[Jeroen]

Gorgeous model! I have always had a soft spot for the F100. Next to the Hawker Hunter it is probably one of the prettiest singe jet engine fighter plane ever.

There are very few left. I have only come across them in a few museums around the world.

The LABS was quite an advanced system for its time. This is what it looked like in the cockpit:

https://aeroantique.com/products/low...=4868758700062

It was used on a variety of aircraft, including the B47 where it was used to deliver nuclear bombs in quite a spectacular way.

https://www.popularmechanics.com/mil...ps-test-nukes/

Jeroen

[Sutripta]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

F-100 was one of the last American aircraft to follow the first generation straight through design. Then came the side intakes and then the F-16 brought in the ventral intake....

F107!
Has anyone ever copied that?

Sutripta

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Sutripta

F107!
Has anyone ever copied that?

It was a technical success but a practical misfit. The dorsal intake ensures the fighter pilot has no visibility , even with a rear view mirror, of his 5 o'çlock to 7 o'clock rear. Also ejection would have been a seriously fatal challenge - downward ejection, and at low altitudes??. The Heinkel 162 Volksjager is the other dorsal intake fighter I know of. It reached only the test phase in one squadron before WW-II ended. And then in the 1950s there was the Avro 707 a test aircraft where the dorsal intake was eventually moved to the sides. The French had a experimental aircraft called Sud Aviation Grognard.

The interesting point with the F-107 was not the dorsal intake but the variable geometry intakes which in one form or the other got implemented in almost all supersonic fighter aircraft on both sides of the Cold War.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Hearty congratulations on opening the account after the long CV19 winter.

The HobbyMaster detailing just continues to impress.

Thank you Sir. The greatest plus of HM models is the good quality of the attachments and the way they slot in and sit almost perfectly in the attachment grooves.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Gorgeous model! I have always had a soft spot for the F100. Next to the Hawker Hunter it is probably one of the prettiest singe jet engine fighter plane ever.

Thank you. The next one that I am going to post wasn't exactly the most prettiest fighter ever. In fact it probably is among the ugliest ever, but most effective ever for its role.

Any guesses, anyone?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

The next one that I am going to post wasn't exactly the most prettiest fighter ever. In fact it probably is among the ugliest ever, but most effective ever for its role.

Any guesses, anyone?

Not necessarily a fighter perhaps, but certainly very ugly and very effective: Warthog A10?

Jeroen

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Not necessarily a fighter perhaps, but certainly very ugly and very effective: Warthog A10?

Jeroen

Bingo. The A-10 it is.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

Bingo. The A-10 it is.

Quite the special plane. It does hold some very special, not necessarily pleasant memories for me. In my teens and college days I was very much an (military) aviation nut. My next door friend Paul and I used to travel all over Europe to visit every show we could. We knew lots of people, Paul’s dad was chief engineering pilot with KLM, so we usually got tickets for all sorts of event, very often on the best of days, not open to general public. Things, from a safety point of view, were a lot more relax.

In 1977 we attended the airshow at Paris. On the opening day, the A10 was demonstrated by Fairfights Chief Pilot. He was performing a loop over the runway and the A10 struck the runway as he pulled up, he crashed and perished.

Pretty horrific. In those days, spectators would line up almost on top of the runway, so we were pretty close and it happened right in front of our eyes. Pretty horrific.

Even so, the A10 has proven itself immensely capable and popular with pilots and the grunts on the ground. That Gatling gun is something else!

Last time I saw one was in 2011 when we had to travel to Dallas for a wedding. The next day, my wife wanted to shop, as you do in Dallas, but as luck would have it, there was also an airshow on at Ft Worth. Guess what I did that day, I will give a hint. I did not visit any malls.

Not models, but the real McCoy in all its splendour and ugliness:

The business end of the Ugly Beast. Gatling gun, pouring out 65 uranium depleted shells a second!



look at the offset of the nose gear. very typical for the Hawg







Taxing out on the runway for a short demo flight



In full flight



(military) airshows in the USA used to be the best. I have attended many of them, whilst we were living in the USA. Always extremely well organised, massive in size, so much to see and always very relaxed. I mean how more relaxed can you get, taking shelter from the blazing Texan sun, under a B52 wing, watching the US Airforce strut its stuff in front of you?



The Americans, irrespective of political preference, still tend to love and appreciate their military men and women.

Big C5 Galaxy in the back. Lots of other interesting planes at this show too!
Jeroen

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

[b][u]1:72 North American Aviation F-100D-25NA Super Sabre

Great addition to your collection

Excellent detailing and nice to see some new models being posted on this thread after a long time. Where was this procured from? A shot of all your Vietnam era fighters would be nice.

Nearly all these models are made in China and so if you are boycotting Chinese products there isn't much you can buy Going forward I think I will be just commenting on other people's models for sometime.

[FrozeninTime]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Nearly all these models are made in China and so if you are boycotting Chinese products there isn't much you can buy Going forward I think I will be just commenting on other people's models for sometime.

Come on man! Don't do that. Yes models are made in china, however soon they will be made in Bangladesh, Burma. For time being buy only Herpa models instead. Atleast company is German if not product.

@sandesh - beautiful model. Loved it.

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

Come on man! Don't do that. Yes models are made in china, however soon they will be made in Bangladesh, Burma. For time being buy only Herpa models instead. Atleast company is German if not product.

@sandesh - beautiful model. Loved it.

Looks like I will have to stick to Herpa and Limox models.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

certainly very ugly and very effective: Warthog A10?

1:72 Fairchild Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II 77-0250 "Chopper Popper", USAF 706th Tactical Fighter Squadron "Cajuns", 926th Tactical Fighter Group based ar King Fahd International Airport, Saudi Arabia, Operation Desert Storm 1991(HobbyMaster)

Oh I wish I had a gun just like the A-10
I'd be happy as a baby in a playpen
I'd mow 'em down like a weed-eater
With that 30 millimeter
I wish I had a gun just like the A-10

These lines from the song "I wish I Had a Gun Just Like the A-10" by Dos Gringos** aptly describes A-10's primary weapon - its 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling gun AKA the BRTTTT is!!!

** be warned the lyrics of their songs, which are fighter pilot themed, are explicit. Advise caution while listening to them.

A-10 Specifications
Crew: One
Main role: A-10 - close air support, OA-10 - airborne forward air control
Manufacturer: Fairchild Republic Co.
Power Plants: Two General Electric TF34-GE-100 turbofans, Thrust: 9,065 pounds per engine

Length: 16.16 meters (53 ft 4 ins)
Height: 4.42 meters (14 ft 8 ins)
Wingspan: 17.42 meters (57 ft 6 ins)

Speed: 420 miles per hour (Mach 0.56)

Ceiling: 13,636 meters (45,000 ft)

Maximum Takeoff Weight: 22,950 kg. (51,000 lbs.)

Range: 800 miles (695 nautical miles)

Armament: One 30 mm GAU-8/A seven-barrel Gatling gun; maximum 7,200 kg (16,000lbs.) of mixed ordnance on eight under-wing and three under-fuselage pylon stations, including 225 kg (500 lbs.) Mk-82 and 900 kg (2,000 lbs.) Mk-84 series low/high drag bombs, incendiary cluster bombs, combined effects munitions, mine dispensing munitions, AGM-65 Maverick missiles and laser-guided/electro-optically guided bombs; infrared countermeasure flares; electronic countermeasure chaff; jammer pods; 6.99 cm (2.75 in.) rockets; illumination flares and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles.

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is probably the most easily recognisable and well known ground attack jets in the world. It is a single-seat, twin turbofan engine, straight wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force. It is commonly referred to by the nicknames "Warthog" or "Hog", although the A-10's official name(Thunderbolt II) comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, a World War II fighter-bomber that was also effective at attacking ground target

The A-10 was primarily designed for close air support (CAS) of friendly ground forces, attacking armored vehicles and tanks, and providing quick-action support against enemy ground forces. It entered service in 1976 and is the only production-built aircraft that has served in the USAF that was designed solely for CAS. Its secondary mission is to provide forward air controller–airborne support, by directing other aircraft in attacks on ground targets. Aircraft used primarily in this role are designated OA-10.

The A-10 was designed around the 30 mm GAU-8 Avenger rotary cannon AKA BRRRTTT(the sound it makes when fired).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvIJvPj_pjE

The A-10's airframe was designed for durability, with measures such as titanium armor to protect the cockpit and aircraft systems, enabling it to absorb a significant amount of damage and continue flying. Its short takeoff and landing capability permits operation from airstrips close to the front lines, and its simple design enables maintenance with minimal facilities. The A-10 served in the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm), the American led intervention against Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, where the A-10 distinguished itself. The A-10 also participated in other conflicts such as in Grenada, the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and against Islamic State in the Middle East.

The A-10A single-seat variant was the only version produced, though one pre-production airframe was modified into the YA-10B twin-seat prototype to test an all-weather night capable version. In 2005, a program was started to upgrade remaining A-10A aircraft to the A-10C configuration, with modern avionics for use with precision weaponry. The U.S. Air Force had stated the F-35 would replace the A-10 as it entered service, but this remains highly contentious within the USAF and in political circles. With a variety of upgrades and wing replacements, the A-10's service life can be extended to 2040; the service has no planned retirement date as of June 2017.

During the Gulf War in 1991, the A-10 destroyed more than 900 Iraqi tanks, 2,000 other military vehicles and 1,200 artillery pieces. A-10s also shot down two Iraqi helicopters with the GAU-8 cannon.

The first of these(an Iraqi Bo105) was shot down by Captain Robert "Swaino" Swain over Kuwait on 6 February 1991 for the A-10's first air-to-air victory ( A-10A 77-0205 which was latter named "Chopper Popper" - which is this particular HM model). The A-10's second air to air kill( an Iraqi Mi-8) was made by Capt. Todd "Shanghai" Sheehy of the 511th TFS while flying A-10A 81-0964.

Four A-10s were shot down during the war by surface-to-air missiles. Another two battle-damaged A-10s and OA-10As returned to base and were written off. Some sustained additional damage in crash landings.The A-10 had a mission capable rate of 95.7 percent, flew 8,100 sorties, and launched 90 percent of the AGM-65 Maverick missiles fired in the conflict. Shortly after the Gulf War, the Air Force abandoned the idea of replacing the A-10 with a close air support version of the F-16 (A-16).

The Warthog is famously designed to absorb damage, with the pilot sitting inside a titanium armored "bathtub" and the aircraft having a host of redundant systems to help make sure it gets back safely no matter what. A-10s can fly with significant portions of their wings or even an entire engine shot away.

The A-10 has demonstrated its durability in combat on numerous occasions, with aircraft surviving serious damage to their wings, tails, fuselage, and engine pods.

A-10A 77-0205 "Popper Chopper" & Capt Swain's kill
A-10 77-0205 was the 130th A-10 manufactured.

On February 06, 1991, Captain Bob Swain was flying this particular A-10 on anti-armor sorties in central Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. After dropping six 500-pound bombs and taking out two Iraqi tanks with Maverick missiles, he saw potential aerial targets several miles away, just barely moving around.

"I noticed two black dots running across the desert that looked really different than anything I had seen before, They weren't putting up any dust and they were moving fast and quickly over the desert."

He was tracking what he thought was a helicopter. When his OV-10 Bronco observation plane confirmed the target, Swain moved in for the kill. One of the targets broke off and moved north (back toward Iraq), the other moved south. The A-10 pilot tracked the one moving south but couldn't get a lock with his AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles because the target was too close to the ground, just 50 feet above.

So he switched to the A-10's 30mm GAU-8 Avenger cannon. It would go on to be the first air-to-air kill in the A-10's operational history. But Swain didn't know that. He was just concerned with taking it down and started firing a mile away from the helicopter. His shots were on target, but the helicopter didn't go down.

"On the final pass, I shot about 300 bullets at him," Swain recalled to a press pool at the time. "That's a pretty good burst. On the first pass, maybe 75 rounds. The second pass, I put enough bullets down, it looked like I hit with a bomb."

Swain's A-10 became known as the "Chopper Popper" in Air Force lore and is now displayed on the grounds of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.

It was later confirmed that Swain's victim was an Iraqi Army Bo105 helicopter similar to this one:








The BRRRTTT. The names of the pilot and his Crew Chief from that helicopter kill mission, Chopper Popper(which basically is a shrimp clutching a helicopter in its pereiopods) am Iraqi flag(signifying kill mark) painted on.






The A-10 also has these pilot stairs which can be retracted into the fuselage.




Note the A-10's Pave Penny Pod mounted on an external pylon just below the cockpit, designed specifically for the pod. The Pave Penny is a laser spot tracker to enable them to track a laser spot on the ground (it does not produce a laser beam itself, so the aircraft cannot launch and guide laser-guided bombs against ground targets without additional hardware).



Weapon Loadout - L to R (ALQ-101 ECM pod, LAU-61 rocket pod, AGM-65 Maverick TV/Laser guided missile,CBU-87 Cluster bombs X 4,AGM-65 Maverick,LAU-61 rocket pod, 2 X AIM-9L Sidewinder A2A missile)














The model came with additional weapon attachments. Switched the CBU-87s with Mk-82 bombs and the ALQ-101 ECM pod with ALQ-131 ECM pod. Note how the main landing gear wheels are partially visible in their wing mounted landing gearpods

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Great addition to your collection

Excellent detailing and nice to see some new models being posted on this thread after a long time. Where was this procured from? A shot of all your Vietnam era fighters would be nice.

Thank you. The only other 1:72 Vietnam Era fighter in my collection is Capts Steve Ritchie and Chuck DeBellevue's F-4D. Col Robin Olds F-4C is in smaller 1/100 scale.

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

@sandesh - beautiful model. Loved it.

Thank you.

[V.Narayan]

^^^^^^
Sandesh, You are on a roll. What a beautifully carved piece of a scale model. I wish the USAF had built more of these machines to fly real missions in aid of the Army. But budgets get yanked by the supersonics and the superexpensives. Congratulations. I believe this is the first 1:72 Warthog on this thread

[skanchan95]

1:200 Spicejet Boeing 737-800 VT-SZK "Red Chilli" Crew Livery (GeminiJets)
The Boeing 737 has been flying for so many years and its scale model pictures been posted so many times on this thread that it needs no introduction.

VT-SZK 'Red Chilli' Crew Livery
Spicejet, as Indian most aviation followers, would be know, names the aircraft in its fleet(B737-700/800/900 & Q400) after Indian spices.

VT-SZK was named "Red Chilli" and the airline painted this special livery to celebrate the crew of SpiceJet. The crew featured on the livery are Capt. K. Rangarajan(Captain and Examiner, Boeing 737), Capt. Anushree Varma(Captain, Boeing 737), Cabin crew in charge Roshika Chettri, Rashmani Singh, Prexa Kaushik and cabin crew Lavi Choudhary.

Each side of the aircraft has the pictures of three of the six featured crew. The starboard side also features the slogan With All Their Heart, while the left features the airline name. While on the port side, Spicejet was painted.

Airframe Stats
Status : Active
Registration : VT-SZK 'Red Chilli"
Serial number : 41398
LN : 4910
Type : 737-8GJ
First flight date : 01/05/2014
Engines : 2 x CFMI CFM56-7B24

This is my second Geminijets model (first one was a 1/400 Indian AF C-17). Mighty impressed with the model and the brand as well, not only because of the livery but also because of the wonderful detailing and shape of their models as well. The box itself is quite impressive and it came with a push button to open/close the box. The box came with a nice light weight chrome stand. It is a metal model and the antennas and lights have been modelled quite accurately.
The Box:






























Crew Faces




"In Flight"










The real aircraft:




The crew:


I am curious to know if the faces of the crew printed first and pasted on the fuselage like a sticker or where they actually spray "painted"? Because the aircraft now has been painted in standard Spicejet livery(almost).


About two years ago, I was working on this very livery for X-plane 11 B737-800. I abandoned it mid way after there were a few frustrating issues with textures alignment and scale of the crew faces on the fuselage. Will have to pick it up again for this model's sake.



In a couple of days time, I will try and post photos of my 737 fleet together which has now grown to six (1 X Spicejet B737-800, 1 X 9W 737 MAX, 1 X 737 MAX Boeing House livery, 2 X AI Express 737-800s and 1 X 1/100 Spicejet 737-800)

[skanchan95]

My Boeing 737 Fleet
1/200 Spicejet 737 (VT-SZK) is Geminijets (metal) and the other 1/200 737s are Hogan (Plastic).

The 1/100 Spicejet 737 (VT-SPF) is Resin.

[Dieseltuned]

A query from a novice, I am planning to order a space shuttle from the Boeing store, is it wise to order now looking at global restrictions and what custom duties will I have to pay for this item costing approximately 200$. Also I am not sure whether it will be shipped from US or it's origin manufacturing country?

Regards
Dieseltuned