Phantom726

@Shorty84 I'm affraid I can't add much fact to what is already mentioned above by @Jens and others. The history of the RDAF Thunderflash colors is still somewhat of a mystery to me, and proper color photos of aircraft from that era are far between. I would however be a little cautious putting too much faith into the Humbrol references. Back in the days, the Humbrol color range was most likely one of the very few (if not THE only) one available and the references could very well just be an educated guess which over the years has more or less turned into a truth. I haven't heard of the stock number refences mentioned by @Blimpyboy before.

I hope the amount of filler and some very distinct and deep seamlines (especially around the nose cone) are due to the modeller more than the kit itself.

According to the RDAF Draken "bible" SAAB F-35 DRAKEN T.O.1F/RF/TF-35-1½ published by TINBOX in 1989: AIM-9s could only be mounted on the two outboard stations. Types of missiles used were: AIM-9B FGW mod.2 AIM-9N-2 AIM-9N-3 DE-84 The missiles were mounted on AERO 3B launchers which in turn were mounted on the cigar-like adapter The following bombs were certified for the RDAF Drakens: M117 MK82LD and HD MK83 MK20 Regarding rocket pods, a total of eight LAU-3/A could be carried initially. From the mid-80s the CRV-7 systems was also certified using the LAU-5003/A launcher. The initial RHAW system installed on the Draken was the ALR-45D/APR-37D using a total of four external antennas/sensors, two of which were mounted on the top of the vertical stab pointing aft while the remaining two mounted on wing stations 2V/H pointing forward. Beginning in the mid-80s, the AN/ALR-69 came into service using a total of nine external sensors. The Modular Flare and Chaff Dispenser System was introduced from 1979, adding four chaff dispensers (each containing 11 cartridges) and two flare dispensers under the aft fuselage. The AN/ALQ-162 was introduced in the late-80s. The antennas were placed on the same wing stations used for the ALR-45 system. With the AN/ALQ-162, the Enhanced Modular Flare and Chaff Dispenser system was also introduced. This added two additional flare dispensers embedded in the right wing root close to access panel no. 116 just forward of the inboard elevon. Additional chaff dispensers could be added to two pods similar to the AN/ALQ-62 - one mounted under each wing. If the AN-ALQ-62 was installed, this would be mounted under the port wing while a chaff dispenser would be attached to the starboard one. The ALR-45D/APR-37D upgrade was initiated in August of 1975, The MFCD upgrade was initiated in June of 1979 The WDNS upgrade for the RF-35 variant was initiated in April of 1983 The WDNS upgrade for the F/TF-35 was initiated in July of 1983 Removal of the ALR-45 was initiated for the F/RF-35 in June of 1984 Installation of the ALQ-162 was initiated for the F/RF in August of 1985 with the TF following suit soon after. EMFCD update initiated for the F/RF in May of 1988 EMFCD update initiated for the TF in October of 1988

The Airfix A09188 boxing of the 1/48 Meteor contains both the F.8 as well as the FR.9 noses. The parts required to do the FR are included on one small, new sprue. Link to unboxing video:

Drill a hole in the nosewheel on the wheel/ground contact surface, stuff it with BluTack and let this protrude ever so slightly from the hole. When you place the kit on its wheels, add a little pressure to the nose fuselage in order to force the BluTack in the hole to adhere properly to the surface. This will often solve the tail sitting problem unless the kit is very tail heavy. Another option would be to place some additional weight in the nose wheel well.

There's a free MS Windows application called Clipchamp which is very intuitive and simple, yet very useful if you can do without the fancy Hollywood-effects. There are multiple tutorials on YouTube to give you an idea of what it can do.

Duncan, I happen to have samples of the three mentioned colors directly from the RDAF F-16 paint shop. I took them outside in the sun together with my homemade paint chips and had a closer look. From left to right I found the following matches which I would consider good enough for my personel preference: FS26270: Mr Hobby 307 (supposively FS36320) FS26373: AK RC 285/FS26373. Pretty much spot-on FS26132: Tamiya XF-54 DSG (being a tad lighter than the official paint chip but the dark color tends to fade quicker than the lighter ones in real life. I've had a bottle of MRP-039 for years and the version I have was not even close to the official paint chip with FS26270. Hope this helps

The winning numbers are FS26373, 26270 and 26132.

According to the latest newsletter from ww.the48ers.com the kit is scheduled for a Q2 2025 release.

I finished the ICM 1/48 OV-10A a few months back and despite my best efforts to place as much weight as possible as far forward as possible I still ended up with a tailsitter. I didn't measure how many grams of lead and steel balls I used, but my Bronco has added weight under the seats, behind the forward IP, under the side consoles (IIRC), in the nose and forward parts of the booms as well. To get her to sit on the nose gear, I added a few steel balls in the nose wheel well. So, whatever you do before glueing the fuselage parts together, add as much weight as possible where ever possible. The downside of the added weight is that the somewhat flimsy main gear tends to "squat" sideways. I mitigated this by flattening the tyres by sanding them down slightly on the contact surfaces, drilling 1mm diameter hole about 2mm deep and stuffing these holes with BlueTac which just protrudes ever so slightly from the hole. This means that the tyre will get a much firmer grip to the surface on which it is placed. (I hope the description makes sense?)

Here´s a little something to get you started! Not the exact same kit I know, but still most of the parts are the same.

Well, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a ..........NH-90. Didn''t the Swedes announce their dissatisfaction with the entire NH-90 program and also the type's premature withdrawal?

The deal includes surplus aircraft from Denmark and weapons and support equipment from the US.

Stunning and historical images. Thanks very much for taking the time to share them with the rest of us.

Just an FYI: For the official signing ceremony RDAF F-16BM ET-199 was adorned with temporary Argentine markings/roundels. The eagle above the serial no. on the tail was however painted on and remains on today but ET-199 is back in full Danish markings again and still flying in Denmark. The color scheme is known in Denmark as "The F-35 scheme". Initially the RDAF painted one F-16 back in 2000 to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the RDAF and to show the colors of the future fighter aircraft. However, this scheme now appears to be standard for all Danish Vipers getting a full paint job during deep maintenance. The FS is 36170 with lettering in FS36375. The red is FS31136. More details on F-16.net regarding delivery and proposed scheme in Argentine service: https://www.f-16.net/f-16-news-article5264.html