1987 CAF Mirage CF-10 **F I N I S H E D**

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Well the resits are over, I passed the two hardest papers and took the third one this morning, probably hear back on that one early next week. So back to the modelling. On Friday I'll be finishing and photographing the loadout, and getting-on witht the build proper. As this is a kit dating back to the early 1980's there isn't too much to furnish the cockpit, in fact it's not too dissimilar to the recently compelted Gripen/Griffin.

Once completed the fuselage/wings will drop together quite quickly but as it is a thirty year old kit, the chances are it will be needing some serious attention from the putty & wet'n dry. Obviously as soon as I post-up the first pics of the fuselage, you'll see what it is..... alternatively I could simply wait and post pics only when it's finished, and start something else in the meantime.....

Hmmmm, the two-seat Rafale or perhaps that Mitsubishi F-2B 

Ian

[Ed S]

Glad to hear things are going well in the academic world for you.  Looking forward to your next masterpiece.

Ed

[Mossie]

Slow on the uptake on this one.  My vote goes to the asymetric load out too, but I guess that's already won by a landslide, although I guess you reserve the right to ignore us completley.   Hmm, thirty year old kit, probably single seat, 1/48 your favoured scale, worried about clearance on the centreline pylon, I'm guessing at an Esci/Airfix Viggen....

Well done on the re-sits mate, fingers crossed for the last one!

[anthonyp]

Now that I've had time to think about it (and seeing some other names), how about Wild Winnepagian?   

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Luvvit, Tovarich Anatoli, S'basiba 

Ivanovich

[anthonyp]

COMRADE!!!!

Is GREAT day in GLORIOUS Soviet Union!!!!

Always glad to give a spurious name to a Decadent Western aircraft that could not possibly affect out superior workers' brotherhood anti-air defenses...

What?  VIETNAM NEVER HAPPENED!!!  Nor did Gulf War I!  Or so I've been told...  

Do not quote facts to me, the Vodka has given me clarity!!!

ZA RODINA!!!

(BTW, it should still be an F-5B Wild Winnepagian LOL)
Comrade Captain Anatoly Iosef Pakizorich, Naval Aviation Bureau

[nev]

Hmmmm, the two-seat Rafale or perhaps that Mitsubishi F-2B 

You know I shouldn't have to tell you the answer to this...

[ChernayaAkula]

^ Well, what would you tell him? I think that's a bloody tough decision!

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

^ Well, what would you tell him? I think that's a bloody tough decision!

You're right Moritz. Together with the F/A-18F the Rafale 'B' and the F-2B are simply the sexiest looking two-seaters (IMHO), flying today.... And I'm guessing you'll be quite pleased with what I have planned for all of them.....

.....In the meantime, I've made a decision about the CAF 'Mad Moose' project, I'll post the loadout pics tomorrow - assuming I get it all finished, then post a pic in a couple of weeks of the aircraft in it's 'primed and ready for paint' state. In the meantime, once I decide between the Rafale 'B' and the F-2B, I'll start a step-by-step build thread in a similar style to our friend FAR, but obviously accompanied by more grainy and/or out-of-focus photographs 

Ian

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Loadout mostly done. Dont know where I put the decal sheet for the ALQ pod, so will have to sort that out later. Evrything shiny in this pic will be matted down later.



Ian

[nev]

^ Well, what would you tell him? I think that's a bloody tough decision!

You're right Moritz. Together with the F/A-18F the Rafale 'B' and the F-2B are simply the sexiest looking two-seaters (IMHO),

I'm afraid Ian its already been scientifically proven by top, er, scientists, that in order to be classed as "sexy" a 2-seat jet has to have separate canopies.  Cf "F-4 Phantom".  And I'm a scientist (that's what I tell the kids anyway ), so I should know



[hint] Oh, and BUILD THE F-2!!!! [/hint]

[Captain Canada]

Ooooh.....

Hoh hoh hoh......


Mmmmmm.....

Ahhhhh......


Woah !

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Toad, you aren't gonna believe what happens next...... trust me 

Ian

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Some history:

The Aircraft:
In the dark days of the late fifties and early sixties, when Canada almost lost their outstanding CF-105 Arrow, to Diefenbaker's swinging axe, there were many in Canada and abroad who 'knew' that the United States had more than a casual interest in the cancellation of the project.

The memory – accurate or not – remained in the psyche of successive Canadian governments and their Defence Ministries. In 1967 after witnessing with the rest of the world the incredible success of the Heyl Ha'Avir's Mirage III in the 6-Day War, it was decided to (initially), supplement the RCAF's Hawker Hunters with Mirage IIIE's and eventually replace them with a combination of III's and V's.

Later, in the early 1970's it was decided to replace the (non-radar equipped) Mirage V's with the then new Mirage F-1C as a multi-role type primarily to fulfill Canadas' NATO comitments in Europe. The F-1C's (Canadian designation CF-10), underwent a number of modifications during their operational lives including the fitting of stronger outer wing pylons from retired RCN A-4 Skyhawks, adapting the Marconi ECM fin-top fairing utilised by RAF Phantoms and fitting the same Thomsen Brandt laser designator as used-by the AdA's Mirage F-1CT's.

" Molson Lead, 'Rifle' "
It had been an increasingly tense period in post-war European history, comparable with the Berlin Airlift and the raising of the Berlin Wall.

In 1979 the Solidarity Movement in Poland had caught the imagination of a nation and, as these things do, inspired oppressed people of other nations to similar deeds. The 'Second Hungarian Uprising' in the autumn of 1980 looked for just a few months that it would precipitate the first popular overthrow of a Warsaw Pact Socialist Communist regime.

An uneasy truce was reached between the sympathetic socialist government in Budapest and the 'Hungarian Democratic Union'. In Moscow, Leonid Brezhnev's helath and grip on power was failing and the manoevering for the presidency was in full flow. From nowhere, a military 'sect', fiercely conservative and terrified that 'counter-revolutionary modernisers' may get a voice in the Kremlin horse-trading that was underway, entered Moscow on New Years day 1981, they installed their 'puppet' Pavel Greshenko, a mid-ranking party apparacik who had never ventured further than 100km away from his home town of Jaraslavl , as de-facto president and the temperature of the Cold War dropped by another thirty-degrees.

Jump forward to 1987. Lech Walesa, founder of the original Polish Solidarity movement is in hiding with his family 'somewhere in the West', in his homeland General Jaraszelski has, with KGB and Staszi assistance, crushed the movement. In Hungary the founders and leading members of the HDU, have either been eliminated, gaoled or are also in hiding.

In the borders skies between East Germany, Czechoslovakia and West Germany an increasingly dangerous game of 'brinksmanship' was being played-out almost daily between Warpac air and ground units and their NATO opposites.

May 1st    
Two mobile SA-3 batteries track and lock-onto a routine West German 'SIGINT' aircraft flying eight kilometres inside the West German border, north of Wieden. The crew take evasive action

May 4th   
On a low-level familiarisation flight in the same area, an American RF-4 is tracked and locked-on by a series of SAM radars.

May 5th    
Two Marineflieger Buccaneers are engaged, but not fired upon by a pair of Polish AF interceptors in international airspace.

May 7th   
A CAF Mirage IIIER, again on a routine recce training flight is fired upon by a mobile SA-6 unit from inside East Germany. The pilot evades two missiles, but his violent manoevers cause the engine to surge then flame-out. He ejects safely, but the prevailing wind blows him to within three hundred metres of the border. An East German Border Guard unit crosses into West Germany but fails to capture him. Shots are exchanged with West German police.

May 9th   
All NATO aircraft regularly operating within fifteen kilometres of the Czech, Polish and East German borders are to carry live ammunition, pilots are authorised to defend themselves in the event of hostile action taken against them or any other NATO and/or civilian aircraft.

May 10th   
'Molson Flight' of three CAF CF-10's, at medium altitude, east of Wieden im Oberpfalz are locked-up by a Czech army 'Straight Flush' radar from across the border. A SAM-6 is fired, but 'malfunctions' and explodes close to a road intersection east of the town.

'Molson Lead' carrying an AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile, identifies the still transmitting radar site. 'Molson Lead' and his wingman fire their missiles.

The radar site is hit.

Seeking and receiving further authorisation, 'Molson Flight' are cleared to engage the now rapidly retreating SAM-6 launch vehicle and accompanying support vehicles. Positively identifying the vehicles, each aircraft makes a single pass, each dropping a pair of BL755 'cluster bombs'.

The Cold War has momentarily become 'hot'

Ian

[nev]

A Mirage F-1?  Oh Ian, why did you have to choose such a horrid aircraft?  *shakes head in dismay*