Re: Spinners' Strike Fighters Thread

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Grumman Mohawk GR.3 - No.26 Squadron, RAF Germany, 1976







Having never built a model of the OV-1 Mohawk I hadn't realised what a quirky looking thing it was. This is the OV-1D, hosted at the DAT site, and whilst it's an elderly 3D model the skins are excellent and for this one I just had to tint a US Army one to the best approximation of RAF Dark Green as I could and add No.26 Squadron markings which I thought were appropriate due to their 'Army Co-operation' background.

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Grumman Mohawk GR.3 - No.28 Squadron, RAF Middle East Command, 1991







I've enjoyed having a play with this odd-looking aircraft. For this 'Operation Granby' bird I had hoped to make a desert pink skin by tinting one of the existing skins (actually the green US Army one). Now, each skin has two textures and whilst I managed to tint one of them by playing around with the hue, chroma and lightness I just couldn't get the other one to match it and I think it's all to do with what other colours are on the texture but it might just be me stumbling around in the dark! I chose No.28 Squadron because of it's army co-operation roots but I thought I'd keep it discreet and there's no squadron markings or nose art... they came later!

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Supermarine Blaze Mk.I - No.19 Squadron, RAF Fighter Command, 1936








I was playing around with the A5M 'Claude' recently (putting it into service with the Parani Army Air Force) and thought it might make a good pre-war RAF interceptor fighter and a contemporary of the Gloster Gladiator. For some reason, I thought it would be a Bristol product and had already named it as the Bristol Blaze having clean forgotten it's lovely elliptical wing shape! Even with a radial engine it looks better than Supermarine's Type 224 (to F7/30) so a quick re-naming was in order. I was tempted to put checkers on the cowling but, from experience, I know that the perspective problem (basically a 2D texture wrapping around a highly curved 3D object) would tie me up in knots so I kept it simple. There's loads of potential in the 'Claude' and a 1938 Munich Crisis machine is an obvious one but I can also see it as a US pursuit fighter, an early Luftwaffe fighter being tested over Spain, an Italian fighter and perhaps in service with some or all of the Baltic and Nordic states...

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Supermarine Blaze Mk.I - No.73 Squadron, RAF Fighter Command, 1937


Just seeing the tail hook on the above profile view makes me think that perhaps the Fleet Air Arm would like the Blaze also?

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Supermarine Spitfire VIIIc - No.43 Squadron, RAF Middle East Command, 1944





I don't think this has quite worked but this Spitfire VIIIc has lo-viz RAF roundels (but in WW2 proportions and size!) on a grey skin and with squadron codes and the spinner in the same colour pink. Worth a try!

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English Electric F-112C Lightning - 68th Fighter Interceptor Squadron, Air Defense Command, USAF, 1967







I've done ADC Lightnings before (using the Lightning F.3) as the F-112B but this was inspired by a fin marking on Pellson's 'Danish Deuce' in the Current and Finished Projects section.

LINK

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Hawker Hunter F.4 - No.600 and No.601 Squadrons, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, 1957









'What If' the RAuxAF were allowed to continue and began to re-equip with hand-me-down Hunter F.4's? I made new 'nose bars' for these two squadrons and did consider using full 'fuselage bars' as well so perhaps I'll do further RAuxAF Hunter squadrons or possibly inflict the Swift on them!

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Hawker Hunter T.7 - No.602 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, 1960



This is actually a Hunter T.8 3D model (ported over from FSX I believe and given to me to play with) with a few surplus lumps and bumps that can't be removed. I can see that it also has two 30mm cannon whereas most T.7's had just the one or was it just on the Matchbox kit?

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Hawker Hunter F.6 - No.602 Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, 1962






Moving back to the single-seater F.6 and introducing 'fuselage bars' as well as the 'nose bars'.

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Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck - No.2 (Leinster) Squadron, Irish Air Corps, 1961







Wales were well beaten by Ireland today so an Irish Air Corps 'what if' was required and the Canuck fits the bill. I've pasted the national insignia directly onto the skin textures and given my Leinster markings another airing. There's every chance I'll be doing something Scottish next Saturday!

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Supermarine Swift F.6 - No.500 (County of Kent) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, 1958







I love these No.500 Squadron markings and thought I'd give them a whirl on the Swift. The 3D model is supposed to be the FR.5 but I've removed the ventral tank and the undernose scoop.

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Supermarine Spitfire Mk.VIb - 57 GvIAP, Soviet Air Force, 1943








A lovely Spitfire Mk.VIb was released today with standard RAF camo and also desert camo. All I've done here is use a Soviet skin for a Vb which stretches around the extra wing-tip area with no bother at all.

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McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR.3 - No.6 Squadron, RAF Strike Command, 1970







One I've done before but this revisit is inspired by tc2324's excellent RAF F-4E in the Current and Finished Projects section. So this is an F-4E with the later type of gun but it does have slats which came a couple of years later... but, thank God, we're in whif land! The F-4M skin fits with a couple of adjustments and I've removed the fin-tip RWR.

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Nord Aviation HC-127B Noratlas - United States Coast Guard, 1960









I've previously done an RAF Noratlas and thought I'd try to do a USCG aircraft although Lord knows how many cargo aircraft the US have had past and present that they'd need this one from France! Anyway, thanks to the template, the white skin was the easy part. The time-consuming part was the decals or, to be more precise, the decal positioning as there are no less than 45 decal positions on this - that's a record for me and I've done this for 15 years now! The C-127 was an unbuilt Boeing cargo plane cancelled at a very early stage so I've pinched that designation. I quite like the look of the Noratlas!

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