The Mad Scientist's Mad Draft

Sauragnmon · September 25, 2008, 05:26:22 PM

Alright... I want to do a modified F-20 for the build. I'm going to take my bashing hammer and re-engine the puppy with an RD-33, shape it a little, and do it Iranian style. The background is, it's a high-power single-engine testbed, another of their not-quite-tiger birds. So, to get it into the Gray Pride, well, I have an issue. The Tigershark has been seen in BOTH high and low vis colourschemes. This presents a dilemma, as I don't know which it would fit in. What am I going to do? BMF! I'm going to do it as a demonstrator, riding naked with a few pasties in all the right places to make it servicable. This Tigershark's going Godiva!

Or at least that's my thoughts. I don't know where it stands compared to the rules, and I haven't ordered the bird yet. Feedback, thoughts, questions, comments, queries, rude remarks are welcome. Hell, maybe a profile would be cool too. I think I can smack this baby together, plus bashwork, in the timeframe!

The Rat · September 25, 2008, 08:23:32 PM

Quote from: Sauragnmon on September 25, 2008, 05:26:22 PM...riding naked with a few pasties in all the right places...

Thanks for making me feel old, I can remember seeing pasties (don't tell the wife).

Sauragnmon · September 25, 2008, 09:15:07 PM

Ha ha ha nice, ah don't worry, they still have pasties on TV, in a digital format, even if it's little more than the equivalent of somebody smudging his thumb on the lens to hide the details. Anybody with a pair of eyes and a few brain cells knows what's under the smudgies, but hey.

gooberliberation · October 02, 2008, 08:38:47 PM

Can't go wrong with a Tigershark!

Sauragnmon · November 10, 2008, 02:34:02 AM

Alright, I've had the Tigershark for a bit, I worked on the engine mounting and the cockpit first, but tonight, on impulse, I slapped together some of the fuselage. The wings are a dry fit. I also had a thought on a change of nationality - the F-20 fought against the F-16 for sales, what if the F-20 had actually won out, and Egypt had imported it? Egypt operates the F-16, would thus operate the F-20, and they've recently lost import deals through the US, because of their slip-up during DACT of always planning with Israel as the opfor. They've been getting buddied up to Russia, I read, and with the Mirage conversion to an RD-33, the F-20 could be an equally suitable option - combine this with other potentials like upgrading their MiG-21's to 21-2000, and the Mirage Upgrades, plus purchasing MiG-29SMT, the commonality would definately serve a benefit. First things first, the main attraction - the Burner Can. I stole this off a MiG-29 kit, ironically I believe a Hasegawa, and here it is, merged onto a Hasegawa F-20. I figured the extension on the mounting might be necessary, thus the nozzle is mounted in this place. There's a step gap onto the RD-33 nozzle from the original F-20 engine, which shall need some PSR. I already slapped on some of the base metal layer - I thought making it a supreme show-off bird would be great, the touted first aircraft to make the conversion, so to speak, so bare metal with the EAF Red Patches on it should look real real sexy.

So, there's the first production pictures. Aircraft so far looks promising, and I'll be rearming it with Russian weapons as well - I was thinking, if I can fit it, of putting a Kh-31 on the centerline, just because it'd look bloody cool, but I don't know I'd have ground clearance for the weapon just yet.

Anyways, as usual - Questions, Comments, Queries, Rude Remarks - all welcome!

Brian da Basher · November 10, 2008, 03:02:05 PM

Coming along nicely, Saur! I really like how you added the metal color. Could work either as a very weary BMF or as the udnerpainting for some paint chipping.

Brian da Basher

Sauragnmon · November 10, 2008, 04:51:14 PM

Well, the pictures were foremost for a "Proof of Existence" shot in this case. There's more metal to be added to that, and I plan a BMF with markings, I'm probably going to do a black-bordered red anti-glare strip down the nose from the cockpit, a dark nosecone, and I just have to use the Egyptian Red-brick display markings - I fell in love with those the second I saw them.

Sauragnmon · November 13, 2008, 11:42:02 PM

Well, no pictures of the project yet, but at the behest of a friend, I decided to take from a donor kit, some new engine intakes. Granted, with the modifications to get them on, not sure anybody might notice them. Now I'm sharpening my Putty Fu and having to build out the engine passages so they match up to the new outlines. Granted, it pretty much means I don't think there will ever be a lack of airflow coming through these intakes, since I didn't reduce their size by much. They actually flowed over the entirety of the LERX's to mount into place, so the smoothing out has to go in sections since my Bondo has been decidedly... liquidy of late. I applied the first chunk on the right engine cowling before writing this post, once it solidifies I might be able to get it done in a second application, followed by liberal sanding to smooth the outline to a nice flowed curve.

Sauragnmon · November 14, 2008, 09:47:51 PM

Alright, after liberal quantities of Bondo, and I'm not even done smoothing these out, here we have the process so far of the new intakes - yes, I deleted the LERXs to fit these monsters in place. I wonder if anybody can guess the source of these intakes.

Sauragnmon · November 18, 2008, 01:17:44 AM

Alright, update time!

I cleaned up that mass of putty-fu - screw the sandpaper, I used the back edge of my Exacto! I got it shaved down a little faster that way. There's still dents and dings, and I could have smoothed it out, but after five round, I said to hell with it and slapped on the steel paint before I drove myself to drink. Additionally, for tonight's update, I JUST finished the identification patches. Still have to refine some of the black lines, but they were too sexy for me not to slap up here. I'm debating roundels and flags, I'm not too confident I can get them clean with my freehand, and I don't have decals, and hate doing decals as a record. Not to mention, if you don't know who owns the plane with the big black-outlined red patches, roundels and flags just aren't gonna help you.

As always - questions, comments, queries, rude remarks are welcome.

Amphion · November 18, 2008, 01:45:08 AM

Painting free hand w/o masking are we

- Manly, pure and simple

Sauragnmon · November 18, 2008, 02:04:49 AM

Masking's for sissies, and airbrushes are for the lazy! *Flexes his muscles*

Weaver · November 18, 2008, 02:53:15 AM

Are the intakes from a Macross robot of some kind? They look vaguely familiar.......

Nice colour scheme!

Sauragnmon · November 18, 2008, 04:11:43 AM

They should be Vaguely familiar... they had to have some serious alterations though - I had to chop the mount-side of them out, I had to carve off a chunk to join them up to the fuselage, and I had to chop the swept angle off them so they'd fit to the already-positioned mounting point.

I knew the BMF was what I wanted, and the second I saw the Egyptian Ident Markings, I was like "That's it, I HAVE TO DO THOSE!"

Brian da Basher · November 18, 2008, 12:28:21 PM

Outstanding, Saur! I can totally relate to getting to the point of "enough's enough!" during the PSR (Putty, Sand, Repeat) phase. I really like the look of this bird and I vote you stick with the ID panels and maybe add some code letters or numbers and keep it looking like a prototype test-bed.

Brian da Basher