hawker and delivered 1936–37, with a further 40 license-built in Yugoslavia by Ikarus (24) and Zmaj (16).
At that time the RAF was already phasing the Fury out, and twenty of these retired aircraft – originally scheduled to be sold to Persia and already re-engined with new, tropicalized Bristol Mercury radial engines and designated Mk. IB – were taken over by the Royal Yugoslav Air Force, too. The more powerful Mercury engine appreciably improved the Fury’s performance, despite a slightly higher all-up weight and poorer aerodynamics: top speed rose by 30 mph (50 km/h), service ceiling by 3.000 ft (1.000 m) and time to 10.000 ft (3.000 m) was reduced by 20 seconds to just 3½ minutes.
The Mk. IBs arrived in Yugoslavia in mid-1938 and were further upgraded by Zmaj with elements from the license-produced Yugoslav Furies. The most obvious detail were the additional Browning machine guns under the lower wings, and weapons of the same type replaced the original fuselage-mounted Vickers Mk IV machine guns. A new three-blade variable-pitch metal propeller replaced the wooden single-pitch two-blade propeller, greatly improving the aircraft’s handling and fuel economy. The original landing gear was retained, but the wheels were upgraded with Dowty wheels with internal springs (like the Fury Mk. IA) and a tail wheel replaced the original tailskid, making the aircraft better suited for operations on paved runways.
Yugoslav Furies soon saw action against Axis forces in the German invasion of 1941. On 6 April 1941, a squadron of Furies took off against the invading German Messerschmitt Bf 109Es and Messerschmitt Bf 110s. In the resulting air battle 10 Furies were destroyed, almost the entire squadron. In an unequal battle against superior adversaries, five aircraft were destroyed while taking off and eight pilots killed. Two more Furies and Bücker Bü 131 trainers were destroyed on the ground. Of the attacking German aircraft, five Bf 109s and two Bf 110s failed to return, though most were non-combat losses, and at least one was lost after having been rammed by a Yugoslav Fury.
The other active Yugoslav Fury squadron at the time of the invasion strafed enemy tanks and ground forces, some aircraft being lost to ground fire and one was destroyed in a dogfight with an Italian Fiat CR.42. The rest of the Yugoslav Furies were destroyed at the time of Armistice on 15 April or when they became unserviceable.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 26 ft 7 in (8.11 m)
Wingspan: 30 ft 0 in (9.14 m)
Height: 10 ft 2 in (3.10 m)
Wing area: 252 sq ft (23.4 m²)
Empty weight: 2,9514 lb (1,340 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 3,814 lb (1,732 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Bristol Mercury IX 9-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, 830 hp (620 kW)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 253 mph (407 km/h, 220 kn) at 14,500 ft (4,420 m)
Range: 270 mi (430 km, 230 nmi)
Service ceiling: 32,800 ft (10,000 m)
Time to altitude: 3 min 35 sec. to 10,000 ft (3,000 m)
Armament:
4× 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns; two in the upper front fuselage, synchronized to fire
through the propeller disc with 600 RPG, plus one with 400 RPG beneath each lower wing
The kit and its assembly:
This quick build was based on the remnants of a Matchbox Hawker Fury biplane, which had donated its engine to another build, and leftover pieces from at least two Matchbox Gloster Gladiator kits, all mashed into one to create a fictional late Fury variant with a radial engine and some other updates. The Fury kit is a late Revell re-boxing, and while it retained the crisp details of the original, the molds seem to have suffered a little because the fuselage halves did not fit well and called for considerable PSR.
The Fury – or what was left of it – was built OOB, I just had to improvise the cowling ahead of the cockpit and scratch a front end to replace the inline engine. This was done with a piece from a bulbous (probably 1:48) drop tank, which was tailored to take the upper wing struts, and the rest of the fuselage was sculpted with 2C putty around an engine mount at the core, which was made from styrene profiles.
The different engine was 100% taken from a Matchbox Gladiator, even though I added a matching grid from another 9-cylinder radial for a different look. The three-blade propeller is new, too, probably from a Hobby Boss Fw 190A. From another Gladiator came the underwing machine gun pods as well as the Dowty wheels, which look more modern than the Fury’s OOB wheels. For an even more modernized look I replaced the Fury’s tailskid with a self-castoring tailwheel – apparently from a Gladiator, too.
The exhaust pipes were scratched from wire, the carburetor intake for the Mercury engine is a piece of sprue and the ventral oil cooler is a piece from a backrest (from a Matchbox Heinkel 70).
Painting and markings:
While the idea of an update Fury was quickly settled and defined by the ingredients at hand, finding a suitable operator was not an easy task. I considered various options and eventually settled for Yugoslavia, because this country was major Fury operator and I had appropriate national markings at hand.
The tri-color camouflage was based on the individual und very disruptive schemes that Yugoslavian Hawker Hurricanes carried. Information concerning the colors is quite contradictive, but AFAIK the schemes consisted of a yellowish sand brown, a medium khaki green and a dark, reddish brown, over light blue undersides with a low, wavy waterline raising from the wings to the stabilizers. Every aircraft carried a different pattern, and some machines of British origin also carried the former Temperate Land Scheme (Dark Green/Dark Earth/alu dope undersides), at least for a while.
I used Humbrol 63 (Sand), Modelmaster 2027 (FS 34096, Dark Olive) and Modelmaster 2106 (Burnt Umber), over Humbrol 87 (Steel Grey), because I wanted colors with good contrast from each other. The cockpit interior became anthracite (Revell 09), while the wing struts were painted in a dirty black (Revell 06).
The “windmill” roundels for the wings came from an Xtradecal sheet for Bristol Blenheims, the small fin flash was created with single decal stripes in red, white and blue, trying to match the roundels’ colors. The roman codes were typical for the Hurricanes between 1938-40 and created with single white letters from TL Modellbau. According to the typical Yugoslavian liveries of the era, the aircraft did, beyond national markings and tactical codes, not carry any colorful decoration, but I could not resist and added small unit badges in front of the fin flash.
The model received a light ink washing to emphasize the nice fabric structure on the wings, as well as some post-shading and weathering through dry-brushing with beige. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and the rigging was added, created with heated and stretched black sprue material.
A relatively simple and quick build, and an attempt to “create something plausible” from leftover stuff. While Yugoslavia is not the most exotic operator of the Fury, I think that the fictional aircraft looks good in these colors and markings, even though the bulky radial really kills the Fury’s elegant lines, esp. its streamlined nose section. It looks quite backdated and reminds of a juvenile Fairey Swordfish?
Monday kicked off the start of making for the preorder.
We're already 13 wigs down! We tried to shoot them all today but the photos didn't turn out too good so we're trying again tomorrow!
The first ship out day will be next week.
Spam incoming tomorrow!
The recent winter grime coupled, with a countryside drive to a birthday party in a rural location, had resulted in the car becoming very dirty.
When dry the car took on a light tan colour - the colour of the soil in the North East Leicestershire.
I had to spray down the drive as a lot of mud came out of the arches.
At some point the future it would be nice to have a new drive. This one is the original from the 1930's. Simply large concrete slabs on soil.
Note the classic car parked in the driveway on the other side of the road.
I created this time lapse using my Apple iPhone. If only all car washes were this quick...
Our Volvo V70 was first registered on 31 May 2000 and has very nearly clocked up 182,000 miles.
Quick-Look Hill-shaded Colour Relief Image of 2014 1m LIDAR Composite Digital Terrain Model (DTM).
Data supplied by Environment Agency under the Open Government License agreement. For details please go to: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/v...
For full raster dataset go to: environment.data.gov.uk/ds/survey
Quick-Look Hill-shaded Colour Relief Image of 2014 2m LIDAR Composite Digital Surface Model (DSM).
Data supplied by Environment Agency under the Open Government License agreement. For details please go to: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/v...
For full raster dataset go to: environment.data.gov.uk/ds/survey
Quick-Look Hill-shaded Colour Relief Image of 2014 1m LIDAR Composite Digital Surface Model (DSM).
Data supplied by Environment Agency under the Open Government License agreement. For details please go to: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/v...
For full raster dataset go to: environment.data.gov.uk/ds/survey