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Lockheed F-117 Night Hawk – Warpaint #138 Guideline Publications The first "Stealth Fighter" as it was known in the press at the time, existed for several years before it was acknowledged, and was probably responsible for more than a few UFO sighting reports around its initial secret operating areas around Area 51. Even its nomenclature was misleading, taking the F designation rather than the B designation more often used by bombers, perhaps to confuse the enemy during the early years of the project. Despite it having no offensive weaponry, this tag remained, and never quite went away. Designed initially under the Have Blue project name at Lockheed's Skunkworks, it evolved into a single-seat bomber, the first to use low-observable technology, commonly referred to as Stealth. Only 64 were built, with most of them serving in several conflicts in the Gulf and Former Yugoslavia to high praise and much publicity. It was designed around existing componentry plucked from the existing F-5, F16 and A-10 airframes, and it was powered by two non-afterburning GE F404 engines, which gave it a subsonic top speed. The engines are buried deep in the blended fuselage, and are protected by screens and baffles to reduce any infrared signature to a minimum. It earned the nickname "The Wobblin' Goblin", which was derived from its stealthy appearance and alleged poor flight characteristics at low speed, which may possibly be a hangover from the early performance issues that were resolved in time for production. In 2008 it was retired due in part to airframe wear, the introduction of the F-22 Raptor, the immense B-2 Spirit Bomber, F-35 Lightning II, and the fact that its 70s stealth technology had been superseded by newer designs, at least partly due to the vast increase in computing power that permitted the calculation of the radar signature over curved surfaces, rather than the distinctive faceted panels of the F-117, which was all that 1970s computers could manage. The Book This book by author Andy Evans is in the usual Warpaint format of portrait A4(ish) with a soft card cover but for the time being at least, with higher page counts of recent editions, it utilises a more attractive perfect binding instead of the usual pair of staples to accommodate the genuine total of 48 pages plus content printed on the four sides of the glossy covers, including a two-page spread of plans in 1:96, penned by Sam Pearson. The initial section details the birth of the type in detail, with some interesting information included, then the subsequent pages cover the development of the type, the majority of which was internal, upgrading the avionics and other controls, although some bay doors and the troublesome tails were eventually replaced by carbon composite parts that were externally identical. Most of the photos are in colour, with some from the development phase that must have been highly classified at the time, as well as the usual official sources and historical records that were kept by the developers Lockheed, the squadrons, and other sources. The pages include a lot of useful photos with informative captions of aircraft in the hangar where it spent a lot of time hiding during its early days, on the apron, on the runway, in the air, during trials, and even a few photos of YF-117D Tacit Blue that resembles an alien school bus with wings – something I’d never seen before. The Profiles section shows a range of colours in which the type was painted, including some of the more colourful schemes, as the Night Hawk wasn’t always just covered in black RAM. My favourite variant is usually the slightly weird one, however the F-117 was weird from birth to alleged retirement, but the YF-117D must take the biscuit. It looks like Princess Vespa’s ship from Spaceballs, or at least how I remember it. Of the schemes that are shown in the six pages of profiles, the stars-and-bars on the underside does look quite fetching, as it is very striking. The three-colour test camo and F-22-alike schemes are also different from the norm, and would make for interesting alternatives for the modeller. The In Detail section is an interesting look at the aircraft at close range that spans three pages, and concentrates on the opening portions such as the landing gear, cockpit and weapons bays, but also covers the intakes, sensor prongs in the nose, the V-tail and the canopy when closed. We aren’t badly served with kits of this under-the-radar aircraft, although how anyone would get on if they tried to LIDAR scan a real airframe would be interesting. Would it also absorb or scatter laser too? The Tamiya kit in 1:48 is older but still good, with a choice of manufacturers for 1:72, an inaccurate 1:144 kit from Revell (it has no keel for a start), with another kit from Revell in 1:32, competing with a newer offering from Trumpeter. As the type was decommissioned by 2008 and the US forces weren’t concerned about destroying the wreckage when it came to the downed airframe in Bosnia, modern kits should have a better chance of being accurate, unlike the F-19 Stealth kit that did the rounds before the Goblin came out from the shadows. Conclusion The Warpaint series always gets a thumbs-up due to their consistent layout and quality. This is an excellent book that will see plenty of use by anyone interest in, or in building this innovative and secretively operated little bomber. There is also a lot of detail in the text relating to technologies used, how it was upgraded and improved over time, and the reasoning for the decision to mothball them, commencing in 2007. Some airframes have been seen airborne on a regular basis since retirement however, as they were carefully stored in climate-controlled hangars in case they were needed in the future. Note: You can buy either the traditional physical version of the book by following the link below, or the digital version if you’re more modern and forward thinking, or have limited storage space. Digital reference is starting to grow on me. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of

Picture being a kid in the 1980's.....(that's me BTW) and movies such as Top Gun, Iron Eagle 1,2,3 and no doubt up to at least 10 more that went straight to VHS, were staple to watch in the house I grew up in. Being the youngest of 3, with my Dad being RAF, aviation was in my blood, as well as modelling. My eldest brother had built the fictitious F-19 Stealth Fighter and I absolutely loved it! I remember that "stealth" was the buzz word at the time and there were rumors of new aircraft were beginning to surface.....It wouldn't be until 1989 that a heavily airbrushed image of the F-117 "Night Hawk" emerged. At the time it was suggested that the Russians were also developing a "Stealth" Aircraft, but given the secrecy at the height of the Cold War, no one really knew if it was true? Rumors of a MiG-2000 with predictions of what it may look like? An interesting design, up until Testors threw their hat into the ring. “In the autumn of 1987, the US plastic model manufacturer Testors.. launched its model of the “MiG-37B Ferret E”- a Soviet equivalent to the Lockheed stealth fighter. Its appearance must have caused a few smiles around the Mikoyan design bureau. As its manufacturer admitted.. Its reception in the Pentagon must have been less amusing. Here in widely-distributed form was the first model to widely illustrate the use of RCS reduction technique.” I can imagine there were several intelligence officers in the CIA that were a little concerned that the technology that was being developed for the F-117 suddenly appeared on a fictitious Russian aircraft. The MiG-37B "Ferret"......Now this I loved even more that the F-19 Stealth.....the angles, the shape, the low profile....all was so futuristic to me. I even had a Micro Machine of one too! So, from looking through the stash, I have decided to actually build one......This time from Italeri... A little bit of gumph for you.....fresh from 1987. There are 2 main sprus for the kit and a clear spru for the HUGE canopy Confirmation of the mould and the Testors / Italeri link Cockpit detail is somewhat lacking. I have seen builds where people have used photoetch from an A-4M Skyhawk cut to size, but as I do not have anything like that to hand, the basic detail will have to do. Now interestingly, would the "Stealth" MiG still have the iconic Turquoise coloured cockpit? If so, I am interest to know how to mix the correct colour for it though? The decal sheet is pretty decent with 2 main options for colour scheme, though I have heard that the decal sheet is pretty thick and with some issues of silvering. Instructions are fairly basic, but straight forward. I don't foresee this build taking all that long to do, the decision for colour scheme though will be interesting to decide on, I dont fancy the plain black or winter cammo scheme that is suggested. Perhaps a more "What If" cammo scheme should this aircraft had been a reality and went into service. A few possible schemes. I do quite like the scheme for the Sukhoi though...this may work nicely. Building will begin as soon as I can.....Thoughts and any ideas for paint schemes are all welcomed as I have yet to decide which direction to go in.