[V.Narayan]

C-119G Fairchild Flying Boxcar/Packet:: Indian Air Force IK457:: Model make ‘Rodden’ of Ukraine:: Scale 1:144

Length: 7.5 inches; Wingspan: 9 inches; Height: 2 inches.

The C-119 was the first attempt after World War 2 to build a dedicated military freighter custom designed for military use as opposed to civilian designs {C-54 Skymaster derived from the DC-4} or bombers converted to freighter use { Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter}. In this it went with the twin boom tail and humpy rear fitted with a clamshell door and an internal ramp. Other aircraft of the era also followed this design pattern – Armstrong Whitworth Argosy, Nord Nordatlas {our younger readers may not have heard of this one, a French lifter that served them well}.

The C- 119G served the American Forces in Vietnam, the US Forces in Korea and the IAF in 1962, 1965, 1971. Its one challenge was being underpowered in hot and high conditions a characteristic of most heavy aircraft of the era because a piston powerplant only has so much output to give and the payload-range demands were always at the extreme of the envelope. In 1962 the IAF lifted AMX 13 light tanks to Ladakh much to the surprise of the West. In the late 1960s we retrofitted Rolls Royce Orpheus turbojets in a neat dorsal pod in the centre of the fuselage that greatly enhanced take off at hot and high strips with a full load. We bought 79 of these lifters and they rendered yeoman service to us from 1953 to 1984.

We have one IAF pilot who has flown the C-119G, member@ Amukherjea. Sir, this scale model and this post is dedicated to you and your service to the nation.

This scale model has been assembled and skilfully hand painted by our member @BasuRoy. Thank you Basu for continuing to deliver such outstanding models and building my IAF collection.

Data

Crew: 5 (pilot, co-pilot, navigator, radio operator and loadmaster)

Capacity: 67 troops or 35 stretchers or 12,500 kg cargo

Length: 86 ft 6 in Wingspan: 109 ft 3 in Wing area: 1,447 sq ft

Empty weight: 18,000 kg Max take-off weight: 33,500 kg

Fuel capacity: 11,000 litres

Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-4360-20W 28-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, 3,500 hp each

Maximum speed: 452 kmph, 244 knots at 18,000 ft

Cruise speed: 320 kmph, 170 knots

Max. Range: 2,850 km, 1,540 nmi with a 2,500 kg cargo

Service ceiling: 24,000 feet

Rate of climb: 1,010 feet/min

Take-off run to 50 feet: 2,300 feet

Landing run from 50 feet: 1,890 feet

India's first real military lifter. It was the first and last procurement from USA till the C-17's 6 decades later!


Depicting all its main features - the boxcar payload fuselage, the twin boom tail, twin engines, long stroke gears and good view cockpit.




The high aspect wing screaming lift, lift and lift. That's what you need.


The mighty Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major air cooled, supercharged, radials turning out 3500 hp each. These engines along with its competitor the Wright Cyclone represented the acme of piston engine technology.

In 1953 a 12.5 tonne lifter was a medium lifter. Today's CN-235 at 9 tonnes is a light lifter. Categorization of aircraft is an ever evolving matter.

The clam shell doors

It was popularly called Packet in IAF service. The official UASF name was Flying Boxcar. Packet was actually the name of its predecessor! But we liked the name :-). I saw a Packet only twice ever. One was at age 5/6 when my father & his team arrived from somewhere in a IAF Packet and my mother & I went to receive them. As a small child I wasn't allowed onto the tarmac but what a sight to see this big machine with its throbbing engines turn into the parking slot. The second and last occasion was at Vizag in May 1981 where I watched one take off with its turbojet auxiliary pack at full throttle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAvvhDF943Q

A video of the C-119G engine starting. To my ears the piston-prop sounds had a certain power and romance to them missing in the high pitched scream of a jet engine.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

[b]C-119G Fairchild Flying Boxcar/Packet:: Indian Air Force IK457:: Model make ‘Rodden’ of Ukraine:: Scale 1:144
[/h3]

Congratulations on another wonderful addition to your IAF fleet. Another masterpiece by Basu too.

The C-119 was the centerpiece of the story plot in the novel (and later movie) - Flight of the Phoenix. It was about a C-119 on a flight to transport oil rig workers back home, that crashes in a desert. How the survivors , out of desperation, manage to build an aircraft from the wreck and fly away to safety forms the story of the movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BRSm6jP8io

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

C-119G Fairchild Flying Boxcar/Packet:: Indian Air Force IK457:: Model make ‘Rodden’ of Ukraine:: Scale 1:144

Another great addition to your IAF collection
I found the after market addition of the jet engine fascinating, I initially though it was for experimental purposes only.

I have seen one of these at the IAF museum in Palam but didn't realise that till today.

Originally Posted by skanchan95

The C-119 was the centerpiece of the story plot in the novel (and later movie) - Flight of the Phoenix. It was about a C-119 on a flight to transport oil rig workers back home, that crashes in a desert. How the survivors , out of desperation, manage to build an aircraft from the wreck and fly away to safety forms the story of the movie.

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=-BRSm6jP8io

Thats an interesting fact, I watched the movie decades ago and thought it was a fictional aircraft model.

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

If you search anything about Russian tanks online all you see is how one Israeli tank destroyed 100 Arab tanks or how one US APC destroyed 10 Iraqi tanks

With modern Western Tanks being sent to Ukraine I'm eagerly waiting to see their "invincible" record continue

Maybe the Leopards will end up the same way the Tigers and Panthers did...

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

If the West are sending refurbished Leopard 1's then they are at grave risk. If fully up to date Leopard 2's then I'd say it will be a match of equals.

Looks like history repeats itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qSXAaQc7EI

Confirmation from a Western source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidax...h=5a11593b75c9


Apparently the Bradley "Tank Killers" from Desert Storm did fare much better either. These all were supposedly victims of a single Ka-52 "Alligator"

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Looks like history repeats itself.
Apparently the Bradley "Tank Killers" from Desert Storm didn't fare much better either. These all were supposedly victims of a single Ka-52 "Alligator"

Thank you Foxbat for sharing these videos from across the wall. Please keep sharing.

All,

I have never ever subscribed to the American/British gloating over being tank killers par excellence fighting the demoralized, half-trained and disorganized Iraqis. I never had any doubt that in the hands of a well trained Army the T-72, T-90 would prove equal to all. In the 2000s sometime the Americans carried out tests with real T-72/T-90 and their Russian ammunition against the Abrams, Challenger and Leopard 2 . And to their utter shock the Western ammunition could not penetrate the Russian frontal arc layered protection of Kontakt reactive armour + Chobham type armour + space + hardened steel. It could penetrate from the sides & rear. The Russian sabot ammunition round on the other hand could penetrate all three Western tanks over the frontal arc. IIRC the tests were at 1000m range. The Americans do conduct such real world tests which they don't mix up with their media narrative bombardment.

An Army's effectiveness is a careful mix of morale + training + leadership + tactics + intelligence + equipment + clarity of objectives. Note equipment is only one of 7 components but it gets an overriding attention from armchair experts and journalists. Mechanized Infantry + Armour + tracked artillery + close air support all need to work as a combined arm to win. A tank alone is vulnerable to attack from the air and the ATGW's launched by soldiers. The numerous videos we saw of burning Russian tanks were down to poor tactics, poor leadership and a demoralized force and not using, IMHO, combined arms tactics.

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Thank you Foxbat for sharing these videos from across the wall. Please keep sharing.

I try to share but anything anti-Ukrainian is mostly not allowed on mainstream platforms and media.

On the closed Ukrainian war thread I had posted proof of Ukrainian Mig-29s losses with a link from YouTube showing their wreckage:

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ml#post5311963 (Impact of the Russia-Ukraine war)

As expected the video was taken down along with many others. The narrative of the war is closely controlled to influence audiences across the globe. I am sure the above video of the Leopard loss will soon be taken down also.

[V.Narayan]

Mil Mi-4 (NATO name, Hound) :: IAF colours::1:72 scale, Kit - Hobbyboss

Fuselage length ~10 inches; Main rotor diameter ~11.5 inches; Overall length with main rotor turning almost 13.5 inches. This is a large model!

Continuing with my attempts to acquire a scale model of every major aircraft that served the IAF my latest addition is the venerable Mil Mi-4 which for a decade and a half was the back bone of the IAF’s vertical lift capability and rendered yeoman service on our Northern & Eastern fronts.

The Mi-4 also played a very important role in the Bangladesh liberation war of 1971. The Mi-4 was the workhorse of the Indian Air Force[4] covering the medium lift role at the time. A highly successful heli-borne operation, the Meghna Heli Bridge, using Mi-4s helped the Indian Army's 57 Mountain Division clear the Meghna River. The heli-lift of a battalion of Indian troops to the outskirts of Sylhet was the major first heli-borne operation of the Indian Army.

The Mi-4 as was characteristic of configurations of that era featured a nose mounted powerplant a high seated cockpit and a payload cabin below & aft of the cockpit. The drive shaft ran diagonally through the cockpit in between the two pilots. Most interesting was the piston engine – a 14-cylinder air-cooled 1680 shp engine that while much heavier than later turboshafts provided reliability and a reasonable hot and high performance.

The chopper had a gondola under the main fuselage which accommodated a Navigator in difficult terrain or a gunner in the armed assault role.

Over 4500 of these tough machines were built. 121 of these served with the IAF from 1960 to 1988. The first Mi-4 went from concept note to prototype flying in little over 7 months and State acceptance trials in 13 months – quite an achievement {DRDO & HAL, please take note} motivated by a direct order from Stalin on timelines. When it first flew the Western press wrote it off as a copy of the Sikorsky S-55. In fact it was 33% bigger in size and weight. There was only one realistic way of configuring a piston powered helicopter and both Sikorsky & Mil adopted it. Though Mikhail Mil himself did confess that they studied the S-55 layout and found it to be the right one.

This scale model is the creation of our member Basu Roy. As always he has hit the ball out of the park. Working closely with Basu Roy is a pleasure.

Length: 55 feet

Main rotor diameter: 68 feet Length with rotors turning: 82 feet Rotor area: 3729 sq feet

Empty weight: 5100 kgs MTOW: 7800 kgs

Payload: 16 troops, or 1600 kgs of payload internally or 1300 kgs as a slung load

Power plant: 1700 shp 14-cylinder air-cooled Shvetsov radial

Max. speed: 210 kmph Cruise speed: 160 kmph

Ferry range: 500 kms Range with 16 troops: ~180 kms.

Service ceiling: 18,000 feet

Armament: 57mm rocket pods, 12.7 mm machine gun in forward facing gondola, troops firing their personal rifles from the main cabin.

Soviet video of an earlier era on the Mil Mi-4. Watch from 0.57 mins onwards

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndj0AenHKN8

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Mil Mi-4 (NATO name, Hound) :: IAF colours::1:72 scale, Kit - Hobbyboss

Marvellous addition to your IAF collection A very rare subject for model builders, a photoshoot of your 1:72 IAF helicopter collection is due.


Formed in 1932, as Tata & Sons, this India based line was primarily concerned with delivering air mail until 1938. Renamed Tata Airlines, it began carrying passengers as well. When World War Two broke out, the line was restricted to carrying government and military loads. During this time, the airline had the opportunity to fly large aircraft, such as the DC-4/C- 54. The experience gained in these operations placed the company in a good position to enlarge at the the end of the war.

In 1948, the company changed its name to Air-India International, with the Indian Government owning nearly half of the airline. The first international operations began with a flight from Bombay to London, and by 1950 Air-India routes were extended to Nairobi. Three years later, all Indian airlines were nationalised and combined into two separate groups, Indian National Airlines for domestic service and Air India International, the global flag bearer.
In 1954, the airline introduced the Lockheed Super Constellation with service to Europe. Each of the five Super Constellations was named after a Hindu rajah's wife. By 1956, the airline became simply Air India, and the airline adopted the name "Magic Carpet Route" for their overnight Constellation service between Bombay and Tokyo.

The Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation was powered by four Wright R-3350 turbo-compound engines which used exhaust gas to drive three power recovery turbines which increased the power by 20%. The maximum speed of the Super Connie was 366 mph, faster than most World War II fighters! Normal range was 4,815 miles. With optional wing-tip tanks, the range could be extended to 5,800 miles. Each of the Air India Super Constellations could carry sixty-three passengers, some with "Slumberette" reclining seats for the nearly 24 hour

1:144 Scale Air India Lockheed Super Constellation L-1049 VT-DIM 'Rani of Ayodhya'














The Real aircraft when in service with Air India. It was later sold to the Indian Navy and scrapped in the 1980s after an accident while taxiing.





This is from a very primitive 24 year old kit with almost no details. Given the rarity of the subject I decided to give it a try. The model has come out ok but there are some major blemishes due the unwieldy large decals.





My inspiration for this model was the first post of this thread which is by far my favourite on Team-Bhp:

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

This thread is dedicated to scale models of aircrafts and ships, both civil and military.

Air India's L-749 Malabar Princess

My favourite model is the Lockheed Constellation L-749 of Air India International named Malabar Princess.

This is the only model in my collection to which I can say I have a family connection. After buying the model I realised my wife is also from Ayodhya and the aircraft is actually named after her Great Great Grandmother

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Marvellous addition to your IAF collection. A very rare subject for model builders, a photoshoot of your 1:72 IAF helicopter collection is due.

More to come Comrade...:-)

1:144 Scale Air India Lockheed Super Constellation L-1049 VT-DIM 'Rani of Ayodhya'

The Real aircraft when in service with Air India. It was later sold to the Indian Navy and scrapped in the 1980s after an accident while taxiing.

You are getting very skilled at assembling and painting these scale models yourself. Congratulations!

This is from a very primitive 24 year old kit with almost no details. Given the rarity of the subject I decided to give it a try. The model has come out ok but there are some major blemishes due the unwieldy large decals.

Is this a lost treasure from your childhod that you dug out?

My inspiration for this model was the first post of this thread which is by far my favourite on Team-Bhp:

Thank you Sir.

This is the only model in my collection to which I can say I have a family connection. After buying the model I realised my wife is also from Ayodhya and the aircraft is actually named after her Great Great Grandmother

Wow. <emoji with jaw drooped to the floor>

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

More to come Comrade...:-)

Hoping for a Hokum, Havoc or Hind

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Is this a lost treasure from your childhod that you dug out?

I bought it from eBay, probably some unsold inventory from decades ago that someone has found.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Hoping for a Hokum, Havoc or Hind

Hmmmmm!!!!! Now now. Hokum & Havoc did not serve with the IAF but...........

I bought it from eBay, probably some unsold inventory from decades ago that someone has found.

Oh My God. I have never been on ebay and am too IT illiterate to know what to do either. The two times you pointed me to some exotic aircraft on eBay I told one of my kids to procure it. IIRC it was the Tupolev Tu-128 and the Boeing P-8I. But I must confess your talent at assembling and painting is getting very very good. Congrats.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

In 1954, the airline introduced the Lockheed Super Constellation with service to Europe.

Lovely! I looked far and wide for a Constellation in AI livery but couldn't find any. Finally settled on a Qantas.

Congrats!

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Mil Mi-4 (NATO name, Hound) :: IAF colours::1:72 scale, Kit - Hobbyboss

Congratulations on another wonderful addition to your collection and great to see the model armed with a gun.

Ironically, the S-55 was the first Utility and transport aircraft procured by the IAF in the early 1950s forming the 104 Helicopter Unit aptly called "The Pioneering Rotarians" alongside Bell 47Gs.

However by the last 1950s, there was need for a transport helicopter that could operate at higher altitudes. The Sikorsky S-62 and Mi-4 were evaluated. Initially the S-62 was favored to not only be procured but license built in India. Six S-62s were bought but no more were ordered.

Instead Mi-4s were ordered in large numbers from the Soviet union along with An-12s and IL-14s and thus the IAF's long reliance on the Soviet Union for bulk of transport aircraft and helicopters was set.

The Mi-4 replaced the S-55(and Bell 47G) in the 104 HU in 1960. The Mi-4s of the squadron were supplanted( and later replaced) by HAL Chetaks. Later the unit went on to become the IAF's second Mi-25/35 squadron.

The Mi-4s were later supplanted and later replaced by Mi-8s and (later) by Mi-17s

Originally Posted by Foxbat

1:144 Scale Air India Lockheed Super Constellation L-1049 VT-DIM 'Rani of Ayodhya'

Brilliant build Foxbat. Nicely done. It is a nice addition to your Air India collection/

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Lovely! I looked far and wide for a Constellation in AI livery but couldn't find any.

There was a superb 1:200 Air India Connie released by Aeroclassics not too long ago, costed a bomb but looked great.

[Foxbat]

Currently work in progress but will be packed and finished sometime later this year since I am moving. Any guesses for this aircraft? Easy one for the experts on this thread.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Currently work in progress but will be packed and finished sometime later this year since I am moving. Any guesses for this aircraft? Easy one for the experts on this thread.



Attachment 2474590

Can you show us the wings please?

Great to see you take on yet another challenging DIY project.