[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by amoi

The Prowler is one of my favorite military aircraft, second only to the Sepecat jaguar. I love how unique and quirky the EA6B is. Seating for 4, The gold tinted canopy and that unmistakable shape. Its always fun reading about the missions flown by the crew and Electronic warfare is a whole different ballgame all together.

Yes, the EA-6B was not only an important asset for the US Navy & Marine Corps, but after the retirement of the EF-111A, it provided EW support to USAF strike aircraft as well. In fact, there is a famous story out there where one of the reasons why the Stealthy F-117 was shot down during Operation Allied Force in 1999 was because the F-117 did not have jamming support from the EA-6B.

During that air campaign, it was a standard operating procedure for all strike missions to be accompanied by electronic warfare(EW) aircraft (US Navy & Marine Corps EA-6B Prowlers and to some extent Italian & German Tornado ECRs - the USAF had retired their dedicated EW aircraft - EF-111s in 1998). The EA-6Bs flew in a supporting role with strike missions to detect, jam, and destroy enemy radar installations. Because of the EW support from EA-6Bs, it was difficult for the Yugoslavian SAM systems to operate their radars and get target tracking & targeting on even conventional military aircraft. Keeping in mind that during the entire air campaign of Operation Allied Force, only 2 Allied aircraft were lost to enemy fire(F-16 & F-117), the Prowlers played a big role in that air campaign.

Unfortunately, on the day the F-117 was shot down, the Prowlers were grounded due to bad weather. The decision was made for the F-117s to fly their strike mission unsupported and how the Yugoslavian SAM battery commander managed to shoot the supposedly invisible F-117 is an another legendary story in itself, which was posted by member Foxbat earlier in the thread.

Back in the mid-80s and early 90s, you had separate carrier based fast jet aircraft for different roles - F-14 for fleet defence, F/A-18/A/C for fleet defence, multi-role strike, A-6s & A-7s for strike, S-3s for ASW/AsuW and EA-6Bs for Electronic Warfare. Now, all those roles have been taken up a single aircraft- the F/A-18E/F/G. Speak volumes about how things have evolved.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

You might want to read Stephen Counts books on the stories of Jake Grafton!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/...f_the_Intruder

An American friend of us, flew intruder during Vietnam. He says Counts book are spot on!

Jeroen

Stephen Coonts is a great writer & story teller. One of my favorites alongside Tom Clancy, when it comes to military fiction authors.

Flight of the Intruder is a great novel and is one of my favorite novels. I have read it again and again and loved the movie adaption of the novel as well. It was and probably still is the most realistic military aviation themed movie ever made, though probably not as well known or as big a hit as Top Gun was.





One of his other books in my personal library. He knew how to keep the reader hooked with his style of story telling.


Both old books, printed in the late 1980s!

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Top package so much of electronic warfare and ELINT capability into such a small airframe and fit a crew of 4 and keep it carrier compatible is a feat of design engineering.

One thing I forgot to mention about the Prowler was that when the Prowler operated alongside the Intruder on aircraft carriers, they had a “radiation” symbol painted on the nose. This was done so that the aircraft carrier's Landing Signal Officer (LSO) and other deck crew could quickly tell at a glance that it was a Prowler and not an Intruder on final approach or on the deck.





The Intruder crews( especially the pilots) had a not so charitable name for the refueling probes as it interfered with forward visibility during approach to the carrier and during bombing runs. This was corrected to some extent on the Prowler with the refueling probe slightly offset to the right so that the pilot had a clear field of view straight ahead

On the A-6


On the EA-6B

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Almost complete, here is a teaser

Attachment 2525225

Weathering and decals remain. Spent many hours filling the gaps, sanding and painting multiple times due to the ill fitting kit.

Model is complete just need sometime for a proper photoshoot.

[Foxbat]

Inspired by Skanchan's photography I tried my skills


1/48 Scale Indian Air Force Mig-29.


On Combat Air Patrol over New York City during Modiji's visit









This is from an old kit from the 1990s and is decent although it does have some serious fitting issues. I spent many days sanding and painting to make the canopy fit. This is my 4th Mig-29 I have made, two in the 1990s and two recently.





Some pictures of similar Mig-29s before they were upgraded to the UPG variant.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Inspired by Skanchan's photography I tried my skills


1/48 Scale Indian Air Force Mig-29.

On Combat Air Patrol over New York City during Modiji's visit

Hearty hearty congratulations on this first class model.

Your effort and patience is laudable. And your painting skills are getting better and better. wonderful piece of art. Thank you for that excellent photography. :-) :-)

Mikoyan and Gurevich are sending you their blessings from high above.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

This is from an old kit from the 1990s and is decent although it does have some serious fitting issues. I spent many days sanding and painting to make the canopy fit. This is my 4th Mig-29 I have made, two in the 1990s and two recently.

Outstanding work Foxbat!!! Loved the weathering & stencil details on your model.

In fact the photography is so good, that the first image is almost like a screenshot from DCS and I mean that as a compliment because the detailing on your model looks quite realistic.

The original lightweight MiG-29A and F-16A were not only lightweight and highly maneuverable, but were also the most slim and handsome looking variants of their respective families. The addition of spine on the MiG-29 and CFTs on the F-16 ruined the clean lines on both those jets.

As you have made your model in gear up config, it is begging for a dedicated stand(I assume the one you used is a 1:200 airliner stand). May be a JC Wings 1:72 MiG-29 stand or a generic Calibre Wings router stand (which are sold separately).

The JC Wings MiG-29 stand(or for that matter most of their 1:72 stands), latches on to the exhaust nozzles and can be tilted to display the model in a slight bank/turn. But those open airbrakes on your model might cause the stand to not properly grip the model.




The advantage of the Calibre Wings router stand is that by manipulating the three legs, it can be used to display ANY model at any AoA - climb, turn or dive.

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Hearty hearty congratulations on this first class model.

Your effort and patience is laudable. And your painting skills are getting better and better. wonderful piece of art. Thank you for that excellent photography. :-) :-)

Mikoyan and Gurevich are sending you their blessings from high above.

Thank You, this one is my favorite I think for now.

Originally Posted by skanchan95

Outstanding work Foxbat!!! Loved the weathering & stencil details on your model.

In fact the photography is so good, that the first image is almost like a screenshot from DCS and I mean that as a compliment because the detailing on your model looks quite realistic.

The original lightweight MiG-29A and F-16A were not only lightweight and highly maneuverable, but were also the most slim and handsome looking variants of their respective families. The addition of spine on the MiG-29 and CFTs on the F-16 ruined the clean lines on both those jets.

As you have made your model in gear up config, it is begging for a dedicated stand(I assume the one you used is a 1:200 airliner stand). May be a JC Wings 1:72 MiG-29 stand or a generic Calibre Wings router stand (which are sold separately).

Thanks, yes the first picture came out so good even I was surprised. Credit to you for recommending to shoot in the sunlight where all the details come out

Agree both the Mig-29 and F-16 look better before the upgrades.

Assembled models are very delicate and can't be moved around too often without some damage so once its done I like to have it fixed on one place. I actually ordered this 1:200 stand well in advance of making the kit as I wanted to make it in flying configuration. In my opinion this stand looks much better than the plastic stands and most of the custom models or assembled models use this type of stand or wooden version.


I used to use Photoshop very often 15+ years ago at college as a part of coursework, these days I am rediscovering the joy of modifying photos.

[skanchan95]

1:50 HAL Light Combat Helicopter(LCH) प्रचंड (Prachand) IA-6101, 351 Army Aviation Squadron, Indian Army (sewing3d)

The HAL Prachand (meaning Fierce) is an Indian built light attack helicopter designed and manufactured by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) under Project LCH. It has been ordered by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army. Its flight ceiling is the highest among all attack helicopters in the world.

What led to the requirement and development of the LCH Prachand was the lack of a suitable attack helicopter to operate in the mountainous heights during the 1999 Kargil War. The Mi-25/35 could not operate at those heights and the Mi-17 used in a gunship role were operating at limits of their capabilities in that role. It revealed to the Indian armed forces the lack of suitable armed attack helicopter capable of operating unrestricted in the high-altitude areas. The LCH was built precisely to address that deficiency.

The LCH Prachand was built on the success of the indigenous helicopter developed and manufactured by HAL - the HAL Dhruv ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter). The Dhruv was used as a starting point for the LCH.

In October 2022, the LCH was formally inducted into the Indian Air Force and was officially named "Prachand"(Fierce). By November, Indian army had begun to move its LCH helicopters on LAC near the Chinese border.

General characteristics
Crew: 2 (Gunner & Pilot)
Length: 15.8 m (51 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in)
Height: 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in)
Empty weight: 2,250 kg (4,960 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 5,800 kg (12,787 lb)
Payload: 1,750 kg (3,860 lb) weapons
Powerplant: 2 × HAL/Turbomeca Shakti-1H1 turboshaft, 1,032 kW (1,384 hp) each
Main rotor diameter: 13.2 m (43 ft 4 in)

Performance
Maximum speed: 268 km/h (167 mph, 145 kn)
Never exceed speed: 330 km/h (205 mph, 178 kn)
Range: 550 km (340 mi, 300 nmi) with weapons
Endurance: 3 hours 10 minutes
Service ceiling: 6,500 m (21,300 ft)
Rate of climb: 12 m/s (2,400 ft/min)

Armament
Guns: 1 x 20 mm M621 cannon on Nexter THL-20 turret
Hardpoints: 4 , with provisions to carry combinations of:
Rockets:
4 × 12 FZ275 LGR
Missiles:
Air-to-air missiles:
4 × 2 Mistral
Anti-tank guided missile
4 × 4 Dhruvastra (planned)
Bombs:
Precision-guided munition
2 × HSLD-250 (planned)
Cluster munition
Unguided bomb
2 × Prefragmented Bomb 250 (planned)

The Model
This is a 3d printed and hand painted model by an Indian enterprises who go by the name "Sewing3d" (www.sewing3d.in).

As most of us are aware, a diecast models of Indian military models are rare and a diecast model of a truly Made in India helicopter like the Prachand, would be nearly impossible to get. So a 3d printed one like this one is our best choice. Don't expect it to be close to a diecast model in terms of detailing or features. It is heavier than an equivalent plastic model of similar or slightly bigger scale. But it is certainly as well made model and the makers need to be commended for their efforts.

I liked the fact that they tried to give some of the features of a diecast model on this 3d printed model - the main rotor blades are removeable and can be easily inserted in the very strong and nicely designed rotor hub. The cannon turret on the nose, tail rotor and couple of probes on the nose are removeable. While the attachments fit in quite easily, using a little bit of blue tack to hold them in place is recommended. Also, unlike attachments of diecast models which can eb quite flimsy and easily breakable, these attachments are quite strong and will not break easily.

The stand too is 3d printed and quite sturdy.























With the HM 1:72 diecast IAF Apache

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

1:50 HAL Light Combat Helicopter(LCH) प्रचंड (Prachand) IA-6101, 351 Army Aviation Squadron, Indian Army (sewing3d)

Wow! WOW!! WOW!!! .A double first for this thread. The Prachand, pride of India's rotary wing indigenous capability and a 3-D printed model. Your initiative and sheer effort is remarkable. Hearty congratulations. you've hit the ball out of the park.

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

1:50 HAL Light Combat Helicopter(LCH) प्रचंड (Prachand) IA-6101, 351 Army Aviation Squadron, Indian Army (sewing3d)

Great addition to your collection and one of the most rare models of all!

3d printing has become common now and its great to see companies use them to build scale models of rare subjects. I know some scale model builders print custom parts of assembled models for greater detail.

I remember back in the early 2000s my college was one of the few in India that had a 3d printer. It imported a 3d printer from Germany and it cost something like 5-6 Crores at the time. It was kept in a specially built room in a new building and was the size of a midsize car. I had the fortune to use it once and it printed models to the accuracy of 0.1mm at that time.

[Foxbat]

Found this interesting model of a 1/200 Antonov An-12 Indian Air Force L646 A from a company(Manufacture: KUM
Country of manufacture: Ukraine) I have never heard before.



Might be a custom model, can be found in one of these links in case anyone is interested:

Ebay

WaffleCollectibles

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Wow! WOW!! WOW!!! .A double first for this thread. The Prachand, pride of India's rotary wing indigenous capability and a 3-D printed model. Your initiative and sheer effort is remarkable. Hearty congratulations. you've hit the ball out of the park.

Thank you sir. Sewing3D deserves the credit. I suppose a lot would have gone it making the 3d drawings , conceptualizing and designing parts for the attachment fitments. Great effort by them. Can't wait to see what they come up with next.

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Might be a custom model, can be found in one of these links in case anyone is interested:

No,. it isn't. Someone that most of us Indian collectors know was behind getting this model(s) turn into a reality. Initially the model had a lot of mistakes (IAF markings wise), which were corrected, based on inputs. This IAF An-12 is not the only one, that's all the liberty that I have, to say now.

KUM is a Ukraine based company who are still getting models out despite the war.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by skanchan95

KUM is a Ukraine based company who are still getting models out despite the war.

Compared to Hobbymaster and JC wings what is the quality of the details? If you know please do share it. Thanks.

[skanchan95]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Compared to Hobbymaster and JC wings what is the quality of the details? If you know please do share it. Thanks.

Well,for starters, although the models look like diecast metal, the models are actually plastic....similar to what Hogan's or Herpa's 1:200 plastic models are. From the pics I have seen, they may not be snapfit . The pitot tubes under the cockpit are painted with all basic details and markings replicated.

[Foxbat]

Originally Posted by Foxbat

Inspired by Skanchan's photography I tried my skills


1/48 Scale Indian Air Force Mig-29.

One shortcoming of this and other customized models was the lack of a serial number which gives identity to the plane. I finally solved this problem by getting these decals which lets me make nearly any number-letter combination.




I went with KB715 which is part of 47th Squadron "Black Archers", AFS Adampur, India.



What does KB stand for? I know Mig-29 two seating training aircraft start with KS and Mig-25 two seaters started with DS.

[skanchan95]

1:72 Dassault Mirage 2000D Armee de l'Air 3-IA/650, Escadron de Chasse 1/3 Navarre, Nancy-Ochey AB, France (Panzerkampf)

The Mirage 2000D is a twin seat, conventional strike variant of the Mirage 2000 derived from the Mirage 2000N nuclear strike variant. Escadron de Chasse 1/3 Navarre (Fighter Squadron 1/3 Navarre) is a French Air and Space Force (Armee de l'air et de l'espace) fighter squadron currently stationed at BA 133 Nancy - Ochey Air Base, France, flying the Dassault Mirage 2000D.

Delays in the Rafale fighter program led to a French Air Force announcement in 1986 of a development program for an updated Mirage 2000N dedicated to conventional attack, originally designated the "Mirage 2000N Prime". It was to complement SEPECAT Jaguar daylight strike fighters by providing a night / bad weather attack capability.

Formal development began in 1988. The designation was changed to "Mirage 2000D" in 1990, with the "D" standing for "Diversifie / Multi-role". Initial flight of the Mirage 2000D prototype, a modified Mirage 2000N prototype, was on 19 February 1991. That led to first flight of a production aircraft on 31 March 1993, and introduction to service in April 1995. 86 were built in all to last delivery in 2001.

The Mirage 2000D, like the MIrage 2000N, was fitted with an Antilope 5 radar, which is used for terrain following, navigation and ground mapping, and which can follow terrain on autopilot at 1,112 km/h. THe airframe was strengthened for low-level flight.

General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 14.55 m (47 ft 9 in)
Wingspan: 9.13 m (29 ft 11 in)
Height: 5.15 m (16 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 41 m2 (440 sq ft)
Empty weight: 7,600 kg (16,755 lb)
Gross weight: 10,680 kg (23,545 lb)
Max takeoff weight: 17,000 kg (37,479 lb)
Powerplant: 1 × SNECMA M53-P2 afterburning turbofan engine, 64 kN (14,000 lbf) thrust dry, 95.1 kN (21,400 lbf) with afterburner

Performance
Maximum speed: 2,338 km/h (1,453 mph, 1,262 kn)
Combat range: 1,480 km (920 mi, 800 nmi)
Ferry range: 3,340 km (2,080 mi, 1,800 nmi)
Service ceiling: 18,000 m (59,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 285 m/s (56,100 ft/min)
Wing loading: 410 kg/m2 (84 lb/sq ft)
Thrust/weight: *Propulsive efficiency: 0.91 (non dimensional)

Armament
Hardpoints: 4× under-wing, 4× under fuselage, 1× centerline , with provisions to carry combinations of:
Rockets:
Up to 4× Matra SNEB 68-mm 18-round rocket pods on the four underwing hardpoints
Missiles:
Air-to-air missiles:
Up to 4× R550 Magic air-to-air missiles for self-defence, normally 2 on the outboard underwing pylons
Up to 6× MICA air-to-air missiles for self-defence, normally 2 on the outboard underwing pylons
Air-to-surface missiles:
1× Apache anti-runway cruise missile on the centerline pylon
1× SCALP EG air-launched cruise missile on the centerline pylon
2× AS-30L laser-guided missiles on the inboard underwing pylons
Bombs:
AASM 125, 250, 1000 Kg laser, ISN/GPS, IIR guided bombs. The lighter versions are carried in pairs on the centerline and inboard wing hardpoints and one under each of the four fuselage hardpoints
up to 10× GBU-12 227 Kg laser-guided bombs or GBU-49 227 Kg INS/GPS and laser guided bombs, in pairs on the centerline and inboard wing hardpoints and one under each of the four fuselage hardpoints
up to 3× GBU-16 454 Kg laser-guided bombs on the centerline and inboard wing hardpoints
up to 3× GBU-10 907 Kg laser-guided bombs on the centerline and inboard wing hardpoints
up to 3× GBU-24 907 Kg laser-guided bombs on the centerline and inboard wing hardpoints
up to 3× BGL-400 400 Kg laser-guided bombs on the centerline and inboard wing hardpoints
up to 3× BGL-1000 1000 Kg laser-guided bombs on the centerline and inboard wing hardpoints
Other:
ATLIS II laser/electro-optical targeting pod on the front-right fuselage hardpoint
PDLCT laser/electro-optical targeting pod on the front-right fuselage hardpoint
Damoclès laser targeting pod on the front-right fuselage hardpoint
1× centerline mounted 345-gallon drop tank 2x either 375, 440 or 530 gallon tanks for ferry flight/extended range/loitering time
up to 2× 30 mm CC630 gun pods with 600 rounds per pod, one on each inboard wing hardpoint

Avionics
Twin inertial navigation system
Antilope 5 terrain-following radar

Model armament : 2 X MICA IR, 2 X MICA EM, 1X SCALP-EG/Storm Shadow, 2 X 2000L Drop tanks, 1 X ATLIS II LDP





















The SCALP-EG/Storm Shadow cruise missile on the centerline station & ATLIS II Laser Designator Pod on the starboard front fuselage station