Kallisti Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 (edited) It is February 1971 and after the close shave of the Apollo 13 mission the previous April, security around the Apollo 14 mission is fierce. The problems encountered by the previous mission had been put to the public as a failure of an oxygen tank on the Apollo 13 Command Module. However, the real story was kept secret from the public for fear of the panic it might cause. Pictures of the Alien space ship that attacked Apollo 13 were captured on the TV camera James A Lovell had been preparing to stow away after that day's scheduled telecast was finished. This footage and the damage caused by the laser blast fired by the Alien UFO were considered conclusive proof that we were not alone in the Universe and that our 'nearest' neighbours were potentially unfriendly. In the intervening 9 months between the two missions, the US military and the United Nations initiated two new military and scientific programmes. One was tasked with secretly preparing for Alien attack. This was called SHADO and was charged with developing advanced technologies that would enable UFO tracking and space-based defensive systems. As a cover for the vast expenditure this would require, a more modest but public programme was initiated called Spectrum that would adapt existing vehicles and equipment for a 'Peace Keeping' role. Both of these programmes were run separately from the existing UN funded United Nations Intelligence Taskforce, a predominantly British and European operation that had been responsible for dealing with a series of peculiar events in Great Britain in the previous few years. Spectrum was as much a PR exercise as an effective military organisation. It was quickly decided that it needed to have its own air force for reconnaissance, logistics and power projection. It was decided to take the innovative step of recruiting the best female pilots of the time and creating a special squadron of 'Angels'. These Angels were given code names taken from popular culture of the time, so the first four pilots were code named Galadriel, Eowyn, Arwen and Luthien. The aircraft they were trained to fly was a specially adapted Lockheed F-104Q Starfighter, and so the Spectrum Angels Starfighter squadron was born. Here we see Galadrial Angel with her Angel Starfighter getting ready to mount air combat patrol around the perimeter of the controlled airspace for the Apollo 14 launch. So this flight of fancy came about because I picked up the recent Kinetic F-104G kit: and when it arrived, I opened the box up sitting on the couch with the 1:24 scale Angel Interceptor on the coffee table directly in front of me and my mind started to wonder what the Starfighter would look like in white with Spectrum roundels... I managed to get a set of 1:48 scale Angel Interceptor decals from JBOT decals and used these along with some of the stencil decals from the kit to built it. I did originally intent to pose the cockpit canopy open but I ran out of time to get this ready for the March club meeting of IPMS Farnborough so left it closed. The cockpit looked like this before the canopy was shut: "Galadriel" Angel is a resin figure form this set As you can see I removed the beret and added more hair using milliput - non military haircut but it is a PR exercise after all. They get upgraded to white flight suits sometime in the future! I came up with the backstory while driving home from work this evening and mention of UNIT got me thinking about my NEXT build Edited March 10, 2020 by Kallisti 38 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Lambess Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 Love it ! Very very cool 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamS Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Absolutely Fab. Or Sig, Or 10/10. Graham 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carts Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Love it,and great back story👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Great story and modelling idea. Did you manage to get an 'A' on the underside ? Regards Robert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted March 11, 2020 Author Share Posted March 11, 2020 No there wasn't enough space on the underside to accommodate it - that would really need a nice big delta wing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picard Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 A very humble Wow and Blimey from The Malvern Hills. Brilliant concept, stunning model, and love back story, Nice one Kallisti. S.I.G 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RACETRACK Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 very cool mythos, cooler aircraft. Love it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted March 11, 2020 Share Posted March 11, 2020 Clever bit of thinking and a very nice result. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saturnapollo Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Interesting concept, well realised. Like your backstory too! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEXANTOMCAT Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Brilliant! TT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonC Posted March 13, 2020 Share Posted March 13, 2020 Cool idea for a build! Love the roundel on the base too. J. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albeback52 Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 Nice! On a related note, I have a 1/32 Revell F-16XL which I one day intend to modify and finish as a Spectrum Archangel, the follow on to the "existing" interceptor. Won't be white though! White is boring. I rather thought a multi toned metallic blue Unobtainium finish might be nice! 😊 Allan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 The back story has given me a load of ideas for other builds from both the Spectrum and SHADO organisations using existing equipment! I was thinking a Spectrum liveried CVR(T) Scorpion tank as an early type of SPV... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 On 11/03/2020 at 12:05, Kallisti said: No there wasn't enough space on the underside to accommodate it - that would really need a nice big delta wing Hmnnnnn.............. high altitude long endurance loiter capability to engage incoming trajectory for any UFO incursion with long range air to air missiles? Phoenix perhaps with nuke tips?. Delta? Vulcan Mk 4 Special Mod which you need to invent perhaps or a similar B 58 version or maybe even the interceptor version of the SR71 though you would never see the black letter A. White SR71 special paint job with a specially formulated heat tolerant paint its a Whiff after all 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted March 15, 2020 Author Share Posted March 15, 2020 Great ideas! Once you open this box of ideas the possibilities seem endless! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted March 15, 2020 Share Posted March 15, 2020 I like the thought of existing vehicles in futuristic markings. I've often thought of building a DC-3 in Starfleet livery, because there's bound to be at least one still flying in the 23rd Century! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Eazy Posted March 21, 2020 Share Posted March 21, 2020 On 3/10/2020 at 10:37 PM, Kallisti said: I came up with the backstory while driving home from work this evening and mention of UNIT got me thinking about my NEXT build This is really great!! When I saw the post's title saying Angel Starfighter, I somehow expected you to be using that Starfighter from Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, until I saw the photo and realised the title meant a F-104. Wow, caught me there! I wonder what it would look like during the over the years, starting from the F-104 Starfighter to the Angel Interceptor. I can image the Angels using a F-15 Eagle during the 1990s and an Eurofighter Typhoo during the 2020s. That's a very good creative idea and good work!! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lootenant Aloominum Posted March 26, 2020 Share Posted March 26, 2020 On 3/21/2020 at 4:01 PM, Major Eazy said: I can image the Angels using a F-15 Eagle during the 1990s and an Eurofighter Typhoo during the 2020s. Nearly right... Anyway, the F-104 is, to my mind, one of the hottest looking fighters there ever was. A missile with a man woman in it... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallBlondJohn Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Fab work and good story! Big Man Straker would be proud. I like the idea of a Shado CVR(T) - Maybe backed up by a few Gepards? According to Clavework graphics (http://www.clavework-graphics.co.uk/), Spectrum also fielded TSR2s and F-14s: But they are not deltas - oooh, how about a Spectrum XB-70 or Avro Arrow? No Starfleet DC-3 (yet) but they take suggestions... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 I had thought about a TSR2 bu that would be contemporary with the Starfighter. The F-14 is a possibility but then you get to something like the Rafale which is a nice delta and I reckon it would take an "A" on the underside quite well. Funnily enough I have a Revell one in the stash 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 (Cough) Mirage! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NAVY870 Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 Love it! A good KUTA to get my SHADO Eagle finished. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarkas Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Very nice, and I like the backstory, particularly the involvement of Apollo 13 -- very creative. All the "other" Spectrum aircraft are fun, and I remember seeing a Harrier GR.3 in Spectrum livery at the Cosford show one year -- the A was on the upper surface of the wing rather than underneath, which would also work for the TSR.2. I have a Chengdu J-10 that I'm going to do in Spectrum colours. That aircraft is about as close as you can get in RL to an Angel Interceptor, except it lacks that bl**dy awful T-tail (and thank Finagle for that). I'm still working out whether to build it OOB or droop the wingtips and move the canards forward along the nose. Another Angel-like aircraft would be the Typhoon -- sort of the J-10's big brother. I remember seeing a photo of the EAP prototype when it first came into public view, and my immediate reaction was, "That's a twin-engined Angel!" And it pretty much is, save for the undercarriage and the lack of the stupid T-tail. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamS Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Spectrum TSR 2 , now I REALLY love that idea! 🤔🤔🤔 Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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