DONE @p.3 +++ 1:72 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HF-26M ‘Teer’; IAF, 1982

[Dizzyfugu]

Well, this project was my last build for 2022 and has been finished since then, but personal issues prevent progress with scenic pics so I publish what I have got so far. Meet the ill-fated Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HF-26M 'Teer', aircraft 'N 318' of the Indian Air Force No. 1 Squadron (The Tigers), based at AFS Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh/Central India), 1982.

The kit and its assembly:
This whiffy delta-wing fighter was inspired when I recently sliced up a PM Model Su-15 kit for my side-by-side-engine BAC Lightning build. At an early stage of the conversion, I held the Su-15 fuselage with its molded delta wings in my hand and wondered if a shortened tail section (as well as a shorter overall fuselage to keep proportions balanced) could make a delta-wing jet fighter from the Flagon base? Only a hardware experiment could yield an answer, and since the Su-15's overall outlines look a bit retro I settled at an early stage on India as potential designer and operator, as "the thing the HF-24 Marut never was".

True to the initial idea, work started on the tail, and I chopped off the fuselage behind the wings' trailing edge. Some PSR was necessary to blend the separate exhaust section into the fuselage, which had to be reduced in depth through wedges that I cut out under the wings trailing edge, plus some good amount of glue and sheer force the bend the section a bit upwards.  The PM Model's jet exhausts were drilled open, and I added afterburner dummies inside - anything would look better than the bleak vertical walls inside after only 2-3 mm! The original fin was omitted, because it was a bit too large for the new, smaller aircraft and its shape reminded a lot of the Suchoj heavy fighter family. It was replaced with a Mirage III/V fin, left over from a (crappy!) Pioneer 2 IAI Nesher kit.


1:72 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HF-26M 'Teer'; aircraft 'N 318' of the Indian Air Force No. 1 Squadron (The Tigers); AFS Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh/Central India), 1982 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HF-26M 'Teer'; aircraft 'N 318' of the Indian Air Force No. 1 Squadron (The Tigers); AFS Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh/Central India), 1982 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HF-26M 'Teer'; aircraft 'N 318' of the Indian Air Force No. 1 Squadron (The Tigers); AFS Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh/Central India), 1982 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Once the rear section was complete, I had to adjust the front end - and here the kitbashing started. First, I chopped off the cockpit section in front of the molded air intake - the Su-15's long radome and the cockpit on top of the fuselage did not work anymore. As a remedy I remembered another Su-15 conversion I did a (long) while ago: I created a model of a planned ground attack derivative, the T-58Sh, and, as a part of the extensive body work, I transplanted the slanted nose from an academy MiG-27 between the air intakes – a stunt that was relatively easy and which appreciably lowered the cockpit position. For the HF-26M I did something similar, I just transplanted a cockpit from a Hasegawa/Academy MiG-23 with its ogival radome that size-wise better matched with the rest of the leftover Su-15 airframe.

The MiG-23 cockpit matched perfectly with the Su-15's front end, just the spinal area behind the cockpit had to be raised/re-sculpted to blend the parts smoothly together. For a different look from the Su-15 ancestry I also transplanted the front sections of the MiG-23 air intakes with their shorter ramps. Some mods had to be made to the Su-15 intake stubs, but the MiG-23 intakes were an almost perfect fit in size and shape and easy to integrate into the modified front hill. The result looks very natural!
However, when the fuselage was complete, I found that the nose appeared to be a bit too long, leaving the whole new hull with the wings somewhat off balance. As a remedy I decided at a rather late stage to shorten the nose and took out a 6 mm section in front of the cockpit - a stunt I had not planned, but sometimes you can judge things only after certain work stages. Some serious PSR was necessary to re-adjust the conical nose shape, which now looked more Mirage III-ish than planned!


1:72 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HF-26M 'Teer'; aircraft 'N 318' of the Indian Air Force No. 1 Squadron (The Tigers); AFS Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh/Central India), 1982 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The cockpit was taken mostly OOB, I just replaced the ejection seat and gave it a trigger handle made from thin wire. With the basic airframe complete it was time for details. The PM Model Su-15s massive and rather crude main landing gear was replaced with something more delicate from the scrap box, even though I retained the main wheels. The front landing gear was taken wholesale from the MiG-23, but had to be shortened for a proper stance.
A display holder adapter was integrated into the belly for the flight scenes, well hidden between the ventral ordnance.

The hardpoints, including missile launch rails, came from the MiG-23; the pylons had to be adjusted to match the Su-15's wing profile shape, the Anab missiles lost their tail sections to create the fictional Indian 'Saanp' AAMs (pls. wait for the backgorund story). The R-3s on the outer stations were left over from a KP MiG-21 (or one of its many reincarnations, not certain). The ventral pylons belong to Academy MiG-23/27s, one came from the donor kit, the other was found in the spares box. The PTB-490 drop tanks also came from a KP MiG-21.


1:72 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HF-26M 'Teer'; aircraft 'N 318' of the Indian Air Force No. 1 Squadron (The Tigers); AFS Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh/Central India), 1982 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HF-26M 'Teer'; aircraft 'N 318' of the Indian Air Force No. 1 Squadron (The Tigers); AFS Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh/Central India), 1982 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HF-26M 'Teer'; aircraft 'N 318' of the Indian Air Force No. 1 Squadron (The Tigers); AFS Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh/Central India), 1982 (What-if/kitbashing) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Things to make and do with a PM Model Su-15! 

[Gondor]

That is looking good Dizzy, looking forward to further pictures 

Gondor

[thundereagle1997]

I'm really looking forward to the finished design

[Tophe]

Yes, very good start

[Devilfish]

That works!

[kitbasher]

Damn!  Now I have to buy a PM Su-15 and chop it up 

Top work, Dizzy, looking forward to updates.

[NARSES2]

Top work, Dizzy, looking forward to updates.

As am I 

[kerick]

Top work, Dizzy, looking forward to updates.

As am I 

Me too!

[SPINNERS]

A great start! Looking forward to this beastie.

[SPINNERS]

Meet the ill-fated Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HF-26M 'Teer'...

Looks like they were Flagon a dead horse 

[PR19_Kit]

Looks like they were Flagon a dead horse 

I see The Book in your future too! 

[Pellson]

Really cool, Thomas! A proper Dizzy-cut job. 
Also I'm much looking forward to the conclusion of this. 

[Wardukw]

Thomas mate that is looking cool ..as with the other blokes ..I'll be waiting for updates on this one 

[comrade harps]

How huge is your spares box?

[rickshaw]

Interesting...