1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; "5167" of the Polish Naval Aviation, Babie Doły AB, 2010

[Dizzyfugu]

Another one that has been waiting for some weeks for some pictures - an exotic Yankee Gina.


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



Some background:
The G.91Y was an increased-performance version of the Fiat G.91 funded by the Italian government. Based on the G.91T two-seat trainer variant, the single Bristol Orpheus turbojet engine of this aircraft was replaced by two afterburning General Electric J85 turbojets which increased thrust by 60% over the single-engine variant. Structural modifications to reduce airframe weight increased performance further and an additional fuel tank occupying the space of the G.91T's rear seat provided extra range. Combat manoeuvrability was improved with the addition of automatic leading edge slats. The avionics equipment of the G.91Y was considerably upgraded with many of the American, British and Canadian systems being license-manufactured in Italy.


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Flight testing of three pre-production aircraft was successful, with one aircraft reaching a maximum speed of Mach 0.98. Airframe buffeting was noted and was rectified in production aircraft by raising the position of the tailplane slightly.
An initial order of 55 aircraft for the Italian Air Force was completed by Fiat in March 1971, by which time the company had changed its name to Aeritalia (from 1969, when Fiat aviazione joined the Aerfer). The order was increased to 75 aircraft with 67 eventually being delivered. In fact, the development of the new G.91Y was quite long, and the first order was for about 20 pre-series examples that followed the two prototypes. The first pre-series 'Yankee' (the nickname of the new aircraft) flew in July 1968.

AMI (Italian Air Force) placed orders for two batches, 35 fighters followed by another 20, later cut to ten. The last one was delivered around mid 1976, so the total was two prototypes, 20 pre-series and 45 series aircraft. No immediate export success followed, though, and the Italian G.91Ys' service lasted until the early '90s as attack/recce machines, both over ground and sea, until the AMX replaced them until 1994.


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


However, upon retirement some G.91Ys were still in good condition and the airframes had still some considerable flight hours left, so that about thirty revamped aircraft were put up for sale from 1992 onwards. At the same time, Poland was undergoing a dramatic political change. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union the Eastern European country immediately turned its political attention westward, including the prospects of joining NATO. The withdrawal of Russian forces based in Poland and partly obsolete military equipment of the Polish forces themselves led to a procurement process from 1991 onwards, which, among others, included a replacement for the Polish MiG-17 (domestic Lim-5, Lim-6 and Lim-6bis types), which had been operated by both Polish air force and navy since the late Sixties, primarily as fighter bombers in their late career, but also for reconnaissance tasks.

The G.91Y appeared, even though a vintage design, to be a suitable replacement option, since its performance envelope and the equipment outfit with three cameras in the nose made it a perfect package – and the price tag was not big, either. Especially the Polish Navy showed much interest, and after 10 months of negotiations Poland eventually bought 22 G.91Y from Italy, plus five G.91T two-seaters for conversion training, which were delivered between June 1993 and April 1994.


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


For the new operator the machines only underwent minor modifications. The biggest change was the addition of wirings and avionics for typical Polish Air Force ordnance, like indigenous MARS-2 pods for 16 unguided 57mm S-5 missiles, iron bombs of Russian origin of up to 500 kg (1.100 lb) caliber, SUU-23-2 gun pods as well as R-3 and R-60 missiles (which were very similar to the Western AIM-9 Sidewinder and actually date back to re-engineered specimen obtained by the USSR during the Korea war!). All machines were concentrated at Gdynia-Babie Doły in a newly founded, dedicated fighter bomber of the 1 Naval Aviation Squadron, which also operated MiG-21 fighters and PZL Iskra trainers. The Polish G.91Ys, nicknamed "Polski Fiat" by their crews (due to their compact size and overall simplicity, in reminiscence of the very popular, locally license-built Fiat 126), not only replaced the vintage MiG-17 types and some Polish Navy MiG-21 fighters, but also the handful of MiG-15UTI trainer veterans which were still used by the Polish Navy for observation duties over the Baltic Sea.


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


When Poland joined NATO on 12 March 1999, the G.91Ys (18 were still in service, plus all five trainers) received another major overhaul, a new low-visibility paint scheme, and they were updated with avionics that ensured inter-operability with other NATO forces, e .g. a GPS positioning sensor in a small, dorsal hump fairing. In 2006, when deliveries of 48 F-16C/D fighters to Poland started, the G.91Ys were to be retired within 12 months. But problems with the F-16s' operability kept the G.91Y fleet active until 2011, when all aircraft were grounded and quickly scrapped.



General characteristics:
    Crew: one
    Length: 11.67 m (38 ft 3.5 in)
    Wingspan: 9.01 m (29 ft 6.5 in)
    Height: 4.43 m (14 ft 6.3 in)
    Wing area: 18.13 m² (195.149 ft²)
    Empty weight: 3,900 kg (8,598 lb)
    Loaded weight: 7,800 kg (17,196 lb)
    Max. takeoff weight: 8,700 kg (19,180 lb)

Powerplant:
     2× General Electric J85-GE-13A turbojets, 18.15 kN (4,080 lbf) each

Performance:
    Maximum speed: 1,110 km/h (600 kn, 690 mph, Mach 0.95) at 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
    Range: 1,150 km (621 nmi, 715 mi)
    Max. ferry range with drop tanks: 3,400 km (2,110 mls)
    Service ceiling: 12,500 m (41,000 ft)
    Rate of climb: 86.36 m/s (17,000 ft/min)
    Wing loading: 480 kg/m² (98.3 lb/ft² (maximum)
    Thrust/weight: 0.47 at maximum loading

Armament:
    2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA cannons with 120 RPG
    4× under-wing pylon stations with a capacity of 1,814 kg (4,000 lb)



The kit and its assembly:
This whiffy Yankee Gina was inspired by a profile that had popped up during WWW picture search a while ago. Tracking it back, I found it to be artwork created and posted at DeviantArt by user "Jeremak-J", depicting a G.91Y in polish markings and sporting a two-tone grey camouflage with light blue undersides and a medium waterline:



I found the idea bizarre, but attractive, and, after some research, I found a small historic slot that might have made this "combo" possible.

When I recently delved through my (growing...) kit pile I came across a Matchbox G.91Y in a squashed box and with a cracked canopy – and decided to use that kit for a personal Polish variant.
The Matchbox G.91Y bears light and shadow galore. While it is IIRC the only IP kit of this aircraft, it comes with some problem areas. The fit of any major kit component is mediocre and the cockpit tub with an integral seat-thing is ...unique. But the overall shape is IMHO quite good – a typical, simple Matchbox kit with a mix of (very fine) raised and engraved panel lines.

The OOB canopy could not be saved, but I was lucky to find a replacement part in the spares box – probably left over from the first G.91Y I built in the early Eighties. While the donor part had to be stripped from paint and was quite yellowed from age, it saved the kit.


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

It was built almost OOB, since major changes would not make sense in the context of my background story of a cheap 2nd hand purchase for an air force on a lean budget. I just added some details to the cockpit and changed the ordnance, using missile pods and iron bombs of Soviet origin (from a Kangnam/Revell Yak-38).
The exhausts were drilled open, because OOB these are just blank covers, only 0.5 mm deep! Inside, some afterburners were simulated (actually main wheels from an Arii 1:100 VF-1).
The flaps were lowered and extended, which is easy to realize on this kit.
The clumsy, molded guns were cut away, to be later replaced with free-standing, hollow steel needles.
In order to add some more exterior detail I also scratched the thin protector frames around the nozzles with thin wire.
Since the replacement canopy looked quite old and brittle, I did not dare cutting the clear part in two, so that the cockpit remained closed, despite the effort put into the interior.
A personal extra is the pair of chaff/flare dispensers on the rear fuselage, reminiscent of Su-22 installations.


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Painting and markings:
The inspiring profile was nice, but I found it to be a bit fishy. The depicted tactical code format would IMHO not be plausible for the aircraft's intended era, and roundels on the fuselage flanks would also long have gone in the Nineties. Therefore, I rather looked at real world benchmarks from the appropriate time frame for my Polish Gina's livery, even though I wanted to stay true to the artist's original concept, too.

One direction to add more plausibility was the scheme that Polish Su-22 fighter bombers received during their MLU, changing the typical tactical camouflage in up to four hues of green and brown into a much more subdued two tone grey livery with lighter, bluish-grey undersides, combined with toned-down markings like tactical codes in white outlines only. Some late MiG-21s also received this type of livery, and at least one Polish Fishbed instructional airframe received white low-viz national insignia.

For the paint scheme itself I used the MiG-21 pattern as benchmark (found in the Planes & Pilots MiG-21 book) and adapted it to the G.91Y as good as possible. The tones were a little difficult to define – some painting instructions recommend FS 36118 (US Gunship Grey) for the dark upper grey tone, but this is IMHO much too murky. Esp. on the Su-22s, the two upper greys show only little contrast, and the lower grey does not stand out much against the upper tones, either. On the other side, I found a picture of a real-life MiG-21U trainer in the new grey scheme, and the contrast between the grey on the upper surfaces appeared much stronger, with the light grey even having a brownish hue. Hmpf.


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


As a compromise I settled for FS 36173 (F-15E Dark Grey) and 36414 (Flint Grey). For the undersides I went for FS 35414 (Blue Green), which comes close to the typical Soviet underside blue, but it is brighter.
After basic painting, the kit received a light black ink wash and subtle post-shading, mostly in order to emphasize single panels, less for a true weathering effect.
The cockpit was painted in Dark Gull Grey (Humbrol 140), with a light blue dashboard and a black ejection seat. The OOB pilot was used and received an olive drab suit with a light grey helmet, modern and toned down like the aircraft itself. The landing gear as well as the air intake interior were painted in different shades of aluminum.


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The decals were, as so often, puzzled together from various sources. The interesting, white-only Polish roundels come from a Mistercraft MiG-21. I also added them to the upper wing surfaces – this is AFAIK not correct, but without them I found the model to look rather bleak. Under the wings, full color insignia were used, though. The English language "Navy" markings on the fuselage might appear odd, but late MiG-21s in Polish Navy service actually had this operator designation added to their spines!

The typical, tactical four-digit code consists of markings for Italian Tornados, taken from two different Italeri sheets. The squadron emblem on the fin came from a Mistercraft Su-22, IIRC.
Most stencils were taken from the OOB sheet, some of them were replaced with white alternatives, though, in order to keep a consistent overall low-viz look.

Finally the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Aeritalia G.91Y; aircraft "5167 white outline" of the Polska Brygada Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej (Polish Naval Aviation), 1 DLMW (Dywizjon Lotnictwa Marynarki Wojennej/Naval Aviation Squadron), 3rd Escadra; Gdynia-Babie Doły AB, 2000 (Matchbox kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


An interesting result. Even though this Polish Gina is purely fictional, the model looks surprisingly convincing, and the grey low-viz livery actually suits the G.91Y well.

[zenrat]

Good job Dizz.

[NARSES2]

Does look nice 

[Dizzyfugu]

Thanks a lot! 

[PR19_Kit]

That looks terrific Thomas, very much the part you intended. 

Those flare dispensers really give it an 'Eastern Bloc' look, even though it's not really there.