tc2324

To say it`s huge is an understatement. I`m going to have a serious problem of where to put it after it`s complete.. :-)

Well, I got as far as I can go with my 1/72 `What if` Lanc today as I need to get to the office tomorrow and await the supplies I ordered to continue with it. So, trying something that my missus thinks is a no go area for men in general, I thought I`d `multi task` and make a start on the 1/72 B-52H I got the other day. It`s big....:eek: Lancaster kit for comparrison... Now, to make this post a bit interactive, I have three back stories for my B-52 build and the scheme it will eventually end up in...., 1. Captured Russian 2. RAF, mid 60`s 3. RAF, mid 90`s Any thoughts welcome....

Well, I always wondered what the Luftwaffe would do if they got their hands on a Lancaster? I came to the conclusion that one posability could be similar to what KG200 did with their captured B-17`s, ie, fly them close to American bomber formations and relay tactical information to the Luftwaffe fighter command. Anyway, going a step further, if you gave a captured Lanc a weapons application like fitting it out with radar, give it a bit of `upward firing` firepower and fly it amoungst the RAF bomber streams at night and in the dark no-one would notice and a lot of damage could be done. And to deter any Luftwaffe night fighters from shooting the Lanc down by mistake, it would of course be fitted with the basic IFF of the day.

Started my next `What if` `Lufty` build today and it involves these three kits....... And here are the bits I needed from both the german aircraft..... A bit of a waste I know, but I`m sure I can dream up something for the Stuka and Me 262 in the future. Started on the cockpit which is quite complex IMPO considering you won`t see 85% of it when it`s complete.... And the wings are now joined but had a mishap with one of the wing tips which needed a bit of TLC but no major damage done.... Still need to do some work on them anyway. ....So, in my best Rolf Harris impression, `can you guess what it is yet?`

Can`t remember the name of the USN F-4U Corsair sqn, but it was a wrap around dark blue with white checkerboard markings on the cowling. Might look good on the tail section of an F-18 `special`...??

Blimey, just noticed that this build won`t start until July... Doh! Can`t wait that long so will revisit this later on after a think about my new Luft 46 idea.

Yeah, I got the Italeri one. Thanks for the heads up but after the trouble I had with the Airfix Vulcan wings I now consider myself a pro when it comes to wing problems....

Firstly, I can only suggest two ideas. 1. buy a 1/144 Vulcan kit and use the decals from that. If you are doing the wrap around camo from the eighties I doubt the size of the roundals would have been any different in RAF service, or 2. contact a model supplier and see if thet have any Vulcan/Victor/Valiant decals in. I think C-17 roundals would be too small for the kit and the era. Secondly, and with great relief, I have just purchased a 1/72 B-52H for the group build so I really didn`t want to clash with your project. Also the scheme is going to be different. I have two ideas in mind, one being an RAF one, but not the wrap around camo. Prehaps we can confer during the build if problems arise?

Hi Dan, After your invite from my `Luft 46` Lightning and Vulcan thread I thought I`d pop over and say `I`m in`,......... but what exactly is a group build and what are the rules as such? (Sorry for the `newbie` question but thought I`d ask anyways)

Which scale is the B-52?

Again, as I did with the `Blitz`, I worked a little magic, made the model appear a little more atmospheric and thought I`d post the results. Hope you like.

After fixing my `newbie` mistake, I worked a little magic, made the model appear a little more atmospheric and thought I`d post the results. Hope you like.

Gonna blame that on lack of sleep. Thanks for pointing that out Adrian.

Finished the `what if` `blitz`. Story below to go with the pics..... `After the successful introduction of British types into the Luftwaffe starting in 1960, the resident Nazi goverment started to look for a replacement for the F-104 Starfighter after a number of accidents and experienced aircrew killed. They still needed an interceptor with similar qualities to the F-104, so turned to English Electric and their latest mark of Lightning, the F-6. In 1967 the first F-6 `Blitz`started operations with the newly formed JG 26 who adopted an unofficial `Black Stallions` unit nickname. Below is `Black 25` from that unit.... And just to finish off, heres a pic of both my `What if` creations. Hope you liked and merry christmas.........

Keeping in line with my last `what if` Luftwaffe project, just thought I`d post an update on JG26`s latest mount...... Gone for a two tone grey and traditional JG26 yellow.......

Looks good to me. And if there are any areas your not quite happy about, a bit of `weathering` can `hide`any issues.

Many thanks for the compliments guys. Have only just got back into plastic and wanted to do something different from the norm that would stand out and I hope that I achieved that. Started my next Luftwaffe `what if` project last night on another well known aircraft, (last one I promise), so watch this space.... Tony

Thanks for the compliment Mark. As regards to the swazi, my `made up` story just says that the `hardliners` were removed, but the Nazi party are still in goverment, hence why the swazi is still in place.

1st post for me on this forum and also my first plastic kit I`ve made in 20 odd years. Not perfect, but made for an interesting project. Story below to go with the pictures. Hope you enjoy. ``With the assignation of Hitler in November 1939 and the removal of hard liners within the Nazi party by January 1940 a more moderate Nazi government was formed and the Allied Nations rescinded their declaration of war on Germany in December 1939. In February 1940, as agreed the previous December, all German forces were withdrawn from Poland and Czechoslovakia. Russia however remained in their newly captured Baltic states . While human rights issues within Germany continued until 1945, after further diplomatic moves and sanctions against Germany from Europe and the United States , the creation of the Jewish state in Palestine was agreed and created. Under political influence from Stalin, most European Countries adopted a communist regime and invited Russian forces to occupy various military bases in their countries, thus starting a new `cold war` from 1949 onwards. This alarmed many of the western countries and in 1948 NATO was created in preparation for a possible armed confrontation with the new formed Soviet Union . With the introduction of military jet aircraft in 1946 and the atomic bomb in 1950 firstly by the United States , and followed shortly after by the USSR in 1952, the military stand off was complete. The German aviation industry had made great strides in jet aircraft development from 1937, however resource’s were scarce within Germany and after the communist threat arose, it was decided to share all its information with its western allies. Both Great Britain and the US had been working on their own designs and with the free exchange of information, each country produced their own designs. With Germany in the front line most air units were equipped with fighters as they were going to geographically be the first NATO units to intercept enemy aircraft, however by 1954 the Luftwaffe was looking for a strike capability aircraft. Although the German aviation industry was very good a concepts and ideas for fighters, they continually failed to produce a good `all rounder` bomber aircraft. In 1960 the Luftwaffe turned to Avro after they test flew the new Vulcan B.2 which was a vast improvement on the original B.1 variant. Within months of the successful evaluation, the first Vulcan was delivered to the Luftwaffe in February 1961. With so many Luftwaffe units in the fighter role a hasty reorganisation had taken place in January 1961 with some fighter units designated for bomber operations. JG 71 `Richthofen` Squadron became KG 71 and tasked as a night attack Squadron, was the first unit to became operational on the type on the 1st June 1961. Here is aircraft number 218 from the newly formed unit.``

`The prisoners at Colditz were not sure they could get away with hiding their latest `escape plane` from the Germans`