I designed the backgrounds first and then sent them off to my commercial printer to be printed on matte styrene. Then, place on a a piece of black marble for reflection.

07 - Kukulkan Class.

Category: Model Kit.

Name: Kukulkan Class.

Scale: Non.

Series: Mecha Collection.

Origin: Space Battleship Yamato 2199.

Brand: Bandai.

Material: Styrene plastic.

Release Date: Aug 2014.

Condition: Unassembled.

*Note: This is a Model Kit collected by my BB.

More in My Collection Corner.

I increased the size to make the ship longer than a Gozanti again. Not by much, but by enough to put it in another weight-class. This also meant I could increase the TIE carrying cap to 6. The TIEs are now held in a half-height hanger which will let me use some nice EL wire to create the force-field effect.

I designed the main skeleton to be cut from 1/4" MDF. This material is just all-around easier for me to find and use. The outer hull will be 1/16" styrene.

This design is still 1:150 scale as that is the easiest for me to work with. However, the only small TIE kits I can find are the 1:144 Bandai ones that cost $30-$60 a piece unless you find a good deal. With 6 TIEs, I think it makes more sense for me to 3D print the cockpit and cut wings from styrene. Does anyone know of any good dimension documentation for TIEs? So far I have only found overall dimensions and those vary by source.

Soujou Combined Fleet Space Submarine I-400.

Category: Model Kit.

Name: Soujou Combined Fleet Space Submarine I-400.

Series: Space Rengo Kantai.

Scale: 1/700.

Size: About 18 cm in length when completed.

Origin: Japanese original science-fiction design.

Brand: Suyata.

Material: Injection-molded Styrene Plastic.

Release Date: 20 May 2021.

Cost: S$17.56

Condition: Unassembled/Mint in Box.

Item Size and Weight: 24.7 x 15.3 x 5.5 cm and 150g.

Remark: Decal and stand included.

Description: The second entry in Suyata's Soujou Combined Fleet science-fiction model kit lineup is the Space Type Submarine I-400. It can be built with the hangar hatch in front of the control tower open and the catapult expanded or the hatch closed. A space reconnaissance aircraft is included.

*Note: This is a Model Kit collected by my BB.

More in My Collection Corner.

Hey everyone,

Finally an upload again!

This isn't really a serious custom, but a good friend of mine named Garreth ( AKA Lemon ), told me a long time ago that I should make the foamfinger from the dead space franchise.

Now that I'm working on a dead space sculpt, I though why not give it a go :P

This is just something I quiclky threw together made from pro-create and styrene.

Soon I'll upload some more customs, as I've almost finished two others.

Stay tuned!

Cheers

-Leo

08 - Comet Empire Nazka Class Fast Carrier.

Category: Model Kit.

Name: Comet Empire Nazka Class Fast Carrier.

Scale: Non.

Series: Mecha Collection.

Origin: Space Battleship Yamato.

Brand: Bandai.

Material: Styrene plastic.

Release Date: 1979.

Condition: Unassembled.

*Note: Pics not by us. It's just for reference.

This is a Model Kit collected by my BB.

More in My Collection Corner.

I used a DIY haze/flare filter made from a piece of white organza voile to create this dreamy romantic look. The fabric is glued into a 100mm square frame made from two layers of modeling styrene - the right size for the Lee twin filter holder. This scene has no real specular highlights as I flooded it with soft light created by bouncing the flash light off the white wall to the left of the scene - making the whole wall a light source. If there were specular highlights though, the filter would render these as 4 pointed stars.

I did try some commercial soft glow filters from Lee but preferred the slightly more organic look from the voile.

Second light bouncing off the wall behind the screen off to the right ensures everything glows and there are no deep shadows,

+++ 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 OV-10 Bronco was initially conceived in the early 1960s through an informal collaboration between W. H. Beckett and Colonel K. P. Rice, U.S. Marine Corps, who met at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, and who also happened to live near each other. The original concept was for a rugged, simple, close air support aircraft integrated with forward ground operations. At the time, the U.S. Army was still experimenting with armed helicopters, and the U.S. Air Force was not interested in close air support.

The concept aircraft was to operate from expedient forward air bases using roads as runways. Speed was to be from very slow to medium subsonic, with much longer loiter times than a pure jet. Efficient turboprop engines would give better performance than piston engines. Weapons were to be mounted on the centerline to get efficient aiming. The inventors favored strafing weapons such as self-loading recoilless rifles, which could deliver aimed explosive shells with less recoil than cannons, and a lower per-round weight than rockets. The airframe was to be designed to avoid the back blast.

The MV-10Hs are expected to provide support for these ground units in the form of all-weather reconnaissance and observation, close air support and also forward air control duties for supporting ground units. Precision ground strikes and protection from enemy helicopters and low-flying aircraft were other, secondary missions for the modernized Broncos, which are expected to serve well into the 2040s. Exports or conversions of foreign OV-10s to the Black Pony standard are not planned, though.

General characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 42 ft 2½ in (12,88 m) incl. pitot

Wingspan: 45 ft 10½ in(14 m) incl. tip sails

Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)

Wing area: 290.95 sq ft (27.03 m²)

Airfoil: NACA 64A315

Empty weight: 9,090 lb (4,127 kg)

Gross weight: 13,068 lb (5,931 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 17,318 lb (7,862 kg)

Powerplant:

2× General Electric CT7-9D turboprop engines, 1,305 kW (1,750 hp) each,

driving 8-bladed Hamilton Standard 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter constant-speed,

fully feathering, reversible contra-rotating propellers with metal hub and composite blades

Performance:

Maximum speed: 390 mph (340 kn, 625 km/h)

Combat range: 198 nmi (228 mi, 367 km)

Ferry range: 1,200 nmi (1,400 mi, 2,200 km) with auxiliary fuel

Maximum loiter time: 5.5 h with auxiliary fuel

Service ceiling: 32.750 ft (10,000 m)

13,500 ft (4.210 m) on one engine

Rate of climb: 17.400 ft/min (48 m/s) at sea level

Take-off run: 480 ft (150 m)

740 ft (227 m) to 50 ft (15 m)

1,870 ft (570 m) to 50 ft (15 m) at MTOW

Landing run: 490 ft (150 m)

785 ft (240 m) at MTOW

1,015 ft (310 m) from 50 ft (15 m)

Armament:

1x M197 3-barreled 20 mm Gatling cannon in a chin turret with 750 rounds ammo capacity

7x hardpoints for a total load of 5.000 lb (2,270 kg)

2x wingtip launch rails for AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs

The kit and its assembly:

This fictional Bronco update/conversion was simply spawned by the idea: could it be possible to replace the original cockpit section with one from an AH-1 Cobra, for a kind of gunship version?

The basis is the Academy OV-10D kit, mated with the cockpit section from a Fujimi AH-1S TOW Cobra (Revell re-boxing, though), chosen because of its “boxy” cockpit section with flat glass panels – I think that it conveys the idea of an armored cockpit section best. Combining these parts was not easy, though, even though the plan sound simple. Initially, the Bronco’s twin booms, wings and stabilizer were built separately, because this made PSR on these sections easier than trying the same on a completed airframe. One of the initial challenges: the different engines. I wanted something uprated, and a different look, and I had a pair of (excellent!) 1:144 resin engines from the Russian company Kompakt Zip for a Tu-95 bomber at hand, which come together with movable(!) eight-blade contraprops that were an almost perfect size match for the original three-blade props. Biggest problem: the Tu-95 nacelles have a perfectly circular diameter, while the OV-10’s booms are square and rectangular. Combining these parts and shapes was already a messy PST affair, but it worked out quite well – even though the result rather reminds of some Chinese upgrade measure (anyone know the Tu-4 copies with turboprops? This here looks similar!). But while not pretty, I think that the beafier look works well and adds to the idea of a “revived” aircraft. And you can hardly beat the menacing look of contraprops on anything...

The exotic, so-called “tip sails” on the wings, mounted on short booms, are a detail borrowed from the Shijiazhuang Y-5B-100, an updated Chinese variant/copy of the Antonov An-2 biplane transporter. The booms are simple pieces of sprue from the Bronco kit, the winglets were cut from 0.5mm styrene sheet.

For the cockpit donor, the AH-1’s front section was roughly built, including the engine section (which is a separate module, so that the basic kit can be sold with different engine sections), and then the helicopter hull was cut and trimmed down to match the original Bronco pod and to fit under the wing. This became more complicated than expected, because a) the AH-1 cockpit and the nose are considerably shorter than the OV-10s, b) the AH-1 fuselage is markedly taller than the Bronco’s and c) the engine section, which would end up in the area of the wing, features major recesses, making the surface very uneven – calling for massive PSR to even this out. PSR was also necessary to hide the openings for the Fujimi AH-1’s stub wings. Other issues: the front landing gear (and its well) had to be added, as well as the OV-10 wing stubs. Furthermore, the new cockpit pod’s rear section needed an aerodynamical end/fairing, but I found a leftover Academy OV-10 section from a build/kitbashing many moons ago. Perfect match!

All these challenges could be tackled, even though the AH-1 cockpit looks surprisingly stout and massive on the Bronco’s airframe - the result looks stockier than expected, but it works well for the "Gunship" theme. Lots of PSR went into the new central fuselage section, though, even before it was mated with the OV-10 wing and the rest of the model.

Once cockpit and wing were finally mated, the seams had to disappear under even more PSR and a spinal extension of the canopy had to be sculpted across the upper wing surface, which would meld with the pod’s tail in a (more or less) harmonious shape. Not an easy task, and the fairing was eventually sculpted with 2C putty, plus even more PSR… Looks quite homogenous, though.

After this massive body work, other hardware challenges appeared like small distractions. The landing gear was another major issue because the deeper AH-1 section lowered the ground clearance, also because of the chin turret. To counter this, I raised the OV-10’s main landing gear by ~2mm – not much, but it was enough to create a credible stance, together with the front landing gear transplant under the cockpit, which received an internal console to match the main landing gear’s length. Due to the chin turret and the shorter nose, the front wheel retracts backwards now. But this looks quite plausible, thanks to the additional space under the cockpit tub, which also made a belt feed for the gun’s ammunition supply believable.

To enhance the menacing look I gave the model a fixed refueling boom, made from 1mm steel wire and a receptor adapter sculpted with white glue. The latter stuff was also used add some antenna fairings around the hull. Some antennae, chaff dispensers and an IR decoy were taken from the Academy kit.

The ordnance came from various sources. The Sidewinders under the wing tips were taken from an Italeri F-16C/D kit, they look better than the missiles from the Academy Bronco kit. Their launch rails came from an Italeri Bae Hawk 200. The quadruple Hellfire launchers on the underwing hardpoints were left over from an Italeri AH-1W, and they are a perfect load for this aircraft and its role. The LAU-10 and -19 missile pods on the stub wings were taken from the OV-10 kit.

Painting and markings:

Finding a suitable and somewhat interesting – but still plausible – paint scheme was not easy. Taking the A-10 as benchmark, an overall light grey livery (with focus on low contrast against the sky as protection against ground fire) would have been a likely choice – and in fact the last operational American OV-10s were painted in this fashion. But in order to provide a different look I used the contemporary USAF V-22Bs and Special Operations MC-130s as benchmark, which typically carry a darker paint scheme consisting of FS 36118 (suitably “Gunship Gray” :D) from above, FS 36375 underneath, with a low, wavy waterline, plus low-viz markings. Not spectacular, but plausible – and very similar to the late r/w Colombian OV-10s.

The cockpit tub became Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231, Humbrol 140) and the landing gear white (Revell 301).

The model received an overall black ink washing and some post-panel-shading, to liven up the dull all-grey livery. The decals were gathered from various sources, and I settled for black USAF low-viz markings. The “stars and bars” come from a late USAF F-4, the “IP” tail code was tailored from F-16 markings and the shark mouth was taken from an Academy AH-64. Most stencils came from another Academy OV-10 sheet and some other sources.

Decals were also used to create the trim on the propeller blades and markings on the ordnance.

Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and some exhaust soot stains were added with graphite along the tail boom flanks.

A successful transplantation – but is this still a modified Bronco or already a kitbashing? The result looks quite plausible and menacing, even though the TOW Cobra front section appears relatively massive. But thanks to the bigger engines and extended wing tips the proportions still work. The large low-pressure tires look a bit goofy under the aircraft, but they are original. The grey livery works IMHO well, too – a more colorful or garish scheme would certainly have distracted from the modified technical basis.

Category: Model Kit.

Name: Gigant Nuclear Bomber (with a figure of Lana).

Scale: 1/700 scale.

Origin: Future Boy Conan.

Brand: Aoshima.

Material: Styrene Plastic.

Release Date: Nov 2013.

Condition: Unassembled.

*Note: This is a Model Kit collected by my BB.

More in My Collection Corner.

As I always say: "Nothing fancy going on here."

The most challenging aspect for me is getting the composition right: it has to

look natural, even if it's a glamor shot.

So with just 3 vehicles and some sifted dirt on a painted styrene base, how

does one go about making it look real?

I think about how people drive and park cars. What is enough distance between vehicles in order to open a door and get out? If people are meeting in a field, does everyone just park side by side or is there a randomness to it? Even if this is just a miniature set, I feel there are certain natural laws that

must be taken into account.

I apologize for blathering on here, but I wanted to give some insight into the process.

Here's the finished shot:

www.flickr.com/photos/24796741@N05/8078638521/in/photostream

CB&Q 61417

Originally started for the ‘22 StL RPM, I just recently finished my model of a BN-era Gold Burlington boxcar survivor, the Q 61417, some 13 months later than originally planned. ‍♂️

The theme of that year’s show was to showcase what could be done with “the Kit,” and this was no exception, starting off as a simple, factory-painted (albeit a special run) Accurail car. I shaved the grabs and steps off, and replaced them with wire parts, along with the addition of wire cut levers, and rubber air hoses.

On the roof, I removed the roofwalk, and plugged all of its mounting holes with styrene rod and Mr. Dissolved Putty ( tinyurl.com/hece7cuw ), which was then sanded smoothly. This is a fantastic, brushable, liquid plastic that dries hard, and is sand-able!

The door was repainted red, as per the prototype, and the roof was painted a dull grey. ACI labels and reweigh data from Microscale and ICGDecals.com completed the lettering.

The roof was weathered with a combination of oils and chalks, as described by Quinn's Weathering Depot on a What's Neat This Week video, while the sides were done with Tamiya panel line washes, and chalks. Everything was sealed in with an artist’s Fixative ( tinyurl.com/bdshx7md ), which is like dullcoat, but is specifically designed for chalks, and doesn’t hide the colors when dry like dullcoat does.

Anyway, I know that it’s not perfect (what is?), but it’s not half bad for a $10 shake-the-box kit with factory paint!

This picture was taken in the same area where the Heading Out West photo was shot. I just happened to turn around and saw all the trees. Amazing. Two different visual stories just 30 feet apart.

Ah, the serendipity of the Universe.

I bumped up the yellow filter to give the picture the feeling of an "early color" photograph.

The trailer is hand built and based on a 1951 Spartanette design. The materials used are styrene plastic, basswood and various found objects.

Clone trooper custom I made... largely inspired by one I saw on the Rebel Scum custom forums a while back... pretty much the same "recipe." (Can't remember the guy's name or I'd give him credit.)

It's a biker scout body with a Stormtrooper helmet, and a jacket and gun from some newer G.I. Joes... small barrel modification on the gun with some styrene tubing.

From left to right:

31407

31556

47186 Crewe/Leeds Freightliner (4E52) Departed 10.30pm

47258 Stalybridge/Immingham Styrene Tanks Departed 9.00pm

56082 Fiddlers Ferry to Millerhill empty coal Departed 9.30pm

Nikon 801

80/200mm/F2.8

4 Secs/F11

Fuji Provia 100F

Load Haul Class 56 56021 eases away from Briton Ferry with the 6Z40 ThO 18:00 Baglan Bay to Stalybridge AtoChem Sidings.

All images on this site are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed written permission of the photographer. All rights reserved – Copyright Don Gatehouse

+++ 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 Panther tank, officially Panzerkampfwagen V Panther (abbreviated PzKpfw V) with ordnance inventory designation Sd.Kfz. 171, was a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern and Western Fronts from mid-1943 to the end of the war. The Panther was intended to counter the Soviet T-34 medium tank and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV. Nevertheless, it served alongside the Panzer IV and the heavier Tiger I until the end of the war. It is considered one of the best tanks of World War II for its excellent firepower, protection, and mobility although its reliability in early times were less impressive.

The Panther was a compromise. While having essentially the same Maybach V12 petrol (700 hp) engine as the Tiger I, it had better gun penetration, was lighter and faster, and could traverse rough terrain better than the Tiger I. The trade-off was weaker side armor, which made it vulnerable to flanking fire. The Panther proved to be effective in open country and long-range engagements.

Between 1964-1973 the USSR rebuilt the entire Syrian military from the ground up, reorganizing it along Warsaw Pact lines and equipping it with gear strictly of Soviet origin. There was no place for ex-Wehrmacht tanks and in any case, Czechoslovakia had ended spares & ammo support for the Panzer IV and the Panthers, so the types had no future. The surviving tanks were scrapped in Syria, except for a single Panzer IV survivor sold to a collector in Jordan.

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator)

Weight: 50 tonnes (55.1 long tons; 45.5 short tons)

Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in) hull only

7.52 m (24 ft 7¾ in) overall with gun facing forward

Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only

3,70 m (12 ft 1¾ in) with retrofitted side skirts

Height: 2.99 m (9 ft 10 in)’

Ground clearance: 56 cm (22 in)

Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels

Fuel capacity: 720 liters (160 imp gal; 190 US gal),

some Syrian Panthers carried two additional external 200 l fuel drums

Armor:

15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.93 in)

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 56 km/h (35 mph)

Operational range: 250 km (160 mi) on roads; 450 km (280 mi)with auxiliary fuel tanks

100 km (62 mi) cross-country

Power/weight: 14 PS (10.1 kW)/tonne (12.7 hp/ton)

Engine & transmission:

Maybach HL230 V-12 gasoline engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)

ZF AK 7-200 gearbox with 7 forward 1 reverse gear

Armament:

1× 7,5 cm KwK 40 (L/48) with 87 rounds

2× 7.92 mm MG 34 or 42, or similar machine guns;

one co-axial with the main gun, another in the front glacis plate

with a total of 5.100 rounds (not always mounted)

Provision for a 12.7 mm DShK or Breda anti-aircraft machine gun on the commander cupola

The kit and its assembly:

A rather exotic what-if model, even though it’s almost built OOB. Inspiration came when I stumbled upon the weird Syrian Panzer IVs that were operated against Israel during the Six Day War – vehicles you would not expect there, and after more than 20 years after WWII. But when I did some more research, I was surprised about the numbers and the variety of former German tanks that Syria had gathered from various European countries, and it made me wonder if the Panther could not have been among this shaggy fleet, too?

I had a surplus Dragon Panther Spähpanzer in The Stash™, to be correct a “PzBeobWg V Ausf. G”, an observation and artillery fire guidance conversion that actually existed in small numbers, and I decided to use it as basis for this odd project. The Dragon kit has some peculiarities, though: its hull is made from primed white metal and consists of an upper and lower half that are held together by small screws! An ambiguous design, because the parts do not fit as good as IP parts, so that the model has a slightly die-cast-ish aura. PSR is necessary at the seams, but due to the metal it’s not easy to do. Furthermore, you have to use superglue everywhere, just as on a resin kit. On the other side, surface details are finely molded and crisp, even though many bits have to be added manually. However, the molded metal pins that hold the wheels are very robust and relatively thin – a feature I exploited for a modified running gear (see below).

For the modified Panther in my mind I had to retrograde the turret back to a late standard turret with mantlet parts left over from a Hasegawa kit – they fitted perfectly! The PzBeobWg V only comes with a stubby gun barrel dummy. But I changed the armament, anyway, and implanted an aftermarket white metal and brass KwK 40 L48, the weapon carried by all Syrian Panzer IVs, the Jagdpanzer IVs as well as the StuG IIIs. This standardization would IMHO make sense, even if it meant a performance downgrade from the original, longer KwK 42 L70.

For a Syrian touch, inspired by installations on the Panzer IVs, I added a mount for a heavy DShK machine gun on the commander’s cupola, which is a resin aftermarket kit from Armory Models Group (a kit that consists of no less than five fiddly parts for just a tiny machine gun!).

To change and modernize the Panther’s look further, I gave it side skirts, leftover from a ModelCollect T-72 kit, which had to be modified only slightly to fit onto the molded side skirt consoles on the Panther’s metal hull. A further late addition were the fuel barrels from a Trumpeter T-54 kit that I stumbled upon when I looked for the skirts among my pile of tank donor parts. Even though they look like foreign matter on the Panther’s tail, their high position is plausible and similar to the original arrangement on many Soviet post-WWII tanks. The whip antennae on turret and hull were created with heated black sprue material.

As a modern feature and to change the Panther’s overall look even more, I replaced its original solid “dish” road wheels with T-54/55 “starfish” wheels, which were frequently retrofitted to T-34-85s during the Fifties. These very fine aftermarket resin parts (all real-world openings are actually open, and there’s only little flash!) came from OKB Grigorovich from Bulgaria. The selling point behind this idea is/was that the Panther and T-54/55 wheels have almost the same diameter: in real life it’s 860 vs. 830 mm, so that the difference in 1:72 is negligible. Beneficially, the aftermarket wheels came in two halves, and these were thin enough to replace the Panther’s interleaved wheels without major depth problems.

Adapting the parts to the totally different wheel arrangement was tricky, though, especially due to the Dragon kit’s one-piece white metal chassis that makes any mods difficult. My solution: I retained the inner solid wheels from the Panther (since they are hardly visible in the “3rd row”), plus four pairs of T-54/55 wheels for the outer, more rows of interleaved wheels. The “inner” T-54/55 wheel halves were turned around, received holes to fit onto the metal suspension pins and scratched hub covers. The “outside” halves were taken as is but received 2 mm spacer sleeves on their back sides (styrene tube) for proper depth and simply to improve their hold on the small and rounded metal pin tips. This stunt worked better than expected and looks really good, too!

Painting and markings:

Basically very simple, and I used pictures of real Syrian Panzer IVs as benchmark. I settled for the common green livery variant, and though simple and uniform, I tried to add some “excitement” to it and attempted to make old paint shine through. The hull’s lower surface areas were first primed with RAL 7008 (Khakigrau, a rather brownish tone), then the upper surfaces were sprayed with a lighter sand brown tone, both applied from rattle cans.

On top of that, a streaky mix of Revell 45 and 46 – a guesstimate for the typical Syrian greyish, rather pale olive drab tone - was thinly applied with a soft, flat brush, so that the brownish tones underneath would shine through occasionally. Once dry, the layered/weathered effect was further emphasized through careful vertical wet-sanding and rubbing on all surfaces with a soft cotton cloth.

The rubber side skirts were painted with an anthracite base and the dry-brushed with light grey and beige.

The model then received an overall washing with a highly thinned mix of grey and dark brown acrylic artist paint. The vinyl tracks (as well as the IP spare track links on the hull) were painted, too, with a mix of grey, red brown and iron, all acrylic paints, too, that do not interact chemically with the soft vinyl.

The decals/markings are minimal; the Arabian scribble on the turret (must be a name?), using the picture of a Syrian Panzer IV as benchmark, was painted in white by hand, as well as the white circle on the turret roof. The orange ID triangles are a nice contrast, even though I was not able to come up with real-life visual evidence for them. I just found a color picture of a burned T-34-85 wreck with them, suggesting that the color was a dull orange red and not florescent orange, as claimed in some sources. I also found illustrations of the triangles as part of 1:35 decal sets for contemporary Syrian T-34-85s from FC Model Trend and Star Models, where they appear light red. For the model, they were eventually cut out from decal sheet material (TL-Modellbau, in a shade called “Rotorange”, what appears to be a good compromise).

Dry-brushing with light grey and beige to further emphasize edges and details followed. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic vanish overall, and some additional very light extra dry-brushing with silver was done to simulate flaked paint. Dirt and rust residues were added here and there with watercolors. After final assembly, the lower areas of the model were furthermore powdered with mineral pigments to simulate dust.

The idea of a modernized WWII Panther: a simple idea that turned into a major conversion. With the resin DShK machine gun and T-54/55 wheel set the costs of this project escalated a little, but in hindsight I find that the different look and the mix of vintage German and modern Soviet elements provide this Panther with that odd touch that sets it apart from a simple paint/marking variation? I really like the outcome, and I think that the effort was worthwhile - this fictional Panther shoehorns well into its intended historical framework. :-D

My pencil portrait of Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex.

This is my submission for the 2024 Spring Artist Exhibition at Imagination Refinery in Gosport. The theme of the exhibition being ‘Identity’.

Now available as an A4 Giclée art print, individually signed by me.

£25 each plus p & p.

Delivery is UK-only, for now.

jonneilartandphotos.etsy.com/listing/1677120095

+++ 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 Georgian Air Force and Air Defense Division (თავდაცვის ძალების ავიაციისა და საჰაერო თავდაცვის სარდლობა; tavdatsvis dzalebis aviatsiisa da sahaero tavdatsvis sardloba) was established on January 1, 1992, and in September the Georgian Air Force conducted its first combat flight during the separatist war in Abkhazia. On August 18, 1998, the two divisions were unified in a joint command structure and renamed the Georgian Air Force.

In 2010, the Georgian Air Force was abolished as a separate branch and incorporated into the Georgian Land Forces as Air and Air Defense sections. By that time, the equipment – primarily consisting of Eastern Bloc aircraft inherited from the Soviet Union after the country’s dissolution – was totally outdated, the most potent aircraft were a dozen Suchoj Su-25 attack aircraft and a handful of MiG-21U trainers.

The TAM-1’s development was long and protracted, though, primarily due to lack of resources and the fact that the Georgian air force was in an almost comatose state for several years, so that the potential prime customer for the TAM-1 was not officially available. However, the first TAM-1 prototype eventually made its maiden flight in September 2017. This was just in time, because the Georgian Air Force had formally been re-established in 2016, with plans for a major modernization and procurement program. Under the leadership of Georgian Minister of Defense Irakli Garibashvili the Air Force was re-prioritized and aircraft owned by the Georgian Air Force were being modernized and re-serviced after they were left abandoned for 4 years. This program lasted until 2020. In order to become more independent from foreign sources and support its domestic aircraft industry, the Georgian Air Force eventually ordered eight TAM-1s as Su-25K replacements, which would operate alongside a handful of modernized Su-25KMs from national stock. In the meantime, the new type also attained interest from abroad, e. g. from Bulgaria, the Congo and Cyprus. The IDF thoroughly tested two early production TAM-1s of the Georgian Air Force in 2018, too.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 15.53 m (50 ft 11 in), including pitot

Wingspan: 14.36 m (47 ft 1 in)

Height: 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in)

Wing area: 35.2 m² (378 sq ft)

Empty weight: 9,800 kg (21,605 lb)

Gross weight: 14,440 kg (31,835 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 19,300 kg (42,549 lb)

Powerplant:

2× Rolls-Royce AE 3012 turbofans with 44.1 kN (9,920 lbf) thrust each

Performance:

Maximum speed: 975 km/h (606 mph, 526 kn, Mach 0.79)

Range: 1.000 km (620 mi, 540 nmi) with internal fuel, clean

Combat range: 750 km (470 mi, 400 nmi) at sea level with 4.500 kg (9,911 lb) of ordnance,

incl. two external fuel tanks

Service ceiling: 7.800 m (25,550 ft)

g limits: +6.5

Rate of climb: 58 m/s (11,400 ft/min)

Armament:

1× 35 mm (1.38 in) Oerlikon KDA cannon with 200 rds in two magazines

under the lower forward fuselage, offset to port side.

11× hardpoints with a capacity of up to 4.500 kg (9,911 lb) of external stores

The kit and its assembly:

This rather rigorous conversion had been on my project list for many years, and with the “Gunships” group build at whatifmodellers.com in late 2021 I eventually gathered my mojo to tackle it. The ingredients had already been procured long ago, but there are ideas that make you think twice before you take action…

This build was somewhat inspired by a CG rendition of a modified Su-25 that I came across while doing online search for potential ideas, running under the moniker “Su-125”, apparently created by someone called “Bispro” and published at DeviantArt in 2010; check this: (www.deviantart.com/bispro/art/Sukhoi-Su-125-Foghorn-15043...). The rendition shows a Su-25 with its engines re-located to the rear fuselage in separate nacelles, much like an A-10, plus a T-tail. However, as many photoshopped aircraft, the shown concept had IMHO some flaws. Where would a landing gear go, as the Su-125 still had shoulder wings? The engines’ position and size also looked fishy to me, quite small/narrow and very far high and back – I had doubts concerning the center of gravity. Nevertheless, I liked the idea, and the idea of an “A-10-esque remix” of the classic Frogfoot was born.

This idea was fueled even further when I found out that the Hobbycraft kit lends itself to such a conversion. The kit itself is not a brilliant Su-25 rendition, there are certainly better models of the aircraft in 1:72. However, what spoke for the kit as whiffing fodder was/is the fact that it is quite cheap (righteously so!) and AFAIK the only offering that comes with separate engine nacelles. These are attached to a completely independent central fuselage, and this avoids massive bodywork that would be necessary (if possible at all) with more conventional kits of this aircraft.

Another beneficial design feature is that the wing roots are an integral part of the original engine nacelles, forming their top side up to the fuselage spine. Through this, the original wingspan could be retained even without the nacelles, no wing extension would be necessary to retain the original proportions.

Work started with the central fuselage and the cockpit tub, which received a different (better) armored ejection seat and a pilot figure; the canopy remained unmodified and closed, because representing the model with an open cockpit would have required additional major body work on the spinal area behind the canopy. Inside, a new dashboard (from an Italeri BAe Hawk) was added, too – the original instrument panel is just a flat front bulkhead, there’s no space for the pilot to place the legs underneath the dashboard!

In parallel, the fin underwent major surgery. I initially considered an A-10-ish twin tail, but the Su-25’s high “tail stinger” prevented its implementation: the jet efflux would come very close to the tail surfaces. So, I went for something similar to the “Su-125” layout.

Mounting the OOB stabilizers to the fin was challenging, though. The fin lost its di-electric tip fairing, and it was cut into two sections, so that the tip would become long enough to match the stabilizers. A lucky find in the scrap box was a leftover tail tip from a Matchbox Blackburn Buccaneer, already shortened from a former, stillborn project: it had now the perfect length to take the Su-25 stabilizers! To make it fit on the fin, an 8mm deep section was inserted, in the form of a simple 1.5mm styrene sheet strip. Once dry, the surface was re-built with several PSR layers. Since it would sit further back on the new aircraft’s tail, the stinger with a RHAWS sensor was shortened.

On the fuselage, the attachment points for the wings and the engine nacelles were PSRed away and the front section filled with lots of lead beads, hoping that it would be enough to keep the model’s nose down.

Even though the wings had a proper span for a re-location into a low position, they still needed some attention: at the roots, there’s a ~1cm wide section without sweep (the area which would normally cover the original engine nacelles’ tops). This was mended through triangular 1.5 mm styrene wedges that extended the leading-edge sweep, roughly cut into shape once attached and later PSRed into the wings’ surfaces

The next construction site were the new landing gear attachment points. This had caused some serious headaches – where do you place and stow it? With new, low wings settled, the wings were the only logical place. But the wings were too thin to suitably take the retracted wheels, and, following the idea of a retrofitted existing design, I decided to adopt the A-10’s solution of nacelles into which the landing gear retracts forward, with the wheels still partly showing. This layout option appears quite plausible, since it would be a “graft-on” solution, and it also has the benefit of leaving lots of space for underwing stores, since the hardpoints’ position had to be modified now, too.

I was lucky to have a pair of A-10 landing gear nacelles at hand, left over from a wrecked Matchbox model from childhood time (the parts are probably 35 years old!). They were simply cut out, glued to the Su-25 wings and PSRed into shape. The result looked really good!

At this point I had to decide the model’s overall layout – where to place the wings, the tail and the new engine nacelles. The latter were not 1:72 A-10 transplants. I had some spare engine pods from the aforementioned Matchbox wreck, but these looked too rough and toylike for my taste. They were furthermore too bulky for the Su-25, which is markedly smaller than an A-10, so I had to look elsewhere. As a neat alternative for this project, I had already procured many moons ago a set of 1:144 resin PS-90A engines from a Russian company called “A.M.U.R. Reaver”, originally intended for a Tu-204 airliner or an Il-76 transport aircraft. These turbofan nacelles not only look very much like A-10 nacelles, just a bit smaller and more elegant, they are among the best resin aftermarket parts I have ever encountered: almost no flash, crisp molding, no bubbles, and perfect fit of the parts – WOW!

With these three elements at hand I was able to define the wings’ position, based on the tail, and from that the nacelles’ location, relative to the wings and the fin.

The next challenge: how to attach the new engines to the fuselage? The PS-90A engines came without pylons, so I had to improvise. I eventually found suitable pylons in the form of parts from F-14A underwing missile pylons, left over from an Italeri kit. Some major tailoring was necessary to find a proper position on the nacelles and on the fuselage, and PSRing these parts turned out to be quite difficult because of the tight and labyrinthine space.

When the engines were in place, work shifted towards the model’s underside. The landing gear was fully replaced. I initially wanted to retain the front wheel leg and the main wheels but found that the low wings would not allow a good ground clearance for underwing stores and re-arming the aircraft, a slightly taller solution was necessary. I eventually found a complete landing gear set in the scrap box, even though I am not certain to which aircraft it once belonged? I guess that the front wheel came from a Hasegawa RA-5C Vigilante, while the main gear and the wheels once belonged to an Italeri F-14A, alle struts were slightly shortened. The resulting stance is still a bit stalky, but an A-10 is also quite tall – this is just not so obvious because of the aircraft’s sheer size.

Due to the low wings and the landing gear pods, the Su-25’s hardpoints had to be re-arranged, and this eventually led to a layout very similar to the A-10. I gave the aircraft a pair of pylons inside of the pods, plus three hardpoints under the fuselage, even though all of these would only be used when slim ordnance was carried. I just fitted the outer pair. Outside of the landing gear fairings there would have been enough space for the Frogfoot’s original four outer for pylons, but I found this to be a little too much. So I gave it “just” three, with more space between them.

The respective ordnance is a mix for a CAS mission with dedicated and occasional targets. It consists of:

- Drop tanks under the inner wings (left over from a Bilek Su-17/22 kit)

- A pair of B-8M1 FFAR pods under the fuselage (from a vintage Mastercraft USSR weapon set)

- Two MERs with four 200 kg bombs each, mounted on the pylons outside of the landing gear (the odd MERs came from a Special Hobby IDF SMB-2 Super Mystère kit, the bombs are actually 1:100 USAF 750 lb bombs from a Tamiya F-105 Thunderchief in that scale)

- Four CBU-100 Rockeye Mk. II cluster bombs on the outer stations (from two Italeri USA/NATO weapon sets, each only offers a pair of these)

Yes, it’s a mix of Russian and NATO ordnance – but, like the real Georgian Su-25KM “Scorpion” upgrade, the TAM-1 would certainly be able to carry the same or even a wider mix, thanks to modified bomb racks and wirings. Esp. “dumb” weapons, which do not call for special targeting and guidance avionics, are qualified.

The gun under the nose was replaced with a piece from a hollow steel needle.

Painting and markings:

Nothing unusual here. I considered some more “exotic” options, but eventually settled for a “conservative” Soviet/Russian-style four-tone tactical camouflage, something that “normal” Su-25s would carry, too.

The disruptive pattern was adapted from a Macedonian Frogfoot but underwent some changes due to the T-tail and the engine nacelles. The basic tones were Humbrol 119 (RAF Light Earth), 150 (Forest Green), 195 (Chrome Oxide Green, RAL 6020) and 98 (Chocolate) on the upper surfaces and RLM78 from (Modelmaster #2087) from below, with a relatively low waterline, due to the low-set wings.

As usual, the model received a light black ink washing and some post-shading – especially on the hull and on the fin, where many details had either disappeared under PSR or were simply not there at all.

The landing gear and the lower areas of the cockpit were painted in light grey (Humbrol 64), while the upper cockpit sections were painted with bright turquoise (Modelmaster #2135). The wheel hubs were painted in bright green (Humbrol 101), while some di-electric fairings received a slightly less intense tone (Humbrol 2). A few of these flat fairings on the hull were furthermore created with green decal sheet material (from TL Modellbau) to avoid masking and corrections with paint.

The tactical markings became minimal, matching the look of late Georgian Su-25s. The roundels came from a Balkan Models Frogfoot sheet. The “07” was taken from a Blue Rider decal sheet, it actually belongs to a Lithuanian An-2. Some white stencils from generic MiG-21 and Mi-8 Begemot sheets were added, too, and some small markings were just painted onto the hull with yellow.

Some soot stains around the jet nozzles and the gun were added with graphite, and finally the kit was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish.

A major bodywork project – and it’s weird that this is basically just a conversion of a stock kit and no kitbashing. A true Frogfoot remix! The new engines were the biggest “outsourced” addition, the A-10 landing gear fairings were a lucky find in the scrap box, and the rest is quite generic and could have looked differently. The result is impressive and balanced, though, the fictional TAM-1 looks quite plausible. The landing gear turned out to be a bit tall and stalky, though, making the aircraft look smaller on the ground than it actually is – but I left it that way.

+++ 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:

In 1948, a swept wing version of the F-84 was created with the hope of bringing performance to the level of the F-86. The last production F-84E was fitted with a swept tail, a new wing with 38.5 degrees of leading-edge sweep and 3.5 degrees of anhedral, and a J35-A-25 engine producing 5,300 pound-force (23.58 kN) of thrust. The aircraft was designated XF-96A and flew on 3 June 1950. Although the airplane was capable of 602 knots (693 mph, 1,115 km/h), the performance gain over the F-84E was considered minor. Nonetheless, it was ordered into production in July 1950 as the F-84F Thunderstreak. The F-84 designation was eventually retained because the fighter was expected to be a low-cost improvement of the straight-wing Thunderjet with over 55 percent commonality in tooling.

A handful F-96Bs were camouflaged during the late Sixties with the USAF’s new SEA scheme, but most aircraft retained their original bare metal finish with more or less colorful unit markings. Due to its limited capabilities and the introduction of the Mach 2 McDonnell F-4 Phantom, the last F-96B was retired from ANG service in 1971.

General characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 54t 11 1/2 in (16,77 m) incl. pitot

Wingspan: 33 ft 7.25 in (10,25 m)

Height: 16 ft 9 in (5,11 m)

Wing area: 350 sq ft (37,55 m²)

Empty weight: 13,810 lb (6.264 kg)

Gross weight: 21,035 lb (9.541 kg)

Max takeoff weight: 28,000 lb (12.701 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Wright J65-W-18 turbojet with 8,600 lbf (34 kN) dry thrust and 10,500 lbf (47 kN) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: 695 mph (1,119 km/h, 604 kn, Mach 1.1) at 35,000 ft (10,668 m)

Cruise speed: 577 mph (928 km/h, 501 kn)

Range: 810 mi (1,304 km, 704 nmi) combat radius with two droptanks

Service ceiling: 49,000 ft (15,000 m)

Rate of climb: 16,300 ft/min (83 m/s)

Wing loading: 86 lb/sq ft (423 kg/m²)

Armament:

No internal guns;

6× underwing hardpoints for a total ordnance load of up to 6,000lb (2,727 kg), including

a pair of 191.5 US gal (727 l) or 375 US gal (1.429 l) drop tanks on the inner stations

and a mix of AIM-4 Falcon (up to six), MB-1 Genie (up to two) and/or pods with

nineteen 2.75”/70 mm FFAR unguided missiles each (up to four) on the outer stations

The kit and its assembly:

This fictional missing link between the RF-84F and the F-105 was conceived for the Fifties Group Build at whatifmodellers.com, an era when the USAF used a wide variety of interceptor aircraft types and technical advancements were quick and significant – in just a decade the interceptor evolved from a subsonic machine gun-toting aircraft to a guided weapons carrier platform, capable of Mach 2.

The F-96B (I re-used Republic’s dropped designation for the swept-wing F-84F) was to display one of the many “in between” designs, and the (R)F-84F was just a suitable basis for a conversion similar to the T-33-derived F-94, just more capable and big enough to carry the nuclear Genie missile.

The basis became Italeri’s vintage RF-84F kit, a rather simple affair with raised panel lines and a mediocre fit, plus some sinkholes. This was, however, heavily modified!

Work started with the implantation of a new tandem cockpit, taken wholesale from a Heller T-33. Fitting the cockpit tub into the wider Thunderflash hull was a bit tricky, putty blobs held the implant in place. The canopy was taken from the T-33, too, just the RF-84F’s original rear side windows were cut away to offer sufficient length for the longer clear part and the cockpit side walls had to be raised to an even level with the smaller windscreen with the help of styrene strips. With these adapters the T-33 canopy fitted surprisingly well over the opening and blended well into the spine.

The camera nose section lost its tip, which was replaced with the tail cone from a Matchbox H.S. Buccaneer (actually its air brake), and the camera windows as well as the slant surfaces that held them were PSRed away for a conical shape that extended the new pointed radome. Lots of weight in the nose and under the cockpit floor ensured a safe stance on the OOB landing gear.

The rear section behind the air brakes became all-new; for an afterburner I extended and widened the tail section and implanted the rear part from a B-66 (Italeri kit, too) engine nacelle, which received a wider nozzle (left over from a Nakotne MiG-29, a featureless thing) and an interior.

To balance the longer nose I also decided to enlarge the tail surfaces and replaced the OOB fin and stabilizers with leftover parts from a Trumpeter Il-28 bomber – the fin was shortened and the stabilizers reduced in span to match the rest of the aircraft. Despite the exotic source the parts blend well into the F-84’s overall design!

To add supersonic credibility and to connect the design further with the later F-105 I modified the air intakes and cut them into a raked shape – quite easy to realize. Once the wings were in place, I also added small splitter plates, left over from an Airfix BAC Strikemaster.

As an interceptor the armament had to be adapted accordingly, and I procured the quartet of IR-guided Falcons as well as the Genie duo from an Academy F-89. The large drop tanks were taken OOB from the Italeri kit. The Genies were mounted onto their massive Scorpion pylons under the outer wings of the F-96B, while the Falcons, due to relatively little space left under the wings, required a scratched solution. I eventually settled for dual launchers on small pylons, mounted in front of the landing gear wells. The pylons originally belong to an ESCI Ka-34 “Hokum” helicopter kit (they were just short enough!), the launch rails are a halved pair of F-4 Sidewinder rails from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapons set. With everything on place the F-96B looks quite crowded.

Painting and markings:

The machine would represent a late Fifties USAF type, so that the paint options were rather limited if I wanted to be authentic. ADC Grey was introduced in the early Sixties, SEA camouflage even later, so that bare metal became a natural choice – but this can be quite attractive! The model received an overall coat with acrylic “White Aluminum” from the rattle can, plus some darked panels all over the hull (Humbrol 56 for good contrast) and an afterburner section in Revell 91 (Iron Metallic) and Humbrol’s Steel Metallizer. The radome became deep black, the anti-glare panel in front of the windscreen olive drab (Revell 46). Light grey (Revell 75) was used for some small di-electric fairings.

Interior surfaces (cockpit and landing gear wells) were painted with Zinc Chromate primer (I used Humbrol 80), while the landing gear struts became silver-grey (Humbrol 56) and the inside of the covers as well as the air brakes were painted in bright red (Humbrol 19).

Once basic painting was done the model received a black ink washing and was rubbed with grinded graphite to emphasize the raised panel lines, and the material adds a nice dark metallic shine to the silver base coat.

Another challenge was to find suitable unit markings for the Fifties era in the decal vault, which would also fit onto the model. After a long search I eventually settled for rather simple markings from a 325th FIS F-102 from an Xtradecal sheet, which only features a rather timid fin decoration.

Finding other suitable standard markings remained demanding, though. Stars-And-Bars as well as the USAF taglines were taken from the Academy F-89 that also provided the ordnance, most stencils were taken from the OOB Italeri sheet and complemented by small markings from the scrap box. The biggest problem was the creation of a matching serial number. The “FF” code was originally used for P/F-51D Mustangs during the Korea War, but after the type had been phased out it might have been re-used? The letters as well as the serial number digits were created from various markings for USAF F-100s, also from an Xtradecal sheet.

Once the decals had been applied the model was sealed with semi-gloss acrylic varnish, except for the radome, the anti-glare panel as well as the walking areas on the wings as well as parts of the afterburner section, which were coated with matt varnish.

A rather straightforward conversion, even though finishing the project took longer than expected. But the result looks surprisingly natural and plausible. Lots of PSR was needed to modify the fuselage, though, especially the tail section was not easy to integrate into the Thunderflash’s hull. Sticking to the simple NMF livery paid IMHO out, too: the livery looks very natural and believable on the fictional aircraft, and it suits the F-84’s bulbous shape well.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Canadair’s impressive CF-151 ‘Kodiak’ interceptor had a long development story, and the fact that Canada developed an indigenous high-end fighter after the demise of Avro Canada’s CF-105 ‘Arrow’ in the late 50ies was an amazing achievement.

The CF-151 was quickly becoming outdated and an aircraft of very limited use, despite its formidable capabilities as a heavy interceptor. But potential war scenarios had changed, and economical as well as political developments could not justify the expensive (and small) Kodiak fleet anymore. Consequently, the last CAF CF-151 flight took place on August 18th 2000, when the last indigenous Canadian fighter type was replaced by CF-18s, too.

Canadair CF-151A general characteristics

Crew: 2

Length: 21.2 m (69 ft 10 in)

Wingspan: spread (20° sweep): 17.14 m (66 ft 3 in); swept (65° sweep): 11,65 m (38 ft 3 in)

Height: 5.55 m (18 ft 2 in)

Empty weight: 47,200 lb (21,400 kg)

Loaded weight: 82,800 lb (37,600 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 100,000 lb (45,300 kg)

Powerplant:

2× GE TF30-P-3 turbofan jet engines, rated at 12,000 lbf (53 kN) dry and 18,500 lbf (82 kN) at full afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: Mach 2.5 (1,650 mph, 2,655 km/h) at altitude and in clean configuration

Combat radius: 1,330 mi (1,160 nmi, 2,140 km)

Ferry range: 4,200 mi (3,700 nmi, 6,760 km)

Service ceiling: 66,000 ft (20,100 m)

Rate of climb: 25,890 ft/min (131.5 m/s)

Armament:

4× AIM-7E3 'Sparrow' medium-/long-range AAMs, semi-recessed under the fuselage

4× AIM-9M 'Sidewinder' short range AAMs on wing hardpoints

2× drop tanks under the outer fixed wings

Theoretical external ordnance of up to 15.200lb (6.900kg)

The kit and its assembly

A bold and weird project. It all started when I was pondering the idea of a whiffy, large VG fighter in the class of a F-4 or MiG-25. While reading book about OKB Tupolev, when I realized that the Tu-22M had pretty fighter-like lines, even for a bomber. Some math revealed that reducing the aircraft by 50% in any dimension would yield a proper airframe, and so I started out searching for a 1:144 kit which would be turned into a fine 1:72 interceptor!

Strangely, respective kits are rare and expensive. The Dragon kit is 1st choice, but I found a re-boxed Dragon kit from 1985 under the obscure “New Craft” label (supposed to come from Japan) in North Carolina, only for US$12.

Its fuselage and wings would be taken 1:1. Three areas needed modification/donations, though. One issue is the tail fin. The Tu-22M’s fin, with its broad root section and the tail barbette, would not look good on a 1:72 kit, so it was completely replaced with a fin from a Panavia Tornado (Italeri). On the other end of the kit, I decided to implant a new front with a tandem cockpit. At first I just wanted to cut open the fuselage’s upper side, implant some seats and cover it with a TF-104 canopy, but I discarded it as impractical. Additionally, too much of the Tu-22M’s silhouette would be left.

As a surprising solution I found that the forward fuselage from a Su-15 (I had fuselage parts from a PM single-seated version still in the scrap box from my Ha-410 project) could be easily transplanted onto the Tu-22M fuselage, just in front of the air intakes! Dimensions and shape fit VERY well, and since the PM kit is cheap and widely available I ordered a NiB Su-15UM (a two-seater) from PM as a donation kit, for just US$8, instead of fighting with the single-seater.

The rest were rather minor modifications: the cockpit interior was built from scratch, with dashboards from a Tornado IDS, two IAI Kfir ejection seats and side consoles made from styrene strips. Nothing fancy, but the PM kit is totally bleak... Externally, the fairing for the 1:144 AS-6 ‘Kingfisher’ missile was closed (with a piece of styrene, cut to size), jet nozzles from a Tornado IDS added (drilled open and simply glued onto the Tu-22M nozzles), and a spine implanted between the canopy and the fin.

The landing gear is also completely new: the front wheel comes from a F-18 (reversed, though), the tandem bogies for the main landing gear are leftover pieces from a VEB Plasticart Tu-20/95 bomber kit, placed on struts from a F-117 kit and fitted with wheels which actually belong to the dolly in a Amodel X-20M missile kit.

The missiles are leftover pieces from a wrecked Italeri Tornado F.3. The drop tanks belong to a Revell F-16 - I originally wanted to use even bigger ones, from a vintage "box-scale" F-100 from Revell, but these proved to be to bulbous: they'd contact the landing gear.

Painting and markings

While a lot of Soviet design went into this aircraft, the idea of a Canadian alternative/successor to the F-101 and CF-105 prevailed. Additionally, I also organized a complete marking set for CAF CF-101s (from Wintervalley in Canada), so that authentic markings could be applied. While it sounds a bit boring, the simple, all-grey livery of CAF interceptors suits the Kodiak’s elegant lines well. Hence, the whole aircraft was painted in glossy FS16515 (Testors 2039), with a black radome and a blue fin rudder with three black stripes (a 409 Squadron marking) – very simple.

In order to emphasize details and pint out panel lines the model received a wash with thin black ink, as well as some dry-painting with lighter shades of grey on the upper surfaces. Canadian aircraft look rather tidy, so a thorough weathering or true worn look was not intended.

Cockpit interior was painted in medium grey (Humbrol 140), the landing gear as well as the air intakes in white (Humbrol 130). The landing gear interior was painted white, too, everything was kept rather simple. Additionally, some weathering and stains were added with dry-brushed shades of grey.

As mentioned before, all markings come from an aftermarket decal sheet from Wintervalley Model Products from Canada (now Canuck Models). Great stuff - if you search for authentic and high quality markings for ‘something Canadian’, look there!

Finally, everything was sealed under a coat of Tamiya Semi Gloss acryllic varnish, just the glare shield in front of the cockpit became totally matt.

What should I say? An idea that lingered for months finally became hardware, and it is a big and impressive bird. Surely, with the real CF-105 background, this model has a melancholic touch... Who knows what might have been if the CF-105 had not been axed in the late 50ies...? Maybe the Kodiak! ^^

Haunebu I, II and III.

Category: Model Kit.

Name: Haunebu I, II and III.

Series: World War 2 German Wonder Weapons.

Scale: 1/350 scale.

Origin: World War 2 German Wonder Weapons.

Brand: Takom.

Material: Injection-molded Styrene Plastic.

Release Date: 22 Dec 2022.

Status:

Cost: S$65.71

Condition: Unassembled/Mint in Box.

Remark: Decals for 6 versions included.

Description: The Haunebu "flying saucer" is said to have been secretly developed by Germany during World War II. This fictitious disk-shaped aircraft frequently appears in science fiction movies, anime and games. It is said that several types were planned, depending on the size of the aircraft and the armaments to be installed.

This model kit from Takom allows you to build replicas of the Haunebu I, II and III, a total of three models in one kit. Parts for a ladder are included, as are decals for six versions.

Info: Nazi UFOs.

Nazi UFOs

*Note: This is a Model Kit collected by my BB.

More in My Collection Corner.

Some background:

Simple, efficient and reliable, the Regult (リガード, Rigādo) was the standard mass production mecha of the Zentraedi forces. Produced by Esbeliben at the 4.432.369th Zentraedi Fully Automated Weaponry Development and Production Factory Satellite in staggering numbers to fill the need for an all-purpose mecha, this battle pod accommodated a single Zentraedi soldier in a compact cockpit and was capable of operating in space or on a planet's surface. The Regult saw much use during Space War I in repeated engagements against the forces of the SDF-1 Macross and the U.N. Spacy, but its lack of versatility against superior mecha often resulted in average effectiveness and heavy losses. The vehicle was regarded as expendable and was therefore cheap, simple, but also very effective when fielded in large numbers. Possessing minimal defensive features, the Regult was a simple weapon that performed best in large numbers and when supported by other mecha such as Gnerl Fighter Pods. Total production is said to have exceeded 300 million in total.

At the end of Space War I in January 2012, production of the Regult for potential Earth defensive combat continued when the seizure operation of the Factory Satellite was executed. After the war, Regults were used by both U.N. Spacy and Zentraedi insurgents. Many surviving units were incorporated into the New U.N. Forces and given new model numbers. The normal Regult became the “Zentraedi Battle Pod” ZBP-104 (often just called “Type 104”) and was, for example, used by Al-Shahal's New U.N. Army's Zentraedi garrison. The related ZBP-106 was a modernized version for Zentraedi commanders, with built-in boosters, additional Queadluun-Rhea arms and extra armaments. These primarily replaced the Glaug battle pod, of which only a handful had survived. By 2067, Regult pods of all variants were still in operation among mixed human/Zentraedi units.

General characteristics:

Accommodation: pilot only, in standard cockpit in main body

Overall Height: 18.2 meters

Overall Length: 7.6 meters

Overall Width: 12.6 meters

Max Weight: 39.8 metric tons

Powerplant & propulsion:

1x 1.3 GGV class Ectromelia thermonuclear reaction furnace,

driving 2x main booster Thrusters and 12x vernier thrusters

Performance:

unknown

Armament:

None

Special Equipment and Features:

Standard all-frequency radar antenna

Standard laser long-range sensor

Ectromelia infrared, visible light and ultraviolet frequency sensor cluster

ECM/ECCM suite

The kit and its assembly:

I had this kit stashed away for a couple of years, together with a bunch of other 1:100 Zentraedi pods of all kinds and the plan to build a full platoon one day – but this has naturally not happened so far and the kits were and are still waiting. The “Reconnaissance & Surveillance” group build at whatifmodellers.com in August 2021 was a good occasion and motivation to tackle the Tactical Scout model from the pile, though, as it perfectly fits the GB’s theme and also adds an exotic science fiction/anime twist to the submissions.

The kit is an original ARII boxing from 1983, AFAIK the only edition of this model. One might expect this kit to be a variation of the 1982 standard Regult (sometimes spelled “Reguld”) kit with extra parts, but that’s not the case – it is a new mold with different parts and technical solutions, and it offers optional parts for the standard Regult pod as well as the two missile carrier versions that were published at the same time, too. The Tactical Scout uses the same basis, but it comes with parts exclusive for this variant (hull and a sprue with the many antennae and sensors).

I remembered from a former ARII Regult build in the late Eighties that the legs were a wobbly affair. Careful sprue inspection revealed, however, that this second generation comes with some sensible detail changes, e. g. the feet, which originally consisted of separate toe and heel sections (and these were hollow from behind/below!). To my biggest surprise the knees – a notorious weak spot of the 1st generation Regult kit – were not only held by small and flimsy vinyl caps anymore: These were replaced with much bigger vinyl rings, fitted into sturdy single-piece enclosures made from a tough styrene which can even be tuned with small metal screws(!), which are included in the kit. Interesting!

But the joy is still limited: even though the mold is newer, fit is mediocre at best, PSR is necessary on every seam. However, the good news is that the kit does not fight with you. The whole thing was mostly built OOB, because at 1:100 there's little that makes sense to add to the surface, and the kit comes with anything you'd expect on a Regult Scout pod. I just added some lenses and small stuff behind the large "eye", which is (also to my surprise) a clear part. The stuff might only appear in schemes on the finished model, but that's better than leaving the area blank.

Otherwise, the model was built in sub-sections for easier painting and handling, to be assembled in a final step – made possible by the kit’s design which avoids the early mecha kit’s “onion layer” construction, except for the feet. This is the only area that requires some extra effort, and which is also a bit tricky to assemble.

However, while the knees appear to be a robust construction, the kit showed some material weakness: while handling the leg assembly, one leg suddenly came off under the knees - turned out that the locator that holds the knee joint above (which I expected to be the weak point) completely broke off of the lower leg! Weird damage. I tried to glue the leg into place, but this did not work, and so I inserted a replacement for the broken. This eventually worked.

Painting and markings:

Colorful, but pretty standard and with the attempt to be authentic. However, information concerning the Regults’ paint scheme is somewhat inconsistent. I decided to use a more complex interpretation of the standard blue/grey Regult scheme, with a lighter “face shield” and some other details that make the mecha look more interesting. I used the box art and some screenshots from the Macross TV series as reference; the Tactical Scout pod already appears in episode #2 for the first time, and there are some good views at it, even though the anime version is highly simplified.

Humbrol enamels were used, including 48 (Mediterranean Blue), 196 (RAL 7035, instead of pure white), 40 (Pale Grey) and 27 (Sea Grey). The many optics were created with clear acrylics over a silver base, and the large frontal “eye” is a piece of clear plastic with a coat of clear turquoise paint, too.

The model received a black ink washing to emphasize details, engraved panel lines and recesses, as well as some light post-shading through dry-brushing. Some surface details were created with decal stripes, e. g. on the upper legs, or with a black fineliner, and some color highlights were distributed all over the hull, e. g. the yellowish-beige tips of the wide antenna or the bright blue panels on the upper legs.

The decals were taken OOB, and thanks to a translation chart I was able to decipher some of the markings which I’d interpret as a serial number and a unit code – but who knows?

Finally, the kit received an overall coat of matt acrylic varnish and some weathering/dust traces around the feet with simple watercolors – more would IMHO look out of place, due to the mecha’s sheer size in real life and the fact that the Regult has to be considered a disposable item. Either it’s brand new and shiny, or busted, there’s probably little in between that justifies serious weathering which better suits the tank-like Destroids.

A “normal” build, even though the model and the topic are exotic enough. This 2nd generation Regult kit went together easier than expected, even though it has its weak points, too. However, material ageing turned out to be the biggest challenge (after all, the kit is almost 40 years old!), but all problems could be overcome and the resulting model looks decent – and it has this certain Eighties flavor! :D

Ho scale model of Horatio Allen's locomotive "South Carolina". Built in 1831 by the West Point Foundry, this unusual locomotive was delivered to the South Carolina Canal & Rail Road Co. early in 1832. It required extensive modification and repair during its working life and was unceremoniously scrapped in 1834.

Three similar locomotives were built in 1833, and the last of these was retired in 1837. Several decades later Robert Francis Fairlie would revive the concept of an articulated double ended locomotive, with considerably more success (although ultimately it remained a machine for niche uses).

I built the model out of styrene sheet and tubing, with a few minor aluminum and copper bits. The wheels are from a Bachmann DeWitt Clinton set.

I'm so excited. I bought this built n scale building from ebay in early December. I was concerned it was taking so long to be delivered but I got it today. This building isn't made any more so when I saw it for sale on ebay I purchased it. It's such a great model and it's so well made but there's no floors inside the building and no window blinds. It's glued together too well to dismantle it and to add those details so I'll probably just black out the interior floors I also don't like how the walls are glued on the narrow side so I think I'm going to glue strips of painted styrene on the four corners to fix them up a little bit. I'm also going to add sidewalks, people, a mailbox and fire hydrant and other details.

Here's my first attempt at weathering one of my model dumpsters. Practiced on one of my older works I had sitting around. Added some rust and rust streaks here and there. As you can see, I could use some more practice, but for a very first attempt, I'm satisfied!

The model itself is of an old 1990's Waste Management cardboard recycling 2-yard modified rear-load dumpster, done up in 1:34 scale.

©Bryn Erdman. All Rights Reserved.

www.facebook.com/ThrashNTrashProductions

www.youtube.com/TrashMonkey22

+++ 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 Sondergerät SG104 "Münchhausen" was a German airborne recoillless 355.6 mm (14-inch) caliber gun, intended to engage even the roughest enemy battleships, primarily those of the Royal Navy. The design of this unusual and massive weapon began in 1939. The rationale behind it was that a battleship’s most vulnerable part was the deck – a flat surface, with relatively thin armor (as typical hits were expected on the flanks) and ideally with vital targets underneath, so that a single, good hit would cripple of even destroy a ship. The purpose of such a high angle of attack was likely to allow the projectile to penetrate the target ship's deck, where the ship's armor, if there was any, would have been much thinner than the armor on its sidesHowever, hitting the deck properly with another ship’s main gun was not easy, since it could only be affected through indirect hits and the typical angle of the attack from aballistic shot would not necessarily be ideal for deep penetration, esp. at long range.

The solution to this problem: ensure that the heavy projectile would hit its target directly from above, ideally at a very steep angle. To achieve this, the gun with battleship caliber was “relocated” from a carrier ship or a coastal battery onto an aircraft – specifically to a type that was capable of dive-bombing, a feature that almost any German bomber model of the time offered.

With the Allied invasion of France and a worsening war condition, the SG 104 program was stopped in August 1944 and the idea of an airborne anti-ship gun axed in favor of more flexible guided weapons like the Hs 293 missile and the Fritz-X glide bomb. Plans for a further developed weapon with a three-round drum magazine were immediately stopped, also because there was no carrier aircraft in sight that could carry and deploy this complex 6.5 tons weapon. However, work on the SG 104 and the experience gained from EKdo 104's field tests were not in vain. The knowledge gathered from the Münchhausen program was directly used for the design of a wide range of other, smaller recoilless aircraft weapons, including the magnetically-triggered SG 113 "Förstersonde" anti-tank weapon or the lightweight SG 118 "Rohrblock" unguided air-to-air missile battery for the Heinkel He 162 "Volksjäger".

General characteristics:

Crew: 3 (pilot, navigator, radio operator/gunner)

Length: 20,73 m (67 ft 11 in) overall

18,93 m (62 ft 3/4 in) hull only

Wingspan: 19 m (62 ft 4 in)

Height: 4.97 m (16 ft 4 in)

Wing area: 57 m² (610 sq ft)

Empty weight: 9,065 kg (19,985 lb)

Empty equipped weight:10,950 kg (24,140 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 16,700 kg (36,817 lb)

Fuel capacity: 2,960 l (780 US gal; 650 imp gal) in fuselage tank and four wing tanks

Powerplant:

2× BMW 801D-2 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, delivering

1,300 kW (1,700 hp) each for take-off and 1,070 kW (1,440 hp) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft),

driving 3-bladed VDM constant-speed propellers

Performance:

Maximum speed: 475 km/h (295 mph, 256 kn) at sea level

560 km/h (350 mph; 300 kn) at 5,700 m (18,700 ft)

Cruise speed: 400 km/h (250 mph, 220 kn) with loaded Gerät 104 at optimum altitude

Range: 2,180 km (1,350 mi, 1,180 nmi) with maximum internal fuel

Ferry range: 2,500 km (1,600 mi, 1,300 nmi); unarmed, with auxiliary fuel tanks

Service ceiling: 7,370 m (24,180 ft) with loaded Gerät 104,

9,500 m (31,200 ft) after firing

Rate of climb: 3.5 m/s (690 ft/min)

Time to altitude: 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in 4 minutes 10 seconds

2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 8 minutes 20 seconds

6,100 m (20,000 ft) in 24 minutes 40 seconds

Armament:

1x 355.6 mm (14-inch) Sondergerät 104 recoilless gun with a single round in ventral position

1x 15 mm (0.787 in) MG 151 machine cannon with 200 rounds, fixed in the nose

1x 13 mm (0.512 in) MG 131 machine gun with 500 rounds, movable in dorsal position

Two underwing hardpoints for a 900 l drop tank each, but only used during unarmed ferry flights

The kit and its assembly:

This was another submission to the "Gunships" group build at whatifmodellers.com in late 2021, and inspiration struck when I realized that I had two Italeri Do 217 in The Stash - a bomber and a night fighter - that could be combined into a suitable (fictional) carrier for a Sondergerät 104. This mighty weapon actually existed and even reached the hardware/test stage - but it was never integrated into an airframe and tested in flight. But that's what this model is supposed to depict.

On the Do 217, the Sg 104 would have been carried externally under the fuselage, even though there had been plans to integrate this recoilless rifle into airframes, esp. into the Ju 288. Since the latter never made it into production, the Do 217 would have been the most logical alternative, also because it had the highest payload of all German bombers during WWII and probably the only aircraft capable of carrying and deploying the Münchhausen device, as the SG 104 was also known.

The fictional Do 217 F-0 is a kitbashing, using a Do 217 N fuselage, combined with the wings from a Do 217 K bomber, plus some modifications. What initially sounded like a simple plan soon turned into a improvisation mess: it took some time to realize that I had already donated the Do 217 K's BMW 801 engines to another project, an upgraded He 115... I did not want to use the nightfighter's more powerful DB 603s, and I was lucky to have an Italeri Ju 188 kit at hand which comes with optional BMW 801s and Jumo 211s. Transplanting these engines onto the Do 217's wings took some tailoring of the adapter plates, but was feasible. However, the BMW 801s from the Ju 188 kit have a flaw: they lack the engine's characteristic cooling fans... Another lucky find: I found two such parts in the scrap box, even though from different kits - one left over from another Italeri Do 217 K, the other one from what I assume is/was an Italeri 1:72 Fw 190 A/F. To make matters worse, one propeller from the Ju 188 kit was missing, so that I had to find a(nother) replacement. :-/

I eventually used something that looked like an 1:72 F6F Hellcat propeller, but I an not certain about this because I have never built this model...? With some trimming on the blades' trailing edges and other mods, the donor's overall look could be adapted to the Ju 188 benchmark. Both propellers were mounted on metal axis' so that they could also carry the cooling fans. Lots of work, but the result looks quite good.

The Do 217 N's hull lost the lower rear gunner position and its ventral gondola, which was faired over with a piece of styrene sheet. The pilot was taken OOB, the gunner in the rear position was replaced by a more blob-like crew member from the scrap box. The plan to add a navigator in the seat to the lower right of the pilot did not work out due to space shortage, but this figure would probably have been invisble, anyway.

All gun openings in the nose were filled and PSRed away, and a fairing for a bomb aiming device and a single gun (the barrel is a hollow steel needle) were added.

The SG 104 was scratched. Starting point was a white metal replacement barrel for an 1:35 ISU-152 SPG with a brass muzzle brake. However, after dry-fitting the barrel under the hull the barrel turned out to be much too wide, so that only the muzzal brake survived and the rest of the weapon was created from a buddy refueling pod (from an Italeri 1:72 Luftwaffe Tornado, because of its two conical ends) and protective plastic caps from medical canulas. To attach this creation to the hull I abused a conformal belly tank from a Matchbox Gloster Meteor night fighter and tailored it into a streamlined fairing. While this quite a Frankenstein creation, the overall dimensions match the real SG 104 prototype and its look well.

Other cosmetic modifications include a pair of underwing dive brakes, translanted from an Italeri 1:72 Ju 88 A-4 kit, an extended (scratched) tail "stinger" which resembles the real dive brake arrangement that was installed on some Do 217 E bombers, and I added blast deflector vanes and a dorsal stabilizer fin.

In order to provide the aircraft with enough ground clearance, the tail wheel was slightly extended. Thanks to the long tail stinger, this is not blatantly obvious.

Painting and markings:

This was not an easy choice, but as a kind of prototype I decided that the paint scheme should be rather conservative. However, German aircraft operating over the Atlantic tended to carry rather pale schemes, so that the standard pattern of RLM 70/71/65 (Dunkelgrün, Schwarzgrün and Hellblau) with a low waterline - typical for experimental types - would hardly be appropriate.

I eventually found a compromise on a He 177 bomber (coded 6N+BN) from 1944 that was operated by KG 100: this particular aircraft had a lightened upper camouflage - still a standard splinter scheme but consisting of RLM 71 and 02 (Dunkelgrün and Grau; I used Modelmaster 2081 and Humbrol 240), a combination that had been used on German fighters during the Battle of Britain when the standard colors turned out to be too dark for operations over the Channel. The aircraft also carried standard RLM 65 (or maybe the new RLM76) underneath (Humbrol 65) and on the fin, but with a very high and slightly wavy waterline. As a rather unusual feature, no typical camouflage mottles were carried on the flanks or the fin, giving the aircraft a very bleak and simple look.

Despite my fears that this might look rather boring I adapted this scheme for the Do 217 F-0, and once basic painting was completed I was rather pleased by the aircraft's look! As an aircraft operated at the Western front, no additional markings like fuselage bands were carried.

To set the SG 104 apart from the airframe, I painted the weapon's visible parts in RLM 66 (Schwarzgrau, Humbrol 67), because this tone was frequently used for machinery (including the interior surfaces of aircraft towards 1945).

RLM 02 was also used for the interior surfaces and the landing gear, even though I used a slightly different, lighter shade in form of Revell 45 (Helloliv).

A light black ink washing was applied and post-shading to emphasize panel lines. Most markings/decals came from a Begemot 1:72 He 11 sheet, including the unusual green tactical code - it belongs to a staff unit, a suitable marking for such an experimental aircraft. The green (Humbrol 2) was carried over to the tips of the propeller spinners. The unit's code "1A" is fictional, AFAIK this combination had never been used by the Luftwaffe.

The small unit badge was alucky find: it actually depicts the fictional Baron von Münchhausen riding on a cannonball, and it comes from an Academy 1:72 Me 163 kit and its respective sheet. The mission markings underneath, depicting two anti-ship missions plus a successful sinking, came from a TL Modellbau 1:72 scale sheet with generic German WWII victory markings.

After some soot stains around the engine exhaust and weapon muzzles had been added with graphite, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and final details like position lights and wire antennae (from heated black plastic sprue material) were added.

Well, what started as a combination of two kits of the same kind with a simple huge pipe underneath turned out to be more demanding than expected. The (incomplete) replacement engines were quite a challenge, and body work on the hull (tail stinger, fairing for the SG 104 as well as the weapon itself) turned out to be more complex and extensive than initially thought of. The result looks quite convincing, also supported by the rather simple paint scheme which IMHO just "looks right" and very convincing. And the whole thing is probably the most direct representation of the inspiring "Gunship" theme!

Kraken – The European counterpart of Hasbro’s 12” G.I. Joe dolls were made by Politoy and called Action Man. Politoy actually scaled the soldiers down to 3 ¾” action figure size before Hasbro did the same in the U.S. The initial small size Politoy Action Man figures, sub-titled Action Force, were accurate depictions of real military uniforms and equipment. This quickly changed, influenced by Hasbro’s more fanciful approach to G.I. Joe. Before the American Joes completely replaced them, the Action Force divided into several groups, including an outer space team, which battled the Red Shadow. Included in the ranks of this enemy was the aquatic creature, Kraken.

Construction of the Kraken action figure was pretty basic – vinyl head, arms and legs trapped between styrene torso halves. Because the styrene parts were glued together (or maybe even sonic welded), it wasn’t possible to completely disassemble the figure. As if sanding vinyl wasn’t a big enough pain, I had to clean up all the parting lines with all the limbs in place! I repainted everything, except the red of the tunic. The skull and crossbones insignia and the black stripes were printed on the red plastic, and I didn’t feel like reproducing them for a total repaint.

The tri-prong weapon came with the figure, but I added the fish for a bit of humor. It and the starfish were party goods favors that I bought ages ago. The sand is my old reliable base material, Durham’s Rock Hard Water Putty.

Procor Limited (Union Tank Car)

56’9” 25,400gal Styrene Tank Car (DOT Class 117J100W)

PROX 22184

Blt. UTLX Manufacturing, Alexandria, LA, 04/23

CN MacMillan Yard, Vaughan, Ontario, Canada

July 23rd, 2023

1600 x 1050

This is a model that was in the works for a long time and is shown finally completed. The paint scheme looks simple but is far from it. masking on this one was a cumulative 8 hours! It was done with a Athearn Genesis SD70MAC with a Smokey Valley cab. flush windows were done with cut to fit styrene.

I know, pretty much everyone's done this mod. I got the random urge to try it last night and see if I could make a working ladder sight.

Materials used: BA M1 Garand, paper clip, styrene strips, tube and half-rod.

Edit: Welcome incoming visitors! Please note that the Chell minifig is not intended to be accurate or final. I threw her together solely as a mannequin to hold the ASHPD for taking photographs. Once I've finished the Portal Gun I'll be making a proper Chell fig with a custom torso and legs.

This morning's progress on the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. I tried scratchbuilding the foregrip out of styrene, since it's already white and would save me from having to cut up another helmet, but that was a big bucket of fail. So add another TLC motorcycle helmet to the list of parts that I sacrificed for Science.

Among the other changes: I cut down and polished a tiny length of a trans-clear acrylic rod, which I then inset into the rear cowling. The nice thing about this is that it picks up whichever color of trans rod you insert into the barrel of the ASHPD.

To do: fabricate the three forward prongs, possibly add wires and lettering on the side of the "foregrip" cowling.

I know you're antiseptic

Your deodorant smells nice

I'd like to get to know you

But you're deep frozen like the ice

She's a germ free adolescent

Cleanliness is her obsession

Cleans her teeth ten times a day

Scrub away scrub away scrub away

The S.R. way....

You may get to touch her

If your gloves are sterilised

Rinse your mouth with listerine

Blow disinfectant in her eyes

Her phobia is infection

She needs one to survive

It's her built-in protection

Without fear she'd give up and die

Poly Styrene 1976

DB Cargo Belgium 186 225 passes through Antwerpen-Luchtbal with empty VTG, GATX and Wascosa Zans + Zacns wagons marked UN 39/2055 (styrene) on July 20, 2023, 15:04.

+++ 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 Grumman F6F Hellcat was a carrier-based fighter aircraft conceived to replace the earlier F4F Wildcat in United States Navy (USN) service. The Hellcat was an erstwhile rival of the faster Vought F4U Corsair for use as a carrier based fighter. However, the Corsair had significant issues with carrier landing that the Hellcat did not, allowing the Hellcat to steal a march as the Navy's dominant fighter in the second part of World War II, a position the Hellcat did not relinquish. The Corsair instead was primarily deployed to great effect in land-based use by the U.S. Marine Corps.

After the Korean War, all surviving F6F-7s were quickly phased out or turned into unmanned target drone.

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 33 ft 7 in (10.24 m)

Wingspan: 42 ft 10 in (13.06 m)

Height: 13 ft 1 in (3.99 m)

Wing area: 334 ft² (31 m²)

Airfoil: NACA 23015.6 mod root; NACA 23009 tip

Empty weight: 9.515 lb (4.320 kg)

Loaded weight: 16.200 lb (6.115 kg)

Max. take-off weight: 15,415 lb (7.355 kg)

Fuel capacity: 250 gal (946 L) internal; plus up to 3× 150 gal (568 L) external drop tanks

Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0211

Drag area: 7.05 ft² (0.65 m²)

Aspect ratio: 5.5

Powerplant:

1× Wright ‘Cyclone’ R-3350-24W 18 cylinder two-row radial engine with water injection, rated at 2.200 hp (1.600 kW) at standard power and at 2,500 hp (1,900 kW) with water injection, driving a four-blade Hamilton Standard propeller of 13 ft 1 in (4.0 m) diameter

Performance:

Maximum speed: 330 kn (417 mph, 671 km/h)

Stall speed: 73 kn (84 mph, 135 km/h)

Combat radius: 850 nmi (980 mi, 1.575 km)

Ferry range: 1.380 nmi (1.585 mi, 2.550 km)

Service ceiling: 39.305 ft (12.000 m)

Rate of climb: 4.100 ft/min (21 m/s)

Wing loading: 38.9 lb/ft² (190 kg/m²)

Time-to-altitude: 7.0 min to 20,000 ft (6,100 m)

Lift-to-drag ratio: 12.2

Takeoff roll: 738 ft (224 m)

Armament:

4 × 0.79 in (20 mm) M2 cannons, with 225 RPG in the outer wings

Up to 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) of external loads, including 6× 5 in (127 mm) HVARs, 2× 11¾ in (298 mm) Tiny Tim unguided rockets, 1× 2,000 lb (907 kg) bomb or 1 × Mk.13-3 torpedo on the fuselage centerline rack or 2× 1,000 lb (450 kg), 4× 500 lb (227 kg) or 8× 250 lb (110 kg) bombs on two weapons racks on either side of fuselage on wing center-section

The kit and its assembly:

Originally I just had the idea of a bubble canopy fitted on a F6F, but this turned into more as work progressed and went partly wrong. I recently bought a Hobby Boss Hellcat in a kit bundle, and thought I could abuse this basis for my plan…

The donation canopy comes from a P-51, and due to the Hobby Boss’ massive kit structure the lowered spine was easily sculpted, even though fitting the canopy took some putty sculpting.

But I did not stop there. At first, only a different cowling was envisioned – I had a F4U-5 piece that I tried to graft on the F6F opening, but it went wrong… also, due to the massive kit construction!

While looking for a plan B I stumbled upon a vintage Airfix Skyraider nose section in the scrap pile, held it onto the F6F fuselage… and it was a good match! A leftover propeller from a Heller P-47 was added, too, and the F6F-7 was born.

The resulting aircraft looks very different from the Hellcat one is used to and the lowered spine creates a very unusual profile.

The rest was taken OOB, though. Only additions are the radar pod on the right wing (leftover from an Italeri F4U-5N) and the weapon hardpoints with HVARs and a pair of scratched ‘Tiny Tim’ missiles under the inner wings (just pieces of thick sprue with fins cut from styrene sheet). These are placed behind the propeller disc, yes, but the Tiny Tim was actually carried by F6F in this position. Due to the massive rocket motor pressure the missiles had to be released before it was fired up, so the forward movement would start way off of the aircraft.

Painting and markings:

I wanted to keep the F6F-7 in American hands, but not in the standard, post-WWII all dark blue USN or USMC livery. Since I recently worked on the F3D I was aware that some USMC aircraft had been repainted all flat black with red tactical codes, for night missions, e .g. some F4U, F7F and even F3D. While a uniform black aircraft is IMHO not really exciting I settled for this night intruder role.

Since these aircraft had been re-painted in the field, stencils were minimal and I assume that interior surfaces still bore the original paint – in this case the standard FS 15042.

To create a makeshift and worn look, I painted the leading edges in the blue tone first and then applied a flat acrylic black basic coat with a rattle can. When the paint was still fresh, some of the black was wiped away to let the blue shine through. Furthermore I emphasized panels with a mix of black with maybe 20% dark red added. Some dry-painted aluminum simulates additional chipped and worn paint. Soot stains around the exhausts and the guns were made with dark gray and grinded graphite, which adds a nice metallic/oily shine to these areas on the black background.

All interior surfaces were kept in USN/USMC standard, so that the landing gear wells and wheel discs remained Dark Blue, and the cockpit interior as well as the landing gear struts and cover insides chromate Green.

The markings were puzzled together from the scrap box and an Aeromaster aftermarket sheet with red USAF 45° typo.

Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.

+++ 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 Jagdtiger was until 1945 the heaviest armored vehicle to see service in World War Two. The design process started out with a demand for a heavy assault gun back in 1942 when the war was still in Germany’s favor and the army needed a heavily armored and armed vehicle to smash enemy fortifications. However, by the time the Jagdtiger, based on the Tiger II tank, came along two years later, the original need for the vehicle had vanished and it was put to work as a heavy long-range tank destroyer instead.

A total of 95 standard Jagdtiger and less than 50 Jagdtiger Ausf. M (their definite number remains uncertain due to the fact that most early Sd.Kfz. 187s were built from unfinished standard Jagdtiger hulls) were eventually produced and delivered before more effective tank hunter designs, based on the Einheitspanzer vehicle family and armed with more reliable weapons, were introduced. These quickly replaced the heavy Tiger-based interim designs.

Specifications:

Crew: 6 (Driver, Radio operator/hull machine gunner, Commander, Gunner, 2 Loaders)

Weight: 68.5 tons (150.881 lb)

Length: 9,94 m (32 ft 6 3/4 in) overall

7,80 m (25 ft 6 1/2 in) hull only

Width: 3.625 metres (11 ft 10½ in)

Height: 2,87 metres (9 ft 4 ¾ in)

3,22 metres (10 ft 6 ¾ in) with retrofitted gun barrel suspension

Ground clearance: 56,5 cm (22¼ in)

Suspension: Longitudinal torsion bars

Fuel capacity: 860 Liter (190 imp gal, 230 US gal)

Armor:

20–180 mm (0.79 – 7 in)

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 38 km/h (24 mph)

Operational range: 120 km (75 mi) on road

80 km (50 mi) off road

Power/weight: 11,68 PS/ton

Engine:

Simmering-Pauker X-16-80 16 cylinder 36.5 liter gasoline engine with 800 hp (575 kW)

Transmission:

Maybach eight-speed OLVAR OG40-1216B gearbox

Armament:

1× 88 mm 8.8 cm L/100 KwK. Pak. 45/1 with 50 rounds

1× 7.92 mm MG 34 or 42 machine gun in the hull with 800 rounds

The kit and its assembly:

This fictional tank was inspired by Trumpeter’s 1:72 models of the (real yet rare) Jagdtiger with the lighter 88 mm gun and the Porsche running gear. I thought about combining both into a late but fictional production model, but then also considered a more powerful variant of the main gun with a longer barrel – something that had been on the real-world drawing board, and ModelCollect offers one or two fictional Heer ’46 tanks with such a long weapon. An indirect inspiration for the gun and its eventual design on the model was the United States Department of Defense and Canada's Department of National Defence’s mutual HARP (High Altitude Research Project) project, in which light loads were literally fired into space/lower orbit with the help of guns instead of rockets. The ever bigger guns frequently featured lengthened and stiffened barrels to achieve and resist the massive firing pressures needed to reach altitudes with an apogee of up to 110 miles (180) km. Or even more than 300 miles (500 km) with a 40-lbs payload and rocket assistance!

To mount such a long barrel on a tank chassis, a gun position at the rear would make most sense to avoid a massive overhang and a wacky weight distribution. Therefore, the Jagdtiger’s casemate was moved accordingly, creating a more obvious (and challenging) what-if project.

Even though the Trumpeter Jagdtiger kit was used as base, my build is actually a kitbashing of two of them: the combination of the Porsche suspension and the respective hull from one kit with the 88 mm gun and its differing mantlet from another. Since the casemate and the engine cover were integral parts of the upper hull, both had to be cut off, switched and PSRed into their new places. Before the parts were cut off, though, internal stiffeners (simple sprue material) were added between the sloped rear side walls to ensure the upper hull’s stability and alignment. The change of the sections was quite easy; the engine deck cover was easy to re-mount, the casemate called for some PSR to hide the seam at the intersection with the hull. Anything else almost fell into place, just the gun mantlet had to be modified to create enough space for it over the armored fan casings of the engine bay cover.

The 88 mm gun barrel was taken OOB but lengthened with styrene tube plug by 35 mm (1.4 in) to achieve the intended L/100 length on the model instead of the original L/71. Reinforcement ribs along the barrel, made from thin styrene profiles, changed the look and underlined the science fiction aspect of this build. Finally, as a weird extra, I furthermore added a cable suspension construction that was used to stabilize the ultra-long barrels of the experimental HARP guns, too. This was also constructed with styrene bits and steel towing cable plastic dummies from an Revell 1:72 Panzer IV kit. Looks odd, but definitively different and whiffy!

The only other changes/additions are an antenna mast with a long-range “Sternantenne”, and I added mudguards (0.5 mm styrene strips) along the hull, which were dented for a more natiral look.

Painting and markings:

This was not easy to settle upon. Jagdtiger generally left the factories only with an overall primer coat with Oxidrot (RAL 3009), which was frequently stretched due to material shortages, so that the color could range from a deep reddish brown to a dull pink. Camouflage was added later, most of the time in field shops at the operating units.

To stick with this practice I initially gave the model and the still separate major components an overall coat with RAL 3009 (from above) and 8017 (from below) with rattle cans. Once thoroughly dried, Panzergrau (RAL 7021, Humbrol 67) was added in shaggy vertical streaks with a flat brush, so that a lot of the primer would still show through, esp. on vertical surfaces. The rationale behind this outdated color on a 1946 vehicle: the Jagdtiger would be primarily operated in a defensive role from prepared positions, the dark color would conceal it in the shadows, e. g. under trees, between or even inside of buildings. In real life, this concept had been revised through the much lighter Hinterhalt standard camouflage, but for the Jagdtiger and its special role it would IMHO still make sense?

When the dark grey had been applied and dry, I found the overall look of this massive vehicle a bit too murky, so I decided to add some more camouflage to break up the outlines and make the Jagdtiger look a bit more interesting. The choice fell on irregular vertical stripes, and as a personal twist I used RAL 7003 (Moosgrau; Revell 45) – a light olive-green grey tone, very close to the Luftwaffe’s RLM 02, that I have already used on other Heer ’46 builds together with RAL 7021 and 7028 (Dunkelgelb).

The running gear remained all-dark grey, though, and the main wheels' steel rims were painted with Revell 91. The black vinyl tracks received a treatment with grey and burnt umbra acrylic artist paint, and later some dry-brushing with grey and silver, too.

The camouflage stripes were applied with thinned acrylic paint over the dark grey base and around the decals that had been applied in the meantime and protected with clear varnish, as if the camouflage had been painted around the existing markings. Then the Moosgrau was wet-sanded vertically to create the impression of wear wand weathering. This also let a bit more of the red primer underneath shine through.

The model received an overall washing with highly thinned dark red-brown acrylic paint, dry-brushing with a dark earth tone, a treatment with water colors (mud and rust traces), and was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish before assembly. As a final step, mineral artist pigments were dusted into the running gear, the tracks and the lower hull areas to simulate dust and more mud.

A succesful conversion, and I have earmarked the engine/casemate switch for another whiffy tank project on my agenda - after all, there's still a complete Jagdtiger kit left. However, the resulting "new" vehicle looks like a modernized Elefant SPG, with sloped armor and somewhat "streamlined". The modified gun was IMHO a good move, and the barrel suspension system adds weirdness to the whole thing - and despite the VERY long gun barrel, my Sd.Kfz. 187 looks quite plausible, also in the grey/grey livery which turned out more subtle than expected.

06 - Tsvarke (Klaus Kiman's custom) and Deathvatator Set.

Category: Model Kit.

Name: Tsvarke (Klaus Kiman's custom) and Deathvatator Set.

Scale: Non.

Series: Mecha Collection.

Origin: Space Battleship Yamato 2202.

Brand: Bandai.

Material: Styrene plastic.

Release Date: Aug 2018.

Condition: Unassembled.

*Note: This is a Model Kit collected by my BB.

More in My Collection Corner.

+++ 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 Sd.Kfz. 124 Wespe (German for "wasp", also known as Leichte Feldhaubitze 18/2 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II (Sf.), "Light field howitzer 18 on Panzer II chassis (self-propelled)"), was a German self-propelled gun developed and used during the Second World War. During the Battle of France in 1940 it became apparent that the intermediate tank of the German forces, the Panzer II, had become unsuitable as a main battle tank and outdated. Though mechanically sound, it was both under-gunned and under-armored, and its small size prevented heavier armament and armor so that its development potential was limited. The chassis, however, proved serviceable for providing mobility to the 10.5 cm field howitzer, and important artillery weapon.

Operationally, the Jagdwespe was best employed in defensive or overwatch roles. They were neither assault vehicles nor tank substitutes, and the open-top compartment meant operations in crowded areas such as urban environments or other close-combat situations weren't a valid tactical option. But despite their weaknesses, they were more effective than the towed antitank guns they replaced, and the 7.5 cm Pak 42 with the extended barrel meant a significant improvement in firepower. The vehicle was small, easy to conceal for an ambush and relatively agile, so that it could quickly change position after a shot, and the Panzer II chassis was mechanically reliable, what made it popular with its crews.

Specifications:

Crew: Four (commander, gunner, loader/radio operator, driver)

Weight: 12.5 tonnes (27,533 lb)

Length: 4.81 m (15 ft 9 in)

6.44 m (21 ft 1 1/2 in) overall

Width: 2.28 m (7 ft 6 in)

Height: 2.21 m (7 ft 3 in)

Suspension: Leaf spring

Fuel capacity: 170 L (45 US gal)

Armor:

5 - 30 mm (.19 - 1.18 in)

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 40 km/h (25 mph)

Operational range: 220 km (137 mi) on roads

100 km (62 mi) cross-country

Power/weight: 12.7 PS/tonne

Engine & transmission:

6-cyl petrol Maybach HL62 TR with 140 PS (138 hp, 103 kW)

Armament:

1× 7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 42/L 70 (7.5 cm Pak 42) with 51 rounds

1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun with 2.000 rounds

The kit and its assembly:

This relatively simple German WWII what-if SPG was spawned from the thought that the light Wespe artillery SPG might also have been used for an anti-tank SPG, with relatively few modifications. The long-barreled 7.5 cm KwK 42/L70 appeared to be a suitable weapon for this kind of vehicle around 1944, so I tried to build a respective model.

The basis became the Italeri 1:72 “Wespe” kit, which is in fact a re-boxed ESCI kit. It goes together well, and you can build upper and lower hull separately for a final “marriage”. To change the Wespe’s look a little I exchanged the solid OOB wheels with those from a Panzer III, left over from a Revell/Mako kit. They are perfect in size, but due a lack of depth of their attachment openings (I only used the outer half of the Panzer III wheels) I glued them onto the hull before painting, normally I finish them separately and mount them in a final assembly step.

For the gun I had to improvise a little, because the open casemate would allow a good look at it. I settled for a straightforward solution in the form of a Zvezda 1:72 PaK 40. The gun was taken OOB, I just removed the wheel attachment points from its chassis and replaced the short gun barrel with a muzzle brake with a aluminum 1:72 L70 barrel for a Panther Ausf. F (with a Schmalturm) from Aber. Both elements were relatively easy to combine, and the gun shield could be taken over, too. Once the gun mount’s position in the Wespe hull was defined I narrowed the front opening a little with styrene wedges, added a deflector at its base, and reduced the height of the side walls for a coherent look. All in all the transplant looks very plausible!

Since the kit provides the option I decided to leave the driver’s hatch open and install the OOB driver figure on a raised seat. For the long barrel I scratched a support that was mounted to the front hull. Looks a bit awkward, though, because it obscures the driver’s field of view – but I could not find a better solution.

The only real trouble I had with the Italeri Wespe were the tracks: they were made from a really strange (and effectively horrible) vinyl material. This material repelled EVERYTHING with a kind of lotus effect – paints of any kind, even superglue! My usual method of mounting such tracks on the main wheels did not work at all, because the track would not hold at all. During these trials I also recognized that the tracks were too long – rather unusual, because 1:72 vinyl tracks tend to be too short so that some tension is needed to lengthen them properly. Two molded “links” had to be cut away, and on the kit’s box art you can see the overlength problem when you are aware of it! I guess that the ESCI designers once assumed that the tracks would be closed into a loop (= closing the track and using heat to literally weld it together) first and then forced onto/over the wheels. I was eventually able to outsmart the tracks through the massive use of superglue under the mudguards – while the tracks still do not really stick to the glue, the large surface of the dried instant adhesive keeps the tracks in place and under light tension. Not perfect, but the tracks remain in place…

Painting and markings:

Conservative, once more a variation of the Hinterhalt scheme. Once completed, the still separate hull, gun and shield received an overall base coat with RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb (TS-3 from a rattle can). On top of that I added vertical fields with Olivgrün (RAL 6003, Humbrol 86), and finally I applied branch-like thin stripes with a dark brown (Humbrol 98, which is darker and less reddish than the authentic RAL 8012, for a stronger contrast). The idea was to mimic dense brushes during spring and summertime, and to break up the vehicle’s outlines esp. through the brown lines. Following official camouflage practice the running gear area remained uniform Dunkelgelb, as a counter-shading measure against the upper hull, and to avoid “rotating” and therefore attention-catching color patches on the wheels when the vehicle moved.

Once the camouflage was completed the main wheels received rubber rims (with Revell 09 Anthracite) and the model received a dark red-brown washing. After that, the few decals were applied and overall dry-brushing with a mix of light grey and earth brown acrylic paint was done to emphasize edges and surface details, also on the gun and in the interior. Before their tedious fitting, the vinyl tracks (which came OOB in a metallic grey finish that looked really nice) had received a washing with black and brown acrylic paint as well as dry-brushing with medium grey, too.

A relatively simple and quick project, realized in a couple of days. The concept was quite clear, and thanks to good ingredients the result looks surprisingly plausible, with relatively few and little modifications. The different Panzer III wheels were not a necessary mod, but I like their look, and painting them while being already attached to the hull posed less problems than expected. The only real trouble came through the kit’s vinyl tracks, which I’d call rubbish and recommend a replacement. If they’d be made from a less repellant material, they’d be much easier to mount (and usable). However, the small Jagdwespe really looks like a juvenile Nashorn SPG!

Wood, styrene and paint, SOLD

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on authentic facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The English Electric Skyspark was a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It remains the only UK-designed-and-built fighter capable of Mach 2. The Skyspark was designed, developed, and manufactured by English Electric, which was later merged into the newly-formed British Aircraft Corporation. Later the type was marketed as the BAC Skyspark.

The Skyspark's direct replacement was the Tornado F.3, an interceptor variant of the Panavia Tornado. The Tornado featured several advantages over the Skyspark, including far larger weapons load and considerably more advanced avionics. Skysparks were slowly phased out of service between 1974 and 1988, even though they lasted longer than expected because the definitive Tornado F.3 went through serious teething troubles and its service introduction was delayed several times. In their final years, the Skysparks’ airframes required considerable maintenance to keep them airworthy due to the sheer number of accumulated flight hours.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 51 ft 2 in (15,62 m) fuselage only

57 ft 3½ in (17,50 m) including pitot

Wingspan: 34 ft 10 in (10.62 m)

Height: 17 ft 6¾ in (5.36 m)

Wing area: 474.5 sq ft (44.08 m²)

Empty weight: 31,068 lb (14,092 kg) with armament and no fuel

Gross weight: 41,076 lb (18,632 kg) with two Red Tops, ammunition, and internal fuel

Max. takeoff weight: 45,750 lb (20,752 kg)

Powerplant:

2× Rolls-Royce Avon 301R afterburning turbojet engines,

12,690 lbf (56.4 kN) thrust each dry, 16,360 lbf (72.8 kN) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: Mach 2.27 (1,500 mph+ at 40,000 ft)

Range: 738 nmi (849 mi, 1,367 km)

Combat range: 135 nmi (155 mi, 250 km) supersonic intercept radius

Range: 800 nmi (920 mi, 1,500 km) with internal fuel

1,100 nmi (1,300 mi; 2,000 km) with external overwing tanks

Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,000 m)

Zoom ceiling: 70,000 ft (21,000 m)

Rate of climb: 20,000 ft/min (100 m/s) sustained to 30,000 ft (9,100 m)

Zoom climb: 50,000 ft/min

Time to altitude: 2.8 min to 36,000 ft (11,000 m)

Wing loading: 76 lb/sq ft (370 kg/m²) with two AIM-9 and 1/2 fuel

Thrust/weight: 0.78 (1.03 empty)

Armament:

2× 30 mm (1.181 in) ADEN cannon with 120 RPG in the lower fuselage

2× forward fuselage hardpoints for a single Firestreak or Red Top AAM each

2× overwing pylon stations for 2.000 lb (907 kg each)

for 260 imp gal (310 US gal; 1,200 l) ferry tanks

The kit and its assembly:

This build was a submission to the “Hunter, Lightning, Canberra” group build at whatifmodellers.com, and one of my personal ultimate challenges – a project that you think about very often, but the you put the thought back into its box when you realize that turning this idea into hardware will be a VERY tedious, complex and work-intensive task. But the thematic group build was the perfect occasion to eventually tackle the idea of a model of a “side-by-side engine BAC Lightning”, a.k.a. “Flatning”, as a rather conservative alternative to the real aircraft’s unique and unusual design with stacked engines in the fuselage, which brought a multitude of other design consequences that led to a really unique aircraft.

And it sound so simple: take a Lightning, just change the tail section. But it’s not that simple, because the whole fuselage shape would be different, resulting in less depth, the wings have to be attached somewhere and somehow, the landing gear might have to be adjusted/shortened, and how the fuselage diameter shape changes along the hull, so that you get a more or less smooth shape, was also totally uncertain!

Initially I considered a MiG Ye-152 as a body donor, but that was rejected due to the sheer price of the only available kit (ModelSvit). A Chinese Shenyang J-8I would also have been ideal – but there’s not 1:72 kit of this aircraft around, just of its successor with side intakes, a 1:72 J-8II from trumpeter.

I eventually decided to keep costs low, and I settled for the shaggy PM Model Su-15 (marketed as Su-21) “Flagon” as main body donor: it’s cheap, the engines have a good size for Avons and the pen nib fairing has a certain retro touch that goes well with the Lightning’s Fifties design.

The rest of this "Flatning" came from a Hasegawa 1:72 BAC Lightning F.6 (Revell re-boxing).

Massive modifications were necessary and lots of PSR. In an initial step the Flagon lost its lower wing halves, which are an integral part of the lower fuselage half. The cockpit section was cut away where the intake ducts begin. The Lightning had its belly tank removed (set aside for a potential later re-installation), and dry-fitting and crude measures suggested that only the cockpit section from the Lightning, its spine and the separate fin would make it onto the new fuselage.

Integrating the parts was tough, though! The problem that caused the biggest headaches: how to create a "smooth" fuselage from the Lightning's rounded front end with a single nose intake that originally develops into a narrow, vertical hull, combined with the boxy and rather wide Flagon fuselage with large Phantom-esque intakes? My solution: taking out deep wedges from all (rather massive) hull parts along the intake ducts, bend the leftover side walls inwards and glue them into place, so that the width becomes equal with the Lightning's cockpit section. VERY crude and massive body work!

However, the Lightning's cockpit section for the following hull with stacked engines is much deeper than the Flagon's side-by-side layout. My initial idea was to place the cockpit section higher, but I would have had to transplant a part of the Lightning's upper fuselage (with the spine on top, too!) onto the "flat" Flagon’s back. But this would have looked VERY weird, and I'd have had to bridge the round ventral shape of the Lightning into the boxy Flagon underside, too. This was no viable option, so that the cockpit section had to be further modified; I cut away the whole ventral cockpit section, at the height of the lower intake lip. Similar to my former Austrian Hasegawa Lightning, I also cut away the vertical bulkhead directly behind the intake opening - even though I did not improve the cockpit with a better tub with side consoles. At the back end, the Flagon's jet exhausts were opened and received afterburner dummies inside as a cosmetic upgrade.

Massive PSR work followed all around the hull. The now-open area under the cockpit was filled with lead beads to keep the front wheel down, and I implanted a landing gear well (IIRC, it's from an Xtrakit Swift). With the fuselage literally taking shape, the wings were glued together and the locator holes for the overwing tanks filled, because they would not be mounted.

To mount the wings to the new hull, crude measurements suggested that wedges had to be cut away from the Lightning's wing roots to match the weird fuselage shape. They were then glued to the shoulders, right behind the cockpit due to the reduced fuselage depth. At this stage, the Lightning’s stabilizer attachment points were transplanted, so that they end up in a similar low position on the rounded Su-15 tail. Again, lots of PSR…

At this stage I contemplated the next essential step: belly tank or not? The “Flatning” would have worked without it, but its profile would look rather un-Lightning-ish and rather “flat”. On the other side, a conformal tank would probably look quite strange on the new wide and flat ventral fuselage...? Only experiments could yield an answer, so I glued together the leftover belly bulge parts from the Hasegawa kit and played around with it. I considered a new, wider belly tank, but I guess that this would have looked too ugly. I eventually settled upon the narrow F.6 tank and also used the section behind it with the arrestor hook. I just reduced its depth by ~2 mm, with a slight slope towards the rear because I felt (righteously) that the higher wing position would lower the model’s stance. More massive PSR followed….

Due to the expected poor ground clearance, the Lightning’s stabilizing ventral fins were mounted directly under the fuselage edges rather than on the belly tank. Missile pylons for Red Tops were mounted to the lower front fuselage, similar to the real arrangement, and cable fairings, scratched from styrene profiles, were added to the lower flanks, stretching the hull optically and giving more structure to the hull.

To my surprise, I did not have to shorten the landing gear’s main legs! The wings ended up a little higher on the fuselage than on the original Lightning, and the front wheel sits a bit further back and deeper inside of its donor well, too, so that the fuselage comes probably 2 mm closer to the ground than an OOB Lightning model. Just like on the real aircraft, ground clearance is marginal, but when the main wheels were finally in place, the model turned out to have a low but proper stance, a little F8U-ish.

Painting and markings:

I was uncertain about the livery for a long time – I just had already settled upon an RAF aircraft. But the model would not receive a late low-viz scheme (the Levin, my mono-engine Lightning build already had one), and no NMF, either. I was torn between an RAF Germany all-green over NMF undersides livery, but eventually went for a pretty standard RAF livery in Dark Sea Grey/Dark Green over NMF undersides, with toned-down post-war roundels.

A factor that spoke in favor of this route was a complete set of markings for an RAF 11 Squadron Lightning F.6 in such a guise on an Xtradecal set, which also featured dayglo orange makings on fin, wings and stabilizers – quite unusual, and a nice contrast detail on the otherwise very conservative livery. All stencils were taken from the OOB Revell sheet for the Lightning. Just the tactical code “F” on the tail was procured elsewhere, it comes from a Matchbox BAC Lightning’s sheet.

After basic painting the model received the usual black ink washing, some post-panel-shading and also a light treatment with graphite to create soot strains around the jet exhausts and the gun ports, and to emphasize the raised panel lines on the Hasegawa parts.

Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and final bits and pieces like the landing gear and the Red Tops (taken OOB) were mounted.

A major effort, and I have seriously depleted my putty stocks for this build! However, the result looks less spectacular than it actually is: changing a Lightning from its literally original stacked engine layout into a more conservative side-by-side arrangement turned out to be possible, even though the outcome is not really pretty. But it works and is feasible!

This craft idea from Japanese KIMEKOMI craft.

The history of kimekomi (pronounced kee may ko mee) dates back to the first half of the eighteenth century. Kimekomi originated with dolls. A wooden base was carved into and fabric was then used to decorate the doll-clothing, face, hair, etc.

Kimekomi means “tuck in” in Japanese. They also may be known as “quilt balls”

I made this with a chirimen material tucked into styrene form ball. I scooped out the inside for the box.

AGAIN, This is a very delicate craft, don't throw it like a baseball!

5.5cm diameter

+++ 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 Ryan F2R Dark Shark was an aircraft originally built for the United States Navy that combined turboprop and turbojet propulsion. It was based on Ryan's earlier FR Fireball, but replaced the Fireball's piston engine with a General Electric T-31 turboprop engine driving a 4-bladed Hamilton Standard propeller.

The Dark Shark’s active career was short, though: already in 1951 the RCN expressed interest in replacing their F2Rs and obsolescent Hawker Sea Furies with McDonnell Douglas F-2 Banshees, drafting a $40 million deal for 60 new aircraft. Unfortunately, due to fiscal wrangling in the Canadian Cabinet, the purchase was not approved until after Banshee production had been shut down in 1953. The RCN was finally forced to acquire second-hand USN aircraft, 39 F-2C Banshees at a cost of $25 million. These aircraft were delivered from 1955 to 1958, and the Dark Sharks subsequently phased out after less than 10 years of use.

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 36 ft 0 in (10.97 m)

Wingspan: 42 ft 0 in (12.80 m)

Height: 14 ft 0 in (4.27 m)

Wing area: 305 ft² (28.3 m²)

Loaded weight: 11,000 lb (4,990 kg)

Powerplant:

1 × General Electric J31 turbojet, 1,600 lbf (7.1 kN)

1 × General Electric T31 turboprop, 1,760 hp (1,310 kW)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 497 mph (432 kn, 800 km/h) at sea level

Service ceiling: 39,100 ft (11,900 m)

Rate of climb: 4,850 ft/min (24.64 m/s)

Wing loading: 36.1 lb/ft² (176 kg/m²)

Armament:

4 × .50-inch (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns

2.000 lbs (907 kg) of external ordnance, including iron bombs or drop tanks on two hardpoints under the wing roots and/or HVARs under the outer wings.

The kit and its assembly

Some time ago I came across MPM’s Dark Shark kit at a convention – I had no plan for the kit, but it was cheap (EUR 10,-), so it landed in my bag and eventually in the kit pile. I never wanted to build the real USN prototype, rather a whiffy thing, but it took long until I inspiration struck… So it came that Canada would be the sole (fictional) operator of this unique aircraft, which only flew as a single prototype.

The Dark Shark IS weird. Conceptually, it somehow reminds me of the EE/BAC Lightning, because the engine layout dictated anything else around it – and it is amazing how the engineers got all the engine parts into this relatively small airframe. Consequently, the landing gear is retracting outwards, the respective wells are part of the folding outer wing parts! And the relatively short wheelbase certainly made handling of this aircraft rather hazardous, I do not want to imagine how deck landings might have been...? Balance and CG certainly also had some serious effects on handling, both on ground and in the air. But: it is an interesting aircraft that actually flew, being outpaced by reality.

As to be expected from a limited run kit like this, fit is rather so-so. Being honest: it's pretty poor. Surface detail quality is low, just some panel engravings can be made out. Lots of flash, some sinkholes (in the wheels) and in parts even a grainy surface finish.

The kit came with photo-etched parts, but this does IMHO not help, it's like a placebo. My kit also came with a vacu canopy, AFAIK there are also versions with injected canopies and without the photo-etched parts for cockpit and landing gear around.

Anyway, beware: this is only something for those who can and want to invest some time and effort into the building process. Nothing really fits: the fuselage halves are uneven, by about 1mm. The wing part with the front wheel bay has been constructed in such a complicated fashion that you only get it right when you (theoretically) fit everything together at the same time, but you will need four hands to accomplish this feat... At least the nose section offers enough room to store a bid pile of lead, so that this tail-sitter kit actually stand on its three wheels.

The propeller and the long nose are ridicolous, concerning the sprue attachment, the fit of the parts(?) and the fact that the construction only allows a fixed mounting. It's appaling - I was close to constructing the whole nose from scrathc, but finally built a scratch mount from styrene tubes and a wheel from a 1:76 WWII lorry.

But there's more to worry: the air intakes in the wing roots also have such a weird construction that you have three parts intersecting - with the poor overall fit it is IMHO impossible to achieve a sound shape, at least without lots of putty, sculpting and sanding.

Additionally, the intersection between the upper wings and the fuselage seems not to belong to the same kit - it took serious shaving and putty in order to achieve a decent transition between these large parts. This kit is nothing for beginners and IMHO totally overprized, at least when you buy it under normal circumstances. Huah!

Consequently, I used some scratch and replacement parts in my kit, e. g. totally new wheels and some other landing gear parts. I also added two WWII style GP bombs (probably from vintage Revell P-40's) under the inner wings - the original kit only offers the empty hardpoints. A jet pilot figure was added, too, as well as a better arrester hook.

The only argument that is pro MPM kit is the fact that it is the only 1:72 Dark Shark around. Be warned!

Painting

Another whif with a rather simple and - at first glance - familiar livery. But this one is unique: the Canadian Navy had its own colors. The upper grey of early RCN aircraft was called Dark Grey 1-9 (later 501-102, maybe FS 16099), very similar to NATO Extra Dark Sea Grey (e .g. Humbrol 123), and the lower sides were painted in a light grey instead of Sky, with the code 1-13 (later 501-106). The exact tones are under expert debate, though, literature makes controversial recommendations. For instance, the lower side grey is supposed to be FS 16314 (Glossy Flint Grey), and while the tone matches IMHO well, it is much too dark.

Anyway, I rather followed personal taste and impressions, inspired by pictures of real life RCN Banshees. I used simple Humbrol 79 (Dark Blue Grey, similar to German RAL 7012 Basaltgrau) for upper sides and Light Aircraft Grey (Humbrol 166) for the lower sides and fuselage flanks - the latter turned out to be a bit too pale, though, but I kept it since it is different enough from Sky.

This basic livery was combined with decals from Xtradecal's Sea Fury sheet X720074 and pimped with some colourful trim typical for RCN’s 870th Squadron/VF 870, e .g. the red propeller boss and the red and white fin decoration.

The latter was improvised: the rudder was painted with Humbrol 153 (Insignia Red) and the white wedges were cut manually from white 3mm stripe decals from a TL Modellbau aftermarket sheet. Tedious task, but IMHO worthwhile because this was much cleaner than trying do this delicate task with paint and brush alone.

The cockpit interior was painted in classic Chromate Green, a mix of Humbrol's 224 and 80, with some dry-painted Zinc Chromate Green from Testors. The landing gear was painted in Aluminum, as well as the respective wells.

As an eye-cather, the interior of the air intakes in the wing roots were painted in bright red (Humbrol 174), as well as the wheel discs.

The kit was only slightly weathered through a thin black ink wash and dry-painted panels. Finally, everything was sealed under a coat of semi-matte varnish (Tamiya), since the Canadian Navy machines had a rather glossy finish.

A simple aircraft, but a challenge to build. IMHO the slender Dark Shark looks very good in RCN colors, and the high waterline underlines the aircraft's clean lines. Hope you like it, too, and with best regards to fellow FlickR user Franclab in Canada. ^^

What you see are the basic elements of a sawmill complex arranged in a logical working order but with very little detailing done. On the right are a group of trees that i have since painted as freshly cut Ponderosa Pine with brownish red trunks and Douglas Fir with gray trunks. The trees have had their branches removed and are waiting in a spot where I plan to build a small mill pond for floating the logs. Then the logs are pulled up on a cardboard simulated log conveyor into the sawmill building for cutting into planks. I plan to build a reasonably realistic log conveyor and outside lumber sorting rack but will leave the saws to my viewers' imagination. Sawdust can be loaded into hopper cars for shipment to a paper mill if there is enough of it or it can be burned in the conical sawdust burner that I scratchbuilt years ago and modified this week. Finished lumber is bundled up, banded, and stored in the yellow storage building that is about to under another overhaul. Eventually i plan to separate this industrial area from the residential neighborhood by a photo mural background.

This sawmill started off as a Pola factory kit imported by Atlas over 40 years ago. The wall were originally brick with an opening on both ends for freight cars, and it had a brick out building with a tall brick smoke chimney. If you are on older modeler, you probably built one.

After sitting about 15 years in its original form, in order to Americanize the building, I replaced the walls with corrugated sheet metal from Campbell Scale Models and kept the same windows and some of the internal supports. I also replaced the plastic simulated sheet metal roof with more aluminum roofing glued to sheet plastic. Unfortunately, the sheet styrene I first used with the roof sections was too thin to offer good support, and to make matter worse, I glued it with Walther's Goo. I HATE that cursed stuff! It stinks, it's messy, and it does not hold. OK, the upper roof held together, but the lower roofs sagged many scale feet and looked horrible.

The sad, beat up, old factory sat in a storage box for three years after my new layout was up and running, and other old buildings had been refurbished. I needed an American style sawmill rather than the two European style sawmills that Pola offered in the 1960's and imported by Atlas and later by Model Power. Walthers produced a sawmill first in HO, then N scale that was part of a sawmill-lumber yard-paper mill complex featured in a fabulous ad in the January 1997 Model Railroader and reviewed in the August 1997 issue.

I did not copy but drew my inspiration from the Walthers sawmill kit which is just about the same size as my old Pola factory. With nothing to lose, I ripped off the old lower roof sections and pulled off the real aluminum roofing material. Next I cut some sub-roof sections from thicker (0.040") sheet styrene from Evergreen Scale Models and bonded the Campbell roofing with J B Weld epoxy instead of that nasty Goo. The same sheet also forms the new concrete floor of the sawmill. To reinforce the building I made vertical supports of ESM styrene strips 0.040" thick and 1/4." I use the same strip stock for making internal alignment keys to position removable buildings from their bases, shore up poor building wall joints from the inside, and as a horizontal tab to keep custom made roof sections from slipping off their walls.

The yellow building that I use for lumber storage is also a Pola kit. They marketed the kit as a European style sawmill. I cut the central tower off because it bore no resemblance to any sawmill I've seen, but the rest of the building looked like an American lumber yard building. I gave it an aluminum roof many years ago that held up very well; however, I need to open up the second story and figure out a logical way for my N scale workers to get lumber up there.

And you thought model railroading was just about running trains!

I'm one of those that went for the Hasselblad CFV-50c and best-shape C500 series set.

Typically, the CFV-50c is stuck onto a Linhof M679cs, but that combo is not a handsome one.

This image was shot with the following equipment:

Camera:

Linhof M679cs

Digital back:

CFV-50 (2010)

Lens:

Sinaron 125/5,6 Macro Apo Digital

Shutter:

Copal press

Lighting - Profoto Pro-B

1. grid (object above)

2. softbox (object right)

3. bare flash (object left, diffused with styrene board)

Private Jumbo from the upcoming Article for BrickJournal.

Custom Propellor

Modified Helmet

Belt Pockets - BrickForge

Nose - LEGO Antenna

Shoes - Custom

PROFILE:

Private Jumbo is the product of a secret government gene-splicing project. He never knew his real parents, and has been a ward of the state since his birth. The experiment was successful in that Jumbo is a physical marvel; he can dead lift at least one metric ton, and his genetically altered body makes him practically impervious to attack. For reasons unknown, he is keenly attuned to the emotions of others, and is thought to be at times overly sensitive. He is easily hurt by criticism, and needs constant reassurance. His continued adventures in this world weigh heavy on his simple mind. Here he sees clowns who entertain children and he wonders why he can’t do the same. Luckily, Blammo has helped keep his fragile emotions in check—for now.

WEAPONS:

Jumbo's primary weapon is himself. He has super-human strength and stamina, and is nearly impervious to pain. His emotions are his only weakness. The private is currently testing a new weapon design: The Big Bang. It can be loaded with almost anything at hand and fired. Because of its immense size, only Jumbo can operate it.

QUOTE:

"Bad people are bad. They should be more like good people."

Category: Model Kit.

Name: Galactic Patrol Space Cruiser Brittania II.

Scale: 1/100 scale.

Origin: Lensman, a series of science fiction novels by Edward E. "Doc" Smith and a 1984 Japanese anime titled: Lensman.

Brand: Tomy.

Series: Lensman.

Material: Styrene Plastic.

Release Date: 1984.

Condition: Unassembled.

*Note: This is a Model Kit collected by my BB.

More in My Collection Corner.

Shell Oil Company

59’5” 31,760gal Styrene Tank Car (DOT Class 117R100W)

SCMX 6517

Blt. Trinity Rail (TRN), 03/14 (SCMX 6000-6519)

Green Ln (CN Bala Sub), Markham, Ontario, Canada

July 7th, 2023

1600 x 1050

+++ 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 Bell P-39 Airacobra was a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft produced for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. It had an unusual layout, with the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot, and driving a tractor propeller in the nose with a long shaft. Although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the absence of an efficient turbo-supercharger, preventing it from performing high-altitude work, and it only had a limited fuel capacity. For this reason, it was rejected by the RAF for use over western Europe but adopted by the USSR, where most air combat took place at medium and lower altitudes.

For the remainder of the war, 14 Squadron rotated between forward and rear bases in the Pacific and 6-week periods of home leave in New Zealand. On 11 June 1943, 14 Squadron moved to the forward base of Kukum Field on Guadalcanal—on its first contact with the enemy, the following day, six Japanese aircraft were destroyed. The squadron later deployed to different bases in the South Pacific as demanded: In November 1943, 14 Squadron moved for the first time to New Georgia, followed by Bougainville in February 1944, Green Island in December, and Emirau in July 1945. In 1944, No. 14 Squadron became one of thirteen RNZAF squadrons re-equipped with Vought F4U Corsairs, which replaced all remaining P-39s. By this time the Japanese fighters had been all but eliminated and the unit increasingly attacked ground targets.

General characteristics:

Crew: One

Length: 30 ft 2 in (9.19 m)

Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)

Height: 12 ft 5 in (3.78 m)

Wing area: 213 sq ft (19.8 m²)

Empty weight: 6,516 lb (2,956 kg)

Gross weight: 7,570 lb (3,434 kg)

Max takeoff weight: 8,400 lb (3,810 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Allison V-1710-85 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine,

delivering 1,200 hp (890 kW) at 9,000 ft (2,743 m) at emergency power,

driving a 3-bladed constant-speed propeller

Performance:

Maximum speed: 389 mph (626 km/h, 338 kn)

Stall speed: 95 mph (153 km/h, 83 kn) power off, flaps and undercarriage down

Never exceed speed: 525 mph (845 km/h, 456 kn)

Range: 525 mi (845 km, 456 nmi) on internal fuel

Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (11,000 m)

Rate of climb: 3,805 ft/min (19.33 m/s) at 7,400 ft (2,300 m), using emergency power

Time to altitude: 15,000 ft (4,600 m) in 4 minutes 30 seconds, at 160 mph (260 km/h)

Wing loading: 34.6 lb/sq ft (169 kg/m²)

Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.26 kW/kg)

Armament:

1× 37 mm (1.5 in) M4 cannon with 30 rounds, firing through the propeller hub

4× 0.5 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns,

two synchronized with 200 RPG in the nose, one with 300 RPG under each outer wing

1× ventral hardpoint for up to 500 lb (230 kg) of bombs or a drop tank

The kit and its assembly:

This was a quick project, a simple “livery whif” based on a profile drawing of a fictional RNZAF P-39, created by fellow board member PantherG at whatifmodellers.com and published in June 2021. Since the fictional livery aspect of this build would be the centerpiece, I chose the cheap and simple Hobby Boss P-39 kit from 2007 as basis. There are two Hobby Boss kits of the P-39: an N and a Q boxing, but both are identical and only differ through the decals. To build an N, you leave away the underwing gun pods, and for a Q you cut away the machine gun barrels from the wings.

The kit is rather primitive and sturdy, but it still needs some PSR around the fuselage seams. However, from the outside the Hobby Boss kit is a decent representation of a P-39 – if you want a (really) quick build and/or you are on a budget, it’s O.K. The kit was built OOB, I just added a pilot figure to the (primitive) cockpit with seat belts made from masking tape, since this would be the only detail inside to be recognizable, and I added a radio set behind the seat to fill the empty space above the engine cover. The openings for the fuselage-mounted machine guns had to be carved into the hull. I used the OOB propeller mount with its thin steel axis, because it is more compact than my own usual styrene tube arrangement – the leftover space in the nose was filled with lead to keep the front wheel on the ground. However, the literally massive tail of the model necessitated even more nose weight, so that the front landing gear well was partly filled with lead, too. Not pretty, but the lead beads are only visible directly from below – and it was eventually enough to keep the nose down!

Painting and markings:

This model is not a 1:1 hardware rendition of PantherG’s drawing, rather a personal interpretation of the idea that the RNZAF had operated the P-39 in the PTO around 1943. However, I took over the basic USAAF livery in overall Olive Drab 41 with Neutral Grey 43 (FS 36173) undersides, plus generous Medium Green 42 (~FS 34094) contrast blotches on the edges of the aerodynamic surfaces to break up the aircraft’s outlines.

The paints became Tamiya XF-62 (IMHO the best rendition of the USAAF tone) with Humbrol 105 (FS 34097) for the additional wing cammo, and Humbrol 165 (RAF Medium Grey, a lighter tone than Neutral Grey) underneath. 105 was chosen because it gives a good contrast to the Olive Drab background, and it is not too bluish. The cockpit interior and the landing gear wells were painted in zinc chromate green - Humbrol 159 was used.

A black ink washing and some post-panel-shading followed, with stronger weathering on the upper surfaces to simulate sun-bleaching. The markings are roughly based on a contemporary RNZAF P-40M, and it is a wild mix. The ex-USAAF camouflage would not be used by the RNZAF, but the white ID bands on wings and fuselage as well as the white spinner are typical for the time. The same goes for the roundels, which still contained tiny red discs at the fuselage roundels’ center. Oddly, very different roundels were carried above and below the wings. As a repaired and re-badged ex-USAAF aircraft, I added overpainted markings of this former operator – the serial number on the fin as well as the former bars of the American markings were painted over with (a sort of) Foliage Green (Humbrol 172).

The national markings, the serial number and the small nose art came from a Rising Decals sheet for various RNZAF aircraft types, while the white stripes were improvised with generic decal sheet material (TL Modellbau). The RAF-style tactical code was not carried by the RNZAF’s machines, but I added them, anyway, because they might have been left over from early RNZAF operations. However, together with the white ID bands, there’s a lot going on along the fuselage – white code letters would certainly have been “too much”. The code letters in Medium Sea Grey came from an Xtradecal sheet, and due to the little space on the rear fuselage the unit code “HQ” was placed on the nose – in a fashion similar to the RAAF’s few P-39s.

After a light black ink washing and some post shading and weathering (e. g. exhaust stains with graphite), the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and wire antennae from heated sprue material added.

Well, from the construction perspective, this was a very simple project, and despite the Hobby Boss kit’s basic constriction, the result looks quite good. Even the canopy – normally a weak spot of these kits – looks decent. And I was lucky that I could cramp enough weight into the nose space that the model actually rests on all of its wheels. The camouflage is not spectacular, either, just the markings, esp. the ID bands, caused some headaches, but thanks to generic white decal stripes even such details lose their horror. A nice-looking what-if Airacobra, and I feel inclined to create a contemporary ML-KNIL machine someday, too. :D

1:34 scale model by First Gear Diecast of a Wittke Superduty Front-Load Refuse Truck body on a Mack MR chassis. I handbuilt the carry-can attachment out of styrene.

I mostly just took this picture to practice with HDR photography.

printed directly from an antique original glass plate: taken in 1900 / measures 5" x 7"

styrene board pre-coated with professional white medium (300mm x 220mm) / exposed for 2hrs

Sensitizer: VanDyke Brown print solution

Fixing agent: Citric acid solution & sodium thiosulfate solution (applied with a brush)

Toning: Bostick & Sullivan Gold toning kit (Ammonium Thiocyanate / Gold Chloride)

Enlarger: LPL Model 7451 large format enlarger (EL Nikkor 150mm / F5.6)

Light source: High power (50w) UV LED unit (SMD=surface mounted LED modules)

The condenser unit (= a unit in which two 16cm diameter convex lenses are set facing each other) was removed from my old Hansa patent enlarger for use in LPL Model 7451.

----

New group was created. If you like, please join.

[www.flickr.com/groups/cyanotype_wenlarger]

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

The Henschel Hs 126 was a German two-seat reconnaissance and observation aircraft of World War II that was derived from the stillborn Henschel Hs 122. The pilot was seated in a protected cockpit under the parasol wing and the gunner in an open rear cockpit. The first prototype was not entirely up to Luftwaffe standards; it was followed by two more development planes equipped with different engines. Following the third prototype, ten pre-production planes were built in 1937. The Hs 126 entered service in 1938 after operational evaluation with the Legion Condor contingent to the Spanish Civil War.

The Hs 126 was well received for its good short takeoff and low-speed characteristics which were needed at the time. However, it was vulnerable and the Hs 126 A/Bs were already retired from frontline units in 1942, the better-performing Hs 126 Cs only a year later. The type was soon superseded by the light general-purpose STOL Fieseler Fi 156 Storch, which was simpler and cheaper to produce, and the medium-range two-engine twin-boom Focke-Wulf Fw 189 "flying eye" with a fully enclosed cockpit and a better defensive armament. However, many Hs 126s were still operated for some time in areas with little Allied aerial threat, or second-line duties as glider tugs or liaison aircraft.

General characteristics:

Crew: Two (pilot and observer/gunner)

Length: 10,90 m (35 ft 7 in) fuselage only

11,52 m (37 ft 9 in) overall

Wingspan: 14.5 m (47 ft 7 in)

Height: 4,61 m (15 ft 1 in) from waterline

Wing area: 31.6 m² (340 sqft)

Empty weight: 2,030 kg (4,480 lb)

Loaded weight: 3,090 kg (6,820 lb)

Powerplant:

1× BMW 132K air-cooled 9-cylinder radial engine with 809 kW (1,085 hp) emergency power

and 705 kW (960 hp) continuous output

Performance:

Maximum speed: 360 km/h (223 mph) at 3,000 m (9,850 ft) with floats

(C-1: 400 km/h (248 mph) with wheels)

Travelling speed: 280 km/h /174 mph)

(C-1: 300 km/h (186 mph)

Landing speed: 115 km/h (71 mph)

Range: 998 km (620 mi)

Service ceiling: 8,530 m (28,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 550 m/min (1,800 ft/min)

Time to height: 4,4 min to 1.000 m (3.275 ft)

14 min to 3.000 m (9826 ft)

Wing loading: 97.8 kg/m2 (20.1 lb/sqft)

Power/mass: 0.21 kW/kg (0.13 hp/lb)

Armament:

1× forward-firing 13 mm (.511 in) MG 131 machine gun

1× flexible, rearward-firing 13 mm (.511 in) MG 131 machine gun

The kit and its assembly:

This build was inspired by a similar project done by fellow modeler ericr at whatfimodellers.com in 1:48 a while ago: a combination of the German land-based Hs 126 observation aircraft with twin floats from an Ar 196 seaplane. This combo looked very natural and balanced, so I decided to re-create a personal interpretation in my “home scale” 1:72.

Basically, this what-if model is a straightforward combination of the Italeri Hs 126 A (a venerable but pretty good model, even today, despite raised panel lines) with floats from a Heller Ar 196 A (also a slightly dated but very nice model, also with raised panel lines). The selling point of both kits is their good fit and overall simplicity, even though mounting the Hs 126’s wings to the fuselage – it is held only at six points – is a tricky task. Furthermore, once the wing is in place, painting the area in front of the cockpit as well as the windscreen area is quite difficult, so that I did that ahead of the final assembly.

The Ar 196 floats feature lots of struts, and to mount them (only) under the fuselage the outer supports had to go, because they are normally attached to the Ar 196’s mid-wing section. What was a bit challenging is the struts’ attachment points on the floats: they come with square bases that offer relatively big surfaces to glue the party in place, adding stability to the whole construction. However, blending these areas into each other called for some PSR.

A similar attachment solution was chosen by Heller to mount the floats’ struts to the Ar 196 hull – again, the “end plates” had to go and the struts had to be trimmed to keep the floats parallel to the fuselage. Since the outer supports were gone, I added diagonal stabilizers between the front and rear struts cluster.

To add a personal twist and depict an evolutionary late version of the Hs 126, I decided to swap the engine for a donor part from a Matchbox He 115 – it is basically the same engine, but the cowling is slightly wider and cleaner. The engine part itself is simpler. Just a disc with an engine relief. But with the propeller in place (mounted on a metal axis to spin free), this is not obvious. With scratched exhaust pipes, the new cowling gives the aircraft a slightly more modern and beefier look?

Another personal addition is improved crew comfort: the original Hs 126 observer workplace was totally open, just protected by spoilers on the canopy that only covered the pilot’s station. Esp. at wintertime this must have been a real P!TA place, so that I tried to extend the glazing. A raid in the spares box revealed two things that created an almost perfect combo: a Hs 126 glazing from a Matchbox kit and a rear canopy section from the spurious ESCI Ka-34 “Hokum” kit. The Matchbox parts’ selling point: it fits perfectly into the respective opening on the Italeri kit and has a slightly “boxier” roof shape, which better too up the square profile of the Hokum cockpit, which, itself, perfectly fell into place over the observer station! To adapt the modern piece to the highly braced Hs 126 glazing I added fake stiffeners made from adhesive tape cross- and lengthwise. I thought that just painting braces onto the flat windows was not enough, and with some paint the tape’s 3D effect looks quite convincing!

Other small additions are a barrel for the machine gun the cowling, a stabilizing fin made from styrene sheet material and PE ladders from the floats into the cockpit on both sides.

Painting and markings:

I wanted an authentic Luftwaffe livery – but the Hs 126 and similar German recce planes of the mid-WWII era only offer a small range of camouflage options. The generic paint scheme was a splinter pattern in RLM 70/71/65 with a low, hard waterline. Africa as optional theatre of operations offered some variations with field-modifications of this basic scheme with German and Italian sand added on top – but that would not have been the right option for a floatplane, I guess?

Eventually I decided to locate the model’s unit far up North and to add improvised winter camouflage to the standard livery. It was applied just as in real life: first, the whole model received its standard splinter camouflage with Humbrol 30, 91 and 65, then the decals were applied. The latter were puzzled together from the scrap box, using simplified Eiserne Kreuze without black edges. The white unit emblems are fictional and come from an MPM He 100 kit with spurious PR markings. The tactical code is “plausible” (“9W” is the AufklGr. 122’s unit code, “D” denotes the 4th aircraft, and “C” is the verification letter for the Stabgeschwader of the unit’s 2nd group) and created from single letters/digits. The black and the green have no strong contrast to the camouflage, but this style was common Luftwaffe practice. The Stabflieger color green was also incorporated on the spinner, another very typical Luftwaffe marking to denote an aircraft’s operational unit.

The temporary whitewash was the applied with white acrylic paint (Revell 05) and a flat, soft brush. Once dry, the whole model received a light black ink washing, post-panel shading and a light treatment with wet sandpaper on the white areas to simulate wear and tear. After some exhaust stains were created with graphite, the model was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish.

Well, not a spectacular what-if model, and mounting the Hs 126 on floats was trickier than one would expect at first glance. Pimping the rather dull Luftwaffe standard livery with whitewash was a good move, though, adding an interesting and individual twist to the aircraft. And the resulting whole “package” looks pretty convincing?