THE EMPIRES TWILIGHT

[thedarkmaster]

Have two more this week, one the first Ethiopian on the thread and another Portugese aircraft  cause you just gotta love Portugal

[PR19_Kit]

The BOAC Tu-154, er sorry, VC12, is MAGNIFICENT thinking and execution! 

There's a HUGE stand at SMW, the work of three different groups, solely comitted to BOAC/BA. Your VC-12 would slot in there and no-one would even take a deep breath....... 

[thedarkmaster]

well real life intruded and got no time for photos during the light, so i made and painted another for the thread, so i now have a photo bottleneck with 3 aircraft to put on !!

[thedarkmaster]

Lancaster BIII ( Tewodro II ), Imperial Ethiopian Air Force, Ethiopia 1960

Almost immediately after the end of the Second World War Ethiopia acquired 31 "surplus to requirements" Lancaster BIII's from the RAF, individually named after Ethiopian Monarchs they entered service with the Imperial forces in 1947 after a while held up in Egypt over a small matter of the correct bribes and full paperwork.

The Lancaster's gave the Imperial Air Force an unmatched capability in the horn of African , giving her the status of almost a minor " great power ", beloved of Haile Selassie himself the aircraft were often seen at military parades and Imperial occasions.

the active number of aircraft fell gradually until Tewodro II or Theadore II was the only aircraft left in 1960 when she was sadly destroyed in a ground fire attributed to an electrical fault.


























model 163

[thedarkmaster]

Hawker Sea Hawk, The Navio da Republica Portuguesa, Infante D. Henrique. Atlantic ocean 1963

Acquired from sourpuss Royal Navy stocks as it was withdrawn from service the Sea Hawk was the fist Jet aircraft to serve in the Portuguese Navy, serving well for over 10 years until replaced by the supermarine Scimitar in 1971 ( Yes i will make one ), they saw service over Angola and in the Indian Ocean over Somalia.

Withdrawn from sea service in 1970 the Sea Hawks continued flying from bases in the Azores for another 6 years until the flying time on the airframes was used up.



























nother Portugese aircraft for the thread cause afterall you have gotta love Portugal  


model 164

[thedarkmaster]

De Haviland Sea Venom FAW57, HJMS KAWACHI, South China Sea 1964.

Following the more or less complete break with the USA after 1956 the UK made it's own way in the world and part of this way was the building up of it's carrier fleet and as new ships became available older usually wartime construction ships were disposed of or sold to friendly nations, one of these nations following the new Anglo Japanease treaty was of course Japan. Following the treaty in 1961 the older carrier HMS Theseus was transfer ed to Japan as His Japanese Majesties Ship Kawachi, part of this world stunning deal was the provision of the complete airwing ( initially of withdrawn RN stocks but of new build as experience increases ) and training until 1986.

The first such fighter was the Sea Venom FAW57 with the upgraded Ghost 110 engine and resplendent in it's new Japanease colours was aboard the ship for its first cruise into the South China Sea in conjunction with Royal Navy vessels in 1964, the aircraft was replaced by the Supermarine Scimitar in 1968 and the ship went on to fly off Phantoms and Etandards until it'sreplacement in 1988.

































resurgent Japan.......gotta love it


model 165

[NARSES2]

Great stuff, especially the Japanese Sea Venom

[thedarkmaster]

HUUUMMMMM last 3 didn't go down to well, ho hum. Should have a Canadian aircraft from 1956 on over the weekend, we'll see if it's any better received

[Weaver]

Errr just caught up with the last four pages: this thread can really get away from you very quickly....

All excellent stuff - I particularly like the cammo on the L-29 and the blue colour on the Japanese Sea-Venom.

Well done!

[chrisonord]

I am liking the sea Venom Tim, I have never really bothered looking at these aircraft in any detail, but I quite like the look of yours. Never been a fan of the seahawk, but yours certainly looks the part. I wonder how a pusher turbo prop version of the sea venom would look........
Chris.

[pyro-manic]

These last few are good as always, TDM - I particularly like the Brigand-style colour scheme on that Lancaster. And Sea Venoms are just sexy.

[thedarkmaster]

Blackburn Firebrand FB1a, HMCS Victoria, Atlantic Ocean 1956

With the commissioning of HMCS Victoria ( the former USS Lake Champlain ) in 1953 the Royal Canadian Navy was in a temporary need of a fighter to crew the large carrier, At the time the RN was phasing out the firebrand from service and it offered to loan the RCN these aircraft until the full decision on it's full replacement was made.

Serving with RCN roundels but RN serial numbers the Firebrand operated until later 1956 when replaced by another temporary fighter the Seahawk.

Operating in a darker than Normal grey the aircraft of the Victoria took over part of the duties of British carriers in the Atlantic whilst operations Musketeer I, II and III were played out in Egypt and the Med.



































None standard cammo on this, a bit of a vibrant Sky colour but i like it, nice little Valom kit i got from the Wooksta  

Not generally a fan of the whole shark mouth thing on aircraft but i think i works on this one  

Model 166

[PR19_Kit]

The Firebrand!  

The aircraft that nearly forgot its own tailplane.  

That does look good in RCN markings though, very plausible indeed.  

Er, shouldn't it be a Blackburn though??

[thedarkmaster]

Er, shouldn't it be a Blackburn though??

Yes it should, and it does now  the joys of having x-factor on in the background as you type........it rots your brains 

[NARSES2]

Always liked the Firebrand and you don't see many early ones