Heinkel He-121 Stratospheric Fighter

dumaniac · January 12, 2011, 11:37:23 PM

the piping looks good - looks just like a conversion I did on a Fw 190 C

nice

Bernie

sequoiaranger · January 15, 2011, 11:12:04 AM

If you have seen my "Globrey Blordiator" or "Supermarine Defender" you know I like to sometimes incorporate "landscape elements" into my whif camouflage. After all, the top of the aircraft is SUPPOSED to resemble the landscape below so as to blend in, or at least delay accurate identification.

For my high-altitude fighter over Japan, I am going to incorporate abstract city and country landscapes, as in the "painting dummy" below (the old 1/100 Faller He-111 wing). I took note of a novel, grid pattern "masking" technique (someone's helo--sorry to not remember whose) to simulate built-up areas. These areas of Japan are often along rivers, so I added a shiny, metallic-blue squiggle (the blue is NOT apparent in the photo), as well as some green "agricultural" patches to the overall hazy-blue-gray background. The "city" is black underneath, with the blue-gray sprayed over a plaster-patch thin-metal grid I found in a hardware store!! I think it does the trick!

dumaniac: >the piping looks good-looks just like a conversion I did on a Fw 190 C<

That's the look I was trying for---the Fw-190 V-18 had something much like it, so I "copied" the look for my Heinkel.

BTW, I may name this plane the "Soryu" which means "Gray-Blue Dragon". in Japanese. I would have preferred "Hiryu", or "Heaven-Bound Dragon", but that moniker was already applied to the Ki-67 bomber.

sequoiaranger · January 16, 2011, 11:04:55 AM

Taking my own counsel, and that of "rickshaw", into consideration, I have muted the Heinkel's "landscape elements" camo. I do believe that slightly-variegated color and shape is harder to discern to the human eye than single-color, but the "cities" and "rivers" turned out too dark for me in the first iteration. I have toned it down a bit, and am now satisfied:

Not seen (yet) is the "Spiralschnause" (my first-ever attempt at such) spinner that the Luftwaffe thought would "dazzle" bomber gunners. In my world, the Japanese hear about it and decide to try it on the "Soryu".

Taiidantomcat · January 17, 2011, 07:31:23 AM

That is very unique camo

sequoiaranger · January 21, 2011, 05:34:38 PM

Though I have one "large" self-criticism of this build (and something I can't undo), I really like the look. What an aircraft that would have been!

The first pic is of the "business end", showing off the mortar clusters and 37mm bomber-destroyer guns, as well as the grille of the large ventral scoop, the outrigger take-off wheels, and the Spiralschnause:

In the following shot one can see the transplanted He-70 wheel wells, the requisitioned "army" mortar clusters, and some of the turbocharger piping. The dark blue camo is for blending into the sky a LOT higher up in the atmosphere than my house at 1200 feet:

The top view exposes the small canopy (can't really see "bubblehead" inside), the exhaust/turbo piping, some kill marks (there is a red star at the end of the yellow, down-pointing bombers) and the hazy, high-altitude camo of my own invention.

The natural daylight was fading on me tonight as I was taking pics, but I may have better pics tomorrow, with close-ups--after all, with the immense wingspread of this bird, "whole" pictures don't show much detail.

Now comes a self-enforced building hiatus of two months, as I prepare for, and embark upon, an Asian vacation.

John Howling Mouse · January 21, 2011, 05:41:25 PM

Truly magnificent! You always manage to amaze me. That first photo actually looks "too good" to be a physical model. If it wasn't for your hand in the pic, I would have thought it was a computer generated image.

Wow, what a great job!

Taiidantomcat · January 21, 2011, 06:15:56 PM

Everything about it is unique, the pilot, the paint, the design... Really great in every area

Stargazer · January 21, 2011, 06:37:16 PM

Quote from: John Howling Mouse on January 21, 2011, 05:41:25 PM
If it wasn't for your hand in the pic, I would have thought it was a computer generated image.

Ditto. I thought exactly the same when I first saw the pic. Amazing!

Ed S · January 21, 2011, 08:43:11 PM

This one looks good. Original and creative design. But it still retains the Heinkel look.

Well done.

Ed

dumaniac · January 21, 2011, 10:40:17 PM

Nice one - I am impressed.

The wing strength is good, judging by the pics. Any chance of a pic of the canopy/cockpit area.

and that blue sure is blue

cheers Bernie

GTX · January 21, 2011, 10:55:59 PM

sequoiaranger · January 22, 2011, 11:21:10 AM

OK--here are some decent photos of the "Soryu" high-altitude fighter. The first one shows off the long wingspan and camo:

This one shows off the He-111-esque profile, if you imagine the canopy back a little farther (gunner's perspex) and the nose "clear":

This is the "business end":

This is the top quarter:

This is the close-up of the cockpit area and the turbo-charger set-up:

My "issue that can't be resolved" is the crummy way that my envisioned "pipe in a trough" didn't come out looking the way I had hoped. I ground down the "pipe" (in truth solid sprue) to half-diameter, and gouged out the edges of a trough to make the pipe appear half-sunken in to the fuselage. Didn't work, IMHO, but the piping itself looks cool, methinks. I was tempted to use the He-70 skinny wheels, but I used "Stuka" wheels instead. Now they seem a little massive, but if they were there to take the weight of a mere Stuka, they should be about right for the "Soryu".

Still, I think the aircraft looks mean and plausible, especially for Japanese desperate to knock down the B-29's.

proditor · January 22, 2011, 11:58:25 AM

I think it looks amazing.

Tophe · January 22, 2011, 11:31:56 PM

weird...!

sequoiaranger · January 23, 2011, 09:53:17 AM

I'm glad y'all like it and have taken the time to tell me so.

Taiid:>Everything about it is unique, the pilot, the paint, the design... Really great in every area That is very unique camo<

Though sometimes a "weird" aircraft in a "standard" camo and markings is a good thing, I do enjoy whiffing camo along with the aircraft. The low stratosphere was "new ground" during WW II and thus was not really militarized until the end of the war, and at least American aircraft operated with relative impunity and were NOT camouflaged. So it's a wide-open field for camo whiffing.

John H. Mouse: >Truly magnificent! You always manage to amaze me.<

Thanks. BTW, I did receive the Vac-U-Form sheets. They are a little thicker than Mattel's but I have not yet used them to discern their true characteristics.

Ed S: >This one looks good. Original and creative design. But it still retains the Heinkel look. Well done.<

My mission, then, was fulfilled!

dumaniac: >Nice one - I am impressed. The wing strength is good, judging by the pics. Any chance of a pic of the canopy/cockpit area. and that blue sure is blue<

That deep blue I used is actually about what I have seen on Ki-100 fighters (one of which will grace my collection), so it isn't too far off from reality.

SGazer2006, GTX, Tophe, proditor: Thanks for the encouragement.

**I have a fun backstory (methinks), and I was going to put it up on my "Furashita's Fleet" website and link it here, but my HTML program crashed and....well things will be delayed. It is too long here to use up bandwidth. (Sigh) later.