Re: Spinners' Strike Fighters Thread

[SPINNERS]

Hawker Hunter T.61 - Escuadrón Aéreo de Pelea 200, Fuerza Aérea Mexicana, 1981

FAM HUNTER T61.01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAM HUNTER T61.02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAM HUNTER T61.03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAM HUNTER T61.04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAM HUNTER T61.05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAM HUNTER T61.06 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

I was given this twin-tub Hunter back last summer to play with and although it's a beta (I think it's an FSX conversion) it flies real nice even with a stand-in A-6 Intruder cockpit c/w refuelling probe spoiling the view! I managed to overspray the painted-on markings to create a blank camo skin and I thought I'd use the decals from the Mexican single-seater I did nearly three years ago now (Page 123) to save some time. But no. This one fought me all the way with decals stubbornly refusing to show up on the left wing despite me trying all the mesh names under the sun so I had to revert to painting the FAM triangles directly onto the skin - not my preferred method. The rudder and all other markings are decals though and this brings back fond memories of the Matchbox F.6/T.8 kit of the 1970's.

[SPINNERS]

Canadair Sabre FB.6 - No.28 Squadron, RAF South East Asia Command, 1959

RAF SABRE FB6.06 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF SABRE FB6.07 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF SABRE FB6.08 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF SABRE FB6.09 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF SABRE FB6.10 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This Canadair CL-13B Mk6 Sabre is from 2009 but is based on an even earlier 3D model. The original and the updated are superb but the updated has fantastic skins that just needed a little touch of overspray to make a nice canvas for SEAC markings. I might do a No.20 Squadron machine with normal RAF markings or perhaps 1970's tactical markings.

[SPINNERS]

SOKO Komete - 101st Fighter Squadron, Serbian Air Force and Air Defence, 2010

In May 1982 the government of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, led by Petar Stambolić, announced the ambitious 'Novi Avion' programme with the aim of designing and manufacturing an air superiority fighter to supplement and eventually replace the Yugoslavian Air Force's substantial MiG-21 force. SOKO (the state aircraft manufacturer) were awarded a design study contract and by 1984 their proposal had crystallized into a single-engine, supersonic fighter aircraft featuring a delta wing with a canard foreplane. The 'Novi Avion' programme seemed to mimic the Republic's move away from Communism to a market economy by becoming a much more capable multi-role aircraft and therefore more attractive to potential export customers. Whilst this did mean an unavoidable escalation in aircraft size and weight it did mean that the excellent Lyulka AL-31F engine (as used in the Sukhoi Su-27) would be a perfect match.

In May 1986 the Yugoslavian Government ordered 150 'Novi Avion' aircraft to replace both its MiG-21 and Soko J-21 Jastreb fleets and the following month saw SOKO rename the aircraft as the SOKO Kometa (Comet). Development moved smoothly during the remainder of the decade and many elements of the aircraft programme such as production facilities, mock-up, cockpit simulator, etc. had been constructed. However the start of the new decade saw the political situation in Yugoslavia worsen and by 1991 Yugoslavia had begun to disintegrate into several smaller nations. Putting a brave face on the situation, SOKO announced a postponement of the programme but also an intent to continue "as soon as possible". Production facilities were partially dismantled and relocated to Serbia with SOKO absorbing Utva Aviation Industry (based in Pančevo) who had previously worked with SOKO in the manufacturing of the J-22 Orao and also the G-4 Super Galeb.

On April 28th, 1992 the two remaining republics of Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro, formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and President Dobrica Ćosić wasted no time in re-launching the Kometa programme. Behind the scenes, SOKO were instructed to simplify certain aspects of the Kometa which included reducing the number of weapon stations from 11 down to 7 by eliminating the four body pylons. The UN economic sanctions imposed on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were bypassed largely by switching to Chinese avionics. SOKO worked miracles in assembling the first Kometa prototype during 1997 although the first flight would have to wait until May 1st, 1998 when Major General Dragan Mihajlović lifted off from Batajnica Air Base. In 2003 the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia became officially known as the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro but by 2006 Montenegro left the union following a referendum leading to the full independence of Serbia and Montenegro. This political instability slowed the programme even further and it was not until June 5th, 2006 that the Kometa entered service with the 101st Squadron of the Serbian Air Force.

SERBIA KOMETA.12 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SERBIA KOMETA.13 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SERBIA KOMETA.14 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SERBIA KOMETA.15 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This is the Chengdu J-10A 'Vigorous Dragon' (sounds like a Viagra knock-off to me) masquerading as the Novi Avion a real world project that died the death when Yugoslavia disintegrated in the early 1990's. Some images of the Novi Avion show a Eurofighter Typhoon style intake whilst most show something resembling a single-engine Dassault Rafale. The J-10 is only slightly longer than the Novi Avion but is much heavier hence my backstory of a bigger aircraft essentially due to mission creep. Given the political situation there's absolutely no way this could ever have happened (I haven't even mentioned the hyperinflation in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of 2% per hour and 116.546 billion percent per year) but I quite enjoyed weaving a few elements of the real world into this backstory.

It won't surprise you to know that the 3D model originates from China but I removed the bolt-on refuelling probe and the weapon stations referred to in my backstory. The nose numbers take ages to do and I might re-use all of the decals on something else in Serbian colours.

[SPINNERS]

SOKO Komete - 241st Fighter Squadron, Serbian Air Force and Air Defence, 2016

SERBIA KOMETA.17 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SERBIA KOMETA.18 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SERBIA KOMETA.19 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SERBIA KOMETA.20 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SERBIA KOMETA.22 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

When looking through the archives at Combat Ace I found no less than FIVE J-10's all by the Chinese Insky Group. They're all essentially the same but represent their gradual refinement of the 3D model and I think this is the best one of all but even this one is from 2009. It's mapped completely differently though and I'll have to change my backstory as it has all four body pylons whereas the other 3D model only had the front two.

[SPINNERS]

SOKO Kometa - Montenegrin Air Force, 2010

Following the dissolution of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 the newly formed Republic of Montenegro was allocated 12 SOKO Kometa aircraft in settlement of their share of development and production costs for the years covering the brief union between the two nations.

MONTENEGRO KOMETA.02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

MONTENEGRO KOMETA.06 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

MONTENEGRO KOMETA.03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

MONTENEGRO KOMETA.05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

MONTENEGRO KOMETA.04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This represents the markings used by the Montenegrin Air Force between 2006 and 2018 after which they switched to a rather ugly 'starbar' type roundel.

[SPINNERS]

Mikoyan MiG-29A "Fulcrum-A" - 22nd Fighter Squadron, Croatian Air Force, 2013

Just before the fall of the Berlin Wall the Luftstreitkräfte der NVA (East German Air Force) took delivery of 20 MiG-29A and 4 MiG-29UB two-seaters. Following the reunification of Germany in October 1990 these MiG-29's were integrated into the Luftwaffe and were soon made NATO-compatible before being allocated to JG73 "Steinhoff" based at Laage Fliegerhorst. During the early part of 2004 JG73 began to receive the Eurofighter Typhoon and by August 2004 the last remaining MiG-29's had left Luftwaffe service for storage. After refurbishment they were sold to Croatia where the majority continue to fly operationally with the 22nd Fighter Squadron based at Pleso near Zagreb.

CROATIA MiG-29Acro.01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

CROATIA MiG-29Acro.02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

CROATIA MiG-29Acro.03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

CROATIA MiG-29Acro.04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

There are at least 3 MiG-29's available for 'Strike Fighters' and this is a beta version released by the DAT Group late in 2019. The lo-viz markings are just a bit boring don't you think?

[SPINNERS]

Messerschmitt Me-262A-1a - 86th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Soviet Air Force, 1946

SOVIET ME-262S.01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIET ME-262S.02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIET ME-262S.03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIET ME-262S.04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIET ME-262S.05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIET ME-262S.06 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIET ME-262S.07 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

There was several really nice skins released recently for Luftwaffe Me-262's but tucked away in the original model package by the DAT Group was this plain pale grey skin so I've added red stars, Russian-esque numbers and the red arrow fuselage marking seen on Soviet MiG-3's. Post-war, Avia produced 12 Me-262's as the Avia S-92 and CS-92 two-seater but these were short-lived.

[SPINNERS]

Messerschmitt Me-262A - 91st IAP, 2nd Air Army, Soviet Air Force, 1946

SOVIET ME-262S.09 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIET ME-262S.10 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIET ME-262S.08 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIET ME-262S.11 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIET ME-262S.12 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SOVIET ME-262S.13 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This skin was from the recent Me-262 skinpack by 'Wilches' and just needed a bit of overspray on the Balkenkreuz and Swastika before applying red stars, white cyrillic-ish numbers and a big white lightning flash/arrow. I prefer this one to the pale grey one.

[SPINNERS]

British Aerospace Hamilton C.3 - No.24 Squadron, No.38 Group, RAF Strike Command, 1988

RAF AN-26 HAMILTON C3.01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF AN-26 HAMILTON C3.02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF AN-26 HAMILTON C3.03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF AN-26 HAMILTON C3.04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF AN-26 HAMILTON C3.05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

An absolutely spiffing Antonov An-26 "Curl" was released earlier this week with nearly 50 skins covering, I'd imagine, almost all the civil and military operators of this twin-engined turboprop transport aircraft and I've used the Afghan Air Force skin for this RAF machine. Perhaps it was a Handley-Page design (it has a bit of Herald about it to me) that was further developed by it's successors?

[SPINNERS]

Antonov An-26 "Curl" - No.29 Squadron, South African Air Force, 1978

SAAF AN-26Z CURL.01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SAAF AN-26Z CURL.02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SAAF MIRAGE 3Z.02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SAAF AN-26Z CURL.03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SAAF AN-26Z CURL.04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

The recent An-26 release included this Czechoslovakian skin by 'paulopanz' and as soon as I saw it I thought it would look good in SAAF service although in the real world this was a non-starter as relations between the USSR/Russia and South Africa during the cold war were never good and only marginally improved after the collapse of the Soviet Union. BTW No.29 Squadron SAAF were a short-lived maritime patrol squadron flying Venturas during WW2 and my squadron badge is purely fictional. 'Strike Fighters' has no flyable transports but that's no problem with cockpit mods and third-party transports like this superb An-26 are freely available, although the only realistic mission when flying transports is reconnaissance which often ends in tears as shown in the last piccie.

[SPINNERS]

Boeing F-32Z - South African Air Force, 2012

SAAF F-32A SUNBIRD.01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SAAF F-32A SUNBIRD.02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SAAF F-32A SUNBIRD.03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

SAAF F-32A SUNBIRD.04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

This is an alternative Boeing X-32/F-32 with a 3D model by 'Cocas' (one of his first I believe) and based on a drawing by 'Bagera3005' who I'm pretty sure is a member here. It looks much better than the real X-32! I've done a very simple skin with no real line or rivet detail and I'll come back to this at some time to do it justice.

[SPINNERS]

Hawker Hunter FGA.9 - No.14 Squadron & No.75 Squadron, Royal New Zealand Air Force (attached to RAF SEAC), 1972

RNZAFHUNTERFGA911 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFHUNTERFGA910 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RNZAFHUNTERFGA909 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

These screenshots are from early 2010 and I've just brought them forward as they didn't sit right in the photosets which were both showing ground attack missions. I love this aeroplane!

[SPINNERS]

Everything That's Good About Photobucket 

This is now the only piccie of mine remaining on Photobucket and it's acting as a placeholder to keep my account open. However, I've still got a LOT of work to do in migrating to Flickr (i.e. Pages 15-117 inclusive) and I do need to get it all done by June 30th.

[SPINNERS]

Lockheed Starfighter F.3 - No.29 Squadron, RAF Strike Command, 1984

Delays in the UK's Tornado ADV programme lead to the RAF upgrading 38 Lockheed Starfighter FGR.2's to a new F.3 standard featuring the uprated J79-GE-19 engine (developing 12,000lbs dry thrust and 17,900lbs with afterburner) and the improved NASARR R-21G/H radar with moving target indicator and continuous wave illuminator for the Skyflash semi-active radar homing missile. Entering service with No.29 Squadron in 1980 the Starfighter F.3's remained in service until 1991.

RAF STARFIGHTER F3.01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF STARFIGHTER F3.02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF STARFIGHTER F3.03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF STARFIGHTER F3.04 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

RAF STARFIGHTER F3.05 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

A nice easy one this as it uses the stock RNLAF grey skin with a slightly darker tint (-10% lightness) plus No.29 Squadron markings and new white serial numbers.

[SPINNERS]

Lockheed F-104B Starfighter - 8 Grupo, Fuerza Aerea Argentina, 1981

FAA STARFIGHTER F-104BA.01 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAA STARFIGHTER F-104BA.02 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

FAA STARFIGHTER F-104BA.03 by Spinners1961, on Flickr

I quite like this but it really has had me pulling my hair out all morning! I downloaded the F-104B and was going to do something RAF-ish but after checking out this sweet USAF SEA skin I thought I'd go for an Argentinian machine. My 8 Grupo badge was converted to show the F-104 instead of a Mirage and I already had all the other decals to hand. Everything was going OK and I thought a yellow rudder and yellow tip tanks would set it off but I ran into massive problems with the assymetric tip tanks. I then downloaded the F-104D to see how it's done and the tip tanks worked just fine on that so I removed the refuelling probe only to find that my decals would not show on the different 3D model. Baffling! I think it was something obvious but I just couldn't work it out so I went back to the F-104B and pasted in the info to get the tip tanks to work although they're still not quite sitting right (piccie 3). I might try these decals on the Third Wire single-seater at some time.