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SAS Saviour at Mirbat- Omani AF Strikemaster, Airfix 1/72nd


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Hiya Folks,

              The Battle of Mirbat occurred in the Dhofar region of Oman on the 19th July 1972 when a small force of nine SAS soldiers manning the BATT (British Army Training Team) House at Jebel Ali which was guarding the approaches to the Port town of Mirbat were attacked by a large force of 300  guerrillas from the PFLOAG, known locally as the `Adoo'. Using SLR`s, GPMG`s and a single 25 pdr. field gun fired over open sights, the SAS troops broke up and foiled the attack with immense bravery and soldiering skills but low on ammunition, they were finally saved when Omani AF Strikemaster`s were able to get airborne in terrible weather conditions and help tip the balance,.... much to the SAS men`s relief. 

Two of the SAS men died, one of them, Fijian Staff Sgt. Talaisi `Laba' Labalaba was recommended for the VC for his unbelievable soldiering skill and courage, but for political reasons no award was made, although perhaps the ultimate award was granted by his regiment as a statue of SAS legend `Laba' now graces the entrance to the SAS Sergeant`s Mess at the new Stirling Lines,Credenhill Camp, Hereford.   

For anybody wanting to know more about this battle, a good starting point is the Wikipedia page;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mirbat

 

Onto the model,...... here is the 1/72nd scale Airfix Jet Provost/Strikemaster kit built straight from the box and hand painted using Humbrol acrylics,..... a massive thank you goes to Chris,..aka cngaero,.....for sending me a set of useable Omani Strikemaster decals as the ones in my old kit were shot and totally un useable,....cheers mate!

 

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I originally painted white sealant stripes on the canopy but thought that I had over done these, so removed them,....what do you think?

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The windscreen was loose when I took the pics, but it has since been fixed into place.

This model is dedicated to all of the heroes who fought in the Battle of Mirbat,.....a little known example of just how great the British soldier can be under adversity,

Cheers and thanks again to Chris ,

                                                Tony

PS- I should have said that the rockets came from a Matchbox Strikemaster kit as these do not come in the Airfix kit,...oops!

 

Edited by tonyot
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Nice that Tony, I've read about this battle in a couple of SAS books & am quite keen to have a go at one of these too when I can track one down. I reckon you've caught this a treat, definitely better without the white on the canopy imho. For future reference, are those the Airfix recommended colurs on it? They look pretty good to me.

Steve.

Steve.

Edited by stevehnz
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Cheers Fella`s,....glad you like it. This book is a fabulous read;

Image result for mirbat strikemaster book

5 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

Nice that Tony, I've read about this battle in a couple of SAS books & am quite keen to have a go at one of these too when I can track one down. I reckon you've caught this a treat, definitely better without the white on the canopy imho. For future reference, are those the Airfix recommended colurs on it? They look pretty good to me.

Steve.

Steve.

Steve,.... I just used standard Dark Earth, Dark Green and Light Aircraft Grey.

Cheers

         Tony

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Great Strikemaster.

Like the others I have read the excellent book by Rowland White too.  His other books are excellent reads, Vulcan 607 and Phoenix Sqn, great heroic true stories of "little known(apart from the Black Buck mission) " victories by the RAF. 

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Hi Tony

Nice one mate,I remember these when I worked on Masirah Island off the coast of Oman.

The instructors would take a student pilot on his first Strikemaster flight to show him the ropes and end up with a VERY low pass over the runway perhaps 25 feet or less.

The sight of the poor student staggering away from the aircraft was certainly one for the record books.

 

Ian

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Got to love a Blunty in cammo 👍🏻 and it's another one of your masterpieces.

 

The battle itself is the subject of one of those 'elite forces' documentaries that the History Channel (or is it Discovery?) that is trotted out at regular intervals. Well worth catching.

 

Trevor

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Lovely work as usual Tony. :thumbsup: 

I can highly recommend the book Soldier I which was written by one of the survivors about his time in the SAS and the battle of Mirbat.

 

Sean

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That looks really good.  You said out OOB but did you re-scribe the kit?  The surface detail looks much better than my renditions of the kit (JP and 14 Sqn RNZAF).  Do you know whether the pilots were still serving members of the RAF or had they officially 'resigned' in order to fly in the Omani Air Force?

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Cheers again folks,... glad you like it.

1 hour ago, Meatbox8 said:

That looks really good.  You said out OOB but did you re-scribe the kit?  The surface detail looks much better than my renditions of the kit (JP and 14 Sqn RNZAF).  Do you know whether the pilots were still serving members of the RAF or had they officially 'resigned' in order to fly in the Omani Air Force?

Cheers,...yes I did rescribe it, but by out of the box I meant no additional items were used, apart from the rockets as mentioned. As far as I can remember the pilots were seconded to the Omani AF (officially sanctioned career break?) plus ex officers who were contracted to fly for Oman. 

Cheers

          Tony

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15 minutes ago, tonyot said:

Cheers again folks,... glad you like it.

Cheers,...yes I did rescribe it, but by out of the box I meant no additional items were used, apart from the rockets as mentioned. As far as I can remember the pilots were seconded to the Omani AF (officially sanctioned career break?) plus ex officers who were contracted to fly for Oman. 

Cheers

          Tony

Thanks Tony.

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Great build and heartfelt too😢 with respect .

 

Your build is why many of us have joined the hobby, because of your paying homage to those breave souls who fought for there country and themselves . I believe this hobby is a great way to keep history alive and it can enrich those who are wanting to learn.

 

Thank you for this posting good sir.

 

 

Sincerly ,

 

Mr.Happy(In name only) 

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Great build. I had never heard about this battle so it all made for an interesting story. For hand brushed the finish is as good if not better than air brush. Well-done.

Edited by Nurwin
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I have read a little about this battle and the amazing efforts of those nine SAS men against unbelievable odds, it is a truly awe inspiring battle. I think I will buy the paperback above to get more on this moment in time.

As for the Strikemaster, very nice and nice to see a member of the JP family with teeth.

 

Gary

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I've always thought that British soldiers showed magnificent courage and fortitude in all the combat situations they've been in, whether they won or lost.

 

BTW a very nice Strikemaster!

 

DennisTheBear

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