THE EMPIRES TWILIGHT

[thedarkmaster]

Supremarine Attacker FR7

The Supermarine Attaker was an admirable craft for upgrading and the Royal Navy was in the Market constantly for new and better craft for it's never ending quest for naval supremacy.

The version modeled here is the FR7 with the longer span wings for the high altitude operations reqqired from the Admiralty and with the all moving tail . It also has 4 underwing stores points usually used as here for long rang tanks and either 2 Nuclear tipped Blue Bamboo missiles, or 2 recce pods.

This craft is pictured in the service with no 344 sqn QGL ( Queens German Legion ) an organisation putting Germans from the British controlled sector of Gremany into military service, the legion is intergrated at most levels into the British military structure ( as those whom have read my other posts will remember no Federal Germany was formed in this timeline so the UK is tapping this manpower resource. ) and is regarded just as any other member of the armed forces would be.

The craft is in the standard northern European scheme for the Royal Navy but does carry high viz strips put on for exersise Northern Resolve 3, to mark it as Orange force ( American ) invaders of Canadian territory.


















the model is a novo body with the wings and tail from a VEB Plasticart 1/100 Mi6, the tanks are from a Revell Su 25 and missiles and decals are spares box. Paint is mostly White Ensign and Revell.

[stalinspal]

I have just joined this board and i have noe read this all the way through and all i can say is wow, you have put 21 aircraft on here all within the same theme the depth and bredth of your imagination stuns me.
I just love the alternative take on the end of empire and how you have altered so much but kept it familiar at the same time  you do great work

[thedarkmaster]

YAK 54 " Desert Finch TGR1 "

As members of good standing within the New Commonwealth the Emirates within thr Persian Gulf where more than happy to provide money and facilities to the active Commonwealth members ie. the U, Canada and Australia but forming armed forces of their own was not really on the agenda, that is till the insurection in Aden and the uprisings against the sultan of oman, all put down by Commonwealth forces.

Dubai formed it's own air wing in 1984, it scoured the world for a cheap coin trainer and finally settled on the Yak 54 the USSR was currently offering. The aircraft used the experiance gained in Afganistan and used it on a current airframe.

The aircraft carries UK roundels but with a small badge to identify who was paying for it !! This Varient was stationed with Omani troops in the protectorate of Aden in 1986, it was the first oveseas deployment for the Dubai armed forces within the Commonwealth command, and they where deployed within the 14th mixed division with a Brigade from the UK, one from Australia and detachments from Nigeria and Oman.














this is the A-model kit of the yak a nice build but you just cannot get enough weight into it to stop it tail sitting.

The paint scheme is in Soviet colours from White Ensign and the decals are all from the spares box.

[thedarkmaster]

De Haviland Canada "SWASHBUCKLER" F2 + SR1

The late 1970's saw the Royal Canadian Navy in sore need of new fighter and strike aircraft for it's 5 light stike carriers. It was decided at the time to buy aircraft from the USA but that Canada would develop it's own aircraft for the end of the 1980's. De Haviland where approached by the Admiralty and asked to put forward proposals for a light aircraft capable of being used as a trainer, strike aircraft and fighter all with a common airframe.

De Haviland already had a proposal for a trainer to hand, and so they decided to modifie this to meet the new requirement. By 1982 the aircraft was in the air on trials and after succesfull trials the new aircraft named the Swashbuckler was accepted for service in 1989.

Both aircraft modled here are from the air group of HMCS New Brunswick before her sinking by US aircraft in the 1991 disaster,  and both had taken part in the attack and destruction of Boston.

The Swashbuckler had been accepted for service with the Royal Navy and the RAN with their light carriers but no deliveries had happened by 1991.



Both types together,









The Swashbuckler SR2

















Swashbuckler F2



As some of you will have noticed they are actually Yak130 trainers but i just got so fed up of waiting for the definative model i used them here. Paint is as usual with decals and stores from the spares box.

[GTX]

Wicked - what's the kit?

Regards,

Greg

[Geoff]

Excellent - love the alt history and the models. The RSDF roundels are inspired.

[thedarkmaster]

the Swashbuckler is the A-model yak130 kit, they are the two versions that have so far been available. Neither of them is the production varient.

[John Howling Mouse]

Very cool: the Swashbuckler is my favorite!   

[thedarkmaster]

BRISTOL " CABOT " R3

The Bristol aircraft Company Produced the bristol freighter with some mild sucess with the aircraft in service until the 1970's, but the company wanted to upgrade the basic aircraft and they decided to retrofit as many old airfames as possible with a new Rolls Royce Turbo jet powerplant.

The Aircraft designated the "CABOT" after the city of Bristols greatest merchant was an imediate sucess with many airfames going to Military customers whom appreciated the hot and high performace the new engine brought to the airframe.

One such cusomer was the royal Australian Airforce whom purchased 10 refitted and 18 new build craft for the inter Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and New Zealand theatre of operations, supporting New Commonwealth task forces Garrisons and deployments.

In the late 1970's the RAAF was sterting to be faced with a resurgent Red Chinease Peoples liberation Army and found itself in need of a Electronic surveliance aircraft to monitor the ongoing threat around areas considered Important to New Commonwealth interests.

The RAAF airstaff concluded that their Cabot aircraft carried enough space in their cargo bays to make them into ideal candidates for this upgrading. A total of 5 airframes where chosen and they where modified by the Commonwealth Aircraft corporation at it's Canberra facility.

Entering service with 96 sqd they found themselves deployed all around the Far East with a permament deployment to Hong Kong and Singapore to evesdrop on the Cinease communication in and around those areas.

the aircraft served well into the late 1980's before being replaced by a mixture of DHC Dash 8's and Hercules transports.

The airfame depicted here is based at Hong Kong in the early half of 1980 and is in the new cammo scheme tried out by the RAAF at the time for it's transports, not a great sucess the scheme did serve to gather information for the definative scheme of 1989. The aircraft was monitoring the then current build up of Chinease forces in rediness for the sucessfull assault on Formosa.



























the aircraft is the old Airfix bristol Superfreighter, the new Engines come from a scrap An-26 the areial farm is from the spares box, Decals are Xtradecal and paint is a mixture of Humberol and Revell.

[thedarkmaster]

little differant today we have the first ground target in the timeline

North American Vigilante SGR 4

Ordered from the USA for the Royal Navy as a strike and recon aircraft the Vigilant had a long and distingushed carear with the role switching from nuclear strike ( though they never lost the capability ) to deep penertration recon missions.

The Aircraft beneffited from the Tornado programe , with many computor and hardwear items being installed in the R4 version.

tis particular aircraft is from HMS Eagle on deployment to the Pacific in 1983-4 it is the airframe that was involved in the Tsing won incident with the Red Chinease and it's later scheme shows the craft with two kill markings below the left cockpit sides.

Shengjan Q-9

Following the fall of South Vietnam to the Tet uprising and the Red Chinease invasion and conquest of Taiwan the USSR found itself via it's allies in possesion of numerous F104 Starfighters and the desire to counter this mainstay of NATO.

The Mig OKB undertook this design challenge by mating its Mig 21 fueselage with the uprated engine, wings and tail of the F104. The new aircraft, the Mig 21 f7 was not accepted into the PVO service but was provided to the warsaw pact nations and had a licenced granted for the Red Chinease to produce for the PLAAF and export to allied nations.

The Shengjan Q-9 entered sevice in large numbers in PLAAF service and was used on all deployments, it was a mainly short range interceptor armed with only two missiles but made up for it in the large numbers brought to bear by the PLAAF.

The aircraft modeled is one of the 12 Red chinease fighters involved in the Tsing Won incident of 1983, it was identified from camera footage from the Royal navy Vigilant involved as the first aircraft to fire upon it and the first of two to fall to it's self defence missiles.



















And finally the " ground target"

Challenger mk1a

In Canadian service circa 1984 taking part in the exersise  "Northern Resolve " part of the blue defending force

[sotoolslinger]

The Shengyan Q-9 is my new favorite Nominated for the whiffies

[pyro-manic]

Anti-flash Vigi!!!   That looks so good it should be censored.

The Q-9 (Starfish? ) looks great as well - branching out into the other nations should be very interesting.

[bobbo]

Shenyang Q-9:  Somehow it looks SOOOOOOO RIGHT!   

Bobbo

[Ed S]

WOW!  Brilliant whiffery.  The Mig/Starfighter hybrid is most impressive.  I like the Swashbuckler; it's one way to use the AModel Yak 130 kit.



Ed

[Taiidantomcat]

That Vigilante is beautiful I never thought white could look so good! Well done on the Q-9 as well