hairystick Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 (edited) The 1980's produced some fine aircraft designs and this is one of those that went by the wayside. In an effort to improve the F-5 family and also generate a lightweight, agile and most importantly, cheap fighter aircraft, Northrop designed the F-20. The West required something akin to the Soviet MiG-21 i.e. mass-produced at low cost and could be thrown at an aggressor in sufficient numbers so as to not need to be "bleeding-edge high technology" but also "budget-blowing". However the F-20 WAS a high tech aircraft introducing computer technology, HOTAS, electro wizardry, etc, etc. Subsequently its real competition was the F-16, from where its engine originated. The initial production order was from Bahrain. In this “whiff”, additional orders were placed by Singapore, Brasil, Taiwan, Australia, USN and the RNZAF, enabling it to actually go into production and enter service. This being an operational example based out of Ohakea in the attack/fighter role in a similar manner to the A-4K Skyhawk filled. The Euro 1 scheme is a homage to that worn by Scooters of that era. Introducing the FA-20K Tigershark. 20170119_164840-1 by Arthur Dent, on Flickr 20170119_164644-1 by Arthur Dent, on Flickr 20170119_164547-1 by Arthur Dent, on Flickr 20170119_164602-1 by Arthur Dent, on Flickr 20170119_165159-1 by Arthur Dent, on Flickr 20170119_164712-1 by Arthur Dent, on Flickr 20170119_164804-1 by Arthur Dent, on Flickr Underway... 20170116_133902-1 by Arthur Dent, on Flickr 20170116_133812-1 by Arthur Dent, on Flickr It is nice to see thought put into those who want to open up panels (gunbay here) and find the inside of the mouldings already done on the inside of the access doors. Really intelligent design! 20170102_121509 by Arthur Dent, on Flickr I'm really quite surprised with my first experience with a new model company. Freedom Models have done themselves proud with this kit. The fit has been exceptional and I have used a pin-head amount of filler on the entire build! It is that good! Two small issues that I would have to note. First, the lack of seatbelts on the ejection seat. These could be moulded in (like an Aries unit, which I prefer) or with photo etch. Second is the fins on the smaller droptanks. These are simple rectangular "blocks" which have not been shaped into aerofoils. Perhaps the designer went off for lunch and forgot when returning? These are the only points I would raise. Everything else has been a complete joy to encounter and has kept me interested from the start (1 January) until now. Hopefully you enjoy. Right. That's probably going to make the rest of my year very quiet, with attempting to get the P-61 completed, then on to the Airfix Buccaneer. Images copyright of the owner. Edited January 11, 2018 by hairystick 23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Lovely job on that. I first thought 1/72 Hasegawa kit but reading down I saw Freedom models. Not something I know but I'm guessing 1/48th? What ever, its a stunning scheme for one of these, something that could almost have been & one I'm keen to do with my Hasegawa number. I'll be using this thread for inspiration. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aviano Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Fantastic, great job! Oliver 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairystick Posted January 19, 2017 Author Share Posted January 19, 2017 22 hours ago, stevehnz said: Lovely job on that. I first thought 1/72 Hasegawa kit but reading down I saw Freedom models. Not something I know but I'm guessing 1/48th? What ever, its a stunning scheme for one of these, something that could almost have been & one I'm keen to do with my Hasegawa number. I'll be using this thread for inspiration. Steve. Hi Steve, Cheers for the comments. I put the scale in the tags area as it's always nice to know (after seeing a few other threads that have left me guessing!) what scale it is in. 21 hours ago, Aviano said: Fantastic, great job! Oliver Thank you Oliver. Not up to your quality of build though!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LT Motta Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 Beautiful! Nice scheme choice. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 2 hours ago, hairystick said: Hi Steve, Cheers for the comments. I put the scale in the tags area as it's always nice to know (after seeing a few other threads that have left me guessing!) what scale it is in. Tags, riiiight. I'll remember to check them next time. I knew it wasn't the Hasegawa kit, way too much detail. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairystick Posted January 19, 2017 Author Share Posted January 19, 2017 On 1/19/2017 at 3:46 AM, stevehnz said: I knew it wasn't the Hasegawa kit, way too much detail. Steve. It most certainly has bucket loads of that! I'd be putting the quality of kit right up there with the Two Big Japanese manufacturers. It really says what you can do with good engineering and CAD design. I can see this being driven by a modeler, as there are some things so brilliantly thought through like how the front canopy fits in and even having canopy rails instead of a simple flat surface. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 That scheme just pops...awsome. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 nice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilfish Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Very nice. I did my 2 seater as an RAF Mach 2 trainer, and I intend to do the single seater as an RAF ground attack aircraft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Lovely work. I always thought it a shame this never made it to production - your WIF may well have been a good option for the RNZAF! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bearmatt Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 Maybe a repost of pics?...(photobucket...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilfish Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 I've got my second RAF version nearing completion. I'll post them both when it's done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted August 4, 2017 Share Posted August 4, 2017 6 hours ago, Devilfish said: I've got my second RAF version nearing completion. I'll post them both when it's done. Please do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairystick Posted August 5, 2017 Author Share Posted August 5, 2017 (edited) Ohh poos. I suspected that the existing pics would stay as they were and PB would be accommodating. I foresee an extended visit to flikr since I refuse to be extorted by the scum at photobucket. Right! As at Jan '18 they are all now hosted on Flikr! Edited January 11, 2018 by hairystick Updated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilfish Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 On 04/08/2017 at 6:29 PM, Vultures1 said: Please do! In the What-if section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now