Dutch TSR2 1980s EWF

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Three more and then that's it. I was happily hacking away and trying to improve the fuselage a little and I made a mistake with my power tool.. I damaged one of the intake spikes. I replaced them both with newer rounder ones. (different flight profile, so a different engine, who can say?)



The belly of the beast. Nice and dirty. I detailed the main gear legs with some thin wire. The fit of the recon pod was fantastic. Although the cost of those aftermarket sets sometimes exceed the price of the original model itself, they often are so worth adding to gain more realism. One of the worst kits I ever had was the Revell Saturn V 1/96. I now guess I only used 20% of the original parts. But I digress. Look at the rightmost part of the recon pod. Two little logos.



You didn't think BAC made the TSR themselves, did you? When the British government was about to axe the TSR2, Dutch aircraft company Fokker came to the rescue and made a lucrative deal with BAC to produce the TSR2 together. The airframe and engines mainly designed by the British, the avionics by Fokker. The planes were manufactured partially in the Netherlands and the UK.
The deal saved the TSR2 from the scrapheap and it of course became a big success with more European countries buying the plane.



Pity all this didn't happen in real life. I would really have liked to see the TSR2 in service. One of the most gracious aircraft ever designed.

[Gondor]

Nice pictures and a good size too.

Like the fact that you have dropped the flaps on the model.

Gondor

[PR19_Kit]

You didn't think BAC made the TSR themselves, did you? When the British government was about to axe the TSR2, Dutch aircraft company Fokker came to the rescue and made a lucrative deal with BAC to produce the TSR2 together. The airframe and engines mainly designed by the British, the avionics by Fokker. The planes were manufactured partially in the Netherlands and the UK.
The deal saved the TSR2 from the scrapheap and it of course became a big success with more European countries buying the plane.

You won't go far wrong around here with that kind of thinking. 

[Army of One]

You say you wanted a well used/worn out look.......i think you have achieved that. Looks good to me. 

[NARSES2]

Some great detail work in the second batch of pics 

As for picture size ? As said there is no hard and fast rule but it's probably best if you don't have to scroll to see all of the picture. I'm lazy to 

Lazy enough not to put the second "o" in too at the end of your sentence   

Gondor
[/quote]

Yup I've always had a problem with "to" and "too". Mind you even when I took my English O Level back in 1966 you didn't lose to many marks for getting it wrong and I'm told by a friend's daughter who teaches English Lit that it's hardly ever commented on now.

[McColm]

Looks great

[Gondor]

Some great detail work in the second batch of pics 

Lazy enough not to put the second "o" in too at the end of your sentence   

Gondor

Yup I've always had a problem with "to" and "too". Mind you even when I took my English O Level back in 1966 you didn't lose to many marks for getting it wrong and I'm told by a friend's daughter who teaches English Lit that it's hardly ever commented on now.

And from there starts the decline of the English Language. 

Gondor

[chrisonord]

Very nice build, I am also a big fan of the TSR-2 and you have really done its memory justice here.
Chris.

[Tophe]

My favourite part is not the nationalistic change but the new shape of the fin, truly inventive, thanks!

[Devilfish]

Very nice indeed. I'm a huge fan of the TSR2, and love to see in service ones. 

One minor minor minor point.....If the Netherlands became a republic, would they still have the orange centre spot on the roundel?  Isn't that there because of the royal family?

Of course, without it, it becomes a Czech aircraft, lol

[zenrat]

Some great detail work in the second batch of pics 

Lazy enough not to put the second "o" in too at the end of your sentence   

Gondor

Yup I've always had a problem with "to" and "too". Mind you even when I took my English O Level back in 1966 you didn't lose to many marks for getting it wrong and I'm told by a friend's daughter who teaches English Lit that it's hardly ever commented on now.

And from there starts the decline of the English Language. 

Gondor

Give it up mate.  It's a losing battle.  Even the professional language pedants accept that English is evolving and they'll never win the fight.

[NARSES2]

Some great detail work in the second batch of pics 

Lazy enough not to put the second "o" in too at the end of your sentence   

Gondor

Yup I've always had a problem with "to" and "too". Mind you even when I took my English O Level back in 1966 you didn't lose to many marks for getting it wrong and I'm told by a friend's daughter who teaches English Lit that it's hardly ever commented on now.

And from there starts the decline of the English Language. 

Gondor

Give it up mate.  It's a losing battle.  Even the professional language pedants accept that English is evolving and they'll never win the fight.

Yup, which is why it's a living language and long may it continue so.

One minor minor minor point.....If the Netherlands became a republic, would they still have the orange centre spot on the roundel?  Isn't that there because of the royal family?

Of course, without it, it becomes a Czech aircraft, lol

Yup, House of Orange. I assume that's the reason anyway ?

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Thanks for all the kind words.
About the orange part in the roundel: It actually is quite simple. Of course for me, being a republican it wasn't hard to imagine the Netherlands without a royal family. But there would be lots of people really sad about losing them. So partially to comfort them but also because the Netherlands do have a long history of being reigned by the house of Orange, the colour orange of course remains the national Dutch colour. Our national football team still will be donning the orange t-shirts. And instead of queen's/king's day, there was decided there would be an Orange day as a national festive day, just like the 14th of July in France. You don't have to erase it from history. I would say that apart from having lost the royalty in the Netherlands, nothing would significantly change, really. Just the four-year election of a president.

I too think the radar jamming pod on the tail really ties the plane together. 

[Paper Kosmonaut]

I had to dig a little in my files and do some translating, but here is the TSR2 story:

1958: The Dutch air force (NLs - Nederlandse Luchtstrijdkrachten) is looking for a replacement for their rapidly aging English Electric Canberra's. The reconnaissance tasks are still manageable for the time being, but especially the tactical quality of the plane is deteriorating rapidly with the advent of newer aircraft.
Great Britain, in the meantime, is developing the TSR 2 but soon is in deep trouble by rising costs and problems in the shared development of Vickers, English Electric, Bristol and Hunting (BAC). The Dutch government and Fokker Industries show interest in participating in the project and - in particular, a license to build them. This plane should take over the tasks of the Canberra and expand them further.
322 SQN in Leeuwarden could be equipped with it, they are the frontline attack and reconnaissance squadron of the country. the TSR2 seems to be a fast and versatile machine.
Meanwhile, Lockheed lobbies for their new F-104 for the same task. A bribery scandal in the Dutch government of that time ensures that the next elected government ultimately rejects the F-104 and fully agrees to purchase the TSR2 for the NLs. (It also looks more like a plane instead of a rocket, they think.)
This also means the salvation of TSR2 itself. In Great Britain the development of the prototype has become troublesome because of the budget measures of the new left-wing government. BAC (and U.K. government) happily agree on the co-operation and the license and together with Fokker, BAC develops the TSR2 into a very successful prototype.

After a while, Germany, Norway, Italy, Australia and eventually Great Britain show their interest. BAC and Fokker get substantial orders. The TSR2 is named "Eagle". The development, in collaboration with Fokker goes much faster than expected and the first test flights are already in place in 1961. Both in the U.K. and at Soesterberg, the plane gets subjected to a series of thorough tests, gets adjusted and, where necessary, improved. The first pre-series is ready in 1963 and extensively tested by the RAF and the NLs. The acronym TSR2 continues to be used but the name "Eagle" also gets familiar quickly.

the NLs initially buys 40 TSR2 Eagles from the first generation, the GR.1. 20 go to 322 sqn, and 20 go to 312 sqn. Some time later there is an order placed for another 20 GR.1's for 313 sqn, at Volkel. Even the USAF shows interest in the Eagle, and they eventually get a license to let them be built by General Dynamics (because their original F-111 never got built since the TSR2 of course was much better) as the F-112 Eagle.

Over the years, another 20 aircraft are bought by the NLs for backup and extra effort, bringing the total number of Dutch owned Eagles at 80. In the 70's the U.S. promotes their McDonnell Douglas F-15 Harpy but the TSR2 still is improved and easily can perform the tasks the F-15 is meant to fulfill. So the TSR2 Eagle keeps flying high. Engine improvements, new avionics and eventually the fantastic EWF version keep the fleet airborne right to the end of the 20th century. Only after 2000, the Eagle gradually starts to retire from service. The Dutch air force are going to replace it with a new, quite spectacular plane: the Sukhoi Su-34.

... But that is another story.

[PR19_Kit]

How I wish...............