TR-29 Wraith (X-29 Recce Thing)

[PR19_Kit]

That's looking really good in side view Brad. 

[DogfighterZen]

I like whatever you choose, brotha.
Not trying to cast doubt on the matter but i know how the USAF names their aircraft and i was just going from the idea that your plane would be a variant of an already existing fighter version of the X-29 in production, hence why I mentioned an F-29. But nevermind that, like I said earlier, you've got a winner there so to me, it doesn't matter what it's called. Now go get some paint on it!   

[Flyer]

OK before I agreed with Guy regarding the BSG Viper vibes but now you have named it it's also giving off Wraith Dart (Stargate Atlantis) vibes too

[Knightflyer]

TR-29 Wraith works for me

TR would be Tactical Reconnaissance as in the U-2 variant and out of sequence numbers are acceptable, the X-35 / F-35 being the most obvious

Wraith could be said to be a follow on from Banshee, Voodoo, Demon and both Phantoms 

[TheChronicOne]

Agreed on all counts!

I like whatever you choose, brotha.
Not trying to cast doubt on the matter but i know how the USAF names their aircraft and i was just going from the idea that your plane would be a variant of an already existing fighter version of the X-29 in production, hence why I mentioned an F-29. But nevermind that, like I said earlier, you've got a winner there so to me, it doesn't matter what it's called. Now go get some paint on it!   

Ahhh, I see where the confusion is, then. I get it, now! The thing is, there is no fighter version and I never intended for there to be one... the whole idea was a recon aircraft purposely built to be a recon aircraft from the start as a way to make use of the X-29, not a derivative of something already in existence (a fighter version of the 29). We have plenty of that already..... RF-4.... RF-5, etc and I wanted something different. Making a recon aircraft out of a fighter has been done plenty... I wanted something that hasn't been done. That said, I went down the road of considering it but two things stopped me: we don't really know how the X-29 would fare with all sorts of stuff added to it; they never really tested it that way and with issues of aeroelasticity and all that it simply may not have been viable. The aircraft as it sits is unstable and relies on computers to keep it from hurling itself out of control and we have no way to truly know how it would react with pylons and tons of junk hanging off of the wings. It may have helped the aeroelasticity issues or may have exacerbated them... problem is we simply don't know and I guarantee you if I had hung weapons on the damn thing the first thing that would happen is someone would holler about how it wouldn't work and how they'd never do that. The second thing is that it would be time consuming. I could just say, "well, it's a derivative but unarmed" but if I'm going to name it a fighter, by golly, we throwing some weapons on it!  I'd be compelled to at least throw some Aim-9s on it... but that adds time to the build so for all these reasons I eliminated the idea of making it a fighter in practice or in theory..... in fact, all this was considered and hashed out way back at the very beginning of the build. I may have neglected to mention it, however.

OK before I agreed with Guy regarding the BSG Viper vibes but now you have named it it's also giving off Wraith Dart (Stargate Atlantis) vibes too

I was thinking the same thing..,, I finally, for the first time ever, watched Atlantis a year ago and I wound up really liking it. It was a rough start because I just got done with SG-1 but once I got used to it I really really liked the show.

TR-29 Wraith works for me

TR would be Tactical Reconnaissance as in the U-2 variant and out of sequence numbers are acceptable, the X-35 / F-35 being the most obvious

Wraith could be said to be a follow on from Banshee, Voodoo, Demon and both Phantoms 

Good point... and...... this is October.... all the more reason for ghastly names! 


Update: Never did get it primed. We had storms and tornadoes all around again and the atmosphere was charged. Weird... it just got more and more windy the later it was... it was like 3:30 in the morning and the wind is howling around 35 MPH and gusting up into the 50's.....   trying again today..  feeling the pressure, I have one day left. 

[TheChronicOne]

That's looking really good in side view Brad. 

Thanks!!  I've always enjoyed the looks of the 29,....   good thing the nose didn't ruin it.

[DogfighterZen]

Agreed on all counts!

I like whatever you choose, brotha.
Not trying to cast doubt on the matter but i know how the USAF names their aircraft and i was just going from the idea that your plane would be a variant of an already existing fighter version of the X-29 in production, hence why I mentioned an F-29. But nevermind that, like I said earlier, you've got a winner there so to me, it doesn't matter what it's called. Now go get some paint on it!   

Ahhh, I see where the confusion is, then. I get it, now! The thing is, there is no fighter version and I never intended for there to be one... the whole idea was a recon aircraft purposely built to be a recon aircraft from the start as a way to make use of the X-29, not a derivative of something already in existence (a fighter version of the 29). We have plenty of that already..... RF-4.... RF-5, etc and I wanted something different. Making a recon aircraft out of a fighter has been done plenty... I wanted something that hasn't been done. That said, I went down the road of considering it but two things stopped me: we don't really know how the X-29 would fare with all sorts of stuff added to it; they never really tested it that way and with issues of aeroelasticity and all that it simply may not have been viable. The aircraft as it sits is unstable and relies on computers to keep it from hurling itself out of control and we have no way to truly know how it would react with pylons and tons of junk hanging off of the wings. It may have helped the aeroelasticity issues or may have exacerbated them... problem is we simply don't know and I guarantee you if I had hung weapons on the damn thing the first thing that would happen is someone would holler about how it wouldn't work and how they'd never do that. The second thing is that it would be time consuming. I could just say, "well, it's a derivative but unarmed" but if I'm going to name it a fighter, by golly, we throwing some weapons on it!  I'd be compelled to at least throw some Aim-9s on it... but that adds time to the build so for all these reasons I eliminated the idea of making it a fighter in practice or in theory..... in fact, all this was considered and hashed out way back at the very beginning of the build. I may have neglected to mention it, however.

I understand why you chose the path you did, makes perfect sense to me. 
Sometimes i also get caught up in that type of dilemma, if it would be done like such or not in the real world, i mean. But no matter what we say were the reasons for our choices, we build what ifs and there will always be someone who thinks it would never happen like that because of whatever reasons they choose to point out. I get that a lot from Portuguese modellers and aviation enthusiasts with my PoAF builds.
I like some plausibility on my builds too but i find that it sometimes limits the creativity so there's some stuff i simply choose to do because i like it that way.
I think that, in the end, all that matters is that we feel good about what we do. 

Now, what does suck is the fact that the weather is holding you back, hope it settles down soon. Stay safe, brotha!

[TheChronicOne]

It's nerve wracking.... one thing I like about what-if is when you're REALLY doing "what-if" then the sky is the limit but if you're attempting a what-if that "could have been" with the goal of achieving as much plausibility as possible it opens the floodgates of research and questioning. Soooo many times I've had builds grind to a halt because I had to stop and research things and make sure I was doing the proper thing..... everything from aerodynamics to proper time period and service units... like.... on this one...  A decent couple hour chunk of time was eaten up just to establish that it would be a 511th bird.... I couldn't just slap any old markings on it and have it still fit the story and be plausible.......  it becomes a compulsion to "get it right" and can become a drag, honestly. Then it becomes... "well, if I'm going for a realistic approach with this stuff, I may as well do it for this stuff, too" so that eliminates things like... "well, it has the proper markings but the weapons I put on it are 10 years out of date...."   It's like.... if you're going to do it right, do it ALL right... it's pointless in my mind to go to great lengths to ensure something like unit markings are correct just to get lazy and put the wrong piece of equipment on it or something so all of a sudden many hours are dedicated to research and digging through the internet with note taking, etc. In fact... this last example I mentioned bit me with this one. I discovered that the weapons set I bought came with two different ALQ pods. I nearly chose the wrong one.... I liked the LOOK of the one I was going to use but it bugged me whether or not it would be correct and sure enough, I looked it up, and the one I wanted to use was obsolete by the time period this thing inhabits so I nearly had a jammer pod on this thing that would never had been used...   crisis averted!    But.... circling back a bit... if I just make up an Aztec Empire GK-87L "Solstar" none of that crap matters and I can just do whatever the hell I want and save my self hours of book work and tedium...        This is why I try to limit my "plausible" builds because they have such a heavy workload but....   by golly, if I AM going to do one I'm going to do my very best to ensure every aspect is as it should be. Nothing wrong with it and it's fun, but to be taken in moderation in my personal experience. This is why I think my next build will be a WWII Japanese medium bomber painted in Aloha Airlines colors. I won't need to spend more than 5 minutes of "research" on that thing!   

I'm blabbering though....  I need to get back to work on this current thing......       Wind was good so I primed the aircraft. Now the problem is that the humidity is up so it's drying slower. It still dries rapidly but remains tacky longer and if I were to grip it too tightly I could leave fingerprints on it or something so while I've made progress, I'm once again delayed a bit. That's not too big of a deal because now I'll get the aforementioned ALQ contraption painted and ready then get the transfers cut out and ready.   



Camera is a pile of FOD. I hold it stead as can be and it doesn't help much. I bought a new smartphone recently, I might start using that instead but the cable is different. 

[TheChronicOne]

The camo paint is pretty much finished.... I might find that I want to do some touch up one last time but probably not. Not too sure about the colors or pattern but it's close enough for my likes and it's too late to do anything about it anyway. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that it is progressing I just wish I hadn't lost time on this. Less than 24 hours left now. 






NOW.... on to the next phase of painting....  time for stuff like the intakes and little detail painting like lights, panels, airflow ports, knobs, antennas, ..... whatever. I actually really enjoy this part... it's the last phase of painting which until this point can sometimes be a bit problematic and at the same time finding all the little stuff to paint can be satisfying as it comes together. All the little details add up and make it all come together... sort of the same feeling as when you see the transfers go on and suddenly it gains character. 

[Old Wombat]

 

[DogfighterZen]

 

[PR19_Kit]

ALLRIGHT!

[Old Wombat]

Low level tactical reconnaissance, if he's seen in silhouette against the sky by a soldier kneeling on the grass, he's flying too high!  

[TheChronicOne]

That's pretty much the idea..... "alert recon" attached to squadrons (or groups or whatever the hell they were referred to back in the mid-late 80s) of A-10s. They were so scared back then that the ruskis would pile through the forest through gaps and passes with thousands of tanks in a blitz attack.......   rapid response being necessary.....  "oh poo-poo, we have reports of T-blah blah blahs in a column 2 miles long coming through the blah blah blah pass!!! We're prepared to launch an attack but we could sure use some recon!"   Launch the Wraith thingy.....     then later... same thing for BDA...   launch the damn Wraith thing again.... "we need BDA before they have a chance to clean it all up blah blah blah" So we launch the fast, light, maneuvbarable thingy again snap more pictures and put eyes on the situation. Kinda woulda been nice to convert this thing into a two-seater....       But yeah, it might need to be very low so we have Euro-1 and it's light as possible to be able to dodge anti aicraft... in steps the ALQ-133 also to help with matters...   all this crap is sort of the idea behind it I guess.

But can I finish it? I'll try...   I do have to run some errands today. I have been stuck in the house a week solid unable to walk and things are piling up.... I need to at least go out and pay my insurance bill. I should have just cut a check and mailed it but that window has closed and if I don't go out and do it in person my insurance might lapse for a couple days. While I'm out there, I need to stop at the grocery store. On the way back I need to stop at the post office to pick up a package that arrived a week ago today but the post man was scared of my puppy dog I guess and din't want to knock on the door for signature. Funny that... it was a model I ordered from frigging Lithuania..... ordered it on the 27th of Sept and arrived on Oct. 8. 12 days or so? Pretty impressive!  I digress.... 

[TheChronicOne]

Let this dry then I can start on the Transfers.... going to not bother with the ALQ-133 until later in case I need to skip it entirely because of time constraints.