BrandX Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 The concept: 1/48 Revell F2000D Advanced Typhoon Hellenic Air Force 335 Mira Tigris (Tigers), Araxos, 2021 Somewhere on the windswept plains to the East of West Northamptonshire, we find a rude bamboo hut. Inside is a rude bamboo modeller, endlessly pondering his submission for the prestigious Britmodeller What-If GB... So many ideas, so many un-touched boxes of plastic...but what What-If is it to be? Or not to be? That is indeed the question. Then, a golden shaft of inspiration strikes from above, like the Pythons’/Oscar Wilde stream of bat urine: “What if...what if...WHAT IF I actually get off my fat rear and BUILD SOMETHING?!” The modeller leaps resolute from his chair, throws a high-five, realises there is no-one to receive it, and falls over. So not much back-story to this, really: if any modern aircraft is in need of WhIffing, it is the Typhoon. There may be a black one somewhere and a Saudi desert scheme either real or conceptual, but mostly they are...grey. According to the description on the kit instruction sheet, Denmark, Greece, India, Norway, Pakistan and Turkey ‘expressed interest’ in the aircraft. Since that was written, events have overtaken us somewhat –but it is a good enough excuse to visualise a Typhoon in the rather attractive colours (OK, GREYS!) applied to HAF F-16s. Should make for a good-looking jet; we’ll see! Following the same line of thought, I figured that in time the Typhoon would be ‘developed’ somewhat, rather like the Viper, so that later users would in fact be buying even more capable aircraft than the original. In this What-If scenario, new block F2000Ds are equipped with upgraded fibre-optic data bus, enhanced avionics and radar as well as more powerful engines. Also they can load conformal fuel tanks, increasing their range without requiring IFR procedure. Most significantly, they can host the next generation MBDA Wolf Shadow ASM - but all data relating to this is currently classified... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandX Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 (edited) OK, how are we gonna do this...? The kit I doubt much needs to be said about the actual plastic in the Revell box; it is comprehensive, quite well detailed and (in parts) the surface engraving is now looking a bit ‘fuzzy’. Indeed, in some areas it seems to have vanished altogether. One of the brace of kits in my stash had a badly mis-moulded nose cone, and had to be restored with much sanding and Mr Surfacer 500. Aftermarket Stuff Some Eduard p/e elements will be used in the cockpit. I have an Icarus F-84 decal sheet that provides national insignia in a variety of blue shades, so I will opt for the middle shade as the ‘Goldilocks colour’ for modern Greek aircraft. The Litening II designator is by Wolfpack and the pylon for that will be modified from one of the kit items. To The Man-Cave! There is an excellent series of walkaround photos here: http://www.primeport...tinelli/ef2000/ I decided to start with the main landing gear bays, as I always like to pimp them up a little where possible, rather than buying resin bits. Those of the Revell Typhoon are a good ‘blank canvas’, just needing a bit of fettling to get some additional plumbing in place to make them look convincing. Looking at the photos, two things are obvious: 1. I should get a life, and 2. The main conduits that are a major feature of the gear bays are a tedious kind of textured silver/gunmetal colour. I decided to try to replicate that finish by sticking some textured foil from a fag packet lining around the kit bits as far as possible, painting un-foiled bits (i.e. corners) silver, then smothering everything with Tamiya X-19 Smoke to blend it all in. Yep, work has actually begun, and I should have some in-progress pics posted this week... Edited October 29, 2012 by BrandX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Personally I always like Whifs that contain a good element of thought to give a believable result and this one certainly works for me. Welcome to the GB. Look forward to seeing your initial progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Welcome aboard, but we do need pics! Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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