C-64 Norseman gunship

[AndrewF]

In an (unexpected) fit of enthusiasm, I've decided to do something for this GB... started this morning:



I can imagine that most of you can guess what it'll be like when it's finished.

[Dizzyfugu]

Pretty straightforward; I considered an up-gunned Norseman, too, but rejected the idea (so gar).

[AndrewF]

Pretty straightforward; I considered an up-gunned Norseman, too, but rejected the idea (so gar).

Yes, it's a bit predictable, but it's the journey that counts, not necessarily the destination...

[Dizzyfugu]

Looking forward to it. My initial idea was a USAAF D-Day gunship, providing cover for beaching troops and taking out MG nests. With two 0.4" machine guns in the side windows and/or the open door. But I guess that the thing would be pretty slow and vulnerable ( there were certainly some 20 mm Flak guns and worse things around...), so I bagged the idea. The Norseman would really only work if you have total air superiority - both in the air and from the ground. Therefore, some kind of later guerilla gunship in a limited conflict would make more sense. Maybe something in Middle America?

[AndrewF]

Yes, I was thinking along the same lines - it'll be a USAAF or RAF modification with a couple of .30 or .50 calibre machine guns to give CAS to Chindits or Merrill's Marauders in SE Asia. Operating from primitive airfields in the jungle. I reckoned the Japanese forces wouldn't have heavy AA weapons, and the fabric covering would be easier to repair than a metal-skinned plane if hit by small arms fire.

[tahsin]

One inevitably remembers USN Spitfires... For D-Day, despite the inevitable thousands of Allied fighters to protect the ships and the beaches, fire control pilots on battleships gave up their float planes and trained on hand me down Spitfires, next to RN pilots doing the same...

[AndrewF]

Outline drawing almost finished...

[AndrewF]

I did a quick test to see what some guns would look like - an M1919 .30 Cal is roughly 1/10 of the length of a Norseman, so it'll look something like this:

[AndrewF]

I've also been faffing about with Illustrator's 3D tools to do the guns - I've never really used 3D in Illustrator, as it's not at all dedicated 3D design software, but it's pretty good for doing simple mappings like the cooling holes on the gun barrels.