Lightnings ... um ... edited

[Tophe]

Latest Progress:

Good! Go on!

[zenrat]

Shortening would look good with a Concorde wing profile.

[Scotaidh]

A little more done last night



RWR completed. What is turning out to be the first coat of Duck Egg Blue is on the undersurfaces. It's a bit thin, this paint, so thin and many coats is the way to go, I guess, with a light scrub with steel wool between coats to help with surface smoothness.



Side by each it's easy to see that what was taken from one was added to the other. I'm still undecided as to armament, other than internal cannon - I don't intend to ever unlearn the lessons of Vietnam. I was asked about making the stretch a delta-wing, but I don't think it needs it. Besides, I already have two Delta Lightnings - the Chopped Lightning and the Lightning Dragon. You know what they say about too much of a good thing ...

For those who want to know, the Lightning Dragon can be seen here:

[PR19_Kit]

Looks remarkably like an XFY-1 Pogo without the prop in that pic. 

[Scotaidh]

Finally done with PSR and now to paint.

The Chopped will be an strike aircraft , so it gets an over-all Olive Drab Green over Slate Grey scheme. 

The Stretch will be an interceptor, so it gets the blue on blue scheme. The underside is Duck Egg Blue; the topsides will be a pastiche of darker blues over Pastel Blue.

The main undercarriage (on both) has been moved to allow for under-wing ordnance. Since they're posed in "Flight" mode, you'll have to take my word about that - but it's housed in what used to be the ventral conformal fuel tank.

Note: I was going blind trying to read the labels on the Humbrol tins, so I've made my own.



In the foreground are potential weapons for these aircraft. Due to the re-engineering of the undercarriage the under-wing surfaces are now available for ordnance.

The Chop will get more fuel tanks, the usual bombs and rockets, and two Sidewinders for self-protection.

The Stretch will get fuel tanks and an air-to-air missile load-out.

I'm having a "Sidewinder" shortage. I'd really like to have a source for Matra's neat little heat-seekers - heck, anyone's short-range heat-seekers - but, having looked on-line, it looks as if I'd have to buy full kits from Heller. I've no objection to Heller kits, mind - but it's an expensive way to get two missiles.

Anyone got any sources they'd like to share, other than Shapeways?

[Gondor]

Which versions of Sidewinders?

Do you want Generic Sidewinders?

Gondor

[Scotaidh]

Which versions of Sidewinders?

Do you want Generic Sidewinders?

Gondor

Yes - that'd be fine.  In 1/72 there's not a lot of detail differential.  Wikipedia identifies about 17 countries as having IR missiles - some are just copies of the Sidewinder; others are unique, like the South African A-Darter and V3 Kukri and the Israeli Shafrir and Python series.

Here's their list:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air-to-air_missile

[63cpe]

That looking great Scotaidh! Love them both.

David aka 63cpe

[Tophe]

wow!

[Gondor]

Which versions of Sidewinders?

Do you want Generic Sidewinders?

Gondor

Yes - that'd be fine.  In 1/72 there's not a lot of detail differential.  Wikipedia identifies about 17 countries as having IR missiles - some are just copies of the Sidewinder; others are unique, like the South African A-Darter and V3 Kukri and the Israeli Shafrir and Python series.

Here's their list:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air-to-air_missile

Send me a Private Message with your address and I will send you a few

Gondor

[NARSES2]

They are both looking good 

Note: I was going blind trying to read the labels on the Humbrol tins, so I've made my own.

I do something very similar 

[Scotaidh]

Thanks, guys.  It's been very slow going, mostly due to the very high humidity we've been having here.  It is taking about two days for each application of putty and paint to dry to the point I don't leave finger-prints.   

[Scotaidh]

The (Chopped) Lightning Ground Strike:

I've been busy acquiring weapons and deciding loadouts ... Then I discovered that all those weapons sets don't include pylons.  Since the Lightning didn't have any under-wing pylons I was forced to borrow and copy them from another kit - that's why there're four white pylons under the Chopped Lightning. 

Load-out will be, from inboard to outboard, a GBU-10, six Mk.82 bombs, and a  triple rack of Brimstone missiles.  The two self-defense AAMs are of an unknown type, so I've invented a Scottish home-grown one I'm calling the Skean Dhu.  In my mind, it's basically a Scots copy of the Kukri Off-axis AAM, fired from a helmet sight. 
As you can see, I'm retaining the over-wing drop-tanks.



I'm still getting the Mk.82s together.  Once this one is done I will address the (Stretched) Cloud Lightning interceptor ...

[Old Wombat]

Woh! Heavy metal time!


Skean Dhu (a.k.a. Sgian Dubh, apparently) is a great name for a short-range AIM.

[nighthunter]

Sgian Dubh is what I named a whiff fighter, also a Delta wing