Author Topic: Habsburg Empire Air Troops Part 4 - 1947  (Read 2968 times)

Offline Brian da Basher

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Habsburg Empire Air Troops Part 4 - 1947
« on: October 14, 2018, 08:27:34 PM »


Habsburgerreich Luftfahrtruppen (Habsburg Empire air arm) Skoda 9.1 Rina



Entering service in 1947, this revolutionary swept-wing fighter was powered by a Gräf & Stift 1861 h.p. turboprop capable of reaching Mach .61 speeds when pushed to the red line under combat conditions.



Known affectionately as the Rina, it was armed with four 12.61 mm guns in the nose synchronized to fire through the propeller and two 31.1 mm Steyr Mannlicher auto-cannons in the wings.



Series production was undertaken at the Skoda Militärflugzeugfabrik in Mladá Boleslav, Bohemia.





While over 3100 aircraft were planned, only 331 would ever be built as production was limited by the post-war Allied Control Commission.





No more than 200 Skoda 9.1s were ever on strength at any one time yet it was faster and more maneuverable than either the P-51 or Yak-9 which is quite remarkable for such an obscure aircraft.







Beloved by pilots and ground crew alike, the Rina would go on to serve for 20 years. The last ones ended up as trainers, flying until the tottering Habsburg Empire finally dissolved in the Prague Fall of October, 1967.



Only four Skoda 9.1s survive today as museum exhibits in Salzburg, Bratislava, Buda and Pest. Rumors of a fifth Rina under restoration by Peter Jackson are thought to be highly unlikely considering the aircraft's entirely fictional nature.



Brian da Basher
« Last Edit: October 14, 2018, 08:30:17 PM by Brian da Basher »

Offline Brian da Basher

  • He has an unnatural attraction to Spats...and a growing fascination with airships!
  • Holding Pattern
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  • Hulk smash, Brian bash
Re: Habsburg Empire Air Troops Part 4 - 1947
« Reply #1 on: October 14, 2018, 08:48:17 PM »
This all started with a lovely, bagged 1/72 Airfix Fiat G.91 Gina a good friend sent me recently (thanks a million, hamsterman!). Mine just came in a bag with no card, but this is what it looks like.



You've got to give Airfix props (turbo-props even hehehehe) for such great art. Their early kits have some of the best in my opinion. While this kit is incredibly simple by modern standards, it was probably one of the first G.91 kits made and certainly captures the unique shape of this aircraft well.

Of course, mine was going to be a bit different. Upon opening the bag, I noticed the nose cone was a separate piece and could be replaced with the prop from an Airfix P-40 to make this a turbo-prop. There's not enough turbo-prop fighters if you ask me and this baby was ripe for such treatment. I started by blanking off the intake and inserting a slice of plastic to cover the gap below the prop.



The main weak point of this kit is the tail which just has a hole that runs the entire length of the fuselage for the burner can. This needed an upgrade and a left-over butane nozzle came to the rescue.



The rest of the build was entirely stock except for filling in the gaps in the wings' leading edge with bits of landing gear struts for those two 31.1 mm Steyr Mannlicher auto-cannons and covering the pylon holes with card.



After this it was off to the paint shop. The old hairy stick was loaded up with a lot of acrylics, Polly Scale Light Blue on the bottom and Polly Scale Gravel Gray and Model Masters Feldgrau on top.



The canopy was tinted on the inside with Testors Gold and the guns were given a custom mix. The exhaust pipe was done in Model Masters Drab with a top coat of Jet Exhaust.



Decals were all bits and bobs from spares. The Habsburg Empire flag on the rudder was chopped up from Suez Crisis markings.





It took me four days to build this model and I had a blast the whole time.

Before I forget, here's a couple of "money shots" (U.S. penny for scale):





I'd like to thank Bill for sending me this cool little kit. I couldn't have done it without you!



I'd also like to thank Señor Ysi for moderating this GB and the rest of you playing along or just stopping by for a look.



Brian da Basher

Offline ysi_maniac

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Re: Habsburg Empire Air Troops Part 4 - 1947
« Reply #2 on: October 14, 2018, 10:52:14 PM »
The idea of a propeller deriven Gina is Just perfect!

Offline finsrin

  • The Dr Frankenstein of the modelling world...when not hiding from SBA
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Re: Habsburg Empire Air Troops Part 4 - 1947
« Reply #3 on: October 15, 2018, 05:44:06 AM »
P-40 prop is a natural for this turbo-prop beauty.
Minds eye can see them parked on ramp ready to scramble.

Offline andonio64

  • Fio Piccolo's understudy
Re: Habsburg Empire Air Troops Part 4 - 1947
« Reply #4 on: January 25, 2019, 02:19:45 AM »
Surprising indeed, watching at it gives a sort of sense of disorientation... it appears perfect and plausible but there is something ...
Great  work, I love the golden shade on the canopy, and the camo colours are very well chosen!