USAF Global Hawk

United States Air Force Global Hawk. It is an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that can fly up to 60,000 feet in altitude and over 30 hours in duration. It is used for reconnaissance, intelligence and surveillance and provides real-time data to ground units. In 1994 the initial cost per aircraft was to be $10 million USD. By 2001 this had risen to $60.9 million USD and in 2013 it had grown to $131.4 million per aircraft. The USAF plans to retire it’s fleet of Global Hawks in 2027.

The kit is by Kinetic and like all my aircraft is 1/48 scale. This means that the real life wingspan of 130 feet translates to a 32” wingspan in 1/48 scale, making it hard to photograph correctly and airbrushing even more so. Scratch made static wicks, weighted tires and front camera lens assembly added. Typical Kinetic kit with mislabeled parts and absolutely terrible decals compared to the other kit I made by them. It didn’t turn out as I had envisioned it but like I say, this is a constant ongoing learning process for me as I pick up new skill sets and refine current ones.

USAF MQ-1Predator Drone

Manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems this unmanned drone first saw combat in 2002 equipped with Hellfire missiles. It has a 4 cylinder Rotax 914 engine with gives it a top speed of 135mph and a range of 454 miles. It was used in various conflicts and wars including Iran and Iraq.

WW2 Imperial Japanese Navy MXY-7 Ohka

The Ohka, meaning “cherry blossom” in Japanese, was a rocket propelled suicide machine deployed by Japan against allied shipping in World War 2. Introduced in 1945, it was fitted with a 2,000 pound explosive charge in front of the pilot. The suicide pilot (kamikaze) would detach from the mother plane (Model 24J “Betty”) and fire up the three rear rockets (Type 4 Mark 1 Model 20) either one at a time or in unison. It had a short range of only 23 miles but could reach speeds of 400mph in level flight or up to 680mph in a dive on the target ship. They were used in the Okinawa campaign in which 74 saw operation, of which 56 were either destroyed with their parent aircraft or in making attacks. Then allied nickname for the Ohka was “Baka” which in Japanese means “foolish” or “idiotic”. A total of 852 Ohkas were built. Approximately 13 survive today in museums around the world. The one shown here was captured on Okinawa Island in April of 1945. It’s shown as it appeared without its warhead being armed and resting unstrapped on its transport cradle and rear storage support.

WW2 German Me262 HGIII

Me262 variant done in acrylics and Alclad II. Oils and pigments used for weathering. Seatbelts, brake lines and engine line details added. Brass tubing for pitot tube used. Tires weighted and all marking were airbrushed.

WW2 German Heinkel He219 A-7 Uhu

The He219 was a twin engine WW2 night fighter featuring various radar arrays. Advanced features included cannons mounted to fire at an oblique angle, the first steerable nose-wheel on an operational German aircraft, and the world's first ejection seats on an operational aircraft. Armament consisted of two MG 151/20 cannons mounted in a detachable fairing under the fuselage, two 20mm 151/20 cannons in the wing roots and two 30mm MK 108 cannons in the upper fuselage mounted at 65° for attacking aircraft from beneath. It had a crew of two and was powered by two Daimler-Benz V-12 engines each producing 1,776 horsepower giving it a top speed of 420mph at 23,000 feet.

WW2 Era German Focke-Wulf Triebflügel

One of the more bizarre “wonder weapons” to come off the German blueprint boards during WW2 was the Triebflügel by Focke-Wulf. It was to be powered by 3 Pabst ramjet engines developing 2,000 pounds of thrust each. When taking off, the rotors would be angled to give lift in a similar manner to a helicopter. Once the aircraft had attained sufficient altitude the pilot would tilt it over into level flight. The rotors continued spinning in level flight, maintaining 220 rpm at the aircraft's maximum forward speed. To land, the craft had to slow its speed and pitch the fuselage until the craft was vertical. Power could then be reduced and it would descend until the landing gear rested on the ground. The Triebflügel made it to wind tunnel testing but that’s as far as it got. It was calculated out to have a forward speed of 621 mph and a service ceiling of 50,000 feet. I decided to have some fun and think “outside the box” and make mine appear as though it’s a war weary Triebflügel featuring the Luftwaffe light blue RLM76 as a base for the splinter camouflage.

 

WW2 German Messerschmitt P.1103 Rocket Powered Interceptor

This single seat WW2 German interceptor was proposed by Messerschmitt during the early summer of 1944 and was to be used against Allied bomber formations. The wings and vertical tail were adopted from the V-1 flying bomb and it was to feature a single MK 108 30mm cannon which was mounted beneath the pilot who was in a seated position. Top speed was figured to be at 435mph (700km/hr). Due to resource issues late in the war, it was to be constructed mostly of laminated wood. The model here is shown with a small transport dolly which sits underneath a retractable skid which was to be used for soft field landings after its mission.The project was later cancelled in favor of the Ba 349 Natter which was awarded the production contract.

WW2 Japanese Kyushu J7W1 Shinden

Japan’s WW2 fighter interceptor Shinden of which only two prototypes were completed just before Japan’s surrender. The 2,130 hp Mitsubishi (Ha-43) radial engine and its supercharger were installed behind the cockpit and drove a six-bladed propeller via an extension shaft. Engine cooling was to be provided by long, narrow, obliquely-mounted intakes on the side of the fuselage. Of the two prototypes produced one flew a total of 45 minutes before the war ended and ended with one prototype being scrapped and the other shipped to the US for testing by the US Navy but of which never flew again. I decided not to depict Shinden as a prototype and instead to use it as basis for it being thrust into actual production. She sports a bare metal finish with typical hastily applied dark green camo and an antiglare panel. No decals were harmed in the making of this build - all markings were airbrushed.

USMC LVTH-6A1 Vietnam Theater

LVTH-6A1 amphibious assault vehicle of United States Marine Corps as depicted during the Vietnam War. It featured a 105mm howitzer and 210 units were produced. Done in acrylics, oils and pigments.