RMI-11 'Sólyom', Hungarian Air Force, based at Veszprem, Summer 1944

[Army of One]

The tailplanes look a bit Ki84 'ish....but the fin n rudder don't. ...

[Army of One]

How about a modified Ki61 tail unit....?

[Dizzyfugu]

Yes, Hungarian vehicles are rare - and it was actually more difficult to find a user for this aircraft than bashing it. But I am a big Hungary fan, spent several childhood holidays there (actually, twice in the vicinity of Veszprem at Lake Balaton. Weird conincidence, though) when the Cold War was still a serious issue - wonderful country, and this is a kind of small and late tribute.

[Tophe]

I don't know the source but I know the derivative: RMI-11Z Solyom Zwilling...

Thanks again for this creation!

[Hotte]

A pretty sister for my Szuber Morani 

http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,36365.0/highlight,super+morani.html

Hotte

[martinbayer]

The back half looks like it came from a Nakajima Kikka.

Martin

[Weaver]

It looks great, but I'm struggling to identify the bits too....

Front fuselage from a P-39 Airacobra?

[McColm]

Wow flying without pilots!! Neat trick.

[TallEng]

Hmmm..... My thoughts  the rear fuselage Tailplane and fin rudder are from a Harvard
The nose looks like an Airocobra with a P47 Thunderbolt canopy or alternatively a P80 canopy,
Wings Fw190???

Nicely done

Regards
Keith

[Weaver]

It looks great, but I'm struggling to identify the bits too....

Front fuselage from a P-39 Airacobra?

Wings and canopy from a P-80 Shooting Star?

[loupgarou]

Let's review the tips Dizzy has given;
- There are three major ingredients - two for the fuselage, one for the wings...
- But the early jet fighter idea is NOT bad at all!
- But there's some major Italian heritage.
- Nothing Russian at all, at least in the major ingredients

I'd think a DB engined plane, but the exhausts seem aligned with the spinner's center, should be a little lower.

[rickshaw]

I'm going with something Japanese for the rear fuselage, perhaps the afore mentioned Kikka?  The wings might be from a Hien?

[Dizzyfugu]

I don't know the source but I know the derivative: RMI-11Z Solyom Zwilling...

Thanks again for this creation!

May I copy & re-post it in my FlickR account!? I feel deeply honored!

Well, and it's time to reveal the RMI-11's ingredients... the Japanese track ain't bad!


The kit and its assembly:
This is a serious kitbash and a totally fictional aircraft - and you are IMHO an expert modeler if you recognize what basically went into it!

This build was inspired when I recently bought an RS Models Nakajima Kikka jet fighter, the double seater kit. As a bonus it comes with two fuselages: effectively, it is the single seater kit with an extra sprue and a different canopy. Looking at the Kikka's profile I found that it HAD to be converted into a piston engine aircraft, with a liquid-cooled engine. Wings and anything else would come from the scrap box, but it should become a sleek fighter aircraft, a late WWII design.

From that, things went straightforward:
● Fuselage from a RS Models Nakajima N9J1 "Kikka", front end cut away
● Wings from an Revell Macchi C.200 Saetta
● Stabilizers from an Art Model MiG I-210 fighter
● Canopy from a late Supermarine Spitfire (Special Hobby, IIRC)
● Nose/engine and radiators from an RS Models Ki-78
● The propeller was scratched from single pieces/blades and the Ki-78 spinner
● The landing gear is a Ki-78/C.200 parts mix.

I settled for the Ki-78's radiator installment on the rear flanks because it is a unique feature and simply does not hamper the sleek side profile. I also thought that this might have been a smart solution for modular production - fuselage and wings could be completed separately.

1:72 RMI-11 'Sólyom', aircraft W-210 of 101.Vadaszezred, 1.Osztalyszazad "Red Pumas" of Hungarian Air Force, based at Veszprem, Summer 1944 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Ki-78 engine had to be widened considerably to match the Kikka's trapezoidal fuselage diameter, putty and major sculpting resulted in a relatively smooth and subtle intersection. As per usual, an axis construction for the propeller was added, too, so that it can spin freely. Mating wings and fuselage necessitated a new cockpit floor (which acts at the same time as landing gear well interior), and a 3mm bridge at the wing roots had to filled – but that was easy.
The cockpit interior was outfitted with spares, the Spitfire canopy needed some small styrene wedges under the windshield to make it fit onto the Kikka fuselage.

1:72 RMI-11 'Sólyom', aircraft W-210 of 101.Vadaszezred, 1.Osztalyszazad "Red Pumas" of Hungarian Air Force, based at Veszprem, Summer 1944 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Things went rather smoothly until I fixed the wings to the completed fuselage. However I placed them, it looked odd – too far back, and the nose stood out; too far forward, and the tail was too long. Somehow, proportions did not match – only slightly, but it bugged me. So far that I eventually decided to shorten the fuselage – after having completed it, radiators already in place and everything sanded even. I made a vertical cut behind the cockpit and removed ~7mm of length – and suddenly the aircraft looked good! Needed some extra body work, but the aircraft looks much more balanced now.

1:72 RMI-11 'Sólyom', aircraft W-210 of 101.Vadaszezred, 1.Osztalyszazad "Red Pumas" of Hungarian Air Force, based at Veszprem, Summer 1944 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 RMI-11 'Sólyom', aircraft W-210 of 101.Vadaszezred, 1.Osztalyszazad "Red Pumas" of Hungarian Air Force, based at Veszprem, Summer 1944 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The underwing fairings for the cannons were late additions, too. I wanted to keep the fuselage clean, with no nose guns, but adding heavier armament turned out to be tricky. The fairing solution was inspired by a real-world Fw 190 Rüstsatz which featured two MG 151/20 apiece. I had appropriate parts from an Academy Fw 190 left over, so I sliced these up and narrowed them for a single cannon each, and this was the right size for the slender aircraft. All gun barrels were created through heated and pulled-out styrene tubes.


Painting and markings:
Deciding what this aircraft was to become was tougher than building it! With its clearly German origin it had to be a WWII Axis type, but I did neither want a German nor a Japanese aircraft, even Italy was ruled out – all too obvious. With Hungary and its RMI designs I eventually found a good potential origin, and this also allowed a rather "colorful" livery. With the Hungarian background this kitbash became the RMI-11.

The paint scheme was inspired by an experimental Hungarian camouflage in Green, Gray and Brown, seen on a Bf 109G. I could not find color indications, but in the end I settled for three RLM tones for the upper sides, RLM 71, 75 and 79, coupled with RLM 76 for the lower sides. All tones are enamels from Modelmaster's Authentic range, panels and leading edges were slightly emphasized with lighter shades. As a small design twist I added a wavy, medium waterline on the fuselage sides.

Interior surfaces were, lacking any reference, kept in RLM 02. In order not to be too fanciful, the spinner became black with a green tip (RLM 62), and the blades were painted with a mix of RLM 70 (Black Green) and Black, for a very dark and dull green tone, Luftwaffe style.

1:72 RMI-11 'Sólyom', aircraft W-210 of 101.Vadaszezred, 1.Osztalyszazad "Red Pumas" of Hungarian Air Force, based at Veszprem, Summer 1944 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 RMI-11 'Sólyom', aircraft W-210 of 101.Vadaszezred, 1.Osztalyszazad "Red Pumas" of Hungarian Air Force, based at Veszprem, Summer 1944 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The yellow markings correspond to German Luftwaffe markings of the late WWII era, the yellow 45° "V" under the lower left wing was introduced in the Balkan region in 1944, it was also carried by Luftwaffe aircraft in this conflict theatre.
The flashy decoration on all tail surfaces disappeared at that time on real aircraft (only small Hungarian flags were carried on the tail rudder), but I still incorporated the full national insignia because it's unique and a colorful contrast to the rest of the aircraft.

Most markings belong to a real Hungarian Bf 109G (from a Print Scale aftermarket sheet), I just scratched the national markings on the fuselage and the yellow markings (all cut from stock decal material) and parts of the Hungarian flag insignia on the tail: the tips were painted with red, the white and green bands were cut to measure from a Frecce Tricolori sheet.

A light black ink wash was applied and some dry painting added with gray and black (for soot and exhaust stains), for a lightly weathered effect. As final step, everything was sealed under matt acrylic varnish (Revell).

1:72 RMI-11 'Sólyom', aircraft W-210 of 101.Vadaszezred, 1.Osztalyszazad "Red Pumas" of Hungarian Air Force, based at Veszprem, Summer 1944 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 RMI-11 'Sólyom', aircraft W-210 of 101.Vadaszezred, 1.Osztalyszazad "Red Pumas" of Hungarian Air Force, based at Veszprem, Summer 1944 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



A quickie, done in just a week, but with a very convincing look. One might recognize Bf 109 F/G, Ki-78 and even He 100 features, but none of these aircraft really matches up with the RMI-11 at second glance, there are too many individual differences. If it gets you wondering – mission accomplished!

Cheers! 

[NARSES2]

I'm gobsmacked that you can do all this in the time 

I to have a soft spot for Hungarian aircraft (and history) and have built a few. Lucky enough to go there on business years ago. Spent a few weeks there. Really liked the country and people. Been back on holiday since

[Tophe]

May I copy & re-post it in my FlickR account!? I feel deeply honored!

Of course, you may. I feel honored too that you liked this little transformation, but most honours go to you, the creator of this incredible mix, so nice and with a such beautiful result!