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Build update on the Narcissus Shuttle - ALIEN 79 - 1:18 scale. Worked on the remaining frame work for the wall panels. Finished both yesterday and began adding detailing....which is going to take some time. Using a mix of styrene, Epoxy and various misc items (greeblies) to build out the details. I've decided to begin building back into the shuttles main entrance first before moving into the pilot stations...for the exception of the wall panel with all the piping rolling around. I really want to do that wall! HA! So the storage compartments will be separate sections and the airlock will be a separate section..the only way I can build this will be to keep it modular. #alien #narcissus #shuttle #diorama #stowaway #bigchap #luckystar #scratchbuilding #modelbuilding
Top row is D bricks (all ABS except for one black CA). Bottom row is F.
Copied from WoutR's post:
In the 1960's, LEGO was not large enough to produce and control worldwide supply of LEGO brick from their own factory. Because of that, and because of import restrictions in several countries, LEGO was produced in a few different countries.
In the UK the licence was held by the Courtauld's Corp from 1960 to 1992. They produced LEGO in their Wrexam factory and distributed it to Britain, Ireland and Australia.
Around 1960, LEGO was searching for a replacement for the Cellulose Acetate (CA). It was replaced by Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) around 1963. (Replacement was later in the USA, where licence holder Samsonite continued to use it.)
In my personal opinion, it is not surprising that LEGO asked their new licence holder to help them to come up with a replacement for the CA. They were used to working with plastic in their factory, so it makes sense to work together and use their expertise when they start a new production licence agreement that might soon be subjected to such a huge change. At the same time companies like Bayer and BASF also worked on similar projects.
I think the early "Wrexham bricks" in odd plastics come from that period.I am not sure how many molds were used for this. For the Wrexham factory, we know about the F1-F4 bricks and there is also a series with N-numbers.
After the choice for ABS was made, the molds previously used for testing new plastics were used for quality control.
We did not know anything about where Courtaulds/Wrexham got their raw materials or how they organised quality control, but recently (July/August 2014) we found out that the material was supplied by Borg Warner Chemicals in Grangemouth. We also learn that they had their own mold (F1-F4) for quality testing in their "color lab" before the raw ABS was send to LEGO (presumably the Wrexham factory).
In 1977/78 some employees at Borg-Warner wanted to experiment with some of the excess plastic from the regular LEGO production and used the mold to produce bricks with a "granite effect". The bricks they produced were given to children. They did not see this as a problem, because the marbled "granite" bricks could be clearly distinguished from real LEGO products. This might have been done with permission within the factory, or they might have been produced during night shifts, but I think LEGO was not pleased about it. As the story was told on BrickLink, the bricks were eventually spotted by a LEGO representative and the mold was taken away.
+++ 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 ZSU-62 (Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka = anti-aircraft self-propelled mount) was a potential successor for the Soviet ZSU-57-2 SPAAG, developed in parallel with the ZSU-23-4. But unlike its brethren, the ZSU-62 was only produced in limited numbers, but it received limited fame during its late operational second-line career when it was successfully deployed to Afghanistan.
The ZSU’62’s roots were laid down just after WWII with the ZSU-57-2. The first prototype (Objekt 500) was completed in the summer of 1950, production began in 1955. The vehicle was built using a modified chassis of the new T-54 tank and was armed with two S-68 57 mm cannons – at the time the most powerful guns mounted in an anti-aircraft system. The modification of the chassis included reducing the road wheels per side to four and using lighter armor. The ZSU-57-2 was powered by a V-54 12-cylinder diesel engine providing 520 hp. Despite the weight of 28 tons, thanks to the strong engine, the maximum speed was 50 km/h. With a fuel load of 850 liters, the operational range was 420 km.
Each cannon had a (theoretical) rate of fire of 240 rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity of 1,000 m/s. Maximum horizontal range was 12 km (with an effective range against ground targets of up to 4 km / 2.5 miles), maximum vertical range was 8.8 km (with a maximum effective vertical range of 4.5 km / 14,750 ft). The effective range, when used against flying targets, was 6 km. Armor-piercing rounds were able to penetrate 110 mm armor at 500 m or 70 mm armor at 2,000 m (at 90° impact angle).
Rate of fire was 120 RPM, but this was only a theoretical number, because each gun was fed with separate four-shot magazines so that only bursts and no continuous fire was possible. Both fragmentation and armor-piercing ammunition were available. The ZSU-57-2’s total ammunition load was 300 rounds, with 176 rounds being stored inside the turret and the remaining in the hull. To efficiently operate the vehicle, six crew members were needed: commander, gunner, loader, driver, and two sight adjusters.
The ZSU-57-2 had serious firepower that could easily destroy any aerial target but had many issues. The greatest weaknesses were the lack of modern range-finding and radar equipment, the impossibility of engaging targets at night or while on the move, the lack of protection for its crew (being open-topped), and low ammunition count. Nevertheless, more than 2.000 ZSU-57-2s were eventually built. While many would be sold to other Warsaw Pact countries, like East Germany, Romania, and Poland, its service within the Soviet Army was limited, because of its many operational deficiencies.
This led in 1957 to a new SPAAG program for the Soviet Army and initiated the development of the ZSU-23-4 "Shilka", the ZSU-37-2 "Yenisei" and a new ZSU-57-2 “Kama” (all baptized after Russian rivers) with the outlook to replace the original ZSU-57-2 by the mid to late Sixties. These vehicles were intended for AA defense of military facilities, troops, and mechanized columns on the march. “Shilka” was intended for close range defense (esp. against low-flying attack helicopters) while the more powerful guns of "Yenisei" and “Kama” were judged to be effective at covering the inner dead-zone of Soviet surface-to-air missile systems between 1.000 and 6.000 m altitude, with a focus on attack aircraft and more heavily armored targets.
All designs were based on existing tracked chassis’ and featured completely enclosed turrets as well as a proven radar system, the RPK-2 "Tobol" radar (NATO designator: "Gun Dish"). The ZSU-37-2 was soon dropped in favor of the higher firepower and range of the 57mm guns, so that both “Shilka” and “Kama” entered the hardware stage at Omsk Works No. 174.
However, “Kama” lagged behind the “Shilka” development because several technical and conceptual problems had to be solved. For instance, even though the armament still consisted of two proven S-68 cannon, the weapons’ mount had to be developed new to fit into the enclosed cast turret. To save space, both weapons were now mounted directly side-by-side. Their feeding system was furthermore changed from magazines to belts, what considerably improved the SPAAG’s firepower and now allowed continuous fire at a higher rate of fire of 150 RPM per gun. For sufficient flexibility, a belt-switching mechanism allowed to choose between two different ammunition supplies: each gun had supplies of 220 and 35 rounds, normally occupied with HE fragmentation and armor-piercing tracer (AP-T) shells, respectively, against aerial and armored ground targets. Changing between the two feeds just took a couple of seconds.
The twin S-68s were recoil-operated and the whole mount (without feeding mechanism) weighed 4,500 kg. The guns had a recoil of between 325 and 370 mm, and each air-cooled gun barrel, fitted with a muzzle brake, was 4365 mm long (76.6 calibers). The weapons could be elevated or depressed between −5° and +80° at a speed of between 0.3° and 32° per second, while the turret could traverse 360° at a speed of between 0.2° and 52° per second. Drive was from a direct current electric motor and universal hydraulic speed gears.
The “Kama” crew numbered four: driver (in the hull), commander, gunner and radar operator (all in the turret). The heavy guns, their ammunition supply and the radar system had to be housed in a turret, together with decent armor, and this resulted in a considerable volume and weight (a single 57 mm projectile alone already weighed 2.8 kg). Several layouts were tested, but weight and volume of the systems made it impossible to mate the “Kama” turret on the T-54/55 chassis, which was available in ample numbers for conversions. The limiting factor was the T-54/55’s relatively small turret bearing diameter.
To solve this problem, the “Kama” designers chose the more modern T-62 as chassis basis. It was outwardly very similar to the former T-54/55, but it featured a 2245 mm turret ring (250 mm more than the T-54/55’s bearing) that was able to take a much bigger/wider/heavier turret than its predecessor. Furthermore, the T-62 represented the Soviet Army’s “state of the art”. The choice of the T-62 ensured many component and maintenance communalities with the operational MBT and it also meant that the “Kama” SPAAG could operate in the same environment and the same pace as the T-62. In order to save costs and development time, the T-62 chassis was taken “as is”, with the same engine and armor level as the MBT. There were only minor changes in the electric components, e. g. a more powerful generator for the radar system.
In this combination, “Kama” eventually entered tests and state acceptance trials as “Object 503”. During these tests, some final changes to layout and equipment were made; for instance, the RPK-2’s dish-shaped radome received a retractable mount that allowed the antenna to be raised higher above the turret in order to avoid clutter and to protect the antenna when the vehicle was on the move.
The tests lasted until 1963 and were successful, so that an initial batch of 100 serial production tanks was ordered the same year. In order to avoid confusion with the old ZSU-57-2 from 1955, the new tank with the same armament was pragmatically designated ZSU-62.
Alas, while production of the “Kama” turrets ran up to be mated with T-62 hulls at the Uralvagonzavod factory in Nizhny Tagil, the ZSU-62’s future had already been sealed by the fast pace of technical developments: in the meantime MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense System) had taken the medium-range SPAAG’s place and a foot soldier could now fulfill the same mission as an expensive and bulky 40 ton tank, so that the medium range/altitude gap between the ZSU-23-4 (which had already entered service) and heavier surface-to-air missile systems would not be filled with a dedicated vehicle anymore. The ZSU-62 had become superfluous the moment it had reached the first frontline units, and large-scale production was immediately stopped.
However, the initial production run was nevertheless completed until 1967, and the ZSU-62s were primarily sent to training units, where the vehicles were – due to their turrets’ shape – nicknamed “черепаха“ (turtle).
This could have been the ZSU-62’s fate, but the Soviet Union’s intervention in Afghanistan brought it back into frontline service. Since December 1978, the Afghan government called on Soviet forces, which were introduced in the spring and summer of 1979 to provide security and to assist in the fight against the mujaheddin rebels. After the killing of Soviet technicians in Herat by rioting mobs, the Soviet government sold several Mi-24 helicopters to the Afghan military and increased the number of military advisers in the country to 3,000. In April 1979, the Afghan government requested that the USSR send 15 to 20 helicopters with their crews to Afghanistan, and on June 16, the Soviet government responded and sent a detachment of tanks, BMPs, and crews to guard the government in Kabul and to secure the Bagram and Shindand airfields. In response to this request, an airborne battalion arrived at the Bagram Air Base on July 7, and ground forces were deployed from Turkmenistan territory into northern Afghanistan, securing the supply lines.
Experience in the mountainous Afghan landscape soon made the shortcomings of standard MBTs apparent, namely their lack of gun elevation, esp. when attacking hideouts and posts in high locations. While the ZSU-23-4 “Shilka” was readily available and used against such targets, it lacked range and firepower to take out protected posts at distances more than 2.000 m away. This led to the decision to send roundabout 40 ZSU-62s to the Afghan theatre of operations, where they were primarily used against ground targets – both fortifications as well as armored and unarmored vehicles. The weapons’ precision and range proved to be valuable assets, with devastating effect, and the vehicles remained in active service until 1985 when their role was more and more taken over by helicopters and aircraft like the new Su-25. The ZSU-62 were, nevertheless, still employed for aerial airfield defense and as a deterrent against ground attacks.
With the USSR’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1988 and 1989, the last operational ZSU-62s were retired. In the training units, the vehicles had already been replaced by ZSU-23-4s by 1984.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (commander, gunner, radar operator, driver)
Weight: 37 t (41 short tons; 36 long tons)
Length: 6.63 m (21 ft 9 in) hull only
9.22 m (30 ft 3½ in) with barrel in forward position
Width: 3.30 m (10 ft 10 in)
Height: 3.88 m (12 ft 9 in) with search radar fully extended,
2.84 m (9 ft 3¾ in) with search radar stowed
Suspension: Torsion bar
Ground clearance: 425 mm (16.7 in)
Fuel capacity: 960 l
Armor:
20 mm (hull bottom) – 102 mm (hull front)
Performance:
Speed: 50 km/h (31 mph) on roads,
40 km/h (25 mph) cross country)
Range: 450 km (280 mi) on road;
650 km (400 mi) with two 200 l (53 US gal; 44 imp gal) extra fuel tanks;
320 km (200 mi) cross-country
450 km (280 mi) with two 200-liter extra fuel tanks
Climbing ability: 0.7 m (2.3')
Maximum climb gradient: 30°
Trench crossing ability: 2.5 m (8.2')
Fording depth: 1.0 m (3.3')
Operational range: 500 km (310 mi)
Power/weight: 14.5 hp/tonne (10.8 kW/tonne)
Engine:
1x V-55 12-cylinder 4-stroke one-chamber 38.88 liter water-cooled diesel engine
with 581 hp (433 kW) at 2,000 rpm
Transmission:
Hydromechanical
Armament:
2× S-68 57mm (1.5 in) cannon with 255 rounds each
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional tank model came to be as a classic what-if, based on the question “what could have been a successor of the Soviet ZSU-57-2 SPAAG?”. Not an existential question that comes to your mind frequently, but it made me wonder – also because the real-world successor, the ZSU-23-4 “Shilka”, lacked the ZSU-57-2’s range and large-caliber firepower.
From this conceptual basis I decided to retain the 57mm twin guns, add an RPK-2 radar and mount these into a fully enclosed turret. The latter became a leftover M48 turret, which was suitably bulky, and the gun mount was taken from a Modelcollect E-75 SPAAG. However, both were heavily modified: the gun mount lost its boxy armor protection, just the brass barrels and the joint at the base were retained, the rest was scratched from styrene bits and wire. To accept the much taller weapon mount, the turret front had to be re-sculpted with putty, resulting in a boxier shape with steeper side walls – but the whole affair looks very organic. A simpler commander cupola was used and the whole radar dish arrangement on the rear roof was scratched, too.
The hull came from a Trumpeter T-62, just for the reasons explained in the background: the T-54/55 had a relatively small turret ring, and this caused severe development problems, because the MBT could not take a bigger turret and with it a more powerful cannon. Since this SPAAG would have been developed a couple of years later than the T-54/55, its successor, the T-62, appeared logical, and the “marriage” with the M48 turret worked like a charm. Even the turret’s adapter had the same diameter as the hull opening, I just had to modify the notches that hold it in place! The hull itself remained unmodified.
Painting and markings:
I wanted to place this SPAAG into the Afghanistan theatre of operations, and this was historically not very easy since I had to bridge some fifteen years of service to make this idea work. However, I found a story for the background, and the model received an appropriate paint scheme, based on real world vehicles around 1980 (actually from a BMP-1 operated in northern Afghanistan).
The camouflage consists of three tones, a pale/greyish sand, an olive drab tone and some contrasts in a dark, dull brown – it reminds of the US Army’s more complex MERDC scheme. The paints became Humbrol 167 (Hemp), Tamiya XF-62 (Olive Drab) and Humbrol 98 (Chocolate), even though the green appears darker than expected due to the high contrast with the sand tone.
The model received an overall washing with dark brown, highly thinned acrylic paint, and some dry-brushing with cream, faded olive drab and light grey. The few markings/decals were taken from the T-62 kit, and everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish before the lower areas were finally dusted with a greyish-sand brown mix of artist pigments, simulating dust.
A plausible result, even though a cast turret might not appear to be a natural choice for a SPAAG? But the AMX-30 SPAAG from 1969 had a very similar design and there was a German prototype called “MATADOR” (a Gepard forerunner from 1968) that had a turret of similar shape, too. However, the kitbashed/scratched turret looks really good and convincing, and the T-62 hull is a great match for it in shape, size and timeframe. The ZSU-62 turned out way better than hoped for! :D
SEBS is a thermoplastic that behaves like rubber, without needing vulcanization. LEGO uses this for tires — and, famously, LEGO makes most of the tires in the world, by number if not by mass! I believe that LEGO used to make their tires out of styrene-butadiene-styrene (SBS), which is less stable and heat-resistant than SEBS.
the amount of work it took to get these tires looking so dust-free 😭
+++ 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 early 1942, German tank manufacturers were requested to design a Sturmpanzer on the basis of the Panzer IV tank chassis. This new tank was designed to provide a vehicle offering direct infantry fire support, especially in urban areas.
Alkett responded with the SdKfz. 168 (the later "Brummbär" Sturmpanzer), which used a Panzer IV chassis with the upper hull and turret replaced by a new casemate-style armoured superstructure housing a new gun, the 15 centimetres (5.9 in) Sturmhaubitze (StuH) 43 L/12 developed by Skoda.
An alternative design came from Krupp-Gruson Magdeburg, where the Panzer IV was produced, the SdKfZ. 161/5. As the name indicated, it was rather a modification of the existing Panzer IV chassis than a complete redesign of the hull, less radical than the SdKfz. 168. In fact, the SdKfZ. 161/5 followed a different philosophy: Instead of a heavily armoured direct assault vehicle, the Krupp-Gruson design team rather envisioned a tank that would support infantry in the urban combat environment, where potential enemies could lurk everywhere. Therefore, the classic tank layout with a fully rotating turret was retained, as well as the vehicle's capability to attack targets either directly, or, like a classic howitzer, with ballistic shots from long range. Since a 15cm StuH could not be mounted in a turret on the Panzer IV chassis, the SdKfZ. 161/5 was armed with the proven but lighter 10,5 cm Feldhaubitze 18/4.
The weapon was protected by a fully closed turret and could be elevated from -5° to +45°, allowing an effective fire range of up to 10,675 m (11,674 yd). With a good gun crew, a rate of fire of up to six shots per minute could be achieved. A typical 10,5cm HE shell weighed 14.81 kg (32.7 lb), but an armour piercing shell against hardened targets was also available and weighed 14.25 kg (31.4lb) – even though it could only penetrate 52 mm (2 in) of armour plate at a very short range of 500 meters, due to the gun’s low muzzle velocity of 470 m/s (1,542 ft/s). A total of 60 rounds could be carried, typically 3/4 HE and 1/4 AP rounds.
The turret itself was a rather boxy design with almost vertical side walls and a pair of large doors at the back side which not only made entering the tank and re-supplying it with ammunition easy, the were also a welcome option to improve ventilation when the howitzer was fired. Altogether, the SdKfZ. 161/5 was very reminiscent of the heavy Soviet KV-2 tank that had deeply impressed German soldiers when it appeared in late 1940. However, unlike the KV-2, the SdKfZ. 161/5's turret was only lightly armoured (10-30mm), so that it only offered protection against small arms fire and artillery shrapnel. Thanks to this light armour, however, the overall weight could be limited to 27 tons so that the Panzer IV chassis could still cope well with it. Initially, the secondary armament only consisted of a hull-mounted MG 34 machine gun next to the driver. Another MG 34 could be fastened to the open gunner's hatch, and there was an MP 40 submachine gun for the crew for close range defense against infantry attacks. The 7.92 mm ammunition supply was 3,150 rounds.
The SdKfZ. 161/5 was quickly rushed into production and service. The first forty vehicles were all revamped Panzer IV battle tanks (a mix of F, G and H chassis) which simply received the new turret, adapted ammunition racks for the new 10,5 cm rounds in the hull and the modified designation. They were sent immediately to the Eastern Front, taking part in the 1942 summer offensive in the Don, Volga, and Caucasus regions. They fared quite well and were popular among the crews, because the all-round protection against enemy fire or hand grenades was a novelty for a German artillery support tank. The tanks proved to be quite effective in their intended urban infantry support role, offering more firepower than the earlier Panzer IV Ausf. D and E with their short 75 mm cannon. The fact that the tanks could furthermore provide indirect long-range fire support for advancing tanks made them versatile and popular, too. The prominent turret and the large gun barrel quickly earned the SdKfZ. 161/5 the unofficial nickname "Spritzenwagen" (= fire engine).
However, several drawbacks became apparent soon. The biggest weakness was the vehicle's high silhouette: in the open field and during transfers the SdKfZ. 161/5 was hard to conceal, had a relatively high center of gravity and the weak turret armor made the vehicle vulnerable against light anti-tank weapons like the Soviet 45mm 20-K tank gun or the 37 mm Model 30 cannon.
Other tactical weaknesses of the early vehicles were a poor field of vision for the commander from the inside, as well as the need for a better protection against infantry attacks at close range.
In order to mend these problems, later SdKfZ. 161/5s received a Panzer IV standard commander cupola, which increased the height even more but offered a much better all-round view. The mount for the optional MG 34 on the turret roof was relocated to the commander's cupola. A ball mount for an additional MG 34 was incorporated into the turret's front, which could be operated by the loader and independently from the cannon. Additionally, the armor strength of the turret’s front and sidewalls was increased to 25-40mm. In field practice, this was frequently augmented with spare track links, which were often added to the tank's front, too. The overall weight of these late, improved tanks, designated “Ausf. B”, rose to almost 28 tons (late Panzer IV versions weighed less than 24 tons), though, and brought the Panzer IV chassis to its limits. At the same time, the initial production batch was re-designated "Ausf. A". However, in the course of 1943, some early tanks were retrofitted with commander cupolas and the additional machine gun mounts, so that they could not be visually differentiated from the late SdKfZ. 161/5s anymore.
A total of 120 SdKfZ. 161/5s were produced until late 1943, when it became more and more apparent that its firepower was not sufficient anymore, and the relatively light armour protection made the vehicle progressively vulnerable. The “Spritzenwagen” was soon phased out and replaced by the lighter and more mobile Sd.Kfz. 124 “Wespe” as well as the more heavily armed and armoured SdKfz. 168 “Brummbär”. After their withdrawal, some SdKfZ. 161/5 chassis were converted into other vehicles on the Panzer IV’s basis, e.g. into Bergepanzer IV and Brückenleger IV, but most were cannibalized for spare parts.
Specifications:
Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator/bow gunner)
Weight: 27.8 tonnes
Length: 5.92 m (19 ft 5 in)
Width: 2.88 m (9 ft 5 in)
Height: 3.20 m (10 ft 6 in) w/o AA machine gun
Suspension: Leaf spring
Fuel capacity: 470 l (120 US gal)
Armour:
10 – 50 mm (0.39 – 1.96 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 38 km/h (23.6 mph)
Sustained road speed: 34 km/h (21.1 mph)
Operational range: 200 km (120 mi)
Power/weight: 11 PS/t
Engine:
Maybach HL 120 TRM V12 petrol engine with 300 PS (296 hp, 221 kW)
Transmission:
ZF Synchromesh SSG 77 gear with 6 forward and 1 reverse ratios
Armament:
1× 10.5 cm leFH 18/4 L/28 with 60 rounds
2× 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 with 3.150 rounds,
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional Panzer IV version was inspired by the thought of what a WWII infantry support vehicle could have looked like, one that could be used in tight combat environments with a better field of fire than the typical German Sturmgeschütze with their casemate style hull. This led to something with a howitzer in a fully rotating turret – conceptually similar to the Soviet KV-2. There had actually been prototypes of such vehicles, e. g. the 10.5cm leFH 18/6 auf Waffenträger IVb “Heuschrecke” with a removable(!) turret. But these did not enter service.
I wanted something simpler, and this led to a Panzer IV chassis with a new turret. The hull is a Hasegawa Panzer IV F2 and it was built OOB. I just added some track segments to the front. The turret is a kitbashing and come from a British “Bishop” SPG. However, I wanted a visibly different cannon, so I organized a 1:72 Zvezda 10.5cm leFH field gun and implanted the barrel as well as the gun mount into the Bishop housing (which was fixed and not a movable turret). Since I also wanted to keep the gun movable, the front slit had to be widened and re-sculpted with styrene sheet. A fiddly affair, but it worked well! Some details like the Panzer IV commander cupola (from the Hasegawa kit) and the additional machine gun ball mount were added to modify the look – but the Bishop heritage is hard to conceal. In order to mount the turret onto the hull, I used the OOB lower turret half from the Hasegawa kit as an adapter. Some holes had to be filled with putty, but this worked well, too.
Painting and markings:
I gave this model a standard camouflage in uniform Panzergrau (RAL 7021, Humbrol 67) onto which winding stripes in Dunkelbraun (RAL 7017, I used Humbrol 160 for more contrast) were added. The model’s timeframe would also have allowed the early tri-color “Ambush” scheme, but the dark grey livery suits the mini KV-2 well, too, and offers a different look from many other Heer ’46 models in my collection.
Painting was straightforward and simple, with brushes and enamel paints. The kit received a washing with highly thinned dark brown acrylic paint as well as an overall dry-brushing treatment with medium grey – I did not want the model to look too dirty or worn, just some contrast for the edges, because the dark grey blurs out details.
I also only added a light coat of pigments around the lower areas after the decals as well as a matt coat of acrylic varnish (rattle can) had been applied.
A design experiment that evolved step by step. The outline similarities with the KV-2 were not intentional, but I guess that, just as in real life, certain duty profiles just lead to similar design solutions. However, this Panzer IV howitzer is considerably smaller than the huge KV-2, and the result looks, despite some serious cosmetic surgery on the turret, quite plausible, utilitarian and even German, too. The grey livery also looks good on it.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Following the RLM’s selection of the Bf 109 as its next single-seat fighter (beating Heinkel’s He 112, based on a tactical requirement dating back to 1933), Ernst Heinkel became interested in a new fighter that would leap beyond the performance of the Bf 109 as much as the Bf 109 had over the biplanes it replaced. Other German designers had similar ambitions, including Kurt Tank at Focke-Wulf. There was never an official project on the part of the RLM, but new designs were important enough to fund projects from both companies to provide "super-pursuit" designs for evaluation. This would result in the single-engined He 100 fighter, and the promising twin-engine Fw 187 Falke Zerstörer-style heavy fighter.
The He 100 was a radical, new approach with the aim of ultimate performance in a simple airframe. Walter Günter, one half of the famous Günter brothers, looked at the existing He 112, which had competed against the Bf 109 in 1936 and already been heavily revised into the He 112B version. Looking at the aircraft’s potential he decided it had reached the end of its evolution. So he started over with a completely new design, called "Projekt 1035".
Learning from past mistakes on the 112 project, the design was to be as easy to build as possible, yet 700 km/h (440 mph) was a design goal. To ease production, the new design had considerably fewer parts than the 112 and those that remained contained fewer compound curves. In comparison, the 112 had 2,885 parts and 26,864 rivets, while the P.1035 was made of 969 unique parts with 11.543 rivets. The new straight-edged wing was a source of much of the savings; after building the first wings, Otto Butter reported that the reduction in complexity and rivet count (along with the Butter brothers' own explosive rivet system) saved an astonishing 1.150 man hours per wing.
The super-pursuit type was not a secret, but Ernst Heinkel preferred to work in private and publicly display his products only after they were developed sufficiently to make a stunning first impression. As an example of this, the mock-up for the extremely modern-looking He 100 was the subject of company Memo No.3657 on 31 January that stated: "The mock-up is to be completed by us... as of the beginning of May... and be ready to present to the RLM... and prior to that no one at the RLM is to know of the existence of the mock-up."
In order to get the promised performance out of the aircraft, the design included a number of drag-reducing features. On the simple end were a well-faired cockpit and the absence of struts and other drag-inducing supports on the tail. The landing gear (including the tail wheel) was retractable and completely enclosed in flight.
The He 100 was based on the DB 601 power plant, the same engine as the Bf 109 (and also used in the Bf 110 heavy fighter). In order to achieve the designed performance increase, drag reduced as well as weight and frontal area: the engine was mounted directly to the forward fuselage, which was strengthened and literally tailored to the DB 601, as opposed to conventional mounting on engine bearers. The cowling was very tight-fitting, and as a result the aircraft had something of a slab-sided appearance.
Walter turned to the somewhat risky and still experimental method of cooling the engine via evaporative cooling. Such systems had been in vogue in several countries at the time. Heinkel and the Günter brothers were avid proponents of the technology, and had previously used it on the He 119, with promising results. Evaporative or "steam" cooling promised a completely drag-free cooling system. The DB 601 was a pressure-cooled engine in that the water/glycol coolant was kept in liquid form by pressure, even though its temperature was allowed to exceed the normal boiling point. Heinkel's system took advantage of that fact and the cooling energy loss associated with the phase change of the coolant as it boils.
Beyond the technical risk of the cooling system, the engine itself became a problem: the production priority for Messerschmitt aircraft caused a serious shortage of advanced aero engines in Germany during the late 1930s, as there was insufficient capacity to support another aircraft using the same engines. The only available alternate engine was the Junkers Jumo 211, and Heinkel was encouraged to consider its use in the He 100. However, the early Jumo 211 then available did not use a pressurized cooling system, and it was therefore not suitable for the He 100's innovative evaporative cooling system. Furthermore, a Jumo 211-powered He 100 would not have been able to outperform the contemporary DB 601-powered Bf 109 because the supercharger on the early Jumo 211 was not fully shrouded.
In order to provide as much power as possible from the DB 601, the 100 used exhaust ejectors for a small amount of additional thrust. The supercharger inlet was moved from the normal position on the side of the cowling to a location in the leading edge of the left wing. Although cleaner-looking, the long, curved induction pipe most probably negated any benefit.
One aspect of the original Projekt 1035 was the intent to capture the absolute speed record for Heinkel and Germany. Both Messerschmitt and Heinkel vied for this record before the war. Messerschmitt ultimately won that battle with the first prototype of the Me 209, but the He 100 briefly held the record when Heinkel test pilot Hans Dieterle flew the eighth prototype to 746.606 km/h (463.919 mph) on 30 March 1939.
The third and eighth prototypes were specially modified for speed, with unique outer wing panels of reduced span. The third prototype crashed during testing. The record flight was made using a special version of the DB 601 engine that offered 2,010 kW (2,700 hp) and had a service life of just 30 minutes.
Despite all these successes, the He 100 did not catch up immediately: it took until 1941 that series production was started - or better: allowed. The reason for this delay is subject to debate. Officially, the Luftwaffe rejected the He 100 for years to concentrate single-seat fighter development on the Messerschmitt Bf 109, despite its shortcomings. Following the adoption of the Bf 109 and Bf 110 as the Luftwaffe's standard fighter types, the RLM also announced a "rationalization" policy that placed fighter development at Messerschmitt and bomber development at Heinkel.
Based on the "D" model, which was a refined version of the prototypes and pre-production aircraft, the "G" model became the final evolution of the He 100 and was in late 1943 finally put into service as a pure interceptor, when massive Allied bomber raids started to threaten Germany.
The He 100 G had the D's enlarged horizontal stabilizer, but the big change was the eventual abandonment of the surface cooling system, which proved to be too complex and failure-prone. Instead a larger and simpler version of the D’s retractable radiator was installed, and this appeared to completely cure the vaporization system problems with only a little sacrifice in top speed and rate of climb. The radiator was inserted in a "plug" below the cockpit, and as a result the wings were widened slightly.
Armament was also improved: the engine-mounted 20mm MG FF Motorkanone (firing through the propeller hub) was replaced by the new, very powerful and compact MK 108 30mm cannon. The original pair of 7.92mm MG 17 machine guns in the wing roots (synchronized to fire through the propeller disc) was replaced by a pair of more powerful 13mm MG 131 machine guns, necessitating characteristic bulges on the wings’ upper surface – the MG 131s were placed behind the landing gear wells, their barrels running through them.
This initial G-1 type was soon followed by the G-2 variant, which featured a new canopy with a lowered spine, offering a much better all-round view. The first He 100 G-2s were delivered in early 1944, and many of these aircraft had additional weapons installed, e. g. a pair of 20mm MG 151/20 machine cannons in the outer wings – the “leftover” internal space from the defunct vaporization cooler system was effectively recycled . From late 1944 on, these machines were also outfitted with the more powerful DB 601E engine, even though there was no dedicated designation of this version.
While the aircraft didn't match its original design goal of 700 km/h (430 mph) once it was loaded down with weapons, and despite the larger canopy and the external radiator, it was still capable of sustained speeds in the 644 km/h (400 mph) range. Additionally, the low drag airframe proved to be good for both speed and range: as a result the He 100 had a combat range between 900 and 1.000 km (560 to 620 mi) compared to the Bf 109's 600 km (370 mi). While not in the same league as the later escort fighters, this was at the time a superb range and might have offset the need for the Bf 110 to some degree.
The He 100 only filled a niche role, though, and the Bf 109 and Fw 190 became the backbone of the Jagdwaffe (Fighter Force). The He 100 did not prove flexible enough to be used in different roles, as its external ordnance load was very limited. In spite of its successes in the interceptor role and the fact that it was well liked by its pilots, the He 100 never was able to rival both Bf 109 and also the later Fw 190. Production numbers remained low, only a total of about 300 aircraft were built (50 G-1 and 250 G-2, 150 of them powered by the DB 601E) until early 1945, when production ceased and was switched to other types, including jet and rocket fighters.
General characteristics:
Crew: One (pilot)
Length: 8.2 m (26 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 9.4 m (30 ft 10 in)
Height: 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in)
Wing area: 14.6 m2 (157 sq ft)
Empty weight: 1,810 kg (3,990 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 2,500 kg (5,512 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Daimler-Benz DB 601E supercharged V12 piston engine, rated at up to 1,350 PS (993 kW) at sea-level with 2,700 RPM and up to 1,450 PS (1,066 kW) at 2.1 km altitude with 2,700 rpm
Performance:
Maximum speed: 685km/h (425 mph; 378 kn)
Cruising speed: 552 km/h (343 mph; 298 kn)
Range: 1,010 km (628 mi; 545 nmi)
Service ceiling: 11,000 m (36,089 ft)
Time to altitude: 2.2 minutes to 2,000 meters (6,600 ft), 7.9 minutes to 6,000 meters (20,000 ft)
Armament:
1x 30mm MK 108 cannon, firing through the propeller hub
2x 13mm MG 131 machine guns or 20mm MG 151/20 machine cannons in the wing roots
2x hardpoints under the wings, each able to carry up to 250kg (550lb), including bombs, drop tanks or unguided missiles; optional placement of additional guns (e .g. 2x MG 131 or 2x MG 151/20) in this position instead of external stores
The kit and its assembly:
This one is a kind of tribute work, dedicated to fellow user Franclab at flickr.com from Canada who came up with a profile of/for this model as a reaction to my He 100 Reno Racer conversion (The orange "Jägermeister"):
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/franclab/9485705184/]
It's a fantasy aircraft, as the He 100 did not enter service and production was stopped after about 20 aircraft. But I liked Franclab's realistic and colorful profile, and only at second glance it reveals a twist: a sliding canopy from a Fw 190 instead of the Bf 109-like original. A nice challenge for a whif kit conversion!
Said and done, I tried to create a 1:72 scale model from/for that profile. The basic kit is the Special Hobby He 100, mostly built OOB. It is a very good model, with fine recessed panel lines and some PE parts, and the recent re-issue with Russian and Japanese markings let the prices drop.
What outwardly looks simple - the implantation of a Fw 190 canopy - became more tricky than expected. The He 100 is small! It’s much smaller and slender than the Fw 190, which itself is not a big bird. I had a complete spare glazing sprue from an Italeri Fw 190 D-9 in store which I tried to install, and after some trials the front window ended up steeper than on a Fw 190.
The sliding canopy is actually shorter and higher than on Franclab's sketch (doing mash-ups in Photoshop is probably much easier than in real life!), so I had to improvise and re-sculpt the rear fuselage step by step. As a consequence, the new glazing looks rather "bubbletop"-like and tall, reminiscent of a P-51D? It took some serious surgery (including some implanted styrene wedges under clear parts) and putty work to integrate the Fw 190 parts. While I was successfully able to blend these into the He 100 fuselage, the result still looks a bit odd?
Other, less obvious kit mods are a metal axis for the propeller and an added pair of guns in the outer wings, taking up Franclab's idea of heavier armament (which the original He 100 did not feature). The cannon nozzles are hollow steel needles of different diameter, those in the wing root even run through the landing gear wells. A pilot figure was added, too (from a HUMA kit).
Painting and markings:
Well, the profile was the benchmark, and I tried to stay true to it. It looks like a typical Fw 190 paint scheme from 1943 on. The grey/green upper color would be RLM 75/83, coupled with RLM65 on the lower side. The latter is a bit unlikely, as RLM 76 became the standard at that time. Still, it looks good, esp. with the rather light upper tones, so that's what I went for.
I used Model Master Authentic tones for the RLM 75/83/65 combo, and later some lighter Humbrol shades for a subtle counter-shading of panels and upper surfaces (e. g. with 140, 120 and 65). The yellow ID markings (typical for the Eastern Front) were painted with Revell 310, Lufthansa Gelb. It’s a RAL tone (RAL 1028), but matches RLM 04 very well.
The cockpit interior was painted in Schwarzgrau (RLM 66) and dry-brushed with lighter shades, the landing gear wells are in RLM 02 – everything very conventional, Fw 190s from late 1944 were the benchmark.
The black-white-black stripe on the real fuselage was created with decal strips, instead of trying to paint this delicate detail by hand. In contrast to that, the propeller spinner with the B/W spiral was done with a brush and “free hand”. The same goes for the unique mottling on the flanks and fin – this was also done with a brush, and partly with thinned paint in order to create a “washed” effect and blurred contours. The result looks O.K..
A dubious element in the profile is the "ace of spades" emblem under the canopy. The tactical stripe codes on the rear fuselage were introduced in 1943, and the BWB-marking correctly belongs to JG 4, which was preliminarily formed as I./JG 4 on August 7, 1942 in Mizil, Romania, from the Ölschutzstaffel/JG 77. It became a full home defense Geschwader much later, on June 15, 1944 in Ansbach - but the spade symbol actually belongs to JG 53. There have been cases that pilots decorated their aircraft with symbols from former units, though, so this small detail is not impossible – but unlikely and a bit controversial. In order to fit into the time frame, this He 100 would be one of the final I./JG 4 aircraft used to defend the Romanian refineries and oil fields - a suitable task for the aircraft.
Additionally, the red number and the absence of any other code symbol identifies the machine as part of the 2nd Gruppe of I./JG 4, everything is very plausible! Anyway, in September 1944 the Jagdgeschwader 4 was finally commanded back to German home territory, after heavy losses against B-24 interceptions, and re-grouped in the Reichsverteidigung.
In order to avoid logical conflicts I decided to replace the squadron emblem with a more generic “Ace of Spades” game card icon. I found it on a Fantasy Forge decal sheet for 28mm miniatures in the scrap box.
AFAIK, some JG 4 aircraft displayed the Geschwaderzeichen on the engine cowling, a blue escutcheon with a grey or silver knight’s helmet with a red (red-white) plume. This insignia was first used by II. Gruppe, but later also appeared on other JG 4 Gruppen aircraft.
National markings and the red "10" come from TL Modellbau sheets - a lucky and handy purchase, as I had these in store for the recent Wellesley conversion: I wanted to use the red letters for the tactical code, but had to drop this idea because the German letters have a black rim. Now they come in just with perfect timing, and the letters/digits are even in the right typo for Franclab's profile!
The warning stencils were taken from the original Special Hobby sheet.
After that, I did some additional detail painting with thinned Humbrol 224 (Dark Slate Gray) and light exhaust and soot stains were added with dry-brushed black. Finally, the kit received a thin coat with Revells’ Acrylic Matt Varnish.
All in all, a nice and quick project, even though I invested more work (and putty!) than expected or what is finally visible. It’s (relatively) colorful, and the light livery beyond the typical RLM 70/71/65 paint scheme of the early He 100 Ds suits the elegant aircraft very well. The Heinkel He 100 has some serious whif potential!
Merci bien à Franclab pour l’inspiration!
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
In the early days of World War II, Royal Navy fighter requirements had been based on cumbersome two-seat designs, such as the fighter/dive-bomber Blackburn Skua (and its turreted derivative the Blackburn Roc) and the fighter/reconnaissance Fairey Fulmar, since it was expected that they would encounter only long-range bombers or flying boats and that navigation over featureless seas required the assistance of a radio operator/navigator. The Royal Navy hurriedly adopted higher-performance single-seat aircraft such as the Hawker Sea Hurricane and the less robust Supermarine Seafire alongside, but neither aircraft had sufficient range to operate at a distance from a carrier task force. The American Vought F4U Corsair was welcomed as a more robust and versatile alternative.
In November 1943, the Royal Navy received its first batch of 95 "birdcage" Vought F4U-1s, which were given the designation "Corsair [Mark] I". The first squadrons were assembled and trained on the U.S. East Coast and then shipped across the Atlantic. The Royal Navy put the Corsair into carrier operations immediately. They found its landing characteristics dangerous, suffering a number of fatal crashes, but considered the Corsair to be the best option they had.
The Royal Navy cleared the F4U for carrier operations well before the U.S. Navy and showed that the Corsair Mk II could be operated with reasonable success even from escort carriers. It was not without problems, though: one was excessive wear of the arrester wires, due both to the weight of the Corsair and the understandable tendency of the pilots to stay well above the stalling speed, and because of the limited hangar deck height in several classes of British carrier, many Corsairs had their outer wings "clipped" by 8 in (200 mm) to clear the deckhead. However, the change in span brought about the added benefit of improving the sink rate, reducing the F4U's propensity to "float" in the final stages of landing. The Royal Navy developed further modifications to the Corsair that made carrier landings more practical. Among these were a bulged canopy (similar to the P-51 B/C’s Malcolm Hood), raising the pilot's seat 7 in (180 mm), and wiring shut the cowl flaps across the top of the engine compartment, diverting frequent oil and hydraulic fluid spray around the sides of the fuselage so that the windscreen remained clear.
The Corsair Mk I was followed by 510 "blown-canopy" F4U-1A/-1Ds, which were designated Corsair Mk II (the final 150 equivalent to the F4U-1D, but not separately designated in British use). 430 Brewster Corsairs (334 F3A-1 and 96 F3A-1D), more than half of Brewster's total production, were delivered to Britain as the Corsair Mk III. 857 Goodyear Corsairs (400 FG-1/-1A and 457 FG-1D) were delivered and designated Corsair Mk IV. A total of 2,012 Corsairs were supplied to the United Kingdom during WWII, and British Corsairs served both in Europe and in the Pacific. Despite the large number of aircraft, the Mk IIs and IVs were the only versions to be actually used in combat.
The first, and also most important, European FAA Corsair operations were the series of attacks in April, July, and August 1944 on the German battleship Tirpitz (Operation Tungsten), for which Corsairs from HMS Victorious and HMS Formidable provided fighter cover. From April 1944, Corsairs from the British Pacific Fleet took part in several major air raids in South-East Asia beginning with Operation Cockpit, an attack on Japanese targets at Sabang island, in the Dutch East Indies. In July and August 1945, RN Corsairs took part in a series of strikes on the Japanese mainland, near Tokyo, operating from Victorious and Formidable. It was during this late phase of the war that the Admiralty was expecting new and more powerful indigenous naval fighters to become available, primarily Griffon-powered Seafires and the Hawker Sea Fury, a navalized derivative of the Hawker Tempest fighter powered by the new Centaurus radial engine. Both types, however, faced development problems, so that the Royal Navy approached Vought and requested a new variant of the proven Corsair, powered by the British Centaurus engine and further tailored to the Royal Navy’s special needs. This became the Corsair Mark V.
The Corsair V was based on the newest American variant, the F4U-4, but it differed in many aspects, so much that it effectively was a totally different aircraft. The F4U-4 was the last American Corsair variant that would be introduced during WWII, but it only saw action during the final weeks of the conflict. It had a 2,100 hp (1,600 kW) dual-stage-supercharged -18W engine, and when the cylinders were injected with the water/alcohol mixture, power was boosted to 2,450 hp (1,830 kW). To better cope with the additional power, the propeller was changed to a four-blade type. Maximum speed was increased to 448 miles per hour (721 km/h) and climb rate to over 4,500 feet per minute (1,400 m/min) as opposed to the 2,900 feet per minute (880 m/min) of the F4U-1A. The unarmored wing fuel tanks of 62 US gal (230 L) capacities were removed for better maneuverability at the expense of maximum range. Other detail improvements were introduced with the F4U-4, too: The windscreen was now flat bullet-resistant glass to avoid optical distortion, a change from the curved Plexiglas windscreens with an internal armor glass plate of the earlier variants. The canopy was furthermore without bracing and slightly bulged – an improvement adopted from the Royal Navy Corsairs.
The original "4-Hog" retained the original armament of six 0.5” machine guns and had all the external load (i.e., drop tanks, bombs, HVARs) capabilities of the F4U-1D. A major sub-type, the F4U-4B, was the same but featured an alternate gun armament of four 20 millimeters (0.79 in) AN/M3 cannon, and the F4U-4P was a rare photo reconnaissance variant with an additional camera compartment in the rear fuselage, but fully combat-capable.
The Royal Navy agreed to adopt the new F4U-4 but insisted on the British Centaurus as powerplant and demanded British equipment and armament, too. The latter included four Hispano 20 mm cannon in the outer wings, adapted wirings for British unguided rockets under the outer wings and a four-channel VHF radio system, a radio altimeter and a G2F compass. Vought reluctantly agreed, even though the different engine meant that a totally different mount had to be developed in short time, and the many alterations to the F4U-4’s original airframe would require a separate, new production line. Since this would block valuable resources for the running standard F4U production for the USN, the Corsair V was outsourced to the newly established Kaiser-Fleetwing company (a ship builder with only limited aircraft experience so far) and designated FK-1 in American circles.
As expected, the development of the FK-1 alone took more time than expected – not only from a technical point of view, but also due to logistic problems. The Centaurus engines and most vital equipment pieces had to be transported across the Atlantic, a hazardous business. The first precious Centaurus engines for the development of the modified engine mount were actually transferred to the USA through the air, hanging in the bomb bays of American B-24 bombers that were used as transporters to supply Great Britain with vital materials.
Because Kaiser-Fleetwings had to establish a proper production line for the FK-1 and supplies for raw F4U-4 airframes had to be diverted and transported to the company’s factory at Bristol, Pennsylvania, delays started to pile up and pushed the Corsair Mk. V development back. The first Centaurus-powered Corsair flew in January 1945 and immediately revealed massive stability problems caused by the engine’s high torque. Enlarged tail surfaces were tested and eventually solved the problem, but this measure changed the F4U-4s standard airframe even more. It was furthermore soon discovered that the early Centaurus engine suffered frequent crankshaft failure due to a poorly designed lubrication system, which led to incidents of the engine seizing while in mid-flight. The problem was resolved when Bristol's improved Centaurus XVIII engine replaced the earlier variant. Tests and adaptations of British equipment to the airframe continued until May 1945, when the Corsair V was eventually cleared for production. But when the first of 100 ordered machines started to roll off the production lines the war was already over.
At that time many of the Fleet Air Arm's carrier fighters were Seafires and Lend-Lease Corsairs. The Seafire had considerable drawbacks as a naval aircraft, notably the narrow undercarriage, while the Corsairs had to be returned or purchased. As the UK did not have the means to pay for them, the Royal Navy Corsairs were mostly pushed overboard into the sea in Moreton Bay off Brisbane, Australia.
Since the Corsair V had not been part of the Lend Lease agreement with the United States, the Royal Navy was not able to easily retreat from the production contract and had to accept the aircraft. Because the Royal Navy’s intended new standard shipborne fighter, the Hawker Sea Fury, was delayed and almost cancelled during this period of re-organizations and cutbacks, the Admiralty bit the bullet, used the inevitable opportunity and procured the Corsair V as a stopgap solution, even though the original production order from May 1945 was not extended and effectively only 95 Corsair Vs were ever produced in the USA and transferred as knocked-down kits via ship to Great Britain.
The first re-assembled Corsair Vs entered Royal Navy service in August 1946, but their frontline service with 802 and 805 NAS, both based at Eglington (Northern Ireland), was only brief. Following the successful completion of weapons trials at the A&AEE Boscombe Down, the Sea Fury was eventually cleared for operational use on 31 July 1947 and quickly entered service. The Corsair Vs were gradually replaced with them until late 1948; 805 NAS was the first unit to abandon the type when 805 Squadron was reformed as a Royal Australian Navy FAA squadron operating Hawker Sea Fury Mk II aircraft. In 1950, 802 NAS was assigned to HMS Ocean and equipped with the Hawker Sea Fury, too, and sent to Korea.
Most Corsair Vs were then relegated to the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) in August 1951, where they replaced Supermarine Seafires and took over their role as classic fighter aircraft, despite the Corsair V’s strike/attack potential with bombs and unguided missiles. Most of the time the Corsairs were used for lang range navigation training. RNVR units that operated the Corsair V included Nos. 1831, 1832, 1833, 1834, 1835 and 1836 Squadrons. No. 1832, based at RAF Benson, was the last RNVR squadron to relinquish the type in August 1955 for the jet-powered Supermarine Attacker, and this ended the Corsair V’s short career.
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 34 ft (10.37 m)
Wingspan: 40 ft 8 in (12.10 m)
Height: 15 ft 4 in (4.68 m)
Wing area: 314 sq ft (29.17 m²)
Empty weight: 9,205 lb (4,238 kg)
Gross weight: 14,670 lb (6,654 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 14,533 lb (6,592 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Bristol Centaurus XVIII 18-cylinder air-cooled radial engine with
2,470 hp (1,840 kW) take-off power, driving a 4-bladed
Rotol constant-speed propeller with 14 ft (4.3 m) diameter
Performance:
Maximum speed: 453 mph (730 km/h, 397 kn) at sea level
Cruise speed: 215 mph (346 km/h, 187 kn) at sea level
Stall speed: 89 mph (143 km/h, 77 kn)
Range with internal fuel, clean: 1,005 mi (1,617 km, 873 nmi)
Combat range with max. ordnance: 328 mi (528 km, 285 nmi)
Service ceiling: 41,500 ft (12,600 m)
Rate of climb: 4,360 ft/min (22.1 m/s)
Armament:
4× 20 mm (0.787 in) Hispano Mk II cannon in the outer wings, 250 RPG
A total of 11 hardpoints under the wings and the fuselage for a total ordnance of
4,000 pounds (1.800 kg), including drop tanks, up to 16× 60 lb unguided aircraft rockets on twin
launch rails and/or bombs of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) caliber
The kit and its assembly:
My first submission to the 2023 “Re-engine” group build at whatifmodellers.com, and a British Corsair with a Centaurus instead of the original R-2800 is almost a no-brainer. But taking the idea to hardware turned out to be a bit trickier than expected. I based my fictional conversion on an Italeri F4U-4, which would have been the appropriate late-WWII basis for a real-life conversion. The kit has good ex- and internal detail with fine engraved panels and offers the late Corsairs’ all-metal wings, too.
The engine replacement is a massive resin piece from OzMods, part of a conversion twin set for a Bristol Brigand; I assume it’s intended for the Valom kit? The set includes resin four-blade props with deep blades which I rather wanted to use than the Sea Fury’s typical five-blade prop.
The Italeri Corsair was basically built OOB, but beyond the different engine, which caused some trouble in itself (see below), I incorporated several mods to change the aircraft’s appearance. The streamlined Centaurus was insofar a problem because it has s slightly smaller diameter than the original R-2800 cowling. Not much, but enough to make a simple exchange impossible or at least look awkward. While the upper cowling section and its curvature blended well into the Corsair fuselage, the difference became more obvious and complicated underneath: late Corsairs have a “flattened” bottom, and from below the Centaurus appears somewhat undersized. To smooth the intersection out I grinded much of the cooling flaps away, and to even out the profile I added a shallow air scoop from an Italeri F4U-7 under the engine, which required some PSR. A good compromise, though. The resin propeller was mounted onto a metal axis and fitted into a hole/channel that was drilled through the Centaurus’ massive resin block.
As an FAA Corsair the wing tips were clipped, which was easy to realize thanks to the massive parts in this area. The Corsair’s original oil coolers in the wing roots were retained, but the four guns in the wings (separate parts in the Italeri kit with quite large holes) were replaced with faired Hispano cannon for/from an early Hawker Tempest, aftermarket brass parts from Master Models.
To change the model’s look further I modified the tail surfaces, too; the rounded fin was replaced with a rather square and slightly bigger donor, a stabilizer from a Novo Supermarine Attacker. The original stabilizers were replaced, too, with trapezoidal alternatives from a Matchbox Meteor night fighter, which offer slightly more area. Since the tail surfaces were all graft-ons now I implanted a vertical styrene tube behind the rear cockpit bulkhead as a display holder adapter for later flight scene pictures. Together with the clipped/squared-off wingtips the new tail creates a consistent look, and with the propeller and its dominant spinner in place the Corsair V reminds a lot of a late Bristol Firebrand mark or even of an Unlimited Class Reno Racer? It looks fast and purposeful now!
Even though unguided missiles and/or bombs could have been a valid ordnance option I decided to leave the Corsair V relatively clean as a pure gun fighter; I just used the OOB drop tank on the centerline station.
Painting and markings:
Very dry and using real 1948 Royal Navy aircraft as benchmark, the Corsair V ended up with a rather simple and dull Extra Dark Sea Grey over Sky (Humbrol 123 and 90, respectively) with a low waterline, and still with wartime Type C roundels with “Identification red (dull)”, even though the RAF officially had reverted to bright identification colors in 1947 and started to use the high-viz Type D roundel as standard marking. To add a British flavor the cockpit interior was painted in very dark grey (Revell 06, Tar Black) while the interior of the landing gear wells was painted in a pale cream yellow (Humbrol 74, Linen) to mimic zinc chromate primer. The only highlight is a red spinner, a contemporary unit marking of 805 NAS.
The kit received a light black ink washing and post-shading to emphasize and/or add surface structures, and this nicely breaks up the otherwise uniform surfaces. Decals/markings came from Xtradecal Hawker Sea Fury und late WWII FAA/RN aircraft sheets, and some decals were mixed to create a fictional serial number for the Corsair V (TF 632 was never allocated, but the code fits into the model’s era). Some light oil and exhaust stains were also added, but not as severely as if the aircraft had been operated under wartime conditions. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
While a classic F4U with a British Centaurus engine sounds simple, and actually is, getting there was not as easy as it sounds – the ventral air scoop came to the rescue. With some more small mods like the new tail surfaces the aircraft got a subtly different look from its American ancestor(s). The Corsair V IMHO has now a very Blackburn-ish look, thanks to the big spinner and the square fin! And I wonder what I will do with the other Centaurus from the conversion set?
At the Renwick Gallery in Washington, DC. Using styrene index cards, metal, wood, paint and glue, Tara Donovan has created a work of three dimensional wonder at the Renwick. The video describing this work shows how, by combining a huge number of 2 dimensional cards, the artist has created forms which, unless you look closely, belie their components. I was struck by how much they looked like the hoodoos at Bryce Canyon National Park (minus the red rock color, of course).
+++ 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 Austrian Air Force in its current form was created in May 1955 by the victorious Allied powers, subject to restrictions on its use of guided missiles. The Austrian State Treaty of 1955 committed Austria to permanent neutrality. Pilot training started out with a four Yak-11 Moose and four Yak-18 Max aircraft donated by the Soviet Union, and Austria purchased further light trainer types under the Military Assistance Program. Until 1960 Austria purchased training and support aircraft under the MAP, but no modern fighter aircraft; the role of a fighter was rather inadequately filled by thirty already outdated Saab 29 Tunnan, bought second-hand from the Swedish Air Force in the early 1960s which equipped two fighter bomber squadrons.
To expand its capabilities and modernize the fleet, Austria purchased from 1970 on a total of 40 Saab 105 lightweight multi-role aircraft from Sweden with the intention to deploy them in trainer, reconnaissance, ground attack and even interception roles. As it became clear in the 1980s that the light sub-sonic aircraft were inadequate for air combat and airspace interdiction, Austria started looking for a more capable aircraft. In 1984, Austria had devised a two-phase solution to its problem: buying 30 interim aircrafts cheaply as a stopgap and then trading them back for a new generation aircraft in the early or mid-Nineties.
International response was quick and manifold: Bristol Aerospace offered initially ex RAF Jaguars to be replaced by Tornado F.3 or even Eurofighters; Saab-Scania offered between 24 and 30 former Royal Swedish Air Force J 35D Draken, followed by Saab J 39 Gripen as future substitutes; General-Electric suggested downgraded F-16/79 or F-16A for phase one and an option for the same aircraft in a more modern variant for phase two; Northrop’s numberF-5E was another alternative for phase one. Dassault was also present with refurbished Mirage III initially, followed by Mirage 2000.
Finding the most suitable option in this mass was not easy, and eventually a surprising deal materialized: In 1985 the contract for the sale of twenty-four Lightning F.56 fighters plus four T.55 trainers was signed by the SPÖ/FPÖ government under Fred Sinowatz. The background: Saudi Arabia had been operating thirty-four F.53 single-seaters and six T.55 trainers since 1967 and was about to retire its fleet, which was still in very good condition and with a reasonable number of flying hours left on many airframes. The aircraft would be refurbished directly at BAe in Great Britain with the option to switch to the Tornado ADV or its successor, the Eurofighter Typhoon, later.
The Lightning F.53 was an export version of the RAF’s F.6, but with a multi-role mission profile in mind that included, beyond the primary interceptor mission with guided missiles or internal guns, the capability to carry out interdiction/ground attacks and reconnaissance missions. To carry a suitable ordnance load, the F.53 featured additional underwing pylons for bombs or unguided rocket pods. Instead of the standard Firestreak/Red Top AAM missile station in the lower front fuselage, two retractable panniers with a total of forty-four unguided 50 mm rockets, which were effective against both ground and aerial targets, could be installed, or, alternatively, two camera packs (one with five cameras and another with a rotating camera mount) was available for tactical photo reconnaissance missions. Overwing hardpoints, adapted from the Lightning F.6, allowed to carry auxiliary fuel tanks to increase range/endurance, additional rocket pods or even retarded bombs.
The Lightning T.55 was also an export variant, a two-seat side-by-side training aircraft, and virtually identical to the T.5, which itself was based on the older F.3 fighter variant, and fully combat-capable.
The Saudi Arabian multi-role F.53s had served in the ground-attack and reconnaissance roles as well as an air defense fighter, with Lightnings of No. 6 Squadron RSAF carrying out ground-attack missions using rockets and bombs during a border dispute with South Yemen between December 1969 and May 1970. Saudi Arabia received Northrop F-5E fighters from 1971, which resulted in the Lightnings relinquishing the ground-attack mission, concentrating on air defense, and to a lesser extent, reconnaissance. Until 1982, Saudi Arabia's Lightnings were mainly operated by 2 and 6 Squadron RSAF (although a few were also used by 13 Squadron RSAF), but when 6 Squadron re-equipped with the F-15 Eagle from 1978 on, all the remaining aircraft were concentrated and operated by 2 Squadron at Tabuk. In 1985, as part of the agreement to sell the Panavia Tornado (both IDS and ADV versions) to the RSAF, the Lightnings were traded in to British Aerospace, returned to Warton for refurbishment and re-sold to Austria.
While the Saudi Arabian Lightnings’ hardware was in very good shape, the Austrian Bundesluftwaffe requested some modifications, including a different missile armament: instead of the maintenance-heavy British Firestreak/Red Top AAMs, the Lightnings were to be armed with simpler, lighter and more economical IR-guided AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs which were already in the Austrian Air Force’s inventory. Two of these missiles were carried on single launch rails on the lower forward fuselage; an additional pair of Sidewinders could also be carried on the outer underwing stations, for a total of four. The F.53s’ optional retractable unguided rocket panniers were dropped altogether in favor of a permanent avionics bay for the Sidewinders in its place. However, to carry out tactical reconnaissance tasks (formerly executed by J 29Fs with a removable camera pod instead of the portside gun bay), four Austrian Lightnings frequently had one of the optional camera compartments installed, thereby losing the capability to deploy Sidewinders, though.
Among other things, the machines were furthermore upgraded with new bird strike-proof cockpit glazing, avionics were modernized, and several other minor customer requests were adopted, like a 0.6-megacandela night identification light. This spotlight is mounted in the former portside gun bay in front of the cockpit, and an anti-glare panel was added under the windscreen.
The fixed in-flight refueling probe was deleted, as this was not deemed necessary anymore since the Lightnings would exclusively operate within neutral Austria’s borders. The probes could, however, be re-installed, even though the Austrian pilots would not receive on-flight refueling training. The Lightnings' optional 260 imp gal overwing tanks were retained since they were considered to be sufficient for extended subsonic air patrols or eventual ferry flights.
The refurbished Lightnings were re-designated F.56 and delivered in batches of four between 1987 and 1989 to the Austrian Air Force’s 1st and then 2nd Fighter Squadrons, carrying a grey air superiority paint scheme. At that time, the airframes had between 1,550 and 2,800 flight hours and all had a general overhaul behind them. In 1991, the Lightings were joined by eighteen German ex-NVA-LSK MiG-23s, which were transferred to Austrian Air Force's ‘Fliegerwerft B’ at Nittner Air Base, where they'd be overhauled and updated with NATO-compatible equipment. As MiG-23Ö they were exclusively used as interceptors, too.
Shortly after their introduction, the Austrian Lightnings saw their first major use in airspace interdiction starting 1991 during the Yugoslav Wars, when Yugoslav MiG-21 fighters frequently crossed the Austrian border without permission. In one incident on 28 June a MiG-21 penetrated as far as Graz, causing widespread demands for action. Following repeated border crossings by armed aircraft of the Yugoslav People's Army, changes were suggested to the standing orders for aircraft armament.
With more and more practice and frequent interceptions one of the Lightning's basic flaws became apparent: its low range. Even though the Lightning had a phenomenal acceleration and rate of climb, this was only achieved in a relatively clean configuration - intercepting intruders was one thing but escorting them back to the Austrian border or an assigned airfield, as well as standing air patrols, were a different thing. With more tactical experience, the overwing tanks were taken back into service, even though they were so draggy that their range benefit was ultimately zero when the aircraft would use its afterburners during a typical interception mission. Therefore, the Austrian QRA Lightnings were typically operated in pairs: one clean and only lightly armed (typically with the guns and a pair of AIM-9s), to make a quick approach for visual intruder identification and contact, while a second aircraft with extra fuel would follow at high subsonic speed and eventually take over and escort the intruder. Airspace patrol was primarily executed with the MiG-23Ö, because it had a much better endurance, thanks to its VG wings, even though the Floggers had a poor service record, and their maintenance became ever more complicated.
After more experience, the Austrian Lightnings received in 1992 new ALR-45 radar detectors in a fairing on the fin top as well as chaff and flare dispenser systems, and the communication systems were upgraded, too. In 2004 the installation of Garmin 295 moving map navigation devices followed, even though this turned out to be a negligible update: on December 22, 2005, the active service life and thus military use of the Lightnings in general ended, and Austria was the last country to decommission the type, more than 50 years after the first flight of the prototype on August 4, 1954.
The Austrian Lightnings’ planned service period of 10 years was almost doubled, though, due to massive delays with the Eurofighter’s development: In 2002, Austria had already selected the Typhoon as its new “Phase II” air defense aircraft, having beaten the F-16 and the Saab Gripen in competition, and its introduction had been expected to occur from early 2005 on, so that the Lightnings could be gradually phased out. The purchase of 18 Typhoons was agreed on 1 July 2003, but it would take until 12 July 2007 that the first Typhoon would eventually be delivered to Zeltweg Air Base and formally enter service with the Austrian Air Force. This operational gap had to be bridged with twelve F-5E leased from Switzerland for EUR 75 mio., so that Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) duties for the Austrian airspace could be continued.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 55 ft 3 in (16.84 m)
Wingspan: 34 ft 10 in (10.62 m)
Height: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 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 AIM-9B, cannon, 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 AIM-9 Sidewinder AAM each
2× underwing hardpoints for 1.000 lb (454 kg) each
2× overwing pylon stations for 2.000 lb (907 kg each),
typically occupied with 260 imp gal (310 US gal; 1,200 l) ferry tanks
The kit and its assembly:
This was another submission to the “Hunter, Lightning and Canberra” group build at whatifmodellers.com in 2022 and intended as a rather simple build since it was based on an alternate reality plot: the weird story that Austria was offered a revamped fleet of ex-Saudi Arabian Lightnings is true(!), but the decision eventually fell in favor of revamped Saab J 35Ds from Sweden. For this what-if build I used the real historic timeline, replaced the aircraft, and built both story and model around this – and the result became the BAC Lightning F.56 in Austrian Air Force service.
Initially I wanted to use an Airfix BAC Lightning in The Stash™, a really nice model kit and a relatively new mold, but it turned out to be the kit’s F.2A variant. While very similar to the F.6, changing it into a F.53 analogue with the OOB parts turned out to be too complex for my taste. For instance, the F.2A kit lacks the ventral gun bay (it just comes with the auxiliary tank option since the guns are already located in front of the cockpit) and the cable conduits on the lower flanks. Procuring a suitable and priceworthy Airfix F.6 turned out to be impossible, but then I remembered a Hasegawa Lightning F.6 in The Stash™ that I had shot at ev!lbay many moons ago for a laughable price and without a concrete plan. However, this kit is pretty old: it has raised (yet quite fine, less robust than the Matchbox kit) panel lines and even comes with a pilot figure, but also many weak spots like the air intake and the jet exhausts that end in flat walls after some millimeters depth and a very basic cockpit. But for this rather simple what-if project the kit appeared to be a suitable basis, and it would eventually find a good use.
The Hasegawa Lightning was basically built OOB, even though I made some cosmetic amendments like a better seat for the pilot, hydraulic fluid lines on the landing gear made from wire or opening the flat walls inside of the air intake opening and the jet nozzles. Behind the radome, a simple splitter plate was added as well as a recessed bulkhead in front of an implanted Me 262 cockpit tub (the Hasegawa kit just offers a bare floor panel, nothing else!), the afterburners were extended inwards with parts from a Matchbox A.W. Meteor night fighter.
The Red Top AAMs and the in-flight refueling probe were omitted. Instead, I added extra F.53-style forward-swept pylons under the outer wings, scratched from 1.5 mm styrene sheet due to their odd, raked shape, and I added Sidewinder launch rails plus suitable missiles from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapons set to all four stations. After long consideration I also retained the ‘overburger’ tanks, partly because of the unique layout on the Lightning, and also because of operational considerations.
Chaff dispensers were scratched from styrene profiles and placed at the fin’s base. A fairing for the retrofitted radar warning sensor was added to the fin tip, created from 1.5 mm styrene sheet.
Painting and markings:
To reflect the “alternate reality” role of the Lightning I gave the model a livery similar to the Saab J 35Ö that were actually procured: an adaptation of the USAF “Egypt One” scheme, carried primarily by the USAF F-16s. Adapting this simple three-tone camouflage from the flat F-16 to the Draken was easy and straightforward, but applying it to a Lightning with its many vertical surfaces turned out to be a tough challenge. I eventually came up with a paint scheme that reminds of the late RAF low-viz Lightning liveries, which existed in a wide range of patterns and graduations of grey.
The colors were authentic, FS 36118, 36270 and 36375 (using Humbrol 125, 126 and 127), and I decided to emphasize the camouflage of the flanks against the horizon, so that the vertical surfaces and the fin became FS 36270. The undersides of wings, stabilizers and fuselage became FS 36375. The dark FS 36118 was only applied to the upper sides of the wings and the stabilizer, and to a high dorsal section, starting at the wing roots. As a small contrast, the tank area on the spine was painted in light grey, simulating unpainted fiber glass. The radome was painted with a streaky mix of Humbrol 155 and 56.
As usual, the model received a light black ink washing, some post-panel-shading in lighter tones, and, due to the raised panel lines, was very lightly rubbed with graphite. The cockpit interior was painted in medium grey (Revell 47) with an olive drab fabric fairing behind the black pilot seat, which received ejection handles made from thin wire as eye candy. The landing gear and the respective wells were painted in Humbrol 56 (Aluminum Dope).
The decals are a wild mix: The fuselage roundels are actually wing markings from a Hasegawa J 35OE, as well as the huge orange "06" on the wings (I could not resist; they will later be partly obscured by the overwing tanks, but the heck with it!). The roundels on the wings come from a generic TL Modellbau sheet - I found that I needed larger markings than those on the Draken.
Both unit and individual aircraft identifiers are single black DIN font digits, also from TL Modellbau. The unit badges on the fin are authentic, even though from an earlier era: they came from an Austrian J 29 of Fliegerregiment 2 from a PrintScale sheet, and all stencils were taken from the OOB low-viz RAF markings sheet, plus four small warning triangles for the underwing pylons.
A ‘what-if’ model in the purest sense, since this model depicts what could really have been: ex Saudi-Arabian export BAC Lightnings over the Austrian Alps! However, refurbished Saab J 35D Draken made the race (and later followed by the Eurofighter Typhoon at ‘Stage 2’), so that this Lightning remains fictional. It does not look bad in the ‘Egypt One’ paint scheme, though, better than expected!
From this view you can more clearly see my Woolworth sign in spite of the disappointingly poor contrast between red and gold. That color combo works but not with this particular decal set. In the future I will plant some large Ponderosa Pines on the left side of Woolworth to help hide the end of my planned background / scene divider. On my layout, you'll never see this scene from this angle because it is about two feet into the interior of my town.
This is a kit from Design Preservation Models that they call the "Roadkill Cafe" that I built in the 1990's but didn't detail until recently. Originally I intended for it to be a small town hardware store. After I added my scratchbuilt one story hardware store to the town of Cimarron, I decided to make this a 5 & 10 store of some kind. Well into the 1960's various small 5 & 10 stores such as FW Woolworth, SS Kresge, T G & Y, and Ben Franklin were common, especially in small towns, but bigger ones served the cities. I made mine a Woolworth because they seemed to be better known, and I did shop there during my grade school years.
Online research indicates that most Woolworth locations used a lot of red trim and usually had red signs with gold letters. Unfortunately, the gold Microscale decals don't show up very well, so I may have to replace this sign later on. After painting the window trim, I added glazing and crude "interiors" cut out from catalogs. I couldn't find any retail interiors the right size, so I opted for colored printing that looks like curtains or floral displays. The trees are made from Woodland Scenics kits. The building is mounted on a styrene base that also includes my Grand Hotel to the right and an alley that leads to a small rear parking lot.
The car is a 1950 De Soto sedan from Mini Metals. You'll see more of those on my streets in the future.
+++ 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 Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger (English: Shrike) was a German single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. The 190 was used by the Luftwaffe in a wide variety of roles, including day fighter, fighter-bomber, ground-attack aircraft and, to a lesser degree, even night fighter.
The Fw 190 became the backbone of the Jagdwaffe (Fighter Force), along with the Bf 109 which it never entirely replaced. On the Eastern Front, the Fw 190 was versatile enough to use in Schlachtgeschwader (Battle Wings or Strike Wings), specialized ground attack units which achieved much success against Soviet ground forces. As an interceptor, the Fw 190 underwent improvements to make it effective at high altitude, enabling it to maintain relative parity with its Allied opponents. The Fw 190A series' performance decreased at high altitudes (usually 6,000 m (20,000 ft) and above), which reduced its effectiveness as a high-altitude interceptor, but this problem was mostly rectified in later models, particularly in the Junkers Jumo 213 inline-engine Focke-Wulf Fw 190D series (nicknamed the Dora; or Long-Nose Dora, "Langnasen-Dora"), which was introduced in September 1944.
The Fw 190 D was intended to improve on the high-altitude performance of the A-series enough to make it useful against the American heavy bombers of the era. In the event, the D series was rarely used against the heavy-bomber raids, as the circumstances of the war in late 1944 meant that fighter-versus-fighter combat and ground attack missions took priority.
To make matters worse, the D was only seen as an interim solution, as Kurt Tank made it very clear that he intended the D-9 to be a stopgap until the Ta 152 arrived. These negative opinions existed for some time until positive pilot feedback began arriving at Focke-Wulf and the Luftwaffe command structure. Sporting good handling and performance characteristics, the D-9 made an effective medium altitude, high speed interceptor, although its performance still fell away at altitudes above about 20,000 ft (6,100 m). When flown by capable pilots, the Fw 190D proved the equal of Allied types.
With the ever increasing threat of Allied bomber raids and the advent of the formidable Ta 152 fighter, several designs were tried in order to create a long range interceptor from the D-9. From the start it was clear that the increment in range would call for added fuel, which in turn would limit payload and performance to a level that rendered the idea pointless. Anyway, Georg Hager, a young engineer proposed a radical new idea, which was similar to the Twin Mustangs' idea which was under development at the same time in the USA for the Pacific theater: mating two Dora fuselages into a two-engined aircraft, which would meet the Luftwaffe's requirements and could mostly be built with the help of existing tools and jigs, getting it into service with almost no delay.
The result was the Fw 190 Z (for 'Zwilling' = Twin). The airframe was based on the single-engined D-13 fighter, only one cockpit was installed into the left fuselage, the respective space in the right fuselage was faired over and used for an internal tank.
The outer wings were directly taken from the Fw 190 D, even though the landing gear was totally redesigned: it retracted backwards into the lower fuselage and was fitted with twin wheels.
Both fuselages were connected by a new wing center section and a new tailplane, both of constant chord and simple construction. As Aluminum became scarce in the late years of WWII, some constructional changes had to be made, e. g. a rigid central wing spar made from steel. In other places, wood elements replaced Aluminum parts on the wings.
Two prototypes of the Z-16, how the type was officially called, were built in late 1944 and tested until March 1945. As the type proved to offer sufficient performance and no major handling problem was found, it was immediately put into production and service.
The Z-16 was fitted with all-weather flying equipment including the PKS12 and K-23 systems for steering and autopilot. The FuG 125 radio system, known as “Hermine”, was fitted to the aircraft, as well as a heated windscreen. The aircraft also featured a hydraulic boost system for the ailerons, which had been developed for the Ta 152. Armament consisted of six machine cannons, and this heavy armament allowed the Z-16 to deal quickly with enemy aircraft. Each fuselage carried three weapons: one 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 Motorkanone cannon centered within the propeller hub and two synchronized 20 mm MG 151/20 cannons located in the wing roots. Under the center wing, bombs of up to 1.000 kg caliber (2.202 lb) or drop tanks could be carried. Under the outer wings, wooden racks with 2× 12 unguided 'R4M' 55 mm (2.2 in) air-to-air rockets could be carried, too. One or two of these rockets could down even the famously rugged B-17 Flying Fortress.
With its two Jumo 213E engines the Z-16 was capable of speeds up to 755 km/h (472 mph) at 13,500 m (41,000 ft, using the GM-1 nitrous oxide boost) and 560 km/h (350 mph) at sea level (using the MW 50 methanol-water boost). To help it attain this speed, it used the MW 50 system mainly for lower altitudes (up to about 10,000 m/32,800 ft) and the GM-1 system for higher altitudes, although both systems could be engaged at the same time.
A further step in order to increase performance was the experimental installation of a jet booster: a single Junkers Jumo 004 B-1 turbojet, rated at 8.8 kN (1,980 lbf) was installed under the central wing section, with wet hardpoints for two 250 l (55 imp gal; 66 US gal) drop tanks on each side.
The results were so promising (top speed climbed to 805 km/h/500mph while range was not reduced) that this Rüstsatz measure, originally designed only as an optional feature for a Z-16/R-1, was fully integrated into the production type, which became the Fw 190 Z-17. This type was immediately ordered into series production in September 1945 and was to fully replace the Z-16, which had just been started to be delivered to the Luftwaffe.
Anyway, as the Jumo 004 was mostly reserved for the Me 262 'Schwalbe' jet fighter and the simpler Ta 152 still had development priority, only about 50 Z-17 and a further 40 Z-16 without the jet booster were delivered until the hostilities ended. They were exclusively used in the Zerstörer (Bomber destroyers) role. From the pilots the Fw 190 Z earned the nickname “Gurkenhobel” (Cucumber slicer), due to its unique shape, but it was nevertheless well-liked and its firepower made it an effective weapon against Allied bomber formations.
Plans had been made to develop the Fw 190 Z into a two-seated night fighter (with the second cockpit in the right fuselage re-installed), but this was not carried out. A high altitude version, with the long outer wings from the Ta 152 H, also remained on the drawing board, and at least one Z-16 had been tested with a 55 mm MK214 autocannon, carried in a streamlined pod under the central wing where the Z-17’s jet booster was originally installed.
General Focke Wulf Fw 190 Z-17 characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 10.20 m (33 ft 5½ in)
Wingspan: 14.580 m (47 ft 9 in)
Height: 3.35 m (11 ft 0 in)
Empty weight: 15,997 lb (7,271 kg)
Loaded weight: 4,270 kg (9,413 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 11,632 kg (25,591 lb)
Powerplant:
2× Junkers Jumo 213E liquid-cooled inverted V-12, 1,287 kW (1,750 PS; 2,050 PS with MW-50 boost)
1× Junkers Jumo 004 B-1 turbojet, rated at 8.8 kN (1,980 lbf)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 805 km/h (500 mph) at 6,600 m (21,655 ft), 740 km/h (460 mph) at 37,000 ft (11,000 m)
Range: 1.800 mi (1.563 nmi, 2.900 km)
Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,370 ft)
Rate of climb: 17 m/s (3,300 ft/min)
Armament:
2× 30 mm (1.18 in) MK 108 machine cannon with 110 RPG, firing through the propeller hubs
4× 20 mm MG 151 cannons with 250 rpg in the wing roots
Up to 1.000 kg (2.202 lb) of external ordnance at two hardpoints under the central wing, including bombs, drop tanks; under the outer wings additional hardpoints for four 50 kg (110lb) bombs, two racks with 12 unguided 'R4M' 55 mm (2.2 in) each, two pods with 2× 20mm MG 151/20 machine guns each or up to four WGr21 launch tubes.
The kit and its assembly:
This whif was inspired by the P-82 “Twin Mustang”, and the result is a rather bizarre creation which would nevertheless appear plausible for Germany during the late stages of WWII. Actually, Arado’s real paper project E.530 looked very similar to this creation, but it was a bigger aircraft and intended as a fast bomber.
Other Zwilling designs even entered the hardware stage or were very concrete: the He 111 Z bomber was built and used mainly as a glider tug, the Bf 109 Z and Me 609 were derivatives of their respective normal ancestors, there was even a Do 335 with two fuselages as a long range reconnaissance aircraft on the drawing board! With this real world background, the Fw 190, as a starting point for a Zwilling fighter, appears rather harmless...
Anyway, the resulting model is also not the first attempt into this direction, though, just a personal interpretation of the basic idea. The kitbashing is based on two Fw 190 D-9 kits from Italeri. While the kit is some decades old it is IMHO still a good choice (despite its fine, raised panel lines), because you get it easily and with a relatively small price tag.
Building the fuselages was straightforward, mostly OOB. The right cockpit was faired over with putty, and the fuselage machine guns disappeared (Fw 190 D-13 style) in front of both cockpit openings.
Biggest challenge were the central wing section that connects the fuselages. Just cutting the original wings and glueing them together was no option, since the leading and training edges would not be straight, and the wings have a slight anhedral. Additionally, I had to put the landing gear somewhere, and modify it, as the original Fw 190 landing gear is rather wide and it would make IMHO no sense under a twin fuselage aircraft, I have big stability doubts.
I finally settled on a scratched solution for both problems. For the landing gear, I took a look at the P-82 solution (new, single wheels which retract inwards, under the fuselages), and derived a totally new landing gear installation. It now features twin wheels (from the Fw 190 kits) in order to distribute the aircraft’s weight on soft ground, mounted on new struts, taken from a Me 262. This new construction became so “thick”, though, that it had to be retracted into the fuselage – the area under the cockpit was the only place to put it, but this is IMHO plausible since there is no radiator or other installment under the Fw 190’s belly. There's no place for ventral hardpoints now, but that's a small price to pay for a pure fighter.
With that solution found, the original landing gear wells in the wings were filled, the "inner" wings were cut away at the wing roots and a new central wing section added. This consists of a an enlarged horizontal stabilizer from a 1:100 A-10 SnapFit kit - it was perfect in span, had both straight leading and training edges, and the central fuselage part was creatively integrated into an additional idea (see below). The wing was deepened by 14mm wide with styrene strips (several layers, 2.5mm thick), and some putty was needed to blend everything together.
The final span between the fuselages was dictated by the new horizontal stabilizer. This comes from an Airfix Fw 189, the tail wheel well was filled. The outer attachment points on the fuselages' outer sides for the original stabilizers were simply faired over and sanded even.
But back to the new central wing section: the additional jet booster was a spontaneous idea. Even though the Zwilling layout is odd enough, adding a podded jet would make it SO weird that it would look even more like a serious, futuristic German design! And the idea is not far-fetched: Luftwaffe's RLM actually worked on such podded jet booster designs, e. g. for the Me 410, Ar 240 or He 219 as well as for some paper projects with mixed propulsion.
The pod’s place under the central wing section was just perfect, as the hot exhaust gasses would pass between the fuselages and under the stabilizer (without burning away the tail wheel, as on some early pod-and-boom jet fighter designs like the Yak-15). The nacelle itself comes from a leftover Hobby Boss He 162 fighter. It was taken OOB and just integrated into the lower wing. It looks so strange, but gives the aircraft a relatively compact look, too.
The drop tanks and their respective hardpoints come from the two Italeri kits. I had orginally intended to add air-to-air ordnance under the outer wings (two pairs of WGr21 launch tubes), but when everything came together I rather settled for the drop tanks.
Painting and markings:
The paint scheme is fictional, but inspired by a museum aircraft's livery: the sole surviving Fw 190 D-13, now on display in the USA. The museum aircraft's scheme looks a bit too shaggy, IMHO, but it's an interesting interpretation and uses authentic colors.
Basic colors for my version are RLM 82 and 83 on the upper surfaces, and RLM 76 below, with RLM 81 spots, streaks and blotches on the flanks. To make the thing look a bit more interesting I also added some “snaky” streaks with thinned RLM 76 on some upper surface areas, too. All basic tones were taken from the Modelmaster Authentic enamel line.
Typical for late Fw 190s, parts of the lower wings were left bare metal (painted with Revell Acrylic Aluminum), a typical result of material shortage in the late WWII stages. The leading edges were painted RLM 75 while the ailerons are RLM 76.
Taking this idea further, “my" Z-17 would not carry anymore a colored Reichsverteidigung fuselage band, indicating its Geschwader. From 1945 on, yellow ID markings (RLM 04) were carried: a band around the engine, sometimes with an added yellow field under the engine, and the rudder was frequently painted yellow, too. National markings were more and more simplified, and only a color-coded number and sometimes a symbol indicated the fighter’s group.
I used very simplified national markings on the flanks and below the wings, seen on real life Fw 190s: just black crosses without any outline. The rest of the markings were puzzled together from the scrap box, again using late war Fw 190s and Bf 109s as benchmarks.
I decided to put my aircraft into a Stab (Wing Commander's Chief-of-staff) squadron, so the markings differ from normal fighters. This one carries the horizontal bar for the 2. Gruppe among the Geschwader, in this case Jagdgeschwader 53, the “Pik As” [Ace of Spades] Squadron which dealt with interception tasks until the end of WWII in the southern regions of Germany
.
The chevron denotes an officer's aircraft; the “1” could denote the 1st aircraft of the Stab Gruppe in numerical order, but it's also possible that it is a personal symbol, as officers' aircraft would carry symbols instead of simple numbers, sometimes personal, non-standard icons or letters.
As the number is black I added dark green spinners, the typical ID color of the Stab flight among II. Group. A geek detail, and and I do not claim this to be correct – but German WWII aircraft would tend to be marked rather erratically, anyway, and I tried to do justice to historical benchmarks. Hey, it's a whif, after all!
In the end, a bizarre aircraft, but it is not as far-fetched as one might think. In this case, several single German ideas and developments were just incorporated into one model. What amazes me most is that the whole thing was assembled and painted in just three days – excluding the kit purchase and the work on the final beauty pics. Sometimes I get scared by myself...
+++ 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:
A monitor is a class of relatively small warship that is lightly armoured, often provided with disproportionately large guns, and originally designed for coastal warfare. The term "monitor" grew to include breastwork monitors, the largest class of riverine warcraft known as river monitors and was sometimes used as a generic term for any turreted ship. In the early 20th century, the term "monitor" included shallow-draft armoured shore bombardment vessels, particularly those of the Royal Navy: the Lord Clive-class monitors carried guns that fired the heaviest shells ever used at sea and saw action against German targets during World War I.
Two small Royal Navy monitors from the First World War, Erebus and Terror survived to fight in the Second World War. When the requirement for shore support and strong shallow-water coastal defence returned, new monitors and variants such as coastal defence ships were built. Allied monitors saw service in the Mediterranean in support of the British Eighth Army's desert and Italian campaigns, and they were part of the offshore bombardment for the Invasion of Normandy in 1944.
During the First World War, the Royal Navy developed several classes of ships which were designed to give close support to troops ashore through the use of naval bombardment. The size of the various monitor classes of the Royal Navy and their armaments varied greatly. The Marshal Ney class was the United Kingdom's first attempt at a monitor carrying 15 in (381 mm) guns, two of these ships were eventually built and showed a disappointing performance. The Admiralty immediately began the design of a replacement class, which incorporated lessons learned from all of the previous monitor classes commissioned during the war. Some of the main modifications were an increase in the power supply to guarantee a speed of 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and a change to the angles and lines of the hull to improve steering. Another significant change was to raise the top of the anti-torpedo bulge above the waterline and reduce its width; both changes would improve the stability and maneuverability of the ship at sea. The new design would later be named the Erebus-class, the first ship being launched in June 1916. Two ships were built and took part in WWI, but the Admiralty was not fully convinced with these ships, which also had shown major operational flaws, and requested in early 1918 three ship from another monitor class with higher firepower and better performance at sea, which led to the Trebuchet-class – even though it came too late to take part in any hostilities.
The class’ ships were to be the name-giving HMS Trebuchet, HMS Mangonel and HMS Ludgar. The latter would be the first and eventually become the class' only ship, because Trebuchet and Mangonel were quickly cancelled. HMS Ludgar was named after the famous, probably largest trebuchet ever made, also known as “Warwolf”, which had been created in Scotland by order of King Edward I of England, during the siege of Stirling Castle, as part of the Scottish Wars of Independence. Still seeing a need for this specialized ship for local conflicts in the British Empire around the world, Ludgar was proceeded with and laid down at Harland and Wolff's shipyard in Govan on 12 October 1918.
Due to the lack of wartime pressure, though, Ludgar took three years to complete and was launched on 19 June 1920. The new design was a thorough re-modelling of the earlier Royal Navy Monitors, even though most basic features and the general layout were retained - with all its benefits and flaws. Overall the ship was slightly larger than its direct predecessors, the Erebus-class monitors. Ludgar had a crew of 224, 9,090 long tons (9,185 t) loaded displacement, was 436 ft (133.1 m) long, 97 ft (29.6 m) wide with a draught of just 11 ft 8 in (3.6 m, less than a destroyer) for operations close to the coastline. Power was provided by four Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers, which would generate a combined 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW) that were produced by triple-expansion steam engines with two shafts. The monitor had an operational range of 2,480 nmi (4,590 km; 2,850 mi) at a speed of 12 knots.
HMS Ludgar’s deck armor would range from 1 in (25 mm) on the forecastle, through 2 in (51 mm) on the upper deck and 4 in (102 mm) over the magazine and belt. Unlike former British monitors, the Trebuchet Class featured two main turrets, which were each armed with two 15 in guns, what considerably improved the ship’s rate of fire. With the main 15 in guns being originally intended for use on a battleship, the armor for the turrets was substantially thicker than elsewhere in the design; with 13 in (330 mm) on the front, 11 in (279 mm) on the other sides and 5 in (127 mm) on the roof. The main guns' barbettes would be protected by 8 in (203 mm) of armor. Learning from the earlier experience with Ney, the turrets were adjusted to increase elevation to 30 degrees, which would add greater firing range. The 15 in guns had a muzzle velocity of 2,450 feet per second (750 m/s) – 2,640 feet per second (800 m/s), with supercharge. Maximum firing range was 33,550 yards (30,680 m) with a Mk XVIIB or Mk XXII streamlined shell @30° – 37,870 yards (34,630 m) @ 30°, with supercharges.
Just like on former British monitor ship designs, the turrets had to be raised high above the deck to allow the small draught, what raised the ship’s center of gravity and required a relatively wide hull to ensure stability.
The tall conning tower was protected by 6 in (152 mm) of armor on the sides and 2.5 in (64 mm) on the roof. The former monitors retrofitted anti-torpedo bulges were integrated into the Trebuchet-class’ hull, extending the deck’s width and giving the ship a more efficient shape, even though the short and wide hull still did not support a good performance at sea. The outer air-filled compartments under the waterline were 13 ft (4 m) wide with a 9 ft (2.7 m) wide outer section and an inner compartment 4 ft (1.2 m) wide containing an array of protective, air-filled steel tubes which would take the blast from an eventual broadside torpedo hit.
Ludgar conducted sea trials on 1 September 1921, during which the ship was faster than her predecessors at 16.5 knots (30 km/h; 19 mph) compared to 13 knots (24.3 km/h; 15.1 mph) for the Erebus-class monitors. However, like her ancestors, the wide and shallow hull of Ludgar made the ride rather unstable, and under practical conditions the ship’s top speed rarely exceeded 14 knots, making Ludgar only marginally faster than older monitor ships. The inherent flaws of the ship class’ design could not easily be overcome. However, Ludgar was officially commissioned on 2 September.
Upon entering service Ludgar was immediately deployed to the eastern Mediterranean as part of the 1st Battle Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet to mediate conflicts between Greece and the crumbling Ottoman Empire. While in the Ottoman capital Constantinople, Ludgar and the other British warships took on White émigrés fleeing the Communist Red Army.
The 1922 Washington Naval Treaty cut the battleship strength of the Royal Navy from forty ships to fifteen. The remaining active battleships were divided between the Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleets and conducted joint operations annually. Ludgar remained with the Mediterranean through 1926. On 4 October 1927, the ship was placed in reserve to effect a major refit, in which new rangefinders and searchlights were installed and the ship's original secondary armament, eight 4 inch naval guns against enemy destroyers and torpedo boats, was replaced be anti-aircraft guns of the same caliber.
On 15 May 1929 the refit was finished, and the ship was assigned to the 1st Battle Squadron of the Mediterranean Fleet. The squadron also consisted of Royal Sovereign, her sisters Resolution and Revenge, and Queen Elizabeth, and based in Malta. The only changes made during the Thirties were augmentations to Ludgar’s anti-aircraft batteries.
Fleet exercises in 1934 were carried out in the Bay of Biscay, followed by a fleet regatta in Navarino Bay off Greece. In 1935, the ship returned to Britain for the Jubilee Fleet Review for King George V. In August 1935, Ludgar was transferred to the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet, where she served as a training vessel until 2 June 1937, when she was again placed in reserve for a major overhaul. This lasted until 18 February 1938, after which she returned to the 2nd Battle Squadron.
In early 1939, the Admiralty considered plans to send Ludgar to Asia to counter Japanese expansionism. They reasoned that the then established "Singapore strategy", which called for a fleet to be formed in Britain to be dispatched to confront a Japanese attack was inherently risky due to the long delay. They argued that a dedicated battle fleet would allow for faster reaction. The plan was abandoned, however. In the last weeks of August 1939, the Royal Navy began to concentrate in wartime bases as tensions with Germany rose.
At the outset of war in September 1939, Ludgar was assigned to the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Home Fleet but remained at Plymouth for a short refit. In May 1940, painted in an overall light grey livery, she moved to the Mediterranean Fleet. There she was based in Alexandria, together with the battleships Warspite, Malaya, and Valiant, under the command of Admiral Andrew Cunningham.
In mid-August 1940, while steaming in the Red Sea, Royal Sovereign was attacked by the Italian submarine Galileo Ferraris and lightly damaged. Later that month, she returned to Alexandria for repairs and she received false white wakes at front and stern to simulate speed and confuse enemies. At the same time the conning tower was painted in a very light grey to make it less conspicuous when the ship was lurking behind the horizon. These were combined with periodic maintenance and the stay at dock lasted until November 1940.
Ludgar then moved to North Africa where she supported Operation Compass, the British assault against the Italian Tenth Army in Libya. The monitor shelled Italian positions at Maktila in Egypt on the night of 8 December, as part of the Battle of Sidi Barrani, before coming under the command of Captain Hector Waller's Inshore Squadron off Libya on 13 December. During the successful advance by the Western Desert Force Terror bombarded Italian land forces and fortifications, amongst others the fortified port of Bardia in eastern Libya on 16 December. After the Bardia bombardment concern was raised about the condition of the 15 in gun barrels which had been fitted, having been previously used, in 1939. The barrels were inspected by Vice Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham and the order was given for Ludgar to reduce the amount of cordite used when firing the main guns, in an attempt to extend the weapons' useful life. In a further attempt to conserve the monitor's main guns, her duties were changed to concentrate on providing anti-aircraft cover for the rest of the squadron and to ferry supplies from Alexandria. The ship also served as a water carrier for the advancing British and Commonwealth army.
Along with the flotilla leader Stuart, the gunboat Gnat and the destroyers Vampire and Voyager, Ludgar supported the assault on Tobruk on 21 January 1941 by the 6th Australian Division with the port being secured on 22nd. By this point the monitor's main gun barrels had each fired over 600 rounds of ammunition and the rifling had been worn away. While the main guns could still be fired, the shots would rarely land accurately and frequently exploded in mid-air. Ludgar was now relegated solely to the role of a mobile anti-aircraft platform and her light anti-aircraft armament was supplemented by two triple two-pounder anti-aircraft guns, mounted in armored turrets in front of the bridge and on a small platform at stern. To make room for the latter the original locations of the ship's lifeboats was moved from stern to the main deck behind the funnel, and a large crane was added there to put them afloat. The crane was also able to deploy a light reconnaissance float plane - and for a short period in early 1941 Ludgar carried a Fairey Seafox biplane, despite having neither catapult nor hangar. However, since the aircraft was exposed to the elements all the time and quite vulnerable, it soon disappeared.
At this phase the ship started sporting an unofficial additional camouflage which consisted of irregular small patches in sand, brown and khaki over her basic grey livery, apparently applied in situ with whatever suitable paint the crew could get their hands on, probably both British Army and even captured Italian paints. The objective was to better hide the ship against the African coastline when supporting land troops.
In March 1941, Ludgar was involved in Operation Lustre, the Allied reinforcement of Greece. The turn of fortune against the Allies in April required the evacuation of most of these forces, Operation Demon. On 21 April Ludgar was in Nafplio and accounted for the evacuation of 301 people, including 160 nurses. Following this, the ship became involved with the Tobruk Ferry Service, and made 11 runs to the besieged city of Tobruk before engine problems forced her withdrawal in July. Ludgar sailed again to Alexandria for repairs, which lasted from September 1941 to March 1942.
Ludgar – now re-fitted with new main gun barrels and two more Oerlikon AA machine cannon to the original complement of eight – was then assigned to Force H in the Mediterranean. Operation Torch saw British and American forces landed in Morocco and Algeria under the British First Army. Force H was reinforced to cover these landings and Ludgar provided heavy artillery support for the land-based ground troops. The end of the campaign in North Africa saw an interdiction effort on a vast scale, the aim was to cut Tunisia completely off from Axis support. It succeeded and 250,000 men surrendered to the 18th Army Group; a number equal to those who surrendered at Stalingrad. Force H again provided heavy cover for this operation.
Two further sets of landings were covered by Force H against interference from the Italian fleet. Operation Husky in July 1943 saw the invasion and conquest of Sicily, and Operation Avalanche saw an attack on the Italian mainland at Salerno. Following the Allied landings on Italy itself, the Italian government surrendered. The Italian fleet mostly escaped German capture and much of it formed the Italian Co-Belligerent Navy. With the surrender of the Italian fleet, the need for heavy units in the Mediterranean disappeared. The battleships and aircraft carriers of Force H dispersed to the Home and Eastern Fleets and the command was disbanded. Naval operations in the Mediterranean from now on would be conducted by lighter units, and Ludgar was commanded back to Great Britain, where she was put into reserve at Devonport, enhancing the station’s anti-aircraft defense.
At Devonport Ludgar was repainted in a dark grey-green Admiralty scheme and on 2 June 1944 she left Devonport again, joining Bombardment Force D of the Eastern Task Force of the Normandy invasion fleet off Plymouth two days later. At 0500 on 6 June 1944 Ludgar was the first ship to open fire, bombarding the German battery at Villerville from a position 26,000 yards offshore, to support landings by the British 3rd Division on Sword Beach. She continued bombardment duties on 7 June, but after firing over 300 shells she had to rearm and crossed the Channel to Portsmouth. She returned to Normandy on 9 June to support American forces at Utah Beach and then, on 11 June, she took up position off Gold Beach to support the British 69th Infantry Brigade near Cristot.
On 12 June she returned to Portsmouth to rearm, but her guns were worn out again, so she was ordered to sail to Rosyth via the Straits of Dover. She evaded German coastal batteries, partly due to effective radar jamming, but hit a mine 28 miles off Harwich early on 13 June. The explosion ripped her bow apart, leaving a gaping leak, and she sank within just a couple of minutes. Only 57 men of Ludgar’s crew survived.
General characteristics:
Displacement: 9,090 long tons (9,185 t)
Length: 436 ft (133.1 m) overall
Beam: 97 ft (29.6 m)
Draught: 11 ft 8 in (3.6 m)
Complement: 224
Propulsion:
4× Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers, generating a combined 6,000 ihp (4,500 kW) via
triple-expansion steam engines with two shafts
Performance:
Top speed: 16.5 knots (30 km/h; 19 mph)
Range: 2,480 nmi (4,590 km; 2,850 mi)
Armament:
2× twin BL 15-inch L42 Mk I naval guns
8 × single QF 4-inch Mk V naval guns
2 × triple two-pounder (40 mm) anti-aircraft guns
10x single Oerlikon 20mm (0.787 in) anti-aircraft machine cannon
The kit and its assembly:
This was another submission for the "Gunships" group build at whatifmodellers.com in late 2021 - and what would such a competition be without a literal "gunship" in the form of a monitor ship? I had wanted to scratch such a vehicle for a while, and the GB was a good motivation to tackle this messy project.
The idea was to build a post-WWI monitor for the Royal Navy. From WWI, several such ships had survived and they were kept in reserve and service into WWII, some even survived this war after extensive use. However, the layout of a typical monitor ship, with low draft, a relatively wide hull and heavy armament for land bombardments, is rather special and finding a suitable basis for this project was not easy - and I also did not want to spend a fortune just in donor parts.
Then I recently came across Hobby Boss 1:700 kit of the USS Arizona (in its 1941 guise, w/o the hull barbettes), and after some comparison with real British monitors I found my starting point - and it was dirty cheap. Righteously, though, because the model is rather primitive, comparable with the simple Matchbox 1:700 waterline ships. There are also some dubious if not cringeworthy solutions. For instance, in order to provide the superstructures with open windows, the seams between the single levels run right through the windows! WTF? These seams can hardly be hidden, it's really an awkward solution. Another freak detail: the portholes on the lower hull protrude like pockmarks, in real life they'd the 1 1/2 ft (50 cm) deep?! Some details like the cranes on the upper deck are also very "robust", it is, in the end, IMHO not a good model. But it was just the starting for me for "something else"...
Modifications started with shortening the hull. Effectively, I cut out more then 3 1/2 in from the body, which is an integral part with side walls and main deck, basically any straight hull section disappeared, leaving only the bow and stern section. My hope was that these could be simple glued together for a new, wide hull - but this did not work without problems, because the rear section turned out to be a bit wider than the front. What to do...? I eventually solved this problem through wedge-shaped cuts inside of the integral railings. With some force, lots of glue and a stiffening structure inside the new hull could be completed.
Next the original turret bases had to disappear. as well as two of the four anchors and their respective chains on the foredeck. I retained as much of the original superstructure as possible, as it looked quite plausible even for a shorter ship, but since the complete hull basis for it had been gone, some adaptations had to be made. The main level was shortened a little and I had to scratch the substruction from styrene sheet, so that it would match with the stepped new hull.
At the same time I had to defined where the main turret(s) would be placed - and I settled for two, because the deck space was sufficient and the ship's size would make them appear plausible. A huge problem were the turret mounts, though - since a monitor has only little draught, the hull is not very deep. Major gun turrets are quite tall things, on battleships only the turret itself with the guns can be normally seen. But on a monitor they stand really tall above the waterline, and their foundation needs a cover. I eventually found a very nice solution in the form of 1:72 jet engine exhausts from Intech F-16s - I has a pair of these featureless parts in the spares box, and with some trimming and the transplantation of the original turtret mounts the result looks really good.
In the meantime the hull-mounted gun barbettes of USS Arizona had to disappear, together with the pockmarks on the hull. A messy affair with several PSR rounds. Furthermore, I added a bottom to the waterline hull, cut from 0.5 mm styrene sheet, and added plaster and lead beads as ballast.
Most of the superstructure, up to the conning tower, were mostly taken OOB. I just gave the ship a more delicate crane and re-arranged the lifeboats, and added two small superstructures to the rear deck as AA-stations, behind the rear tower - the space had been empty, because USS Arizona carried aircraft catapults there.
For the armament I used the OOB main turrets, but only used two of the three barrels (blanking of the opening in the middle). The 4 in guns were taken OOB to their original positions, the lighter 20 mm AA guns were partly placed in the original positions, too, and four of them went to a small platform at stern. For even more firepower I added two small turrets with three two-pounder AA guns, one on the rear deck and another right in front of the bridge.
Painting and markings:
The ship might look odd in its fragmented multi-colored camouflage - but this scheme was inspired by the real HMS Terror, an monitor that operated in early 1941 on the coast of North Africa and carried a similar makeshift camouflage. This consisted of a multitude of sand and brown tones, applied over an overall light grey base. I mimicked this design, initially giving the ship at first a uniform livery in 507b (Humbrol 64), together with an unpainted but weathered wooden deck (Humbrol 187 plus a washing with sepia ink) and horizontal metal surfaces either in a dark grey (507a, Humbrol 106) or covered with a red-brown coat of Corticene (Humbrol 62). As a personal detail I gave the ship false bow and stern waves on the hull in white. Another personal mod is the light grey (507c, Humbrol 147) conning tower - as mentioned in the background, I found that this light grey would be most useful when the ship itself was hidden behind the horizon from view, and only the conning tower would be directly visible in front of a hazy naval background.
On top of the grey hull I added several other paints, including khaki drab (FS 34087 from Modelmaster), red brown (FS 30118, Humbrol 118), khaki drill (Humbrol 72), mid stone (Humbrol 225) and light stone (Humbrol 121).
The model received an overall washing with dark grey and some rust stains with various brown and red shades of simple watercolors. The waterline was created with long and thin black 1.5 mm decal stripes, a very convenient and tidy solution. Finally, all parts were sealed with matt acrylic varnish, and after the final assembly I also added some rigging to the main mast with heated black sprue material.
Phew, this was quite a challenge, the result looks good overall, but I am not happy with the finish. Ships are not my strength and you see the Hobby Boss kit's flaws and weaknesses everywhere. Then add massive bodywork, and thing look even more shaggy (*sigh*). Nevertheless, the model looks like a typical monitor ship, and when I take the rather crappy USS Arizona kit as basis/benchmark, the "new" HMS Ludgar is not a bad achievement. It's surely not a crisp model, but the impression is good and this is what counts most to me.
"Hawaiian Pineapple Resort"
420mm x 420mm x 700mm
16.5" x 16.5" x 27.5"
steel/ resin clay/ resin/ plaster/ plastic/ balsa veneer sheet/ epoxy putty/ FRP/ styrene foam/ glass
Private Collection since 2011
All images copyright TOKYO GOOD IDEA Development Institute Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.
+++ 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 Royal Iraqi Air Force (RIrAF) considered its founding day as 22 April 1931, when the first pilots flew in from training in the United Kingdom. The RIrAF was first used in combat against the revolts by tribes in Diwaniya and Rumaytha southern Iraq in 1934 under order of Bakr Sidqi, where it suffered its first combat loss.
Its first combat against another conventional military was in the 1941 Anglo-Iraqi War when the Iraqi government made a bid for full independence following a coup by Rashid Ali against pro-British Iraqi leaders. The RIrAF was destroyed as a fighting force, resulting in an alliance with the Axis which involved Luftwaffe aircraft (painted in Iraqi markings) and Italian Regia Aeronautica aircraft assisting Iraqi ground forces.
The German units were Special Staff F and Fliegerführer Irak, who commanded the so-called Sonderkommando Junck.
On 1 April 1941, Rashid Ali and members of the "Golden Square" led a coup d'état in Iraq. During the time leading up to the coup, Rashid Ali's supporters had been informed that Germany was willing to recognize the independence of Iraq from the British Empire, there had also been discussions on matériel being sent to support the Iraqis and other Arab factions in fighting the British.
The resulting Anglo-Iraqi War started on 2 May. According to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the “vigorous instructions” provided by Hitler were "belated" and developed at a time when “all chance of useful Axis intervention had passed.”
On 3 May Dr. Fritz Grobba, German ambassador, secretly returned to Iraq to head up a diplomatic mission to channel support to the Rashid Ali regime. Grobba's mission was accompanied by a military force commanded by the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, or OKW (the High Command of the Armed Forces).
The military mission had the cover name 'Sonderstab F' (Special Staff F); it included components from the Abwehr-based Brandenburgers and from the Luftwaffe. Sonderstab F was commanded by General der Flieger Hellmuth Felmy.
While Felmy was a General der Flieger, he did not command the air component of Sonderstab F. General Felmy commanded Sonderstab F from Greece and it was Major Axel von Blomberg who flew to Iraq. He was the commander of the reconnaissance group in Iraq until his untimely death. Had he lived, von Blomberg was to integrate the Luftwaffe component, Fliegerführer Irak, with Iraqi armed forces in operations against the British. In addition, he and other members of the Brandenburger Regiment were to raise a German-led Arab Brigade (Arabische Brigade). The brigade was to have been raised in Iraq from the thousands of Arab volunteers available from Iraq, from Syria, from Palestine, from Saudi Arabia, and from throughout the Arab world. After his death and after the mission was a failure, the small group of German Military Intelligence (Abwehr) officers who followed him discussed the destruction of all oil facilities in Iraq. But this was pure fantasy for the four Brandenburgers available.
On 6 May, in accordance with the "Paris Protocols", Germany concluded a deal with the Vichy French government to release war matériel, including aircraft, from sealed stockpiles in Syria and transport them to the Iraqis. The French also agreed to allow the passage of other weapons and stores as well as loaning several air bases in northern Syria, to Germany, for the transport of their aircraft to Iraq.
Also on 6 May, Luftwaffe Oberst Werner Junck received instructions in Berlin that he was to take a small force of aircraft to Iraq. That force was 'Fliegerführer Irak' (Commander of Aviation Iraq) and also known as 'Sonderkommando Junck'. The aircraft of 'Sonderkommando Junck' had Iraqi markings and operated from an air base in Mosul, some 240 miles north of Baghdad.
'Fliegerführer Irak' was to consist of a squadron of Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighters (12 aircraft) from IV/ZG 76, a squadron of Heinkel 111 bombers (12 aircraft) and Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters (12 aircraft) from IX/JG 52. These Bf 109s were relatively new E-7 types, the E-7 entered service and seeing combat at the end of August 1940. The aircraft for Fliegerführer Irak' received tropical equipment like a dust filter for the engine as well as a quick camouflage update on their transfer via Greece from the Russian front.
One of the limitations of the earlier Bf 109E was their short range of 660 km (410 mi) and limited endurance, as the design was originally conceived as a short-range interceptor. The E-7 rectified this problem as it was the first subtype to be able to carry a drop tank, usually a 300 L (80 US gal) capacity unit mounted on a rack under the fuselage, which increased their range to 1,325 km (820 mi).
Alternatively, a bomb could be fitted and the E-7 could be used as a Jabo fighter-bomber.
In addition, to assist in transporting the force to Iraq, Junck was lent 13 Junkers 52 and Junkers 90 transport aircraft. All but three of these transports had to be returned to Greece immediately to prepare for the invasion of Crete, though.
On 23 May, the instructions for Sonderstab F were detailed by Directive No. 30 (Weisung Nr. 30). It detailed German intervention in support of Arab nationalists who seized the government in Iraq and were being confronted by the British Army (10th Indian Infantry Division). The mission included a Brandenburger Regiment, a German Air Force (Luftwaffe), and a German Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) component. Many members of the various mission components had received orders prior to 23 May and were in Iraq at the time Weisung Nr. 30 was issued.
In accordance with ’’Weisung Nr. 30’’, the command structure for the Luftwaffe component of Sonderstab F was independent from the rest of the mission. Luftwaffe Colonel Werner Junck commanded 'Fliegerführer Irak' in Iraq. He reported directly to Lieutenant General Hans Jeschonnek in Germany. Fliegerführer Irak arrived in Iraq on 13 May, fought against the British under conditions which became more and more difficult, and, by the end of the month, was forced to abandon Iraq.
British forces had already begun to counterattack in Iraq. By 15 May, Junck knew that "Habforce" was on its way to RAF Habbaniya and Kingcol had taken Rutba Fort. Junck sent a lone Heinkel bomber to find "Kingcol" at Rutba. The bomber found and attacked "Kingcol", which alerted the British to the German military assistance to the Iraqi regime.
On the same day, von Blomberg was sent by Junck to Baghdad to make arrangements for a council of war with the Iraqi government. The council was planned for 17 May. However, von Blomberg was killed by friendly fire from Iraqi positions. His Heinkel 111 was shot at from the ground as it flew low on approach and von Blomberg was found to be dead upon landing.
Junck visited Baghdad in place of von Blomberg on 16 May. He met Dr. Grobba, Rashid Ali, General Amin Zaki, Colonel Nur ed-Din Mahmud, and Mahmud Salman. The group agreed on a number of priorities for Fliegerführer Irak. The first was to prevent Kingcol from reaching RAF Habbaniya. The second was for Iraqi ground forces to take Habbaniya with air support provided by Fliegerführer Irak. It was also very important to the Germans to provide the Royal Iraqi Army with a "spine straightening." Much of the RIrA was known to be terrified of bombing by British aircraft.
On the same day, Junck arranged for a raid by Fliegerführer Irak on Habbaniya. Six Messerschmitt 110s and 3 Heinkel 111s attacked the base, which took the RAF personnel there by surprise. However, while a number of defenders were killed on the ground, the Germans lost a Heinkel in exchange for an Audax and a Gladiator.
On 17 May, three Messerschmitt 110s attacked an extended column of Kingcol in the open desert. Luckily for the British, the fighters had not attacked the previous day when many vehicles were caught up to the axles in soft sand.
On the same day, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) paid Junck back with his own coin. Two cannon-firing, long-range Hawker Hurricanes which had arrived unannounced from Egypt, and six Bristol Blenheim bombers from 84 Squadron, struck the Germans at Mosul. For the loss of one Hurricane, two German aircraft were destroyed and four damaged. In addition, two Gladiator biplane fighters from Habbaniya encountered two Messerschmitt 110s attempting to take off from Rashid Airfield in Baghdad. Both Messerschmitts were destroyed.
By 18 May, Junck's force had been whittled down to 10 Bf 109s, 8 Messerschmitt 110s, 4 Heinkel 111s, and 2 Junkers 52s. This represented a roughly 30 percent loss of his original force. With few replacements available, no spares, poor fuel and aggressive attacks by the British, this rate of attrition did not bode well for Fliegerführer Irak. By the end of May, Junck had lost 14 Messerschmitts and 5 Heinkels.
On 27 May, twelve Italian Fiat CR.42s of the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Italian Air Force) arrived in Mosul to operate under German command. By 29 May, Italian aircraft were reported over Baghdad. According to Winston Churchill, the Italian aircraft accomplished nothing.
Grobba sent a panicked message from Baghdad to Berlin on 28 May reporting that the British were close to the city with more than "one hundred tanks." By then, Junck had no serviceable Messerschmitt 110s and only two Heinkel 111s with just four bombs between them.
However losses, a lack of spares and replacements resulted in their departure, following which the coup was defeated by British forces. The German military mission to Iraq left under cover of darkness on 29 May. Dr. Grobba himself fled Iraq the next day...
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Wingspan 32ft 4½in (9.87m)
Length 28ft 4½in (8.64m)
Height 8ft 2½in (2.50m)
Wing Area 174.05 sq feet (16.7 sq m)
Unladen weight 4,189 lbs (1,190 kg)
Laden weight 5,875 lbs (2,665 kg)
Performance:
Max Speed (Sea Level) 290 mph (466 k/ph)
Max Speed (14.560 ft) 348 mph (560 k/ph)
Cruising Speed 233 mph (375 k/ph)
Climbing Rate 3,510 ft/min (17.83 m/sec)
Max range (on internal fuel):410 miles (660 km) at cruising speed, 820 mi (1.325 km) with drop tank
Service Ceiling 36,500 feet (11,125 m)
Powerplant:
1ˣ Daimler-Benz DB601N with direct fuel injection, rated at 1,175 hp,, inline
Armament:
2ˣ MG FF 20 mm cannons in the wings (60 RPG)
2ˣ 7.9mm MG 17 machine guns above the engine (1.000 RPG)
1ˣunderfuselage hardpoint for a 300l (80 US gal) drop tank or a 250kg (550 lb) bomb
Avionics:
FuG 16Z radio
The kit and its assembly:
This small whif aircraft was inspired by a profile of a Bf 110D from the aforementioned, real 'Sonderkommando Junck' – a grey aircraft, with a white nose, yellow engines, its flanks repainted in sand color and bearing Iraqi markings plus a shark mouth! How odd can reality be?
Anyway, doing a respective Bf 110 is one thing, but a whiffy twist could not hurt. Since storage space is an issue I decided to add some Bf 109 fighters to the German detachment (what did NOT happen!), and build a respective and realistic whif.
I am not a fan of the Bf 109 (as well as the Spitfire), so I kept the building aspect simple: I used a Hobby Boss Bf 109 E-7/trop as basis, and the kit was almost 100% built OOB – it's a nice kit, with very good details and even a decent cockpit!
Only changes I made are a metal axis for the propeller and a respective styrene tube as an adapter, and I put some dark gray styrene foam into the lower fuselage because I was afraid that light could shine through the cooler openings. I also cut the canopy into three pieces, in order to allow an open display. The drop tank and its hardpoint come with the kit.
Painting and markings:
This is where the fun really begins. I used the Bf 110 from IV./ZG 26 as benchmark – it would be a gray aircraft, quickly re-painted for its new operators, and weathered from heavy use in a desert environment.
That said, the aircraft initially received its Eastern Front livery: a RLM 74/75 splinter scheme with a high waterline from above (and some mottles on the flanks), RLM 65 for the lower sides, and a yellow engine (Revell 310, a very good tone for RLM 04) – I took a real aircraft as a benchmark.
Then, the conversion started: firstly, the aircraft would lose its original yellow operation theater markings like a yellow fuselage band and wing tips: painted over with RLM 78 (below) and 79 (upper sides). The same was done with any former national and tactical markings. I made sure that this would look rough and “made by hand”.
Then the upper surfaces received an extra treatment with RLM 78: the flanks were completely painted over (in different shades, beyond the Modelmaster Authentic tone I also used Humbrol 63 and 94), and the upper wing surfaces received a cloudy paint job, too, even though the overpainted national markings were to stand out with a bit of more contrast and the original gray shades below showing through everywhere. The yellow engine received a similar treatment, even though I left the lower side in RLM 04.
All interior surfaces (cockpit, landing gear) were held in RLM 02, while the spinner became white, kept from the Russian front.
The Iraqi markings were puzzled together – the insignia and the fin colors come from a Special Hobby Northrop A-17 bomber, the tactical number belongs to a Egyptian PZL-104 – I am not certain whether the aircraft from 'Fliegerführer Irak' carried any at all? But without any code I found the aircraft to be a bit too bleak... it's a whif, anyway. Some stencils were taken from the OOB sheet, too.
Finally, a thin black ink wash was applied, as well as details with Tamiya “Smoke” and light dry painting with sand and gray all over, and black gun and exhaust soot stains. The aircraft was to look pretty beaten, from the final days of May 1941.As a last step, all was sealed under a coat of matte Revell Acrylic varnish.
A quickie, and a new personal record, I guess, because the whole thing was tinkered together in two days/less than 36 hours overall, and as a novelty I tried to edit a video with sound!
+++ 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:
In Autumn 1946, the Saab company began internal studies aimed at developing a replacement aircraft for the Saab B 18/S 18 as Sweden's standard attack aircraft. In 1948, Saab was formally approached by the Swedish Government with a request to investigate the development of a turbojet-powered strike aircraft to replace a series of 1940s vintage attack, reconnaissance, and night-fighter aircraft then in the Flygvapnet’s inventory. On 20 December 1948, a phase one contract for the design and mock-up of the proposed aircraft was issued. The requirements laid out by the Swedish Air Force were demanding: the aircraft had to be able to attack anywhere along Sweden's 2,000 km (1,245 miles) of coastline within one hour of launch from a central location, and it had to be capable of being launched in any weather conditions, at day or night.
In response, Saab elected to develop a twin-seat aircraft with a low-mounted swept wing and equipped with advanced electronics. On 3 November 1952, the first prototype, under the handle “Fpl 32” (flygplan = aircraft) conducted its first flight. A small batch of prototypes completed design and evaluation trials with series production of the newly designated Saab 32 Lansen beginning in 1953. The first production A 32A Lansen attack aircraft were delivered to the Swedish Air Force and proceeded through to mid-1958, at which point manufacturing activity switched to the Lansen’s other two major scheduled variants, the J 32B all-weather fighter and the photo reconnaissance S 32C, optimized for maritime operations.
The idea behind the J 32 originated from the late 1940s: Even before the SAAB 29 Tunnan had taken to the air, discussions began between SAAB and the Swedish Aviation Administration regarding a future night fighter aircraft with a jet engine. Since the end of the war, the Swedish Air Force had wanted a night fighter aircraft but was forced to put these on the shelf due to cost reasons. In the end, they managed to obtain sixty de Haviland Mosquito night fighter aircraft (then designated J 30) from Great Britain as a low-budget solution, but the J 30 was far from modern at the end of the 1940s and talks with SAAB regarding a domestic alternative continued.
At the beginning of the 1950s, the Fpl 32 project was in full swing and the aircraft was selected as the basis for an indigenous all-weather jet night fighter with a sighting radar and various heavier weapons to be able to shoot down bombers – at the time of the J 32B’s design, the main bomber threat was expected to enter Swedish airspace at subsonic speed and at high altitude. The original idea was that this aircraft would replace the J 30 Mosquito from 1955 onwards, but this proved to be impossible as the J 30 fleet needed to be replaced long before this and the A 32A as initial/main varia of the Fpl 32 had priority. Because of this operational gap, in January 1951 the Swedish Air Force ordered the British de Haviland Venom (then designated J 33) as an interim all-weather fighter and plans for the J 32B were postponed until later with the idea that the Lansen’s fighter variant would replace the J 33 at the end of the 1950s and benefit from technological progress until then.
On 7 January 1957, the first J 32B conducted its maiden flight, and it was a considerable step forward from the A 32A attack aircraft – in fact, excepts for the hull, it had only little in common with the attack variant! The new fighter version was powered by a Rolls-Royce Avon Mk 47A (locally designated RM6A) which gave as much thrust without an afterburner as the SAAB A 32A's original RM5A2 did with an afterburner, greatly improving the aircraft’s rate of climb and acceleration, even though the J 32B remained only transonic.
The armament consisted of four heavier fixed 30 mm ADEN m/55 automatic cannon in a slightly re-contoured nose, plus Rb 24/AIM-9B Sidewinder IR-guided AAMs and various unguided rockets against air and ground targets. Instead of the A 32A’s Ericsson mapping and navigation radar, which was compatible with the indigenous Rb 04C anti-ship missile, one of the earliest cruise missiles in western service, the J 32B carried a PS-42/A. This was a search/tracking X-band radar with a gyro-stabilized antenna with a swivel range of 60° to each side and +60°/−30° up/down. The radar featured the option of a 3D display for both WSO and pilot and its data could be directly displayed in the pilot’s Sikte 6A HUD, a very modern solution at the time.
A total of 118 aircraft (S/N 32501-32620) were produced between 1958 and 1960, serving in four fighter units. However, the J 32B only served for just under 12 years as a fighter aircraft in the Swedish Air Force: aviation technology progressed very quickly during the 1960s and already in 1966, the J 32B began to be replaced by the J 35F, which itself was already an advanced all-weather interceptor version of the supersonic Draken. In 1969 only the Jämtland's Air Flotilla (F4) still had the J 32B left in service and the type began to be completely retired from frontline service. In 1970 the plane flew in service for the last time and in 1973 the J 32B was officially phased out of the air force, and scrapping began in 1974.
However, the J 32Bs’ career was not over yet: At the beginning of the 1970s, Målflygdivisionen (MFD for short, the “Target Air Division”) was still using old J 29Fs as target tugs and for other training purposes, and they needed to be replaced. The choice fell on the much more capable, robust and readily available J 32B. Twenty-four machines were transferred to the MFD in 1971 to be used for training purposes, losing their radar and cannon armament. Six of these six J 32Bs were in 1972 modified into dedicated target tugs under the designation J 32D, six more J 32Bs were left unmodified and allocated to various second-line tasks such as radio testing and ground training.
The other twelve J 32Bs (s/n 32507, -510, -512, -515, -529, -541, -543, -569, -571, -592, -607 and -612) became jamming aircraft through the implementation of ECR equipment under the designation J 32E. This electronics package included internally:
- An INGEBORG signal reconnaissance receiver with antennae in the radome,
covering S, C and L radar frequency bands
- A G24 jamming transmitter, also with its antenna in the radome, covering alternatively
S, C and L frequency bands. This device co-operated with the external ADRIAN jamming pod
- Apparatus 91B; a broadband jammer, later integrated with INGEBORG
- MORE, a jammer and search station for the VHF and UHF bands
- FB-6 tape player/recorder; used, among other things, to send false messages/interference
Additional, external equipment included:
- PETRUS: jamming pod, X-band, also radar warning, intended for jamming aircraft
and active missile radars
- ADRIAN: jamming pod, active on S- and C-band, intended for jamming land-based and
shipboard radars
- BOZ-1, -3, -9 and -100 chaff dispenser pods
Outwardly, the J 32E differed from its brethren only through some blade antennae around the hull, and they initially retained the fighters’ blue-green paint scheme and their tactical markings so that they were hard to distinguish from the original fighters. Over time, orange day-glow markings were added to improve visibility during training sessions. However, during the mid-Nineties, three machines received during scheduled overhauls a new all-grey low-visibility camouflage with toned-down markings, and they received the “16M” unit identifier – the only MFD aircraft to carry these openly.
When a J 32E crashed in 1975, three of the remaining six training J 32Bs were modified into J 32Es in 1979 to fill the ranks. The MFD kept operating the small J 32Ds and Es fleet well into the Nineties and the special unit survived two flotilla and four defense engagements. At that time, the Målflygdivisionen was part of the Swedish Air Force’s Upplands Flygflottilj (F16), but it was based at Malmen air base near Linköpping (where the Swedish Air Force’s Försökscentralen was located, too) as a detachment unit and therefore the machines received the unit identifier “F16M”, even though the “M” suffix did normally not appear on the aircraft. However, through a defense ministry decision in 1996 the Target Air Division and its associated companies as well as the aircraft workshop at Malmen were to be decommissioned, what meant the end of the whole unit. On June 26, 1997, a ceremony was held over the disbandment of the division, where, among other things, twelve J 32Es made a formation flight over Östergötland.
After the decommissioning of the division, however, the Lansens were still not ‘dead’ yet: the J 32D target tugs were kept operational by a private operator and received civil registrations, and eight flightworthy J 32Es were passed over to FMV:Prov (Provningsavdelningen vid Försvarets materielverk, the material testing department of the Swedish Air Force’s Försökscentralen) to serve on, while other airframes without any more future potential were handed over to museums as exhibition pieces, or eventually scrapped. The surviving J 32Es served on in the electronic aggressor/trainer role until 1999 when they were finally replaced by ten modified Sk 37E Viggen two-seaters, after their development and conversion had taken longer than expected.
However, this was still not the end of the Saab 32, which turned out to be even more long-lived: By 2010, at least two Lansens were still operational, having the sole task of taking high altitude air samples for research purposes in collaboration with the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority, and by 2012 a total of three Lansens reportedly remained in active service in Sweden.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 14.94 m (49 ft 0 in)
Wingspan: 13 m (42 ft 8 in)
Height: 4.65 m (15 ft 3 in)
Wing area: 37.4 m² (403 sq ft)
Airfoil: NACA 64A010
Empty weight: 7,500 kg (16,535 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 13,500 kg (29,762 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Svenska Flygmotor RM6A afterburning turbojet
(a Rolls Royce Avon Mk.47A outfitted with an indigenous afterburner),
delivering 4,88 kp dry and 6,500 kp with reheat
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,200 km/h (750 mph, 650 kn)
Range: 2,000 km (1,200 mi, 1,100 nmi) with internal fuel only
Service ceiling: 15,000 m (49,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 100 m/s (20,000 ft/min)
Armament:
No internal weapons.
13× external hardpoints (five major pylons and eight more for light weapons)
for a wide variety of up to 3.000 kg of ordnance, typically only used
for ECM and chaff/flare dispenser pods and/or a conformal ventral auxiliary tank
The kit and its assembly:
This is a what-if project that I had on my idea list for a long time, but never got the nerve to do it because it is just a mild modification – the model depicts a real aircraft type, just with a fictional livery for it (see below).
The plan to create a J 32E from Heller’s A 32 kit from 1982 predated any OOB option, though. Tarangus has been offering a dedicated J 32B/E kit since 2016, but I stuck to my original plan to convert a Heller fighter bomber which I had in The Stash™, anyway)- also because I find the Tarangus kit prohibitively expensive (for what you get), even though it might have saved some work.
The Heller A 32A kit was basically built OOB, even though changing it into a J 32B (and even further into an “E”) called for some major modifications. These could have been scratched, but out of convenience I invested into a dedicated Maestro Models conversion set that offers resin replacements for a modified gun bay (which has more pronounced “cheek fairings” than the attack aircraft, the lower section is similar to the S 32C camera nose), a new jet exhaust and also the Lansen’s unique conformal belly tank – for the cost of a NIB Heller Saab 32 kit alone, though… :-/
Implanting the Maestro Models parts was straightforward and relatively easy. The J 32B gun bay replaces the OOB parts from the Heller kit, fits well and does not require more PSR than the original part. Since the model depicts a gun-less J 32E, I faired the gun ports over.
The RM6A exhaust was a bit more challenging – it is a bit longer and wider than the A 32A’s RM5. It’s not much, maybe 1mm in each dimension, so that the tail opening had to be widened and slightly re-contoured to accept the new one-piece resin pipe. The belly tank matched the kit’s ventral contours well. As an extra, the Maestro Models set also offers the J 32B’s different tail skid, which is placed further back on the fighter than on the attack and recce aircraft.
The J 32E’s characteristic collection of sizable blade antennae all around the hull was scratched from 0.5 mm styrene sheet. Furthermore, the flaps were lowered, an emergency fuel outlet was added under the tail, the canopy (very clear, but quite thick!) cut into two parts for optional open display, and the air intake walls were extended inside of the fuselage with styrene sheet.
Under the wings, four pylons (the Heller kit unfortunately comes totally devoid of any ordnance or even hardpoints!) from the spares box were added that carry scratched BOZ-1 chaff dispensers and a pair of ADRIAN/PETRUS ECM pod dummies – all made from drop tanks, incidentally from Swedish aircraft (Mistercraft Saab 35 and Matchbox Saab 29). Sure, there are short-run aftermarket sets for this special equipment that might come closer to the real thing(s), but I do not think that the (quite considerable) investments in all these exotic aftermarket items are worthwhile when most of them are pretty easy to scratch.
Painting and markings:
The paint scheme was the actual reason to build a J 32E: the fundamental plan was to build a Lansen in the Swedish air superiority low-viz two-tone paint scheme from the Nineties, and the IMHO only sensible option beyond pure fantasy was the real J 32E as “canvas”. I used JAS 39 Gripens as reference: their upper tone is called Pansargrå 5431-17M (“Tank Grey”, which is, according to trustworthy sources, very close to FS 36173, U.S. Neutral Grey), while the undersides are painted in Duvagrå 5431-14M (“Dove Grey”; approximately FS 36373, a tone called “High Low Visibility Light Grey”). Surprisingly, other Swedish types in low-viz livery used different shades; the JA 37s and late J 35Js were painted in tones called mörkgrå 033M and grå 032M, even though AJSF 37s and AFAIK a single SK 37 were painted with the Gripen colors, too.
After checking a lot of Gripen pictures I selected different tones, though, because the greys appear much lighter in real life, esp. on the lower surfaces. I ended up with FS 36231 (Dark Gull Grey, Humbrol 140, a bit lighter than the Neutral Grey) and RLM 63 (Lichtgrau, Testors 2077, a very pale and cold tone). The aircraft received a low waterline with a blurry edge, and the light grey was raised at the nose up to the radome, as seen on JA 37s and JAS 39s. To make the low-viz Lansen look a little less uniform I painted the lower rear section of the fuselage in Revell 91 and 99, simulating bare metal – a measure that had been done with many Lansens because leaking fuel and oil from the engine bay would wash off any paint in this area, leaving a rather tatty look. Di-electric fairings like the nose radome and the fin tip were painted with a brownish light grey (Revell 75) instead of black, reducing contrast and simulating bare and worn fiber glass. Small details like the white tips of the small wing fences and the underwing pylons were adapted from real-world Lansens.
After a light black ink wash, I emphasized single panels with Humbrol 125 and 165 on the upper surfaces and 147 and 196 underneath. Additionally, grinded graphite was used for weathering and a grimy look – an effective method, thanks to the kit’s fine raised panel lines. The silver wing leading edges were created with decal sheet material and not painted, a clean and convenient solution that avoids masking mess.
The ECM and chaff dispenser pods were painted in a slightly different shade of grey (FS 36440, Humbrol 40). As a subtle contrast the conformal belly tank was painted with Humbrol 247 (RLM 76), a tone that comes close to the Lansens’ standard camouflage from the Sixties’ green/blue livery, with a darker front end (Humbrol 145) and a bare metal tail section.
The cockpit interior was, according to pictures of real aircraft, painted in a greenish grey; I used Revell 67 (RAL 7009, Grüngrau) for most surfaces and slightly darker Humbrol 163 for dashboards and instrument panels. The landing gear wells as well as the flaps’ interior became Aluminum Bronze (Humbrol 56), while the landing gear struts were painted in a bluish dark green (Humbrol 195) with olive drab (Revell 46) wheel hubs - a detail seen on some real-life Saab 32s and a nice contrast to the light grey all around.
All markings/decals came from RBD Studio/Moose Republic aftermarket sheets for Saab 32 and 37. From the latter the low-viz national markings and the day-glo orange tactical codes were taken, while most stencils came from the Lansen sheet. Unfortunately, the Heller kit’s OOB sheet is pretty minimalistic – but the real A/S 32s did not carry many markings, anyway. Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish. As a confusing detail I gave the aircraft an explicit “16M” unit identifier, created with single black 4 mm letters/numbers. As a stark contrast and a modern peace-time element I also gave the Lansen the typical huge day-glo orange tactical codes on the upper wings that were carried by the Swedish interceptors of the time.
A relatively simple build, thanks to the resin conversion set – otherwise, creating a more or less believable J 32E from Heller’s A 32 kit is a tough challenge. Though expensive, the parts fit and work well, and I’d recommend the set, because the shape of the J 32B’s lower nose is quite complex and scratching the bigger jet pipe needs a proper basis. The modern low-viz livery suits the vintage yet elegant Lansen well, even though it reveals the aircraft’s bulk and size; in all-grey, the Lansen has something shark- or even whale-ish to it? The aircraft/livery combo looks pretty exotic, but not uncredible - like a proven war horse.
+++ 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:
After World War I, the German aircraft industry had several problems. German airlines were forbidden to operate multi engine aircraft and during a period all manufacturing of aircraft in Germany was banned. By 1921, some of the restrictions was lifted, civilian aircraft could be made after approval of an international control commission if they fulfilled certain requirements. To bypass these rules and to be able to make whatever aircraft they wanted several aircraft manufacturers moved abroad. In 1921, Carl Bücker handled the purchase of a reconnaissance aircraft from Caspar-Werke in Travemünde. Because they expected problems due to the rules in the peace treaty regarding the export of German fighter aircraft, Bücker explored the possibility to smuggle the parts out of Germany and assemble the aircraft in Sweden.
To make the purchase easier, Ernst Heinkel and Bücker started Svenska Aero in Lidingö in 1921. The contract on the aircraft was transferred from Caspar to Svenska Aero. Heinkel and some German assembly workers temporarily moved to Lidingö to assemble the aircraft. During 1922 to 1923, the company moved into a former shipyard in Skärsätra on Lidingö since the company had received additional orders from the navy's air force. The parts for those aircraft were made in Sweden by Svenska Aero but assembled by TDS. In 1928, the navy ordered four J 4 (Heinkel HD 19) as a fighter with pontoons. That delivery came to be the last licens- built aircraft by Svenska Aero. In the mid-1920s, Svenska Aero created their own design department to be able to make their own aircraft models. Sven Blomberg, earlier employed by Heinkel Flugzeugwerke, was hired as head of design. In 1930, he was joined by Anders Johan Andersson from Messerschmitt. Despite that, Svenska Aero designed and made several different models on their own.
One of them was the model SA-16, a direct response to the Swedish Air Force and Navy’s interest in the new dive bomber tactics, which had become popular in Germany since the mid-Thirties and had spawned several specialized aircraft, the Junkers Ju 87 being the best-known type. The Flygvapnet (Swedish Air Force) had already conducted dive bombing trials with Hawker Hart (B 4) biplanes, but only with mixed results. Diving towards the target simplified the bomb's trajectory and allowed the pilot to keep visual contact throughout the bomb run. This allowed attacks on point targets and ships, which were difficult to attack with conventional level bombers, even en masse. While accuracy was increased through bombing runs at almost vertical dive, the aircraft were not suited for this kind of operations – structurally, and through the way the bombs were dropped.
Therefore, Svenska Aero was tasked to develop an indigenous dedicated dive bomber, primarily intended to attack ships, and with a secondary role as reconnaissance aircraft – a mission profile quite similar to American ship-based “SB” aircraft of the time. Having learnt from the tests with the Hawker Harts, the SA-16 was a very robust monoplane, resulting in an almost archaic look. It was a single-engine all-metal cantilever monoplane with a fixed undercarriage and carried a two-person crew. The main construction material was duralumin, and the external coverings were made of duralumin sheeting, bolts and parts that were required to take heavy stress were made of steel. The wings were of so-called “double-wing” construction, which gave the SA-16 considerable advantage on take-off; even at a shallow angle, large lift forces were created through the airfoil, reducing take-off and landing runs. Retractable perforated air brakes were mounted under the wings’ leading edges. The fully closed “greenhouse cabin” offered space for a crew of two in tandem, with the pilot in front and a navigator/radio operator/observer/gunner behind. To provide the rear-facing machine gun with an increased field of fire, the stabilizers were of limited span but deeper to compensate for the loss of surface, what resulted in unusual proportions. As a side benefit, the short stabilizers had, compared with a wider standard layout, increased structural integrity. Power came from an air-cooled Bristol Mercury XII nine-cylinder radial engine with 880 hp (660 kW), built by Nohab in Sweden.
Internal armament consisted of two fixed forward-firing 8 mm (0.315 in) Flygplanskulspruta Ksp m/22F (M1919 Browning AN/M2) machine guns in the wings outside of the propeller disc. A third machine gun of the same type was available in the rear cockpit on a flexible mount as defensive weapon. A total of 700 kg (1,500 lb) of bombs could be carried externally. On the fuselage centerline, a swing arm could hold bombs of up to 500 kg (1.100 lb) caliber and deploy them outside of the propeller arc when released in a, additional racks under the outer wings could hold bombs of up to 250 kg (550 lb) caliber each or clusters of smaller bombs, e. g. four 50 (110 lb) or six 12 kg (26 ½ lb) bombs.
Flight testing of the first SA-16 prototype began on 14 August 1936. The aircraft could take off in 250 m (820 ft) and climb to 1,875 m (6,152 ft) in eight minutes with a 250 kg (550 lb) bomb load, and its cruising speed was 250 km/h (160 mph). This was less than expected, and pilots also complained that navigation and powerplant instruments were cluttered and not easy to read, especially in combat. To withstand strong forces during a dive, heavy plating, along with brackets riveted to the frame and longeron, was added to the fuselage. Despite this, pilots praised the aircraft's handling qualities and strong airframe. These problems were quickly resolved, but subsequent testing and progress still fell short of the designers’ hopes. With some refinements the machine's speed was increased to 274 km/h (170 mph) at ground level and 319 km/h 319 km/h (198 mph, 172 kn) at 3,650 m (11,980 ft), while maintaining its good handling ability.
Since the Swedish Air Force was in dire need for a dive bomber, the SA-16 was accepted into service as the B 9 – even though it was clear that it was only a stopgap solution on the way to a more capable light bomber with dive attack capabilities. This eventually became the Saab 17, which was initiated in 1938 as a request from the Flygvapnet to replace its fleet of dive bombers of American origin, the B 5 (Northrop A-17), the B 6 (Seversky A8V1) and the obsolete Fokker S 6 (C.Ve) sesquiplane, after the deal with Fokker to procure the two-engine twin-boom G.I as a standardized type failed due to the German invasion of the Netherlands. The B 9 dive bomber would subsequently be replaced by the more modern and capable B 17 in the long run, too, which made its first flight on 18 May 1940 and was introduced to frontline units in March 1942. Until then, 93 SA-16s had been produced between 1937 and 1939. When the B 17 became available, the slow B 9 was quickly retired from the attack role. Plans to upgrade the aircraft with a stronger 14 cylinder engine (a Piaggio P.XIbis R.C.40D with 790 kW/1,060 hp) were not carried out, as it was felt that the design lacked further development potential in an offensive role.
Because the airframes were still young and had a lot of service life ahead of them, most SA-16s were from 1941 on relegated to patrol and reconnaissance missions along the Swedish coastlines, observing ship and aircraft traffic in the Baltic Sea and undertaking rescue missions with droppable life rafts. For long-range missions, the forked ventral swing arm was replaced with a fixed plumbed pylon for an external 682 liters (150 Imp. gal.) auxiliary tank that more than doubled the aircraft’s internal fuel capacity of 582 liters, giving it an endurance of around 8 hours. In many cases, the machine guns on these aircraft were removed to save weight. In this configuration the SA-16 was re-designated S 9 (“S” for Spaning) and the machines served in their naval observation and SAR role well into the Fifties, when the last SA-16s were retired.
General characteristics:
Crew: two, pilot and observer
Length: 9,58 m (31 ft 11 in)
Wingspan: 10,67 m (34 ft 11 in)
Height: 3,82 m (12 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 30.2 m² (325 sq ft)
Empty weight: 2,905 kg (6,404 lb)
Gross weight: 4,245 kg (9,359 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 4,853 kg (10,700 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Bristol Mercury XII nine-cylinder radial engine with 880 hp (660 kW),
driving a three-bladed variable pitch metal propeller
u>Performance:
Maximum speed: 319 km/h (198 mph, 172 kn) at 3,650 m (11,980 ft)
274 km/h (170 mph; 148 kn) at sea level
299 km/h (186 mph; 161 kn) at 2,000 m (6,600 ft)
308 km/h (191 mph; 166 kn) at 5,000 m (16,000 ft)
Stall speed: 110 km/h (68 mph, 59 kn)
Range: 1,260 km (780 mi, 680 nmi)
Service ceiling: 7,300 m (24,000 ft)
Time to altitude: 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in 4 minutes 45 seconds
4,000 m (13,000 ft) in 15 minutes 10 seconds
Armament:
2× fixed 8 mm (0.315 in) Flygplanskulspruta Ksp m/22F (M1919 Browning AN/M2) machine guns
in the wings outside of the propeller disc (with 600 RPG), plus
1× 8 mm (0.315 in) Ksp m/22F machine gun on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit with 800 rounds
Ventral and underwing hardpoints for a total external bomb load of 700 kg (1,500 lb)
The kit and its assembly:
This purely fictional Swedish dive bomber was inspired by reading about Flygvapnet‘s pre-WWII trials with dive bombing tactics and the unsuited aircraft fleet for this task. When I found a Hasegawa SOC Seagull floatplane in The Stash™ and looks at the aircraft’s profile, I thought that it could be converted into a two-seat monoplane – what would require massive changes, though.
However, I liked the SOC’s boxy and rustic look, esp. the fuselage, and from this starting point other ingredients/donors were integrated. Work started with the tail. Originally, I wanted to retain the SOCs fin and stabilizer, but eventually found them oversized for a land-based airplane. In the scrap box I found a leftover fin from an Academy P-47, and it turned out to be a very good, smaller alternative, with the benefit that it visually lengthened the rear fuselage. The stabilizers were replaced with leftover parts from a NOVO Supermarine Attacker – an unlikely choice, but their size was good, they blended well into the overall lines of the aircraft, and they helped to stabilize the fin donor. Blending these new parts into to SOC’s hull required massive PSR, though.
The wings were also not an easy choice, and initially I planned the aircraft with a retractable landing gear. I eventually settled on the outer wings (just outside of the gullwing kink) from an MPM Ju 87 B, because of their shape and the archaic “double wings” that would complement the SOC’s rustic fuselage. However, at this point I refrained from the retractable landing gear and instead went for a fixed spatted alternative, left over from an Airfix Hs 123, which would round up the aircraft’s somewhat vintage look. Because the wheels were missing, I inserted two Matchbox MiG-21 wheels (which were left over in the spares bin from two different kits, though). The tail wheel came from an Academy Fw 190.
Cowling and engine inside (thankfully a 9-cylinder radial that could pose as a Mercury) were taken OOB, just the original two-blade propeller was replaced with a more appropriate three-blade alternative, IIRC from a Hobby Boss Grumman F4F. The cockpit was taken OOB, and I also used the two pilot figures from the kit. The rear crew member just had the head re-positioned to look sideways, and had to have the legs chopped off because there’s hardly and space under the desk with the radio set he’s sitting at.
The ventral 500 kg bomb came from a Matchbox Ju 87, the bomb arms are Fw 189 landing gear parts. Additional underwing pylons came from an Intech P-51, outfitted with 50 kg bombs of uncertain origin (they look as if coming from an old Hasegawa kit). The protruding machine gun barrel fairings on the wings were scratched from styrene rod material, with small holes drilled into them.
A real Frankenstein creation, but it does not look bad or implausible!
Painting and markings:
I gave the B 9 a camouflage that was carried by some Flygvapnet aircraft in the late Thirties, primarily by fighters imported from the United States but also some bombers like the B 3 (Ju 86). The IMHO quite attractive scheme consists on the upper surfaces of greenish-yellow zinc chromate primer (Humbrol 81, FS 33481), on top of which a dense net of fine dark green wriggles (supposed to be FS 34079, but I rather used Humbrol 163, RAF Dark Green, because it is more subdued) was manually applied with a thin brush, so that the primer would still shine through, resulting in a mottled camouflage.
On the real aircraft, this was sealed with a protective clear lacquer to which 5% of the dark green had been added, and I copied this procedure on the model, too, using semi-gloss acrylic varnish with a bit of Revell 46 added. The camouflage was wrapped around the wings’ leading edges and the spatted landing gear was painted with the upper camouflage, too.
The undersides were painted with Humbrol 87 (Steel Grey), to come close to the original blue-grey tone, which is supposed to be FS 35190 on this type of camouflage. The tone is quite dark, almost like RAF PRU Blue.
The interior was painted – using a Saab J 21 cockpit as benchmark – in a dark greenish grey (RAL 7009).
The model received the usual light black ink washing and some post-panel shading on the lower surfaces, because this effect would hardly be recognizable on the highly fragmented upper surface.
The markings are reflecting Flygvapnet’s m/37 regulations, from the direct pre-WWII era when the roundels had turned from black on white to yellow on blue but still lacked the yellow edge around the roundel for more contrast. F6 Västgöta flygflottilj was chosen because it was a dive bomber unit in the late Thirties, and the individual aircraft code (consisting of large white two-digit numbers) was added with the fin and the front of the fuselage. “27” would indicate an aircraft of the unit’s 2nd division, which normally had blue as a standardized color code, incorporated through the blue bands on the spats and the small "2nd div." tag on the rudder (from a contemporary F8 Swedish Gladiator).
Roundels and codes came from an SBS Models sheet, even though they belong to various aircraft types. Everything was finally 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 authentic facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Austrian Air Force in its current form was created in May 1955 by the victorious Allied powers, subject to restrictions on its use of guided missiles. The Austrian State Treaty of 1955 committed Austria to permanent neutrality. Pilot training started out with a four Yak-11 Moose and four Yak-18 Max aircraft donated by the Soviet Union, and Austria purchased further light trainer types under the Military Assistance Program. Until 1960 Austria purchased training and support aircraft under the MAP, but no modern fighter aircraft; the role of a fighter was rather inadequately filled by thirty already outdated Saab 29 Tunnan, bought second-hand from the Swedish Air Force in the early 1960s which equipped two fighter bomber squadrons.
To expand its capabilities and modernize the fleet, Austria purchased from 1970 on a total of 40 Saab 105 lightweight multi-role aircraft from Sweden with the intention to deploy them in trainer, reconnaissance, ground attack and even interception roles. As it became clear in the 1980s that the light sub-sonic aircraft were inadequate for air combat and airspace interdiction, Austria started looking for a more capable aircraft. In 1984, Austria had devised a two-phase solution to its problem: buying 30 interim aircrafts cheaply as a stopgap and then trading them back for a new generation aircraft in the early or mid-Nineties.
International response was quick and manifold: Bristol Aerospace offered initially ex RAF Jaguars to be replaced by Tornado F.3 or even Eurofighters; Saab-Scania offered between 24 and 30 former Royal Swedish Air Force J 35D Draken, followed by Saab J 39 Gripen as future substitutes; General-Electric suggested downgraded F-16/79 or F-16A for phase one and an option for the same aircraft in a more modern variant for phase two; Northrop’s numberF-5E was another alternative for phase one. Dassault was also present with refurbished Mirage III initially, followed by Mirage 2000.
Finding the most suitable option in this mass was not easy, and eventually a surprising deal materialized: In 1985 the contract for the sale of twenty-four Lightning F.56 fighters plus four T.55 trainers was signed by the SPÖ/FPÖ government under Fred Sinowatz. The background: Saudi Arabia had been operating thirty-four F.53 single-seaters and six T.55 trainers since 1967 and was about to retire its fleet, which was still in very good condition and with a reasonable number of flying hours left on many airframes. The aircraft would be refurbished directly at BAe in Great Britain with the option to switch to the Tornado ADV or its successor, the Eurofighter Typhoon, later.
The Lightning F.53 was an export version of the RAF’s F.6, but with a multi-role mission profile in mind that included, beyond the primary interceptor mission with guided missiles or internal guns, the capability to carry out interdiction/ground attacks and reconnaissance missions. To carry a suitable ordnance load, the F.53 featured additional underwing pylons for bombs or unguided rocket pods. Instead of the standard Firestreak/Red Top AAM missile station in the lower front fuselage, two retractable panniers with a total of forty-four unguided 50 mm rockets, which were effective against both ground and aerial targets, could be installed, or, alternatively, two camera packs (one with five cameras and another with a rotating camera mount) was available for tactical photo reconnaissance missions. Overwing hardpoints, adapted from the Lightning F.6, allowed to carry auxiliary fuel tanks to increase range/endurance, additional rocket pods or even retarded bombs.
The Lightning T.55 was also an export variant, a two-seat side-by-side training aircraft, and virtually identical to the T.5, which itself was based on the older F.3 fighter variant, and fully combat-capable.
The Saudi Arabian multi-role F.53s had served in the ground-attack and reconnaissance roles as well as an air defense fighter, with Lightnings of No. 6 Squadron RSAF carrying out ground-attack missions using rockets and bombs during a border dispute with South Yemen between December 1969 and May 1970. Saudi Arabia received Northrop F-5E fighters from 1971, which resulted in the Lightnings relinquishing the ground-attack mission, concentrating on air defense, and to a lesser extent, reconnaissance. Until 1982, Saudi Arabia's Lightnings were mainly operated by 2 and 6 Squadron RSAF (although a few were also used by 13 Squadron RSAF), but when 6 Squadron re-equipped with the F-15 Eagle from 1978 on, all the remaining aircraft were concentrated and operated by 2 Squadron at Tabuk. In 1985, as part of the agreement to sell the Panavia Tornado (both IDS and ADV versions) to the RSAF, the Lightnings were traded in to British Aerospace, returned to Warton for refurbishment and re-sold to Austria.
While the Saudi Arabian Lightnings’ hardware was in very good shape, the Austrian Bundesluftwaffe requested some modifications, including a different missile armament: instead of the maintenance-heavy British Firestreak/Red Top AAMs, the Lightnings were to be armed with simpler, lighter and more economical IR-guided AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs which were already in the Austrian Air Force’s inventory. Two of these missiles were carried on single launch rails on the lower forward fuselage; an additional pair of Sidewinders could also be carried on the outer underwing stations, for a total of four. The F.53s’ optional retractable unguided rocket panniers were dropped altogether in favor of a permanent avionics bay for the Sidewinders in its place. However, to carry out tactical reconnaissance tasks (formerly executed by J 29Fs with a removable camera pod instead of the portside gun bay), four Austrian Lightnings frequently had one of the optional camera compartments installed, thereby losing the capability to deploy Sidewinders, though.
Among other things, the machines were furthermore upgraded with new bird strike-proof cockpit glazing, avionics were modernized, and several other minor customer requests were adopted, like a 0.6-megacandela night identification light. This spotlight is mounted in the former portside gun bay in front of the cockpit, and an anti-glare panel was added under the windscreen.
The fixed in-flight refueling probe was deleted, as this was not deemed necessary anymore since the Lightnings would exclusively operate within neutral Austria’s borders. The probes could, however, be re-installed, even though the Austrian pilots would not receive on-flight refueling training. The Lightnings' optional 260 imp gal overwing tanks were retained since they were considered to be sufficient for extended subsonic air patrols or eventual ferry flights.
The refurbished Lightnings were re-designated F.56 and delivered in batches of four between 1987 and 1989 to the Austrian Air Force’s 1st and then 2nd Fighter Squadrons, carrying a grey air superiority paint scheme. At that time, the airframes had between 1,550 and 2,800 flight hours and all had a general overhaul behind them. In 1991, the Lightings were joined by eighteen German ex-NVA-LSK MiG-23s, which were transferred to Austrian Air Force's ‘Fliegerwerft B’ at Nittner Air Base, where they'd be overhauled and updated with NATO-compatible equipment. As MiG-23Ö they were exclusively used as interceptors, too.
Shortly after their introduction, the Austrian Lightnings saw their first major use in airspace interdiction starting 1991 during the Yugoslav Wars, when Yugoslav MiG-21 fighters frequently crossed the Austrian border without permission. In one incident on 28 June a MiG-21 penetrated as far as Graz, causing widespread demands for action. Following repeated border crossings by armed aircraft of the Yugoslav People's Army, changes were suggested to the standing orders for aircraft armament.
With more and more practice and frequent interceptions one of the Lightning's basic flaws became apparent: its low range. Even though the Lightning had a phenomenal acceleration and rate of climb, this was only achieved in a relatively clean configuration - intercepting intruders was one thing but escorting them back to the Austrian border or an assigned airfield, as well as standing air patrols, were a different thing. With more tactical experience, the overwing tanks were taken back into service, even though they were so draggy that their range benefit was ultimately zero when the aircraft would use its afterburners during a typical interception mission. Therefore, the Austrian QRA Lightnings were typically operated in pairs: one clean and only lightly armed (typically with the guns and a pair of AIM-9s), to make a quick approach for visual intruder identification and contact, while a second aircraft with extra fuel would follow at high subsonic speed and eventually take over and escort the intruder. Airspace patrol was primarily executed with the MiG-23Ö, because it had a much better endurance, thanks to its VG wings, even though the Floggers had a poor service record, and their maintenance became ever more complicated.
After more experience, the Austrian Lightnings received in 1992 new ALR-45 radar detectors in a fairing on the fin top as well as chaff and flare dispenser systems, and the communication systems were upgraded, too. In 2004 the installation of Garmin 295 moving map navigation devices followed, even though this turned out to be a negligible update: on December 22, 2005, the active service life and thus military use of the Lightnings in general ended, and Austria was the last country to decommission the type, more than 50 years after the first flight of the prototype on August 4, 1954.
The Austrian Lightnings’ planned service period of 10 years was almost doubled, though, due to massive delays with the Eurofighter’s development: In 2002, Austria had already selected the Typhoon as its new “Phase II” air defense aircraft, having beaten the F-16 and the Saab Gripen in competition, and its introduction had been expected to occur from early 2005 on, so that the Lightnings could be gradually phased out. The purchase of 18 Typhoons was agreed on 1 July 2003, but it would take until 12 July 2007 that the first Typhoon would eventually be delivered to Zeltweg Air Base and formally enter service with the Austrian Air Force. This operational gap had to be bridged with twelve F-5E leased from Switzerland for EUR 75 mio., so that Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) duties for the Austrian airspace could be continued.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 55 ft 3 in (16.84 m)
Wingspan: 34 ft 10 in (10.62 m)
Height: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 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 AIM-9B, cannon, 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 AIM-9 Sidewinder AAM each
2× underwing hardpoints for 1.000 lb (454 kg) each
2× overwing pylon stations for 2.000 lb (907 kg each),
typically occupied with 260 imp gal (310 US gal; 1,200 l) ferry tanks
The kit and its assembly:
This was another submission to the “Hunter, Lightning and Canberra” group build at whatifmodellers.com in 2022 and intended as a rather simple build since it was based on an alternate reality plot: the weird story that Austria was offered a revamped fleet of ex-Saudi Arabian Lightnings is true(!), but the decision eventually fell in favor of revamped Saab J 35Ds from Sweden. For this what-if build I used the real historic timeline, replaced the aircraft, and built both story and model around this – and the result became the BAC Lightning F.56 in Austrian Air Force service.
Initially I wanted to use an Airfix BAC Lightning in The Stash™, a really nice model kit and a relatively new mold, but it turned out to be the kit’s F.2A variant. While very similar to the F.6, changing it into a F.53 analogue with the OOB parts turned out to be too complex for my taste. For instance, the F.2A kit lacks the ventral gun bay (it just comes with the auxiliary tank option since the guns are already located in front of the cockpit) and the cable conduits on the lower flanks. Procuring a suitable and priceworthy Airfix F.6 turned out to be impossible, but then I remembered a Hasegawa Lightning F.6 in The Stash™ that I had shot at ev!lbay many moons ago for a laughable price and without a concrete plan. However, this kit is pretty old: it has raised (yet quite fine, less robust than the Matchbox kit) panel lines and even comes with a pilot figure, but also many weak spots like the air intake and the jet exhausts that end in flat walls after some millimeters depth and a very basic cockpit. But for this rather simple what-if project the kit appeared to be a suitable basis, and it would eventually find a good use.
The Hasegawa Lightning was basically built OOB, even though I made some cosmetic amendments like a better seat for the pilot, hydraulic fluid lines on the landing gear made from wire or opening the flat walls inside of the air intake opening and the jet nozzles. Behind the radome, a simple splitter plate was added as well as a recessed bulkhead in front of an implanted Me 262 cockpit tub (the Hasegawa kit just offers a bare floor panel, nothing else!), the afterburners were extended inwards with parts from a Matchbox A.W. Meteor night fighter.
The Red Top AAMs and the in-flight refueling probe were omitted. Instead, I added extra F.53-style forward-swept pylons under the outer wings, scratched from 1.5 mm styrene sheet due to their odd, raked shape, and I added Sidewinder launch rails plus suitable missiles from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapons set to all four stations. After long consideration I also retained the ‘overburger’ tanks, partly because of the unique layout on the Lightning, and also because of operational considerations.
Chaff dispensers were scratched from styrene profiles and placed at the fin’s base. A fairing for the retrofitted radar warning sensor was added to the fin tip, created from 1.5 mm styrene sheet.
Painting and markings:
To reflect the “alternate reality” role of the Lightning I gave the model a livery similar to the Saab J 35Ö that were actually procured: an adaptation of the USAF “Egypt One” scheme, carried primarily by the USAF F-16s. Adapting this simple three-tone camouflage from the flat F-16 to the Draken was easy and straightforward, but applying it to a Lightning with its many vertical surfaces turned out to be a tough challenge. I eventually came up with a paint scheme that reminds of the late RAF low-viz Lightning liveries, which existed in a wide range of patterns and graduations of grey.
The colors were authentic, FS 36118, 36270 and 36375 (using Humbrol 125, 126 and 127), and I decided to emphasize the camouflage of the flanks against the horizon, so that the vertical surfaces and the fin became FS 36270. The undersides of wings, stabilizers and fuselage became FS 36375. The dark FS 36118 was only applied to the upper sides of the wings and the stabilizer, and to a high dorsal section, starting at the wing roots. As a small contrast, the tank area on the spine was painted in light grey, simulating unpainted fiber glass. The radome was painted with a streaky mix of Humbrol 155 and 56.
As usual, the model received a light black ink washing, some post-panel-shading in lighter tones, and, due to the raised panel lines, was very lightly rubbed with graphite. The cockpit interior was painted in medium grey (Revell 47) with an olive drab fabric fairing behind the black pilot seat, which received ejection handles made from thin wire as eye candy. The landing gear and the respective wells were painted in Humbrol 56 (Aluminum Dope).
The decals are a wild mix: The fuselage roundels are actually wing markings from a Hasegawa J 35OE, as well as the huge orange "06" on the wings (I could not resist; they will later be partly obscured by the overwing tanks, but the heck with it!). The roundels on the wings come from a generic TL Modellbau sheet - I found that I needed larger markings than those on the Draken.
Both unit and individual aircraft identifiers are single black DIN font digits, also from TL Modellbau. The unit badges on the fin are authentic, even though from an earlier era: they came from an Austrian J 29 of Fliegerregiment 2 from a PrintScale sheet, and all stencils were taken from the OOB low-viz RAF markings sheet, plus four small warning triangles for the underwing pylons.
A ‘what-if’ model in the purest sense, since this model depicts what could really have been: ex Saudi-Arabian export BAC Lightnings over the Austrian Alps! However, refurbished Saab J 35D Draken made the race (and later followed by the Eurofighter Typhoon at ‘Stage 2’), so that this Lightning remains fictional. It does not look bad in the ‘Egypt One’ paint scheme, though, better than expected!
+++ 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 formation of the Indonesian Air Force came eight months after the former Dutch East Indies unilaterally declared independence from the Netherlands. The Netherlands initially did not recognize this, and a War of Independence ensued, which lasted until 1949. The Indonesian Air Force (Indonesian: Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU), literally "Indonesian National Military-Air Force") used some machines left behind by the Japanese occupiers, but these were not of decisive importance for the war. Incidentally, the national insignia used until 1949 was only the red "sun" painted white in the lower half.
The 1950s were marked by domestic operations. Contrary to the Independence Treaty, which envisaged a federal state, Indonesia quickly became a unitary state. This included the deployment in the Christian-dominated Republic of the South Moluccas, which had unilaterally renounced itself, as well as against Islamic (Darul Islam) and democratic (Permesta) movements. The latter was secretly supported by the CIA, and, in the course of this skirmish, an Indonesian Mustang managed to shoot down a B-26 Invader piloted by a CIA pilot.
The need to prop up to what became Operation Trikora in Netherlands New Guinea, and the rise of the Communist Party of Indonesia, drew Indonesia closer to the Eastern Bloc. Several Soviet-built aircraft began to arrive in the early 1960s including the MiG-15UTI from Czechoslovakia, MiG-17F/PF, MiG-19S and MiG-21F-13, in addition to Ilyushin Il-28, Mil Mi-4, Mil Mi-6, Antonov An-12 and Avia 14 also from Czechoslovakia. Indonesia also received Lavochkin La-11, and some Tupolev Tu-2 from China arrived, too. It was during this period that the Indonesian Air Force became the first Air Force in Southeast Asia which acquired the capability of strategic bombing by acquiring the new Tupolev Tu-16 in 1961. Around 25 Tu-16KS were delivered, complete with AS-1 air-surface missiles.
The Sixties also marked the last confrontation with the Dutch in Papua, before the Dutch, again under pressure of the United Nations, left in 1963. Indonesia made territorial claims to the young nation and the Konfrontasi ensued between 1963 and 1966. During this era a coup attempt led by the 30 September Movement in 1965 changed everything and a new anti-communist regime from the Army, led by Major General Suharto, took power. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Marshall Omar Dani was removed from his position and court-martialed for his purported involvement in the coup. Ties with the Eastern bloc countries were cut, and thus support and spare parts for the planes became short.
By August 1968, the situation was critical and in early 1970, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Suwoto Sukandar, said that the spare parts situation meant that only 15–20 percent of aircraft were airworthy. The result was a total re-orientation for the air force material’s procurement, and the considerable Indonesian MiG force already made its farewell flight with a flypast of Jakarta in 1970. The relatively new MiG-19s were sold to Pakistan. By October 1970, only one Tu-16 was still flying, but after an in-flight engine failure, it too was grounded. But despite the problems, the Air Force still served with distinction in fighting militant remnants of the CPI in Java's provinces, particularly in Central and East Java.
With Suharto's assumption of the presidency and the office of Commander in Chief in 1967, the focus shifted to fighting the communist PGRS/Paraku insurgency. The Air Force launched Operation Lightning Strike (Indonesian: Operasi Samber Kilat) to support ground troops eradicate Sarawak communists that were present in West Kalimantan and along Indonesia-Malaysia border by dropping troops to the target area, dropping logistical assistance, VIP transportation, medical evacuation and recon flights.
The period between 1970 and 1980 saw a rebirth of the TNI-AU. The Air Force began to be re-equipped by receiving refurbished former Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) CAC Sabres – an Australian re-design of the F-86 Sabre with a Rolls-Royce Avon engine – to replace the MiG-21s. Pakistan Air Force took over the responsibility to train Indonesian pilots in the Sabre and in logistical aspects of the Air Force. In 1973, the United States started to supply military assistance including T-33s trainers and UH-34D helicopters in exchange for four old MiG-21F-13s, which were shipped to the US for evaluation. Over the next three years, the US also supplied 16 North American Rockwell OV-10 Broncos counter-insurgency aircraft and F-5E/F Tiger II fighters, in exchange for which the Indonesian Air Force handed over the majority of its remaining airworthy MiG-21F-13s, which were used to form a US Air Force Aggressor squadron. In the late 1970s, Indonesia also purchased BAE Hawk Mk 53s trainers from the United Kingdom.
In 1974, after the Portuguese Carnation Revolution, the last major European colonial empire was dissolved. As a result, the until-then Portuguese part of the island of Timor declared itself the independent Republic of Timor-Leste in November 1975. After the defeat in Vietnam and with a view to establishing socialist states in the two large African former Portuguese colonies, the USA and Australia did not want to let another socialist statelet develop in the region. Thus, just a few days after the declaration of independence, the young republic was invaded, with the TNI-AU and the Army Air Force (TNI-AD) dropping parachutists over East Timor, and, as a result, a year-long guerrilla war began.
To combat the rebels and the civilians supporting them, the US supplied more close air support aircraft to the TNI-AU, namely more OV-10 Broncos as well as twenty-five AH-1G attack helicopters, the latter refurbished US Army material left over from the Vietnam War. Beyond the 70 mm “hydra” unguided missiles, which were carried in pods with either seven or nineteen rounds, Indonesia also received several XM35 armament subsystems with a XM195 20 mm cannon – a fixed gatling gun that was carried on the inner left weapon station and was combined with a conformal external ammunition supply. Those roundabout ten machines capable of carrying this weapon were recognizable by additional external armor plates on the cockpit’s left flank, because XM195’s gun blast could damage the airframe.
In the early 1980s, the Indonesian Air Force, needing modern strike aircraft, organized “Operation Alpha” to clandestinely acquire ex-Israeli Air Force A-4 Skyhawks. Air Force personnel were sent in secret by different routes and eventually Indonesia received 32 aircraft. To further boost and modernize its air force, Indonesia purchased in 1982 sixteen more Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II from the United States to replace their CAC Sabres under the Peace Komodo I and II procurement program, and the AH-1Gs (21 were still operational) received a MLU program and were upgraded, too. They received new Kaman K-747 composite material main rotor blades and passive countermeasures, like a diffusor for the hot engine efflux (making them less vulnerable to man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), which had become a ubiquitous threat) and an improved armor protection for cockpit and the engine. Wire cutters were fitted, and a bigger, more effective oil cooler, too. Since it protruded from the lower fuselage, a unique armored fairing was devised and protected the cooler from arms of up to 23 mm caliber.
The Indonesian Cobras’ armament was improved, too: their original M28 chin turrets were replaced with the M97 system that comprises a three-barrel 20 mm gatling gun, which had more range and firepower against lightly armored targets than the AH-1G’s original 7.62 mm minigun and 40 mm grenade launchers. Since the Indonesian Cobras were still only operated in the daylight CAS role, they did not receive further sensors and avionics, e. g. the M65 TOW/Cobra anti-tank missile subsystem with a Telescopic Sight Unit (TSU) or a laser rangefinder, which had been introduced with the US Army’s AH-1Q in 1975. For the new M97, however a helmet-mounted sight was introduced, and the crews received night vision/low-light goggles, even though these were independent from the helm-mounted sight. After their modifications between 1982 and 1984, the TNI-AD Cobras were unofficially re-designated “AH-1G+”.
Even though the Cobras’ firepower and effectiveness were improved, the composite rotors soon turned out to be troublesome. The hot and humid climate in Indonesia weakened the bonding and eventually disrupted the material structure – a weakness that also appeared among retrofitted US Army AH-1s, but not as dramatically. As a result, wear and tear were considerably worse than on the former all-metal blades, even though the helicopters’ handling was better with the new rotors and overall weight was reduced. However, a spectacular and dramatic crash in 1985 showed the imminent risks of the composite blades: three of four AH-1G+s in a tight formation over Aceh in Western Indonesia crashed after a 24 kg rotor balance weight of one machine came loose in flight and hit a sister ship, fatally destroying its engine and the gearbox. Spinning out of control it collided with another Cobra in the same formation, and all three helicopters crashed, with all six crewmen killed. The TNI-AD’s AH-1G+s were immediately grounded, the ongoing rotor conversion was stopped and subsequently all already modified AH-1G+s had their original all-metal rotor blades re-installed – a measure that took almost a year to accomplish and lasted until early 1987.
After this troublesome phase, the TNI-AD’s Cobras were kept busy, with frequent deployments during the Aceh Insurgency and the East Timor conflict. They soldiered on into the new millennium, even though some machines were lost in accidents or through small arms ground fire, and less and less machines remained airworthy due to the airframes’ age. In 2003, only six AH-1G+ were still operational, and even these machines had reached the ultimate end of their useful service life after more than 30 years of frequent duty. They were in September of the same year replaced by Mil Mi-35P attack helicopters, directly procured from Russia, of which several batches were acquired throughout the following years.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2: one pilot, one co-pilot/gunner (CPG)
Length: 53 ft (16 m) including rotors
Fuselage length: 44 ft 5 in (13.5 m)
Main rotor diameter: 44 ft 0 in (13.4 m)
Main rotor area: 1,520 sq ft (141 m²)
Blade section: NACA 0009.3 mod
Width: 10 ft 4 in (3.15 m) stub wings
Height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Empty weight: 5,810 lb (2,635 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 9,500 lb (4,309 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Lycoming T53-L-13 turboshaft, 1,400 shp (1,000 kW)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 149 kn (171 mph, 276 km/h)
Never exceed speed: 190 kn (220 mph, 350 km/h)
Range: 310 nmi (360 mi, 570 km)
Service ceiling: 11,400 ft (3,500 m)
Rate of climb: 1,230 ft/min (6.2 m/s)
Armament:
1× 20 mm (0.707 in) three-barreled M197 20 mm cannon in a chin turret with 750 rounds
4× hardpoints under the stub wings, primarily used for 2.75 in (70 mm) rockets mounted in
M158 seven-round or M200 nineteen-round launchers; alternatively, M14 12.7 mm machine
gun or M18 7.62 mm Minigun pods could be carried or a single XM35 armament subsystem with
a XM195 20 mm gatling cannon
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional Bell AH-1 Cobra is the result of a cross-bashing of two Fujimi kits of this helicopter, namely the AH-1S and the AH-1J kit. I had both in The Stash™ and recently came across the Iranian HESA-2091 ‘Tiztak’, an indigenous refurbished AH-1J with flat armor glazing. Since both Fujimi kits could theoretically be combined to build this exotic Cobra derivative, I decided to try this stunt – and it left me with enough surplus parts to build something like an early/standard AH-1G.
However, combining the parts from both kits turned out to be more challenging than expected. The biggest problem was to adapt the AH-1J’s standard glazing to the respective opening on the AH-1S hull: the clear part is bigger/longer than the later flat, armored glazing, so that the fuselage area at the canopy’s rear end had to be cut away. Fitting the clear part into this widened opening furthermore called for delicate PSR work to fill gaps and bridge the transition between parts that were never meant to be stuck together – but it worked, somehow.
To set the fictional AH-1G+ apart a bit further I made some cosmetic changes: the main rotor was modified to resemble Kaman composite blades (recognizable through the tapered blade tips) that were introduced with the AH-1S (and actually turned out to be not very durable!), and a “Sugar Scoop” thermal diffusor was scratched from a piece of styrene tube. I furthermore added a ventral blade antenna and a fairing for an enlarged oil cooler – it’s actually a H0 scale Euro pallet! The blade cutters were scratched from styrene sheet. The rest was primarily taken from the AH-1J kit, e. g. the simple/early nose tip, the ordnance and the M97 chin turret. The pilot figures came from the Fujimi kit, too.
Painting and markings:
Indonesia as fictional operator for this helicopter model was inspired by TNI-AD markings (the standard TNI-AU pentagon with an additional black star in the middle) that were left over on a TL Modellbau sheet with generic national markings. The Seventies/Eighties offered a suitable time frame for the Cobras’ procurement, and from this starting point anything developed quite naturally.
However, I did not want to paint the AH-1 in a simple all-olive drab livery, and found in the Indonesian C-130 Hercules a nice painting option: at some point in time these transporters received a unique three-tone camouflage that consists of a reddish chocolate brown, a bluish dark green and a greyish grass green, combined with very light grey undersides.
For the AH-1, the pattern was directly adopted from the C-130s’ fuselage and the colors approximated, since I doubt that the paints conform to FS standards. I used Humbrol 133 (Satin Brown), ModelMaster 2060 (RAF WWII Dark Green) and a 2:1 mix of Humbrol 80 (Grass Green) and Revell 45 (Helloliv). The light grey underside was omitted, for a wraparound scheme.
The cockpit interior became very dark grey (Revell 06, Anthracite), the rotor blades tar black (Revell 09), and a black anti-glare panel was placed in front of the windscreen. For some variety I painted the 19 round rocket launchers in olive drab while the 7 round launchers for the inner stations became very light grey, so that they’d be better visible.
The decals were improvised. The TNI-AD roundels and the small Indonesian fin flashes came from the aforementioned TL Modellbau sheet. The tactical codes on the nose and the taglines on the flank consist of single black letters. The serial number on the tail came from an Iranian F-4D Phantom II sheet from Model Scale, it matched the intended time frame well. The only original decals are the small red tail rotor warning arrows.
After a light black ink washing, some post-panel-shading and an overall treatment with graphite to emphasize the kit’s fine, raised panel lines, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and finally assembled.
Well, this “kitbashed” AH-1G with some mods is certainly not the best model of this helicopter type, but a good use of leftover parts from the “counter-bashed” project. Compatibility between the Fujimi AH-1S and AH-1J is limited, though, especially the canopy does not fit easily and calls for some delicate bodywork. However, with the garish paint scheme (which, as I found out after the kit had been finished, resembles a lot the livery of the illegal North Korean Hughes 500MD Defenders!) and the exotic TNI-AD markings, this Cobra really stands out und looks quite unusual.
+++ 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:
Even in the early phase of the development of the Panzerkampfwagen V “Panther”, there were doubts as to whether the Panther would still be sufficiently protected against enemy anti-tank weapons in 1943. The attempt to introduce reinforced armor in the development of the "normal" Panther failed. For this reason, a further development called "Panther II" was worked on. The initial design of the vehicles differed only in terms of armor thickness. However, at a meeting on February 10, 1943, MAN 's chief development engineer, Dr. Wiebecke, said that the Panther in its original form did not meet the requirements of the Eastern Front.
In the days that followed, the Army Weapons Office called on the two companies Henschel and MAN to work more closely together, also because the logistical problems with the supply of spare parts for various types of tanks on the Eastern Front were obvious. The goal was, as set out in a meeting on February 17, 1943, to convert the production of the medium battle tank V Panther, which was just being introduced, to the advanced model of this vehicle at the latest with the introduction of the main battle tank Tiger Ausf. B (Tiger II), which could have as many common assemblies as possible with the second generation of the heavy main battle tank. One such standardization of the types had been demanded by the Panzer Commission. For example, the ZF AK 7/200 gearbox and the Maybach HL 230 engine were to be installed in both vehicles. In parallel, the development of a completely new vehicle generation, the “Entwicklungspanzer” (also known as “E-Panzer” and later “Einheitspanzer”) tank series, which took the interchangeability of elements and production simplification even further, was pushed. The perspective was that from 1945 on the Panther would be replaced with the medium E-50 battle tank with an 88mm main gun.
This development was not certain, though, so that the Panther was further updated as a stopgap solution until E-50 production was running sufficiently. Consequently, the Army Office's WaPrüf 6 department also involved the Rheinmetall company and discussed the design of a new, simplified turret for the Panther II on February 18 that could accept the powerful new 8.8 cm KwK 43. Many specifications were made in the planning phase, for example a maximum turret radius had to be observed so that the driver and radio operator hatch could be opened in every turret position. Other dimensions were also specified to ensure access to the engine compartment. On February 19, the installation of machine gun 42 in tank turrets was discussed with Krupp, Rheinmetall and Daimler-Benz.
During a development meeting on March 5, 1943, it was determined that either a Maybach-Olvar or a ZF all-claw manual transmission could be installed in the drive area of both the Tiger II and Panther II. By March 20th, construction plans for the steering gear and side transmission should be ready. Then, on March 30, it was determined that Krupp should begin production of the Panther II, and MIAG should supply parts for this. From April 1943 the project designation Panther II was used, and MAN had already promised a prototype for mid-August 1943.
In the period that followed, MAN developed the "rubber-saving rollers" for the project. These were later tested on the Panther Ausf. G and were used on the Tiger II and Tiger I. However, it was discovered that the Panther's track had problems with these rollers and the project was expanded to develop a new track to be used with these rollers. Both were gradually introduced to the still running Panther production or retrofitted to damaged/recovered earlier Panther models in field workshops. It was planned that in view of the alignment of the chassis, the regular Panther II track should be usable as a transport track for the Tiger II. However, the Panther track would be shorter, since it would have two rollers less than the Tiger II. The rubber-saving track rollers were a major point in the discussions surrounding the introduction of the Panther II since they meant an additional 2 tons of weight. To compensate for this, the use of side skirts on the hull was discussed. It had already shown during the first operations on the Eastern Front that the sensitivity of the Panther’s side armor to the fire from the well-known Soviet anti-tank rifles was less than feared. To simplify production and save material, the lateral reinforcement was consequently not implemented.
On January 4, 1944, there was a meeting of the tank commission, where the changes to the armored hull of the Panther were discussed as the main problem of standardization. If a temporarily reduced production would be accepted by the German command, the following identical components should be used from the Tiger II: its Maybach HL 230 engine, same cooling system, same gearbox AK 7/200 or Olvar B, steering gear, side transmission, and the rubber-saving rollers with the modified track. However, some of these changes should already be used on the Panther Ausf. G, which was the current production variant. Ultimately, it was decided that reduced output of Panthers was unacceptable. Overall, Dr. Blaicher from the Main Committee determined that series production of the Panther II could only begin in late 1944 or early 1945.
The general design of the Panther II followed the conception of the Panzerkampfwagen V Panther. However, the armor at the front was to be increased to 100 or even 120 mm, and the side armor was planned to be brought to 60 mm. Furthermore, gun mantlet, turret front, roof, sides and rear were also supposed to be better armored, what led to the so-called “Schmalturm”. This new design was introduced with the Panther Ausf. F, the first standardized interim variant on the way to the true Panther II. However, this turret was only outfitted with a long-barreled 7,5-cm-KwK 44/I (L/70) without a muzzle brake, so that there was no significant improvement in firepower in comparison with other contemporary German tanks. Nevertheless, offering improved protection, an overall lowered weight and simplified production effort, the Schmalturm entered production and was, beyond the Panther Ausf. F, also combined with some late Panzer IV hulls as well as with early E-50s.
After that, further turret development for the Panther and the E-Series of medium/heavy battle tanks was pushed forward independently from the base vehicle, since a modular concept appeared to be the most effective way to ensure constant output of new tanks.
Eventually, the “Panther II” never materialized. In the meantime, the E-50/75’s development as well as Panther production had continued, and the latter gradually adopted new elements from the E-Series of tanks as well as simplifications that saved material and reduced overall production time. This gradual evolution led to two Panther hybrid variants. These vehicles, even though they looked quite different from the early Panther variants, retained the original SdKfz. 171 ordnance inventory designation. The most common variant was the Panther Ausf. F with the standardized rubber-saving running gear and the Schmalturm with the long-barreled 7,5 cm gun. The other standardized crossbreed was the Panther Ausf. H; it was based on a simplified late Panther Ausf. G hull with 50 mm side walls, but it featured a new welded 100 mm front glacis plate without any openings for either the driver or the radio operator’s machine gun. Sight for the crew members in the hull was provided exclusively through periscopic mirrors. Like the Panther Ausf. F, the Ausf. H featured the simplified running gear with rubber-saving rollers and a track that consisted of the Tiger I/II’s train transport track.
However, the Panther Ausf. H’s engine was new: it introduced a Maybach HL 234 V-12 gasoline engine, which was a HL-230, used in former Panther and Tiger tanks, upgraded with a fuel injection system which allowed easier engine operation even at low engine temperatures (such as a cold start), good adaptation to a wide range of altitudes and ambient temperatures, precisely governed engine speeds (including at idle and redline) and improved fuel efficiency. The HL-234 had originally been developed for the heavier E-50/75 and even the super-heavy E-100 tanks, and it was designed to deliver up to 900 hp (650 kW) in them. However, for the lighter Panther it was limited to just 700 hp (434 kW), with emphasis on torque at low engine speeds and durability. In the Panther Ausf. H this extra power was transferred through E-50/75 transmission elements, which had generous dimensions and material strength, what greatly improved the tank’s mechanical reliability. Thanks to the more powerful engine and transmission, the Panther Ausf. H was more agile than the earlier versions, despite a higher overall weight of 53 vs. 45 tons, which was almost on par with the earlier Tiger I. With the new drive train, the Panther Ausf. H was able to achieve a top speed of 56 km/h (35 mph) on level terrain or roads, and acceleration from standstill was markedly improved so that the tank was less likely to be hit during battles when it changed positions.
To improve the Panther’s firepower and get it on par with the retired Tiger I that it replaced, a 8.8 cm KwK 43 cannon was mounted in a new turret called ‘Langturm’. The Langturm was another E-50/75 development element that was adapted to the old Panther hull. It was in fact just an extended variant of the Schmalturm from the Panther Ausf. F and it shared the same layout and armor level, but it had an overhang at the rear to make space for the KwK 43’s longer gun carriage and a bigger ammunition supply. As a beneficial side effect, the overhang also provided a counterweight for the long and heavy gun barrel, alleviating the turret bearing. Because the KwK 43 had a different and heavier turret mount than the KwK 44/I from the Panther Ausf. F, a different mantlet had to be used. Turret movement was supported by an electric drive and targeting was supported by a built-in stereoscopic rangefinder, with optics in twin matching armored blisters on the turret’s flanks in front of the commander’s cupola. Fully rotatable periscopes in the turret roof replaced pistol ports in the turret flanks, thereby removing these weak armor spots.
To provide the Panther with some form of defense against infantry attacks after the deletion of its hull machine gun, a Nahverteidigungswaffe grenade launcher was mounted in the turret roof. This was a simple breech-loaded launcher tube oriented at a fixed 50° angle and fitted in a fully 360° traversable mounting. The Nahverteidigungswaffe was designed to mate with the standard 26 mm Kampfpistole flare gun. It could be loaded and fired under full armor and sealed by an armored plug when not in use. Aiming was by periscopes located on the turret and cupola. Typically, Sprenggranatpatrone 326 LP anti-personnel explosives were fired; this device had a range of 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33 ft) around the tank with a blast point of 0.5 to 2 meters (2 to 7 ft) above the ground. It splintered to a circumferential distance of 100 meters (328 ft) after an initial delay time of one second. It turned out to be very effective, even though all turret hatches and openings were to be closed when the 326 LP round was fired. Alternatively, the Nahverteidigungswaffe could fire a range of flare, signal or smoke grenades, too.
Compared with the earlier Panther variants with the 7.5 cm main weapon, its 8.8 cm gun meant considerably more firepower, and the KwK 43’s long range made it possible to keep the tank out of most enemy weapon’s range. As long as the crew was able to keep the Panther Ausf. H’s reinforced, sloped front armor facing towards its enemies the vehicle was virtually invulnerable to almost any Allied medium tank in late 1945, except for very close range or when the tracks were targeted to immobilize the tank. The only real threat at the time was the Soviet IS-3 with its heavy 122 mm D-25 gun, or surprise attacks against the weaker flanks.
The interleaved running gear still made maintenance and operations in wintertime challenging, though, but this was regarded as a reasonable price to pay for the tank’s overall effectiveness. As a benefit from the complex running gear, the Panther had probably the best suspension system of all German tanks of the time, offering a very smooth ride, and it was therefore very popular among its crews. However, the high-quality steel that was needed for the Panther’s torsion bar suspension system became more and more rare. The situation became so dire that these suspension elements were recovered from damaged vehicles directly at the front lines, collected and then conveyed to the MAN production line to complete new Panthers and put out as many as possible.
Nevertheless, due to the E-50/75’s ongoing development, its rising production priority from late 1945 on and an ever-worsening resource situation, the final Panther variants, the Ausf. F and H, were only produced between early 1945 and summer 1946. After that, Panther production ceased altogether in favor of the new Einheitspanzer family. Exact production numbers of the Panther Ausf. H are uncertain, because of the many hybrids and the chaotic production conditions, but less than 250 were finished and sent to frontline units.
Specifications:
Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator)
Weight: 53 tonnes (52.1 long tons; 58.2 short tons)
Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in) hull only
9,14 m (29 ft 11½ in) overall with gun facing forward
Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in)
Height: 2,81 m (9 ft 2½ in)
Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels
Fuel capacity: 720 liters (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)
Armor:
15–100 mm (0.6 – 3.93 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 56 km/h (35 mph)
Operational range: 250 km (160 mi) on roads
100 km (62 mi) cross-country
Power/weight: 13.2 PS (9.5 kW)/tonne (12.02 hp/ton)
Engine & transmission:
Maybach HL234 V-12 gasoline engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)
Maybach OLVAR OG 44 16 11 A gearbox with 8 forward and 2 reverse gears
Armament:
1× 8.8 cm KwK 43 (L/56) with 67 rounds, stored in the turret and the hull
1× 7.92 mm MG 42, mounted co-axially with the main gun with 2.500 rounds
1× 26 mm Nahverteidigungswaffe in the turret roof
Optional 6× Schnellnebelkerze 39 smoke dischargers, mounted to the turret flanks
Provision for a 7.92 mm MG 42 or MG 34 FlaMG on the commander cupola
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional Heer ’46 Panther variant was inspired by a Hasegawa Panther Ausf. F kit, which features rubber-saving all-steel wheels and a Schmalturm as optional parts – effectively a ‘whif-out-of-the-box’. I got it dead cheap, but just the plastic, without box, decals or instructions. I wondered how this hybrid could be even more upgraded, so that it could become a (fictional) stopgap solution to bridge the delayed introduction of the E-50/75 tank family? The result became my fictional ‘Ausführung H’.
To this end, I gave the Panther a bigger 8.8 cm gun, but this necessitated an enlarged turret. To keep things simple, I used the OOB Schmalturm to create a fictional extended version with a longer overhang at the rear – a “variant” that is actually available as one of the Modelcollect OOB E-50 kits, too. The overhang was scratched with the Schmalturm’s rear wall, styrene sheet material and 2C putty – the overhang is not large, but IMHO the turret looks now much more balanced than the original Schmalturm? For an individual look I also modified the gun mantlet, using early Panther parts from the Hasegawa kit and an 88 mm gun barrel with a muzzle brake left over from an Armorfast Jagdpanther. Additionally, some details were added to the turret, including a cover for the Nahverteidigungswaffe, periscopes and some free-standing lugs.
Another small modification: I removed the machine gun opening from the front glacis plate as a production simplification measure – after the driver’s visor slit had disappeared from the late production Panther Gs, removing the only other weak point in the front armor appeared like a plausible step. To create an even more E-50ish look I moved the light from the mudguards to the center of the glacis plate.
The running gear was taken OOB from the Hasegawa kit. To create a different look, I omitted the Panther’s standard side skirts that had protected the tank’s weak spot in the running gear above its tracks.
PE grates from a Modelcollect E-50/75 were fitted over the cooling fan openings (even though they did not fit perfectly), and I scratched two small smoke grenade mortar clusters for the turret flanks from sprue material. Tools and a container for a replacement main gun barrel segment were taken from the Hasegawa kit.
Painting and markings:
Another reason for this whiffy Panther was a camouflage concept that I had been wanting to test on a model for a while. It was inspired by French tank paint schemes from the early WWII phase: some vehicles carried a paint scheme consisting of horizontal, wavy high-contrast bands – an attempt to mimic a landscape with the horizon, consisting of relatively dark colors on low tank areas and light colors, even light grey or blue, on the turret. While some French tanks carried rather garish colors, I thought that this concept could work well with more subdued tones, only using the color contrast and trying to maximize the camouflage effect depending on the viewer’s perspective on the tank : either horizontally against the horizon, but also from above, when the vehicle would need a different camouflage against the ground.
The typical German “Hinterhalt” camouflage colors, Dunkelgelb, Olivgrün and the darker Rotbraun (RAL 7028, 6003 and 8017, respectively) were a good, limited palette to try this stunt, using Modelmaster 2095, a mix of Humbrol 86 and 78 for a lighter shade of green and Humbrol 180. Conforming to German standards, the running gear was painted uniformly, and I used RAL 7028 all around as a countershading measure. RAL 7028 was also applied to the turret flanks and to the barrel’s underside, to reduce the contrast of these areas against the sky.
RAL 6003 and 8017 were then primarily applied to the roof areas of hull, turret, and barrel, with only small RAL 7028 spots here and there to break these dark areas up against the ground when seen from above. To generally break the tank’s outlines up, the demarcation lines between the light and dark areas were painted with sharp, very wavy, “amoeba-esque” edges.
The model received an overall washing with dark brown ink and some dry-brushing with light grey to emphasize edges and details. The vinyl tracks were painted, too, with a mix of grey, red brown and iron (acrylic paints). The decals/markings are minimal, all taken from the scrap box, and the model was finally sealed with matt acrylic vanish overall, plus some very light extra dry-brushing with silver to simulate flaked paint, and 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 mud crusts and dust.
A straightforward what-if/Heer ’46 project. From a hardware perspective, the idea of an upgraded Panther as an E-50 stopgap for late 1945 with a bigger turret and gun works IMHO well, as the model combines old and new elements. The paint scheme experiment worked, too; when seen from the side, the wavy contrast between the light and dark areas breaks up the Panther’s silhouette against the horizon, while the rather dark colors from above conceal the vehicle against the ground, e. g. when it would be hidden under trees or in the shadows between buildings. The overall package looks quite plausible! :D
+++ 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 ZSU-37-6 (“ZSU” stands for Zenitnaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka / Зенитная Самоходная Установка = "anti-aircraft self-propelled mount"), also known as Object 511 during its development phase and later also as “ZSU-37-6 / Лена”, was a prototype for a lightly armored Soviet self-propelled, radar guided anti-aircraft weapon system that was to replace the cannon-armed ZSU-23-4 “Shilka” SPAAG.
The development of the "Shilka" began in 1957 and the vehicle was brought into service in 1965. The ZSU-23-4 was intended for AA defense of military facilities, troops, and mechanized columns on the march. The ZSU-23-4 combined a proven radar system, the non-amphibious chassis based on the GM-575 tracked vehicle, and four 23 mm autocannons. This delivered a highly effective combination of mobility with heavy firepower and considerable accuracy, outclassing all NATO anti-aircraft guns at the time. The system was widely fielded throughout the Warsaw Pact and among other pro-Soviet states. Around 2,500 ZSU-23-4s, of the total 6,500 produced, were exported to 23 countries.
The development of a potential successor started in 1970. At the request of the Soviet Ministry of Defense, the KBP Instrument Design Bureau in Tula started work on a new mobile anti-aircraft system as a replacement for the 23mm ZSU-23-4. The project was undertaken to improve on the observed shortcomings of the ZSU-23-4 (short range and no early warning) and to counter new ground attack aircraft in development, such as the A-10 Thunderbolt II, which was designed to be highly resistant to 23 mm cannons.
KBP studies demonstrated that a cannon of at least 30 mm caliber was necessary to counter these threats, and that a bigger caliber weapon would offer some more benefits. Firstly, to destroy a given target, such a weapon would only require from a third to a half of the number of shells that the ZSU-23-4’s 23 mm cannon would need. Secondly, comparison tests revealed that firing with an identical mass of 30 mm projectiles instead of 23 mm ammunition at a MiG-17 (or similarly at NATO's Hawker Hunter or Fiat G.91…) flying at 300 m/s would result in a 1.5 times greater kill probability. An increase in the maximum engagement altitude from 2,000 to 4,000 m and higher effectiveness when engaging lightly armored ground targets were also cited as potential benefits.
The initial requirements set for the new mobile weapon system were to achieve twice the performance in terms of the ZSU-23-4’s range, altitude and combat effectiveness. Additionally, the system should have a reaction time, from target acquisition to firing, no greater than 10 seconds, so that enemy helicopters that “popped up” from behind covers and launched fire-and-forget weapons at tanks or similar targets could be engaged effectively.
From these specifications KBP developed two schools of thought that proposed different concepts and respective vehicle prototypes: One design team followed the idea of an anti-aircraft complex with mixed cannon and missile armament, which made it effective against both low and high-flying targets but sacrificed short-range firepower. The alternative proposed by another team was a weapon carrier armed only with a heavy gatling-type gun, tailored to counter targets flying at low altitudes, esp. helicopters, filling a similar niche as the ZSU-23-4 and leaving medium to high altitude targets to specialized anti-aircraft missiles. The latter became soon known as “Object 511”.
Object 511 was based on the tracked and only lightly armored GM-577 chassis, produced by Minsk Tractor Works (MTZ). It featured six road wheels on each side, a drive sprocket at the rear and three return rollers. The chassis was primarily chosen because it was already in use for other anti-aircraft systems like the 2K11 “Krug” complex and could be taken more or less “off the rack”. A new feature was a hydropneumatic suspension, which was chosen in order to stabilize the chassis as firing platform and also to cope with the considerably higher all-up weight of the vehicle (27 tons vs. the ZSU-23-4’s 19 tons). Other standard equipment of Object 511 included heating, ventilation, navigational equipment, night vision aids, a 1V116 intercom and an external communications system with an R-173 receiver.
The hull was - as the entire vehicle - protected from small arms fire (7,62mm) and shell splinters, but not heavily armored. An NBC protection system was integrated into the chassis, as well as an automatic fire suppression system and an automatic gear change. The main engine bay, initially with a 2V-06-2 water-cooled multi-fuel diesel engine with 450 hp (331 kW) was in the rear. It was later replaced by a more powerful variant of the same engine with 510 hp (380 kW).
The driver sat in the front on the left side, with a small gas turbine APU to his right to operate the radar and hydraulic systems independently from the main engine.
Between these hull segments, the chassis carried a horseshoe-shaped turret with full 360° rotation. It was relatively large and covered more than the half of the hull’s roof, because it held the SPAAGs main armament and ammunition supply, the search and tracking radar equipment as well as a crew of two: the commander with a cupola on the right side and the gunner/radar operator on the left side, with the cannon installation and its feeding system between them. In fact, it was so large that Object 511’s engine bay was only accessible when the turret was rotated 90° to the side – unacceptable for an in-service vehicle (which would probably have been based on a bigger chassis), but accepted for the prototype which was rather focused on the turret and its complex weapon and radar systems.
Object 511’s centerpiece was the newly-developed Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-6-37 cannon, a heavy and experimental six-barreled 37mm gatling gun. This air-cooled weapon with electrical ignition was an upscaled version of the naval AO-18 30mm gun, which was part of an automated air defense system for ships, the AK-630 CIWS complex. Unlike most modern American rotary cannons, the GSh-6-37 was gas-operated rather than hydraulically driven, allowing it to "spin up" to maximum rate of fire more quickly. This resulted in more rounds and therefore weight of fire to be placed on target in a short burst, reduced reaction time and allowed hits even in a very small enemy engagement window.
The GSh-6-37 itself weighed around 524 kg (1.154 lb), the whole system, including the feed system and a full magazine, weighed 7,493 pounds (3,401 kg). The weapon had a total length of 5.01 m (16’ 7“), its barrels were 2.81 m (9’ 2½”) long. In Object 511’s turret it had an elevation between +80° and -11°, moving at 60°/sec, and a full turret rotation only took 3 seconds. Rate of fire was 4,500 rounds per minute, even though up to 5.500 RPM were theoretically possible and could be cleared with an emergency setting. However, the weapon would typically only fire short bursts of roundabout 50 rounds each, or longer bursts of 1-2 (maximum) seconds to save ammunition and to avoid overheating and damage – initially only to the barrels, but later also to avoid collateral damage from weapon operation itself (see below). Against ground targets and for prolonged, safe fire, the rate of fire could alternatively be limited to 150 RPM.
The GSh-6-37 fired 1.09 kg shells (each 338mm long) at 1,070 m/s (3.500 ft/s), developing a muzzle energy of 624,000 joules. This resulted in an effective range of 6,000 m (19.650 ft) against aerial and 7,000 m (23.0000 ft) against ground targets. Maximum firing range was past 7,160 m (23,490 ft), with the projectiles self-destructing beyond that distance. In a 1 sec. burst, the weapon delivered an impressive weight of fire of almost 100 kg.
The GSh-6-37 was belt-fed, with a closed-circuit magazine to avoid spilling casings all around and hurting friendly troops in the SPAAG’s vicinity. Typical types of ammunition were OFZT (proximity-fused incendiary fragmentation) and BZT (armor-piercing tracer, able to penetrate more than 60 mm of 30° sloped steel armor at 1.000 m/3.275’ distance). Since there was only a single ammunition supply that could not be switched, these rounds were normally loaded in 3:1 ratio—three OFZT, then one BZT, every 10th BZT round marked with a tracer. Especially the fragmentation rounds dealt extensive collateral damage, as the sheer numbers of fragments from detonating shells was sufficient to damage aircraft flying within a 200-meter radius from the impact center. This, coupled with the high density of fire, created a very effective obstacle for aerial targets and ensured a high hit probability even upon a casual and hurried attack.
The gun was placed in the turret front’s center, held by a massive mount with hydraulic dampers. The internal ammunition supply in the back of the turret comprised a total of 1.600 rounds, but an additional 800 rounds could be added in an external reserve feed bin, attached to the back of the turret and connected to the internal belt magazine loop through a pair of ports in the turret’s rear, normally used to reload the GSh-6-37.
A rotating, electronically scanned E-band (10 kW power) target acquisition radar array was mounted on the rear top of the turret that, when combined with the turret front mounted J-band (150 kW power) mono-pulse tracking radar, its dish antenna hidden under a fiberglass fairing to the right of the main weapon, formed the 1RL144 (NATO: Hot Shot) pulse-Doppler 3D radar system. Alongside, the 1A26 digital computer, a laser rangefinder co-axial to the GSh-6-37, and the 1G30 angle measurement system formed the 1A27 targeting complex.
Object 511’s target acquisition offered a 360-degree field of view, a detection range of around 18 km and could detect targets flying as low as 15 m. The array could be folded down and stowed when in transit, lying flat on the turret’s roof. The tracking radar had a range of 16 km, and a C/D-band IFF system was also fitted. The radar system was highly protected against various types of interference and was able to work properly even if there were mountains on the horizon, regardless of the background. The system made it possible to fire the GSh-6-37 on the move, against targets with a maximum target speed of up to 500 m/s, and it had an impressive reaction time of only 6-8 seconds.
Thanks to its computerized fire control system, the 1A27 was highly automated and reduced the SPAAG’s crew to only three men, making a dedicated radar operator (as on the ZSU-23-4) superfluous and saving internal space in the large but still rather cramped turret.
Development of Object 511 and its systems were kicked-off in 1972 but immediately slowed down with the introduction of the 9K33 “Osa” missile system, which seemed to fill the same requirement but with greater missile performance. However, after some considerable debate it was felt that a purely missile-based system would not be as effective at dealing with very low flying attack helicopters attacking at short range with no warning, as had been proven so successful in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Since the reaction time of a gun system was around 8–10 seconds, compared to approximately 30 seconds for a missile-based system, development of Object 511 was restarted in 1973.
A fully functional prototype, now officially dubbed “ZSU-37-6“ to reflect its role and armament and christened “Лена” (Lena, after the Russian river in Siberia), was completed in 1975 at the Ulyanovsk Mechanical Factory, but it took until 1976 that the capricious weapon and the 1A27 radar system had been successfully integrated and made work. System testing and trials were conducted between September 1977 and December 1978 on the Donguzskiy range, where the vehicle was detected by American spy satellites and erroneously identified as a self-propelled artillery system with a fully rotating turret (similar to the American M109), as a potential successor for the SAU-122/2S1 Gvozdika or SAU-152/2S3 Akatsiya SPGs that had been introduced ten years earlier, with a lighter weapon of 100-120mm caliber and an autoloader in the large turret.
The tests at Donguzskiy yielded mixed results. While the 1A27 surveillance and acquisition radar complex turned out to be quite effective, the GSh-6-37 remained a constant source of problems. The gun was highly unreliable and afforded a high level of maintenance. Furthermore, it had a massive recoil of 6.250 kp/61 kN when fired (the American 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger “only” had a recoil of 4.082 kp/40 kN). As a result, targets acquired by the 1A27 system were frequently lost after a single burst of fire, so that they had to be tracked anew before the next shot could be placed.
To make matters even words, the GSh-6-37 was noted for its high and often uncomfortable vibration and extreme noise, internally and externally. Pressure shock waves from the gun muzzles made the presence of unprotected personnel in the weapon’s proximity hazardous. The GSh-6-37’s massive vibrations shook the whole vehicle and led to numerous radio and radar system failures, tearing or jamming of maintenance doors and access hatches and the cracking of optical sensors. The effects were so severe that the gun’s impact led after six months to fatigue cracks in the gun mount, the welded turret hull, fuel tanks and other systems. One spectacular and fateful showcase of the gun’s detrimental powers was a transmission failure during a field test/maneuver in summer 1978 – which unfortunately included top military brass spectators and other VIPs, who were consequently not convinced of the ZSU-37-6 and its weapon.
The GSh-6-37’s persisting vibration and recoil problems, as well as its general unreliability if it was not immaculately serviced, could not be satisfactorily overcome during the 2 years of state acceptance trials. Furthermore, the large and heavy turret severely hampered Object 511’s off-road performance and handling, due to the high center of gravity and the relatively small chassis, so that the weapon system’s full field potential could not be explored. Had it found its way into a serial production vehicle, it would certainly have been based on a bigger and heavier chassis, e.g. from an MBT. Other novel features tested with Object 511, e.g. the hydropneumatic suspension and the automated 1A27 fire control system, proved to be more successful.
However, the troublesome GSh-6-37 temporarily attained new interest in 1979 through the Soviet Union’s engagement in Afghanistan, because it became quickly clear that conventional battle tanks, with long-barreled, large caliber guns and a very limited lift angle were not suited against small targets in mountainous regions and for combat in confined areas like narrow valleys or settlements. The GSh-6-37 appeared as a promising alternative weapon, and plans were made to mount it in a more strongly armored turret onto a T-72 chassis. A wooden mockup turret was built, but the project was not proceeded further with. Nevertheless, the concept of an armored support vehicle with high firepower and alternative armament would persist and lead, in the course of the following years, to a number of prototypes that eventually spawned the BMPT "Terminator" Tank Support Fighting Vehicle.
More tests and attempts to cope with the gun mount continued on a limited basis through 1979, but in late 1980 trials and development of Object 511 and the GSh-6-37 were stopped altogether: the 2K22 “Tunguska” SPAAG with mixed armament, developed in parallel, was preferred and officially accepted into service. In its original form, the 2K22 was armed with four 9M311 (NATO: SA-19 “Grison”) short-range missiles in the ready-to-fire position and two 2A38 30mm autocannons, using the same 1A27 radar system as Object 511. The Tunguska entered into limited service from 1984, when the first batteries, now armed with eight missiles, were delivered to the army, and gradually replaced the ZSU-23-4.
Having become obsolete, the sole Object 511 prototype was retired in 1981 and mothballed. It is today part of the Military Technical Museum collection at Ivanovskaya, near Moscow, even though not part of the public exhibition and in a rather derelict state, waiting for restoration and eventual display.
Specifications:
Crew: Three (commander, gunner, driver)
Weight: about 26,000 kg (57,300 lb)
Length: 7.78 m (25 ft 5 1/2 in) with gun facing forward
6.55 m (21 ft 5 1/2 in) hull only
Width: 3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)
Height: 3.88 m (12 ft 9 in) overall,
2.66 m (8 8 1/2 ft) with search radar stowed
Suspension: Hydropneumatic
Ground clearance: 17–57 cm
Fuel capacity: 760 l (200 US gal, 170 imp gal)
Armor:
Unknown, but probably not more than 15 mm (0.6”)
Performance:
Speed: 65 km/h (40 mph) maximum on the road
Climbing ability: 0.7 m (2.3')
Maximum climb gradient: 30°
Trench crossing ability: 2.5 m (8.2')
Fording depth: 1.0 m (3.3')
Operational range: 500 km (310 mi)
Power/weight: 24 hp/t
Engine:
1× 2V-06-2S water-cooled multi-fuel diesel engine with 510 hp (380 kW)
1× auxiliary DGChM-1 single-shaft gas turbine engine with 70 hp at 6,000 rpm,
connected with a direct-current generator
Transmission:
Hydromechanical
Armament:
1× GSh-6-37 six-barreled 37mm (1.5 in) Gatling gun with 1.600 rounds,
plus 800 more in an optional, external auxiliary magazine
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional SPAAG was intended as a submission to the “Prototypes” group build at whatifmodellers.com in August 2020. Inspiration came from a Trumpeter 1:72 2P25/SA-6 launch platform which I had recently acquired with a kit lot – primarily because of the chassis, which would lend itself for a conversion into “something else”.
The idea to build an anti-aircraft tank with a gatling gun came when I did research for my recent YA-14 build and its armament. When checking the American GAU-8 cannon from the A-10 I found that there had been plans to use this weapon for a short-range SPAAG (as a replacement for the US Army’s M163), and there had been plans for even heavier weapons in this role. For instance, there had been the T249 “Vigilante” prototype: This experimental system consisted of a 37 mm T250 six-barrel Gatling gun, mounted on a lengthened M113 armored personnel carrier platform, even though with a very limited ammunition supply, good only for 5 sec. of fire – it was just a conceptual test bed. But: why not create a Soviet counterpart? Even more so, since there is/was the real-world GSh-6-30 gatling gun as a potential weapon, which had, beyond use in the MiG-27, also been used in naval defense systems. Why not use/create an uprated/bigger version, too?
From this idea, things evolved in a straightforward fashion. The Trumpeter 2P25 chassis and hull were basically taken OOB, just the front was modified for a single driver position. However, the upper hull had to be changed in order to accept the new, large turret instead of the triple SA-6 launch array.
The new turret is a parts combination: The basis comes from a Revell 1:72 M109 howitzer kit, the 155 mm barrel was replaced with a QuickBoost 1:48 resin GSh-6-30 gun for a MiG-27, and a co-axial laser rangefinder (a piece of styrene) was added on a separate mount. Unfortunately, the Revell kit does not feature a movable gun barrel, so I decided to implant a functional joint, so that the model’s weapon could be displayed in raised and low position – primarily for the “action pictures”. The mechanism was scratched from styrene tubes and a piece of foamed plastic as a “brake” that holds the weapon in place and blocks the view into the turret from the front when the weapon is raised high up. The hinge was placed behind the OOB gun mantle, which was cut into two pieces and now works as in real life.
Further mods include the dish antenna for the tracking radar (a former tank wheel), placed on a disc-shaped pedestal onto the turret front’s right side, and the retractable rotating search radar antenna, scratched from various bits and pieces and mounted onto the rear of the turret – its roof had to be cleaned up to make suitable space next to the commander’s cupola.
Another challenge was the adaptation of the new turret to the hull, because the original SA-6 launch array has only a relatively small turret ring, and it is placed relatively far ahead on the hull. The new, massive turret had to be mounted further backwards, and the raised engine cowling on the back of the hull did not make things easier.
As a consequence, I had to move the SA-6 launcher ring bearing backwards, through a major surgical intervention in the hull roof (a square section was cut out, shortened, reversed and glued back again into the opening). In order to save the M109’s turret ring for later, I gave it a completely new turret floor and transplanted the small adapter ring from the SA-6 launch array to it. Another problem arose from the bulged engine cover: it had to be replaced with something flat, otherwise the turret would not have fitted. I was lucky to find a suitable donor in the spares box, from a Leopard 1 kit. More complex mods than expected, and thankfully most of the uglier changes are hidden under the huge turret. However, Object 511 looks pretty conclusive and menacing with everything in place, and the weapon is now movable in two axis’. The only flaw is a relatively wide gap between the turret and the hull, due to a step between the combat and engine section and the relatively narrow turret ring.
Painting and markings:
AFAIK, most Soviet tank prototypes in the Seventies/Eighties received a simple, uniform olive green livery, but ,while authentic, I found this to look rather boring. Since my “Object 511” would have taken part in military maneuvers, I decided to give it an Eighties Soviet Army three-tone camouflage, which was introduced during the late Eighties. It consisted of a relatively bright olive green, a light and cold bluish grey and black-grey, applied in large patches.
This scheme was also adapted by the late GDR’s Volksarmee (called “Verzerrungsanstrich” = “Distortion scheme”) and maybe – even though I am not certain – this special paint scheme might only have been used by Soviet troops based on GDR soil? However, it’s pretty unique and looks good, so I adapted it for the model.
Based upon visual guesstimates from real life pictures and some background info concerning NVA tank paint schemes, the basic colors became Humbrol 86 (Light Olive Green; RAL 6003), Revell 57 (Grey; RAL 7000) and Revell 06 (Tar Black; RAL 9021). Each vehicle had an individual paint scheme, in this case it was based on a real world NVA lorry.
On top of the basic colors, a washing with a mix of red brown and black acrylic paint was applied, and immediately dried with a soft cotton cloth so that it only remained in recesses and around edges, simulating dirt and dust. Some additional post-shading with lighter/brighter versions of the basic tones followed.
Decals came next – the Red Stars were a rather dramatic addition and came from the Trumpeter kit’s OOB sheet. The white “511” code on the flanks was created with white 3 mm letters from TL Modellbau.
The model received a light overall dry brushing treatment with light grey (Revell 75). As a finishing touch I added some branches as additional camouflage. These are bits of dried moss (collected on the local street), colorized with simple watercolors and attached with white glue. Finally, everything was sealed and stabilized with a coat of acrylic matt varnish and some pigments (a greyish-brown mix of various artist mineral pigments) were dusted into the running gear and onto the lower hull surfaces with a soft brush.
An effective kitbashing, and while mounting the different turret to the hull looks simple, the integration of unrelated hull and turret so that they actually fit and “work” was a rather fiddly task, and it’s effectively not obvious at all (which is good but “hides” the labour pains related to the mods). However, the result looks IMHO good, like a beefed-up ZSU-23-4 “Schilka”, just what this fictional tank model is supposed to depict.
The roof ‘construction’ of the conservatory does have a stainless steel boarding. Not the most elegant look but a very solid protection after repairs as a result of a leak due to severe weather a few years ago. Now to make this in scale is quiet funny. The roof is a simple piece of styrene sheet supported at the bottom by a beam. Nothing special. The boarding however I made by wooden skewers, cut in pieces, put them in position and covered them with tinfoil. Then cut the tinfoil and removed what was not needed, put in the right place and finaly fasten it with glue. To finish the roof I covered the styrene with roof covering (sandpaper, this was the covering till a few years ago, nowadays it has an extra layer of white pebbles which I might put on later).
Oh, it's you. It's been a long time. How have you been? I've been really busy being constructed of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene. You know, after you murdered me?
Fortunately the Aperture Science Emergency Recreational Building Element Reconstruction Initiative has provided me with a new body. Consequently, testing can recommence immediately.
For Science.
You monster.
SP - Guyzengun Weapons Group, Karakrum Class Combatant Ship Set.
Category: Model Kit.
Name: Guyzengun Weapons Group, Karakrum Class Combatant Ship Set.
Scale: Non.
Series: Mecha Collection.
Origin: Space Battleship Yamato 2202.
Brand: Bandai.
Material: Styrene plastic.
Release Date: April 2018.
Condition: Unassembled.
*Note: This is a Model Kit collected by my BB.
More in My Collection Corner.
I've been kicking around the idea of using those 1/8" trans-blue styrene rods as some kind of energy barrier for a while now, and the idea finally clicked in my head.
This is more or less how I want the scene, though I'm open to suggestions about details and execution. The idea is that there's a team of soldiers rescuing a captured comrade. The guards' searchlight just passed by, and they now have a short window of opportunity to blow the barrier's relay post and get their guy out of there.
Some Background:
Fang of the Sun Dougram (太陽の牙ダグラム Taiyō no Kiba Daguramu) is a 75-episode anime television series, created by Ryosuke Takahashi and Sunrise, and aired in Japan from October 23, 1981 to March 25, 1983 on TV Tokyo.
The series begins in a desert on the colony planet Deloyer, where the remains of a destroyed robot are resting as a red-haired woman is standing in front of it. The woman hallucinates what appears to be a group of armed soldiers alongside the robot in a non-destroyed state. A man named Rocky appears, leading to the woman running into his embrace where she cries tears of joy. After this, the series flashes back to an earlier time, in order to explain the circumstances leading up to the first episode.
Malcontents on the Deloyer colony agitate for the independence of their world from the Earth Federation. In an unexpected coup, the elected Governor declares martial law and sets himself up as absolute dictator. With the approval of the Federation, he rules the planet with an iron fist. In reaction, a ragtag group (including the governor's estranged son) rises in open rebellion, using a powerful prototype Combat Armor: the Dougram. Their goal is the end of the dictatorship and total independence from the Federation's influence.
The story follows the actions of the guerilla freedom fighters known as "The Deloyer 7." The war is fought across the planet Deloyer as the Federation vigorously pursues the rebels. The series is noted for its realistic use of not just the combat armors and support vehicles, but also military tactics. The series also followed a wide range of characters and political intrigue, with many shady characters switching sides throughout the series.
Crinn Cashim is the show's main character. Son of Governor Donan Cashim, he becomes trained in piloting the Soltic H8 “Roundfacer” standard army robot by Jacky Zaltsev, a Federation Ace, because of his father's political connections. When his father appears to be overthrown by a coup led by Colonel Von Stein, he pilots a Roundfacer while Federation forces battle Garcia's forces. He is stunned to learn that his father has actually sided with Von Stein in a secret plan, and eventually becomes angry at his father's forces in how they deal with the rebellion following the coup. Following a meeting with Dr. David Samalin, who introduces him to a combat armor he has designed, the Dougram, Cashim and his friends form The Fang of the Sun and join the rebellion against the Federation.
general characteristics
Unit type: CB (combat) armor
Manufacturer: Soltic Company
Crew: 1 pilot
Overall height: 10.02 meters
Base weight: 30.5 metric tons
Generator type: Rolls-Royce N8E x 1
Generator output: 54 points per second
Maximum running speed: 45 km/h
Continuous operational time: 324 minutes
Armament:
1x hand gun (various types, incl. a grenade launcher or a linear gun)
4x 25mm chain guns in the lower arms
1x shoulder-mounted 9-tube missile pod
Optional equipment: hang glider, camouflage suit, shield
Mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara
The kit (and its revival):
This is another model of an 1:72 Soltic H8 "Roundfacer" (there’s already one in my mecha collection), but it's not an original Takara kit, but rather comes from the Revell re-boxing in the mid Eighties among their Robotech line. It was there part of a kit set, called "Armored Combat Team", and came together with a wheeled vehicle set.
However, this model was originally not built and painted by me. It's rather a generous donation from a good friend who made an attempt into mecha when these kits were distributed. It was built roundabout 30 years(!!!) ago and, AFAIK, never 100% finished; for instance, the hoses around the neck were never mounted, and the handgun had never been never painted.
As the only one of its kind it never found a true place in my friend’s model kit collection, and after some years of disregard it even got damaged: the delicate hip joint got broken, the Roundfacer lost one of its legs. In this sorry status the model rested in a dark corner, collected dust...
...until it was given to me many years ago, unfortunately after I had already gone through my hot mecha phase in the Nineties, in which I resurrected many of my own builds for a second life. So the Roundfacer lay (again) around in my spare parts deposit for some more years, until I finally decided to tackle and revamp it in early 2018. Inspiration strikes in unexpected occasions.
At first I thought that I could just repair the leg and add some parts in order to finish the model, but this plan was soon foiled. However, the biggest issue remained the broken attachment point for the left leg - and it turned out to be more severe than first expected. Initially I tried to mend the problem with a metal pin reinforcement, so that the original pintle could be re-attached again. But then the right leg came off, too, and the whole joint turned out to have become so brittle (it literally fell apart) that it had to be replaced completely!
So I scratched a completely new hip joint and a sturdy attachment construction from styrene profiles and plastic-coated steel wire, which would allow a similar range of movement as the original construction, even though not as flexible - but the Roundfacer would be displayed anyway.
The rest of the kit was otherwise in good shape, and the joints free from paint for high movability. I made some changes and improvements, though. This included the cleaning of the seams on both legs (PSR) and the addition of some surface details with IP profile material. This meant that the original paintwork would have at least party to be renewed, but fortunalety I knew the paints and respective tones my friend had used when he had built the kit.
Another challenge were the characteristic hoses that lay around the Roundfacer's neck like a scarf. I was lucky to find leftover parts from a vintage 1:144 Gundam Zaku in my stash, the fit almost perfectly. Otherwise, they had had to be scratched.
The original missile launcher was re-fitted, even though it had to be fixed since the original attachment construction had also fallen victim to the styrene's brittleness over the ages. The handgun - while complete and available - was replaced by the weapon from a H-102 Bushman, which looks a bit more beefy, like a grenade launcher instead of the OOB assult rifle.
Painting and markings:
I was not certain whether I would re-paint the Roundfacer, which would have meant stripping it off of of its original enamels - but I eventually rejected this for two reasons: First of all I thought and still think that the brittle material of the finished kit made any surgery or chemical intervention hazardous. Esp. the joints were delicate, the loss of the hip joint was already trouble enough. And then I liked the fictional scheme the Roundfacer had been given, a kind of winter camouflage in black and light grey, separated by thin white lines. I simply wanted to keep the original concept, since it looks pretty unusual - and also in order to honor my friend's original approach.
So, instead of a new or additional layer of paint I limited my work to the areas with PSR and added details, and the original (and highly translucent!) decals had to go, too.
The original colors are Humbrol 64 (Light Sea Grey), 33 (Flatblack) and 34 (Flat White). For the repairs the same tones were used, just the pure black (which had suffered in the meantime) was replaced by Revell 6 (Tar Black). The result is pretty good, you hardly recognize the touch-ups.
In order to take the model a step further I also did some thorough weathering, at first with a dark grey acrylic wash, which was also texturized with vertical brush streaks along the flanks, and some later dry-brushing on the edges, emphasizing the robot's shape and details.
The new markings were puzzled together from various sheets, including some Dougram models.
For an even more unique look, and in order to hide some flaws, I decided to add a thin coat of snow – also in line with the small base I created for display (an somewhat in order to justify/explain the paint scheme).
The display base:
This is certainly not a diorama, but I wanted a small, scenic setting that would show surroundings in order to justify the Roundfacer’s strange black/grey scheme.
The foundation is a small MDF wood board, 8” x 6” in size, leftover from a street base gone bad many moons ago. On top of the wooden base, the landscape was sculpted with Styrofoam, using the Roundfacer as benchmark for the overall layout. The idea was to show an unpaved path or street, flanked by rock formations. Due to the base’s small size the rocks had to be limited in size. Since the robot would dominate the scene, anyway, I placed it further in the background.
In the foreground, some space was saved for a small vehicle, which would add some variety and create some kind of scene. Since I did not want to invest too much effort into building or even converting or scratching a scout car or something similar.
After some search I settled upon a modern Bundeswehr “Dingo” from Panzerstahl, a completed plastic model. I found it to be a very good match for the base and the Roundfacer – and for the scene I took it OOB and just re-painted it in black with light grey mottles and dusted it with snow (see below), too.
With the positions of the vehicles determined it was time to add details to the landscape. Most inspiration came from Antarctica and Iceland – you have volcanic rock formations, namely black basalt, with hexagonal structures, and ice and snow on top. Anything that the Roundfacer’s livery reflects.
The hexagonal rocks would be the most prominent structure on the base, and these were created with bits from …pencils. They were tailored to size with the help of a paper cutting machine, then glued into bundles and finally stuck into the Styrofoam ground and arranged into bigger structures.
Once dry the rest of the surface was covered and sculpted with plaster. A coat of thinned plaster was also spread over the pencils, blurring their shapes. On the street, track marks were created with a truck model kit wheel and the Roundfacer.
Once the plaster had dried, the diorama received a coat of thinned white glue, mixed with black paint, into which different grains of sand were strewn. Around the rock formations, broken shell gravel (from a home decoration shop) was used to mimic bigger chunks of rock. Again, things had to dry thoroughly.
Next came an overall basic coat of black – applied with a rattle can, so that the paint would evenly reach all recesses. After more drying time the landscape received washes with dark grey and dull olive green. Into the wet paint some grass fiber and wood pieces were glued, in areas behind the rock formations which would offer some protection against the weather.
Another drying period followed, for the second-to-last treatment: a thin coat of snow (which was also added to the Roundfacer and the car). I prefer white tile grout for this task, because it is easy to handle, sticks well to wet surfaces and remains white and stable in the course of time. For application, I put some of the dry material in a glass and cover it with a nylon stocking, and shake it over the wetted (water with drop of detergent) surface. This makeshift device is easy to handle and has the charm that you can gradually adjust the grit and amount of tile grout that rains down.
The street area received some additional treatment with thinned black and grey paint, simulating a mix of snow and dirt.
In a final step, the base and the vehicles received a coat of acrylic matt varnish from the rattle can for protection and snow fixation.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
The A-14 program originally started in 2005 as a private venture, initiated by Northrop-Grumman together with the Elbit Group as a joint venture through Elbit’s Texas-based aircraft division M7 Aerosystems, an approved supplier to major aerospace clients. The aircraft was intended to replace the USAF’s A-10 attack aircraft as well as early F-16s in the strike role from 2010 onwards. The time slot for the project turned out to be advantageous, because at that time the USAF was contemplating to replace the simple and sturdy A-10 with the much more complex F-35, eventually even with its VTOL variant, and the highly specialized F-117 was retired, too.
The A-14 revived conceptual elements of Grumman’s stillborn A-12 stealth program for the US Navy, which had also been part of the USAF’s plans to replace the supersonic F-111 tactical bomber, but on a less ambitious and expensive level concerning technology, aiming for a more effective compromise between complexity, survivability and costs. The basic idea was an updated LTV A-7D (the A-10’s predecessor from the Vietnam War era), which had far more sophisticated sensor and navigation equipment than the rather simple but sturdy A-10, but with pragmatic stealth features and a high level of survivability in a modern frontline theatre or operations.
M7 Aerosystems started on a blank sheet, even though Northrop-Grumman’s A-12 influence was clearly visible, and to a certain degree the aircraft shared the basic layout with the F-117A. The A-14 was tailored from the start to the ground attack role, and therefore a subsonic design. Measures to reduce radar cross-section included airframe shaping such as alignment of edges, fixed-geometry serpentine inlets that prevented line-of-sight of the engine faces from any exterior view, use of radar-absorbent material (RAM), and attention to detail such as hinges and maintenance covers that could provide a radar return. The A-14 was furthermore designed to have decreased radio emissions, infrared signature and acoustic signature as well as reduced visibility to the naked eye.
The resulting airframe was surprisingly large for an attack aircraft – in fact, it rather reminded of a tactical bomber in the F-111/Su-24 class than an alternative to the A-10. The A-14 consisted of a rhomboid-shaped BWB (blended-wing-and-body) with extended wing tips and only a moderate (35°) wing sweep, cambered leading edges, a jagged trailing edge and a protruding cockpit section which extended forward of the main body.
The majority of the A-14’s structure and surface were made out of a carbon-graphite composite material that is stronger than steel, lighter than aluminum, and absorbs a significant amount of radar energy. The central fuselage bulge ended in a short tail stinger with a pair of swept, canted fins as a butterfly tail, which also shrouded the engine’s hot efflux. The fins could have been omitted, thanks to the aerodynamically unstable aircraft’s fly-by-wire steering system, and they effectively increased the A-14’s radar signature as well as its visual profile, but the gain in safety in case of FBW failure or physical damage was regarded as a worthwhile trade-off. Due to its distinctive shape and profile, the A-14 quickly received the unofficial nickname “Squatina”, after the angel shark family.
The spacious and armored cockpit offered room for the crew of two (pilot and WSO or observer for FAC duties), seated side-by-side under a generous glazing, with a very good field of view forward and to the sides. The fuselage structure was constructed around a powerful cannon, the five-barrel GAU-12/U 25 mm ‘Equalizer’ gun, which was, compared with the A-10’s large GAU-8/A, overall much lighter and more compact, but with only little less firepower. It fired a new NATO series of 25 mm ammunition at up to 4.200 RPM. The gun itself was located under the cockpit tub, slightly set off to port side, and the front wheel well was offset to starboard to compensate, similar in arrangement to the A-10 or Su-25. The gun’s ammunition drum and a closed feeding belt system were located behind the cockpit in the aircraft’s center of gravity. An in-flight refueling receptor (for the USAF’s boom system) was located in the aircraft’s spine behind the cockpit, normally hidden under a flush cover.
Due to the gun installation in the fuselage, however, no single large weapon bay to minimize radar cross section and drag through external ordnance was incorporated, since this feature would have increased airframe size and overall weight. Instead, the A-14 received four, fully enclosed compartments between the wide main landing gear wells and legs. The bays could hold single iron bombs of up to 2.000 lb caliber each, up to four 500 lb bombs or CBUs, single laser-guided GBU-14 glide bombs, AGM-154 JSOW or GBU-31/38 JDAM glide bombs, AGM-65 Maverick guided missiles or B61 Mod 11 tactical nuclear weapons, as well as the B61 Mod 12 standoff variant, under development at that time). Retractable launch racks for defensive AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles were available, too, and additional external pylons could be added, e.g. for oversize ordnance like AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) or AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM), or drop tanks for ferry flights. The total in- and external ordnance load was 15,000 lb (6,800 kg).
The A-14 was designed with superior maneuverability at low speeds and altitude in mind and therefore featured a large wing area, with high wing aspect ratio on the outer wing sections, and large ailerons areas. The ailerons were placed at the far ends of the wings for greater rolling moment and were split, making them decelerons, so that they could also be used as air brakes in flight and upon landing.
This wing configuration promoted short takeoffs and landings, permitting operations from primitive forward airfields near front lines. The sturdy landing gear with low-pressure tires supported these tactics, and a retractable arrester hook, hidden by a flush cover under the tail sting, made it possible to use mobile arrested-recovery systems.
The leading edge of the wing had a honeycomb structure panel construction, providing strength with minimal weight; similar panels covered the flap shrouds, elevators, rudders and sections of the fins. The skin panels were integral with the stringers and were fabricated using computer-controlled machining, reducing production time and cost, and this construction made the panels more resistant to damage. The skin was not load-bearing, so damaged skin sections could be easily replaced in the field, with makeshift materials if necessary.
Power came from a pair of F412-GE-114 non-afterburning turbofans, engines that were originally developed for the A-12, but de-navalized and lightened for the A-14. These new engines had an output of 12,000 lbf (53 kN) each and were buried in blended fairings above the wing roots, with jagged intakes and hidden ducts. Flat exhausts on the wings’ upper surface minimized both radar and IR signatures.
Thanks to the generous internal fuel capacity in the wings and the fuselage, the A-14 was able to loiter and operate under 1,000 ft (300 m) ceilings for extended periods. It typically flew at a relatively low speed of 300 knots (350 mph; 560 km/h), which made it a better platform for the ground-attack role than fast fighter-bombers, which often have difficulty targeting small, slow-moving targets or executing more than just a single attack run on a selected target.
A mock-up was presented and tested in the wind tunnel and for radar cross-section in late 2008. The A-14’s exact radar cross-section (RCS) remained classified, but in 2009 M7 Aerosystems released information indicating it had an RCS (from certain angles) of −40 dBsm, equivalent to the radar reflection of a "steel marble". With this positive outcome and the effective design, M7 Aerosystems eventually received federal funding for the production of prototypes for an official DT&E (Demonstration Testing and Evaluation) program.
Three prototypes/pre-production aircraft were built in the course of 2010 and 2011, and the first YA-14 made its maiden flight on 10 May 2011. The DT&E started immediately, and the machines (a total of three flying prototypes were completed, plus two additional airframes for static tests) were gradually outfitted with mission avionics and other equipment. This included GPS positioning, an inertial navigation system, passive sensors to detect radar usage, a small, gyroscopically stabilized turret, mounted under the nose of the aircraft, containing a FLIR boresighted with a laser spot-tracker/designator, and an experimental 3-D laser scanning LIDAR in the nose as a radiation-less alternative to a navigation and tracking radar.
Soon after the DT&E program gained momentum in 2012, the situation changed for M7 Aerosystems when the US Air Force considered the F-35B STOVL variant as its favored replacement CAS aircraft, but concluded that the aircraft could not generate a sufficient number of sorties. However, the F-35 was established as the A-14’s primary rival and remained on the USAF’s agenda. For instance, at that time the USAF proposed disbanding five A-10 squadrons in its budget request to cut its fleet of 348 A-10s by 102 to lessen cuts to multi-mission aircraft in service that could replace the specialized attack aircraft.
In August 2013, Congress and the Air Force examined various proposals for an A-10 replacement, including the A-14, F-35 and the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle, and, despite the A-14’s better qualities in the ground attack role, the F-35 came out as the overall winner, since it was the USAF’s favorite. Despite its complexity, the F-35 was – intended as a multi-role tri-service aircraft and also with the perspective of bigger international sales than the more specialized A-14 – regarded as the more versatile and, in the long run, more cost-efficient procurement option. This sealed the A-14’s fate and the F-35A entered service with U.S. Air Force F-35A in August 2016 (after the F-35B was introduced to the U.S. Marine Corps in July 2015). At that time, the U.S. planned to buy 2,456 F-35s through 2044, which would represent the bulk of the crewed tactical airpower of the U.S. Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps for several decades.
Since the A-14’s technology was considered to be too critical to be marketed to export customers (Israel showed early interest in the aircraft, as well as South Korea), the program was cancelled in 2016.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2 (pilot, WSO)
Length: 54 ft 11 1/2 in (16.78 m)
Wingspan: 62 ft 11 1/2 in (19.22 m)
Height: 11 ft 3 3/4 in (3.45 m)
Wing area: 374.9 ft² (117.5 m²)
Empty weight: 24,959 lb (11,321 kg)
Loaded weight: 30,384 lb (13,782 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 50,000 lb (22,700 kg)
Internal fuel capacity: 11,000 lb (4,990 kg)
Powerplant:
2× General Electric Whitney F412-GE-114 non-afterburning turbofans
with 12,000 lbf (53 kN) thrust each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 630 mph (1,010 km/h, 550 kn) at 40,000 ft altitude /
Mach 0.95 at sea level
Cruise speed: 560 mph (900 km/h, 487 kn) at 40,000 ft altitude
Range: 1,089 nmi (1,253 mi, 2,017 km)
Ferry range: 1,800 nmi (2,100 mi, 3,300 km)
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,200 m)
Rate of climb: 50,000 ft/min (250 m/s)
Wing loading: 133 lb/ft² (193 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.48 (full internal fuel, no stores)
Take-off run: 1,200 m (3,930 ft) at 42,000 lb (19,000 kg) over a 15 m (30 ft) obstacle
Armament:
1× General Dynamics GAU-12/U Equalizer 25 mm (0.984 in) 5-barreled rotary cannon
with 1,200 rounds (max. capacity 1,350 rounds)
4x internal weapon bays plus 4x external optional hardpoints with a total capacity of
15,000 lb (6,800 kg) and provisions to carry/deploy a wide range of ordnance
The kit and its assembly:
A major kitbashing project which I had on my idea list for a long time and its main ingredients/body donors already stashed away – but, as with many rather intimidating builds, it takes some external motivation to finally tackle the idea and bring it into hardware form. This came in August 2020 with the “Prototypes” group build at whatifmodellers.com, even though is still took some time to find the courage and mojo to start.
The original inspiration was the idea of a stealthy successor for the A-10, or a kind of more modern A-7 as an alternative to the omnipresent (and rather boring, IMHO) F-35. An early “ingredient” became the fuselage of a Zvezda Ka-58 stealth helicopter kit – I liked the edgy shape, the crocodile-like silhouette and the spacious side-by-side cockpit. Adding wings, however, was more challenging, and I remembered a 1:200 B-2A which I had turned into a light Swedish 1:72 attack stealth aircraft. Why not use another B-2 for the wings and the engines, but this time a bigger 1:144 model that would better match the quite bulbous Ka-58 fuselage? This donor became an Italeri kit.
Work started with the fuselage: the Ka-58’s engine and gearbox hump had to go first and a generous, new dorsal section had to be scratched with 1mm styrene sheet and some PSR. The cockpit and its glazing could be retained and were taken OOB. Under the nose, the Ka-58’s gun turret was omitted and a scratched front landing gear well was implanted instead.
The wings consist of the B-2 model; the lower “fuselage half” had its front end cut away, then the upper fuselage half of the Ka-58 was used as benchmark to cut the B-2’s upper wing/body part in two outer wing panels. Once these elements had been glued together, the Ka-58’s lower nose and tail section were tailored to match the B-2 parts. The B-2 engine bays were taken OOB and mounted next, so that the A-14’s basic hull was complete and the first major PSR session could start. Blending the parts into each other turned out to be a tedious process, since some 2-3 mm wide gaps had to be filled.
Once the basic BWP pack had been finished, I added the fins. These were taken from an 1:72 F-117 kit (IIRC from Italeri), which I had bought in a lot many moons ago. The fins were just adapted at their base to match the tail sting slope, and they were mounted in a 45° angle. This looks very F-117ish but was IMHO the most plausible solution.
Now that the overall length of the aircraft was defined, I could work on the final major assembly part: the wing tips. The 1:144 B-2 came with separate wing tip sections, but they proved to be much too long for the Squatina. After some trials I reduced their length by more than half, so that the B-2’s jagged wing trailing edge was kept. The result looks quite natural, even though blending the cut wing tips to the BWB turned out to be a PSR nightmare because their thickness reduces gently towards the tip – since I took out a good part of the inner section, the resulting step had to be sanded away and hidden with more PSR.
Detail work started next, including the cockpit glazing, the bomb bay (the B-2 kit comes with one of its bays open, and I kept this detail and modified the interior) and the landing gear, the latter was taken from the F-117 donor bank and fitted surprisingly well.
Some sensors were added, too, including a flat glass panel on the nose tip and a triangular IRST fairing under the nose, next to the landing gear well.
Painting and markings:
For a stealth aircraft and a prototype I wanted something subdued or murky, but not an all-black or -grey livery. I eventually settled for the rather dark paint scheme that the USAF applied to its late B-52Gs and the B-1Bs, which consists of two tones from above, FS 36081 (Dark Grey, a.k.a. Dark Gunship Grey) and 34086 (Green Drab), and underneath (FS 36081 and 36118 (Gunship Grey). The irregular pattern was adapted (in a rather liberal fashion) from the USAF’s early B-1Bs, using Humbrol 32, 108 and 125 as basic colors. The 108 turned out to be too bright, so I toned it down with an additional coat of thinned Humbrol 66. While this considerably reduced the contrast between the green and the grey, the combination looks much better and B-1B-esque.
The wings’ leading edges were painted for more contrast with a greyish black (Tar Black, Revell 09), while the landing gear, the interior of the air intakes and the open bomb bay became glossy white. The cockpit was painted in medium grey (Humbrol 140) and the clear parts received a thinned inner coating with a mix of transparent yellow and brown, simulating an anti-radar coating – even though the effect turned out to be minimal, now it looks as of the plastic parts had just yellowed from age…
After the initial livery had been finished the model received a black ink washing and some post-panel shading with slightly brightened variations of the basic tones (using Humbrol 79, 144 and 224). Decals were added next, an individual mix from various sources. The “Stars-and-Bars” come from a PrintScale A-7 sheet, most stencils come from an F-16 sheet.
After some more detail painting and a treatment with graphite on the metal areas (exhausts, gun port), the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).
Batman’s next Batwing? Maybe, there’s certainly something fictional about this creation. But the “Squatina” turned out much more conclusive (and even pretty!) than I expected, even though it became a bigger aircraft than intended. And I am positively surprised how good the bodywork became – after all, lots of putty had to be used to fill all the gaps between parts that no one ever expected to be grafted together.
14 - Comet Empire Karakrum Class Large Battleship.
Category: Model Kit.
Name: Comet Empire Karakrum Class Large Battleship.
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.
Some background:
With more and more experience through military mecha in Japan during the late Nineties, Schaft Enterprise’s Europe branch started the development of civil Labors for public use. These models included the Type-8FF firefighting Labor, which was originally created for the Japanese market but eventually only sold and operated in the European market, and the Type-10P, a dedicated police duty Labor and a direct competitor to Shinohara Industry’s highly successful AV-98 Ingram.
The Type-10P was based on a completely new chassis and introduced many composite material elements that lightened its structure and even gave it a light armor protection against small caliber rounds. It was designed to be effective in situations like dealing with stolen labor units or rogue labors, but also for more mundane duties like riot control and escorts. Its intimidating size certainly helped psychologically. However, the Type-10P was not designed to take on military labors in close combat, even though it could be outfitted with manual weapon that would offer considerable firepower at distance. Typical police service weapons included a shield and a stun stick (with an optional taser function) as well as a handheld revolver gun, but other equipment was available, too. Precise manipulator fingers (with three fingers and one thumb on each hand) allowed delicate handling.
The pilot sat in a fully enclosed, climatized cabin in the Labor’s breast section, with an excellent field of view and protected from water and gas. In order to ensure proper surveillance under harsh conditions in any weather and at day and night, the Type-10P received a complex sensor suite, including a telescopic camera boom, a close-range Lidar and a directional microphone. Communication with other units was ensured by both radio and laser communication systems.
Further special equipment could be attached to the Type-10P’s back. These easily interchangeable “backpacks” included an extra battery for extended operation, a fuel-powered external generator with one or two powerful searchlights, a pack with loudspeakers, a large, retractable LED matrix display, and two packs with pressurized canisters that were connected with a handheld spray gun each, either carrying CO2 as a fire extinguisher or OC spray for riot control. Even an inflatable lifeboat was available, as well as special weapons like an EMP pulse rifle, which necessitated an external auxiliary battery pack, and a rearward-facing “brown note” infranoise generator.
Officially baptised “Michael”, after the German police’s Christian patron saint, the Type-10P was in 2000 adopted by special units of the German Bundespolizei and by some major police departments on federal state level. Typical German Labor units would operate two or three of these vehicles, primarily as support units for standard units when called upon in an emergency and also to counter Labor crimes and accidents. Their psychological value in riot control duties was highly appreciated, and the Type 10Ps were also frequently sent to official political events for PR purposes.
The Type-10P was also promoted abroad, esp. in Japan, but it was rejected there due to its size and the strong (and established) competition from Shinohara Industry, namely the MPL-97S “Python” and the AV-98 “Ingram”. However, eight Type-10Ps were sold to the Austrian Bundespolizei and an undisclosed small number was bought by a private security service company in Northern America.
Technical Data:
Code name: Type-10P "Michael"
Unit type: police labor
Manufacturer: SEE (Schaft Enterprises Europe)
Operator: German Federal Police (Bundespolizei) and several major German federal state
police departments (Berlin, Northrhine-Westphalia, Bavaria), Austria, USA
Number built: 33
Accommodation: pilot only, in heat- and ABC-insulated cockpit in front torso
Dimensions:
Overall height 9.42 meters
Overall width 5.95 meters
Minimum revolving radius: 6.0 meters
Weight:
Standard 6.55 metric tons
Full 8.1 metric tons
Armor materials:
Light composite armor, effective against fire and small caliber rounds of up to 12.7 mm
Powerplant:
unknown
Maximum weight lifting capacity:
2.50 metric tons
Equipment and design features:
Visual and acoustic sensors, range unknown, with suitable recording and data transfer equipment
Retractable visor cover
Highly articulated manipulator hands
Searchlights
Flashlights and four claxons/loudspeakers on the shoulders
Armaments:
No internal weapons installed;
The Type-10P can operate a wide range of handheld equipment like an extendable baton,
anti-terror shields, and weapons like a 42 mm revolver handgun, a taser or a 90 mm pellet shotgun.
Two hardpoints on the lower arms to attach equipment/weapons, plus a single hardpoint on the
back with the option to carry a wide range of equipment packages.
The kit and its assembly:
Traditions can be nice to keep up, and this build is actually a kind of serial project: in 2015, a group build under the motto "De-/Militarize it" ran at whatifmodellers.com, and I submitted a thorough conversion of a 1:60 "SEE Type-7 Brocken" Labor it from Bandai – a pure military Labor turned into a firefighting mecha.
Now, in early 2021, the “Blue Lights” group build ran, and Patlabor – an anime near-SF universe circling around robot-assisted police work – lent itself for another mecha submission. I had an AV-X0 prototype as well as two Ingram kits in store, but I wanted “something different” and also not a Japanese police Labor, since I had just built a fictional Daihatsu Move police car of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. So, the choice fell on the “Phantom” kit as basis, what called for considerable modifications. The “Phantom” is actually an unmanned robot, but I found its stature quite intimidating and more plausible for a non-Japanese police Labor than e. g. a re-badged AV-X0.
At an early stage I already settled for a German police Labor, and took inspiration in some heavier vehicles that are operated by special units of the Bundespolizei, e.g. armored cars or water throwers. This also defined the Labor’s paint scheme (see below). However, the new police Labor’s design was far from certain, it gradually evolved while building the separate OOB elements. Thankfully, this 3rd generation mecha kit allows such a gradual progress, and step by step the details that had to be changed or scratched became clearer.
This primarily included:
A completely new head section; the Phantom has a kind of fixed "hood" with a relatively small and fixed "face unit" in its front. This would be changed into a free-standing head unit, like the standard Labors. I was lucky to find a leftover head unit from a “Helldiver”, an airborne military Labor from the same model universe – its pilot helmet added a tough look to my build, and I added some sensor booms from an Ingram, too. Some PSR went into the head’s re-design, too, and, in the end, it adds to the “riot control” look of my build.
The completely new head necessitated the complete removal of the original “hood” of the “Phantom” and its fixed, small head, and this gap had to be filled/framed with a scratched collar and a new attachment point for the new head. Later, the OOB “neck” element was integrated into the opening, and scratched hydraulic pistons filled void space.
In the same wake, a cockpit fairing was added to the chest, since this would become a manned vehicle, not a robot. This, as well as the collar, were sculpted with 2C putty.
In order to change the Labor’s hull shape a little more, I added a pair of headlights to the flanks of the breast – these are 1:24 car parts, left over from my recent Daihatsu Move build. The parts were fitted into holes, received a shiny backing with chrome foil (hard to tell through the protective grates, though) and were blended into the hull via PSR.
The pack with retractable boosters in the back as well as the extentable upper body (with the visible innards and the spinning blades hidden there) were omitted. Instead, I implanted a donor piece to the back (a back pack from an 1:144 Yha-Giga mecha from Megaro Zamac), which looks very mechanical (a heat exchanger, maybe?) and natural.
Furthermore, the openings for the “Phantom”’s original optical sensors in the chest were faired over.
New hands were deemed necessary; the OOB hands are much too slender and claw-like, and I was able to use the hands from an 1:24 PA-36HD (from Dorvack).
While raiding the donor banks I also came across suitable new shoulder guards, from an 1:144 “Serpent Custom” (Gundam). They replaced the OOB parts, they are taller and more edgy, which is against the “Phantom”’s rather organic design – but they were too good to be rejected, with consoles that would later carry flashlights (scratched) and louvres that could easily hide (and protect) sirens inside.
However, in order to integrate the new shoulder parts better into an overall look, I decided to modify the knee and elbow guards into a more squarish shape – with the help of styrene sheet and some (more) PSR. This stunt worked surprisingly well.
During this modification I also added hardpoints to the lower arms for equipment. I did not want a gun but rather fancied a riot shield and a baton. The right hand was modified to carry a stun baton, sourced from an Ingram kit, and the transparent shield was scratched from a mouth wash bottle.
Lots of work, but it was necessary to move the build away from its “Phantom” basis.
Painting and markings:
Basically very simple: all-blue. The current ID color of German police vehicles is RAL 5017 (Verkehrsblau/Traffic Blue), and before 2006 it was RAL 6029 (Pfefferminzgrün/Peppermint Green), both combined on standard vehicles with white - normally, these are leased white or, more recently, silver vehicles with foil. For the Labor's time frame around 2000, the classic green would have been appropriate, but I eventually voted for the later blue because it looks IMHO less militaristic.
Further design background: German special police vehicles like water throwers or armored cars rather carry a uniform livery, contrasted with very dark grey around the lower areas, and that's what I adopted for the Michael I police Labor, too, using the “Phantom”’s original livery as benchmark.
In Gunze Sangyo’s Mr. Hobby H15 (Bright Blue) I found a pretty good guesstimate for the characteristic German police blue, and it was contrasted with Revell 06 (Tar Black; RAL 9021). The backpack became medium grey, a similar tone to the silicone covers (which were left unpainted, just treated with a washing with thinned dark grey acrylic artist paint), and this medium grey was also used for some detail contrasts around the hull. This looks rather dry, but it reflects the sobriety of German police items, and the uniform blue is also a good contrast to the Japanese police Labors in white and black in my collection, and the others, too. A few highlights in white and cream are the only distractions.
Even though I did not want to weather the model, I did some dry-brushing/post shading (Humbrol 25, Revell 09, 77 and 75 in some areas) to emphasize the shapes/edges and to make the large areas, esp. on the legs, less uniform.
The markings come from two aftermarket sheets for German police cars: one is a 1:43 scale sheet from IDC Decals, the other a 1:87 scale sheet from TL Modellbau. The provided not only suitably-sized “Polizei” letterings and emblems, the IDC set also came with the characteristic dotted trim lines (reflective material in real life) that decorate many typical German police cars and which help to visually structure the Labor’s lines – even though their application to the bulbous surface of the model was not easy, and I rather used them sparsely.
After some more detail painting (e. g. some fake black panel lines, created with a fine felt tip pen) the model’s sections were sealed with a mix of matt and some semi-gloss acrylic varnish on the blue areas for a sheen finish, while the dark grey areas were painted with pure matt varnish.
The build of the “Michael I” police Labor was quite a challenge – mostly because it was not easy to get away from the model’s “Phantom” basis. But with the completely new head/shoulder section and the slight mods on arms and legs it looks quite unrelated – but still intimidating. The all-blue livery is not spectacular, but true to German standards, and it works surprisingly well and convincingly.
Category: Model Kit.
Name: Quel Quallie (Theatre Scout Bug-eye Pod).
Scale: 1/720 scale.
Origin: Japanese anime: The Super Dimension Fortress, Macross.
Brand: Imai.
Material: Styrene Plastic.
Release Date: 1983
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:
Due to increasing tensions in Europe which led to World War 2, AVRO Aircraft started developing combat aircraft, and as a subsidiary of Hawker, they had access to the Hurricane plans. At the time that the Hurricane was developed, RAF Fighter Command consisted of just 13 squadrons, each equipped with either the Hawker Fury, Hawker Demon, or the Bristol Bulldog – all of them biplanes with fixed-pitch wooden propellers and non-retractable undercarriages. After the Hurricane's first flight, Avro started working on a more refined and lighter aircraft, resulting in a similar if not higher top speed and improved maneuverability.
The result was Avro’s project 675, also known as the "Swallow". The aircraft was a very modern and lightweight all-metal construction, its profile resembled the Hawker Hurricane but its overall dimensions were smaller, the Swallow appeared more squatted and streamlined, almost like a race version. The wings were much thinner, too, and their shape reminded of the Supermarine Spitfire’s famous oval wings. Unlike the Spitfire, though, the Swallow’s main landing gear had a wide track and retracted inwards. The tail wheel was semi-retractable on the prototype, but it was replaced by a simpler, fixed tail wheel on production models.
The Swallow made its first flight on 30th December 1937 and the Royal Air Force was so impressed by its performance against the Hurricane that they ordered production to start immediately, after a few minor tweaks to certain parts of the aircraft had been made.
On 25 July 1939, the RAF accepted their first delivery of Avro Swallow Mk. Is. The first machines were allocated to No.1 Squadron, at the time based in France, where they were used in parallel to the Hurricanes for evaluation. These early machines were powered by a 1.030 hp (770 kW) Rolls-Royce Merlin Mk II liquid-cooled V-12, driving a wooden two-bladed, fixed-pitch propeller. The light aircraft achieved an impressive top speed of 347 mph (301 kn, 558 km/h) in level flight – the bigger and heavier Hurricane achieved only 314 mph (506 km/h) with a similar engine. Like the Hurricane, the Swallow was armed with eight unsynchronized 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns in the outer wings, outside of the propeller disc.
In spring 1940, Avro upgraded the serial production Swallow Mk.I's to Mk.IA standard: the original wooden propeller was replaced by a de Havilland or Rotol constant speed metal propeller with three blades, which considerably improved performance. Many aircraft were retrofitted with this update in the field workshops in the summer of 1940.
In parallel, production switched to the Swallow Mk. II: This new version, which reached the frontline units in July 1940, received an uprated engine, the improved Rolls-Royce Merlin III, which could deliver up to 1,310 hp (977 kW) with 100 octane fuel and +12 psi boost. With the standard 87 Octane fuel, engine performance did not improve much beyond the Merlin II's figures, though. A redesigned, more streamlined radiator bath was mounted, too, and altogether these measures boosted the Swallow’s top speed to 371 mph (597 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,096 m). This was a considerable improvement; as a benchmark, the contemporary Hurricane II achieved only 340 mph (547 km/h).
However, several fundamental weak points of the Swallow remained unsolved: its limited range could not be boosted beyond 300 miles (500 km) and the light machine gun armament remained unchanged, because the Swallow’s thin wings hardly offered more space for heavier weapons or useful external stores like drop tanks. Despite these shortcomings, the pilots loved their agile fighter, who described the Swallow as an updated Hawker Fury biplane fighter and less as a direct competitor to the Hurricane.
Being a very agile aircraft, the Swallow Mk. II became the basis for a photo reconnaissance version, too, the PR Mk. II. This was not a true production variant of the Swallow, though, but rather the result of field modifications in the MTO where fast recce aircraft were direly needed. The RAF Service Depot at Heliopolis in Egypt had already converted several Hurricanes Is for photo reconnaissance duties in January 1941, and a similar equipment update was developed for the nimble Swallow, too, despite its limited range.
The first five Swallow Mk. IIs were modified in March 1941 and the machines were outfitted with a pair of F24 cameras with 8-inch focal length lenses in the lower rear fuselage, outwardly recognizable through a shallow ventral fairing behind the cooler. Some PR Mk. IIs (but not all of them) were also outfitted with dust filters, esp. those machines that were slated to operate in Palestine and Northern Africa. For night operations some PR Mk. IIs also received flame dampers (which markedly reduced the engine’s performance and were quickly removed again) or simpler glare shields above the exhaust stacks.
The machines quickly proved their worth in both day and night reconnaissance missions in the Eastern Mediterranean theatre of operations, and more field conversions followed. Alternative camera arrangements were developed, too, including one vertical and two oblique F24s with 14-inch focal length lenses. More Swallow Mk. IIs were converted in this manner in Malta during April (six) and in Egypt in October 1941 (four). A final batch, thought to be of 12 aircraft, was converted in late 1941.
Even though the Swallow PR Mk. IIs were initially left armed with the wing-mounted light machine guns, many aircraft lost their guns partly or even fully to lighten them further. Most had their wing tips clipped for better maneuverability at low altitudes, a feature of the Swallow Mk. III fighter that had been introduced in August 1941. Some machines furthermore received light makeshift underwing shackles for photoflash bombs, enabling night photography. These were not standardized, though, a typical field workshop donor were the light bomb shackles from the Westland Lysander army co-operation and liaison aircraft, which the Swallow PR Mk. IIs partly replaced. These allowed a total of four 20 lb (9.1 kg) bombs or flash bombs for night photography to be carried and released individually through retrofitted manual cable pulls. The mechanisms were simply mounted into the former machine gun bays and the pilot could release the flash bombs sequentially through the former gun trigger.
For duties closer to the front lines a small number of Swallow PR Mk. IIs were further converted to Tactical Reconnaissance (Tac R) aircraft. An additional radio was fitted for liaison with ground forces who were better placed to direct the aircraft, and the number of cameras was reduced to compensate for the gain of weight.
However, by 1942, the Swallow had already reached its limited development potential and became quickly outdated in almost any aspect. Since the Supermarine Spitfire had in the meantime been successfully introduced and promised a much bigger development potential, production of the Avro Swallow already ceased in late 1942 after 435 aircraft had been built. Around the same time, the Swallows were quickly phased out from front-line service, too. Several machines were retained as trainers, messenger aircraft or instructional airframes. 20 late production Mk. IIs were sold to the Irish Air Corps, and a further 50 aircraft were sent to Canada as advanced fighter trainers, where they served until the end of the hostilities in 1945.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 28 ft 1 in (8.57 m)
Wingspan: 33 ft 7 in (10.25 m)
Height: 8 ft 6 in (2.60 m)
Wing area: 153 ft² (16.40 m²)
Empty weight: 3,722 lb (1,720 kg)
Gross weight: 5,100 lb (2,315 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Rolls-Royce Merlin III liquid-cooled V-12, rated at 1,310 hp (977 kW) at 9,000 ft (2,700 m)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 381 mph (614 km/h) at 20,000 ft (6,096 m)
Range: 360 miles (580 km)
Service ceiling: 36,000 ft (10,970 m)
Rate of climb: 2,780 ft/min (14.1 m/s)
Wing loading: 29.8 lb/ft² (121.9 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.15 hp/lb (0.25 kW/kg)
Armament:
No internal guns
2x underwing hardpoints for a pair of 19-pound (8.6 kg) photoflash bombs each
The kit and its assembly:
This is the third incarnation of a whif that I have built some time ago for a Battle of Britain Group Build at whatifmodellers.com. This fictional machine – or better: its model – is based on a profile drawing conceived by fellow forum member nighthunter: an Avia B.135, outfitted with a Merlin engine, a ventral radiator in the style of a Hawker Hurricane, and with RAF markings. It was IIRC a nameless design, so that I created my own for it: the Avro 675 Swallow, inspired by the bird's slender wing and body that somehow resonates in the clean B.35 lines (at least for me).
I’ve already built two of these fictional aircraft as early WWII RAF fighters, but there was still potential in the basic concept – primarily as a canvas for the unusual livery (see below). The basis became, once again, the vintage KP Models B.35 fighter with a fixed landing gear. It’s a sleek and pretty aircraft, but the kit’s quality is rather so-so (the molds date back to 1974). Details are quite good, though, especially on the exterior, you get a mix of engraved and raised surface details. But the kit’s fit is mediocre at best, there is lots of flash and the interior is quite bleak. But, with some effort, things can be mended.
Many donation parts for the Swallow, beyond the Merlin engine, propeller and (underwing) radiator, and pitot, were taken in this case from a Revell 1:72 Spitfire Mk. V. Inside of the cockpit I used more Spitfire donor material, namely the floor, dashboard, seat and rear bulkhead/headrest with a radio set. The blurry, single-piece canopy was cut into three pieces for optional open display on the ground, but this was not a smart move since the material turned out to be very thin and, even worse, brittle – cracks were the unfortunate result.
New landing gear wells had to be carved out of the massive lower wing halves. Since the original drawn Swallow profile did not indicate the intended landing gear design, I went for an inward-retracting solution, using parts from the Spitfire and just mounted them these “the other way around”. Due to the oil cooler in one of the wing roots, though, the stance ended up a little wide, but it’s acceptable and I stuck to this solution as I already used it on former Swallow builds, too. But now I know why the real-world B.135 prototype had its landing gear retract outwards – it makes more sense from an engineering point of view.
The Merlin fitted very well onto the B.35 fuselage, diameter and shape are a very good match, even though there’s a small gap to bridge – but that’s nothing that could not be mended with a bit of 2C putty and PSR. A styrene tube inside of the donor engine holds a styrene pipe for a long metal axis with the propeller, so that it can spin freely. The large chin fairing for a dust filter is a transplant from an AZ Models Spitfire, it helps hide the ventral engine/fuselage intersection and adds another small twist to this fictional aircraft. From the same source came the exhaust stacks, Revell’s OOB parts are less detailed and featured sinkholes, even though the latter would later hardly be recognizable.
With the dust filter the Swallow now looks really ugly in a side view, it has something P-40E-ish about it, and the additional bulge behind the radiator for the cameras (certainly not the best place, but the PR Hurricanes had a similar arrangement) does not make the profile any better!
Further small mods include anti-glare panels above and behind the exhaust stacks (simple 0.5 mm styrene sheet), and the small underwing flash bombs were scratched from styrene profile material.
Painting and markings:
The livery was the true motivation to build this model, as a canvas to try it out: Long ago I came across a very interesting Hawker Hurricane camouflage in a dedicated book about this type, a simple all-over scheme in black blue, also known as “Bosun Blue”, together with very limited and toned-down markings. As far as I could find out this livery was used in the Middle East and later in India, too, for nighttime photo reconnaissance missions.
However, defining this color turned out to be very difficult, as I could not find any color picture of such an aircraft. I guess that it was not a defined color, but rather an individual field mix with whatever was at hand – probably roundel blue and black? Therefore, I mixed the obscure Bosun Blue myself, even though this took some sorting out and experiments. I initially considered pure Humbrol 104 (Oxford Blue) but found it to have a rather reddish hue. FS 35042 (USN Sea Blue) was rejected, too, because it was too greenish, even with some black added. I eventually settled on a mix of Humbrol 15 (Midnight Blue) and 33 (Flat Black), which appeared as a good compromise and also as a very dark variant of a cyan-heavy blue tone.
The cockpit interior and the inside of the landing gear wells were painted with RAF cockpit green (Humbrol 78), while the landing gear struts became aluminum (Humbrol 56) – pretty standard.
The decals/markings were puzzled together from various sources. Using a real-world RAF 208 Squadron MTO night photography Hurricane as benchmark I gave the aircraft a light blue individual code letter (decals taken from the Revell Spitfire Mk. V's OOB sheet, which has the letters’ Sky tone totally misprinted!). The spinner was painted in the same tone, mixed individually to match the letter.
Markings were apparently generally very limited on these machines, e. g. they did not carry any unit letter code) and the Type B roundels only on fuselage and upper wings. The latter were improvised, with wacky Type B-esque roundels from a Falkland era Sea Harrier placed on top of RAF roundels with yellow edges. The sources I consulted were uncertain whether these rings were yellow, white, or maybe even some other light color, but I went for yellow as it was the RAF's markings standard. Looks odd, but also pretty cool, esp. with the Type B roundels’ slightly off proportions.
The subdued two-color fin flash on the dark aircraft was/is unusual, too, and following real world practice on some PR Hurricanes I added a thin white edge for better contrast. The small black serial on a white background, as if it was left over from an overpainted former fuselage band, came from a Latvian Sopwith Camel (PrintScale sheet); in RAF service N8187 would have been used during the pre-WWII period and therefore a plausible match for the Swallow, even though it belongs to a batch of RN aircraft (It would probably have been a Fairey Fulmar)..
No black ink washing was applied to the model due to its dark overall color, just the cockpit and the landing gear were treated this way. Some light weathering and panel shading was done all over, and soot stains as well as light grey “heat-bleached” areas due to lean combustion around the exhausts were painted onto the fuselage. Finally, everything was sealed under a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and wire antennae (stretched sprue material) were added.
A simple project, realized in a couple of days – thanks to the experience gathered during former builds of this fictional aircraft. However, the Avro Swallow looked already promising in nighthunter's original profile, almost like a missing link between the sturdy Hurricane and the more glorious Spitfire. The result looks very convincing, and the all-blue livery suits the aircraft well! . At first glance, the Swallow looks like an early Spitfire, but then you notice the different wings, the low canopy and the shorter but deeper tail. You might also think that it was a travestied Yak-3 or LaGG aircraft, but again the details don’t match, it’s a quite subtle creation.
I am amazed how good this thing looks overall, with its elegant, slender wings and the sleek fuselage lines – even though the dust filter and the camera fairing strongly ruin the side profile. Maybe another one will join my RAF Swallow collection someday, this time in Irish Air Corps colors.
Some background:
The VF-1 was developed by Stonewell/Bellcom/Shinnakasu for the U.N. Spacy by using alien Overtechnology obtained from the SDF-1 Macross alien spaceship. Its production was preceded by an aerodynamic proving version of its airframe, the VF-X. Unlike all later VF vehicles, the VF-X was strictly a jet aircraft, built to demonstrate that a jet fighter with the features necessary to convert to Battroid mode was aerodynamically feasible. After the VF-X's testing was finished, an advanced concept atmospheric-only prototype, the VF-0 Phoenix, was flight-tested from 2005 to 2007 and briefly served as an active-duty fighter from 2007 to the VF-1's rollout in late 2008, while the bugs were being worked out of the fully functional VF-1 prototype (the VF-X-1).
Introduced in 2008, the VF-1 would be produced en masse within a short period of time, a total of 5,459 airframes were delivered until 2013. The space-capable VF-1's combat debut was on February 7, 2009, during the Battle of South Ataria Island - the first battle of Space War I - and remained the mainstay fighter of the U.N. Spacy for the entire conflict. From the start the VF-1 proved to be an extremely capable and versatile craft, successfully combating a variety of Zentraedi mecha even in most sorties which saw UN Spacy forces significantly outnumbered. The versatility of the Valkyrie design enabled the variable fighter to act as both large-scale infantry and as air/space superiority fighter. The signature skills of U.N. Spacy ace pilot Maximilian Jenius exemplified the effectiveness of the variable systems as he near-constantly transformed the Valkyrie in battle to seize advantages of each mode as combat conditions changed from moment to moment.
The basic VF-1 was deployed in four sub-variants (designated A, D, J, and S) and its success was increased by continued development of various enhancements and upgrades, including the GBP-1S "Armored" Valkyrie, FAST Pack "Super" Valkyrie and the additional RÖ-X2 heavy cannon pack weapon system for the VF-1S with additional firepower. The FAST Pack system was designed to enhance the VF-1 Valkyrie variable fighter, and the initial V1.0 came in the form of conformal pallets that could be attached to the fighter’s leg flanks for additional fuel – primarily for Long Range Interdiction tasks in atmospheric environment. Later FAST Packs were designed for space operations.
After the end of Space War I, production on Earth was stopped but the VF-1 continued to be manufactured both in the Sol system and throughout the UNG space colonies. Although the VF-1 would be replaced in 2020 as the primary Variable Fighter of the U.N. Spacy by the more capable, but also much bigger, VF-4 Lightning III, a long service record and its persistent production after the war in many space sectors proved the lasting worth of the design.
The versatile aircraft underwent constant upgrade programs. For instance, about a third of all VF-1 Valkyries were upgraded with Infrared Search and Track (IRST) systems, placed in a small, streamlined fairing in front of the cockpit. This system allowed passive long-range search and track modes, freeing the pilot from the need to give away his/her position through active radar emissions. The sensor could also be used for target illumination and precision weapons guidance.
Many Valkyries also received improved radar warning systems, with sensor arrays mounted on the wingtips, the fins and/or on the LERXs. Improved ECR measures and other defensive measure like flare/chaff dispensers were also added to some machines, typically in conformal fairings on the flanks of the legs/engine pods.
In early 2011, VF-1 production on Earth had already reached the 2.500th aircraft, a VF-1J which received a striking white-and-blue commemorative paint scheme upon roll-out, decorated with the logos of all major manufacturers and system suppliers. After a brief PR tour the machine (Bu. No. 2110406/1) was handed over to SVF-1, the famous Skull Squadron, as an attrition replacement for Major Yingluck 'Joker' Maneethapo's aircraft, leader of the unit’s 5th Flight and a Thai pilot ace from the first stages of the Zentraedi attacks in 2009.
With the opportunity to add more personal style to his new mount, Maneethapo's chose the non-standard modex ML 555 for his fighter - a play of words, because the five is pronounced 'ha' in Thai language and '555' a frequent abbreviation for 'laughing'. Bu. No. 2110406/1 retained its bright PR livery, because its primary colors matched well with SVF-1 ‘Lazulite’ flight’s ID color. The aircraft just lost the sponsor logos and instead received full military markings and tactical codes, including the unit’s renowned skull icon and the characteristic “ML” letter code on the foldable fins. The nose art for the 2.500th production VF-1 jubilee was retained, though.
In SVF-1 service, Bu. No. 2110406/1 was soon upgraded with an IRST and retrofitted with FAST Packs and avionics for various zero-G weapons for operations in space, since the unit was supposed to become based on SDF-1 and go into space with the large carrier ship. However, only SVF-1's Flight #1, 2 and 3 were taken on board of the SDF-1 when the ship left Earth, the remaining unit parts remained at the home base on Ataria Island, tasked with homeland defense duties.
In 2012, at the end of the war, SVF-1’s Lazulite’ flight was re-located on board of ARMD-02 (Armaments Rigged-up Moving Deck Space Carrier vessel), which was and rebuilt and attached to the refitted SDF-1 Macross as originally intended. There, Bu. No. 2110406/1 served into the first year of the New Era 0001 in 2013, when it was replaced as a Flight Leader’s mount by a VF-4 and handed over to SVF-42 back on Earth, where it was repainted in standard U.N. Spacy fighter colors (even though it still retained its commemorative nose art) and served until 2017. Bu. No. 2110406/1 was then retired and unceremoniously scrapped, having already exceeded its expected service life.
The VF-1 was without doubt the most recognizable variable fighter of Space War I and was seen as a vibrant symbol of the U.N. Spacy. At the end of 2015 the final rollout of the VF-1 was celebrated at a special ceremony, commemorating this most famous of variable fighters. The VF-1 Valkryie was built from 2006 to 2013 with several major variants (VF-1A = 5,093, VF-1D = 85, VF-1J = 49, VF-1S = 30), sub-variants (VF-1G = 12, VE-1 = 122, VT-1 = 68) and upgrades of existing airframes (like the VF-1P).
Despite its relatively short and intense production run the fighter remained active in many second line units and continued to show its worthiness even years later, e. g. through Milia Jenius who would use her old VF-1 fighter in defense of the colonization fleet - 35 years after the type's service introduction!
General characteristics:
All-environment variable fighter and tactical combat Battroid,
used by U.N. Spacy, U.N. Navy, U.N. Space Air Force and U.N.S. Marine Corps
Accommodation:
Pilot only in Marty & Beck Mk-7 zero/zero ejection seat
Dimensions:
Fighter Mode:
Length 14.23 meters
Wingspan 14.78 meters (at 20° minimum sweep)
Height 3.84 meters
Battroid Mode:
Height 12.68 meters
Width 7.3 meters
Length 4.0 meters
Empty weight: 13.25 metric tons
Standard T-O mass: 18.5 metric tons
MTOW: 37.0 metric tons
Power Plant:
2x Shinnakasu Heavy Industry/P&W/Roice FF-2001 thermonuclear reaction turbine engines, output 650 MW each, rated at 11,500 kg in standard or 225.63 kN in overboost
4x Shinnakasu Heavy Industry NBS-1 high-thrust vernier thrusters (1 x counter reverse vernier thruster nozzle mounted on the side of each leg nacelle/air intake, 1 x wing thruster roll control system on each wingtip)
18x P&W LHP04 low-thrust vernier thrusters beneath multipurpose hook/handles
Performance:
Battroid Mode: maximum walking speed 160 km/h
Fighter Mode: at 10,000 m Mach 2.71; at 30,000+ m Mach 3.87
g limit: in space +7
Thrust-to-weight ratio: empty 3.47; standard T-O 2.49; maximum T-O 1.24
Design Features:
3-mode variable transformation; variable geometry wing; vertical take-off and landing; control-configurable vehicle; single-axis thrust vectoring; three "magic hand" manipulators for maintenance use; retractable canopy shield for Battroid mode and atmospheric reentry; option of GBP-1S system, atmospheric-escape booster, or FAST Pack system
Transformation:
Standard time from Fighter to Battroid (automated): under 5 sec.
Min. time from Fighter to Battroid (manual): 0.9 sec.
Armament:
2x Mauler RÖV-20 anti-aircraft laser cannon, firing 6,000 ppm
1x Howard GU-11 55 mm three-barrel Gatling gun pod with 200 RPG, fired at 1,200 rpm
4x underwing hard points for a wide variety of ordnance, including…
12x AMM-1 hybrid guided multipurpose missiles (3/point), or
12x MK-82 LDGB conventional bombs (3/point), or
6x RMS-1 large anti-ship reaction missiles (2/outboard point, 1/inboard point), or
4x UUM-7 micro-missile pods (1/point) each carrying 15 x Bifors HMM-01 micro-missiles,
or a combination of above load-outs
The kit and its assembly:
Another small and vintage 1:100 VF-1 Fighter. This time it’s a non-canonical aircraft, based on a limited edition decal sheet that was published with the Japanese Model Graphix magazine in April 2001 (check this here for reference: www.starshipmodeler.com/mecha/jl_clrvalk.htm) with Hasegawa’s first release of their 1:72 Valkyrie Fighter kit. The give-away sheet featured several VF-1s, including an anniversary paint scheme for the 2.500th production Valkyrie. This is AFAIK neither ‘official’ nor canonical – but the pretty blue-and-white livery caught my attention, and I had for a long time the plan to re-create this livery on one of my favored 1:100 models. This would not work 100%, though, so I had to improvise – see below.
The kit was built OOB, with the landing gear down and (after taking the flight scenic pictures) with an open canopy, mounted on a small lift arm. Some typical small blade antennae the 1:100 simple kit lacks were added around the hull as a standard measure to improve the look. In the cockpit I added side consoles and a pilot figure for the in-flight shots.
The only non-standard additions are the IRST sensor fairing in front of the cockpit – the model of the anniversary VF-1 in the Model Graphix magazine carries this canonical upgrade, too, it was created from clear sprue material. Another tiny addition were the RHAWS antenna fairings at the top of the fins, scratched from small styrene profile bits.
The Valkyrie’s ordnance is standard and was taken OOB, featuring twelve AMM-1 missiles under the wings plus the standard GU-11 gatling gun pod; the latter was modified to hold a scratched wire display for in-flight pictures at its rear end. The Model Graphix VF-1 is insofar confusing as it seems to carry something that looks like a white ACMI pod on a non-standard pylon, rather attached to the legs than to the wings? That's odd and I could not make up a useful function, so I rejected this detail. The magazine Valkyrie's belly drop tank was - even though canonical, AFAIK - also not taken over to my later in-service status.
Painting and markings:
The more challenging part of the build, in two ways. First, re-creating the original commemorative livery would have called for home-made decals printed in opaque white for the manufacturers’ logos, something I was not able to do at home. So, I had to interpret the livery in a different way and decided to spin the aircraft’s story further: what would become of this VF-1 after its roll-out and PR event? In a war situation it would certainly be delivered quickly to a frontline unit, and since I had some proper markings left over, I decided to attach this colorful bird to the famous Skull Squadron, SVF-1, yet to a less glorious Flight. Since flight leaders and aces in the Macross universe would frequently fly VF-1s in individual non-standard liveries, sometimes even very bright ones, the 2,500th VF-1 could have well retained its catchy paint scheme.
The second part of the challenge: the actual paint job. Again, no suitable decals were at hand, so I had to re-create everything from scratch. The VF-1J kit I used thankfully came molded in white styrene, so that the front half of the aircraft could be easily painted in white, with no darker/colored plastic shining through. I painted the white (Revell 301, a very pure white) with a brush first. For the blue rear half, I settled upon an intense and deep cobalt blue tone (ModelMaster 2012). For the zigzag border between the colors, I used Tamiya masking tape, trimmed with a tailor’s zigzag scissors and applied in a slightly overlapping pattern for an irregular edge.
The landing gear became standard all-white (Revell 301, too), with bright red edges (Humbrol 174) on the covers. Antenna fairings were painted with radome tan (Humbrol 7) as small color highlights.
The cockpit interior became standard medium grey (Revell 47) with a black ejection seat with brown cushions (Humbrol 119 and Revell 84), and brown “black boxes” behind the headrest. The air intakes as well as the interior of the VG wings were painted dark grey (Revell 77). The jet nozzles/feet were internally painted with Humbrol 27003 (Steel Metallizer) and with Revell 91 on the outside, and they were later thoroughly treated with graphite to give them a burnt/worn look.
The GU-11 pod became standard bare metal (Revell 91, Iron metallic), the AMM-1s were painted in light grey (Humbrol 127) with many additional painted details in five additional colors, quite a tedious task when repeated twelve times...
After basic painting was one the model received a careful overall washing with black ink to emphasize the engraved panel lines, and light post-shading was done to the blue areas to emphasize single panels.
The full-color ’kite’ roundels came from an 1:100 VF-1A sheet, the skull emblems were left over from my Kotobukiya 1:72 VF-4 build some years ago, which OOB carries SVF-1 markings, too. The 2.500th aircraft nose art decoration was printed on clear decal film with an ink jet printer at home, even though it’s so small that no details can be discerned on the model. SVF-1’s “ML” tail code was created with single white decal letters (RAF WWII font), the red “555” modex came from an PrintScale A-26 Invader sheet, it's part of a USAF serial number from an all-black Korean War era aircraft.
The wings' leading edges were finished in medium grey, done with decal sheet material. The Model Graphix Valkyrie does not sport this detail, but I think that the VF-1 looks better with them and more realistic. Red warning stripes around the legs - also not seen on the model in the magazine - were made from similar material.
The confetti along the jagged edge between the white and the blue areas was created with decal material, too – every bit was cut out and put into place one for one… To match the cobalt blue tone, the respective enamel paint was applied on clear decal sheet material and cut into small bits. For the white and red confetti, generic decal sheet material was used. All in all, this was another tedious process, but, at the small 1:100 scale, masks or tape would have been much more complex and less successful with the brushes I use for painting. For this home-made approach the result looks quite good!
Finally, after some typical details and position lights had been added with clear paints over a silver base, the small VF-1 was sealed with a coat of semi-matt acrylic varnish, giving it a slightly shiny finish.
A pretty VF-1 – even though I’d call it purely fictional, despite being based on material that was published in a Japanese magazine more than 20 years ago. The simple yet striking livery was a bit tricky to create, but the result, with the additional SVF-1 unit markings, looks good and makes me wonder how this machine would look with FAST pack elements for use in space or as a transformed Battroid?
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
Although the performance increases of jet-powered aircraft introduced towards the end of World War II over their piston-powered ancestors were breathtaking, there were those at the time who believed that much more was possible. As far back as 1943, the British Ministry of Aircraft Production had issued a specification designated "E.24/43" for a supersonic experimental jet aircraft that would be able to achieve 1,600 KPH (1,000 MPH).
Beginning in 1946, a design team at English Electric (EE) under W.E.W. "Teddy" Petter began design studies for a supersonic fighter, leading to award of a Ministry of Supply (MoS) contract in 1947 under specification "ER.103" for a design study on an experimental aircraft that could achieve Mach 1.2.
The MoS liked the EE concepts, and in early 1949 awarded the company a contract under specification "F.23/49" for two flying prototypes and one ground-test prototype of the "P.1".
The P.1 was defined as a supersonic research aircraft, though the design had provisions for armament and a radar gunsight. It incorporate advanced and unusual design features, such as twin turbojet engines mounted one above the other to reduce aircraft frontal area; and strongly swept wings, with the wingtip edges at a right angle to the fuselage, giving a wing configuration like that of a delta wing with the rear inner corners cut out. The aircraft featured an elliptical intake in the nose.
The P.1's performance was so outstanding that the decision was quickly made to proceed on an operational version that would be capable of Mach 2. In fact, the second P.1 prototype featured items such as a bulged belly tank and fit of twin Aden Mark 4 30 millimeter revolver-type cannon, bringing it closer to operational specification.
Orders were placed for three "P.1B" prototypes for a production interceptor and the original P.1 was retroactively designated "P.1A". The P.1B featured twin Rolls-Royce Avon afterburning engines and a larger tailfin. An airborne intercept (AI) radar was carried in the air intake shock cone, which was changed from elliptical to circular. The cockpit was raised for a better field of view and the P.1B was armed with two Aden cannon in the upper nose, plus a pack under the cockpit that could either support two De Havilland Blue Jay (later Firestreak) heat-seeking AAMs or 44 Microcell 5 centimeter (2 inch) unguided rockets.
The initial P.1B prototype performed its first flight on 4 April 1957 and the type entered RAF service as EE Lightning F.1. RAF Number 74 Squadron at Coltishall was the first full service unit, with the pilots acquiring familiarization with the type during late 1960 and the squadron declared operational in 1961.
However, while the Lightning was developed further into more and more advanced versions. Its concept was also the basis for another research aircraft that would also be developed into a high performance interceptor: the P.6/1, which later became the “Levin” fighter.
P.6 encompassed a total of four different layouts for a Mach 2+ research aircraft, tendering to ER.134T from 1952. P.6/1 was the most conservative design and it relied heavily on existing (and already proven) P.1 Lightning components, primarily the aerodynamic surfaces. The most obvious difference was a new fuselage of circular diameter, housing a single Rolls Royce RB.106 engine.
The RB.106 was a two-shaft design with two axial flow compressors each driven by its own single stage turbine and reheat. It was of similar size to the Rolls-Royce Avon, but it produced about twice the thrust at 21,750 lbf (96.7 kN) in the initial version. The two-shaft layout was relatively advanced for the era; the single-shaft de Havilland Gyron matched it in power terms, while the two-spool Bristol Olympus was much less powerful at the then-current state of development. Apart from being expected to power other British aircraft such as those competing for Operational Requirement F.155, it was also selected to be the powerplant for the Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow and led to the Orenda Iroquois engine, which even reach 30.000 lbf (130 kN).
The P.6/1 was eventually chosen by the MoS for further development because it was regarded as the least risky and costly alternative. Beyond its test bed role for the RB.106 the P.6/1 was also seen as a potential basis for a supersonic strategic air-to-ground missile (similar to the massive Soviet AS-3 ‘Kangaroo’ cruise missile) and the starting point for an operational interceptor that would be less complex than the Lightning, but with a comparable if not improved performance but a better range.
In 1955 English Electric received a go ahead for two P.6/1 research aircraft prototypes. Despite a superficial similarity to the Lightning, the P.6/1’s internal structure was very different. The air duct, for instance, was bifurcated and led around on both sides of the cockpit tub and the front wheel well instead of below it. Further down, the duct ran below the wing main spar and directly fed the RB.106.
The rear fuselage was area-ruled, the main landing gear retracted, just like the Lightning’s, outwards into the wings, while the front wheel retracted backwards into a well that was placed further aft than on the Lightning. The upper fuselage behind the main wings spar carried fuel tanks, more fuel was carried in wing tanks.
Both research machines were ready in 1958 and immediately started with aerodynamic and material tests for the MoS, reaching top speeds of Mach 2.5 and altitudes of 60.000 ft. and more.
In parallel, work on the fighter version, now called “Levin”, had started. The airframe was basically the same as the P.6/1’s. Biggest visible changes were a wider air intake with a bigger central shock cone (primarily for a radar dish), a shorter afterburner section and an enlarged fin with area increased by 15% that had become necessary in order to compensate instability through the new nose layout and the potential carriage of external ordnance, esp. under the fuselage. This bigger fin was taken over to the Lightning F.3 that also initially suffered from longitudal instability due to the new Red Top missiles.
The Levin carried armament and avionics similar to the Lightning, including the Ferranti-developed AI.23 monopulse radar. The aircraft was to be fully integrated into a new automatic intercept system developed by Ferranti, Elliot, and BAC. It would have turned the fighters into something like a "manned missile" and greatly simplified intercepts.
Anyway, the Levin’s weapon arrangement was slightly different from the Lightning: the Levin’s armament comprised theoretically a mix of up to four 30mm Aden cannons and/or up to four of the new Red Top AAMs, or alternatively the older Firestreak. The guns were mounted in the upper nose flanks (similar to the early Lightning arrangement, but set further back), right under the cockpit hatch, while a pair of AAMs was carried on wing tip launch rails. Two more AAMs could be carried on pylons under the lower front fuselage, similar to the Lightning’s standard configuration, even though there was no interchangeable module. Since this four-missile arrangement would not allow any cannon to be carried anymore and caused excessive drag, the typical payload was limited to two Aden cannons and the single pair of wing-tip missiles.
Despite its proven Lightning ancestry, the development of the Levin went through various troubles. While the RB.106 worked fine in the research P.6/1, it took until 1962 that a fully reliable variant for the interceptor could be cleared for service. Meanwhile the Lightning had already evolved into the F.3 variant and political discussions circled around the end of manned military aircraft. To make matters even worse, the RAF refused to buy the completely automatic intercept system, despite the fact that it had been fully engineered at a cost of 1.4 million pounds and trialed in one of the P.1Bs.
Eventually, the Levin F.1 finally entered service in 1964, together with the Lightning F.3. While the Lightning was rather seen as a point defense interceptor, due to the type’s limited range: If a Lightning F.3 missed its target on its first pass, it almost never had enough fuel to make a second attempt without topping off from a tanker, which would give an intruder plenty of time to get to its target and then depart… The Lightning’s flight endurance was less than 2 hours (in the F.2A, other variants even less), and it was hoped that the Levin had more potential through a longer range. Anyway, in service, the Levin’s range in clean configuration was only about 8% better than the Lightning’s. The Levin F.1’s flight endurance was about 2 ½ hours – an improvement, but not as substantial as expected.
In order to improve the range on both fighters, English Electric developed a new, stiffened wing for the carriage of a pair of jettisonable overwing ferry tanks with a capacity of 1,182 liters (312 US gallons / 260 Imperial gallons, so-called “Overburgers”). The new wing also featured a kinked leading edge, providing better low-speed handling. From mid 1965 onwards, all Levins were directly produced in this F.2 standard, and during regular overhauls the simpler F.1 machines were successively updated. The Lightning introduced the kinked wing with the F.3A variant and it was later introduced with the F.2A and F.6A variants.
Levin production comprised 21 original F.1 airframes, plus 34 F.2 fighters, and production was stopped in 1967. A trainer version was not produced, the Lightning trainers were deemed sufficient for conversion since the Levin and the Lightning shared similar handling characteristics.
The Levin served only with RAF 29 and 65 Squadron, the latter re-instated in 1970 as a dedicated fighter squadron. When in November 1984 the Tornado squadrons began to form, the Levin was gradually phased out and replaced until April 1987 by the Tornado F.3.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length w/o pitot: 51 ft 5 in (15,70 m), 55 ft 8 in (16.99 m) overall
Wingspan incl. wingtip launch rails: 34 ft 9 in (10.54 m)
Height: 19 ft 7 in (5.97 m)
Wing area: 474.5 ft² (44.08 m²)
Empty weight: 8937 kg (lb)
Loaded weight: 13,570 kg (29,915)
Max. takeoff weight: 15,210 kg (33,530 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Rolls-Royce RB.106-10S afterburning turbojet,
rated at 20,000 lbf (89 kN) dry and 26,000 lbf (116 kN) with afterburning
Performance:
Maximum speed:
- 1,150 km/h (620 kn, 715 mph, Mach 0.94) at sea level
- 2,230 km/h (1.202 kn, 1,386 mph, Mach 2.1;), clean with 2× Red Top AAMs at high altitude
- Mach 2.4 absolute top speed in clean configuration at 50.000 ft.
Range: 1,650 km (890 nmi, 1,025 mi) on internal fuel
Combat radius: 500 km (312 mi); clean, with a pair of wing tip Red Top AAMs
Ferry range: 1,270 mi (1.100 NM/ 2.040 km) with overwing tanks
Service ceiling: 16,760 m (55,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 136.7 m/s (27,000 ft/min)
Wing loading: 76 lb/ft² (370 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.78
Takeoff roll: 950 m (3,120 ft)
Landing roll: 700 m (2,300 ft)
Armament:
2× 30 mm (1.18 in) ADEN cannons with 120 RPG in the upper front fuselage
2× wing tip hardpoints for mounting air-to-air missiles (2 Red Top of Firestreak AAMs)
2× overwing pylon stations for 260 gal ferry tanks
Optional, but rarely used: 2× hardpoints under the front fuselage for mounting air-to-air missiles
(2 Red Top of Firestreak AAMs)
The kit and its assembly:
Another contribution to the Cold War GB at whatifmodelers.com, and the realization of a project I had on the agenda for long. The EE P.6/1 was a real project for a Mach 2+ research aircraft, as described above, but it never went off the drawing board. Its engine, the RB.106, also never saw the light of day, even though its later career as the Canadian Orenda Iroquois for the stillborn CF-105.
Building this aircraft as a model appears simple, because it’s a classic Lightning (actually a F.1 with the un-kinked wing and the small fin), just with a single engine and a rather tubular fuselage. But creating this is not easy at all…
I did not want to replicate the original P.6/1, but rather a service aircraft based on the research aircraft. Therefore I used parts from a Lightning F.6 (a vintage NOVO/Frog kit). For the fuselage I settled for a Su-17, from a MasterCraft kit. The kit’s selling point was its small price tag and the fuselage construction: the VG mechanism is hidden under a separate spine piece, and I wanted to transplant the Lightning’s spine and cockpit frame, so I thought that this would make things easier.
Nope.
Putting the parts from the VERY different kits/aircraft together was a major surgery feat, with several multiple PSR sessions on the fuselage, the air intake section (opened and fitted with both an internal splitter and a bulkhead to the cockpit section), the wings, the stabilizers, the fin… This model deserves the title “kitbash” like no other, because no major sections had ever been intended to be glued together, and in the intended position!
The landing gear was more or less taken OOB, but the main struts had to be elongated by 2mm – somehow the model turned out to be a low-riding tail sitter! The cockpit interior was improvised, too, consisting of a Su-17 cockpit tub, a scratched dashboard and a Martin Baker ejection seat from an Italeri Bae Hawk trainer.
Since most of the fuselage surface consists of various materials (styrene and two kinds of putty), I did not dare to engrave panel lines – after all the PSR work almost any surface detail was gone. I rather went for a graphic solution (see below). Some antennae and air scoops were added, though.
The overwing tanks come OOB from the NOVO kit, as well as the Red Top missiles, which ended up on improvised wing tip launch rails, based on design sketches for Lightning derivatives with this layout.
Colors and markings:
There are several “classic” RAF options, but I settled for a low-viz Eighties livery taken from BAC Lightnings. There’s a surprising variety of styles, and my version is a mix of several real world aircraft.
I settled for Dark Sea Grey upper surfaces (Modelmaster Authentic) with a high waterline, a fuselage completely in Medium Sea Grey (Humbrol 165 – had to be applied twice because the first tin I used was obviously old and the paint ended up in a tone not unlike PRU Blue!) and Light aircraft Grey underwing surfaces (Humbrol 166). The leading edges under the wings are Dark Sea Grey, too.
The cockpit interior was painted in dark grey (Humbrol 32 with some dry-brushing), while the landing gear is Aluminum (Humbrol 56).
Once the basic painting was done I had to deal with the missing panel lines on the fuselage and those raised lines that were sanded away during the building process. I decided to simulate these with a soft pencil, after the whole kit was buffed with a soft cotton cloth and some grinded graphite. This way, the remaining raised panel lines were emphasized, and from these the rest was drawn up. A ruler and masking tape were used as guidance for straight lines, and this worked better than expected, with good results.
As a next step, the newly created panels were highlighted with dry-brushed lighter tones of the basic paints (FS 36492 and WWII Italian Blue Grey from Modelmaster, and Humbrol 126), more for a dramatic than a weathered effect. The gun ports and the exhaust section were painted with Modelmaster Metallizer (Titanium and Magnesium).
The decals come from several Xtradecal aftermarket sheets, including a dedicated Lightning stencils sheet, another Lightning sheet with various squadron markings and a sheet for RAF Tornado ADVs.
The code number “XS970” was earmarked to a TSR.2, AFAIK, but since it was never used on a service aircraft it would be a good option for the Levin.
The kit received a coat of matt acrylic varnish from the rattle can – jn this case the finish was intended to bear a slight shine.
This was a project with LOTS of effort, but you hardly recognize it – it’s a single engine Lightning, so what? But welding the Lightning and Su-17 parts together for something that comes close to the P.6/1 necessitated LOTS of body work and improvisation, carving it from wood would probably have been the next complicated option. Except for the surprisingly long tail I am very happy with the result, despite the model’s shaggy origins, and the low-viz livery suits the sleek aircraft IMHO very well.
+++ 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:
Even in the early phase of the development of the Panzerkampfwagen V “Panther”, there were doubts as to whether the Panther would still be sufficiently protected against enemy anti-tank weapons in 1943. The attempt to introduce reinforced armor in the development of the "normal" Panther failed. For this reason, a further development called "Panther II" was worked on. The initial design of the vehicles differed only in terms of armor thickness. However, at a meeting on February 10, 1943, MAN 's chief development engineer, Dr. Wiebecke, said that the Panther in its original form did not meet the requirements of the Eastern Front.
In the days that followed, the Army Weapons Office called on the two companies Henschel and MAN to work more closely together, also because the logistical problems with the supply of spare parts for various types of tanks on the Eastern Front were obvious. The goal was, as set out in a meeting on February 17, 1943, to convert the production of the medium battle tank V Panther, which was just being introduced, to the advanced model of this vehicle at the latest with the introduction of the main battle tank Tiger Ausf. B (Tiger II), which could have as many common assemblies as possible with the second generation of the heavy main battle tank. One such standardization of the types had been demanded by the Panzer Commission. For example, the ZF AK 7/200 gearbox and the Maybach HL 230 engine were to be installed in both vehicles. In parallel, the development of a completely new vehicle generation, the “Entwicklungspanzer” (also known as “E-Panzer” and later “Einheitspanzer”) tank series, which took the interchangeability of elements and production simplification even further, was pushed. The perspective was that from 1945 on the Panther would be replaced with the medium E-50 battle tank with an 88mm main gun.
This development was not certain, though, so that the Panther was further updated as a stopgap solution until E-50 production was running sufficiently. Consequently, the Army Office's WaPrüf 6 department also involved the Rheinmetall company and discussed the design of a new, simplified turret for the Panther II on February 18 that could accept the powerful new 8.8 cm KwK 43. Many specifications were made in the planning phase, for example a maximum turret radius had to be observed so that the driver and radio operator hatch could be opened in every turret position. Other dimensions were also specified to ensure access to the engine compartment. On February 19, the installation of machine gun 42 in tank turrets was discussed with Krupp, Rheinmetall and Daimler-Benz.
During a development meeting on March 5, 1943, it was determined that either a Maybach-Olvar or a ZF all-claw manual transmission could be installed in the drive area of both the Tiger II and Panther II. By March 20th, construction plans for the steering gear and side transmission should be ready. Then, on March 30, it was determined that Krupp should begin production of the Panther II, and MIAG should supply parts for this. From April 1943 the project designation Panther II was used, and MAN had already promised a prototype for mid-August 1943.
In the period that followed, MAN developed the "rubber-saving rollers" for the project. These were later tested on the Panther Ausf. G and were used on the Tiger II and Tiger I. However, it was discovered that the Panther's track had problems with these rollers and the project was expanded to develop a new track to be used with these rollers. Both were gradually introduced to the still running Panther production or retrofitted to damaged/recovered earlier Panther models in field workshops. It was planned that in view of the alignment of the chassis, the regular Panther II track should be usable as a transport track for the Tiger II. However, the Panther track would be shorter, since it would have two rollers less than the Tiger II. The rubber-saving track rollers were a major point in the discussions surrounding the introduction of the Panther II since they meant an additional 2 tons of weight. To compensate for this, the use of side skirts on the hull was discussed. It had already shown during the first operations on the Eastern Front that the sensitivity of the Panther’s side armor to the fire from the well-known Soviet anti-tank rifles was less than feared. To simplify production and save material, the lateral reinforcement was consequently not implemented.
On January 4, 1944, there was a meeting of the tank commission, where the changes to the armored hull of the Panther were discussed as the main problem of standardization. If a temporarily reduced production would be accepted by the German command, the following identical components should be used from the Tiger II: its Maybach HL 230 engine, same cooling system, same gearbox AK 7/200 or Olvar B, steering gear, side transmission, and the rubber-saving rollers with the modified track. However, some of these changes should already be used on the Panther Ausf. G, which was the current production variant. Ultimately, it was decided that reduced output of Panthers was unacceptable. Overall, Dr. Blaicher from the Main Committee determined that series production of the Panther II could only begin in late 1944 or early 1945.
The general design of the Panther II followed the conception of the Panzerkampfwagen V Panther. However, the armor at the front was to be increased to 100 or even 120 mm, and the side armor was planned to be brought to 60 mm. Furthermore, gun mantlet, turret front, roof, sides and rear were also supposed to be better armored, what led to the so-called “Schmalturm”. This new design was introduced with the Panther Ausf. F, the first standardized interim variant on the way to the true Panther II. However, this turret was only outfitted with a long-barreled 7,5-cm-KwK 44/I (L/70) without a muzzle brake, so that there was no significant improvement in firepower in comparison with other contemporary German tanks. Nevertheless, offering improved protection, an overall lowered weight and simplified production effort, the Schmalturm entered production and was, beyond the Panther Ausf. F, also combined with some late Panzer IV hulls as well as with early E-50s.
After that, further turret development for the Panther and the E-Series of medium/heavy battle tanks was pushed forward independently from the base vehicle, since a modular concept appeared to be the most effective way to ensure constant output of new tanks.
Eventually, the “Panther II” never materialized. In the meantime, the E-50/75’s development as well as Panther production had continued, and the latter gradually adopted new elements from the E-Series of tanks as well as simplifications that saved material and reduced overall production time. This gradual evolution led to two Panther hybrid variants. These vehicles, even though they looked quite different from the early Panther variants, retained the original SdKfz. 171 ordnance inventory designation. The most common variant was the Panther Ausf. F with the standardized rubber-saving running gear and the Schmalturm with the long-barreled 7,5 cm gun. The other standardized crossbreed was the Panther Ausf. H; it was based on a simplified late Panther Ausf. G hull with 50 mm side walls, but it featured a new welded 100 mm front glacis plate without any openings for either the driver or the radio operator’s machine gun. Sight for the crew members in the hull was provided exclusively through periscopic mirrors. Like the Panther Ausf. F, the Ausf. H featured the simplified running gear with rubber-saving rollers and a track that consisted of the Tiger I/II’s train transport track.
However, the Panther Ausf. H’s engine was new: it introduced a Maybach HL 234 V-12 gasoline engine, which was a HL-230, used in former Panther and Tiger tanks, upgraded with a fuel injection system which allowed easier engine operation even at low engine temperatures (such as a cold start), good adaptation to a wide range of altitudes and ambient temperatures, precisely governed engine speeds (including at idle and redline) and improved fuel efficiency. The HL-234 had originally been developed for the heavier E-50/75 and even the super-heavy E-100 tanks, and it was designed to deliver up to 900 hp (650 kW) in them. However, for the lighter Panther it was limited to just 700 hp (434 kW), with emphasis on torque at low engine speeds and durability. In the Panther Ausf. H this extra power was transferred through E-50/75 transmission elements, which had generous dimensions and material strength, what greatly improved the tank’s mechanical reliability. Thanks to the more powerful engine and transmission, the Panther Ausf. H was more agile than the earlier versions, despite a higher overall weight of 53 vs. 45 tons, which was almost on par with the earlier Tiger I. With the new drive train, the Panther Ausf. H was able to achieve a top speed of 56 km/h (35 mph) on level terrain or roads, and acceleration from standstill was markedly improved so that the tank was less likely to be hit during battles when it changed positions.
To improve the Panther’s firepower and get it on par with the retired Tiger I that it replaced, a 8.8 cm KwK 43 cannon was mounted in a new turret called ‘Langturm’. The Langturm was another E-50/75 development element that was adapted to the old Panther hull. It was in fact just an extended variant of the Schmalturm from the Panther Ausf. F and it shared the same layout and armor level, but it had an overhang at the rear to make space for the KwK 43’s longer gun carriage and a bigger ammunition supply. As a beneficial side effect, the overhang also provided a counterweight for the long and heavy gun barrel, alleviating the turret bearing. Because the KwK 43 had a different and heavier turret mount than the KwK 44/I from the Panther Ausf. F, a different mantlet had to be used. Turret movement was supported by an electric drive and targeting was supported by a built-in stereoscopic rangefinder, with optics in twin matching armored blisters on the turret’s flanks in front of the commander’s cupola. Fully rotatable periscopes in the turret roof replaced pistol ports in the turret flanks, thereby removing these weak armor spots.
To provide the Panther with some form of defense against infantry attacks after the deletion of its hull machine gun, a Nahverteidigungswaffe grenade launcher was mounted in the turret roof. This was a simple breech-loaded launcher tube oriented at a fixed 50° angle and fitted in a fully 360° traversable mounting. The Nahverteidigungswaffe was designed to mate with the standard 26 mm Kampfpistole flare gun. It could be loaded and fired under full armor and sealed by an armored plug when not in use. Aiming was by periscopes located on the turret and cupola. Typically, Sprenggranatpatrone 326 LP anti-personnel explosives were fired; this device had a range of 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33 ft) around the tank with a blast point of 0.5 to 2 meters (2 to 7 ft) above the ground. It splintered to a circumferential distance of 100 meters (328 ft) after an initial delay time of one second. It turned out to be very effective, even though all turret hatches and openings were to be closed when the 326 LP round was fired. Alternatively, the Nahverteidigungswaffe could fire a range of flare, signal or smoke grenades, too.
Compared with the earlier Panther variants with the 7.5 cm main weapon, its 8.8 cm gun meant considerably more firepower, and the KwK 43’s long range made it possible to keep the tank out of most enemy weapon’s range. As long as the crew was able to keep the Panther Ausf. H’s reinforced, sloped front armor facing towards its enemies the vehicle was virtually invulnerable to almost any Allied medium tank in late 1945, except for very close range or when the tracks were targeted to immobilize the tank. The only real threat at the time was the Soviet IS-3 with its heavy 122 mm D-25 gun, or surprise attacks against the weaker flanks.
The interleaved running gear still made maintenance and operations in wintertime challenging, though, but this was regarded as a reasonable price to pay for the tank’s overall effectiveness. As a benefit from the complex running gear, the Panther had probably the best suspension system of all German tanks of the time, offering a very smooth ride, and it was therefore very popular among its crews. However, the high-quality steel that was needed for the Panther’s torsion bar suspension system became more and more rare. The situation became so dire that these suspension elements were recovered from damaged vehicles directly at the front lines, collected and then conveyed to the MAN production line to complete new Panthers and put out as many as possible.
Nevertheless, due to the E-50/75’s ongoing development, its rising production priority from late 1945 on and an ever-worsening resource situation, the final Panther variants, the Ausf. F and H, were only produced between early 1945 and summer 1946. After that, Panther production ceased altogether in favor of the new Einheitspanzer family. Exact production numbers of the Panther Ausf. H are uncertain, because of the many hybrids and the chaotic production conditions, but less than 250 were finished and sent to frontline units.
Specifications:
Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator)
Weight: 53 tonnes (52.1 long tons; 58.2 short tons)
Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in) hull only
9,14 m (29 ft 11½ in) overall with gun facing forward
Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in)
Height: 2,81 m (9 ft 2½ in)
Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels
Fuel capacity: 720 liters (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)
Armor:
15–100 mm (0.6 – 3.93 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 56 km/h (35 mph)
Operational range: 250 km (160 mi) on roads
100 km (62 mi) cross-country
Power/weight: 13.2 PS (9.5 kW)/tonne (12.02 hp/ton)
Engine & transmission:
Maybach HL234 V-12 gasoline engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)
Maybach OLVAR OG 44 16 11 A gearbox with 8 forward and 2 reverse gears
Armament:
1× 8.8 cm KwK 43 (L/56) with 67 rounds, stored in the turret and the hull
1× 7.92 mm MG 42, mounted co-axially with the main gun with 2.500 rounds
1× 26 mm Nahverteidigungswaffe in the turret roof
Optional 6× Schnellnebelkerze 39 smoke dischargers, mounted to the turret flanks
Provision for a 7.92 mm MG 42 or MG 34 FlaMG on the commander cupola
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional Heer ’46 Panther variant was inspired by a Hasegawa Panther Ausf. F kit, which features rubber-saving all-steel wheels and a Schmalturm as optional parts – effectively a ‘whif-out-of-the-box’. I got it dead cheap, but just the plastic, without box, decals or instructions. I wondered how this hybrid could be even more upgraded, so that it could become a (fictional) stopgap solution to bridge the delayed introduction of the E-50/75 tank family? The result became my fictional ‘Ausführung H’.
To this end, I gave the Panther a bigger 8.8 cm gun, but this necessitated an enlarged turret. To keep things simple, I used the OOB Schmalturm to create a fictional extended version with a longer overhang at the rear – a “variant” that is actually available as one of the Modelcollect OOB E-50 kits, too. The overhang was scratched with the Schmalturm’s rear wall, styrene sheet material and 2C putty – the overhang is not large, but IMHO the turret looks now much more balanced than the original Schmalturm? For an individual look I also modified the gun mantlet, using early Panther parts from the Hasegawa kit and an 88 mm gun barrel with a muzzle brake left over from an Armorfast Jagdpanther. Additionally, some details were added to the turret, including a cover for the Nahverteidigungswaffe, periscopes and some free-standing lugs.
Another small modification: I removed the machine gun opening from the front glacis plate as a production simplification measure – after the driver’s visor slit had disappeared from the late production Panther Gs, removing the only other weak point in the front armor appeared like a plausible step. To create an even more E-50ish look I moved the light from the mudguards to the center of the glacis plate.
The running gear was taken OOB from the Hasegawa kit. To create a different look, I omitted the Panther’s standard side skirts that had protected the tank’s weak spot in the running gear above its tracks.
PE grates from a Modelcollect E-50/75 were fitted over the cooling fan openings (even though they did not fit perfectly), and I scratched two small smoke grenade mortar clusters for the turret flanks from sprue material. Tools and a container for a replacement main gun barrel segment were taken from the Hasegawa kit.
Painting and markings:
Another reason for this whiffy Panther was a camouflage concept that I had been wanting to test on a model for a while. It was inspired by French tank paint schemes from the early WWII phase: some vehicles carried a paint scheme consisting of horizontal, wavy high-contrast bands – an attempt to mimic a landscape with the horizon, consisting of relatively dark colors on low tank areas and light colors, even light grey or blue, on the turret. While some French tanks carried rather garish colors, I thought that this concept could work well with more subdued tones, only using the color contrast and trying to maximize the camouflage effect depending on the viewer’s perspective on the tank : either horizontally against the horizon, but also from above, when the vehicle would need a different camouflage against the ground.
The typical German “Hinterhalt” camouflage colors, Dunkelgelb, Olivgrün and the darker Rotbraun (RAL 7028, 6003 and 8017, respectively) were a good, limited palette to try this stunt, using Modelmaster 2095, a mix of Humbrol 86 and 78 for a lighter shade of green and Humbrol 180. Conforming to German standards, the running gear was painted uniformly, and I used RAL 7028 all around as a countershading measure. RAL 7028 was also applied to the turret flanks and to the barrel’s underside, to reduce the contrast of these areas against the sky.
RAL 6003 and 8017 were then primarily applied to the roof areas of hull, turret, and barrel, with only small RAL 7028 spots here and there to break these dark areas up against the ground when seen from above. To generally break the tank’s outlines up, the demarcation lines between the light and dark areas were painted with sharp, very wavy, “amoeba-esque” edges.
The model received an overall washing with dark brown ink and some dry-brushing with light grey to emphasize edges and details. The vinyl tracks were painted, too, with a mix of grey, red brown and iron (acrylic paints). The decals/markings are minimal, all taken from the scrap box, and the model was finally sealed with matt acrylic vanish overall, plus some very light extra dry-brushing with silver to simulate flaked paint, and 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 mud crusts and dust.
A straightforward what-if/Heer ’46 project. From a hardware perspective, the idea of an upgraded Panther as an E-50 stopgap for late 1945 with a bigger turret and gun works IMHO well, as the model combines old and new elements. The paint scheme experiment worked, too; when seen from the side, the wavy contrast between the light and dark areas breaks up the Panther’s silhouette against the horizon, while the rather dark colors from above conceal the vehicle against the ground, e. g. when it would be hidden under trees or in the shadows between buildings. The overall package looks quite plausible! :D
+++ 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 Bell P-39 Airacobra was one of the principal American fighter aircraft in service when the United States entered World War II. Designed by Bell Aircraft, 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. It was also the first fighter fitted with a tricycle undercarriage. Major users of the type included the Free French, the Royal Air Force, the United States Army Air Forces, and the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force.
The most successful and numerous use of the P-39 was by the Red Air Force (Военно-воздушные силы, Voenno-Vozdushnye Sily, VVS). The tactical environment of the Eastern Front did not demand the high-altitude performance the RAF and AAF did. The comparatively low-speed, low-altitude nature of most air combat on the Eastern Front suited the P-39's strengths: sturdy construction, reliable radio gear, and adequate firepower. The usual nickname for the Airacobra in the VVS was Kobrushka ("little cobra") or Kobrastochka, a blend of Kobra and Lastochka (swallow), "dear little cobra".
The first Soviet Cobras were P-400, originally produced for the RAF, which had a 20 mm Hispano-Suiza cannon and two heavy Browning machine guns, synchronized and mounted in the nose. At the same time, to speed equipment transfer under the Lend/Lease Agreement up, the Soviet Union agreed to receive new P-39 airframes without engines, weapons or instruments, for local assembly, too. Later, the VVS received the considerably improved N and Q models via the Alaska-Siberia ferry route. These Cobras arrived with the M4 37 mm cannon and four machine guns, two synchronized in the nose, firing through the propeller disc, and two wing-mounted. That modification improved roll rate by reducing rotational inertia. Soviet airmen appreciated the M4 cannon with its powerful rounds and the reliable action but complained about the low rate of fire (three rounds per second) and inadequate ammunition storage (only 30 rounds).
However, in the meantime, the P-39 kits had been piling up, and under the lead of OKB 301 (what would in 1945 become the Lavochkin design bureau) chief engineer Vladimir P. Gorbunov, a conversion kit for these bare airframes to Soviet equipment had been devised in a hurry. Since the desired liquid-cooled Klimov Klimov M-105 V-12 piston engine was in short supply due to massive LaGG-3, Yak-1 and -3 production, Gorbunov decided to adapt the P-39 airframe to the new Shvetsov M-82FN 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine, which was readily available and even promised a higher power output and performance.
For the radial engine, the original engine bay had to be modified and a massive engine mount, which also acted as an integral fuselage spar, was devised. The engine itself was placed in kind of barrel-shaped aerodynamic fairing, with open ends to allow sufficient air flow for cooling. A cooling fan with eleven short blades, driven by a gear attached to the propeller shaft, supported temperature management. To make better use of the engine’s output and compensate for a reduced number of rotations per minute, the aircraft – christened Go-1 to honor its constructor’s efforts and achievement – received a new four-blade propeller.
The cockpit received instruments of Soviet origin and the armament consisted of indigenous weapons. Several configurations were considered and tested, including a 37 mm (1.5 in) Nudelman-Suranov NS-37 cannon with 30 rounds, but this was rejected due to the pilots’ complaints about a slow rate of fire and low ammunition supply. Eventually, the standard armament consisted of a single 23 mm (0.91 in) VYa cannon with 60 rounds, firing through the propeller hub, and a pair of 20 mm (0.79 in) Berezin B-20 cannons in the fuselage with 120 rounds each. Additionally, a pair of 0.5 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns in external pods could be mounted, one under each outer wing, but this was almost never fitted to save weight and improve roll rate as well as overall performance. However, a 300 l drop tank was frequently carried, since the M-82FN was relatively thirsty and the Go-1’s range was somewhat limited - even though partial space from the P-39’s original radiator bath under the cockpit was used for two additional fuel and lubrication tanks.
The Go-1 showed satisfactory flight characteristics, with a performance on par with the P-39Q, and it was - for obvious reasons - quickly nicknamed "бочонок" (bochonok = keg) by its crerws. The stronger engine compensated for the slightly higher AUW and the increased drag through the engine fairing, and esp. during the wintertime the air-cooled engine was much easier to operate and maintain than the AiraCobra’s original liquid-cooled powerplant. On the other side, the drive shaft arrangement with an additional gearbox and the hastily constructed new engine mount were fragile and complicated, and they turned out to be Gorbunov's fighter’s weak point: from the 113 aircraft that were constructed from P-39 kits between late 1942 and mid-1943, almost one half was lost due to mechanical failures, frequently with fatal results. As a consequence, and because the number of complete aircraft under the Lend/Lease Agreement steadily grew, Go-1 production was stopped in November 1943 and remaining P-39 kits were cannibalized for spares. Nevertheless, Go-1s remained in active service within P-39 VVS units until early 1945, primarily in the Ukraine and Balkan region.
During the Great Patriotic War the Soviets used the AiraCobra and its derivatives primarily for air-to-air combat against a variety of German aircraft, including Bf 109s, Focke-Wulf Fw 190s, Ju 87s, and Ju 88s. The VVS did not use the P-39 for tank-busting duties, a myth attributed to the aircraft’s heavy 37 mm cannon.
A total of 4,719 P-39s were sent to the Soviet Union, accounting for more than one-third of all U.S. and UK-supplied fighter aircraft in the VVS, and nearly half of all P-39 production. Soviet AiraCobra losses totaled 1,030 aircraft (49 in 1942, 305 in 1943, 486 in 1944 and 190 in 1945). AiraCobras served with the Soviet Air Forces as late as 1949, when two regiments were operating as part of the 16th Guards Fighter Aviation Division in the Belomorsky Military District.
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: 7,060 lb (3,205 kg)
Gross weight: 8,092 lb (3,674 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 9,053 lb (4,110 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Shvetsov M-82FN 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engine,
delivering 1,460 kW (1,960 hp) emergency power and driving a four-blade propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 395 mph (636 km/h, 343 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: 496 mi (800 km, 432 nmi) on internal fuel
Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (11,000 m)
Rate of climb: 4,225 ft/min (21,5 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× 23 mm (0.91 in) VYa cannon with 60 rounds, firing through the propeller hub,
2× 20 mm (0.79 in) Berezin B-20 cannons in the fuselage with 120 RPG
Provisions for 2× 0.5 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns in external pods,
one under each outer wing, but rarely fitted
Up to 500 lb (230 kg) of bombs under wings and belly, or a ventral 300 l drop tank
The kit and its assembly:
This fever-dream conversion of an innocent Bell P-39 was inspired by a profile drawing of this fictional conversion by fellow modeler and illustrator FrancLab at FlickR, called P-39R, even though it carried typical American markings:
www.flickr.com/photos/franclab/51073633507/in/faves-14802...
An AiraCobra with a radial engine in the place of the original V12 inline powerplant looked so weird and ugly – it had to be built some day. The idea lingered for some months, and when I recently got hands on a cheap Heller P-39 I eventually tackled this stunt. Due to the conversions weirdness I rather decided to change this aircraft’s origins to the Soviet Union – where, in real life, some very AiraCobra-esque projects (e. g. the Gudkov Gu-1, which was a straightforward P-39 clone, or the Belyayev OI-2, a kind of twin-P-39!) appeared on the drawing board. On the other side, there actually was an Italian fighter prototype in WWII with a similar layout, the Piaggio P.119 from 1942, even though it was a tail-sitter
It was soon clear that the profile layout could not be exactly realized, but I stayed true to the concept. The P-39 was basically built OOB, just the area behind the cockpit saw considerable modifications. The original engine bay was cut open and the carburetor intake disappeared. Since the water cooler was not necessary anymore the outer pair of intakes in the wing roots as well as the outer outlets under the wings’ trailing edge disappeared. The intakes and duct in the middle were retained, though, for an oil cooler.
The engine cover consists of a pair of annular radiators from 2 different Fw 190D kits (IIRC, one from Academy and the other from Intech), one of them was reduced in depth. The cooling fan came from a, Italeri BMW 801 engine. At the rear the engine pod is held by a nose fairing from a KP biplane, nicely blended into the fuselage with some PSR- The area behind the cockpit was trimmed down to form intake slits for the radial engine, and also blended with PSR. A new spine fairing behind the cockpit replaced the original clear part.
The only other mods are a better seat in the cockpit, a styrene tube adapter inside the nose (plus lots of lead beads) for the propeller, which was mounted onto a metal axis, and a different drop tank that replaced the teardrop-shaped original, for a different look. The flaps were lowered, too.
Painting and markings:
This was not easy. The real VVS AiraCobras were delivered as complete aircraft from the USA and carried standard olive drab/neutral grey colors, just some early P-400 for/from UK came with RAF colors. Since the fictional Go-1 would be based on aircraft kits imported from the USA, these would probably have just been primed or left in bare aluminum, to be painted in local colors when finished. With this in mind I settled for a typical early WWII VVS scheme in light green and black (the ‘tractor scheme’), even though I rather used a dark olive drab for the latter, and blue-grey undersides. The pattern was based on a standard La-5 scheme, found on many specimen of this fighter type.
The light green became a mix of FS 34227 (ModelMaster) and Humbrol 159 in a 3:1 ratio, Humbrol 66 and 87 for the undersides. As colorful unit markings I gave the aircraft a light blue spinner and rudder. After basic painting I gave the kit a washing with thinned black ink and some panel post-shading.
The decals and markings come from various sources, including a sheet for Soviet P-40s from PrintScale for the tagline on the nose. Once these were in place, I added a coat of weathered whitewash as worn winter camouflage to the upper surfaces, around the markings. This was created with thinned acrylic matt white (Revell 5), applied with a flat, soft brush and then treated with a soft piece of cloth, alcohol and a hard, flat brush as well as wet sanding after drying. Additionally, soot stains were created with graphite and some detail dry-brushing with light grey and aluminum was added. Finally, the model 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 historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background (including material from fellow modeler Devilfish at whatifmodelers.com):
The SEPECAT Cheetah was a more sophisticated variable geometry wing derivative of the Anglo-French Jaguar attack aircraft, similar to the Su-7 and later Su-17/2022 evolution.
The Jaguar programme began in the early 1960s, in response to a British requirement for an advanced supersonic jet trainer to replace the Folland Gnat T1 and Hawker Hunter T7, and a French requirement (ECAT or École de Combat et d'Appui Tactique, "Tactical Combat Support Trainer") for a cheap, subsonic dual role trainer and light attack aircraft to replace the Fouga Magister, Lockheed T-33 and Dassault Mystère IV.
Cross-channel negotiations led to the formation of SEPECAT (Société Européenne de Production de l'Avion d'École de Combat et d'Appui Tactique – the "European company for the production of a combat trainer and tactical support aircraft") in 1966 as a joint venture between Breguet and the British Aircraft Corporation to produce the airframe.
Though based in part on the Breguet Br.121, using the same basic configuration and an innovative French-designed landing gear, the Jaguar as built also incorporated major elements designed by BAC – notably the wing and high lift devices. Production of the aircraft components would be split between Breguet and BAC and these would be assembled on two production lines; one in the UK and one in France.
The first of eight prototypes flew on 8 September 1968, a two-seat design fitted with the first production model Adour engine. The second prototype flew in February 1969; a total of three prototypes appeared in flight at the Paris Air Show that year. The first French "A" prototype flew in March 1969. In October a British "S" conducted its first flight.
A navalized "M" prototype flew in November 1969. The "M" had a strengthened airframe, an arrester hook and different undercarriage: twin nose wheel and single mainwheels. After testing in France it went to RAE at Thurleigh for carrier landing trials from their land based catapult. In July 1970 it made real take offs and landings from the French carrier Clemenceau.
The RAF accepted delivery of the first of 165 single-seat Jaguar GR1s (the service designation of the Jaguar S) in 1974, and it remained in service until 2007. Anyway, the Jaguar's all-weather capacity was limited and the airframe still offered development potential, so that from 1976 on the Anglo-French SEPECAT consortium looked at improved versions with radar, more powerful engines and improved avionics and aerodynamics.
This led in late 1975 to the Cheetah project, which incorporated a variable geometry wing that could be mounted to the Jaguar's airframe without major structural modifications.
The Cheetah was designed as a multirole, twin-engined aircraft designed to excel at low-level penetration of enemy defences, but also for battlefield reconnaissance and maritime patrol duties, and both naval and land-based versions were developed.
The Cheetah’s primary mission envisaged during the Cold War was the delivery of conventional and nuclear ordnance on the invading forces of the Warsaw Pact countries of Eastern Europe. Advanced navigation and flight computers, including the then-innovative fly-by-wire system, greatly reduced the workload of the pilot during low-level flight and eased control of the aircraft.
Compared with the Jaguar, the Cheetah’s nose section was widened to carry an Ericsson PS 37 X-band mono pulse radar, which used a mechanically steered parabolic dish housed in a radome. This radar performed several functions, including air-to-ground telemetry, search, track, terrain-avoidance and cartography. Air-to-air telemetry was also provided. This capability was not the system’s functional focus, but allowed the Cheetah to engage in all weather air-to-air combat and to act as a point defense interceptor with short range AAMs (e. g. up to six AIM-9 Sidewinder).
Honeywell provided an automatic digital flight control system for the Cheetah, one of the first such systems in a production aircraft. To assist low altitude flight and navigation, a Honeywell radar altimeter with transmitter and receiver was used, and the aircraft was also fitted with a Decca Type 72 Doppler navigation radar. TILS (Tactical Instrument Landing System), a landing-aid system made by Cutler-Hammer AIL, improved landing accuracy to 30 m.
From this basis, the Cheetah’s airframe was adapted to a naval version first, which featured a more rigid structure, a beefed-up landing gear for carrier operations and other suitable modifications. This evolved into the Cheetah FRS.1 for the Royal Navy. The FRS.1 was a separate development from the Jaguar, and catered to a very different specification. By the late 60's the Royal navy knew that their big carriers were due for scrapping and that plans for the proposed CVA 01 carrier were already being shelved. In a desperate attempt to hold on to naval air power, the Admiralty put forward a plan to buy two ex-US Navy Kittyhawk class supercarriers and refit them with British equipment (mostly salvaged from the outgoing carriers, Ark Royal and Eagle).
Because of the cancellation of TSR.2, the treasury, in a strange turn of events, agreed that air power at sea was definitively needed. They approved the acquisition of at first one, then later a second US carrier. To supplement them, two Centaur class carriers were to be retrofitted to act as tactical carriers to aid in smaller conflicts.
As these were not big enough to carry and deploy the larger American types being used on the supercarriers, a smaller multi-purpose aircraft was needed. With the Cheetah, BAC offered a version of the Jaguar, fitted with the variable geometry wing, then being designed for the MRCA, to aid with slower and shorter take offs and landings. Renamed the Cheetah, the FRS.1 entered service aboard the HMS Hermes in 1978, seeing service during the Falklands conflict in 1982.
The land-based Cheetah differed in many details from the naval version, though, the first prototype flew in early 1977 and the RAF’s GR.2 was primarily designed for the RAF Germany forces, since the continental theatre of operations was regarded as the most critical NATO flank of that time. The RAF Cheetahs were supposed to carry out conventional and nuclear point strikes against targets in the GDR, Poland and Czechoslovakia, and defend coastal lines against fast invasion fleets, esp. in the Baltic Sea.
The biggest visible difference to the FRS.1 was a different variable wing geometry mechanism and a modified wing shape with a dog tooth close to the pivot section and an extended leading edge fairing at the wing roots. The GR.2’s VG mechanism was more compact than the Tornado structure originally used in the FRS.1, but also simpler in order to save as much weight as possible.
The GR.2’s wings could be swept backwards between 16° and 72°, and the horizontal stabilizers were adapted in shape to form a quasi delta wing when the wings were fully swept back, allowing for minimal drag during the critical low-level dash towards a well-prepared enemy. The sweep angle could be altered manually by the pilot, but also automatically. The different VG wings basically improved low altitude aerodynamics and handling of the Cheetah, as well as its STOL capabilities. With its rugged undercarriage, lent from the Jaguar, the Cheetah GR.2 was, more than the bigger and heavier Tornado, suited for tactical front line service from improvised airstrips, together with the RAF’s Harrier fleet.
The Cheetah FRS.1 and the GR.2 carried the Jaguar’s pair of 30mm cannon, but due to the different wing structures the hardpoints for external ordnance differed. The Cheetah was typically equipped with a total of seven hardpoints: three underneath the fuselage, and more under the wings. The FRS.1 had four wing pylons which could, thanks to the Tornado ancestry, be swept together with the wings.
The GR.2’s capacity was more limited, as it carried two large tandem pylons under each wing root, each also carrying a launch rail for defensive AAMs, and a further pair of optional wing-mounted, fixed hardpoints. This facility was rarely used, though, and they were basically reserved for drop tanks for ferry flights, but could also take weapon racks. External ordnance capacity was similar to the original Jaguar, with 10,000 lb (4,500 kg).
The first Cheetah GR.2 entered RAF service in 1980, and replaced basically the RAF Buccaneers as well as an early part of the Jaguar GR.1 fleet (the Jaguars kept in service were later modernized to GR.3 standard).
The RAF Cheetahs served together with the Jaguar Force until 2007, when both types were retired. Following their retirement from flying service, some Cheetahs continue to serve as ground instructional airframes, most notably at RAF Cosford, used in the training of RAF fitters.
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 16.83 m (55 ft 2½ in)
Wingspan: 13.97 m (45 ft 10 in) spread 16°, XXX swept 72°
Height: 4.89 m (16 ft 0½ in)
Wing area: 37.35 m² spread, 34.16 m² swept (402.05 ft² / 367.71 ft²)
Empty weight: 7,848 kg (17,286 lb)
Loaded weight: 12,200 kg (26,872 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 15,700 kg (34,612 lb)
Powerplant:
2 × Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca Adour Mk 105 turbofans
with 24.50 kN (5,508 lbf) dry thrust each and 35.5 kN (7,979 lbf) with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: Mach 1.8 (1,870 km/h, 1,161 mph) at 11,000 m (36,000 ft)
Mach 1.1 (1,350 km/h, 839 mph) at sea level
Combat radius: 908 km (490 nmi, 564 mi) (lo-lo-lo, external fuel)
Ferry range: 3,524 km (1,902 nmi, 2,190 mi)
Service ceiling: 14,000 m (45,900 ft)
Rate of climb: 200 m/s (39,400 ft/min)
Climb to 9,145 m (30,000 ft): 1 min 30 sec
Armament:
2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA cannons in the lower front fuselage, 150 RPG
7 hardpoints; 1× center-line pylon stations Fore & Aft plus a pair of pylons in front of the main landing gear wells; twin inner pylon (Fore & Aft) plus launch rails for AAMs, and single Outer Pylon pair under the wings, non-moveable. Total capacity of 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) for a wide range of guided and unguided ordnance, including:
- Matra rocket pods with 18× SNEB 68 mm rockets each (up to seven at once)
- AS.37 Martel anti-radar missiles
- AS-30L laser guided air-to-ground missiles
- Various unguided or laser-guided bombs of up to 2.000 lb (907 kg) caliber
- 2× WE177A nuclear bombs
- 1× AN-52 nuclear bomb
- ECM protection pods
- Reconnaissance pods
- ATLIS laser/electro-optical targeting pod
- External drop tanks for extended range/loitering time
The kit and its assembly:
The final contribution to the “Cold War” Group Build at whatifmodelers.com, and another realization of a plan from the long agenda – and triggered by a similar build at the board from fellow modeler Devilfish who built a naval VG Jaguar with Tornado wings in 1:48. I took the opportunity and inspiration to build my interpretation of that theme, lending the Cheetah designation from Devilfish’s build, though, and some of the naval version’s background.
Anyway, my conversion plan had been different. I wanted to create an RAF aircraft, true to the Jaguar’s strike/recce role, and the VG mechanism and wings would come from a MiG-23 – inspired by a similar transplant with a Mirage F.1C I saw many moons ago (and a beautiful result, I want to try that stunt, too!).
I also had the donation kits stashed away: a Heller SEPECAT Jaguar A (actually, I had already piled up four kits for this task…) and an Academy MiG-23S.
Wing transplantation went straightforward and with surprisingly little difficulties. The MiG’s wings were cut out together with the spinal section and the lower wing gloves, so that the VG geometry remained unchanged. On the other side, this package went into a shallow gap that I carved out from the Jag’s ventral section. Some putty and body sculpting merged the parts, easier than expected.
The rest saw only minor modifications. A radome was implanted (from an Italeri F-18 Hornet), which needed some body sculpting around the nose and the MiG-23’s stabilizers were used, too, in order to form a clean wing shape. I tailored their trailing edges a bit, so that the shape would not remind too much of the MiG heritage.
An RAF style radar warning receiver, scratched from 1.5mm styrene, was installed into the French version’ fin. Under the wing roots a pair of pylons from a Matchbox F-14 were added, together with Sidewinder launch rails from a Tornado ADV (Italeri). The jet exhausts were drilled open for more depth, and some sensors/pitots added to the nose, made from wire. Cockpit and landing gear were taken OOB, even though I used a different ejection seat and faired the original dashboard over with a piece of styrene.
The BL 755 bombs and their twin racks come OOB from the Heller kit, the Sidewinders from an ESCI kit, IIRC.
Painting and markings:
The RAF was settled as an operator, but for a whiffy twist I applied the all-green scheme that the RAF’s Harrier GR.5 carried in the late Eighties – exclusively, AFAIK. While the all NATO Green upper side appears a bit dull, the Lichen Green underside and the very low waterline look rather psychedelic and unique. Anyway, it works well on the Cheetah, and I can imagine that other RAF aircraft would also look cool in this simple scheme?
The basic colors I used are Humbrol 105 (Army Green) and 120 (Light Green, FS 34227), both are pretty approximates. The basic paintwork was later panel-shaded with lighter mixes of these two tones – actually brightened up with RAF Cockpit Green (Humbrol 78). In fact, the Heller Jaguar is almost totally devoid of any surface detail... A light black ink wash was also used to emphasize edges and deepen the contrast. The wings’ leading edges were painted in a very dark green (Humbrol 91) and the cockpit interior was painted in dark grey (FS 36076 from Model Master). The landing gear struts were painted light grey, while the wells and covers became Zinc Chromate Yellow.
The decals are a mix of the OOB Heller sheet and aftermarket sheets for RAF Jaguars, an Italeri Tornado and a Harrier GR.5. A coat of matt acrylic varnish finally sealed everything and the ordnance was mounted.
An interesting conversion, and the result looks very plausible! I am certain that this thing would make people seriously wonder and think when displayed on a convention. The VG Jag looks very natural – but not much sexier than the original? Anyway, the transplantation does not look out of place, because the Jaguar’s layout is very similar to the Panavia Tornado, so that the VG wing does not appear like the total fake it actually is. ^^
+++ 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 Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, production models were flying, and two pre-production models did see very limited service in Italy just before the end of World War II. The XP-80 had a conventional all-metal airframe, with a slim low wing and tricycle landing gear. Like most early jets designed during World War II—and before the Allies captured German research data that confirmed the speed advantages of swept-wings—the XP-80 had straight wings similar to previous propeller-driven fighters, but they were relatively thin to minimize drag at high speed.
The Shooting Star began to enter service in late 1944 with 12 pre-production YP-80As. Four were sent to Europe for operational testing (demonstration, familiarization, and possible interception roles), two to England and two to the 1st Fighter Group at Lesina Airfield, Italy. Because of delays in delivery of production aircraft, the Shooting Star saw no actual combat during the conflict. The initial production order was for 344 P-80As after USAAF acceptance in February 1945. A total of 83 P-80s had been delivered by the end of July 1945 and 45 assigned to the 412th Fighter Group (later redesignated the 1st Fighter Group) at Muroc Army Air Field. Production continued after the war, although wartime plans for 5,000 were quickly reduced to 2,000 at a little under $100,000 each. A total of 1,714 single-seat F-80A, F-80B, F-80C, and RF-80s were manufactured by the end of production in 1950, of which 927 were F-80Cs (including 129 operational F-80As upgraded to F-80C-11-LO standards). However, the two-seat TF-80C, first flown on 22 March 1948, became the basis for the T-33 trainer, of which 6,557 were produced.
Shooting Stars first saw combat service in the Korean War, and were among the first aircraft to be involved in jet-versus-jet combat. Despite initial claims of success, the speed of the straight-wing F-80s was inferior to the 668 mph (1075 km/h) swept-wing transonic MiG-15. The MiGs incorporated German research showing that swept wings delayed the onset of compressibility problems, and enabled speeds closer to the speed of sound. F-80s were soon replaced in the air superiority role by the North American F-86 Sabre, which had been delayed to also incorporate swept wings into an improved straight-winged naval FJ-1 Fury.
This prompted Lockheed to improve the F-80 to keep the design competitive, and the result became the F-80E, which was almost a completely different aircraft, despite similar outlines. Lockheed attempted to change as little of the original airframe as possible while the F-80E incorporated two major technical innovation of its time. The most obvious change was the introduction of swept wings for higher speed. After the engineers obtained German swept-wing research data, Lockheed gave the F-80E a 25° sweep, with automatically locking leading edge slots, interconnected with the flaps for lateral stability during take-off and landing, and the wings’ profile was totally new, too. The limited sweep was a compromise, because a 35° sweep had originally been intended, but the plan to retain the F-80’s fuselage and wing attachment points would have resulted in massive center of gravity and mechanical problems. However, wind tunnel tests quickly revealed that even this compromise would not be enough to ensure stable flight esp. at low speed, and that the modified aircraft would lack directional stability. The swept-wing aircraft’s design had to be modified further.
A convenient solution came in the form of the F-80’s trainer version fuselage, the T-33, which had been lengthened by slightly more than 3 feet (1 m) for a second seat, instrumentation, and flight controls, under a longer canopy. Thanks to the extended front fuselage, the T-33’s wing attachment points could accept the new 25° wings without much further modifications, and balance was restored to acceptable limits. For the fighter aircraft, the T-33’s second seat was omitted and replaced with an additional fuel cell. The pressurized front cockpit was retained, together with the F-80’s bubble canopy and out fitted with an ejection seat.
The other innovation was the introduction of reheat for the engine. The earlier F-80 fighters were powered by centrifugal compressor turbojets, the F-80C had already incorporated water injection to boost the rather anemic powerplant during the start phase and in combat. The F-80E introduced a modified engine with a very simple afterburner chamber, designated J33-A-39. It was a further advanced variant of the J33-A-33 for the contemporary F-94 interceptor with water-alcohol injection and afterburner. For the F-80E with less gross weight, the water-alcohol injection system was omitted so save weight and simplify the system, and the afterburner was optimized for quicker response. Outwardly, the different engine required a modified, wider tail section, which also slightly extended the F-80’s tail.
The F-80E’s armament was changed, too. Experience from the Korean War had shown that the American aircrafts’ traditional 0.5” machine guns were reliable, but they lacked firepower, esp. against bigger targets like bombers, and even fighter aircraft like the MiG-15 had literally to be drenched with rounds to cause significant damage. On the other side, a few 23 mmm rounds or just a single hit with an explosive 37 mm shell from a MiG could take a bomber down. Therefore, the F-80’s six machine guns in the nose were replaced with four belt-fed 20mm M24 cannon. This was a license-built variant of the gas-operated Hispano-Suiza HS.404 with the addition of electrical cocking, allowing the gun to re-cock over a lightly struck round. It offered a rate of fire of 700-750 rounds/min and a muzzle velocity of 840 m/s (2,800 ft/s).In the F-80E each weapon was provided with 190 rounds.
Despite the swept wings Lockheed retained the wingtip tanks, similar to Lockheed’s recently developed XF-90 penetration fighter prototype. They had a different, more streamlined shape now, to reduce drag and minimize the risk of torsion problems with the outer wing sections and held 225 US gal (187 imp gal; 850 l) each. Even though the F-80E was conceived as a daytime fighter, hardpoints under the wings allowed the carriage of up to 2.000 lb of external ordnance, so that the aircraft could, like the straight-wing F-80s before, carry out attack missions. A reinforced pair of plumbed main hardpoints, just outside of the landing gear wells, allowed to carry another pair of drop tanks for extra range or single bombs of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg) caliber. A smaller, optional pair of pylons was intended to carry pods with nineteen “Mighty Mouse” 2.75 inches (70 mm) unguided folding-fin air-to-air rockets, and further hardpoints under the outer wings allowed eight 5” HVAR unguided air-to-ground rockets to be carried, too. Total external payload (including the wing tip tanks) was 4,800 lb (roughly 2,200 kg) of payload
The first XP-80E prototype flew in December 1953 – too late to take part in the Korean War, but Lockheed kept the aircraft’s development running as the benefits of swept wings were clearly visible. The USAF, however, did not show much interest in the new aircraft since the proven F-86 Sabre was readily available and focus more and more shifted to radar-equipped all-weather interceptors armed with guided missiles. However, military support programs for the newly founded NATO, esp. in Europe, stoked the demand for jet fighters, so that the F-80E was earmarked for export to friendly countries with air forces that had still to develop their capabilities after WWII. One of these was Germany; after World War II, German aviation was severely curtailed, and military aviation was completely forbidden after the Luftwaffe of the Third Reich had been disbanded by August 1946 by the Allied Control Commission. This changed in 1955 when West Germany joined NATO, as the Western Allies believed that Germany was needed to counter the increasing military threat posed by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies. On 9 January 1956, a new German Air Force called Luftwaffe was founded as a branch of the new Bundeswehr (Federal Defence Force). The first volunteers of the Luftwaffe arrived at the Nörvenich Air Base in January 1956, and the same year, the Luftwaffe was provided with its first jet aircraft, the US-made Republic F-84 Thunderstreak from surplus stock, complemented by newly built Lockheed F-80E day fighters and T-33 trainers.
A total of 43 F-80Es were delivered to Germany in the course of 1956 and early 1957 via freight ships as disassembled kits, initially allocated to WaSLw 10 (Waffenschule der Luftwaffe = Weapon Training School of the Luftwaffe) at Nörvenich, one of three such units which focused on fighter training. The unit was quickly re-located to Northern Germany to Oldenburg, an airfield formerly under British/RAF governance, where the F-80Es were joined by Canada-built F-86 Sabre Mk. 5s. Flight operations began there in November 1957. Initially supported by flight instructors from the Royal Canadian Air Force from Zweibrücken, the WaSLw 10’s job was to train future pilots for jet aircraft on the respective operational types. F-80Es of this unit were in the following years furthermore frequently deployed to Decimomannu AB on Sardinia (Italy), as part of multi-national NATO training programs.
The F-80Es’ service at Oldenburg with WaSLw 10 did not last long, though. In 1963, basic flight and weapon system training was relocated to the USA, and the so-called Europeanization was shifted to the nearby Jever air base, i. e. the training in the more crowded European airspace and under notoriously less pleasant European weather conditions. The remaining German F-80E fleet was subsequently allocated to the Jagdgeschwader 73 “Steinhoff” at Pferdsfeld Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate, where the machines were – like the Luftwaffe F-86s – upgraded to carry AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs, a major improvement of their interceptor capabilities. But just one year later, on October 1, 1964, JG 73 was reorganized and renamed Fighter-Bomber Squadron 42, and the unit converted to the new Fiat G.91 attack aircraft. In parallel, the Luftwaffe settled on the F-86 (with more Sabre Mk. 6s from Canada and new F-86K all-weather interceptors from Italian license production) as standard fighter, with the plan to convert to the supersonic new Lockheed F-104 as standard NATO fighter as soon as the type would become available.
For the Luftwaffe the F-80E had become obsolete, and to reduce the number of operational aircraft types, the remaining German aircraft, a total of 34, were in 1965 passed through to the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri (Turkish air force) as part of international NATO military support, where they remained in service until 1974 and were replaced by third generation F-4E Phantom II fighter jets.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 36 ft 9 1/2 in (11.23 m)
Wingspan: 37 ft 6 in (11.44 m) over tip tanks
Height: 13 ft 5 1/4 in (4.10 m)
Wing area: 241.3 sq ft (22,52 m²)
Empty weight: 10,681 lb (4.845 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 18,464 lb (8.375 kg)
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0134
Frontal area: 32 sq ft (3.0 m²)
Powerplant:
1× Allison J33-A-39 centrifugal compressor turbojet with 4,600 lbf (20 kN) dry thrust
and 27.0 kN (6,070 lbf) thrust with afterburning
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,060 km/h (660 mph, 570 kn)
Cruise speed: 439 mph (707 km/h, 381 kn)
Range: 825 mi (1,328 km, 717 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,380 mi (2,220 km, 1,200 nmi)
Service ceiling: 50,900 ft (15,500 m)
Rate of climb: 7,980 ft/min (40.5 m/s)
Time to altitude: 20,000 ft (6,100 m) in 4 minutes 50 seconds
Lift-to-drag: 17.7
Wing loading: 51.3 lb/sq ft (250 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.249 dry
0.328 with afterburner
Armament:
4× 0.79 in (20 mm) M24 cannon (190 rpg)
2x wing tip auxiliary tanks with 225 US gal (187 imp gal; 850 l) each
Underwing hardpoints for a total ordnance load of 4,800 lb (2.200 kg), including
2× 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs, up to 4× pods with nineteen unguided Mighty Mouse FFARs each,
and/or up to 8× 5” (127 mm) HVAR unguided air-to-ground rockets
The kit and its assembly:
The idea of a swept-wing F-80 had been lingering on my idea list for a while, and I actually tried this stunt before in the form of a heavily modified F-94. The recent “Fifties” group build at whatifmodellers.com and a similar build by fellow forum member mat revived the interest in this topic – and inspired by mat’s creation, based on a T-33 fuselage, I decided to use the opportunity and add my personal interpretation of the idea.
Having suitable donor parts at hand was another decisive factor to start this build: I had a Heller T-33 in store, which had already been (ab)used as a donor bank for other projects, and which could now find a good use. I also had an F-80 canopy left over (from an Airfix kit), and my plan was to use Saab J29 wings (from a Matchbox kit) because of their limited sweep angle that would match the post-WWII era well.
Work started with the fuselage; it required a completely new cockpit interior because these parts had already gone elsewhere. I found a cockpit tub with its dashboard from an Italeri F4U, and with some trimming it could be mounted into the reduced cockpit opening, above the OOB front landing gear well. The T-33’s rear seat was faired of with styrene sheet and later PSRed away. The standard nose cone from the Heller T-33 was used, but I added gun ports for the new/different cannon armament.
For a different look with an afterburner engine I modified the tail section under the stabilizers, which was retained because of its characteristic shape. A generous section from the tail was cut away and replaced with the leftover jet pipe from an Italeri (R)F-84F, slightly longer and wider and decorated with innards from a Matchbox Mystère IV. This change is rather subtle but changes the F-80 profile and appears like a compromise between the F-80 and F-94 arrangements.
The T-33 wings were clipped down to the connection lower fuselage part. This ventral plate with integral main landing gear wells was mounted onto the T-33 hull and then the Saab 29 wings were dry-fitted to check their position along the fuselage and to define the main landing gear wells, which had to be cut into them to match their counterparts from the aircraft’s belly.
Their exact position was eventually fixed when the new swept stabilizers, taken from a Hobby Boss F-86, were mounted to the tail. They match well with the swept wings, and for an odd look I kept their dihedral.
The fin was eventually replaced, too – mat’s build retained the original F-80 fin, but with all other surfaces swept I found that the fin had to reflect this, too. So, I implanted a shortened Italeri (R)F-84F fin onto the original base, blended with some PSR into the rest of the tail.
With all aerodynamic surfaces in place it was time for fine-tuning, and to give the aircraft a simpler look I removed the dog teeth from the late Tunnan's outer wings, even though I retained the small LERXs. The wing tips were cut down a little and tip tanks (probably drop tanks from a Hobby Boss F-5E) added – without them the aircraft looked like a juvenile Saab 32!
The landing gear was mostly taken over from the Heller T-33, I just added small consoles for the main landing gear struts to ensure a proper stance, because the new wings and the respective attachment points were deeper. I also had to scratch some landing gear covers because the T-33 donor kit was missing them. The canopy was PSRed over the new opening and a new ejection seat tailored to fit into the F4U cockpit.
A final addition was a pair of pods with unguided FFARs. AFAIK the Luftwaffe did not use such weapons, but they’d make thematically sense on a Fifties anti-bomber interceptor - and I had a suitable pair left over from a Matchbox Mystère IV kit, complete with small pylons.
Painting and markings:
Since the time frame was defined by the Fifties, early Luftwaffe fighters had to carry a bare metal finish, with relatively few decorations. For the F-80E I gave the model an overall base coat with White Aluminum from a Dupli Color rattle can, a very nice and bright silver tone that comes IMHO close to NMF. Panels were post-shaded with Revell 99 (Aluminum) and 91 (Iron Metallic). An anti-glare panel in front of the windscreen was painted in the Luftwaffe tone RAL 6014, Gelboliv (Revell 42).
For some color highlights I gave the tip tanks bright red (Feuerrot, RAL 3000; Revell 330) outer halves, while the inner halves were painted black to avoid reflections that could distract the pilot (seen on a real Luftwaffe T-33 from the late Fifties). For an even more individual touch I added light blue (Tamiya X-14, Sky Blue) highlights on the nose and the fin, reflecting the squadron’s color code which is also carried within the unit emblem – the Tamiya paint came closest to the respective decal (see below).
The cockpit interior was painted with zinc chromate green primer (I used Humbrol 80, which is brighter than the tone should be, but it adds contrast to the black dials on the dashboard), the landing gear wells were painted with a mix of Humbrol 80 and 81, for a more yellowish hue. The landing gear struts became grey, dry-brushed with silver, while the inside of the ventral air brakes were painted in Feuerrot, too.
Then the model received an overall washing with black ink to emphasize the recessed panel lines, plus additional panel shading with Matt Aluminum Metallizer (Humbrol 27001), plus a light rubbing treatment with grinded graphite that emphasized the (few leftover) raised panel lines and also added a dark metallic shine to the silver base. Some of the lost panel lines were simulated with simple pencil strokes, too.
The decals/markings primarily came from an AirDoc aftermarket sheet for late Fifties Luftwaffe F-84Fs. The tactical code (“BB-xxx” was then assigned to the WaSLw 10 as unit code, but this soon changed to a similar but different format that told about the unit’s task as well as the specific unit and squadron within it; this was replaced once more by a simple xx+yy code that was only connected to a specific aircraft with no unit reference anymore, and this format is still in use today) was puzzled together from single letters/digits from the same decal set. Some additional markings like the red band on the fuselage had to be scratched, but most stencils came from an all-bare-metal Luftwaffe F-84F.
After some more detail painting the model was sealed with semi-gloss acrylic paint, just the anti-glare panel and the di-electric fairings on the nose and the fin tip became matt.
A thorough kitbashing build, but the result looks quite plausible, if not elegant? The slightly swept wings suit the F-80 with its organic fuselage shape well, even though they reveal the designs rather baroque shape. There’s a sense of obsolescence about the F-80E, despite its modern features? The Luftwaffe markings work well on the aircraft, too, and with the red and blue highlights the machine looks more attractive despite its simple NMF livery than expected.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Although an air wing for the fledgling Khmer Royal Army (ARK) was first planned in 1952, it wasn't until April 22, 1954, however that the Royal Khmer Aviation (French: Aviation Royale Khmère; AVRK) was officially commissioned by Royal decree. Commanded by Prince Norodom Sihanouk's personal physician, Colonel Dr. Ngo Hou and known sarcastically as the "Royal Flying Club", the AVRK initially operated a small fleet of four Morane-Saulnier MS 500 Criquet liaison aircraft, two Cessna 180 Skywagon light utility aircraft, one Cessna 170 light personal aircraft, and one Douglas DC-3 modified for VIP transport. At this stage, the AVRK was not yet an independent service; since its earlier personnel cadre was drawn from the Engineer Corps, the Ministry of Defense placed the AVRK under the administrative control of the Army Engineer's Inspector-General Department.
During the first years of its existence, the AVRK received assistance from France – which under the terms of the November 1953 treaty of independence had the right to keep a military mission in Cambodia –, the United States, Japan, Israel, and West Germany, who provided training programs, technical aid, and additional aircraft. Japan delivered three Fletcher FD-25 Defender single-seater ground-attack aircraft and three Fletcher FD-25B two-seat trainers, whilst deliveries by the United States Military Assistance Advisory Group (US MAAG) aid program – established since June 1955 at Phnom Penh – of fourteen North American T-6G Texan trainers, eight Cessna L-19A Bird Dog observation aircraft, three de Havilland Canada DHC L-20 Beaver liaison aircraft, seven Douglas C-47 Skytrain transports (soon joined by with two additional C-47 transports bought from Israel) and six Curtiss C-46F Commando transports. The French delivered in 1954-55 fifteen Morane-Saulnier MS 733 Alcyon three-seat basic trainers and twenty former Armée de l’Air F8F Bearcat that had been taking part in the French Indochina War.
The Grumman F8F (G-58, Grumman Aircraft's design designation) Bearcat was a U.S. Navy/Marine Corps single-engine, fighter aircraft. It was introduced late in World War II as a carrier-based fighter. In replacing the obsolescent F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat, climb rate was an important design factor for the F8F, which was faster and lighter than the F6F carrier-based fighter. In late 1943, Grumman began development of the F8F Bearcat and deliveries from Grumman began on 21 May 1945.
In 1946, the F8F set a climb record of 6,383 fpm and held this record until it was broken by a jet fighter in 1956. Early F8Fs first flew in August 1944, followed by production aircraft starting in February 1945, the war ended before the F8F saw combat.
The F8F was Grumman’s last piston engine fighter Production ended in 1949, after Grumman had produced 1,265 F8F Bearcats in total. Directly after the war, the F8F was a key fighter for the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps. Since it was one of the best-handling piston fighters ever, its performance made it the top selection in 1946 for the U.S. Navy’s elite Blue Angels demonstration squadron. When the F8F became obsolete (The last ones in U.S. service were retired in 1952), it was replaced with jet fighter aircraft, the F9F Panther and the F2H Banshee.
From 1946 to 1954, the F8F saw it first combat during the French Indochina War, being used by French forces. Surviving Bearcats from that war were given to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force and to Cambodia. The Royal Thai Air Force also flew a number of Bearcats that were purchased from the U.S. Navy.
These deliveries allowed the AVRK to acquire a limited light strike capability, as well as improving its own reconnaissance and transportation capabilities. A small Helicopter force also began to take shape, with the delivery in 1958-59 of three Sikorsky H-34 Choctaws by the US MAAG, followed in 1960 of two Sud Aviation SA 313B Alouette II by the French and of two Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaws by the Americans in 1963.
Although Cambodia was theoretically forbidden of having fighter jets under the terms of the July 1955 Geneva Accords, the AVRK did receive its first jet trainers in September 1961 from France, in the form of four Potez CM.170R Fouga Magisters modified locally in 1962 to accept a pair of AN/M2 7,62mm aircraft guns and under-wing rocket rails. By the end of the year, the AVRK aligned 83 airframes of American, Canadian and French origin, though mostly were World War II-vintage obsolescent types well past their prime – US MAAG advisors often described the AVRK at the time as an "aerial museum" – and training accidents were far from uncommon.
The baptism of fire of the AVRK came the following year when its F8F Bearcats, FD-25 Defenders and T-6G Texan armed trainers supported Khmer Royal Army troops in Takéo Province fighting a cross-border incursion by Vietnamese militiamen from the Hòa Hảo militant sect fleeing persecution from the neighboring Republic of Vietnam. The obsolete Texans and Defenders were eventually replaced in August that year by sixteen North American T-28D Trojan trainers converted to the fighter-bomber role. Also under the US MAAG program, the AVRK received in March 1963 four Cessna T-37B Tweet jet trainers; however, unlike the Fougas provided earlier by the French, these airframes had no provision for weapon systems, since the Americans resisted Cambodian requests to arm them.
In response to the coup against President Ngô Đình Diệm in South Vietnam, Prince Sihanouk cancelled on November 20, 1963 all American aid, and on January 15, 1964 the US MAAG program was suspended when Cambodia adopted a neutrality policy, so the AVRK continued to rely on French military assistance but at the same time turned to Australia, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and China for aircraft and training. In November 1963 the Soviets delivered an initial batch of three MiG-17F fighter jets, one MiG-15UTI jet trainer and one Yakovlev Yak-18 Max light trainer. France continued to deliver aircraft to Cambodia in 1964-65, supplying sixteen night-attack Douglas AD-4N Skyraiders and six Dassault MD 315R Flamant light transports, soon followed by more Alouette II and Sud Aviation SA-316B Alouette III light helicopters and ten Gardan GY-80 Horizon light trainers, which replaced the obsolete MS 733 Alcyons. The Yugoslavians provided at the time four UTVA-60AT1 utility transports, whilst the USSR delivered one Ilyushin Il-14 and eight Antonov An-2 Colt transports, and China sent one Chinese-built FT-5 jet trainer, ten Shenyang J-5 fighter jets, and three Nanchang BT-6/PT-6 light trainers. Not to be outdone, the Soviets delivered in April 1967 a second batch of five MiG-17F jets and two Mil Mi-4 Hound light helicopters.
Like the other branches of the then FARK, the Royal Cambodian Aviation's own military capabilities by the late 1960s remained unimpressive, being barely able to accomplish its primary mission which was to defend the national airspace. Due to its low strength and limited flying assets, the AVRK was relegated to a combat support role by providing transportation services to ARK infantry units and occasional low-level close air support (CAS) to ground operations. Apart from two modern tarmacked airstrips located respectively at Pochentong and at a Chinese-built civilian airport in Siem Reap, the other available airfields in the country at the time consisted of rudimentary unpaved runways that lacked permanent rear-echelon support facilities, which were only used temporarily as emergency landing strips but never as secondary airbases.
Consequently, and in accordance with Cambodia's neutralist foreign policy, few combat missions were flown. AVRK activities were restricted to air patrols in order to protect Cambodia's airspace from the numerous incursions made by US Air Force (USAF), Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) and Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) aircraft.
It was not until the late 1960s however, that the AVRK received its first sustained combat experience. In early 1968, its T-28D Trojans, F8F Bearcats, AD-4N Skyraiders and some MiG-17F jets were again sent to Takéo Province, dropping bombs on pre-planned targets in support of Royal Army troops conducting a counter-insurgency sweep against armed elements of the Vietnamese Cao Đài militant sect that had entered the province from neighboring South Vietnam; AVRK combat elements were also deployed in the Samlot district of Battambang Province, where they bombed Khmer Rouge insurgent strongholds. In November 1969, the AVRK supported the Khmer Royal Army in a restrained sweeping operation targeting People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Vietcong (VC) sanctuaries at Labang Siek in Ratanakiri Province. Some T-28D and F8F fighter-bombers, L-19A reconnaissance aircraft and Alouette helicopters provided air cover to the ground operation, whilst a few combat sorties were staged by the MiG-17F jets and AD-4N Skyraiders from Pochentong.
In the wake of the March 1970 coup, the Royal Cambodian Aviation was re-designated Khmer National Aviation (French: Aviation Nationale Khmère; AVNK), though it remained under Army command. After securing material support from the United States, South Vietnam, and Thailand, the new Khmer National Aviation immediately commenced combat operations, and embarked on an ambitious re-organization and expansion program. Shortly after the coup, however, the French military mission suspended all the cooperation with the Cambodian armed forces, thus depriving the AVNK of vital training and technical assistance. China and the Soviet Union also severed their military assistance programs, which resulted in serious maintenance problems for its Shenyang and MiG fighter jets.
With the increase in activity at Pochentong airbase, the AVNK Air Academy (French: École de l'Air; formerly, the Royal Flying School) was moved in August 1970 to quieter and less congested facilities at Battambang airfield. The RVNAF flew numerous combat missions inside Cambodia since March in support of joint FANK/Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) ground operations, and to better coordinate its own missions they established at Pochentong a liaison office, the Direct Air Support Centre (DASC) Zulu. In addition, South Vietnamese O-1D Bird Dog Forward air controllers began regularly staging reconnaissance flights from Pochentong to guide RVNAF airstrikes and artillery fire.
An initial expansion of the AVNK inventory in September 1970 under American auspices was accomplished with the delivery of six UH-1 Iroquois helicopter gunships with temporary South Vietnamese crews. To ease maintenance, it was decided upon American suggestion to build the AVNK's strike component around the T-28D Trojan, since both its pilots and ground technicians were already well-acquainted with this aircraft type, and the Americans had plenty of surplus airframes and spare parts available. As a result, the rate of T-28D sorties increased, with 2,016 sorties being recorded between March and October 1970, in contrast to the 360 sorties of the MiG-17F and Shenyang fighter jets, and the 108 strikes of the Fouga Magister jets registered during that same period.
On the night of 21–22 January 1971, a hundred or so-strong People’s Army of Vietnam "Sapper" Commando force (Vietnamese: Đặc Công, equivalent of "spec op" in English) managed to pass undetected through the defensive perimeter of the Special Military Region (Région Militaire Speciale – RMS) set by the Cambodian Army around Phnom Penh and carried out a spectacular raid on Pochentong airbase. Broken into six smaller detachments armed mostly with AK-47 assault rifles and RPG-7 anti-tank rocket launchers, the PAVN raiders succeeded in scaling the barbed-wire fence and quickly overwhelmed the poorly armed airmen of the Security Battalion on duty that night. Once inside the facility, the raiders unleashed a furious barrage of small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades against any aircraft they found on the parking area adjacent to the runway and nearby buildings; one of the commando teams even scaled the adjoining commercial terminal of the civilian airport and after taking position at the international restaurant located on the roof, they fired a rocket into the napalm supply depot near the RVNAF apron.
When the smoke cleared the next morning, the Khmer National Aviation had been virtually annihilated. A total of 69 aircraft stationed at Pochentong at the time were either completely destroyed or severely damaged on the ground, including many T-28D Trojans, virtually all remaining eight F8Fs, nearly all the Shenyang, MiG, T-37B and Fouga Magister jets, all the L-19A Bird Dogs and An-2 transports, the UH-1 helicopter gunships, three VNAF O-1 Bird Dogs and even a VIP transport recently presented to President Lon Nol by the South Vietnamese government. Apart from the aircraft losses, 39 AVNK officers and enlisted men had lost their lives and another 170 were injured. The only airframes that escaped destruction were six T-28D Trojans temporarily deployed to Battambang, ten GY-80 Horizon light trainers (also stationed at Battambang), eight Alouette II and Alouette III helicopters, two Sikorsky H-34 helicopters, one T-37B jet trainer, and a single Fouga Magister jet that had been grounded for repairs. Pochentong airbase was closed for almost a week while the damage was assessed, wreckage removed, the runway repaired, and the stocks of fuel and ammunitions replenished.
After this severe blow, The Cambodian Air Force was reborn on June 8, 1971, when it was made a separated command from the Army and thus became the third independent branch of the FANK. This new status was later confirmed on December 15, when the AVNK officially changed its name to Khmer Air Force (French: Armée de l'air Khmère; AAK), or KAF. New airbases were laid down near the provincial capitals of Battambang, Kampong Cham and Kampong Chhnang. However, in 1975, the Cambodian Army was defeated by advancing Khmer Rouge forces. On April 16 KAF T-28D Trojans flew their last combat sortie by bombing the Air Force Control Centre and hangars at Pochentong upon its capture by insurgent units. After virtually expending their entire ordnance reserves, 97 aircraft escaped from Pochentong, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Kampong Chhnang and Ream airbases and auxiliary airfields flown by their respective crews (with a small number of civilian dependents on board) to safe haven in neighboring Thailand, and the AVNK ceased to exist.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 28 ft 3 in (8.61 m)
Wingspan: 35 ft 10 in (10.92 m)
Height: 13 ft 10 in (4.22 m)
Wing area: 244 sq ft (22.7 m²)
Aspect ratio: 5.02
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018; tip: NACA 23009
Empty weight: 7,650 lb (3,470 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 13,460 lb (6,105 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W Double Wasp 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston
engine with 2,100 hp (1,600 kW), driving a 4-bladed constant-speed propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 455 mph (732 km/h, 395 kn)
Range: 1,105 mi (1,778 km, 960 nmi)
Service ceiling: 40,800 ft (12,400 m)
Rate of climb: 4,465 ft/min (22.68 m/s)
Wing loading: 42 lb/sq ft (210 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.22 hp/lb (0.36 kW/kg)
Armament:
4× 20 mm (.79 in) AN/M3 cannon in the outer wings
2,000 lb (907 kg) of ordnance on three hardpoints (incl. bombs, rocket pods, napalm tanks
or drop tanks), plus underwing hardpoints for up to four 5” (127 mm) HVAR unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
This was a submission for the “One Week” Group Build at whatifmodellers.com, and both kit and livery were chosen with a focus on quick/safe realization. The idea had been lingering for some time, though. I originally had the plan to build a real-world AVNK AD-4N some day, after I had found a profile and b/w pictures of these aircraft as well as a set of suitable roundels (see below). However, when I recently dug through The Stash™ I came across a Monogram F8F (in a more recent Revell re-boxing, though) and wondered about a different livery for this small fighter – and the AVNK idea popped up again, also because the outlines of Bearcat and Skyraider are quite similar.
The Monogram F8F was basically built OOB, just with some cosmetic changes. Inside, I added a dashboard – the kit comes with one, but it is molded into the fuselage halves with an ugly seam. For the beauty pics I also prepared a more modern pilot figure with a “bone dome” instead of the WWII USN pilot.
A styrene tube was added behind the engine block to take the propeller’s new metal axis. Some antennae were added to the rear fuselage, as an addition to the vintage wire antennae. A small pitot was added under the left wing, made from wire.
The underwing pylons received scratched shackles, because I replaced the OOB vintage 500 lb bombs with box fins with napalm canisters, simulating BLU-1 shapes with shortened/modified drop tanks. HVARs and the ventral drop tank come from the kit, I just added some struts to the tank.
The Monogram F8F in 1:72 holds only small surprises. It's a typical vintage Monogram kit (IIRC, the molds are from 1976) with raised (yet fine) details and vague fit - even though nothing fatal. PSR was basically necessary at any seam, esp. the unique wing/fuselage solutions calls for some filling. The cockpit interior is bare, but, except for the (quite nice) seat and the dashboard, nothing can be seen later. The clear parts (two pieces) are very clear but came with lots of flash; the windscreen's attachment point to the sprue (at the front's base) created some wacky gaps on the kit – with more time and effort, this could certainly have become better. The landing gear is simple but O.K., very robust, but the wells are totally bare, and the oil cooler intakes are just holes - I filled them with bits of foamed styrene. There are certainly better F8F kits (e. g. the Art Model kit with resin parts, including a finely detailed landing gear wells interior), but for a "budget build" or a conversion this one is a good starting point.
Painting and markings:
I used the AVNK’s AD4Ns as benchmark, which carried a livery similar to the French Skyraiders: overall painted in silver with some colorful trim, just the roundels and tactical markings were different. Being former French aircraft, the AVNK F8Fs might have retained the original all-dark blue paint scheme, but I rather expected them to carry a uniform livery.
With this benchmark the scheme was quickly applied, using Humbrol 56 (aluminum dope) enamel paint as a rather greyish basis. As an extra I added a dark olive drab (Humbrol 108) anti-glare panel to the area in front of the windscreen, and I added black anti-soot and probably anti-glare fields for night operations to the fuselage flanks, inspired by the AVNK AD-4Ns. The only colorful markings are small red fin, tailplane and wing tips as well as a matching fuselage band (created with Humbrol 19). The red fuselage bands were created with 5 mm wide generic red decal stripes (TL-Modellbau) which match the enamel paint’s tone well.
As a weathering measure I painted the starboard aileron and elevator as well as a gun cover on the portside wing in Dark Sea Blue (FS 35042), representing replacement parts that were hastily cannibalized from another ex-French F8F that still carried its original livery. Some patches for small firearms bullet holes on the wings and fuselage were created with pieces of grey decal sheet. – all measures to break up the otherwise rather simple and dull livery.
The model received some good weathering through a black ink washing and generous post-panel shading with acrylic Revell 99 (a matt but bright aluminum tone) and later some graphite, which emphasizes the kit’s many raised surfaces details. In order to make the livery not look too much like an NMF finish the kit was later sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
The cockpit interior became chromate green with a light grey dashboard while the landing gear retained its colors from the former French all-blue livery, with chromate green wells and inner cover surfaces but dark sea blue struts and wheel hubs.
The Cambodian roundels came from a limited edition Cutting Edge 1:72 decal set for various MiG-15bis’, the tactical codes on cowling and fin belong to an USAF F-100 (PrintScale sheet).
Well, the result is not perfect, but for a project realized from box to beauty pics including an extensive background story in just a single week I am fine with it. I'll admit that the livery is very simple, but there's also some attractiveness to it. And in this rather unusual silver-grey scheme the F8F reminds a lot of the bigger Skyraider!
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Although an air wing for the fledgling Khmer Royal Army (ARK) was first planned in 1952, it wasn't until April 22, 1954, however that the Royal Khmer Aviation (French: Aviation Royale Khmère; AVRK) was officially commissioned by Royal decree. Commanded by Prince Norodom Sihanouk's personal physician, Colonel Dr. Ngo Hou and known sarcastically as the "Royal Flying Club", the AVRK initially operated a small fleet of four Morane-Saulnier MS 500 Criquet liaison aircraft, two Cessna 180 Skywagon light utility aircraft, one Cessna 170 light personal aircraft, and one Douglas DC-3 modified for VIP transport. At this stage, the AVRK was not yet an independent service; since its earlier personnel cadre was drawn from the Engineer Corps, the Ministry of Defense placed the AVRK under the administrative control of the Army Engineer's Inspector-General Department.
During the first years of its existence, the AVRK received assistance from France – which under the terms of the November 1953 treaty of independence had the right to keep a military mission in Cambodia –, the United States, Japan, Israel, and West Germany, who provided training programs, technical aid, and additional aircraft. Japan delivered three Fletcher FD-25 Defender single-seater ground-attack aircraft and three Fletcher FD-25B two-seat trainers, whilst deliveries by the United States Military Assistance Advisory Group (US MAAG) aid program – established since June 1955 at Phnom Penh – of fourteen North American T-6G Texan trainers, eight Cessna L-19A Bird Dog observation aircraft, three de Havilland Canada DHC L-20 Beaver liaison aircraft, seven Douglas C-47 Skytrain transports (soon joined by with two additional C-47 transports bought from Israel) and six Curtiss C-46F Commando transports. The French delivered in 1954-55 fifteen Morane-Saulnier MS 733 Alcyon three-seat basic trainers and twenty former Armée de l’Air F8F Bearcat that had been taking part in the French Indochina War.
The Grumman F8F (G-58, Grumman Aircraft's design designation) Bearcat was a U.S. Navy/Marine Corps single-engine, fighter aircraft. It was introduced late in World War II as a carrier-based fighter. In replacing the obsolescent F4F Wildcat and F6F Hellcat, climb rate was an important design factor for the F8F, which was faster and lighter than the F6F carrier-based fighter. In late 1943, Grumman began development of the F8F Bearcat and deliveries from Grumman began on 21 May 1945.
In 1946, the F8F set a climb record of 6,383 fpm and held this record until it was broken by a jet fighter in 1956. Early F8Fs first flew in August 1944, followed by production aircraft starting in February 1945, the war ended before the F8F saw combat.
The F8F was Grumman’s last piston engine fighter Production ended in 1949, after Grumman had produced 1,265 F8F Bearcats in total. Directly after the war, the F8F was a key fighter for the U.S. Navy/Marine Corps. Since it was one of the best-handling piston fighters ever, its performance made it the top selection in 1946 for the U.S. Navy’s elite Blue Angels demonstration squadron. When the F8F became obsolete (The last ones in U.S. service were retired in 1952), it was replaced with jet fighter aircraft, the F9F Panther and the F2H Banshee.
From 1946 to 1954, the F8F saw it first combat during the French Indochina War, being used by French forces. Surviving Bearcats from that war were given to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force and to Cambodia. The Royal Thai Air Force also flew a number of Bearcats that were purchased from the U.S. Navy.
These deliveries allowed the AVRK to acquire a limited light strike capability, as well as improving its own reconnaissance and transportation capabilities. A small Helicopter force also began to take shape, with the delivery in 1958-59 of three Sikorsky H-34 Choctaws by the US MAAG, followed in 1960 of two Sud Aviation SA 313B Alouette II by the French and of two Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaws by the Americans in 1963.
Although Cambodia was theoretically forbidden of having fighter jets under the terms of the July 1955 Geneva Accords, the AVRK did receive its first jet trainers in September 1961 from France, in the form of four Potez CM.170R Fouga Magisters modified locally in 1962 to accept a pair of AN/M2 7,62mm aircraft guns and under-wing rocket rails. By the end of the year, the AVRK aligned 83 airframes of American, Canadian and French origin, though mostly were World War II-vintage obsolescent types well past their prime – US MAAG advisors often described the AVRK at the time as an "aerial museum" – and training accidents were far from uncommon.
The baptism of fire of the AVRK came the following year when its F8F Bearcats, FD-25 Defenders and T-6G Texan armed trainers supported Khmer Royal Army troops in Takéo Province fighting a cross-border incursion by Vietnamese militiamen from the Hòa Hảo militant sect fleeing persecution from the neighboring Republic of Vietnam. The obsolete Texans and Defenders were eventually replaced in August that year by sixteen North American T-28D Trojan trainers converted to the fighter-bomber role. Also under the US MAAG program, the AVRK received in March 1963 four Cessna T-37B Tweet jet trainers; however, unlike the Fougas provided earlier by the French, these airframes had no provision for weapon systems, since the Americans resisted Cambodian requests to arm them.
In response to the coup against President Ngô Đình Diệm in South Vietnam, Prince Sihanouk cancelled on November 20, 1963 all American aid, and on January 15, 1964 the US MAAG program was suspended when Cambodia adopted a neutrality policy, so the AVRK continued to rely on French military assistance but at the same time turned to Australia, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and China for aircraft and training. In November 1963 the Soviets delivered an initial batch of three MiG-17F fighter jets, one MiG-15UTI jet trainer and one Yakovlev Yak-18 Max light trainer. France continued to deliver aircraft to Cambodia in 1964-65, supplying sixteen night-attack Douglas AD-4N Skyraiders and six Dassault MD 315R Flamant light transports, soon followed by more Alouette II and Sud Aviation SA-316B Alouette III light helicopters and ten Gardan GY-80 Horizon light trainers, which replaced the obsolete MS 733 Alcyons. The Yugoslavians provided at the time four UTVA-60AT1 utility transports, whilst the USSR delivered one Ilyushin Il-14 and eight Antonov An-2 Colt transports, and China sent one Chinese-built FT-5 jet trainer, ten Shenyang J-5 fighter jets, and three Nanchang BT-6/PT-6 light trainers. Not to be outdone, the Soviets delivered in April 1967 a second batch of five MiG-17F jets and two Mil Mi-4 Hound light helicopters.
Like the other branches of the then FARK, the Royal Cambodian Aviation's own military capabilities by the late 1960s remained unimpressive, being barely able to accomplish its primary mission which was to defend the national airspace. Due to its low strength and limited flying assets, the AVRK was relegated to a combat support role by providing transportation services to ARK infantry units and occasional low-level close air support (CAS) to ground operations. Apart from two modern tarmacked airstrips located respectively at Pochentong and at a Chinese-built civilian airport in Siem Reap, the other available airfields in the country at the time consisted of rudimentary unpaved runways that lacked permanent rear-echelon support facilities, which were only used temporarily as emergency landing strips but never as secondary airbases.
Consequently, and in accordance with Cambodia's neutralist foreign policy, few combat missions were flown. AVRK activities were restricted to air patrols in order to protect Cambodia's airspace from the numerous incursions made by US Air Force (USAF), Republic of Vietnam Air Force (RVNAF) and Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) aircraft.
It was not until the late 1960s however, that the AVRK received its first sustained combat experience. In early 1968, its T-28D Trojans, F8F Bearcats, AD-4N Skyraiders and some MiG-17F jets were again sent to Takéo Province, dropping bombs on pre-planned targets in support of Royal Army troops conducting a counter-insurgency sweep against armed elements of the Vietnamese Cao Đài militant sect that had entered the province from neighboring South Vietnam; AVRK combat elements were also deployed in the Samlot district of Battambang Province, where they bombed Khmer Rouge insurgent strongholds. In November 1969, the AVRK supported the Khmer Royal Army in a restrained sweeping operation targeting People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and Vietcong (VC) sanctuaries at Labang Siek in Ratanakiri Province. Some T-28D and F8F fighter-bombers, L-19A reconnaissance aircraft and Alouette helicopters provided air cover to the ground operation, whilst a few combat sorties were staged by the MiG-17F jets and AD-4N Skyraiders from Pochentong.
In the wake of the March 1970 coup, the Royal Cambodian Aviation was re-designated Khmer National Aviation (French: Aviation Nationale Khmère; AVNK), though it remained under Army command. After securing material support from the United States, South Vietnam, and Thailand, the new Khmer National Aviation immediately commenced combat operations, and embarked on an ambitious re-organization and expansion program. Shortly after the coup, however, the French military mission suspended all the cooperation with the Cambodian armed forces, thus depriving the AVNK of vital training and technical assistance. China and the Soviet Union also severed their military assistance programs, which resulted in serious maintenance problems for its Shenyang and MiG fighter jets.
With the increase in activity at Pochentong airbase, the AVNK Air Academy (French: École de l'Air; formerly, the Royal Flying School) was moved in August 1970 to quieter and less congested facilities at Battambang airfield. The RVNAF flew numerous combat missions inside Cambodia since March in support of joint FANK/Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) ground operations, and to better coordinate its own missions they established at Pochentong a liaison office, the Direct Air Support Centre (DASC) Zulu. In addition, South Vietnamese O-1D Bird Dog Forward air controllers began regularly staging reconnaissance flights from Pochentong to guide RVNAF airstrikes and artillery fire.
An initial expansion of the AVNK inventory in September 1970 under American auspices was accomplished with the delivery of six UH-1 Iroquois helicopter gunships with temporary South Vietnamese crews. To ease maintenance, it was decided upon American suggestion to build the AVNK's strike component around the T-28D Trojan, since both its pilots and ground technicians were already well-acquainted with this aircraft type, and the Americans had plenty of surplus airframes and spare parts available. As a result, the rate of T-28D sorties increased, with 2,016 sorties being recorded between March and October 1970, in contrast to the 360 sorties of the MiG-17F and Shenyang fighter jets, and the 108 strikes of the Fouga Magister jets registered during that same period.
On the night of 21–22 January 1971, a hundred or so-strong People’s Army of Vietnam "Sapper" Commando force (Vietnamese: Đặc Công, equivalent of "spec op" in English) managed to pass undetected through the defensive perimeter of the Special Military Region (Région Militaire Speciale – RMS) set by the Cambodian Army around Phnom Penh and carried out a spectacular raid on Pochentong airbase. Broken into six smaller detachments armed mostly with AK-47 assault rifles and RPG-7 anti-tank rocket launchers, the PAVN raiders succeeded in scaling the barbed-wire fence and quickly overwhelmed the poorly armed airmen of the Security Battalion on duty that night. Once inside the facility, the raiders unleashed a furious barrage of small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades against any aircraft they found on the parking area adjacent to the runway and nearby buildings; one of the commando teams even scaled the adjoining commercial terminal of the civilian airport and after taking position at the international restaurant located on the roof, they fired a rocket into the napalm supply depot near the RVNAF apron.
When the smoke cleared the next morning, the Khmer National Aviation had been virtually annihilated. A total of 69 aircraft stationed at Pochentong at the time were either completely destroyed or severely damaged on the ground, including many T-28D Trojans, virtually all remaining eight F8Fs, nearly all the Shenyang, MiG, T-37B and Fouga Magister jets, all the L-19A Bird Dogs and An-2 transports, the UH-1 helicopter gunships, three VNAF O-1 Bird Dogs and even a VIP transport recently presented to President Lon Nol by the South Vietnamese government. Apart from the aircraft losses, 39 AVNK officers and enlisted men had lost their lives and another 170 were injured. The only airframes that escaped destruction were six T-28D Trojans temporarily deployed to Battambang, ten GY-80 Horizon light trainers (also stationed at Battambang), eight Alouette II and Alouette III helicopters, two Sikorsky H-34 helicopters, one T-37B jet trainer, and a single Fouga Magister jet that had been grounded for repairs. Pochentong airbase was closed for almost a week while the damage was assessed, wreckage removed, the runway repaired, and the stocks of fuel and ammunitions replenished.
After this severe blow, The Cambodian Air Force was reborn on June 8, 1971, when it was made a separated command from the Army and thus became the third independent branch of the FANK. This new status was later confirmed on December 15, when the AVNK officially changed its name to Khmer Air Force (French: Armée de l'air Khmère; AAK), or KAF. New airbases were laid down near the provincial capitals of Battambang, Kampong Cham and Kampong Chhnang. However, in 1975, the Cambodian Army was defeated by advancing Khmer Rouge forces. On April 16 KAF T-28D Trojans flew their last combat sortie by bombing the Air Force Control Centre and hangars at Pochentong upon its capture by insurgent units. After virtually expending their entire ordnance reserves, 97 aircraft escaped from Pochentong, Battambang, Kampong Cham, Kampong Thom, Kampong Chhnang and Ream airbases and auxiliary airfields flown by their respective crews (with a small number of civilian dependents on board) to safe haven in neighboring Thailand, and the AVNK ceased to exist.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 28 ft 3 in (8.61 m)
Wingspan: 35 ft 10 in (10.92 m)
Height: 13 ft 10 in (4.22 m)
Wing area: 244 sq ft (22.7 m²)
Aspect ratio: 5.02
Airfoil: root: NACA 23018; tip: NACA 23009
Empty weight: 7,650 lb (3,470 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 13,460 lb (6,105 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney R-2800-34W Double Wasp 18-cylinder air-cooled radial piston
engine with 2,100 hp (1,600 kW), driving a 4-bladed constant-speed propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 455 mph (732 km/h, 395 kn)
Range: 1,105 mi (1,778 km, 960 nmi)
Service ceiling: 40,800 ft (12,400 m)
Rate of climb: 4,465 ft/min (22.68 m/s)
Wing loading: 42 lb/sq ft (210 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.22 hp/lb (0.36 kW/kg)
Armament:
4× 20 mm (.79 in) AN/M3 cannon in the outer wings
2,000 lb (907 kg) of ordnance on three hardpoints (incl. bombs, rocket pods, napalm tanks
or drop tanks), plus underwing hardpoints for up to four 5” (127 mm) HVAR unguided rockets
The kit and its assembly:
This was a submission for the “One Week” Group Build at whatifmodellers.com, and both kit and livery were chosen with a focus on quick/safe realization. The idea had been lingering for some time, though. I originally had the plan to build a real-world AVNK AD-4N some day, after I had found a profile and b/w pictures of these aircraft as well as a set of suitable roundels (see below). However, when I recently dug through The Stash™ I came across a Monogram F8F (in a more recent Revell re-boxing, though) and wondered about a different livery for this small fighter – and the AVNK idea popped up again, also because the outlines of Bearcat and Skyraider are quite similar.
The Monogram F8F was basically built OOB, just with some cosmetic changes. Inside, I added a dashboard – the kit comes with one, but it is molded into the fuselage halves with an ugly seam. For the beauty pics I also prepared a more modern pilot figure with a “bone dome” instead of the WWII USN pilot.
A styrene tube was added behind the engine block to take the propeller’s new metal axis. Some antennae were added to the rear fuselage, as an addition to the vintage wire antennae. A small pitot was added under the left wing, made from wire.
The underwing pylons received scratched shackles, because I replaced the OOB vintage 500 lb bombs with box fins with napalm canisters, simulating BLU-1 shapes with shortened/modified drop tanks. HVARs and the ventral drop tank come from the kit, I just added some struts to the tank.
The Monogram F8F in 1:72 holds only small surprises. It's a typical vintage Monogram kit (IIRC, the molds are from 1976) with raised (yet fine) details and vague fit - even though nothing fatal. PSR was basically necessary at any seam, esp. the unique wing/fuselage solutions calls for some filling. The cockpit interior is bare, but, except for the (quite nice) seat and the dashboard, nothing can be seen later. The clear parts (two pieces) are very clear but came with lots of flash; the windscreen's attachment point to the sprue (at the front's base) created some wacky gaps on the kit – with more time and effort, this could certainly have become better. The landing gear is simple but O.K., very robust, but the wells are totally bare, and the oil cooler intakes are just holes - I filled them with bits of foamed styrene. There are certainly better F8F kits (e. g. the Art Model kit with resin parts, including a finely detailed landing gear wells interior), but for a "budget build" or a conversion this one is a good starting point.
Painting and markings:
I used the AVNK’s AD4Ns as benchmark, which carried a livery similar to the French Skyraiders: overall painted in silver with some colorful trim, just the roundels and tactical markings were different. Being former French aircraft, the AVNK F8Fs might have retained the original all-dark blue paint scheme, but I rather expected them to carry a uniform livery.
With this benchmark the scheme was quickly applied, using Humbrol 56 (aluminum dope) enamel paint as a rather greyish basis. As an extra I added a dark olive drab (Humbrol 108) anti-glare panel to the area in front of the windscreen, and I added black anti-soot and probably anti-glare fields for night operations to the fuselage flanks, inspired by the AVNK AD-4Ns. The only colorful markings are small red fin, tailplane and wing tips as well as a matching fuselage band (created with Humbrol 19). The red fuselage bands were created with 5 mm wide generic red decal stripes (TL-Modellbau) which match the enamel paint’s tone well.
As a weathering measure I painted the starboard aileron and elevator as well as a gun cover on the portside wing in Dark Sea Blue (FS 35042), representing replacement parts that were hastily cannibalized from another ex-French F8F that still carried its original livery. Some patches for small firearms bullet holes on the wings and fuselage were created with pieces of grey decal sheet. – all measures to break up the otherwise rather simple and dull livery.
The model received some good weathering through a black ink washing and generous post-panel shading with acrylic Revell 99 (a matt but bright aluminum tone) and later some graphite, which emphasizes the kit’s many raised surfaces details. In order to make the livery not look too much like an NMF finish the kit was later sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
The cockpit interior became chromate green with a light grey dashboard while the landing gear retained its colors from the former French all-blue livery, with chromate green wells and inner cover surfaces but dark sea blue struts and wheel hubs.
The Cambodian roundels came from a limited edition Cutting Edge 1:72 decal set for various MiG-15bis’, the tactical codes on cowling and fin belong to an USAF F-100 (PrintScale sheet).
Well, the result is not perfect, but for a project realized from box to beauty pics including an extensive background story in just a single week I am fine with it. I'll admit that the livery is very simple, but there's also some attractiveness to it. And in this rather unusual silver-grey scheme the F8F reminds a lot of the bigger Skyraider!
Category: Model Kit.
Name: Thuverl-Salan Class Standard Battle Ship.
Scale: 1/20, 000 scale.
Origin: Japanese anime: The Super Dimension Fortress, Macross.
Brand: Arii.
Material: Styrene Plastic.
Release Date: 1983.
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.
The design for the Wespe was produced by Alkett, based on the Panzer II Ausf. F chassis. Among other modifications the Panzer II's engine was moved forward, and the chassis slightly lengthened to accommodate the rear-mounted 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer. The boxy superstructure was left open at the top and rear and only lightly armored, with 10 mm armor plate, which was just enough to stop small arms fire. The vehicles were produced by FAMO's Ursus plant in Warsaw from February 1943 until June 1944, when Soviet forces approached the frontier. By that time, 676 had been produced. An additional 159 gun-less Wespe Munitionsträger were produced, too, to serve as mobile artillery ammunition carriers.
The Panzer II chassis also found use for the design of tank hunters: Existing chassis were converted to self-propelled artillery vehicles, such as the Marder II ("marten" in English). The latter was built on the basis of the original Panzer II chassis (with the engine at the rear) in two versions, the first mounted a modified Soviet 7.62 cm gun firing German ammunition, which had been acquired in significant numbers during the German advances the Ostfront, while the other mounted the German 7.5 cm PaK 40 gun. Its high profile and thin open-topped armor provided minimal protection to the crew, though. Nevertheless, the Marder II (as well as the similar Marder III, which was based on the Czech T-38 chassis) provided a great increase in mobility and firepower over contemporary German tanks during 1942 and into 1943.
By early 1944 the war situation had worsened for Germany and ever heavier tanks, esp. at the Eastern Front, appeared. The PaK 40 was effective against almost every Allied tank until the end of the war, only struggling to penetrate heavier vehicles like the Russian IS tanks, the American M4A3E2 Sherman 'Jumbo' assault tank and M26 Pershing, and later variants of the British Churchill tank. More firepower was needed, but the powerful new 88 mm PaK 43 was in short supply or earmarked for use in heavy battle tanks, which had received priority from the Oberkommando. An alternative anti-tank was the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70, the main armament of the Panther medium battle tank and of the Jagdpanzer IV self-propelled anti-tank gun. On the latter it was designated as the "7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 42" (7.5 cm Pak 42).
The modified 7.5 cm gun had a longer barrel that increased muzzle velocity and operating pressure, resulting in much improved range and penetration. However, the new gun required a new armor-piercing projectile, the PzGr. 39/42. Apart from the addition of wider driving bands it was otherwise identical to the older 7.5 cm PzGr. 39. The wider driving bands added a little extra weight, from 6.8 kg for the old PzGr.39, to 7.2 kg for the new PzGr.39/42. The gun was fired electrically, the primer being initiated using an electric current rather than a firing pin. The breech operated semi-automatically so that after the gun had fired, the empty shell casing was automatically ejected, and the falling wedge type breech block remained down so that the next round could be loaded. Once the round was loaded the breech closed automatically and the weapon was ready to be fired again. Three different types of ammunition were used: APCBC-HE, APCR and HE.
This 7.5 cm Pak 42’s performance was almost equal to the bigger 88 mm PaK 43, and achieved a penetration of 106 mm hardened steel plate angled at 30° from vertical at 2.000 m (vs. 132 mm with the 88 mm PaK 43).
To increase the output of vehicles armed with the new 7.5 cm Pak 42, the Oberkommando ordered the conversion of existing vehicles, so that these reinforcements could be sent to the frontlines as quickly as possible, esp. at the East where the German troops were more and more caught in defensive battles. The chassis that appeared most suitable for this task was the Sd.Kfz. 124 Wespe, due to its internal layout. The 7.5 cm Pak 42’s long barrel (it was almost 5m/more than 16’ long) required a fighting compartment at the vehicle’s rear, with the engine in front of it – and the Wespe turned out to be suitable to accept the long weapon with relatively few modifications.
For the use on the open-top Wespe, the 7.5 cm Pak 42 was combined with the mount and shield of the old towed 7.5 cm PaK 40 gun, and this new construction simply replaced the Wespe’s original 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer. The superstructure’s armor was only minimally modified: the front opening was narrowed, because the longer 7.5 cm Pak 42 had a more limited field of fire than the 10.5 cm leFH 18. As a positive side effect, the superstructure’s walls could be slightly reduced in height (about 10 cm/4”) due to the 7.5 cm Pak 42’s lower gun carriage and front shield.
The vehicle’s internal layout and most of the equipment remained the same, just the crew was reduced from five to four, one loader was omitted. To cope with the slightly higher overall weight and the heavier front due to the long barrel, and the necessity to traverse the vehicle to aim, the gear ratio was lowered from 1:7.33 to 1:8 to reduce the stress on final gears and the wheels were replaced with reinforced alternatives that also used less rubber. Due to the smaller rounds, the internal ammunition supply rose from the Wespe’s forty 10.5 cm rounds to fifty-one 7.5 cm rounds, even though space for the crew became scarce when the Jagdwespe was fully loaded. No other armament was carried, even though a defensive 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun was frequently installed at the commander’s position to the right of the gun, sometimes with a protective armor shield.
Like its basis, the “Jagdwespe”, how this makeshift vehicle was unofficially called, was only lightly protected, but this was intentionally done in order to reduce the overall weight and speed up the production as much as possible. The armor thickness was also limited in order to not adversely affect the vehicle’s overall driving performance, as this was the main point of this vehicle. The use of the Panzer II light tank chassis was another reason why the armor thickness had to be kept minimal, as the added weight could significantly affect its performance.
The front armor of the hull was 30 mm thick and placed at a 75° vertical angle. The sides were 14.5 mm thick, the rear 14.5 mm at 10° horizontal and the bottom was only 5 mm thick. The front superstructure armor was 15 (or 20 mm) thick and placed at a 30° vertical angle. The sides and rear of the superstructure were 15 mm and the top 10 mm thick. The fighting compartment was protected by only 10 mm thick all-around armor. The front armor was placed at 66°, side 73°, and rear 74° vertical angle.
Strangely, the “Jagdwespe” was allocated an individual ordnance inventory designation, namely Sd. Kfz. 125. This was probably done to keep the practice of the Marder family of light Panzerjäger’s taxonomy, which had received individual Sd. Kfz. Numbers, too, despite being based on existing vehicles. Initially, mostly unarmed Wespe artillery ammunition carriers were converted into Jagdwespe SPGs, but later on Wespe SPGs – primarily damaged vehicles that were refurbished – were also modified, and a few of the final newly build Wespe hulls were finished as Sd.Kfz. 125, too. However, since battle tanks still had priority, Jagdwespe production and output was only marginal, and less than 100 vehicles were completed until early 1945.
Like the various Marder versions before that fought on all European fronts of the war, there was a large concentration of the Jagdwespe on the Eastern Front. They were used by the Panzerjäger Abteilungen of the Panzer divisions of the Heer and served as well with several Luftwaffe units to defend airfields. Like the Marders before, the Jagdwespe's weaknesses were mainly related to survivability. The combination of a relatively high silhouette and open-top fighting compartment made them vulnerable to indirect artillery fire, aircraft strafing, and grenades. The armor was also quite thin, making them vulnerable to enemy tanks or infantry with more than light machine guns or pistols.
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!
+++ 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 Soviet Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles (LSA ChADI, today the Chardiv National Automobile and Highway University) was founded in 1953. One of the laboratory’s founders was Vladimir Nikitin, a famous racer not only inside the Soviet Union but also around the world. The main purpose of Vladimir Nikitin’s of was to build the fastest car in the world. This idea of creating race cars became the purpose of the laboratory and has been continued by students of Nikitin throughout the years, with research and prototypes in various fields of car propulsion.
The first car created in LSA by students was ChADI 2 in 1961. The body of the car was made of fiberglass, the first time that this material was used for a car body in the Soviet Union. This technology was improved and later used in mass-produced cars. Another famous LSA car was ChADI 7. To create it, Nikitin and his students used airplane wing elements as car body material and used the engine from a helicopter to power it. The highest speed of ChADI 7 – 400 kilometers per hour – was recorded on an airport runway near Chardiv in 1968, and it was at that time the fastest car in the Soviet Union, setting the national land speed record.
After this successful vehicle, Vladimir Nikitin started a new, even more ambitious project: a speed record car with the jet engine from a high performance airplane! The name of this project was ChADI 9, and it was ambitious. This time Nikitin and his team used a Tumansky RD-9 turbojet engine with a dry thrust of 25.5 kN (5,730 lbf), the same engine that powered the supersonic Mikoyan-Gurewich MiG-19 fighter plane. He expected that this needle-shaped car would be able to break the absolute land speed record, which meant supersonic speed at level zero of almost 1.200 kilometers an hour. The car was finished in 1981, but unfortunately ChADI 9 never participated in any race and no official top speed result was ever recorded. This had initially a very practical reason: in the 1980’s there were simply no tires in the USSR that could be safely used at the expected speeds in excess of 400 km/h, and there was furthermore no track long enough for a serious test drive in the Soviet Union! In consequence, ChADI 9 had to be tested on the runway of a military airport in the proximity of Chardiv, outfitted with wheels and tires from a MiG-19, but these were not ideal for prolonged high speeds. Film footage from these tests later appeared in a 1983 movie called “IgLa”.
The Automotive Federation of the United States even invited ChADI 9 to participate in an official record race in the USA, but this did not happen either, this time for political reasons. Nevertheless, the main contribution of this car was gathering experience with powerful jet engines and their operations in a ground vehicle, as well as experience with car systems that could withstand and operate at the expected high levels of speed, and the vehicle was frequently tested until it was destroyed in high speed tests in 1988 (see below).
ChADI 9 was not the end of Nikitin’s strife for speed (and the prestige associated with it). The know-how that the design team had gathered in the first years of testing ChADI 9 were subsequentially integrated into the LSA’s ultimate proposal not only to break the national, but also the absolute land speed record: with a new vehicle dubbed ChADI 9-II. This car was a completely new design, and its name was deliberately chosen in order to secure project budgets – it was easier to gain support for existing (and so far successful) projects rather than found new ones and convince superior powers of their value and success potential.
ChADI 9-II’s conceptual phase was launched in 1982 and it was basically a scaled-up evolution of ChADI 9, but it featured some significant differences. Instead of the RD-9 turbojet, the new vehicle was powered by a much more potent Tumansky R-25-300 afterburning turbojet with a dry thrust of 40.21 kN (9,040 lbf) and 69.62 kN (15,650 lbf) with full afterburner. This new engine (used and proven in the MiG-21 Mach 2 fighter) had already been thoroughly bench-tested by the Soviet Laboratory of High-Speed Automobiles in 1978, on an unmanned, tracked sled.
However, the development of ChADI 9-II and its details took more than two years of dedicated work by LSA ChADI’s students, and in 1984 the design was finally settled. The new vehicle was much bigger than its predecessor, 44 ft 10 in long, 15 ft 6¾ in wide, and 9 ft 10¾ in high (13.67 m by 4,75 m by 3,02 m), and it weighed around 9,000 lb (4 t). Its construction was based on a steel tube frame with an integrated security cell for the driver and an aluminum skin body, with some fibre glass elements. While ChADI 9’s slender cigar-shaped body with a circular diameter and the tricycle layout were basically retained, the front end of ChADI 9-II and its internal structure were totally different: instead of ChADI 9’s pointed nose, with the cockpit in the front and ahead of the vehicle’s front wheel and a pair of conformal (but not very efficient) side air intakes, ChADI 9-II featured a large, single orifice with a central shock cone. A small raked lower lip was to prevent FOD to the engine and act at the same time as a stabilizing front spoiler. The driver sat under a tight, streamlined canopy, the bifurcated air intake ducts internally flanking the narrow cockpit. Two steerable front wheels with a very narrow track were installed in front of the driver’s compartment. They were mounted side by side on a central steering pylon, which made them look like a single wheel. Behind the cockpit, still flanked by the air ducts, came two fuel tanks and finally, after a chamber where the air ducts met again, the engine compartment. Small horizontal stabilizers under the cockpit, which could be adjusted with the help of an electric actuator, helped keeping the vehicle’s nose section on the ground. Two small air brakes were mounted on the rear fuselage; these not only helped to reduce the vehicle’s speed, they could also be deployed in order to trim the aerodynamic downforce on the rear wheels. The latter ware carried on outriggers for a wide and stable track width and were covered in tight aerodynamic fairings, again made from fibre glass. The outriggers were furthermore swept back far enough so that the engine’s nozzle was placed in front of the rear wheel axis. This, together with a marked “nose-down” stance as well as a single swept fin on the rear above the afterburner nozzle with a brake parachute compartment, was to ensure stability and proper handling at expected speeds far in excess of 600 km/h (372 mph) without the use of the engine’s afterburner, and far more at full power.
Construction of ChADI 9-II lasted for more than another year, and in May 1986 the vehicle was rolled out and ready for initial trials at Chardiv, this time on the Chardiv State Aircraft Manufacturing Company’s runway. These non-public tests were successful and confirmed the soundness of the vehicle’s concept and layout. In the course of thorough tests until July 1987, ChADI 9-II was carefully pushed beyond the 400 km/h barrier and showed certain potential for more. This was the point when the vehicle was presented to the public (it could not be hidden due to the noisy trials within Chardiv’s city limits), and for this occasion (and marketing purposes) ChADI 9-II received a flashy livery in silver with red trim around the air intake and long the flanks and was officially christened with the more catchy title “„скорость“” (Skorost = Velocity).
Meanwhile, a potential area for serious high-speed trials had been identified with Lake Baskunchak, a salt sea near the Caspian Sea with flat banks that resembled the Bonneville Salt Flats in the USA. Lake Baskunchak became the site of further tests in 1988. Initially scheduled for May-July, the tests had to be postponed by six weeks due to heavy rain in the region, so that the sea would not build suitable dry salt banks for any safe driving tests. In late June the situation improved, and „скорость“ could finally take up its high speed tests.
During the following weeks the vehicle was gradually taken to ever higher speeds. During a test run on 8th of September, while travelling at roundabout 640 km/h (400 mph), one of the tail wheel fairings appeared to explode and the ensuing drag differences caused heavy oscillations that ended in a crash at 180 km/h (110 mph) with the vehicle rolling over and ripping the left rear wheel suspension apart.
The driver, LSA student and hobby rally driver Victor Barchenkov, miraculously left the vehicle almost unscathed, and the damage turned out to be only superficial. What had happened was an air pressure congestion inside of the wheel fairing, and the increasing revolutions of the wheels beyond 600 km/h caused small shock waves along the wheels, which eventually blew up the fairing, together with the tire. This accident stopped the 1988 trials, but not the work on the vehicle. Another disaster struck the LSA ChADI team when ChADI 9, which was still operated, crashed in 1988, too, and had to be written off completely.
In mid-1989 and with only a single high speed vehicle left, LSA team appeared again with „скорость“ at the shores of Lake Baskunchak – and this time the weather was more gracious and the track could be used from late June onwards. Analyzing last year’s accident and the gathered data, the vehicle had undergone repairs and some major modifications, including a new, anti-corrosive paintjob in light grey with red and white trim.
The most obvious change, though, was a completely re-shaped nose section: the original raked lower air intake lip had been considerably extended by almost 5 feet (the vehicle now had a total length of 49 ft 1 in/14,98 m) in order to enhance the downforce on the front wheels, and strakes along the lower nose ducted the airflow around the front wheels and towards the stabilizing fins. The central shock cone had been elongated and re-contoured, too, improving the airflow at high speeds.
New tireless all-aluminum wheels had been developed and mounted, because pressurized rubber tires, as formerly used, had turned out to be too unstable and unsafe. The central front wheels had received an additional aerodynamic fairing that prevented air ingestion into the lower fuselage, so that steering at high speeds became safer. The aerodynamic rear wheel fairings had by now been completely deleted and spoilers had been added to the rear suspension in order to keep the rear wheel on the ground at high speeds.
This time the goal was to push „скорость“ and the national land speed record in excess of 800 km/h (500 mph), and step by step the vehicle’s top speed was gradually increased. On August 15, an officially timed record attempt was made, again with Victor Barchenkov at the steering wheel. The first of the two obligatory runs within an hour was recorded at a very promising 846.961 km/h (526.277 mph), but, at the end of the second run, „скорость“ veered off and no time was measured. Even worse, the vehicle lost its parachute brakes and went out of control, skidding away from the dry race track into Lake Baskunchak’s wet salt sludge, where it hit a ground wave at around 200 mph (320 km/h) and was catapulted through the air into a brine pond where it landed on its right side and eventually sank. Again, pilot Victor Barchenkov remained mostly unharmed and was able to leave the car before it sank – but this fatal crash meant the end of the „скорость“ vehicle and the complete KhAGI 9-II project. Furthermore, the break-up of the Soviet Union at the same time prevented and further developments of high speed vehicles. The whereabouts of the „скорость“ wreck remain unclear, too, since no official attempt had been made to save the vehicle’s remains from Lake Baskunchak’s salt swamps.
The kit and its assembly:
This is another contribution to the late 2018 “Racing & Competition Group Build” at whatifmodelers.com. Since I primarily build aircraft in 1:72 scale, building a land speed record (LSR) vehicle from such a basis appeared like a natural choice. A slick streamliner? A rocket-powered prototype with Mach 1 potential? Hmmm… However, I wanted something else than the typical US or British Bonneville Salt Flats contender.
Inspiration struck when I remembered the real world high speed vehicle projects of LSA ChAGI in the former USSR, and especially the ill-fated, jet-powered ChADI 9, which looked a lot like Western, rocket-powered absolute LSR designs like The Blue Flame or Wingfoot Express 2. Another inspiration was a contemporary LSR vehicle called North American Eagle – basically a wingless F-104 Starfighter, put on wheels and sporting a garish, patriotic livery.
With this conceptual basis, the MiG-21 was quickly identified as the potential starting basis – but I wanted more than just a Fishbed sans wings and with some bigger wheels attached to it. I nevertheless wanted to retain the basic shape of the aircraft, but change the rest as good as possible with details that I have learned from reading about historic LSR vehicles (a very good source are the books by German author and LSR enthusiast Ferdinand C. W. Käsmann, which have, AFAIK, even been translated into English).
At the model’s core is a contemporary KP MiG-21MF, but it’s a hideous incarnation of the venerable Kovozávody Prostějov mold. While the wheels and the dashboard of this kit were surprisingly crisp, the fuselage halves did hardly match each other and some other parts like the landing gear covers could only be described as “blurred blobs”. Therefore it was no shame to slice the kit up, and the resulting kitbash with many donor parts and scratching almost became a necessity.
The MiG-21 fuselage and cockpit were more or less retained, the landing gear wells covered and PSR-ed. Fin, spine and the ventral stabilizer were cut away, and the attachment points for the wings and the horizontal stabilizers blended into the rest of the fuselage. Actually, only a few parts from the KP MiG-21 were eventually used.
The original shock cone in the air intake was used, but it was set further back into the nose opening – as an attachment point for a new, more organic shock cone which is actually the rear end of a drop tank from an Airfix 1:72 P-61 Black Widow. This detail was inspired by a real world benchmark: Art Arfons’ home-built “Green Monster” LSR car. This vehicle also inspired the highly modified air intake shape, which was scratched from the tail cone from a Matchbox 1:72 Blackburn Buccaneer – the diameter matched well with the MiG-21’s nose! With the new nose, I was able to retain the original MiG-21 layout, yet the shape and the extension forward changed the overall look enough to make it clear that this was not simply a MiG-21 on wheels.
With the spine gone, I also had to integrate a different, much smaller canopy, which came from an 1:144 Tornado. The cockpit opening had to be narrowed accordingly, and behind the canopy a new spine fairing was integrated – simply a piece from a streamlined 1:72 1.000 lb bomb plus lots of PSR.
Inside of the cockpit, a simpler seat was used, but the original cockpit tub and the dashboard were retained.
The large MiG-21 fin was replaced with a smaller piece, left over from an Amodel Kh-20 missile, with a scratched brake parachute fairing (cut from sprue material) placed under its rear. The exhaust nozzle was replaced, too, because the fit of the KP MiG-21’s rear end was abysmal. So I cut away a short piece and added an afterburner nozzle from a vintage 1:72 F-100, which fits well. Inside, the part’s rear wall was drilled open and extended inwards with a styrene tube.
The wheels of the vehicle come from an 1:72 Hasegawa “Panther with Schmalturm” tank kit – it comes not only with two turrets, but also with a second set of simplified track wheels. These had IMHO the perfect size and shape as massive aluminum wheels for the high speed vehicle.
For the front wheels, I used the thinner outer Panther wheels, and they were put, closely together, onto a central suspension pylon. This received a new “well” in the forward fuselage, with an internal attachment point. In order to streamline the front wheel installation (and also to change the overall look of the vehicle away from the MiG-21 basis), I added a scratched an aerodynamic fairing around it. This was made from tailored styrene strips, which were later filled and blended into the hull with putty.
The rear suspension was also fully scratched: the outriggers were made from styrene profiles while the wheel attachments were once part of an 1:35 tank kit suspension – I needed something to hold the three struts per side together. These parts look a bit large, but the vehicle is, after all, a Soviet design, so a little sturdiness may not be wrong, and I simply did not want to stick the wheels directly onto the outriggers. The rear wheels (in this case, the wider inner Panther track wheels with a central hub cover were used) also received a stabilizing notch around the contact surface, in an attempt to make them look slimmer than they actually are.
Final touches included the chines under the nose as well as spoilers on the rear suspension (both made from styrene profiles), and I added a pitot made from wire to the original MiG-21 angle of attack sensor fairing.
As an addition outside the model itself I also created a display base for the beauty pics, since I did not have anything at hand that would resemble the vastness of a flat and dry salt sea. The base is an 18x12” MDF board, on top of which I added a thin coat of white tile grout (which I normally use as a snow placebo, instead of plaster, which tends to absorb humidity over time and to become yellow). While the stuff was still wet I sprinkled some real salt onto the surface and wetted the whole affair with water sprays – hoping to create a flat yet structured surface with some glitter reflexes. And it actually worked!
Painting and markings:
I am not certain how ChADI 9 was painted (I assume overall silver), but I wanted for „скорость“ a little more color. Being a child of the Soviet era, red was a settled design element, but I thought that an all-red vehicle might have looked too cheesy. Other colors I considered were orange or white with blue trim, but did not find them to be appropriate for what I was looking. Eventually, I added some Russian Utilitarianism in the form of light grey for the upper hull (Humbrol 166, RAF Light Aircraft Grey), and the red (Humbrol 19) as a dark contrast around the complete air intake as well as the shock cone (somewhat inspired by the Green Monster #15 LSR vehicle), and then extended backwards into a narrowing cheatline along the flanks, which emphasizes the vehicle’s slender hull. For some more contrast between the two basic tones I later added thin white borders between them created with 2mm white decal stripes from TL Modellbau. Around the hull some bright red (Humbrol 238 Red Arrows Red) highlights as warning signs were added.
The vehicle’s afterburner section was painted with Modelmaster Steel Metallizer, the Panther wheels became Aluminum (Revell 99) with a black ink wash. Some black ink was also applied to the jet nozzle, so that the details became more pronounced, and some grinded graphite was used to enhance the burnt metal effect.
Since this would rather be an experimental car built and operated by a high school institute, and also operated in the Soviet Union, flashy sponsor markings would not be appropriate. Therefore I created some fictional marking at home with the help of PC software and printed them by myself. These designs included a fictional logo of the ChADI institute itself (created from a car silhouette drawing) and a logo for the vehicle’s title, “„скорость““. The latter was created from the cyrillic lettering, with some additions like the vehicle’s silhouette.
Unfortunately the production process for the home-made decals did not work properly – when coating the prints with gloss acrylic varnish the printer ink started to dissolve, bleeding magenta, so that the decals would look as if there was a red halo or glow around the otherwise black motifs. Thanks to the use of red in the vehicle’s overall design this flaw is not too apparent, so I stuck with the outcome and applied the decals to the car.
Beyond these basic markings, many stencils were added, including dull red inscriptions from an Italeri MiG-37 “Ferret” kit – finally, I found an expedient use for them! The Soviet flags on the fin came from an 1:144 Tu-144 airliner Braz Decal aftermarket sheet.
Finally, some panel lines were drawn onto the hull with a soft pencil and then the model was sealed with Italeri semi-gloss acrylic varnish. Just the black anti-glare panel in front of the windscreen became matt and the metallic rear section was left in “natural” finish.
I am very pleased with the outcome – the „скорость“ looks purposeful and does IMHO blend well into the line of spectacular USA and UK jet/rocket car designs that broke the 800 km/h barrier. I also find that, even though the MiG-21 ancestry is certainly there, the vehicle looks different enough so that the illusion that it was designed along the jet fighter’s lines (and not converted from one, like the real world “North American Eagle” which was built from an F-104 Starfighter) works well. I also think that the vehicle’s livery works well – it looks quite retro for a vehicle from the late Eighties, but that just adds to the “Soviet style”. An interesting project, outside of my normal comfort zone. :D
Gritty behind-the-scenes shot.... Much iteration tweaking line-weights and type sizes, color output settings and spoke thicknesses. Result is surely the world's smallest Magnetti Marelli digital dashboard and a really really tiny 21lb Braille battery.
I've decided to focus on producing BBS LM wheel inserts for the silver wheels and Enkei Sport five-spoke inserts for the black rims (see Wataru Kato's white F40 www.speedhunters.com/2012/05/an-afternoon-with-a-legend/). Inserts will likely get built up using thin styrene sheet... tbd whether my vinyl cutter can trim the delicate BBS spokes out of plastic sheet or if their faces will need to be big stickers.
An HO scale model of Conrail's Philadelphia Division Safety On Rails Theater car.
This car was a staple at events in and around NJ in the 90s. I remember as a kid seeing it at the Hoboken Terminal festival along with its companion N21 Operation Lifesaver caboose. The car still exists today, painted and lettered TOYX 1775 for Operation Toy Train. It currently resides at the Port Jervis Transportation History Center. More info can be found here:
The model is built from a Tangent Scale Models undecorated PC version X58 kit. The only major modification was cutting out the door and sanding it to the correct thickness so it could be placed in the open position. The hinges also had to be cut and repositioned to match the open appearance. The car had some body panel repairs done and that was replicated with 0.05 styrene sheet. The former grab iron locations were also modified to match prototype photos. Grab Irons and steps were added by the doors along with matching the roof walk support arrangement to match photos. The AC was kit bashed from a Details West part and the brackets and lines are fabbed from brass. The car was painted with Tru-Color rich oxide brown and lettered with a mix of Microscale, CMR, and custom printed decals.
Replication of the interior was easy since the car still retains its original configuration. Unfortunately the only source I had on how it was originally decorated was from a couple of grainy videos I found on Youtube by user AviationMetalSmith. Where I could, the photos and posters are exact copies otherwise they are just a representation that looks close and conveys the original idea of the photo or sign, as one might imagine finding the exact photos is near impossible. I had no clear photos or video of the display on the wall with the open door so I was able to get a general idea by looking at the reflections in the glass from the other side. Again, the photos are just general images that just looked right. All of the interior artwork was done in Inkspace and printed out. The freebies on the countertop are pictures of actual items I have in my collection. The exterior decoration and signage is a mix of the way the car appeared at an event in Whippany NJ and the way its shown in the video at Hoboken NJ.
This model took many hours of research to even get close to looking right and I'd like to give a huge shoutout to Rudy Garbely and the Conrail Historical Society, Bryan at Eastern Seaboard Models, and the Port Jervis Transportation History Center for all the help. I couldn't have done this without your help, so Thanks!!
+++ 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. 141/4 Panzerkampfwagen III, commonly known as the Panzer III, was a medium tank developed in the 1930s by Germany and was used extensively in World War II. It was intended to fight other armored fighting vehicles and serve alongside and support the similar Panzer IV which was originally designed for infantry support. However, as the Germans faced the formidable T-34, more powerful anti-tank guns were needed, and since the Panzer IV had more development potential with a larger turret ring, the latter was redesigned to mount the long-barrelled 7.5 cm KwK 40 gun and the Panzer III effectively swapped roles with the Panzer IV. Later, the Panzer V “Panther” took over the role of the standard MBT. Production of the Panzer III as battle tank ceased in 1943. Nevertheless, the Panzer III's capable chassis was used for a range of specialized vehicles.
The Panzer III was by far the most widely used of all Axis chassis. Besides the StuG, or Sturmgeschütz III, family (9500 built), suspensions, tracks and engine were used in almost a dozen specially modified vehicles. These included the Tauchpanzer III, an improvised “submarine version” designed for “Operation Seelöwe”, the invasion of Great Britain in August 1940, the Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B (or sIG-33B), a 1941-42 conversion of regular Panzer IIIs into a self-propelled chassis for the massive 150 mm (5.9 in) field gun, or the Sturmhaubitze 42 (StuH 42), of which 1024 were built. Other conversions included the Flammpanzer III Ausf.M(Fl), an Ausf.M-based flamethrower version, the Panzerbefehlswagen III command tanks and the Artillerie-Panzerbeobachtungswagen III, which was an advanced artillery observation model of which 262 were produced, appearing on the Russian front in 1943. The Bergepanzer III recovery tank was a late (1944) version affected to the Eastern Front, mostly to Tiger units.
Another late Panzer III development was the SdKfz. 141/4, officially called Panzerspähwagen III but better known as Spähpanzer III. It was, like the Panzerbefehlswagen III, not a newly produced vehicle but rather converted from recovered late Panzer III chassis. It was developed and introduced as an alternative to the SdKfz. 234 8x8 heavy scout cars, primarily for areas where better armor and off-road capabilities were called for, and where range was not a vital asset. In fact, the Panzerspähwagen III was more or less a direct alternative to the stillborn VK 1602 ‘Leopard’ light tank, very similar to it in many aspects.
As a dedicated scout vehicle, the Panzerspähwagen III was not designed to fight tanks. Its primary mission was rather to guide heavier battle tanks to potential targets in both offensive and defensive situations, and it would also act as an artillery scout. The crew was expected to race in front of the main Panzer Division or lie in wait ahead of defensive strongholds and search out the enemy. Once they had found them, they were to use speed to get out of range or a powerful radio set to report what they had seen, so that the main attack could be prepared.
Tailored to this task, the Spähpanzer III was simplified and lightened. It had a reduced crew of only four, with only the commander and a loader in a new turret - basically the same horseshoe-shaped turret that had originally been developed for the unrealized VK 1602, and which had also found its way on the highly successful SdKfz. 234/2, too. However, in order to provide the commander with a better all-round field of view under closed hatch conditions, a standard cupola was added. Another new piece of equipment was a stereoscopic rangefinder, useful for both reconnaissance and gun aiming. A stowage box was frequently mounted to the turret’s rear, too.
While the hull armor of up to 50 mm was retained, the turret’s armor was relatively light: the front was protected by 30 mm (1.2 in) armor at an angle of 20° from the vertical, the sides and rear had 10 mm armor set at 25°, and the top plate was 10 mm (0.39 in) armor, too. The gun mantlet was rounded and was effectively 40 to 100 mm (1.6 to 3.9 in) thick. Due to its small size and low weight, the turret only had a manual traverse (saving more weight and resources) and -10° to +20° depression/elevation.
The main gun was a 50 mm (1.97 in) KwK 39/1 L/60, which was sufficient to engage lightly armored enemies. It could, however, when firing armor piercing rounds from a favorable angle, penetrate at short range (100m) up to 130mm of armor at a 30° angle, enough to overcome a T-34’s armor – but this was not the vehicle’s task and rather a desperate measure. To support the vehicle’s escape, defensive smoke dischargers were often mounted, too. A 7.92 mm (0.31 in) Mauser MG 42 machine gun was fixed coaxially to the main gun, another machine gun of the same type was carried in a ball mount in a modified glacis plate. The latter was an attempt to improve the tank’s frontal protection through the clever use of angle instead of trying to add ever more armor and, consequently, weight. On the new glacis plate, the 50 mm armor was effectively extended to 115mm, and the shallow angle also deflected incoming rounds more easily. However, the rest of the armor remained almost vertical, so that this gain in protection was only marginal.
For even better ballistic protection both hull crew members (driver and radio operator) had only periscopes, similar to the late Panzer V “Panther” versions. Open vision ports at the front were deleted and therefore weak points in the front armor, even though the side ports were retained. Thanks to the smaller and lighter turret, both driver and radio operator in the hull also received individual hatches in the hull roof, which were greatly appreciated by the crews. They not only offered a better field of view when not under fire, they also provided them with a much improved escape route: former Panzer IIIs with turrets lacked these hatches and the only escape options from the hull were either via the turret or through small emergency hatches in the lower flanks, right through the running gear. The raised glacis plate furthermore offered more internal space in the tank’s front end, so that a new, semi-automatic gearbox could be installed, which made handling easier.
As a command vehicle, the Panzerspähwagen III carried two radio sets: a FuG 2 command channel set with a FuG 122 aerial, and a FuG 5 radio with an intercom system. This arrangement allowed tank commanders to listen on one frequency while transmitting and receiving on the FuG 5. This meant that the commander could listen to the regimental command net while talking to other tanks at the same time. This radio receiver could listen into a total of 125 channels, at 50 kHz channel steps in the 27.0 to 33.3 MHz range. The system had a usable range of around 4 km to 6 km, depending on the atmospheric conditions and the surrounding landscape.
Due to material shortages, esp. the lack of natural and synthetic rubber, most Panzerspähwagen III conversions received simplified, lightweight all-metal road wheels, which made the ride less comfortable but helped to reduce the vehicle’s overall weight. Protective side-skirts against hollow charges could be mounted, but these were normally left away since they added weight and got easily lost in action, so that their benefit was only marginal – and the Panzerspähwagen III was expected to avoid direct confrontations, anyway. Altogether, the Panzerspähwagen III weighed about 19 tons, five tons less than the final Panzer III battle tank versions with 75mm guns and uprated armor, and this markedly improved the vehicle’s performance and agility. The light turret, which markedly lowered the vehicle’s center of gravity, improved the handling, too.
A few Panzerspähwagen IIIs were ready to fight in Normandy in 1944, but their movements were constrained because of Allied air supremacy. However, a good use of the bocage proved that the Panzer III was still a match for most Allied tanks and that the Spähpanzer concept worked well. Only a limited number of this SdKfz. 141 type was produced, though, since resources were concentrated on the development and production of heavy battle tanks. Production numbers are uncertain, but less than 50 Panzerspähwagen IIIs seem to have been re-built until early 1945.
By the end of 1944 the regular Panzer IIIs were no longer the bulk of the German armored forces, and they were relegated to second line duties, e .g in composite small defensive units. And as the production had stopped earlier, their numbers decreased even more, and by fall of 1944, there were perhaps 80 still operational on the Eastern Front. By then, new generations of US, British and Soviet tanks had nailed their coffin. The type had reached its limits as a battle tank, its former advanced features were now commonly used, and no further up-gunning was possible.
The last Panzer IIIs fought in the Netherlands, Northern Italy (Gothic line), and in eastern Prussia. Perhaps a handful still operational were spread between desperately weakened companies in March-April 1945, like the Steiner Brigade.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (commander/gunner, loader, driver, radio-operator/hull machine gunner)
Weight: 19.2 tonnes
Length: 5.56 m (18 ft 3 in), hull only
6,04 m (19 ft 10 in) overall
Width: 2.90 m (9 ft 6 in)
Height: 2.41 m (7 ft 11 in) w/o antenna mast
Suspension: Torsion bar
Fuel capacity: 320 liter
Armor:
15 – 50 mm (0.6 – 1.97 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 44 km/h (27 mph)
Off-road speed: 28 km/h (18 mph)
Operational range: 165 km (103 mi) with internal fuel
Power/weight: 15.63 PS (11.24 kW)/tonne
Engine:
Maybach HL120 TRM water-cooled 12-cylinder gasoline engine with 300 PS (296 hp, 220 kW),
combined with a Maybach OG 55 11 77 semi-automatic transmission
Armament:
1× 50 mm (1.97 in) KwK 39/1 L/60 with sixty rounds
2× 7.92 mm MG 42 machine guns (coaxial with main gun and in the front hull) with 2.400 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This converted Panzer III was spawned by the idea that, by 1944, this 1936 design could have been re-built for a different use than a battle tank – a task for which this medium tank had become much too light, with an utter lack of development potential. A dedicated recce variant appeared plausible. This idea was further promoted by the fact that I had a surplus VK 1602 turret in the donor bank, left over from a Hasegawa SdKfz. 234/2 “Puma”.
The chassis was taken from a Revell “Panzer III Ostwind” kit and modified in two ways. Firstly, I changed the glacis plate, replacing the old-school vertical front with a sloped alternative, crafted from styrene sheet pieces. A new ball mount for the hull machine gun was added, as well as periscopes for the crew on new hatches, which became possible through the smaller turret.
The turret opening in the hull had not to be adapted to the smaller Puma turret – the latter was only a little bit smaller than the opening, so that some spacers were enough to make it fit snuggly, and a thin “distance ring” between hull and turret was added, too, so that it would not directly sit on the body. Fairings for a stereoscopic rangefinder were added to the turret flanks, scratched from styrene profile material, and I also added a typical Panzer III stowage box to the turret’s rear. It had to be customized to the smaller “Puma” turret, but I think that this visual enlargement of the turret is a good balance to the rest of the hull, and the box changes the vehicle’s silhouette, too. The commando cupola from the Revell kit (which comes, beyond the open “Ostwind” AA turret, with a full, early standard Panzer III turret) was left open, using the hatch from the VK 1602 turret, and I put a figure into the opening – this German commanding officer is actually 1:76, but that’s not obvious. The figure comes IIRC from a Matchbox “Wespe” SPG that I built more than 30 years ago. Since the figure had somehow lost a leg in the meantime, the Panzerspähwagen III became a suitable new workplace for the handicapped, after having been stripped off of an old enamel paint layer and outfitted with a multi-colored new uniform. Other small changes include the scratched antenna mast for the vehicle’s uprated radio equipment (from heated sprue material) and some re-arranged external equipment.
As another, subtle gimmick, I replaced the original main wheels, for a different and somewhat confusing look. A simplified running gear, without rubber on the main wheels, appeared quite plausible for 1944 onwards. The new road wheels came from a Zvezda IS-2 tank. I had a dozen of these left over from another conversion project, just in the right number and their diameter is virtually identical to the Panzer III’s original wheels! Just the spare wheels had to be taken over from the Revell kit. The fiddly OOB segmented plastic tracks were replaced with soft vinyl tracks from a Panzer III/IV CMK aftermarket set. Personally, I find them easier to handle and to paint – due to their anthracite black color and the material’s smoothness. Nice stuff!
Painting and markings:
As a late WWII vehicle I decided to apply a non-standard/fictional paint scheme, something different from the popular “Hinterhalt” scheme, and I settled upon a pattern similar to an E-100 tank I had built a while ago. The scheme consists of an overall coat of grey-green (RLM02, a universal and omnipresent tone) with disrupting, large spots of dark grey (RAL 7021, Schwarzgrau), which were strategically placed over corners and edges of the hull, so that the outlines break up. I adapted the concept onto my modified Panzer III, but somehow this looked goofy – probably due to the much smaller size and classic tank silhouette of the vehicle: the whole affair was way too reminiscent of the Allied late-war “Mickey Mouse” scheme in olive drab and black!
In order to provide a more outstanding look and lighten everything up a little, I added small grey-green mottles to the dark grey areas. After that, however, the still uniform grey-green areas stood out, so that I eventually applied mottles in RAL 7028 (Dunkelgelb) to these areas, too. The contrast is rather low, but I think that the overall look is in the end more balanced with them, and the mottles overall help to break up the outlines even further – and the paint scheme looks more “different” now. The wheels and the running gear sections of the hull were – as a standard order of the time – left without the mottles, because the swirling patterns would be rather obvious when the vehicle was moving.
The basic tones are Revell 45, Humbrol 67 and ModelMaster 1584, later treated with a dark, red-brown overall washing with acrylic paint, dry-painting with a greyish beige all over (Revell 89, nice weathering tone for fresh, clayish mud) and some watercolor in ochre and umbra for dust and mud residues. Tactical markings are minimal and come from the Revell Ostwind kit and a Hasegawa Panther. Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and some mineral pigments were dusted onto the model’s lower areas.
An interesting result, and the fictional Panzerkampfwagen III looks IMHO disturbingly plausible, as it combines well-known elements and comes with subtle updates/modifications. And somehow the vehicle (unintentionally) reminds me a lot of the comparable M24 Chaffee. And isn’t there a certain look of a mini KV-1, due to the turret’s shape and proportions?
+++ 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.
In order to rejuvenate the air arm, Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing (TAM), also known as JSC Tbilaviamsheni and formerly known as 31st aviation factory, started a modernization program for the Su-25, for the domestic forces but also for export customers. TAM had a long tradition of aircraft production within the Soviet Union. In the 1950s the factory started the production of Mikoyan's MiG-15 and later, the MiG-17 fighter aircraft. In 1957 Tbilisi Aircraft State Association built the MiG-21 two-seater fighter-trainer aircraft and its various derivative aircraft, continuing the MiG-21 production for about 25 years. At the same time the company was manufacturing the K-10 air-to-surface guided missile. Furthermore, the first Sukhoi Su-25 (known in the West as the "Frogfoot") close support aircraft took its maiden voyage from the runway of 31st aviation factory. Since then, more than 800 SU-25s had been delivered to customers worldwide. From the first SU-25 to the 1990s, JSC Tbilaviamsheni was the only manufacturer of this aircraft, and even after the fall of the Soviet Union the production lines were still intact and spares for more than fifty complete aircraft available. Along with the SU-25 aircraft 31st aviation factory also launched large-scale production of air-to-air R-60 and R-73 IR guided missiles, a production effort that built over 6,000 missiles a year and that lasted until the early 1990s. From 1996 to 1998 the factory also produced Su-25U two-seaters.
In 2001 the factory started, in partnership with Elbit Systems of Israel, upgrading basic Su-25 airframes to the Su-25KM “Scorpion” variant. This was just a technical update, however, intended for former Su-25 export customers who would upgrade their less potent Su-25K export aircraft with modern avionics. The prototype aircraft made its maiden flight on 18 April 2001 at Tbilisi in full Georgian Air Force markings. The aircraft used a standard Su-25 airframe, enhanced with advanced avionics including a glass cockpit, digital map generator, helmet-mounted display, computerized weapons system, complete mission pre-plan capability, and fully redundant backup modes. Performance enhancements included a highly accurate navigation system, pinpoint weapon delivery systems, all-weather and day/night performance, NATO compatibility, state-of-the art safety and survivability features, and advanced onboard debriefing capabilities complying with international requirements. The Su-25KM had the ability to use NATO-standard Mark 82 and Mark 83 laser-guided bombs and new air-to-air missiles, the short-range Vympel R-73. This upgrade extended service life of the Su-25 airframes for another decade.
There were, however, not many customers. Manufacturing was eventually stopped at the end of 2010, after Georgian air forces have been permanently dismissed and abolished. By that time, approximately 12 Scorpions had been produced, but the Georgian Air Force still used the basic models of Su-25 because of high cost of Su-25KM and because it was destined mainly for export. According to unofficial sources several Scorpions had been transferred to Turkmenistan as part of a trade deal.
In the meantime, another, more ambitious project took shape at Tbilisi Aircraft Manufacturing, too: With the help of Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) the company started the development of a completely new attack aircraft, the TAM-1 “Gvelgeslas” (გველგესლას, Viper). It heavily relied on the year-long experience gathered with Su-25 production at Tblisi and on the tools at hand, but it was eventually a completely new aircraft – looking like a crossbreed between the Su-25 and the American A-10 with a T-tail.
This new layout had become necessary because the aircraft was to be powered by more modern, less noisy and more fuel-efficient Rolls Royce AE 3012 turbofan engines - which were originally intended to power the stillborn Yakovlev Yak-77 twin-engine business jet for up to 32 passengers, a slightly derated variant of the GMA 3012 with a 44 in diameter (112 cm) fan and procured via IAI from the United States through the company’s connection with Gulfstream Aerospace. Their larger diameter (the Su-25’s original Soyuz/Tumansky R-195 turbojets had a diameter of 109,5 cm/43.1 in) precluded the use of the former integral engine nacelles along the fuselage. To keep good ground clearance against FOD and to protect them from small arms fire, the engine layout was completely re-arranged. The fuselage was streamlined, and its internal structure was totally changed. The wings moved into a low position. The wings’ planform was almost identical to the Su-25’s, together with the characteristic tip-mounted “crocodile” air brakes. Just the leading edge inside of the “dogteeth” and the wing roots were re-designed, the latter because of the missing former engine nacelles. This resulted in a slightly increased net area, the original wingspan was retained. The bigger turbofans were then mounted in separate pods on short pylons along the rear fuselage, partly protected from below by the wings. Due to the jet efflux and the engines’ proximity to the stabilizers, these were re-located to the top of a deeper, reinforced fin for a T-tail arrangement.
Since the Su-25’s engine bays were now gone, the main landing gear had to be completely re-designed. Retracting them into the fuselage or into the relatively thin wings was not possible, TAM engineers settled upon a design that was very similar to the A-10: the aircraft received streamlined fairings, attached to the wings’ main spar, and positioned under the wings’ leading edges. The main legs were only semi-retractable; in flight, the wheels partly protruded from the fairings, but that hardly mattered from an aerodynamic point of view at the TAM-1’s subsonic operational speed. As a bonus they could still be used while retracted during emergency landings, improving the aircraft’s crash survivability.
Most flight and weapon avionics were procured from or via Elbit, including the Su-25KT’s modernized “glass cockpit”, and the TAM-1’s NATO compatibility was enhanced to appeal to a wider international export market. Beyond a total of eleven hardpoints under the wings and the fuselage for an external ordnance of up to 4.500 kg (9.900 lb), the TAM-1 was furthermore armed with an internal gun. Due to procurement issues, however, the Su-25’s original twin-barrel GSh-30-2 was replaced with an Oerlikon KDA 35mm cannon – a modern variant of the same cannon used in the German Gepard anti-aircraft tank, adapted to the use in an aircraft with a light-weight gun carriage. The KDA gun fired with a muzzle velocity of 1,440 m/s (4,700 ft/s) and a range of 5.500m, its rate of fire was typically 550 RPM. For the TAM-1, a unique feature from the SPAAG installation was adopted: the gun had two magazines, one with space for 200 rounds and another, smaller one for 50. The magazines could be filled with different types of ammunition, and the pilot was able select between them with a simple switch, adapting to the combat situation. Typical ammunition types were armor-piercing FAPDS rounds against hardened ground targets like tanks, and high explosive shells against soft ground targets and aircraft or helicopters, in a 3:1 ratio. Other ammunition types were available, too, and only 200 rounds were typically carried for balance reasons.
The TAM-1’s avionics included a SAGEM ULISS 81 INS, a Thomson-CSF VE-110 HUD, a TMV630 laser rangefinder in a modified nose and a TRT AHV 9 radio altimeter, with all avionics linked through a digital MIL-STD-1553B data bus and a modern “glass cockpit”. A HUD was standard, but an Elbit Systems DASH III HMD could be used by the pilot, too. The DASH GEN III was a wholly embedded design, closely integrated with the aircraft's weapon system, where the complete optical and position sensing coil package was built within the helmet (either the USAF standard HGU-55/P or the Israeli standard HGU-22/P), using a spherical visor to provide a collimated image to the pilot. A quick-disconnect wire powered the display and carried video drive signals to the helmet's Cathode Ray Tube (CRT).
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.