Trumpeter

[Weaver]

Here's an interesting thing I found (and bought) on Hannants: Trumpy's kit of a Chinese Jiaolong research mini-sub. If you want a generic 1/72nd mini-sub (and who doesn't?), this one is just as good as the Hasegawa Shinkai 6500, but is less than half the price. Don't let the 'pre-painted' tag put you off either: it ISN'T pre-painted, it's just molded in various colours of plastic that reproduce the real thing's colour scheme. Since the only consequence of this is to make the (red) top of the hull a separate piece from the (white) bulk of it, it doesn't really matter, indeed, you could exploit it to build a full interior!

It's on sale for a tenner at the moment, but even the normal price is only £15, while the Hasegawa one is £25.00.

Note that if you're looking for this, or the Hasegawa one, on Hannants, the search term that works is 'submersible': neither kit has 'submarine' or 'mini-sub' anywhere in it's name.

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/TU07303

[NARSES2]

Not usually my period but I've always been fascinated by the Tu-128 for some reason, perhaps because it was the largest "fighter" ever to see service ?

Trumpeter have now released this 1/72 version and have got me wondering about who else, apart from the Soviet Union, might have used them ? Perhaps even a strike/maritime strike version ?

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/TU01687

[zenrat]

Never exported IRL according to Wikipedia.
I suspect that in whiffworld it may turn out to have been used by the PDRV 
One could create something similar by scaleoramaing a 1/48 fighter into 1/72.

[NARSES2]

Never exported IRL according to Wikipedia.

No it wasn't and it was certainly a type designed to patrol the vast expanse the Soviets had to defend. Other then the US and Canada I can't really think of anybody who might have need of it's capabilities ? That's why I suggested the strike role.

However a Soviet Australia or New Zealand might be able to make use of it 

[zenrat]

China, the Union of African Socialist Republics, Chile?

[chrisonord]

I have one of the TU-128's nice kit it is too, and I think it could be drafted in to a strike roll too. Mine will be a wild weasel aircraft for the Cartel, and in a camouflage paint job
Chris.

[NARSES2]

China, the Union of African Socialist Republics, Chile?

Chile had crossed my mind as well

[AS.12]

Tu-128 strikes me as something Col. Gadaffi might have bought as a vanity project, instead of or before the MiG-25P.  Could have madea nuisance of itself out into the Med sea.

[Gondor]

Tu-128 strikes me as something Col. Gadaffi might have bought as a vanity project, instead of or before the MiG-25P.  Could have madea nuisance of itself out into the Med sea.

More likely the Persian Gulf than the Med as the easiest route there from Iraq is over Syria

Gondor

[Weaver]

Not usually my period but I've always been fascinated by the Tu-128 for some reason, perhaps because it was the largest "fighter" ever to see service ?

Trumpeter have now released this 1/72 version and have got me wondering about who else, apart from the Soviet Union, might have used them ? Perhaps even a strike/maritime strike version ?

https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/TU01687

It would certainly set the cat amongst the pigeons if they 'sold' them to Cuba...

Another slant on AS.12's Libya idea: Libya used Tu-22s in the war in Chad. One was shot down by French Mirage F.1s (another was shot down by a Hawk SAM), so maybe Libya would 'buy' Tu-128s to escort the Blinders on further raids.

[AS.12]

so maybe Libya would 'buy' Tu-128s to escort the Blinders on further raids.

Sounds like an excuse to paint one up in that lovely sand-and-spinach Libya camo, to make a Blinder-alike to catch the French out.

[Weaver]

so maybe Libya would 'buy' Tu-128s to escort the Blinders on further raids.

Sounds like an excuse to paint one up in that lovely sand-and-spinach Libya camo, to make a Blinder-alike to catch the French out.

Exactly: the F.1s go to intercept what they believe to be a flight of Tu-22s, then a couple of the 'Blinders' suddenly start transmitting AI radar and fire R-4Rs head-on before breaking away (you do NOT want to get into ACM with a Mirage F.1 in a 2.5g-limited Tu-128... ).

As even more of a whiff, you could replace the R-4s (AA-5 Ash) with later R-24Rs (AA-7C Apex). A Cuban MiG-23 actually took a South African Mirage F.1 down head-on over Angola with one of these weapons.

[Dizzyfugu]

Never exported IRL according to Wikipedia.

No it wasn't and it was certainly a type designed to patrol the vast expanse the Soviets had to defend. Other then the US and Canada I can't really think of anybody who might have need of it's capabilities ? That's why I suggested the strike role.

However a Soviet Australia or New Zealand might be able to make use of it 

Canada could have used the Tu-128 weapon system?
It's not the aircraft itself, it worked in combination with its armament and radar bases that guided the interceptors to potential targets. It was really a highly specialized item.

[PR19_Kit]

...... so maybe Libya would 'buy' Tu-128s to escort the Blinders on further raids.

Could they have kept up?

[jcf]

...... so maybe Libya would 'buy' Tu-128s to escort the Blinders on further raids.

Could they have kept up?

The fighter had a higher top speed than the bomber, and anyhow they wouldn't
be operating at top speed for the majority of the mission.