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Continuing my series of Toa Nuva revamps with Kopaka. Before I started this I thought the Akaku Nuva was absolutely disgusting, but it's definitely grown on me during the building process.
The shield is the lid from one of the old X-Pods, and it attaches to Kopaka's back via a 1x2 'perpendicular' Technic beam (part no. 6536).
Long flowy skirt remade into a petticoat.
Blogged: www.connectthedotscrafts.com/2010/09/wardrobe-revamp-week...
Inspired by: alisaburke.blogspot.com/2010/03/petticoat-tutorial.html
Freya is going to get a whole new look over the next few months! I'm parting with some of her stuff to fund her new wardrobe and wig.
"As he knew she would, Gavla fought all the way. Takanuva ignored her screams and rants, knowing that in the end she would be happy to be free of the taint of shadow"..."Gavla's reaction was quite different. She howled with rage even after the klakk's attack had undone what the shadow leech had done to her."
This is how the station is looking now. I remodelled it after the station at Wondelgem here in Belgium. It's about 80% done now. The dark blue bits on the roof are just to fill in as I ran out of black roof tiles. Unfortunately bricklink orders are on hold till I pay off my wife's credit card bill:( Anyway the engine shed was also redone, slimmed down and lengthened to 66 studs in length, so it can comfortably accommodate my locos.
I thought having the spinneret attached to a larger, mutant hand made sense, since that's what her rhotuka does. A ripcord can still be inserted and the action feature isn't hindered at all.
The spinneret is mounted using lightsaber bar, giving it just enough rotation to sit comfortably against the ball joint of her wrist.
This MOC.....it's been done and photographed since months ago. The day that I got my braces to be exact (one week before school started). I kept saying that I would post it once I edited the background, but that clearly didn't happen.
As you can see, this revamp can be made into it's Nuva form by simply adding some armor. This is probably the fastest Bionicle MOC that I have build, only taking a couple hours in one day. I'm really happy how it turned out, there are some things that I would like to improve, but I don't feel that they're that important to fix anytime soon
Here's what you were waiting for Kamil Z, who I kept promising that I would post this picture soon.
Long flowy skirt remade into a petticoat.
Blogged: www.connectthedotscrafts.com/2010/09/wardrobe-revamp-week...
Inspired by: alisaburke.blogspot.com/2010/03/petticoat-tutorial.html
Another Slizer revamp, this time it is Ice Slizer. I deviated a fair bit this time from the original set's vision by making the head and arms resemble a praying mantis. And although I may have changed much, I believe the changes make him contrast really well with his Fire Slizer counterpart.
Last but certainly not least, I finally got round to revamping the stoniest of Toa, Pohatu. I did want to try and do him in the style of the original sets, i.e. built "upside down" with the leg function, but I couldn't figure out a way to do it that looked good and still fitted in with my other revamps. So I've opted to do him a bit more like his Mask Of Light version, though positioning his gearbox slightly higher up gives him a bit of a beefier look to show he's still strong.
So, that rounds out the Toa Nuva team, but keep your eye out for something special soon...
Dark Hunter Files - Kordak-Nui
The Aerie
The Aerie, or Vo-Mataro, is the Electricity region of Kordak-Nui. Here, massive cataracts pouring from springs and rainwater at the highpoint of the island have dug the land into a series of tall rock spires on which the Matoran population live. The pouring of water combined with the unnatural heat of the southern end result in a constant fog and noise that hangs over the place. Storms are frequent, which is why the Vo-Matoran settled there. Their homes are linked by a series of precarious bridges leading up to the mainland. Exercise caution while in this region, as a single misstep could send you on a plumet to your death in the river below. Also watch for Valkyrie, the self-proclaimed defender of the region. Her wings allow her to travel much quicker than those on foot and her knowledge of the region makes her a dangerous adversary.
I'm not as satisfied with this remake as I am with my other ones. It uses too many HF elements and doesn't have enough BIonicle/System integration.
I am proud of the cannon, though.
A revamp of the Glatorian set. Has oldie hands because robot arms don't come in gold. Brickshelf (when moderated) and MOCpage. Comments and critique welcome!
+++ 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 Waffenträger (Weapon Carrier) VTS3 “Diana” was a prototype for a wheeled tank destroyer. It was developed by Thyssen-Henschel (later Rheinmetall) in Kassel, Germany, in the late Seventies, in response to a German Army requirement for a highly mobile tank destroyer with the firepower of the Leopard 1 main battle tank then in service and about to be replaced with the more capable Leopard 2 MBT, but less complex and costly. The main mission of the Diana was light to medium territorial defense, protection of infantry units and other, lighter, elements of the cavalry as well as tactical reconnaissance. Instead of heavy armor it would rather use its good power-to-weight ratio, excellent range and cross-country ability (despite the wheeled design) for defense and a computerized fire control system to accomplish this mission.
In order to save development cost and time, the vehicle was heavily based on the Spähpanzer Luchs (Lynx), a new German 8x8 amphibious reconnaissance armored fighting vehicle that had just entered Bundeswehr service in 1975. The all-wheel drive Luchs made was well armored against light weapons, had a full NBC protection system and was characterized by its extremely low-noise running. The eight large low-pressure tires had run-flat properties, and, at speeds up to about 50 km/h, all four axles could be steered, giving the relatively large vehicle a surprising agility and very good off-road performance. As a special feature, the vehicle was equipped with a rear-facing driver with his own driving position (normally the radio operator), so that the vehicle could be driven at full speed into both directions – a heritage from German WWII designs, and a tactical advantage when the vehicle had to quickly retreat from tactical position after having been detected. The original Luchs weighed less than 20 tons, was fully amphibious and could surmount water obstacles quickly and independently using propellers at the rear and the fold back trim vane at the front. Its armament was relatively light, though, a 20 mm Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh 202 gun in the turret that was effective against both ground and air targets.
The Waffenträger “Diana” used the Luchs’ hull and dynamic components as basis, and Thyssen-Henschel solved the challenge to mount a large and heavy 105 mm L7 gun with its mount on the light chassis through a minimalistic, unmanned mount and an autoloader. Avoiding a traditional manned and heavy, armored turret, a lot of weight and internal volume that had to be protected could be saved, and crew safety was indirectly improved, too. This concept had concurrently been tested in the form of the VTS1 (“Versuchsträger Scheitellafette #1) experimental tank in 1976 for the Kampfpanzer 3 development, which eventually led to the Leopard 2 MBT (which retained a traditional turret, though).
For the “Diana” test vehicle, Thyssen-Henschel developed a new low-profile turret with a very small frontal area. Two crew members, the commander (on the right side) and the gunner (to the left), were seated in/under the gun mount, completely inside of the vehicle’s hull. The turret was a very innovative construction for its time, fully stabilized and mounted the proven 105mm L7 rifled cannon with a smoke discharger. Its autoloader contained 8 rounds in a carousel magazine. 16 more rounds could be carried in the hull, but they had to be manually re-loaded into the magazine, which was only externally accessible. A light, co-axial 7,62mm machine gun against soft targets was available, too, as well as eight defensive smoke grenade mortars.
The automated L7 had a rate of fire of ten rounds per minute and could fire four types of ammunition: a kinetic energy penetrator to destroy armored vehicles; a high explosive anti-tank round to destroy thin-skinned vehicles and provide anti-personnel fragmentation; a high explosive plastic round to destroy bunkers, machine gun and sniper positions, and create openings in walls for infantry to access; and a canister shot for use against dismounted infantry in the open or for smoke charges. The rounds to be fired could be pre-selected, so that the gun was able to automatically fire a certain ammunition sequence, but manual round selection was possible at any time, too.
In order to take the new turret, the Luchs hull had to be modified. Early calculations had revealed that a simple replacement of the Luchs’ turret with the new L7 mount would have unfavorably shifted the vehicle’s center of gravity up- and forward, making it very nose-heavy and hard to handle in rough terrain or at high speed, and the long barrel would have markedly overhung the front end, impairing handling further. It was also clear that the additional weight and the rise of the CoG made amphibious operations impossible - a fate that met the upgraded Luchs recce tanks in the Eighties, too, after several accidents with overturned vehicles during wading and drowned crews. With this insight the decision was made to omit the vehicle’s amphibious capability, save weight and complexity, and to modify the vehicle’s layout considerably to optimize the weight distribution.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Luchs already had two complete driver stations at both ends, a pair of late-production hulls were set aside in 1977 and their internal layout reversed. The engine bay was now in the vehicle’s front, the secured ammunition storage was placed next to it, behind the separate driver compartment, and the combat section with the turret mechanism was located behind it. Since the VTS3s were only prototypes, only minimal adaptations were made. This meant that the driver was now located on the right side of the vehicle, while and the now-rear-facing secondary driver/radio operator station ended up on the left side – much like a RHD vehicle – but this was easily accepted in the light of cost and time savings. As a result, the gun and its long, heavy barrel were now located above the vehicle’s hull, so that the overall weight distribution was almost neutral and overall dimensions remained compact.
Both test vehicles were completed in early 1978 and field trials immediately started. While the overall mobility was on par with the Luchs and the Diana’s high speed and low noise profile was highly appreciated, the armament was and remained a source of constant concern. Shooting in motion from the Diana turned out to be very problematic, and even firing from a standstill was troublesome. The gun mount and the vehicle’s complex suspension were able to "hold" the recoil of the full-fledged 105-mm tank gun, which had always been famous for its rather large muzzle energy. But when fired, even in the longitudinal plane, the vehicle body fell heavily towards the stern, so that the target was frequently lost and aiming had to be resumed – effectively negating the benefit from the autoloader’s high rate of fire and exposing the vehicle to potential target retaliation. Firing to the side was even worse. Several attempts were made to mend this flaw, but neither the addition of a muzzle brake, stronger shock absorbers and even hydro-pneumatic suspension elements did not solve the problem. In addition, the high muzzle flames and the resulting significant shockwave required the infantry to stay away from the vehicle intended to support them. The Bundeswehr also criticized the too small ammunition load, as well as the fact that the autoloader magazine could not be re-filled under armor protection, so that the vehicle had to retreat to safe areas to re-arm and/or to adapt to a new mission profile. This inherent flaw not only put the crew under the hazards of enemy fire, it also negated the vehicle’s NBC protection – a serious issue and likely Cold War scenario. Another weak point was the Diana’s weight: even though the net gain of weight compared with the Luchs was less than 3 tons after the conversion, this became another serious problem that led to the Diana’s demise: during trials the Bundeswehr considered the possibility to airlift the Diana, but its weight (even that of the Luchs, BTW) was too much for the Luftwaffe’s biggest own transport aircraft, the C-160 Transall. Even aircraft from other NATO members, e.g. the common C-130 Hercules, could hardly carry the vehicle. In theory, equipment had to be removed, including the cannon and parts of its mount.
Since the tactical value of the vehicle was doubtful and other light anti-tank weapons in the form of the HOT anti-tank missile had reached operational status, so that very light vehicles and even small infantry groups could now effectively fight against full-fledged enemy battle tanks from a safe distance, the Diana’s development was stopped in 1988. Both VTS3 prototypes were mothballed, stored at the Bundeswehr Munster Training Area camp and are still waiting to be revamped as historic exhibits alongside other prototypes like the Kampfpanzer 70 in the German Tank Museum located there, too.
Specifications:
Crew: 4 (commander, driver, gunner, radio operator/second driver)
Weight: 22.6 t
Length: 7.74 m (25 ft 4 ¼ in)
Width: 2.98 m ( 9 ft 9 in)
Height: XXX
Ground clearance: 440 mm (1 ft 4 in)
Suspension: hydraulic all-wheel drive and steering
Armor:
Unknown, but sufficient to withstand 14.5 mm AP rounds
Performance:
Speed: 90 km/h (56 mph) on roads
Operational range: 720 km (445 mi)
Power/weight: 13,3 hp/ton with petrol, 17,3 hp/ton with diesel
Engine:
1× Daimler Benz OM 403A turbocharged 10-cylinder 4-stroke multi-fuel engine,
delivering 300 hp with petrol, 390 hp with diesel
Armament:
1× 105 mm L7 rifled gun with autoloader (8 rounds ready, plus 16 in reserve)
1× co-axial 7.92 mm M3 machine gun with 2.000 rounds
Two groups of four Wegmann 76 mm smoke mortars
The kit and its assembly:
I have been a big Luchs fan since I witnessed one in action during a public Bundeswehr demo day when I was around 10 years old: a huge, boxy and futuristic vehicle with strange proportions, gigantic wheels, water propellers, a mind-boggling mobility and all of this utterly silent. Today you’d assume that this vehicle had an electric engine – spooky! So I always had a soft spot for it, and now it was time and a neat occasion to build a what-if model around it.
This fictional wheeled tank prototype model was spawned by a leftover Revell 1:72 Luchs kit, which I had bought some time ago primarily for the turret, used in a fictional post-WWII SdKfz. 234 “Puma” conversion. With just the chassis left I wondered what other use or equipment it might take, and, after several weeks with the idea in the back of my mind, I stumbled at Silesian Models over an M1128 resin conversion set for the Trumpeter M1126 “Stryker” 8x8 APC model. From this set as potential donor for a conversion the prototype idea with an unmanned turret was born.
Originally I just planned to mount the new turret onto the OOB hull, but when playing with the parts I found the look with an overhanging gun barrel and the bigger turret placed well forward on the hull goofy and unbalanced. I was about to shelf the idea again, until I recognized that the Luchs’ hull is almost symmetrical – the upper hull half could be easily reversed on the chassis tub (at least on the kit…), and this would allow much better proportions. From this conceptual change the build went straightforward, reversing the upper hull only took some minor PSR. The resin turret was taken mostly OOB, it only needed a scratched adapter to fit into the respective hull opening. I just added a co-axial machine gun fairing, antenna bases (from the Luchs kit, since they could, due to the long gun barrel, not be attached to the hull anymore) and smoke grenade mortars (also taken from the Luchs).
An unnerving challenge became the Luchs kit’s suspension and drive train – it took two days to assemble the vehicle’s underside alone! While this area is very accurate and delicate, the fact that almost EVERY lever and stabilizer is a separate piece on four(!) axles made the assembly a very slow process. Just for reference: the kit comes with three and a half sprues. A full one for the wheels (each consists of three parts, and more than another one for suspension and drivetrain!
Furthermore, the many hull surface details like tools or handles – these are more than a dozen bits and pieces – are separate, very fragile and small (tiny!), too. Cutting all these wee parts out and cleaning them was a tedious affair, too, plus painting them separately.
Otherwise the model went together well, but it’s certainly not good for quick builders and those with big fingers and/or poor sight.
Painting and markings:
The paint scheme was a conservative choice; it is a faithful adaptation of the Bundeswehr’s NATO standard camouflage for the European theatre of operations that was introduced in the Eighties. It was adopted by many armies to confuse potential aggressors from the East, so that observers could not easily identify a vehicle and its nationality. It consists of a green base with red-brown and black blotches, in Germany it was executed with RAL tones, namely 6031 (Bronze Green), 8027 (Leather Brown) and 9021 (Tar Black). The pattern was standardized for each vehicle type and I stuck to the official Luchs pattern, trying to adapt it to the new/bigger turret. I used Revell acrylic paints, since the authentic RAL tones are readily available in this product range (namely the tones 06, 65 and 84). The big tires were painted with Revell 09 (Anthracite).
Next the model was treated with a highly thinned washing with black and red-brown acrylic paint, before decals were applied, taken from the OOB sheet and without unit markings, since the Diana would represent a test vehicle. After sealing them with a thin coat of clear varnish the model was furthermore treated with lightly dry-brushed Revell 45 and 75 to emphasize edges and surface details, and the separately painted hull equipment was mounted. The following step was a cloudy treatment with watercolors (from a typical school paintbox, it’s great stuff for weathering!), simulating dust residue all over the hull. After a final protective coat with matt acrylic varnish I finally added some mineral artist pigments to the lower hull areas and created mud crusts on the wheels through light wet varnish traces into which pigments were “dusted”.
Basically a simple project, but the complex Luchs kit with its zillion of wee bits and pieces took time and cost some nerves. However, the result looks pretty good, and the Stryker turret blends well into the overall package. Not certain how realistic the swap of the Luchs’ internal layout would have been, but I think that the turret moved to the rear makes more sense than the original forward position? After all, the model is supposed to be a prototype, so there’s certainly room for creative freedom. And in classic Bundeswehr colors, the whole thing even looks pretty convincing.
So yeah, Noah was a pretty important character to me back when I was 16 and writing dumb OC fic. Though to be fair, I mainly saw him as an extension of Kiryna, my Japanese Momoko doll since they (still) are the most expensive 1/6th figures I’ve spent on them separately, yet happen to have ultra awkward collector doll bodies and work really cutely as a couple, since Noah had one of the tallest bodies for an adult 1/6th figure while Kiryna has one of the smaller adult female bodies on this scale.
I’m really proud of being able to finally get a hunky looking face out of that awkward sculpt and haircut, and I’m finally getting my money’s worth heh.
Perth , Western Australia
Mack Super Liner 'Car's' theme ,didn't have his eyes or mouth on today from the official website ,
The all-new Disney-Pixar Fun Zone includes four new worlds of entertainment from Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Monsters University and an expanded Cars Zone. It’s another world first for Australian and New Zealand fans, thanks to a unique initiative between The Walt Disney Company, Australia, Mack Trucks, V8 Supercars and the Entertainment Store.
Aspiring young cowgirls and boys will love the colourful Toy Story themed attraction within the Disney-Pixar Fun Zone, as they test their roust-about skills in Woody and Jessie’s Lasso Challenge. They’ll also get creative in Woody’s workshop, and build their own bandit moustache and sheriff badge to take home with them!
The all-new Cars Zone features the awesome new Cars-themed bouncy two-track giant inflatable slide and a revamped World Grand Prix Training Track with brand new electric cars. Young Cars fans will once again be able to meet and take their photo next to the life-size replica of Mack The Transporter, thanks to the continued support of Mack Trucks who celebrate their 50th year in Australia in 2013, and enjoy the ultimate Race-O-Rama PS3 play-offs in the decked-out B-double trailer!
094A2971
So. I made a thing. I was sitting around one day and decided that I wanted to make a spider thing, and instantly vahki came to mind. Then I decided to make a vakama revamp using the frame I used on drev. Before we have any misunderstandings about how the vahki looks like Nidhiki, this is how I think vahkis should have look like from the get-go. Enjoy!
Continuing my rebuild of older models, I replaced the entire aft part of the chassis of my Freightliner Coronado (on the left) making it much more similar to the Kenworth (on the right). It used to be a bit so so.
This model is revamped version of set 41134 (Heartlake Performance School) with parts of set 10217 (Diagon Alley) and the truck from set 10937 (Arkham Asylum Breakout) thrown together to make this classical styled bank. The timeframe is set in the mid to late Roaring Twenties, when gangsters like Al Capone ruled Chicago's speakeasies and bank robbers such as Bonnie & Clyde ran rampant across the USA. (Of course, the law was always at their heels, and eventually justice was served.)
This is the second version, which is a little taller with new fancy lined profile brick at certain spots near the top of each floor. It's also set to replace my Gringotts bank model, which has become a sore spot on my layout as it's just too small. Hopefully, this will be built around this Christmas.... but only time will tell!
As before, this bank features a fancy entrance with Greek columns going up and creating a balcony on the second floor. The model also features a detailed interior, and is open-able like a dollhouse to provide access to the inside. Also, the letters B-A-N-K are supposed to be on the exposed sideways studs above the main door in printed 1x1 tiles, while the year 1881 goes above the top row of windows.
LDD file: www.moc-pages.com/user_images/80135/1470859018m.lxf
+++ 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 Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' first operational jet aircraft during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered by Sir Frank Whittle and his company, Power Jets Ltd. Development of the aircraft itself began in 1940, although work on the engines had been underway since 1936. The Meteor first flew in 1943 and commenced operations in 1944 with the RAF.
Several major variants of the Meteor incorporated technological advances during the 1940s and 1950s. In order to replace the increasingly-obsolete de Havilland Mosquito as a night fighter, the Meteor was adapted to serve in the role as an interim aircraft. The new night fighter was designed to specification F.24/48 for a two seat, twin-engine, night fighter capable of intercepting contemporary bombers.
Gloster had initially proposed a night fighter design to meet the Air Ministry specification for the Mosquito replacement, based on the two-seater trainer variant of the Meteor, with the pilot in the front seat and the navigator in the rear. Once accepted however, work on the project was swiftly transferred to Armstrong Whitworth to perform both the detailed design process and production of the type; the first prototype flew on 31 May 1950.
Although based on the T.7 twin-seater, the night fighter used the fuselage and tail of the F.8 and the longer wings of the F.3. An extended nose contained the AI Mk 10 Air Intercept radar (the 1940s Westinghouse SCR-720). As a consequence the 20 mm cannons had to be moved from the fuselage flanks into the wings, outboard of the engines. A ventral fuel tank and wing mounted drop tanks completed the Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.11.
As radar technology developed, a new Meteor night fighter was developed to use the improved US-built APS-21 system. The NF.12 first flew on 21 April 1953. It was similar to the NF 11 but had a nose section 17 inches (43.2 cm) longer; the fin was enlarged to compensate for the greater keel area of the enlarged nose and to counter the airframe reaction to the "wig-wag" scan of the radar which affected the gunsight.
An anti-tramp motor operating on the rudder was fitted midway up the front leading edge of the fin. The NF.12 also had the new Rolls-Royce Derwent 9 engines and the wings were reinforced to handle the new engine. Deliveries of the NF.12 started in 1953, with the type entering squadron service in early 1954. The NF.12 was also exported, e. g. to Belgium, France or Denmark. In RAF service, however, the type was already replaced over 1958–59.
The final Meteor night fighter was the NF.14 (The NF.13 was a tropicalized variant of the NF.11, which served in Egypt, Syria and Israel). First flown on 23 October 1953, the NF.14 was based on the NF.12 but had an even longer nose, extended by a further 17 inches to accommodate new equipment, and a larger bubble canopy to replace the framed T.7 version.
Just 100 NF.14s were built; they first entered service in February 1954 beginning with RAF No. 25 Squadron and were being gradually replaced as early as 1956 with the Gloster Javelin. Overseas, they remained in service a little longer, serving with No. 60 Squadron at Tengah, Singapore, until 1961.
With only few flying hours on the clock several NF.14 were earmarked for being revamped and offered for export. 14 of these aircraft stayed in the UK, though, and were converted to training aircraft as NF(T).14 and given to No. 2 Air Navigation School on RAF Thorney Island where they served until 1965.
But some of the young NF.14s In 1955 Sweden ordered 22 of these surplus machines as replacement for its obsolete J30 (Mosquito NF.30) fleet that had entered service in 1948 and which was already due to be phased out. The Meteors were allocated only intended to act as stopgaps, though, just as in RAF service, while the Saab J32 Lansen (specifically its dedicated, radar-equipped all-weather fighter variant ‘B’) was still under development.
The batch of revamped Meteor NF.14s was gradually delivered and allocated to F 17 at Kallinge and F 21 at Luleå, starting in late 1956 when the first retired RAF aircraft trickled back to Armstrong Whitworth, and the last one was handed over to the Flygvapnet in mid-1957. In Swedish service the Meteor NF.14 received the domestic designation J31 (‘Jakt’). The machines differed only slightly from the RAF NF.14, main armament remained the four 20mm cannons in the wings. The external tanks were kept, too, in order to provide a sufficient range for patrol flights.
The J31s career was short and unspectacular, though. When the J32B finally reached the fighter units in 1958, the Swedish Meteors were gradually replaced and retired. Six machines were kept for radar operator training, and in this second line role six machines eventually served until 1965.
Strangely, none of the Swedish J31 Meteors were converted to target tugs. Instead Sweden bought several retired Meteors (T.7 and NF.11) from Denmark and used these aircraft with civil registrations through Svenska Flygtjanst as target tugs.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: Length: 51 ft 4 in (15.65 m)
Wingspan: Span: 43ft
Height: 13 ft 11 in (4.2 m)
Wing area: 350 ft² (32.52 m²)
Empty weight: 12.620 lb (5.725 kg)
Loaded weight: 21.200 lb (9.625 kg)
Powerplant:
2× Rolls-Royce Derwent 9 engines, rated at 3.800lb/16,9kN each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 585mph (511 knots, 942 km/h, Mach 0.8) at 10.000 ft (3.050 m)
Range: 875 mi (765 nmi, 1.408 km)
Service ceiling: 43,000 ft (13,100 m)
Rate of climb: 5,800ft/min at sea level
Wing loading: 44.9 lb/ft² (218.97 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.45
Armament:
4× 20 mm British Hispano Mk. V cannons in the outer wings
The kit and its assembly:
This whif is another tribute to fellow user SPINNERS at whatifmodelers.com who came up with a CG simulation of a Meteor NF.14 in Swedish colors. This looked VERY plausible - see the respective screenshots. I had a Matchbox/Revell Gloster Meteor NF.11, 12 and 14 night fighter in the pile without a real plan – until now!
SPINNERS’ screenshots basically became the design benchmark for my build, even though my hardware differs a bit in scheme and markings in order to match the narrow, historic slot for this whif.
Concerning the Matchbox kit there’s not much to say. It’s a simple kit that has been re-boxed several times and is also offered through Hannants under the Xtrakit brand. Fit is mediocre, how to mount the landing gear is up to the modeler, the cockpit is intended for pygmies (even though with nice dahsboard and radar equipment), you get several sink holes, and the fine, raised panels more or less disappear due to the unavoidable and extensive putty work all over the thing.
Since we have a NF.14 here, the kit was built OOB with the respective option parts. Even the belly and drop tanks are standard, only two pilot figures were added for the photo shooting.
Calling it J31 is a bit of a double, since the 31 had already been used for the Spitfire PR.19 photo reconnaissance variant, domestically called S31 (for ‘Spaning’). Therefore the J31 was theoretically ‘free’, even though not really correct. ;)
Painting and markings:
Basically, no surprises here, too, even though mimicking Swedish Air Force colors is a rather tricky task for the ambitious modeler. Especially the "mörk olivgrön/mörkblå/blågrå" scheme from the late 50ies is described with very contradictive suggestions concerning the tones to use, I even found “Blue Angel Blue” (FS 15050!) as serious paint suggestion from Hasegawa.
The colors themselves obviously varied considerably under light conditions and weathering influences: the blue could turn grey or even into a kind of turquoise, and depending on light and perspective the blue tone would even appear like a dull, very dark grey (think WWII German tank grey). The green, on the other side, also ranges from a dark green (FS 34079 is frequently suggested, but IMHO too "green") to a very dark olive drab, and in real life the tone could turn into an almost brownish khaki drab when thoroughly weathered. Much room for interpretation and speculation, even consulting pics of museum and service aircraft did not yield anything conclusive and consistent.
Well, I tried to find a compromise for the upper sides' basic colors for the and settled for Humbrol 163 (Extra Dark Slate Grey, it has that olive drab, reddish touch) and 77 (Navy Blue, which is discernable as a deep, greenish blue; Humbrol 123 is also often suggested, e. g. through Heller, but it’s IMHO too dark), while I used Model Master's "French Dark Grey Blue" (an authentic WWII tone; it is much less 'dark' than you'd expect) for the undersurfaces.
The authentic tone for the lower sides is supposed to be FS 36173 (US Neutral Grey), and pics from museum aircraft (e. g. close-ups from an J32E at the Linköping Swedish Air Force Museum) confirm that. But I think that the pure/original tone is much too dark for a 1:72 scale model kit. Pictures of real service aircraft rather appear like a pale bluish-grey, almost like RLM76?
The pattern itself was adapted from a late Saab J32 instead of SPINNERS’ RAF scheme with modified colors.
After basic painting the Meteor received serious dry-painting on the upper surfaces in order to create a worn and bleached look, e. g. with Humbrol 86 & 155 on the green, with Revell 79 and Humbrol 230 (PRU Blue!) on the blue as well as some "Italian Light Blue Grey" from Modelmaster on the lower surfaces. A black ink wash was also added to emphasize panel lines and other small details.
In order to add some color variation I painted the drop tanks in Aluminum. The radome was painted in satin black, the landing gear and the air intakes in various Aluminum shades. The cockpit was painted in very dark grey (Humbrol 184) with some medium grey dry painting. Gauges and instruments were added with black clear paint.
Roundels and tactical codes mostly come from an RBD aftermarket sheet from Sweden (great stuff!), which features many options for about a dozen J32 aircraft from all of the type's career. Most stencils come from the Matchbox sheet, though.
The red radome band is personal even though authentic addition. These nose colors were common practice in the Swedish Air Force, matching the tail letter code in earlier times that would indicate the aircraft's division (red for 1st, yellow for 2nd and blue for 3rd), even though this code would disappear with the change to individual aircraft numbers on the fin around 1960.
Finally, the kit was sealed with a coat of matt varnish.
Well, “Röd Niklas” is not a spectacular or complicated whif, rather just a color variant - realised in eactly one week from sprues to pics. But the Swedish colors and markings suit the Meteor SO well that it deserved to be taken to the hardware stage, at least as a 1:72 model kit. :D
Still recognize her? I don't blame you if you don't. ;)
I was struggling for quite a while with her, not sure what to do because of the lack of light armors that I was interested in. Until, ironically, the Aesir armor got release, which initially dissapointed me as there is only a heavy version, but luckily I was able to steal some of the custom part and apply these to vanilla light armors, like this, the hide armor with scale boots and bracers. I took the Belt(s), Kitty hood (although not 100% yet) and satchel from the set, they fit really nicely, if somewhat floaty or clipy, but that was to be expected.
Also I specialized her more in being a companion. Note: the black circles underneath the eyes caused by restless nights. Also I went back to vanilla hair. Tordis already uses the pony tail, and it looks horrid in blond. But you know what, no matter how terrble the mesh/texture might be, it simply fits. It looks dirty, greasy and unwashed, which all in all pretty much sums up the companions. Flea shampoo doesn't count.