Done +++ 1:72 Lockheed F-94B of the Hellenic Air Force, early Sixties

[Dizzyfugu]

No problem, your offer is highly appreciated. But I just need some time (and a reliable web shop, too).

[Dizzyfugu]

Hooray, the re-ordered decals arrived, and in the meantime the Hellenic F-94B already underwent some cosmetic changes:


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[PR19_Kit]

That does look good, reminds me of the 'worn' look the Greeks had with their A-7s. 

[Dizzyfugu]

Not only an these!

And here's the reason why I spent some extra days waiting - the result justifies the investment in the right ingredients. The black squares were individually cut from black decal sheet, and it looks VERY good, also as a contrast to the camouflaged aircraft.


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


...and a small preview for the project running in parallel. 


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[zenrat]

So is the decal sheet black all the way through?  Not just white with black print on.

[Dizzyfugu]

A uniform, black sheet, but it's standard paint printed on a carrier film, as far I can tell.

[zenrat]

On a clear film?
What i'm getting at is does the black flake or wash off at the edges if misshandled?
When I print my own decals on white I am always having problems with this if I don't have a white border around the design.

[Dizzyfugu]

Hmmm, IIRC the sheet appears black from below, too - if you fold it, for instance, you can hardly make out any difference to the correct upper side, and, as you can see in the close-up, there are no white (or light) edges - and the squares were simply cut out with a scalpel.

[Ed S]

Nice looking Starfire.  Definitely wears camo well.

Ed

[zenrat]

Hmmm, IIRC the sheet appears black from below, too - if you fold it, for instance, you can hardly make out any difference to the correct upper side, and, as you can see in the close-up, there are no white (or light) edges - and the squares were simply cut out with a scalpel.

OK.  Thanks Dizz.

[Dizzyfugu]

1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr




Some Background:
The Lockheed F-94 Starfire was a first-generation jet aircraft of the United States Air Force. It was developed from the twin-seat Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star in the late 1940s as an all-weather, day/night interceptor, replacing the propeller-driven North American F-82 Twin Mustang in this role. The system was designed to overtake the F-80 in terms of performance, but more so to intercept the new high-level Soviet bombers capable of nuclear attacks on America and her Allies - in particular, the new Tupelov Tu-4. The F-94 was furthermore the first operational USAF fighter equipped with an afterburner and was the first jet-powered all-weather fighter to enter combat during the Korean War in January 1953.

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1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The initial production model was the F-94A, which entered operational service in May 1950. Its armament consisted of four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M3 Browning machine guns mounted in the fuselage with the muzzles exiting under the radome for the APG-33 rader, a derivative from the AN/APG-3, which directed the Convair B-36's tail guns and had a range of up to 20 miles (32 km). Two 165 US Gallon (1,204 litre) drop tanks, as carried by the F-80 and T-33, were carried on the wingtips. Alternatively, these could be replaced by a pair of 1,000 lb (454 kg) bombs under the wings, giving the aircraft a secondary fighter bomber capability. 109 were produced.

The subsequent F-94B, which entered service in January 1951, was outwardly virtually identical to the F-94A. The Allison J33 turbojet had a number of modifications made, though, which made it a very reliable engine. The pilot was provided with a more roomy cockpit and the canopy was replaced by a canopy with a bow frame in the center between the two crew members, as well as a new Instrument Landing System (ILS). However, this new variant's punch with just four machine guns remained weak, and, in order to improve the load of fire, wing-mounted pods with two additional pairs with machine guns were introduced – but these hardly improved the interceptor's effectiveness. 356 of the F-94B were built.


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The following F-94C was extensively modified and initially designated F-97, but it was ultimately decided just to treat it as a new version of the F-94. USAF interest was lukewarm, since aircraft technology developed at a fast pace in the Fifties. Lockheed funded development themselves, converting two F-94B airframes to YF-94C prototypes for evaluation with a completely new, much thinner wing, a swept tail surface and a more powerful Pratt & Whitney J48, a license-built version of the afterburning Rolls-Royce Tay, which produced a dry thrust of 6,350 pounds-force (28.2 kN) and approximately 8,750 pounds-force (38.9 kN) with afterburning. Instead of machine guns, the new variant was exclusively armed with more effective unguided air-to-air missiles.
Eventually, the type was adopted for USAF service, since it was the best interim solution for an all-weather fighter at that time, but it still had to rely on Ground Control Interception Radar (GCI) sites to vector the interceptor to intruding aircraft.


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Anyway, The F-94C's introduction and the availability of more effective Northrop F-89C/D Scorpion and the North American F-86D Sabre interceptors led to a quick relegation of the earlier F-94 variants from mid-1954 onwards to second line units and Air National Guards. By 1955 most of them had been phased out of USAF service. However, some of these relatively young surplus machines were subsequently exported to friendly nations, esp. to NATO countries in dire need for all-weather interceptors at the organization's outer frontiers where Soviet bomber attacks had to be expected.

One of these foreign operators was Greece. In 1952, Greece was admitted to NATO and the country's Air Force was, with US assistance, rebuilt and organized according to NATO standards. New aircraft were introduced, namely jet fighters which meant a thorough modernization. The first types flown by the Hellenic Air Force were the Republic F-84G Thunderjet (about 100 examples) and the Lockheed F-94B Starfire (about thirty aircraft).


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Hellenic F-94Bs represented the USAF's standard, but for their second life they were modified to carry, as an alternative to the type's standard machine gun pods under the wings, a pair of pods with unguided air-to-air missiles, similar to the F-94C. Their designation remained unchanged, though.
This first generation of jets in Hellenic service became operational in 1955 and played an important role within NATO's defense strategy in the south-eastern Europe in the following years. They also took part in Operation Deep Water, a 1957 NATO naval exercise held in the Mediterranean Sea that simulated protecting the Dardanelles from a Soviet invasion and featured a simulated nuclear air strike in the Gallipoli area, reflecting NATO's nuclear umbrella policy to offset the Soviet Union's numerical superiority of ground forces in Europe.


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In the late 1960s, the F-84 fighters were replaced by the Canadair Sabre 2 from British and Canadian surplus stocks and the Hellenic Air Force acquired new jet aircraft. These included the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter, the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter and the Convair F-102 Delta Dagger. The latter entered service in service 1969 and gradually replaced the F-94Bs in the all-weather interceptor role until 1971.
In the mid-1970s the Hellenic Air Force was further modernized with deliveries of the Dassault Mirage F1CG fleet, Vought A-7Hs (including a number of TA-7Hs) and the first batch of McDonnell-Douglas F-4E Phantom IIs, upgraded versions of which still serve today.

After their replacement through the F-102 the Hellenic F-94Bs were still used as advanced trainers, primarily for aspiring WSOs but also for weapon training against ground targets. But by the mid Seventies, all Hellenic F-94Bs had been phased out.


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr



General characteristics:
    Crew: 2
    Length: 40 ft 1 in (12.24 m)
    Wingspan: 38 ft 9 in (12.16 m)
    Height: 12 ft. 2 (3.73 m)
    Wing area: 234' 8" sq ft (29.11 m²)
    Empty weight: 10,064 lb (4,570 kg)
    Loaded weight: 15,330 lb (6,960 kg)
    Max. takeoff weight: 24,184 lb (10,970 kg)

Powerplant:
    1× Allison J33-A-33 turbojet, rated at 4,600 lbf (20.4 kN) continuous thrust
      and 6,000 lbf (26.6 kN) thrust with afterburner

Performance:
    Maximum speed: 630 mph (1,014 km/h) at height and in level flight
    Range: 930 mi (813 nmi, 1,500 km) in combat configuration with two drop tanks
    Ferry range: 1,457 mi (1,275 nmi, 2,345 km)
    Service ceiling: 42,750 ft (14,000 m)
    Rate of climb: 6,858 ft/min (34.9 m/s)
    Wing loading: 57.4 lb/ft² (384 kg/m²)
    Thrust/weight: 0.48

Armament:
    4x 0.5"0 (12.7 mm) machine guns in the lower nose section
    2x 165 US Gallon (1,204 litre) drop tanks on the wing tips
    2x underwing hardpoints for
      - two pods with a pair of 0.5" (12.7 mm) machine guns each, or
      - two pods with a total of 24× 2.75" (70 mm) Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rockets, or
      - two 1.000 lb (454 kg) bombs (instead of the wing tip drop tanks)




1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Lockheed F-94B "Starfire", aircraft 'FA 088' (ex USAF Bu. No. 52-0088) of the 340th Mira "Flying Foxes", 111th Combat Wing, Hellenic Air Force (Πολεμική Αεροπορία, Polemikí Aeroporía); Nea Anchialos AFB, 1961 (Whif/Heller kit) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

[Weaver]

It came out great! I love the patchwork appearance, with worn cammo but bright tank chequers and the serials masked off rather than repainted. Really tells a story.

[Captain Canada]

Gorgeous ! Great job all around. Love the colours, markings, armament and of course the beauty pics !

[zenrat]

Looks good Dizz.

[NARSES2]

That really does look good