Saur's big bunch o' Stuff - now featuring more than ships! Black Eagle/Harrier!

[Rafael]

O great master of scratchbuilding-do

This little grasshopper bows before you in awe of your strong bash-chi and putty-fu

That VG frankenFlanker is just awesome!!!. Loads of awesome!!!

Rafa

[Brian da Basher]

I really like the contrast bewteen camo schemes on the wings and fuse of the jet, SR! I'm hoping you'll consider keeping those colors!

Brian da Basher

[Sauragnmon]

Thanks TT, the Koya's coming along well, she's exploded into existence rather rapidly from where she was, once I got those big turrets on their rings and in place she's taken more shape.

Rafa, thanks - I just happened to be sitting there looking at a dead Fencer, and a partially dead Flanker and the gears started spinning in my head, so I just kinda busted out the hacksaw and started chopping up the Fencer until I could get a relatively good fit on the wings - I had to slice the wings though, so they don't swing, I just fixed it at one angle and said good enough to do.  I've puttied up the joins and put the root-bobs in for targetting operations.  I'm still unsure exactly what I'm going to do around the tail boom, so it's still kinda up in the air.

BdB - the contrast really just came from the various donor kits, what I'm looking at is an Angolan three-green top over gray bottom pattern with a dark green nose, somewhat similar to the pattern I'll be doing on the Su-34 when I get it.  The main features of the build will be the revised fuselage - I'm going to smooth out the engine bays to the new wing roots - they're significantly larger by difference, so what I'm going to do is angle over the edges so it goes from the wing roots down to the engine bottoms, and then there's going to be a V-section between the two intakes and it'll run a smoothed over internal bay, sort of smoothing out the RCS a little - the additional scary part will be the weapons loading - I have an AS-6 I got from Maverick, I'm going to paint it up as a superheavy ARM (as the Russians have had ARM guidance packages on their cruise missiles as an option) and hang that from the tunnel, recessed into the new internalized bay.  I might also recess a few R-27's under the intakes, and hang a pair under the gloves.  I will probably also allude to a pair of weapons bays, hidden behind the gears, big enough for, say, an R-73 each side.  I'm not sure if I want to do additional work, I might facet the nose, smooth out the curve between the LERX and the spine, generally make it a smoother, more RCS-friendly version of the Crane we all know and love, while still retaining a lot of the general lines about it.


The only thing is, right now I'm on a big boat kick, so that's taking a priority for Now.

[Sauragnmon]

Just to prove to you boys that I'm still building plastic, here we go - Hobby Boss 1/700 scale Akula.  I did it over in Blackgray rather than Black, so I could deepen the recessed points in black, and pick out raised details in neutral gray.  I did the waterline in Silver for a little extra effect as well.  Yes, the towed array is gray as well, random desire.  Pics!







Questions, Comments, Queries, Rude Remarks, as always, welcome.

[sotoolslinger]

Cool stuff Saur .....but you need to get off those boats and get back on your VG Flanker I need a companion piece to go with mine

[Sauragnmon]

Yeah I know I need to get back to work on the VG Flanker, I actually puttied the wing joins a while back, but the Akula came on a whim, I put a little work in on my 21-97 I've had kicking around for a while, and there's this nagging voice in my head saying I need to finish Tirpitzski.  So many projects, so little time... what's a guy to do.  Tirpitzski needs to get finished before the deadline, after that I'm rather free to do what I want, though I need to polish off the F-14I for the ARC Whif GB as well.

[Sauragnmon]

Alright, mixed batch - I've done some work here on the Koya as well as the Su-27I.  Nothing major on the 27I, she's a little daunting, but I promise, after a little more boat fun, I'll get back to work.  Mostly the work on the 27I has been the Blendification of the wing roots and the wing gloves, they've been a right pain, and I THINK I've almost got them finished and smoothed.  Whether this is true is yet to be checked. Proof she's not dead.






The Koya has been given a little work - canvas paint process, the secondary guns I got by mail from a contact in Jolly Old, nothing too much really.








So there you have it - Questions, Comments, Queries and Rude Remarks are welcome.

[Sauragnmon]

Alright, as promised, pictures of the progress so far on the USS Charles J Barclay, DD-922.  The guns are probably a subtle thing to notice, but they are, so far, the current change to the layout on this ship overall.  If I can get a pair of Hedgehogs, I'll be cooking with gas, because I want to put those on the front rise.





Questions, comments, queries and rude remarks are welcome as always.

[Jschmus]

On the Barkley, are those 5"/54s, or something bigger?

The Koya looks good, but the armament layout is a little weird.

[Weaver]

Okay I'll stick my neck out: is the Bufu going to be the Shimakaze with Akizuki-style 3.9" guns?

If so, then bear in mind that the 3.9" was actually slightly heavier than the 5": my suggestion would be to remove the forward torpedo battery, which would more than compensate, and then used the remaining weight margin to smother it in 25mm AAA. The result would be a mixed AAA/Torpedo destroyer with a more traditional mix than the "radical" Akizuki. Since sixteen more Shimakazes were projected, but never ordered, you could make the backstory that several of them were laid down, but then modified on the slips when the need for better AA fire became apparent.

[Sauragnmon]

JS - yes, those are 5/54 twins as per Montana in the main battery.  Her secondaries are 3/50 RF mountings instead of the Bofors 40mm mountings.

Yes, the armament layout is weird, but my principle plan was to narrow the space between the big guns, so as to maximize the width of the hull, and to bring them closest to the belt as possible, so as to maximize their protection.  From there, I have the 6.1" guns, and the 3.9" guns mounted on the broadside.

Weaver - yes, you're dead on the nose - Shimakaze with 3.9" guns.  I'm intrigued as to how much heavier, and if it would actually have a notable difference on the total mount weight.  That was in essence my plan, was that Bufu is a modified design of the Shimakaze, thus her heavy destroyer-style name.  Keep in mind, the Shimakaze at her sinking already Was smothered in 25mm guns, being that she had the triple up front, triples on the pedestals, plus she had a whole slew of singles along her broadsides.  With the 3.9's, the 25mm hurricane wouldn't be as necessary, so they could actually save some weight.  I have a feeling the weight difference on the mounts wouldn't actually be all that much of an effect upon the hull, being that there are only three such turrets on that hull.

[Sauragnmon]

Alright, ladies, stick a fork in this puppy, she is DONE!  That's right, the Alicat has had her finishing touches put on.  Gear doors were on and painted, the missiles detailed, the markings painted - yes, that's right, Painted.









Questions, Comments, Queries and Rude Remarks are welcome.

[chrisonord]

Now that does look the dogs danglies
I like the new engines, SU-27?? and the mix of weaponry looks the part.
Marvellous!!
Chris.

[BlackOps]

Your Alicat looks like quite the scrapper! Anyone foolish enough to tangle with her is lookin' to get a major walloping! 

[Sauragnmon]

Those are AL-31's off an Su-34 model that's on my shelf, they fit on like a glove which was the scary part - clean attatchment right there into the engine bays.

Thanks for the comments, guys.