1/72 Trumpeter CAIC WZ-10 PLAAF

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

I hope all is well and the wars fought by your models don't last too long, plastic soldiers have families too haha. Anyways, things are going good for me. Last week I was very stressed about my mid-term exams this week but it is all good. Anyways, here is a model I particularly enjoyed.

1/72 Trumpeter CAIC WZ-10 PLAAF

I bought this guy on eBay and it showed up well before I expected. Anyways, this model was an easy build with multiple options for weapons. I chose to attach missile pods along with "stinger" missiles and anti tank missiles below those. I built it a different way than I usually do. I put the weapon racks on the stub wings while they were still on the sprue. I do not recommend this as it was hard to get the paint into those tiny places.

Although it turned out good, it is not my best helicopter. My best helicopter is a Sea Cobra (USMC) which I may post about later. Anyways, the cockpit and wheels are Flat Black while over all the aircraft is NATO Black as that is what it looks like in pictures. The rotor blades are Black while the hub is Flat Aluminum. Jet exhausts are Metallic Grey while the missiles are White.

So this is a brand new helicopter being utilized by the People's Liberation Army Air Force. It was a top secret project that only became public a few years ago.

It will probably be comparable to the US Apache Longbow or the Russian Hind attack helicopters. I am excited to see the capabilities of this aircraft, but I hope they won't be used against the west and her allies.

I first experienced this aircraft much the same way as the J10 in the previous post. In the only night ops mission in Operation Flashpoint: Red River, as you are retreating back to safety after accomplishing your mission. The helicopter attempts to take you out so you must duck into cover a lot while at the same time Chinese spec ops troops are being sent after you. It is intense and you never get to see the chopper, but I think you can destroy it.


General characteristics

• Crew: 2
• Length: 14.15 m (ft)
• Rotor diameter: 13.0 m (ft)
• Height: 3.85 m (ft)
• Empty weight: 5,540 kg (lb)
• Loaded weight: 7,000 kg (lb)
• Useful load: 1,500 kg (lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 7,000+ kg (lb)
• Powerplant: 2 × WZ-9 turboshaft, 1000 kw (1350 shp) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 300+ km/h
• Cruise speed: 270+ km/h
• Range: 800+ km
• Service ceiling: 6,400 m (ft)
• Rate of climb: over 12 m/s (ft/min)

Armament

• Guns: 23 mm or 30 mm autocannon mounted on chin turret (optional 30 mm or 40 mm automatic grenade launchers, or 14.5 mm Gatling gun)
• Hardpoints: 4
• Rockets: 57 mm, 90 mm multi-barrel unguided rocket pods
• Missiles:
  
  • Up to 16 HJ-10 air to surface / anti tank / anti helicopter missiles. ADK10 is reported to be the official name of HJ10 missile.
  • Up to 16 HJ-8, HJ-9 missiles
  • Up to 16 TY-90 air-to-air missiles
  • Up to 4 PL-5, PL-7, PL-9 air-to-air missiles

Avionics

• YH millimetre-wave fire-control radar
• Helmet mounted sight with night vision goggles
• BM/KG300G self protection jamming pod
• Blue Sky navigation pod
• KZ900 reconnaissance pod
• YH-96 electronic warfare suite

 (Info from Wikipedia and the model box)

1/72 Trumpeter Chengdu J10 "Vigorous Dragon" PLAAF

Hey guys,

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, school is getting very busy and I have a job during the week as well and I haven't had too much time to actually build my models. Anyways, I am going to be starting a parallel blog where I show how I made surface assets exclusively in 1/35 scale.

1/72 Trumpeter Chengdu J10 "Vigorous Dragon" PLAAF

 This is the Chengdu J10, a new Chinese aircraft that was first developed in the mid 1990's and put into service in the med 2000's.

This plane was easy to assemble, but where the fins on the lower back portion of the aircraft would not conform to the rest of the aircraft. To supplement this I used modeling putty to fill in the cracks and used a queue tip to brush away the excess.

 The cockpit is Light Sky Blue with Olive seat cushions. Overall the aircraft is Neutral Grey with Dark Grey camo painted with an air brush. The nose is Flat Black. Missiles are gloss white with the jet exhaust being Metallic Grey.
The aircraft turned out great and is definitely comparable with the rest of my collection.

 I first heard of the J10 in a video game called 'Operation Flashpoint: Red River" where the player is a marine that does battle with the Taliban in a fictional conflict in Tajikistan. About half way through the game China gets involved and air support is cut off and the general of the Marines says it is because of J10 attack aircraft.

Although the player doesn't see the aircraft it can be heard on the first mission against China.

Anyways, the J10 is used exclusively by China and is exported to Pakistan. The aircraft was developed under the name 'Chinese New Fighter' to replace older Russian aircraft purchased in the 80's and 70's.




General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 15.49 m (50.82 ft)
• Wingspan: 9.75 m (31.99 ft)
• Height: 5.43 m (17.81 ft)
• Wing area: 33.1 m² (356.3 ft²)
• Empty weight: 9,750 kg (21,495 lb)
• Loaded weight: 12,400 kg (28,600 lb)
• Useful load: 6,000 kg (13,200lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 19,277 kg (42,500 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Saturn-Lyulka AL-31FN or WS-10A Taihang turbofan
  • Dry thrust: 79.43 kN / 89.17 kN (17,860 lbf / 19,000 lbf)
  • Thrust with afterburner: 125 kN / 130 kN (27,999 lbf / 29,000 lbf)
  
  

Performance

• Maximum speed: Mach 2.2 at altitude, Mach 1.2 at sea level
• g-limits: +9/-3 g (+88/-29 m/s², +290/-97 ft/s)
• Combat radius: 1,600 km (with air to air refueling), 550 km (without air to air refueling)
• Ferry range: 1,850 km
• Service ceiling: 18,000 m (59,055 ft)
• Wing loading: 381 kg/m² (78 lb/ft²)
• Thrust/weight: 1.024 (with AL-31); 1.085 (with WS-10A)

Armament

• Guns: 1× 23mm twin-barrel cannon
• Hardpoints: 11 in total (6× under-wing, 5× under-fuselage) with a capacity of 6,000 kg (13,228 lb) external fuel and ordnance
• Rockets: 90 mm unguided rocket pods
• Missiles:
  
  • Air-to-air missiles: PL-8, PL-9, PL-11, PL-12
  • Air-to-surface missiles: PJ-9, YJ-9K
• Bombs: laser-guided bombs (LT-2), glide bombs (LS-6) and unguided bombs
• Others:
  
  • Up to 3 external fuel drop-tanks (1× under-fuselage, 2× under-wing) for extended range and loitering time

Avionics

• Unknown phased array radar
• NRIET KLJ-10 multi-mode fire-control radar
• Externally mounted avionics pods:
  • Type Hongguang-I infra-red search and track pod
  • BM/KG300G self-protection jamming pod
  • KZ900 electronic reconnaissance pod
  • Blue Sky navigation/attack pod
  • FILAT (Forward-looking Infra-red Laser Attack Targeting) pod
  (Information provided by Wikipedia)
  
  
  

Season 3 Premier 1/72 Academy Super-Etandard French Naval Aviation

Hello everyone,

I would like to welcome you all back to the new season of my model posts. This season will promise some interesting aircraft and surface assets and may even include some ships. I have decided to build tanks, high mobility and artillery models in 1/35 because the bigger the models the more detail, plus some models aren't provided in 1/72 such as the Canadian LAV-III

1/72 Academy Super-Etandard French Naval Aviation

 You may be asking yourself why I decided to write about a French aircraft instead of something Canadian. Well, for the premier post I wanted to write about something I am really proud of and to really wow you guys. So I decided to write about this aircraft because it turned out very well in my opinion.

So here is my 1/72 Super Étendard belonging to French Naval Aviation... or the French navy's air force division.

I believe this aircraft turned out very very well. I used my air-brush to paint the entire exterior which is how the camo turned out so well.



The over all colour is Neutral Grey while the camo is Field Grey. The interior is Flat Black while the targeting screen is Clear Green. The exhaust is Metallic Grey and the missiles are White.

This plane was easy to assemble and since my air brush decided to work with me so painting was easy too.

The Super Étendard is made by Dassault and Breguet which are two large French defense companies. The aircraft was first introduced in 1978 and is due to be phased out in the next decade or so by the Dassault Rafale.

France has used this aircraft in many different conflicts, most recently Kosovo, Afghanistan and Libya.


The Rafale was also operated by Iraq and saw action during the gulf war. Most of these were either destroyed or captured when pilots attempted to flee the American invasion in 2003.

Argentina used the aircraft during the Falklands war and was responsible for sinking the HMS-Sheffield and the HMS-Atlantic Conveyor.
General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 14.31 m (45 ft 11½ in)
• Wingspan: 9.60 m (31 ft 6 in)
• Height: 3.86 m (12 ft 8 in)
• Wing area: 28.4 m² (306.7 ft²)
• Empty weight: 6,500 kg (14,330 lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 12,000 kg (26,455 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × SNECMA Atar 8K-50 turbojet, 49.0 kN (11,025 lbf)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 1,000 km/h (637 knots, 733 mph) at low level
• Range: 1,820 km (983 nmi, 1,130 mi)
• Combat radius: 850 km (460 nmi, 530 mi)with one AM39 Exocet missile one wing pylon and one drop tank on opposite pylon, hi-lo-hi profile
• Service ceiling: 13,700 m (44,900 ft)
• Rate of climb: 100 m/s (19,700 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 423 kg/m² (86.3 lb/ft²)
• Thrust/weight: 0.42

Armament

• Guns: 2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 552 cannons with 125 rounds per gun
• Hardpoints: 4× underwing and 2× under-fuselage with a capacity of 2,100 kg (4,600 lb) maximum
• Rockets: 4× Matra rocket pods with 18× SNEB 68 mm rockets each
• Missiles:
  
  • 1× AM-39 Exocet Anti-shipping missile or
  • 1× Air-Sol Moyenne Portée nuclear armed missile or
  • 2× AS-30L or
  • 2× Matra Magic Air-to-air missile
• Bombs: Conventional unguided or laser-guided bombs, provision for 1 × AN-52 free-fall nuclear bomb, provision for "buddy" air refuelling pod

 Info from Wikipedia and images from google

Season 2 finale 1/72 Canadian Surface Assault Vehicles

Hey everyone,

As you may have figured out by this post, the problem in the previous one has finally been resolved by me reinstalling firefox. You may be rolling your eyes saying that I should use chrome or IE. First of all, Internet Explorer is the worst web browser out there, and I have tried using chrome but I can't get used to it no matter how long I try to keep with it.

Anyways, after a long period of not writting, here is the finale from season 2. Season 3 will start early to show how sorry I am :)

enjoy

1/72 surface assault vehicles of the Canadian Forces

I decided to do a post about some of Canada's ground assets. If you are anything like me, than you know that no military collection is really well rounded if only one aspect is created. I.E. air force only or navy only, etc. It would be like have a train set without any of that fabulous scenery. I tell you, sometimes I wish I was into trains but they don't really do it for me.

Anyways, here is a post about the Canadian vehicles I have built over the years including one that exists but not as Canadian military. Enjoy

1/72 Trumpeter LAV-25/Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle

First of is one of Canada's primary recon vehicles, the Coyote. As my heading suggests, it is based off the American Marine corps LAV-25, which is in turn based off of the Swiss MOWAG Piranha.

The main difference between the Coyote and the LAV-25 is that the rear compartment is taken up entirely of communication gear with room for one operator. The LAV-25 can carry force recon marines of the US Marine corps.

 This baby is armed with a single 25mm bushmaster canon that can really pack a punch, as well as several smoke grenade dispensers to help the vehicle get away from danger.

Specifications
Weight	14.4 t (15.9 short tons)
Length	6.39 m (21.0 ft)
Width	2.50 m (8.2 ft)
Height	2.69 m (8.8 ft)
Crew	4 (driver, commander, gunner, surveillance suite operator)
Main armament	1 × M242 25mm chain gun
Secondary armament	1 × C6 7.62mm machine gun (coaxial) 1 × C6 7.62mm machine gun (pintle) 8 × grenade launchers (2 × cluster of 4)
Engine	Detroit Diesel 6V53T 275hp
Suspension	8×8 wheeled, 4× drive
Operational range	660 km
Speed	120 km/h

 

1/72 Revell Leopard 2A5 main battle tank

This is Canada's main battle tank. Most people probably didn't know Canada had tanks, which is silly because every large country has tanks, it's just harder to see these ones than, say, an M1A1 Abrams.

Not to bag on the Abrams, which kicks ass on a lot of levels, but the Leopard 2A5 is considered the worlds best tank thanks to a combination of top notch weapon systems, suspension, engine and radio equipment. Canada acquired these in 2007 to replace the older model Leopard 2A4 version we have had for a long time.

If you ever get the chance to see a Leopard (or any tank for that matter) participate in a joint military demonstration, don't pass it up as it will blow your mind.

But the one thing we don't know about the tank is truly how effective it is against other tanks as Canada has only had them deployed in Afghanistan and the Taliban does not have armored assets. That is one thing that probably makes the Abrams better, the fact the Abrams has gone up against Soviet tanks in the form of Iraqi Armor.

Specifications
Weight	2A6: 62.3 tonnes (61.3 long tons; 68.7 short tons)
Length	2A6: 9.97 m (393 in) (gun forward)
Width	2A6: 3.75 m (148 in)
Height	2A6: 3.0 m (120 in)
Crew	4
Armour	2A6: 3rd generation composite; including high-hardness steel, tungsten and plastic filler with ceramic component.
Main armament	1× 120 mm Rheinmetall L55 smoothbore gun (42 rounds)
Secondary armament	2× 7.62 mm MG3A1 (4,750 rounds)
Engine	MTU MB 873 Ka-501 liquid-cooled V-12 Twin-turbo diesel engine 1,500 PS (1,479 hp, 1,103 kW) at 2,600 rpm
Power/weight	24.1 PS/t (17.7 kW/t)
Transmission	Renk HSWL 354
Suspension	Torsion bar suspension
Fuel capacity	1,200 litres (264 imperial gallons; 317 US gallons)
Operational range	550 km (340 mi) (internal fuel)
Speed	72 km/h (45 mph)

 1/72 Revell Warrior MCV

 Last is a vehicle Canada doesn't have but could possibly as it looks to replace its aging LAV-III's. The warrior is the UK's primary troop personnel carrier, similar in design to the American Bradley fighting vehicle.

I think it would be cool if Canada had something like this so it could do search and destroy missions with a higher accuracy of success and less personnel loss due to mines and the like.

Specifications
Weight	25.4 tonnes
Length	6.3 m (20 ft 8 in)
Width	3.03 m (9 ft 11 in)
Height	2.8 m (9 ft 2 in)
Crew	3 (commander, gunner, driver) + 7 troops
Armour	Aluminium & Appliqué
Main armament	30 mm L21A1 RARDEN cannon (current) 40 mm CTA International CT40 cannon (future upgrade)
Secondary armament	L94A1 coaxial 7.62 mm chain gun 7.62 mm machine gun
Engine	Perkins V-8 Condor Diesel 550 hp (410 kW)
Power/weight	23 hp/t
Suspension	torsion bar
Operational range	410 miles (660 km)
Speed	46 mph (75 km/h)

 So there you have it, the Season 2 finale. I know it wasn't anything like the season 1 ender with the long post about the C130, but do not worry. I promise Season three will be better, with more Canadian stuff, but a hell of a lot more stuff from the international community.



(Info from Wikipedia)

Sorry for the inactivity

sorry about not posting the big season ender, but I got too overwhelmed before heading out west and was unable to post. And now, for whatever reason, the 'make a new post' is very tiny so I can't really see what I am doing when I have pictures up. I hope it gets fixed soon so I can stop dissapointing

1/72 Hobbycraft F2H-3 Banshee Royal Canadian Navy

Hey everyone,

well, only one more post (not including this one) until the season finale. I think you will really like it as it is not like the other posts I have made thus far. I may even do two posts tomorrow if I am feeling like it. Either way, I will tell you this about the finale and the final few posts of this season... the subject of each post is Canadian.

1/72 Hobbycraft F2H-3 Banshee Royal Canadian Navy

 This plane was kind of a bastard. I bought it from a shop on eBay but when it arrived it only had decals, the instructions and basically no pieces (nothing useful anyways).

I received a full refund as the model was factory sealed and I used the refund to buy another, except that it is technically American with the RCN decals from the "broken" one.

 Like most other Hobbycraft kits I have made, there are no complaints from me. It was an easy build with no flaws. I did have to use elastics to keep the thing together, but no other snags. As promised this aircraft is half air-brushed. The top I used the remainder of my lighter IJN Grey.

 The bottom is Medium Grey and is what I airbrushed. It doesn't look too different than using a spray can, except that Airbrushing is way easier to control and it doesn't show brush lines.
The engine exhaust is a mix of Metallic Grey and Chrome Silver to make a lighter engine look. The cockpit is Black with a Neutral Grey seat.

As this was airbrushed I will give you a few tips if you are also considering an airbrush:
1. Don't get frustrated. The paint will always look blotchy on the first go and will require a second or third coat before it looks pro.
2. Never ever leave the pain in the brush if you aren't using it. The pain will dry and become a huge pain in the ass to clean.
3. At the end of the day, disassemble your brush and soak it in a mixture of airbrush cleaning solution and water overnight. This will keep all the open parts open and free of clogging so it doesn't take forever to finish the model.
4. Tap, tape tape. This is an obvious one for any kind of painting, but it is easier to get away with no tape when using a simple brush. I don't usually have the windshield or any clear parts on the models until after it is painted, but make sure to tape the windows if you do or else you will have assembled the cockpit for nothing.

 OK. The F2H-3 was the first and only jet-fighter ever operated by the Royal Canadian Navy. It was a high speed interceptor aircraft and fairly advanced for its time. It served the Navy from '53 to '62. The RCN even used the aircraft with an aerobatic team but the aircraft was never painted in any special colours, it was just whatever aircraft was within the radius of an airshow.


General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 48 ft 2 in (14.68 m)
• Wingspan: 41 ft 9 in (12.73 m)
• Height: 14 ft 6 in (4.42 m)
• Wing area: 294 ft² (27.3 m²)
• Empty weight: 13,183 lb (5,980 kg)
• Loaded weight: 21,013 lb (9,531 kg)
• Max. takeoff weight: 25,214 lb (11,437 kg)
• Powerplant: 2 × Westinghouse J34-WE-34 turbojets, 3,250 lbf (14.5 kN) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 580 mph (504 kn, 933 km/h) at sea level
• Cruise speed: 461 mph
• Range: 1,716 mi (1,492 nmi, 2,760 km)
• Service ceiling: 46,600 ft (14,205 m)
• Rate of climb: 6,000 ft/min (30 m/s) from sea level

Armament

• Guns: 4 × 20 mm (0.79 in) Colt Mk 16 cannon, 220 rounds/gun (upper pair), 250 rounds/gun (lower pair)
• Rockets:
  
  • 8 × 60 lb High Explosive rockets or
  • 6 × 500 lb bombs and 2 × 60 lb H.E. rockets
• Missiles: 2 × AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles (in RCN service)

info from wikipedia and Canadian Forces website

1/72 KP Models MiG 15 Korean Peoples Air Force/Soviet Air Force

hey guys,

Sorry about the late post but it has been a busy day, but I will post this and another later today after work is over. Enjoy this rare aircraft find haha.

1/72 KP Models MiG 15 Korean Peoples Air Force/Soviet Air Force

 This one was a hard find for me, even on eBay. I wasn't willing to pay more than $20 for a model like this, but I think it came out great despite silver not coming out too good.

 The aircraft was pretty easy to build, just a seat in two fuselage pieces with wings and elevators.
One thing that did piss me off was putting the front part of the engine.

It didn't fit right so I constantly had to shave and shave and shave the plastic until it finally fit. The aircraft is overall Silver, with a Red nose and a Black exhaust port. The cockpit is Neutral Grey

 Ok, fact file time. The MiG-15 was one of top aircraft of its time and was comparable to the F-86 Sabre. In fact, both of these aircraft first met in Korea.

The MiG-15 was first used to harass UN aircraft flying missions over Korea. The UN responded with the F-86. Both aircraft did well in battle, the F86 was faster and more maneuverable. It could fly the speed of sound relatively well.

 The Mig-15 had a higher fire power and was piloted by the Soviet Unions best pilots.

Air Forces all over the world operated this aircraft and some still do as it is reliable.

 

General characteristics

• Crew: One
• Length: 11.26 m (36 ft 11½ in)
• Wingspan: 9.63 m (31 ft 7 in)
• Height: 3.80 m (12 ft 5½ in)
• Wing area: 22.6 m² (243.3 ft²)
• Empty weight: 3,919 kg (8,640 lb)
• Loaded weight: 5,350 kg (11,770 lb)
• Max. takeoff weight: 6,069 kg (13,375 lb)
• Powerplant: 1 × Klimov VK-1F afterburning turbojet
  • Dry thrust: 22.5 kN (5,046 lbf)
  • Thrust with afterburner: 33.8 kN (7,423 lbf)
  
  

Performance

• Maximum speed: 1,145 km/h (618 knots, 711 mph) at 3,000 m (10,000 ft)
• Range: 2,060 km (1,111 nmi, 1,280 mi) with drop tanks
• Service ceiling: 16,600 m (54,450 ft)
• Rate of climb: 65 m/s (12,800 ft/min)
• Wing loading: 237 kg/m² (48 lb/ft²)
• Thrust/weight: 0.63

Armament

• 1x 37 mm Nudelman N-37 cannon (40 rounds total)
• 2x 23 mm Nudelman-Rikhter NR-23 cannons (80 rounds per gun, 160 rounds total)
• Up to 500 kg (1,100 lb) of external stores on two pylons, including 100 kg (220 lb) and 250 kg (550 lb) bombs, unguided rockets or external fuel tanks.

(some versions equipped with 3x NR-23 cannons and 2x K-13 missiles)

(All info from Wikipedia and documentaries about the Korean War)