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Confederate States Air Force Mirage F.1


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What if?  What if the Confederate States of America had survived the American Civil War?  What if the CSA had survived right up into the present?  Well, that's the premise behind this aircraft.  I created a scenario in which today's CSA co-exists with the USA here in the 21st Century.  For brevity's sake, I won't bore everyone with the whole story, but I envisioned CSAF squadrons that were named for Confederate war heroes.  I imagined four Maritime Air Stations; Norfolk, Charleston, Tampa and Biloxi, Miss.  These squadrons are named after famous cavalry commanders of the Civil War.  This CSAF Mirage F-1 is assigned to the Nathan B. Forrest Squadron based at Biloxi.  Their primary mission is anti-ship interdiction.  My "what if" Confederacy requires imported aircraft due to an aircraft industry that still hasn't reached maturity, nor any sort of parity with their neighbor, the United States. 

 

I guess I might flesh out my what if scenario a bit.  A negotiated cease-fire, and subsequent, somewhat uneasy peace, left the United States and the Confederacy sharing what had been the USA.  A continuing reliance on agriculture still retarded economic growth and manufacturing technology in the CSA.  Faced with a long coastline to defend, the Confederacy, with its new capital in Atlanta, turned wary eyes seaward and made maritime vigilance both a priority and a tradition.

Texas seceded from the Confederacy in the early 20th century over economic issues and concerns about the intrusive reach of the Confederate government.  I'm still working out how this event plays out geographically, with current possibilities including Texas "annexation" of Oklahoma and possibly a Republic of Texas reach for Pacific ports (and all that that might entail).

 

Confederate forces have been involved in several incidences in the recent past.  These would include clashes with Venezuela and Cuba in the Gulf and Caribbean as well as joint missions conducted with Republic of Texas forces against insurgents/narco-terrorists in Mexico.  The Maritime Air Stations share defense of the coast and other airbases throughout the interior of the South maintain bomber and interceptor squadrons.  The choice of the Mirage F-1 for the role shown here was based on economy, simplicity and of course availability.   France had been a supporter of the Confederacy from its beginning and provided various models for purchase by the CSA.  The United Kingdom is the other major aircraft supplier for Confederate needs, having sold Hawker Hunters to the South as their first high-performance jet fighter.

 

In these pictures, we see a CSAF Mirage F.1 at a small airfield in the Republic of Texas (yes, there's a "what if" story there too, lolAt some point in the future we may see a Republic of Texas Vampire), making an unscheduled lay-over for some unspecified reason.

 

The kit is the Italeri Mirage F-1 in 1/48 scale.  The Exocet she's carrying came from the Monogram Mirage 2000, the rails and Sidewinders from an old Testor's F-18 and the drop tank from something long forgotten, and modified for its role here.  I guess I might mention an experiment of sorts.  I dipped the canopy in Future colored with MM teal acrylic to get a tinted look.  It worked alright here but the first test canopy from the scrap pile actually looked much better.  Oh well.  I learned a new trick, thanks Swanny!  The low-viz markings were created by me and drawn by my son on an Autocad program and I printed them on our home printer.  Primary colors are Humbrol enamels, Gull Gray and Lt. Ghost Gray.

 

What-if exercises can really free up one's creativity I've found.  Freed from the bounds of reality and real history, it's fun to imagine different outcomes to history.   I make no political statement with this build I assure you.  I don't defend the Confederate ideology or actions.   But for one or two different outcomes in battle or politics, the scenario of Southern survival might have been real history.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy my little exercise in alternate reality and thanks again for your interest.

Gary

 

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Edited by Gary Brantley
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Very nice build, lovely paint job and I do like a good what-if. But I'm not sure the cross insignia works, unless its intended to be low-vis? I suspect in this history the US and CSA would go the other way trying to out-do each other with flying bill boards.

 

Have you seen the profiles at Clavework Graphics? Lots of amazing what-ifs, including CSA F16, P38, P-40, P-47 and P-51:

 

http://www.clavework-graphics.co.uk/aircraft/fantasy_7/fantasy_620.html

 

There are state what-ifs as well including Texas:

 

http://www.clavework-graphics.co.uk/aircraft/fantasy_8/fantasy_760.html

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29 minutes ago, TallBlondJohn said:

Very nice build, lovely paint job and I do like a good what-if. But I'm not sure the cross insignia works, unless its intended to be low-vis? I suspect in this history the US and CSA would go the other way trying to out-do each other with flying bill boards.

 

Have you seen the profiles at Clavework Graphics? Lots of amazing what-ifs, including CSA F16, P38, P-40, P-47 and P-51:

 

http://www.clavework-graphics.co.uk/aircraft/fantasy_7/fantasy_620.html

 

There are state what-ifs as well including Texas:

 

http://www.clavework-graphics.co.uk/aircraft/fantasy_8/fantasy_760.html

Thanks John!  Appreciate it a lot.  When I was planning this one, I started thinking about Confederate symbols brought into the present.  I discarded several ideas and then while gazing at my Me-262 in the display, it occurred that I might use that simple "cross" design of the Germans, but shaped like the crossed bars of the Confederate naval ensign.  Yes, they are supposed to be low-viz as stated above.  I'm sure you merely overlooked it.  Again, thanks for all your comments John! 

Oh, and thanks for the links too! 👍

27 minutes ago, Quid100 said:

Your creativity is amazing, and modelling skills are outstanding.

Thanks for showing

 

Matt.

Thanks for the kind words Matt!   Glad you liked her! 

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2 hours ago, Buzby061 said:

Very nicely built & finished. 

 

An interesting bit of whiffery. 

 

Pete

 

43 minutes ago, Mohawk said:

Very nice WHIF,I think the cross works well,:clap2:Well done sir.

mohawk

Thanks gents!   Pete and mohawk, I'm glad you commented on the Mirage.  😃

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I love the idea and I think those low vis marks are great,  just what I could see for a modern version of the confederate flag.

kudos.

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Very nice result. I really love the Mirage F-1. It is truly one of the most beautiful aircraft ever made. What printer did you use to produce the decals? They seem to be extremely sharp and thin.

Edited by Hobo
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9 hours ago, exhausted said:

Nice job! Looks like a nice target for American F-15s again, a la Iraq '91

Thanks man!  I appreciate the comments. 🙂

9 hours ago, Beazer said:

I love the idea and I think those low vis marks are great,  just what I could see for a modern version of the confederate flag.

kudos.

Many thanks Beazer!   I thought about the emblems quite a bit and discarded several ideas before I settled on the ones seen here.   I thought they seemed apropos.   I'm glad to see other concur! 😀 

7 hours ago, Hobo said:

Very nice result. I really love the Mirage F-1. It is truly one of the most beautiful aircraft ever made. What printer did you use to produce the decals? They seem to be extremely sharp and thin.

Great comments Hobo!   Thank you so much; and I agree with you that the F-1 is a beautiful aircraft.   I really don't remember which printer we were using back when this was built in 2011.   Probably a cheap one though, lol.  It was cheaper to buy a new printer rather than replace the ink cartridges when needed.    Sorry that I can't answer that question.   They did turn out well though and this was my first (and only thus far) attempt at making decals.   😉

 

Thanks mates for the kind comments!

Edited by Gary Brantley
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1 hour ago, Sky Keg said:

Interesting all around.  Very nice result on the F.1!!!!!

Thanks Sky!  It turned out okay for a so-so kit.  A more ambitious modeler than myself might've rescribed the raised panel lines but I would rather poke my eye with a hot needle than do that.   I was happy with it in the end and I'm glad to hear from you! 🙂

28 minutes ago, Sambowlambow99 said:

Truly great build! Very unique and creative. Keep up the good work.

Thank you so much sir!  I appreciate the support and encouragement as well! 🙂

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I like the concept. I would imagine the CSA would have been quite unstable if it survived. Probably a couple of the more Northern Yankee like states might have split away and rejoined the Union. Perhaps Florida might have split along with Texas. Imagine a colourful Floridian air force fighter! Dare I suggest it? A Mig 29 or Sukhoi 27?  Perhaps a French aligned Louisiana state equipped with Rafales? 

 

I never thought of that before. Nice one. 

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5 hours ago, invidia said:

Very nice model and a great back story.

Thanks invidia!  Glad you liked it sir.🙂

18 minutes ago, noelh said:

I like the concept. I would imagine the CSA would have been quite unstable if it survived. Probably a couple of the more Northern Yankee like states might have split away and rejoined the Union. Perhaps Florida might have split along with Texas. Imagine a colourful Floridian air force fighter! Dare I suggest it? A Mig 29 or Sukhoi 27?  Perhaps a French aligned Louisiana state equipped with Rafales? 

 

I never thought of that before. Nice one. 

All good ideas noel!  It's fun to free up that imagination isn't it?  (disclaimer-I did consider the Rafale for this project; King's Hobby in Austin had the 1/48 Revell and I tossed that idea around a while) I've even considered a present-day Mexico that still retains all the land taken by the USA, including Texas, California and the rest of the Southwest United States.   What sort of air force would that Mexico have today?   Perhaps a new 'craft, totally unknown in our reality?  There's an opportunity for a gifted scratch-builder!😉  Thanks for the comments noel, I did enjoy them!

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  • 4 months later...

Only just saw this outburst of creativity of yours. Excellent model!

I wonder who the CSA would have supported during the war? Would they have let themselves be drawn into the fighting against Germany and Japan?

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On 5/13/2019 at 2:36 PM, Gary Brantley said:

I guess I might flesh out my what if scenario a bit.  A negotiated cease-fire, and subsequent, somewhat uneasy peace, left the United States and the Confederacy sharing what had been the USA.  A continuing reliance on agriculture still retarded economic growth and manufacturing technology in the CSA. 

In your scenario is the CSA still using slaves and not succeeding with its agriculture? 

 

How did it ever afford Mirages? Seems more like a MiG-21 country to me

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I lived in Texas through the summer of 73 and was made very aware of the legacy of the Civil War. I still have a bumper sticker "The South Will Rise Again". Wonderful to see that it has, if only in your modelling imagination. 

 

FWIW, I believe that your Republic of Texas would have sided with the Axis powers in WW2. Now that would have changed everything! 

 

I may have to imagine the Scottish Air Force, assuming the Union had never happened! 

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1 hour ago, Toryu said:

Only just saw this outburst of creativity of yours. Excellent model!

I wonder who the CSA would have supported during the war? Would they have let themselves be drawn into the fighting against Germany and Japan?

 

Many thanks Michael! 🍻  It's one of my favorite builds because it is a bit unusual.  I would envision the CSA joining the USA during WWII.   Family ties to "Northern" Americans might well have remained intact and Southern citizens would surely have felt a strong impulse to defend "democracy" as they saw it.  See more on that below...😉

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