for this group build, i will be building not just 1 but 2 F-23A's :o
the kits i will be using are 2 revell 1/144 YF-23's, as these are the best small black widows on the market.
one will be build in Iranian colors, the other in Iraqi colors.
Back History.
after succesfull sales of the F-23A to NATO members and US allies, Northrop-Grumman wanted to book some orders from Third world nations. the F-23 was a great fighter but not all countries could afford them. therefor, NG decided to strip down the F-23 from all expencive and sensitive equipment, and replaced them with older redundant USAF stock hardware. this included older versions of the APG-65 radar, replacement of the RAM by a standard aluminium alloy. the weapon systems were also limited to the AIM-9, although an AMRAAM capability could be optional. the modifications lowered the price of the F-23 from $80 million to $35 million. Kenia was the first to buy, and ordered 8 F-23AL's (AL = A-model Light version). as the Americans wanted to rebuild the Araqi and Iranian air forces after the wars, the F-23AL was the best option to protect the countries large airspaces. Iraq recieved 48 aircraft (40 AL & 8 BL models) and Iran 100 aircraft. the only difference the Iranian aircraft had is that the IRIAF wanted french weapons on them, therefor the iranian F-23's carried both the Magic and MICA AAM's. the Iraqi's primary used american hardware, but for ground attacks the aircraft were equiped with British 300lbs free fall bombs or Mk.84 genral Purpose Bombs.
below are 2 profiles of the expected color schemes :mellow:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FProfiles%2Ff-23a_iran.png&hash=0c179827b756ff37b1568fd687608c6e5d1b8f71)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FProfiles%2Ff-23a_iraq.png&hash=eac54d4ed03412a8073457566c5a837b4cd34119)
Day 1, 13.47CET:
opened the boxes and searched out part of the decals for the aircrafts. still need to search out the weapons as the amraam armament seems a little dull and i want to ad a bit more offencive firepower to it. ive been thinking of the following arms :mellow:
Iran:
-2 x Magic
-4 x MICA-IR (2 internal + 2 external)
Iraq:
-2 x Sidewinder
-4 x british 500lbs free fall bombs
here's the kits, ready for construction :mellow:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres1.jpg&hash=bf8853f0b4f41d5d2c5d59ee5396bffdafba7286)
Just out of curiousity, do you intend to mark the Iranian bird in the 'pre-war' IRIAF titles or will those initials stand for something other than the Islamic Republic of Iran etc? Looking fwd to seeing how both of these turn out!
Shas 8)
the IRIAF bird is indeed in prewar Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force markings.
i was still having doubts about the color sheme, but i thought the old style desert camo lookt better then the dull grey. <_<
ok, time for a progres report :mellow:
Day 1, 14.20:
started with main assembly and additional weapon bays for the Iranian widow.
the weapons selected for the aircraft are 2 Magic and 3 internal MICA misilles. had some problems with the V-tail but that turned out allright ;D
16.00:
played a bit of Wii sports while the gleu was drying, after that it was time to mount the landing gear.
21.00:
painted the top of the aircrafts fuselage while i was watching a DVD movie, still needed to find some serial numbers for the aircraft. but that wont be a problem :rolleyes:
Day 2, 13.35:
ready to start applying the brown/green camo to the aircraft, the bottom will be painted as soon as the top has dryed -_-
here are the pictures as how the aircraft looks now :mellow:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres2.jpg&hash=3dc8a06c3635414753d425b8aec54c62190d09a0)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres3.jpg&hash=a12fc6e8918929c8001b098276c85e6a0caa96db)
Good looking jets! Pretty brave doing two in one week. ;) :)
Eddie
Almost surreal against your bench, very cool !
With 144th, you could do a whole airforce in one week (type depending, of course)!
Shas 8)
Quote from: Nils on March 02, 2008, 04:38:27 AM
here are the pictures as how the aircraft looks now :mellow:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres2.jpg&hash=3dc8a06c3635414753d425b8aec54c62190d09a0)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres3.jpg&hash=a12fc6e8918929c8001b098276c85e6a0caa96db)
That is one cool camo pattern... Oh, that's the work bench top. The plane is looking good too.
Ed
Dare you to paint it to blend right in with that bench.....double-dare ya, in fact.
Looking promising so far.
ok, update time again :mellow:
Day 2, 20.00:
aplied the green/brown camo, used the same color patern as the IRIAF F-14's in the early 80's, loved that scheme :wub:
after painting i slapped on the first decals, although i must say the paintjob didnt turn out as good as i expected, but that can be improved later :mellow:
Day 3: little or no progress, but i have started looking through my decal reserves for a fitting serial number, no luck so far, maybe later :rolleyes:
as for pictures, here is how it looks like now.
JHM, tomorrow im gonna be painting the bottom and then i will show how the camo goes with the workbench ;D
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres4.jpg&hash=3dd9ebe3272e935e2936636e4742831c2c087a39)
Where's that thumbs-up smiley? Lookin good there mate!
Shas 8)
ok update time again ;D
Day 4, 19.00:
painted the underside with light aircraft grey, although not to visible in this pic and the last one, is the added internal weapon bays between the rear landing wheels. but i will post better close-up pictures with the focusing webcam tomorrow <_<
20.00:
slapped on the last 3 roundels as soon as the paint was half dry :mellow:
1 on the wing and 1 on each intake. she's almost ready but ive decided to paint the nozles of the aircraft in a more grey metalic rather then black.
still to do tomorrow is the repainting of the nozles, and adding the serial numbers. as soon as thats done then i can finally start working on the Iraqi version :rolleyes:
picture of the bottom as it is now
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres5.jpg&hash=b38a6751688405a0fcbda7af75f7e36b6f621c77)
Quote from: John Howling Mouse on March 02, 2008, 02:40:16 PM
Dare you to paint it to blend right in with that bench.....double-dare ya, in fact.
Looking promising so far.
ok JHM, hows this for a dare, m8 ;D
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres6.jpg&hash=d5f584e96217235f96ef7c6606ea168f620de7c8)
It disappears against that backround!!!! Perfect!
You do have to love the lines of that jet, sexy x9 !
I really like your choice of colors for that camop scheme Nils! It's great to see another one of your completed projects!
Brian da Basher
Needs more black, white, mottled green, dash of bright red, some blue-greys, and a grid-line to blend in with the backdrop.... ;D
update:
Day 5, 17.20:
as promised i took out the webcam to make some close-up shots ;D
the aircraft is still the same as it was last night.
tonight im gonna continue painting the landing gear and find and apply the serials, by then she should be ready.
furthermore, tonight im gonna start assembly of the Iraqi version.
here are the pictures, and i took some decent shots of the weapon bays aswell, note the 3 MICA's in the main bay and the 2 maigics in the secondary bays :mellow:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres7.jpg&hash=4a53fcd9ecc3f6a71832cd039428de85c3026a84)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres8.jpg&hash=102d59179a4dc3daf024f5d52e733a3c33357624)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres9.jpg&hash=5c6aa2fabd6403487e1e9cd7792db2e1ebec2f3e)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres10.jpg&hash=89eb8c16fd3a57fe3518c39bce6cff11c8989d41)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres11.jpg&hash=8318e68d3aad4d6cb85d5f25ca4d9848376c36e0)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres12.jpg&hash=67464ae301f6c4667d7f1bfaadc8f1a93ef45e63)
Looking like that, can you believe the air farce went with the 22?
Day 6:
no progres today, to tired from work. maybe it was a bit to ambitious for 2 F-23's, but i said 2 and there will be 2.
tomorrow im gonna kickstart on the iraqi version, if the 10th still counts to build im definitly gonna make it.
the Iraqi F-23 wil be a 2 day speedbuild, so it might turn out a tad different then i thought :huh:
but non the less, it will turn out good ;D
however i am thinking of dropping the Iraqi F-23 in favor of an Angolan Typhoon, but i will know for sure tomorrow :o
expect the final pics of the IRIAF spider tomorrow :mellow:
Day 7: No update
Day 8:
the IRIAF bird is finished :mellow:
the serials have finally been applied, due to the lack of time, i decided to keep the exsaust nozzles the way they are.
sorry, no pics today. my mom borrowed my camera to take pictures elsewhere, but expect pictures tonight :mellow:
as for the Iraqi version of the F-23, im affraid i wont be able to make the deadline in time, but i will try :huh:
ok, final pictures,
bad news, i wont be able to finish the iraqi version in time for the deadline :(
so i will have to enter with this one only :mellow:
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres13.jpg&hash=b2d69f38e85106afecb57cf7347a55dded72f480)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres14.jpg&hash=cc0ceffa7db6375bcf6392a5f0f3495a146d97a5)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.maj.com%2Fgallery%2Fnils%2Fwhiff2%2FF23A%2Fprogres15.jpg&hash=c42d3e44287f2a44c05c9c06451c896bf5c3f7a5)