Re: Spinners' Strike Fighters Thread

[SPINNERS]

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak - Vietnam Air Force, 1964

VNAFF-84FTHUNDERSTREAK01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

VNAFF-84FTHUNDERSTREAK02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

VNAFF-84FTHUNDERSTREAK03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

VNAFF-84FTHUNDERSTREAK04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

VNAFF-84FTHUNDERSTREAK05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This lovely skin, meant for a Greek F-84F was released today by the prolific 'paulopanz' over at Combat Ace. Perhaps the US focused on supplying 'surplus' military equipment to the South in the 1963-1965 timeline instead of becoming embroiled into the full-on participation that happened in real life.

[SPINNERS]

Heinkel He277 - KG40, Luftwaffe'46

LUFTWAFFEB-29SUPERFORTRESS01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

LUFTWAFFEB-29SUPERFORTRESS02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

LUFTWAFFEB-29SUPERFORTRESS03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

LUFTWAFFEB-29SUPERFORTRESS04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This is, of course, the B-29 Superfortress quickly made to look like a Luft'46 bomber by simply adding a mottled layer and merging it down onto the original 'silver' skin with the resultant new skin then having reduced specular, glossiness and reflection values. It's full of flaws but I think it does have the overall Luftwaffe look about it.

[SPINNERS]

BAC-Dassault Foudre (Lightning) - Escadron de Chasse 1/2 Cigognes, Armée de l'Air, 1967

The various Anglo-French aviation projects of the early 1960's also extended to the licence-production of the Avon engined Dassault Mirage by BAC as the RAF's Hunter replacement and also the licence-production of the BAC Lightning by Dassault as an interceptor for the Armée de l'Air. Entering service in 1967 the Foudre served as a fast-climbing interceptor with several squadrons before being retired in the mid-1980's.

ADALIGHTNINGF606 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF607 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF612 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF614 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF613 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

Well, Wales are playing 'le bleu' in Paris in less than an hours time so my project this weekend has been to place the BAC Lightning into Armée de l'Air service and in a variety of schemes. I haven't quite had time to add rudder stripes to this one but I hope you like it all the same.

Edit: Airborne shots added with rudder stripes.

[SPINNERS]

BAC-Dassault Foudre (Lightning) - Escadron de Chasse 1/4 Dauphine, Armée de l'Air, 1975

ADALIGHTNINGF603 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF604 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF605 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF601 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

I've tinted the uppersurfaces of the stock skin with a French air defence bleu and think it has a whif of the early Armée de l'Air Mirage F.1C about it.

[SPINNERS]

BAC-Dassault Foudre (Lightning) - Escadron de Chasse 1/2 Cigognes, Armée de l'Air, 1982

ADALIGHTNINGF615 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF616 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF617 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF618 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

The stock Third Wire Lightning F6's come with all four classic RAF schemes - silver, RAFG Green (not actually used on the F.6) and the 'Binbrook' era Camo and Grey schemes. This is the Binbrook Camo with my Lightning fin shaped 'stork' markings - thankfully the game generates the codes seen on the nose as I'm not too familiar with these.

[SPINNERS]

BAC-Dassault Foudre - Escadron de chasse 3/10 'Vexin', Armée de l'air, Republic of Djibouti, 1980

ADALIGHTNINGF624 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF625 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF626 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

ADALIGHTNINGF627 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This cracking desert skin by James Fox is available for download over at Combat Ace and I've used it here to create a fictional Lightning deployment to Djibouti. In reality EC3/10 were deployed to Djibouti in 1978 and were the last French unit to operate the original Mirage 3C's well into the mid-1980's.

[SPINNERS]

BAC Lightning F.56 - 113 Esc, 11 Ala, Ejército del Aire, 1972

EDALIGHTNINGF5601 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDALIGHTNINGF5602 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDALIGHTNINGF5603 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDALIGHTNINGF5604 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDALIGHTNINGF5605 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

[SPINNERS]

BAC Lightning F.51 - Ala 11 Display Team, Ejército del Aire, 1970

EDALIGHTNINGF301 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDALIGHTNINGF302 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDALIGHTNINGF303 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDALIGHTNINGF304 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

A quickie conversion of my Swedish 'Acro Blixt' F.3 to make a Spanish display team Lightning! The tail marking is right out of me own head but does at least include the real Ala 11 patch.

[SPINNERS]

BAC Lightning F.56 - Ala 11, Ejército del Aire, 1969

EDALIGHTNINGF5606 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

EDALIGHTNINGF5607 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

Very short on time tonight so I've just knocked up a simpler Ala 11 tail marking although this needed separate 'handed' versions so that the birds are facing the right way.

[SPINNERS]

BAC Lightning F2 - No.19 Squadron, Royal United States Air Force, 1976

RUSAFLIGHTNINGF201 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RUSAFLIGHTNINGF202 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RUSAFLIGHTNINGF203 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RUSAFLIGHTNINGF204 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

The lovely Lightning F2 with 'Binbrook' style camo and RUSAF markings!

[SPINNERS]

BAC Lightning F.1C - No.111 Squadron, RAF Strike Command, 1977

Along with the upgrade of the Lightning F.2's of RAF Germany the earlier Lightning F.1A's and F.1B's were upgraded to a similar standard as the Lightning F.1C. Entering service with No.56 Squadron in 1968 the final squadron to operate the type was No.111 whose aircraft wore this black retirement scheme during 1977.

RAFLIGHTNINGF1C02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFLIGHTNINGF1C03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFLIGHTNINGF1C04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFLIGHTNINGF1C05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAFLIGHTNINGF1C06 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

A bit of a quick and dirty experiment this and it's turned out to be a little bit better than I expected. I've inverted the stock RAF silver skin of the F.6 and added a 60% opacity black layer to dampen things down a bit and then just tweeked a few bits like the gun ports and red wing walkways before screwing the specular, glossiness and reflection settings down. I was going to do a 'Black Mike' with tactical roundels outlined in white but the nose marking doesn't lend itself to that so I've gone for no outline and I'm quite chuffed with it.

[SPINNERS]

Grumman Bearcat Mk.1 - No.1841 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm, 1945

RNBEARCAT01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNBEARCAT02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNBEARCAT03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNBEARCAT04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

I've always liked the pugnacious looks of the Wildcat and Hellcat but for some reason the Bearcat has never given me even the slightest tingle in manland - perhaps it's because we all know what was the ultimate piston-engined fighter...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawker_Sea_Fury

[SPINNERS]

De Havilland Mosquito IV - 552nd BS, 386th BG, USAAF, 1944

USAAFMOSQUITOB401 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USAAFMOSQUITOB402 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

USAAFMOSQUITOB403 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

[SPINNERS]

Hawker Hunter FR.55 - 28°Gruppo, 3°Stormo, Aeronautica Militare Italiana, 1966

AMIHUNTERFR5501 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIHUNTERFR5502 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIHUNTERFR5503 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIHUNTERFR5504 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIHUNTERFR5505 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIHUNTERFR5506 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

Wales play Italy in the Six Nations today and I'm using these matches to give me some inspiration (see my recent Irish Meteor and French Lightning). Anyway, the stock RAF Hunter skin is a cracker and makes an Italian 'What If' Hunter so easy and making 'handed' versions of the 28°Gruppo patch and a selection of 3°Stormo codes probably took more time than anything else.

[SPINNERS]

Hawker Siddeley Aviation Harrier Mk.52 - 103° Gruppo, 2° Stormo, Aeronautica Militare Italiana, 1972

AMIHARRIERFG5201 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIHARRIERFG5202 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIHARRIERFG5203 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIHARRIERFG5204 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIHARRIERFG5205 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

AMIHARRIERFG5206 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

Hard luck Italy and well played Wales. BTW lovers of Hawker products (who isn't?) should be advised that the P.1121 is coming to Strike Fighters in the near future and it looks amazing.