F-51 Thundercat

[cthulhu77]

...nope...have to love those nose mounts!

[Rafael]

BRAVO, MAESTRO!!!!![/size]

Rafa
still trying to get back to his seat....

[Brian da Basher]

Greg, this beauty is simply astounding and a magnificent showcase of your incredible talent. I just love your paintwork on it and how you've "antiqued" it. I give this one of the highest accolades:
P-51 [span style=\'color:red\']AIRPLANE PORN!!![/font][/span]

Brian da Basher

[nev]

Is she finished?

If so, where are the rest of the piccies??!!.  Quit holding out on us, eh?

[Archibald]

Wow! I'm in awe... you said that the bump on the nose is a... GRENADE LAUNCHER ?    
Great firepower... not really a mud mover, rather a mud destroyer !!!  

[cthulhu77]

Northern Botswana, Airfield  Number 7,   Zed 6 hours





  The Colonel paced near the window as the morning sunlight filtered through the acacia branches outside,  casting odd shadows on his desk of paperwork and  a hollow glint of pewter medals.  A bold hornbill jumped up and down on the rotted wooden sill of the window, begging for something to eat, perhaps the scraps of the leathered breakfast next to the marching orders of the day.

  There was a rough cough of engines, as one by one, the weatherworn fighters were started up, and smoke bellowed backwards from the blades.  The planes looked as tired as the pilots that flew them, but were still as strong, also.

  He looked to the dawn, hoping not to see the high shapes of the British walkers on the horizon...he knew they were coming soon, no matter how much the consulate offered guarantees of safety from the Empire.  England had blazed a path through Europe quickly, and with their newfound weapons, few could stand in their path...and when they allied with Rome, the continent was divided.

  "There is hope yet, " his aide stated, knowing his colonel's thoughts (and the thoughts of all of them stationed here), "The 'Mericans might side with us, you never can tell."

   When the tripod walking machines stormed across the channel, only Germany and France stood against them, in futility.  The United States stood by while the English armies took the ports of France, then Spain, then the entire southern seaboard...it was unlikely that they would come to the aid of South Africa.

   The Colonel coughed once, and took another sip of his enhanced coffee, "There are reports that the Danish fast attack boats crippled two and destroyed one in the Med yesterday," he stated , "but you know the navy type...can't trust them."  He had seen the televised version of the war, with the great war machines striding across the landscape and burning whole cities to the ground with their invisible heat rays, poisoning towns and villages with the gritty black filth that killed all who breathed it.

  Russia and China had signed non-aggression treaties with the new Empire, but had to be keeping a watchful eye on how the Germans and Dutch faired in combat with the technologically advanced Brits.  If only those cylinders had fallen on the other side of the channel, it might be the French or Germans occupying more and more territory!

  "The columns of the first Roman armed regiment are coming within our perimeter", the aide stated, holding the small phone to his ear. "It is time to engage." The colonel agreed with a brisk nod, and waved off the command. Outside the thin glass, the engines revved up higher, and the planes began to move down the perforated runway, heading into the steady wind.

   He could smell the smoke and diesel in the air.

[Brian da Basher]

Wow what an awesome backstory, Greg! I can't help noticing shades of War of the Worlds in it as I recently listened to Orson Wells and his Mercury Theatre on the Air's 1938 version during my last build.

Great stuff!

Brian da Basher

[K5054NZ]

WE DEMAND (more) PICS!!!

Greg, that is a masterpiece! Bravo zulu to the extreme!

[bow] We are not worthy! We are not worthy![/bow]

Fantastic. When I grow up, I'm gonna build like that. WOW WOW WOW!!!


Cheers,

Zac

[cthulhu77]

One of the first of the outdoor shots...hopefully, more tomorrow, weather permitting !

[BlackOps]

Greg, other than the fact it reminds me a lot of a car I used to own  


Cool backstory and great build, yep, you've still got it!

[John Howling Mouse]

Beyond that metallic antique patina finish, my favorite aspect is the heavily weathered markings.

Only a Whiffing Master could pull that off.   More pics from various angles please!

   

[K5054NZ]

More pics from various angles please!

 

AGREED! We demand it, you know   ...

Masterful. Amazing. Fantastic. I love it.

Once more, you can NEVER have too many Mustangs. Beautiful Greg, absolutely beautiful. I was going to make my Hasegawa A6M3 as a rusted up, weathered-to-hell derelict on some godforsaken Pacific isle, but now that I've seen this beauty I know I just can never compete. Bravo my friend. Bravo.

Cheers,

Zac

PS - Hey Baz: IT'S A ZARKING SPRINGBOK! - ZY

[GTX]

Greg,

I almost hate to say this, but as good as your model is, that backstory simply eclipses it - I want more!

Regards,

Greg

[cthulhu77]

Captain  Joseph Von Primmer leapt onto the wings of his battle worn plane, while the mechanic stepped down from the cockpit, waiting to belt him in place for the mission. Though the F-51 had been through a lot, and looked the worse for wear, it was still the finest attack aircraft he had ever flown.

  He kissed the octopus on the side of the fuselage,  he did before every mission, as a good luck charm.  The Kraken had been the sigil of his family for generations, and it had protected him so far...as it did his brother, a captain in the navy. While the sea was in his blood, the air was where he preferred to fight, and he was ready to show the invading brit's  just how much trouble they were in for.

  "Any walker's today, Kingsley?" he asked his short ground boss. Kingsley was from Ceylon, and his hatred of the empire knew no bounds...his family, stripped of title and forced to live with lower castes was something he would hold against the English/Roman alliance for a lifetime.

  "None today, as far as we know", Kingsley said, in his heavily accented voice, "But the Roman heavy legion is expected, in force."  The Legion had swept over much of Africa, their massive tanks blowing away the wheeled scout cars as much as a mile away...almost nothing could touch them.  The smaller tanks and afv's used by the Afrikaan's could not match the superior scaled metal monsters, and were fighting a retreat day by day, watching the border lines shrink.  The bushmen had proved to be surprisingly effective, sneaking up onto the tanks at night and dispersing boomslangs and mambas into the tank hatches, which caused confusion , if not death, among the Roman guard. The Romans seemed to have an instinctive fear of reptiles, and Botswana was certainly a haven for the venomous beasts.

  "You have a full loadout today, sir", Kingsley yelled, as the roar of the engine grew louder. "Kill many tanks!"



   Joseph smiled, and the canopy above him slid into place, locking down as he taxied out onto the runway, followed by the rest of his lads.  "Weapons check".



   "Weapons check, aye," came the response, "We show a green board all the way across."  The tower officer watched as the F-51's lifted off two by two over the bush scrub. " Go kill them all," he wished.



     Zed 6:45



   Mount Aha was off to the port side of the formation, and the sun hitting the peak was a brittle red, like cranberries, or blood.  Joseph looked to his wingman for the tactical update.

   The F-15 Reporter had enough technology stuffed into it to be amazingly uncomfortable , but it allowed the observer could see the vast Praetorian columns far ahead, he shivered as so many others had done, at the awesome might of Rome.

   "This is what we have to defeat", he thought, "My god, what can we do."  Choking back a sense of despair, he keyed his radio. "Primmer, we have two orders of guard ahead,  at least 200 heavy tanks and full support."

   Joseph held his breath for a moment,  he didn't want it to crack when he talked to the entire squadron.  " Fold Five and Nine, you will follow my lead in the attack, Fold Six, maintain your altitude and cover us.  We are going in hot, free weapons, and then get the hell out of there."  Silence on the radio.  The other pilots knew what was coming, but the thought of their land being taken, their women and children enslaved or dead...they would do anything to stall the invasion.

[BlackOps]

Greg, you need to get an agent and publisher, wonderful stuff!