Messerschmitt Bf-109T 'Seeadler' - Marineflieger 1, Kriegsmarine, 1942















Another naval Bf-109... but this time with a hook! The DAT boys have released this hooked 'Emil' as a beta (along with a Ju-87T) and I've just amalgamated the light blue skin with the grey specular map to create a bluey-grey skin and painted the hook black and yellow. Having no idea what aircraft codes a WW2 marineflieger would use I made my own up with M1 to the left of the balkenkruez (on the port side) representing Marineflieger 1 and the yellow numbers to the right simply being the individual aircraft numbers.

Junkers Ju-87T 'Fischadler' - Marineflieger 2, Kreigsmarine, 1942









This is the new Ju-87T with a tail hook and folding wings from the DAT group and whilst it is a beta model based on an old Ju-87C 3D model it works quite well. Now don't look too close at my quick and dirty EDSG skin that uses my 'faux lines' technique of using the mesh layer map from the 3D model to help lift an otherwise blank EDSG skin and, of course, the decals help lift it up to somewhere close to half decent. In game, it's exactly like the real Ju-87. Left alone, it's a very accurate weapon but with any enemy fighters in the area it's a sitting duck!

Avia S-92 Turbina - Escuadron 211, Ejército del Aire, 1952















I've been meaning to do this one for a while but got distracted by the WW2 Marineflieger birds - a welcome distraction actually and a subject I'll revisit at some time. Anyway, this is the superb Me-262A-1 from the DAT boys with another 'cut and shut' skin made by me using the specular map for the grey upper surfaces and the light grey undersurfaces from another skin. That sounds like a huge time-saving but, in reality, the masking off of the upper surfaces took me ages. I've called this an Avia S-92 as the Czech's manufactured the Me-262 in the immediate post-war years and also exported their S-99 and S-199 variants of the Me-109. What I did learn is that Yugoslavia actually ordered a couple of Avia S-92's but that the order was unfulfilled.

 Lockheed Martin A-4AR Fightinghawk - 2nd Escuadrilla, Comando de la Aviación Naval Argentina, 1999












Real life has got in the way recently and will do so for the immediate future but I was inspired by a recent release over at Combat Ace of this fictional COAN skin for the A-4AR Fightinghawk by 'MSim12'. I've just added some serial numbers and two-digit nose numbers and also added some paint to some unpainted areas. There is no dedicated A-4AR 3D model so this was cleverly adapted from the old SF1 era A-4F by 'The Banidos Team' by adding the new antennae, lumps and bumps plus some data changes. 

Focke-Wulf Ta 183 'Huckebein' - I/JG52, Luftwaffe, 1948








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During my six-month break, by far the biggest development in the Strike Fighters community was the release of 'Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe' an all-inclusive mod by the DAT boys. This was under development before I took my break and, indeed, I was invited to write the backstory that was included in the release. I only downloaded it yesterday and it's brilliant and will form the basis of my posts here over the coming weeks and I'll have an easy time of it as it's so complete and will require very little input from me. Anyway, this is a flight of Ta 183's armed with Ruhrstahl X-4 'wire guided' missiles seen intercepting a small force of B-36 Peacemakers (sic).

Thanks for the welcome back 

Spectrum Industries Valkyrie Mk.3 - Angel Interceptor Squadron, 2067








I know nothing about Macross and/or Robotech but this is the VF-1 Valkyrie a "variable geometry aerospace fighter" but also a Transformer! This cracking 3D model was released by 'Torno' over at Combat Ace and one of the six skins included is mainly plain white so all I've had to is knock up some Spectrum decals including a swept 'A' for the fins and also add the face of Harmony Angel to the pilot! I didn't fancy any of the original armament so went for something different so the odd-looking missiles are heavily facetted advanced Phoenix missiles from the F-14Z Stealth Tomcat released by the 1 125 Studio a few years ago now.

Arado Ar 234 C-3 - KG100 'Wiking', Luftwaffe, 1947








The four-engined Ar 234 C-3 is really nice to fly but tricky to land as it doesn't lose speed easily (no airbrakes). I'll come back and post some piccies with a more conventional ordnance.

Arado Ar 234 C-2 'Blitz' - KG76, Luftwaffe, 1947

Arado Ar 234 B-2/N - I/NJG1, Luftwaffe, 1946







A more conventional twin-engined 'Blitz' but a night fighter version carrying Ruhrstahl X-4 missiles.

North American Mustang Mk.V - No.601 Squadron, RAF Mediterranean and Middle East, 1946









I've shown the desert Mustang before (with a lovely skin by 'amariani') but this adds large wingtip tanks an idea passed to me from 'Coupi' over at Combat Ace. I did try to rotate the tanks to hide the attachment lugs but couldn't manage it. Perhaps the fuel in the wingtip tanks could be used first to give the Mustang pilot some hope of defending himself if bounced. This is a 'what if' that I've actually done in plastic back in the 1970's with the Airfix Series One 'Fools Paradise' Mustang with tanks from the F-80C Shooting Star (I think).

North American P-51D Mustang - No.105 Squadron, Israeli Air Force, 1956





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Sorting the tanks out has taken ages and involved more than rotating them but is sorted now. The stock Third Wire P-51D includes the IDF Camo and also two types of Suez stripes.

SAAB J 29G - 117 'The First Jet' Squadron, Israeli Air Force, 1967

During 1956 and 1957 SAAB converted 308 J 29B and J 29E aircraft to J 29F's. In late 1957, with the imminent entry into service of the J 35A Draken, the Swedish Government declared that 40 J 29F's could be offered for export to the Israeli Government who had already made tentative enquiries. Despite having only recently been upgraded the aircraft were overhauled by SAAB to emerge as J 29G's with new Israeli specified inboard missile pylons initially for the AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missile (which had entered service with the US Navy in 1956) but also suitable for the proposed indigenous Shafrir-1 air-to-air missile. Entering service with 117 Squadron of the Israeli Air Force in October 1958 the J 29G's equipped two squadrons (117 and 119) before being retired from service in 1968.







The J 29F used here is quite an old 3D model but it's in good shape and has a good NMF skin to which I've simply added Israeli markings and the Shafrir-1 missile. Reading up on the Shafrir-1 it was a bit of a dud!

Boeing–Saab Cadet T.2 - No.45 Squadron, Royal Air Force, 2024







This is a 'beta' model of the Boeing–Saab T-7 Red Hawk recently released by the DAT boys for which I've knocked up a pretty basic skin (without lines or rivets) but the decals lift it so that it looks somewhere half decent. The slimers are decals I made for something in the past. For this RAF version I've changed the name from Red Hawk to Cadet but perhaps it needs a more aggressive name.

Boeing-SAAB A 40 Hök - F21, Flygvapnet, 2027






Whilst the Swedish Government have no plans to purchase the Boeing-Saab T-7A Red Hawk for the Flygvapnet I just couldn't resist putting it in Swedish service and with a splinter scheme! This skin is a pretty rubbish skin that's devoid of proper lines and rivets and the 3D model doesn't lend itself to my 'splinter on a roll' technique but it does give a good impression of how it might look in Flygvapnet service.

Messerschmitt Me 262 HG III - Jagdverband 44, Luftwaffe, 1947





Back to the DAT's 'Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe' and the striking Me 262 HG III - one of a series of 'Hochgeschwindigkeit' (hi-speed) projects to improve the speed of the Me 262. I can't say that I find it attractive and it puts the Spitfire's 'over the nose' vision problems into perspective!


Gratuitous above the clouds shot.