Favorite Whif Subjects

[Keith Diamond]

Do you have a list of favorite whif subjects?  I mean, if you have a kit, that's just dying to be made as a whif, do you run through a checklist of particular subjects?

For me, most of my Whifs are typical aircraft in another country's markings.  So, the first countries that usually come to mind are the Philippines, Israel and Canada.  I usually determine which country to use depending on if I can really picture that country using it.  

For example, my two Tamiya Hawgs, I can really see both the Philippines and Israel having a great need for that aircraft.  Although one would have looked attractive in Canadian colors, I just couldn't imagine it being used by Canada.  Another factor could be costs.  Everyone knows how much I love Phil AF whifs, and even though I would like to see them with F-15s, I just don't see the Philippines ever being close to being able to afford them.  But, I can definitely see Canada possibly choosing the Eagle over the Hornet in the 1980s.  And maybe even choosing some GE equipped Strike Eagles to replace the Hornet or Whif Eagle fleet now?  I'm just saying.  It's not like I'm giving you guys a hint at some upcoming projects I have planned or anything...

Well, is there some usual suspects among your Whif Subjects?  I mean, subjects you tend to do a lot?

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Easy..... Whatever is on my bench at the moment !

Ian

[John Howling Mouse]

Excel spreadsheet takes care of my conceptuals.
I think it's over 20 pages long now!
And the one that is my favorite is the one I've just plunked down my debit card for at the LHS on account of some crazy idea I've just had!

[Shasper]

I'd have to say the F-5 & F-20 is my all time faviorate, followed by the F-14. I do have others ( MSWord files have the lists of ideas, whats in progress and what I already did).


Shas B)

[LemonJello]

Right now, I'm on a tilt rotor kick.  I've got the armed escort that I've posted here, a "Spectre"-type gunship I'm calling the AV-22 and eventually I'd like to take a crack at a four rotor, two wing type of large transport tilt rotor.  There's just a ton of possibilities with the technology, I think.  

If/when the Stryker kit comes out, there are a bunch of variants that I would like to try and build/kitbash.

[BlackOps]

I pretty much do whatever comes to mind. Sometimes I'll get an idea and know I have to do it. Sometimes I just start fiddling with stuff and it just takes on a mind of it's own.

I like everything but I do favor aircraft. I do have some Nautical and armor projects in the works.

[dragon]

I go free form.  That is, whatever my deranged commands me to do...It could be an RAF V-22K Osprey Mk.I, a Rutanized B-29G, an F-20A in and its stablemate the F-20F Venezuelan colors.  Right now I am considering turning a B-70 into some unrecognizable Hypersonic Shuttle launch vehicle, arming a Berkut, or building a 747 with B-52 engines (like the photo of a few weeks ago) adding an AWACS radome and painting it in USAF colors, splicing a TPZ1 with an M1 Bradley....I must admit that sometimes it seems more of an obsession than anything else.  Where do I go to get myself a fashionable and stylish straightjacket? B)  

[retro_seventies]

fifties jets are my fave...although i have a real armour urge at the moment, and any kind of carrier plane gives me total bone.

i like 'em scruffy and dirty and worn.

[The Rat]

I seem to have a fetish for trying to put planing hulls on things. Dad was a Sunderland pilot, so maybe it's in my blood.

But outside of that, I would have to say that my limited skills lead me toward things that appear simple. My latest idea, #57 on the list, is a DC-4 taildragger, #50 is a Harvard with a rear turret, #41 is a Cessna 172 with a low wing and T-tail. Can't discern any sort of pattern there.  ^_^  

[Leigh]

Do you have a list of favorite whif subjects?  I mean, if you have a kit, that's just dying to be made as a whif, do you run through a checklist of particular subjects?

Absolutely

Jets
Anything non-British goes into F.A.A., R.A.F. service, oft followed by modern Kriegsmarine
Anything British goes first to the U.S.M.C. the the U.S.A.F.
If those don't pan out then next on the list is Israeli 'cos of the cool camo.

Props
Anything British becomes USAAF or Russian
Anything funky looking becomes Luftwaffe
Anything ugly becomes French
Anything ugly, funky, wierd and just plain downright wrong becomes Russian.

[anthonyp]

Michigan.

All things Michigan, especially modern aircraft with old squadrons once based here, now long gone.  I've got an Excel spreadsheet and two Word docs made up to track whatever squadrons I uncover, their real history, then how it would change had they continued in Michigan, and if I'd built it or not, and what that particular aircraft's history was.

What can I say, I'm nationalistic about my state.  It's a cool state, surrounded (geographically) in all directions by water (there's a few places where that's true, and you'd not on an island), as well as being able to say Canada surrounds us and must be guarded against.  Danged Sarnians!      

Besides, we've had some interesting squadrons based here, not the least of which was the 171st Fighter Squadron, aka Michigan Wolves, aka The Six Pack.  They've got possibly the coolest squadron markings ever to grace an Air National Guard aircraft.

Click here for the coolest US ANG markings, ever.

The old USAF bases (mainly SAC) located throughout Northern Michigan yield a plethora of potential Whif's, if brought into the modern era.  Kincheloe, Wurtsmith, K.I. Sawyer...  they've literally had about 50 different squadrons assigned to each over their service life.  That doesn't include the squadrons assigned to Selfridge, Battle Creek, or NAS Grosse Ile.

I'm just happy I can contain myself to Michigan, as if I decided to expand to the rest of the Great Lakes, I'd have a few encyclopedias of Whif just for those states.

Outside of Michigan, I always love Soviet/Russian aircraft carrier capable conversions, as well as land-based Naval support planes.

And speaking of that particular spreadsheet, I've got another worksheet with All the World's Aerobatic Teams and what they'd fly in my world.  You'd be surprised at some of teams and what planes I decided to model them in (for example, I am in need of a source of cheap J-10's).

I also get into my model moods, too.  Like I'll build nothing but F-4's and F/A-18's in the service of other countries for a short time.  If I had more A-1's or Mig-29's in the stash, I'd probably get into a building fit for them.  I seem to like the smaller, multirole fighters better than the larger, specialized planes (F-14, Su-27 (and variants), Mig-25, Mig-31, etc).

And Keith... I hate you.  A lot.  You just gave me an idea for an F-15E for Canada.  Seriously, it's like I don't have enough to build  

And what's wrong with the Philippines buying F-15A's and B's in 2004?  They could afford 4 of them by then    

[Daryl J.]

The B-29.

Stretched fuselage
Shortened fuselage
Turbines with contraprops...or not...
US Navy anti submarine variants
Hurricane Hunters
Ground attack
Recon
ELINT
Swept wing
Shortened wing
Rough field/STOL capable
SAR

Oh...for WHIFFING...I like the B-29....


And in second place:
The Beaufighter (BTW, www.hlj.com has a fantastic pre-order price on the Beau + universal carrier II)
USMC--Korea
USAF---Vietnam
France post war
USN Kuwait (gotta keep up with the Canberra PR.9 right??)
Guatemala along with their P-51's
Free Cuba

And thirdly:

The P-26
On skiis
On floats
Minnesota ANG
As a racer against the Claude, Ki-27, and the like suitably modified
As an agricultural spray plane
Aboard a carrier



Daryl J.

[Radish]

Anything can be whiffed, and everything should be whiffed  

[Archibald]

Mirages, Mirages and Mirages again...mass-produced (III, IV, F1, 2000) were among the first, then it was the prototypes (4000, ACF, G, G8) and worse, now I discovered the projects (naval Mirage V from 1956, Mirage IVC, Mega Mirage...)
I bought another Mirage 2000B this morning, to change it into a Mirage F2!!

Other craziness those times is this superb color named "desert pink" (or Humbrol 250). I want to paint everything with that (F-111, Vulcan, and even a recon Viggen!)

[Archibald]

The B-29.

Stretched fuselage
Shortened fuselage
Turbines with contraprops...or not...
US Navy anti submarine variants
Hurricane Hunters
Ground attack
Recon
ELINT
Swept wing
Shortened wing
Rough field/STOL capable
SAR

Oh...for WHIFFING...I like the B-29....


And in second place:
The Beaufighter (BTW, www.hlj.com has a fantastic pre-order price on the Beau + universal carrier II)
USMC--Korea
USAF---Vietnam
France post war
USN Kuwait (gotta keep up with the Canberra PR.9 right??)
Guatemala along with their P-51's
Free Cuba

And thirdly:

The P-26
On skiis
On floats
Minnesota ANG
As a racer against the Claude, Ki-27, and the like suitably modified
As an agricultural spray plane
Aboard a carrier



Daryl J.

PS Darryl J, is your signature linked with Darryl J. Greenmayer, the man who extracted a B-29 from the artic in 1992... and saw it burned just when it was ready to fly?
What do you think of a B-29 with a raised canopy (looking like an Il -28 Beagle), a T-tail, two podded jets below this tail, and four T-56 engines? I also joined the two bomb-bay to obtain an enormous one...