This one came to be under very complicated personal circumstances, and it took a while to finish it and now post pics and its quite extensive story. I present to you a 1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Some background:
As early as 1985 there was a study entitled Maritime Patrol Aircraft for the 90s (MPA 90) for the German Bundeswehr, which aimed to replace the Breguet Atlantic with the P-3C Update 4. The study was carried out by the Lockheed California Company and the MBB transport and commercial aircraft division (today Airbus Deutschland, with locations in Hamburg and Bremen) together with the BWB. In 1997, Lockheed Martin offered Germany and Italy a "Orion 2000" or "P-3C Plus" as a replacement for the Breguet Atlantic BR 1150. Both countries established a management team at the Federal Office of Defense Technology and Procurement in Koblenz and signed an MPA Definition MoU on October 21, 1999. Between 2007 and 2015, Germany was supposed to receive 10 aircraft, Italy 14. On July 26, 2002, Lockheed Martin offered a P-3C with revised wings, Allison T56 engines and modern avionics. However, the program was stopped, and alternatives were searched. Among others, Airbus was eager to response and proposed in 2001 a dedicated ASW/maritime patrol aircraft based on the A320 short-/medium-range airliner, even though the development of such an aircraft would certainly take several years and it would not be ready for service before 2010.
In the meantime, in 2003, the Netherlands offered its thirteen P-3C Update 2.5, which had originally been delivered between 1982 and 1984, for sale, and Germany became interested. On October 31 of the same year, both countries signed a memorandum of understanding for the sale of 10 aircraft. It was later decided that Germany would receive eight aircraft and Portugal the remaining five. With this solution, even though only a temporary stopgap for the German naval forces, Airbus' proposal waned from attention – but only temporarily, since things did not unfold as planned.


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The contract with the Netherlands was signed on November 15, 2004, and provided for Germany to supply eight P-3Cs, spare parts, a flight simulator, and other materials at a cost of 271 million euros. For a further 24 million euros, the Dutch armed forces trained the ground and flight personnel of the Marineflieger Geschwader (Marine Aviation Squadron/MFG) 3 "Graf Zeppelin" from Nordholz air base directly in the Netherlands. The Dutch reconnaissance aircraft were supposed to be responsible for long-range maritime surveillance and reconnaissance above and under water for the German Navy for the next twenty years, while a potent and up-to-date successor would be developed domestically or together with European partners.  The Luftwaffe officially received the first P-3C on May 18, 2006.

While the P-3C had been bought and delivered, the procurement program for a potential successor was launched, since it was clear that the used P-3Cs would have only a limited lifetime left on their airframes and that maintenance would escalate over time. The potential P-3 successor became the project "Magellan", which could trace back its origins to 2001. Magellan had been proposed by Airbus after the global market with turboprop-powered maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft had been analyzed in the late Nineties and a huge global market opportunity had been discovered – including the demand of the German Luftwaffe and its naval air arm, the Marineflieger. Another driving factor behind the project was that similar aircraft produced abroad did not fully meet European – and most specifically German – requirements, so that the development of a purpose-built indigenous aircraft became a highly attractive option, also fueled by political pressure to support the European aircraft industry. Consequently, the German Ministry of Defense submitted the domestic development of the Magellan maritime patrol aircraft as part of its April 2001 – March 2006 Five-Year Defense Plan. In October 2003, following its earlier proposal and with the P-3C deal with the Netherlands, Airbus Industries received prime contractor status and Magellan started to take shape.

To save cost and development time, the Magellan ASW aircraft was not a completely new design. Like many former ASW aircraft (e. g. the Lockheed P-3, the BAe Nimrod, and the recent Boeing P-8) it was based on the airframe of an existing airliner. In Magellan's case it was the new Airbus A318, which shared many components with the rest of the short/medium range A320 airliner family, including body components, cockpit windows, outer wings, horizontal stabilizer, and other systems. Internal shared parts included the auxiliary power unit, cockpit panels, flight control system computer, anti-collision lights, and gear control unit. This reportedly saved US$ 3.3 billion during the aircraft's development until 2019.


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


To adapt the civil airliner to its new and specialized military role, many modifications were made. The most obvious change was a switch of powerplants, from a pair of high-bypass turbofans under the wings to four smaller engines in separate underwing nacelles. This required a thorough yet invisible modification of the wings' internal structure, which allowed two extra hardpoints for the additional engines, and this also made the wings more stress-resistant for frequent low-/medium altitude operations. An increased use of composite materials helped to limit the resulting gain in structural weight.
The four-engine design adopted for the Magellan resulted in a flight profile with better maneuverability and stability at low-speed, low-altitude flight and allowed the aircraft to continue its mission in the event of a single and even a two-engine failure. As well as greater operational survivability, the high-bypass engines provided for quiet, fuel-efficient operation. Compared with the P-3 or the Breguet Atlantic, the Magellan also had, thanks to its jet propulsion, reduced transit times in comparison to turboprop-powered competitors, and the turbofans were quieter, making it more difficult for submerged submarines to detect the aircraft above them acoustically.

Propulsion came from four Pratt & Whitney PW1000Gs, a new high-bypass geared turbofan engine (also called the GTF = geared turbofan). The gearbox between the fan and the low-pressure spool allowed each to spin at its optimal speed, allowing a higher bypass ratio for a better propulsive efficiency. Pratt & Whitney claimed the engine was 16% more fuel efficient than the previous generation, and up to 75% quieter. Additionally, response to throttle input could be improved, resulting in a higher agility especially at lower speed.
The first variant to enter service was the PW1100G for the Airbus A320neo in January 2016. The engine had teething problems after its introduction, extending to grounded aircraft and inflight failures, but this was solved soon afterwards. The Magellan was the first military aircraft to use the new GTF engine type operationally. In the Magellan, the modified engines (designated PW1700M) with only two instead of three low pressure compression stages) provided a thrust of 15.000 lb (67 kN) each, so that the four GTF engines of the Magellan offered a little more thrust than the commercial airliners' powerplants. In flight and on long-range patrol missions, one pair of engines would frequently be shut down to save fuel and reduce the noise profile even further, and the geared fans could be automatically set at diffefent ratios so that the frequencies generated from one engine would overlay and reduce the noise profile from the other one. This system was usspoed to be so effective that the audio signature of the Magellan would resemble strong wind and not man-made sound.


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


From the start the Magellan was equipped with many newly developed technologies and features, particularly in terms of its avionics and mission systems. One such key feature was the use of a fly-by-optics flight control system, which essentially replaced standard metal wiring with optical fiber cables. This also had the beneficial effect of decreasing electro-magnetic disturbances to the sensors on-board in comparison to more common fly-by-wire control systems, and it also helped to make the Magellan harder to detect from the outside.
The Magellan was equipped with various sensors to enable the aircraft to perform its primary purpose of maritime patrol and detecting submarines and surface vessels; these include the AMPaR active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar from Cassidian, a Airbus Defence and Space subsidiary, which used an array consisting of three separate antennas mounted under a mutual nose radome to provide 240-degree coverage at a range of more than 450 km (280 mi). All antennae together consisted of more than 3000 very small transmitter/receiver elements that divided the azimuth range into three overlapping 90° sectors. They could examine their sectors simultaneously and could also simultaneously track many maritime and aviation targets within each sector. The number of targets that can be tracked automatically is 1,000 and the number of targets that can be combated at the same time is around 60. AMPaR (Airborne Maritime Patrol Radar) was able to track surface vessels at sea at a range of 300 km (186 mi) while high-flying aircraft of fighter size could automatically be tracked at >250 km (150 mi). Even sea-skimming missiles could be detected and tracked at >25 km (15 mi). The data obtained is passed on to a command and weapon deployment system. The ASEA radar was furthermore supplemented by an Infrared/Light sensor array with an integrated laser range finder and target designator for surface detection, which allowed passive observation and tracking as well as target illumination for guided weapons, either deployed by the Magellan itself or from another carrier.
Further mission sensors included a magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) embedded into the aircraft's tail (where it replaced the airliner's APU, which was re-located into the left-wing root area, while a heat exchanger was mounted on the right). Sophisticated acoustic systems were also added for this purpose. Another novelty was the integration of an artificial intelligence (AI) system that directed the TACCO operator to the optimal flight course to track or attack a submarine.

Behind the cockpit, the cabin was separated into three sections, consisting of the ASW operators' section with workstations and observer places, a rest and general storage area with a small kitchen and four bunk beds for crews working in shifts on long-term missions, and a final section for 5" sonobuoy storage and their manual deployment through a total of four two release shafts, connected with the cabin through air locks. Vertical and oblique cameras were mounted together with the sonobuoy shafts in the lower fuselage and accessible from the cabin through hatches in the floor. The two rear sections could optionally be combined and re-arranged to make room for eventual transport duties, and seats could be installed, too to offer space for up to 28 passengers.
Under the cabin floor, two separate unpressurized bomb bays, one in front of and the other behind the wings, housed the bulk of the aircraft's ASW munitions. The bomb bay was supplemented by a total of eight external hardpoints, two pairs under the inner and outer wings each. Weapons available on the Magellan included torpedoes, mines, and depth charges internally. Air-to-surface missiles (including AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, AGM-65 Maverick ASMs and AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missiles), air-to-air missiles (AIM-9 Sidewinder or Iris-T) for self-defense, ECM and chaff/flare dispenser pods, or bombs, including laser-guided precision weapons, were typically carried on the wing pylons externally. The sonobuoy shafts were located behind the rear bomb bay and not connected with it.
Armaments and their deployment were managed by a stores management system, which included a newly developed Universal Stores Control Unit (USCU) capable of accommodating hundreds of different munitions, including future ones and precision weapons. Multiple radar warning receivers provided all-round awareness of missile threats, which were combined with a defensive countermeasure suite. Additional fuel tanks were integrated into the fuselage, too, which extended the A318's typical airliner range from 5.740 km (3,100 nmi) to 8.000 km (5,000 mi), making patrol missions of 18 hours and more possible without need to refuel.


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In June 2007, Airbus rolled out the Magellan prototype (coded 60+10, later re-designated 98+70 and handed over to WTD 71 in Eckernförde for further development work), converted from an existing civil airliner airframe, and now official designated A318 MPA ("Maritime Patrol Aircraft") to mark the aircraft's heritage and role. The rollout had been delayed for three months due to the discovery of defective rivets which required remedial repairs to be performed. On 28 September 2007, the Magellan conducted its maiden flight from Hamburg Finkenwerder, where the civil A318 airliners were finally assembled, too; this lasted one hour and ended successfully.

On 31 August 2007, Airbus announced that they would produce four Magellan production airframes for the Bundesluftwaffe, with an option for four more aircraft, with a unit price of US$ 141.5 million for each aircraft and to be delivered in 2012. At that time Airbus officials claimed that the Magellan was a more capable, albeit more expensive, aircraft than the Boeing P-8 Poseidon; in comparison to the P-8, the Magellan had a greater range, a larger bomb bay, and had been optimized for the maritime patrol mission. Beyond Germany, Norway (4 aircraft), Spain (6) and Taiwan (3, with an option for 3 more) also procured the Magellan. Argentina and Chile also showed interest in the type.

Due to development and budgetary problems the delivery of the A318 MPA to the Marineflieger was delayed several times, and the anticipated maintenance problems with the former Dutch P-3Cs in German service escalated. At the end of 2016, the magazine Der Spiegel reported that none of the aircraft were operational as of September 30, 2016, and that one of the aircraft had only completed two and a half hours of flight in 10 years. Total costs could no longer be calculated, and as a result, soon not a single German P-3 was operational for at least several weeks. The situation became so severe that the German Ministry of Defense considered to lease five Boeing P-8A Poseidon as another interim solution, but in late 2019 the first Magellan Airbus was introduced to the re-established MFG 1, which had operated Tornado IDS' in the maritime strike and reconnaissance role until 1993. At the time of their operational introduction the aircraft had already been updated: SIGINT equipment had been added (outwardly recognizable through slender wingtip pods and an extended spinal fairing in front of the fin) to survey and record radio communication. In this configuration the aircraft were officially designated A318 MPA Phase II.

However, instead of the MFG 1's former base Jagel the unit now was located at Nordholz, where the P-3 facilities were used to operate the similar-sized A318 MPAs. Operations started only slowly, though, and during early exercises and NATO deployments to Lithuania the first two A318 MPAs (60+11 and 12) reportedly suffered radar, sensor integration, and data transfer problems, leading to more testing. 1./MFG 1 only received full operational status with its four planned initial aircraft in early 2022, and a second squadron with four more aircraft will probably only become operational with MFG 1 in 2027.


General characteristics:
    Flight crew: 3
    Mission crew: 8 (but operationally up to 12 with working in shifts on long-range missions)
    Length: 36,52 m (118 ft 9 in) overall       
    Wingspan: 33,98 m (111 ft 3¾ in)
    Wing area: 122.4 m² (1,318 sq ft)
    Wing sweepback: 25°
    Tail height: 12,24 m (40 ft 1 in)
    Operating empty weight: 44.100 kg (97,100 lb)
    Maximum zero-fuel weight (MZFW): 59.100 kg (130,200 lb)
    Maximum landing weight (MLW): 62.100 kg (136,800 lb)
    Maximum take-off weight (MTOW): 79,700 kg (175,708 lb)
 
Powerplant:
    4× Pratt & Whitney PW1700M high-bypass geared turbofan engines, 67 kN (15,000 lbf) thrust each

Performance:
    Maximum speed: 996 km/h (619 mph, 538 kn)
    Cruise speed: 833 km/h (518 mph, 450 kn)
    Range: 8,000 km (5,000 mi, 4,300 nmi)
    Combat radius: 2,500 km (1,600 mi, 1,300 nmi) with 4 hours on station for anti-submarine warfare
    Service ceiling: 13,520 m (44,360 ft)

Armament:
    2 internal bomb bays with a total of eight stations,
    8 external underwing pylons
    Total capacity of 9,000 kg (19,842 lb) for torpedoes, mines, depth charges, various
    air-to-surface missiles (ASMs), or bombs, plus short-range AAMs for self-defense


The kit and its assembly:
This fictional Airbus ASW aircraft was spawned by the Kawasaki P-1, an indigenous Japanese P-3 replacement with an unusual four-engine propulsion on a relatively small airframe. I envisioned a European alternative, inspired by the sad state of the Dutch P-3s in German duty – and that made a converted Airbus airframe a natural choice. I eventually settled for the smallest type, the A318, also because it had similar dimensions as the Japanese P-1 and procured an Eastern Express kit when I stumbled upon a priceworthy offer.
As a side information: there were real plans for an A319 ASW derivative, but this build here is unrelated (found out about it much later, after I started work on my model) and only shares the "MPA" suffix. I was not able to find any detail info about it, though.

The alternative/extra engines for my A 318 MPA turned out to be a major challenge. My initial plan to use the four nacelles with pylons from a 1:144 Revell WhiteKnight Two/SpaceShip Two kit set came to naught when I realized that these would be much too small for the A318 airframe. They eventually went into a BAe 146ish conversion of a DC-9 airframe with shoulder-mounted wings that I build a couple of weeks ago, where they looked fine. But the Magellan would require something more substantial, and finding a suitable and affordable alternative took some time and legwork. I eventually found aftermarket engine nacelles from Skyline Models for a 1:200 Hasegawa Boeing 747-200/300, made from IP with resin exhausts. They offered IMHO a good size and shape compromise, with a good level of detail for 1:144, and the quartet was affordable, too, because I did not want to buy a donor kit just for the engines. However, even though the pods look nice and have fine surface details, they do not go together at all: you have either to sand the fan discs into an unnatural oval shape or you have to bridge a massive 1 mm(!) gap on the underside when you force the halves together. The resin tail cones themselves are crisp and look very good, but they do hardly fit into the fan shroud and the pylons' shape doesn't match up with then, either. Fits well in style with the A318 kit, though... Did I mention that the Eastern Express A318 kit is a PITA? It has quite nice surface detail, but the bigger the parts the less they go together. Esp. the wing and fuselage halves were a TOTAL mess, the latter could only be closed through force and combining the hull with the wing halves, which have a weird construction on the lower hull – the mold layout was chosen to allow proper detail to be added around the main landing gear wells, but building this is a horror, was a nightmare, with poor fit, massive gaps and dislocations of up to 1 mm!


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Talking about trouble: mounting the wacky 747 pods under the Airbus' wings required even more hardware mods on top of the basic fit problems. The inner pair of engines went closer to the fuselage, to make more space for the outer pair, even though they ended up pretty close to the main landing gear. The A318's original attachment points under the wings were PSRed away and the inner pair of donor pods was mounted onto the inner flap mechanism fairings. Their pylons had to be modified accordingly, though. The outer pair was mounted at about half distance from the inner engines and the wing tips. Their pylons had to be shortened, due to the low wing depth. Outside of them I added weapon stations from a Dragon 1:144 Tornado IDS, which also provided AGM-88 HARMs and Sidewinders as suitable ordnance.


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The rest of modifications were more of a cosmetic kind. The biggest change was a bigger, more bulbous nose radome for the surveillance radar; in this case I used a leftover nose section from an Airfix 1:72 D.H. Venom trainer, mounted and PSRed over the Airbus's original nose. Not a big modification, but the different nose profile changes the Airbus' look significantly to something P-3ish, and it resembled the Japanese P-1 a lot now.
The windscreen itself, while quite clear, had to be forced into its opening, and due to its poor fit and some gaps I PSRed it over and later used aftermarket decals to create the windscreen. Other graft-ons included a MAD boom carved from sprue material, a dorsal antenna bulge (from an Airfix A-4B kit) behind the cockpit and a pair of optical sensor turrets under the chin, somewhat B-52Gish. Under the lower rear fuselage, I added a pair of bulges for the sonobuoy launch tubes and cameras, leftover optional parts form/for a Heller Saab S32C's camera nose. Fin and wing tips were slightly clipped, and I added scratched sensor fairings (sprue material), what considerably changes the aircraft's look away from an airliner, and I also added a low spinal fairing (styrene profile) at the fin's base. Finally, some blade antennae made from 0.5mm styrene sheet were mounted around the hull and small scoops for the relocated APU and heat exchangers were added.


Painting and markings:
As usual, a tricky choice. The German P-3Cs did not carry a special camouflage – they simply retained the former Dutch Navy livery in all-over Light Gull Grey (FS 36440), which I found too boring to apply on the whiffy ASW Airbus. Due to the aircraft's sheer size, I refrained from a tactical paint scheme like the rather murky three-tone wraparound Norm '87 scheme from the Marineflieger Tornados or any of its (though interesting) development patterns or derivatives. Instead, I rather took inspiration from the Luftwaffe's MedEvac/MRT Airbus A310s, which were painted RAL 7001 (Silbergrau, Revell 374) overall. This shade of grey comes close to FS 36375 but is colder.

For an aircraft that would not only operate at high altitude and to conceal it from above I found a uniform RAL 7001 livery too bright, so that I decided to paint the upper surfaces in a slightly darker tone, RAL 7000 (Fehgrau, Revell 57), which is, as a coincidence, the tone of most Bundesmarine surface vessels' superstructures since 1956: a cold blue-grey tone somewhere between FS 36320 and 35237. Together with a straight and low waterline this resulted in a rather low-viz-ish livery, augmented by relatively few and small markings and stencils.
The landing gear was painted white, the walkway/Corroguard areas on the wings received a slightly different shade of grey (RAL 7005 Mausgrau, Revell 47) than the basic camouflage, and I added a slightly darker anti-glare panel (RAL 7012, Basaltgrau, Revell 77) in front of the windscreen. The nose radome and other di-electric fairings were painted in a yet another slightly brownish shade of grey (RAL 7030, Steingrau, Revell 75), to create some more variety. Some light post-panel shading was done, and to emphasize the engraved panel lines I also applied a light black ink washing.


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Windscreen, windows, and doors were created with decals, partly aftermarket, partly OOB. The cabin windows' number was reduced to reflect the aircraft's dedicated military role. Tactical markings were few and rather lustreless. German markings and codes were procured from appropriate generic material from TL Modellbau and Peddinghaus Decals, the small MFG 1 badges came from an Italeri Marineflieger Tornado kit (with subdued Norm '87 markings). Stencils and walkway markings on the wings came from the OOB sheet.
Finally, everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish from a rattle can, with a light sheen instead of pure matt.


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:144 Airbus Industries A318 MPA Phase II 'Magellan'; '60+12'/'Siegfried Boysen' of the Marineflieger Geschwader (MFG) 1, Deutsche Bundesluftwaffe; Nordholz Air Base (near Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, Germany), 2026 (What-if/modified Eastern Express kit) by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The result looks simple in its all-grey livery but getting there – esp. with the poor-fitting Eastern Express Airbus A318 as basis and the even worse donor engines – was a long and tough fight. But despite the troubles, the model of this fictional Kawasaki P-1 alternative from Europe looks pretty convincing and the four-engine layout worked well, despite the relatively compact airframe.

Only one word for it Thomas, SUPERB! 

I love the idea and the execution thereof too, and it's SO plausible, if only the budgets were available.

Brilliant build and back story Thomas, very much so.

Thanks a lot, glad you like it. Agree, the concept is so plausible - and in fact an MPA on the basis of the A319 was considered, found a brochure PDF about it online (after I started work on the build, though).

Check this: https://de.slideshare.net/aeroplans/a319-mpa-pocketguide

Great looking build & photos           

Wonderful build   

Thank you, too! 

Not "into" support aircraft, really, but this one is very, very good, Dizzy!    

Quote from: Old Wombat on November 16, 2023, 06:45:20 AMNot "into" support aircraft, really, but this one is very, very good, Dizzy!    

Same here but that looks good! It's got "Go get'em" sticks so, extra coolness factor weighing in...   

          

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on November 16, 2023, 02:31:55 AMThanks a lot, glad you like it. Agree, the concept is so plausible - and in fact an MPA on the basis of the A319 was considered, found a brochure PDF about it online (after I started work on the build, though).

Check this: https://de.slideshare.net/aeroplans/a319-mpa-pocketguide

That weapons bay is a LONG way aft! 

Some of us are modellers of note, some of us can write a decent backstory,  BUT  to be able to do both to this standard  is a rare talent.  Well done Dizzy!!

Quote from: PR19_Kit on November 16, 2023, 10:41:10 AMThat weapons bay is a LONG way aft! 

Yes. Even on the longer A319 there is not much room in front of the wings' main spar, the area behind has much more space to offer. The situation is similar to the Tu-16 and -85 bombers, IIRC the Bear (or at least the Tu-142 ASW derivative) has its bomb bay(s) only behind the main spar. Looks odd, but it's the aircraft's center of gravity.
My personal bifurcated weapon bay arrangement is highly optimistic, and the front bay is already maxed out but shorter than the rear one..

Quote from: Rheged on November 16, 2023, 01:15:15 PMSome of us are modellers of note, some of use can write a decent backstory,  BUT  to be able to do both to this standard  is a rare talent.  Well done Dizzy!!

Thank you very much. Hearing that currently helps a lot, my mental state is - job-induced - not the best. 

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on November 16, 2023, 11:20:49 PMYes. Even on the longer A319 there is not much room in front of the wings' main spar, the area behind has much more space to offer. The situation is similar to the Tu-16 and -85 bombers, IIRC the Bear (or at least the Tu-142 ASW derivative) has its bomb bay(s) only behind the main spar. Looks odd, but it's the aircraft's center of gravity.
My personal bifurcated weapon bay arrangement is highly optimistic, and the front bay is already maxed out but shorter than the rear one..

The state of the aircraft's trim between having the weapons aboard and after they're dropped could be a trifle 'fragile' I'd have thought.