Contemporary Crusades

[lancer]

To be fair, Lancer has lost a considerable amount of weight and is newly "slimline".
I think he's getting his energy imput via solar panels....well, solar dome anyway.

The Cushion.

         

[lancer]

That Crusader Lightning is awsome.
One jet I thought for the Templars ir the Javelin. With that huge delta wing it'd look great painted all white with the Red Cross emblazoned on it.

[Radish]

Javelin....nice.

Think 1/48th guys ....Lightning, Hunter, F-100D, F-104G..

Earlier.....Spitfires of all types......Typhoon, Tempest, SEA FURY baby    

Later.....F-16, F-14, Typhoon, Tornado....??

Oh gods, this'll be colourful and nice.

I want you to imagine a Spitfire Vb, or a Sea Fury, or a Lightning F6....nice glossy colour scheme, heraldic symbols, Knights of the Cross markings or Knights Templar Markings or Teutonic knights markings.
Heavily loaded, weathered, ready to rock n' roll.

Gettin' there!!
Baby let's rock!!

Spitfire's looking cool.......got some glueing done...ah man, I'm there....

[Radish]

The F-8 will now be called an Angel FGR.5.

It'll be from the "Black Angels", a Teutonic Knights unit.

The title of the text will be "Angel of Retribution".
The stimulus/inspiration is "Angel" by Judas Priest.

Also, my current SE5A build will be a Crusader version.

I shall develop an amazing back story.

And I'm also looking into 1/48th Crusader "armour" ie AFVs    

[Radish]

Got the cockpit built and detailed for the "Spitfire"....not sure what it'll be called in this new universe.
Paint it tomorrow and get the halves together.
The wing's together, and tomorrow I'll saw off the wing tips and clean everything up.
As I've said earlier, it'll be open topped, and with underwing stores, probably rockets, a couple of HVARs under each wing.

With luck, Monday or Tuesday should see a white primer spray on the upper surfaces.

Then, while things are maturing on that, I can get on with the finishing of the SE5A which'll also be a "Crusader" aircraft. Once that's built, it'll "rest" while I decide on its scheme.
That way, I can get on with finishing the F-8E....

Just lovin' it                  

[nev]

Got the cockpit built and detailed for the "Spitfire"....not sure what it'll be called in this new universe.

As well as crusade battles and leaders, you could also throw in some Biblical warriors such as Gideon or Samson.

[Radish]

good man, Nev.

Archbishops, martyrs.....there's a lot to choose from.

I can see this becoming a major theme of mine.

I just love the Gothic ideas, stuff, and such things as the Crusades.
All total tosh in my reality, in as much as the physical and mental experiences wre horrific in reality, whereas I'm just making things from plastic and imagination.
I love the Gothic look, though, the Heraldic possibilities, and in fact, just bloody whiffing.

Stuff reality.....

at IPMS Stafford last night the chaps were gradually coming round to my way of modelling....as in, fun, quick and bollocks to all the extra bits....as I put 3 new completed models on the table, whereas the others were still ploughing through their various conversions etc..
Their models will look superb, but I'll have a dozen done to their one, and mine aren't too bad.
Apart from not rigging the damned Camel, I've really enjoyed my modelling in the last couple of months, not least because I've said "stuff reality".

Rock on.      

[BlackOps]

Radish, I love your enthusiasm!     I really want to make a few Crusader aircraft myself...maybe some armor too.


Jeff G.

[Radish]

Hey babies, internals on the "Spit" well on the way, all undercoated, just needs drybrushing in various metallic tones, then details picked out in suitable colours for knobs, levers, cushions and seat belts.
Rockin'

Been gardening this morning (ugh!!) but that has a side effect for thinking about whiffing.

I have some plumy-type decals...ideal for "The Black Prince".
Over lunch I dipped into a Short History of The Crusades.....bloody complicated set of affairs too.
Useful for names though.

Let's reiterate (GOOD WORD SO EXTRA POINTS!!) that none of this thread is political, religious or anything other than about building attractive models and having fun.
My Crusading aircraft/afvs will be based in the Frankish kingdoms, Principalities, Republics and Democracies of the Middle East (covering the lands broadly in those areas occupied by the greatest extent of Frankish expansion in the C12th/C13th.
I could go "North" too, but I'll still have an excuse for snowy stuff in the Middle East, so I'll remain there.

Chris suggested some fabulous decals with shield designs, banners, etc..
Fantastic....huge modelling potential      

[Radish]

Just had a totally bonkers idea.....

Why not build the frontage to an aircraft hanger in "Gothic" fashion, like cathedrals???
Cool with a "Spitfire" in front, eh  

[John Howling Mouse]

Why not build the frontage to an aircraft hanger in "Gothic" fashion, like cathedrals???
Cool with a "Spitfire" in front, eh

That's a sensational idea, Radish!

"Matrixone, calling Matrixone!!!"

[jcf]

So would the Heavy Bomber Squadrons of a modern Baghdad Caliphate use Crescent Winged bombers ala the Victor?

Also lets posit that the Western Xtians left Byzantium alone thus in later years it was better able to resist the Moslem armies and didn't eventually fall to the Ottoman. How would the aerial cataphracts of Byzantium appear and what would they fly? Bearing in mind that the armies of Byzantium were the direct heirs of Rome. While the city of Rome fell in the early 5th century and the Western Empire finally collapsed in 476, the Eastern Empire survived until the final fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Timeline for Byzantium

Maps of the Empire


I've long thought that strong, relatively stable Byzantium surviving up to modern times would have produced an entirely different Middle East.

Cheers, Jon

[John Howling Mouse]

Possible names for Crusades Aircraft:

I agree that calling a Crusades-based a/c the F-8 "Crusader" might be kinda silly: the Crusades Crusader sounds a bit redundant.

During the Crusades, a Knight's primary battlehorse was called his "Destrier"
For everyday use, he rode a "palfrey" which would be good for cargo aircraft such as COD planes.

Elements of a Knight's armour would make useful names.  Anything from "Hauberk" for a rather mundane aircraft (maybe a cargo helo?) to "Gauntlet" for some kind of strike aircraft.

You could have a "Cervelliere" or "Coif" for French a/c.

The Knight's padded undercoat was called an "Aketon" or "Gambeson."

See the following link for more ideas:

http://www.tirbriste.org/dmir/ArmsArmor/01.../0102/0102.html

[Radish]

Good suggestions all.

One of these days I might get round to which Knights organisations were around.
Of course there'd be the well-known major ones, but there were lots of tiny organisations originally, and over the centuries there'd have been more formations, some to be dissolved, some to be overtaken by others.

Crusader aircraft might wear not only their organisation's insignia, but also, prominently, the knight's insignia too. All pilots, after all, were knights, except for a few really talented sergeants.

One day i'll perhaps work out the Frankish Forces aircraft on a timeline of service and units. That'd be fun.

What position would the Frankish States be in? Permanent war or an uneasy peace??

Ho, hum??  

[jcf]

Possible names for Crusades Aircraft:

I agree that calling a Crusades-based a/c the F-8 "Crusader" might be kinda silly: the Crusades Crusader sounds a bit redundant.

During the Crusades, a Knight's primary battlehorse was called his "Destrier"
For everyday use, he rode a "palfrey" which would be good for cargo aircraft such as COD planes.

Elements of a Knight's armour would make useful names.  Anything from "Hauberk" for a rather mundane aircraft (maybe a cargo helo?) to "Gauntlet" for some kind of strike aircraft.

You could have a "Cervelliere" or "Coif" for French a/c.

The Knight's padded undercoat was called an "Aketon" or "Gambeson."

See the following link for more ideas:

http://www.tirbriste.org/dmir/ArmsArmor/01.../0102/0102.html

I think you'd have lots of animal names: Lion, Leopard, Cheetah, Oliphant etcetera, along with many with direct religious connotations: Fist of God, David's Sling, Seraphim, God's Thunderbolt etcetera.
The same or similar religious names would probably be used by both sides with the Moslem/Saracen versions most likely being the more poetic.


Cheers, Jon