Beyond The Sprues
Modelling => Completed GBs => Group and Themed Builds => Extended Vietnam War GB => Topic started by: MAT on March 16, 2022, 11:05:10 PM
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In the 1970's France was transforming in many ways. ”The General” (President Charles de Gaulle) had used his more than ten years in Palais de Élysée to take the country allmost out of NATO (OTAN in french) following a very anti-american foreign policy.
His successor, Georges Pompidou, tried to mend the relation to USA, though France never got the ”special relationsship”, that UK enjoyed, and France never became a part of ”The five Eyes” intelligence cooperation.
The next president in line, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, went a step further. Leading a much more active foreign policy and attempting to draw former french colonies in Africa and southeast Asia closer to la Cinquième République. And as a result of that policy France decided to aid South Vietnam in its strugle with the north. With Dien Bien Phu and the Algerian War in clear memory, troops on the ground were not an popular option, so the french goverment choose to send an air element.
The choice was the most advanced plane in Armée de l'Air: The Dassault MZI.46Q – Better know as ”Belphégor”.
With a maximum speed of mach 4.2, this super plane could easely outrun the SR-71. A detachment of four recce planes from ERS 3/33 ”Moselle” were based on Phan Rang Air Base in South Vienam from the autum of 1978 operating with total immunity over North Vietnam and Southern China.
The model in 1/72 will be based on two 1/48 kits (a F-16 and a Mirage III), which by accident found their way into my stash. And of course the construction will involve lots of plasticcard, putty and swearing.
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Looking forward to progress reports/photos as you build.
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:smiley:
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The wing is taking shape. Actually I had to backdate the wing to its original form, as it at one time had been part of an ill-fated attempt to create a SAAB A-36 "Vargen".
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More plasticcard and putty
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:smiley:
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Great-looking project Matt! And I love the name 'Belphégor' ;D
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I took the name from a french tv-series, that ran on the danish TV, when I was a kid. It was about a ghost that haunted Louvre. Very scary! My younger brother dressed up like Belphegor, and scared the life out of our neighbours wife and their dog - a big labrador, which wailed from fear, when my brother very slowly entered their garden.
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;D ;D :smiley: Love those French aircraft - so wacky.
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I took the name from a french tv-series, that ran on the danish TV, when I was a kid. It was about a ghost that haunted Louvre. Very scary! My younger brother dressed up like Belphegor, and scared the life out of our neighbours wife and their dog - a big labrador, which wailed from fear, when my brother very slowly entered their garden.
Yup, that costume would do it! That poor lab probably never recovered :o
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The wing and the tail fin are coming into shape. There is still a lot of PSR ahead.
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Time to start the construction of the fuselage.. The front will be made from pieces of a F-104 and the mortal remains of a odd-scale Revell B-58.
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Noseparts ready for assembly. Commandant Rochefort is in the bangseat and ready to go!
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This is coming along very nicely
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Much better looking than the original SNCAC NC.3021 Belphegor
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E3JhRSqWQAgCJIw.jpg)
But this proposed version looks nice
(https://oldmachinepress.files.wordpress.com/2021/07/sncac-nc-160-model.jpg)
Then there's the weird one
(https://alchetron.com/cdn/pzl-m-15-belphegor-b593bb67-16b1-41c3-a699-8b9199795dd-resize-750.jpg)
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Much better looking than the original SNCAC NC.3021 Belphegor
I quite like that actually:
(http://www.airwar.ru/image/idop/xplane/nc3021/nc3021-1.gif)
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I quite like that actually:
So do I. But that smaller SNCAC NC 160 dive bomber/attack concept is gorgeous.
-- https://oldmachinepress.com/2021/08/05/sncac-nc-3021-belphegor-high-altitude-research-aircraft/
That said, MAT's concept is heading off towards a whole different kind of awesomeness :smiley:
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Yes, the name Belphégor have been used before. i chose the name because I planned to paint the plane very dark og black. But I'm not so sure of that anymore. In the meantime the work on the front fuselage is creeping forward.
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I quite like that actually
I actually like that plane too. But it would be very difficult to fit it into an Extended Vietnam War :smiley:
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Time to start work at the engine section. It will be based on pieces of this wreck found at my private scrapyard.
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Frontfuselage almost finished
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Pieces of an old Airfix C-47 get a new life as the engine section of the MZI-46Q
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Old Dakotas never die ... ;D
I like where this is going :smiley:
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:icon_alabanza: Love this kind of projects. :smiley: ;)
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Front fuselage is now fixed to the wing. There's still a long way to go
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The variable geometry air intake is now glued to the fuselage.
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Massive undertaking going well, MAT! :smiley:
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... There's still a long way to go
But the drama is already there! Nice :smiley:
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Rest of the engine nacelle in place. Those two SNECMA M51-53 13000 kgp thrust engine need a lot of space.
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Time to start the construction of the rest of the fuselage
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It looks fast just sitting there. Awesome!
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:smiley: :smiley:
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It looks fast just sitting there. Awesome!
He said it. What an awesome beast of an airplane! :smiley:
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After what feels like eons of PSR it's time to start painting.
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Looking good
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I usually build my models with the gear down. But I realized, that the "Belphégor" wouldn't look like Mach 4.2 in that position. So I built a stand for the plane. And here it is
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:smiley:
Who made those stands? Airfix? Matchbox ???
I remember them from Long Ago in a Life-Time Far Far Away. ;)
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It is made up of pieces from two different Airfix stands found at the bottom of my scrapyard. The" foot" is from a stand intended for a single big plane, and the "arm" is from a stand for two planes, and that stand could be hung up on the wall.
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Thank you! :smiley:
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At last. The Dassault MZI-46Q "Belphégor" is finished!
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And a quick look at the underside
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Wow - the Belphégor came out great! It looks fast...
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Indeed. It did and it does! And, as previously said, is still an awesome beast of an airplane!
Well done MAT :smiley:
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Odd & different ... but not quite my "thing".
However! A really good job of bringing the illustration to life! :smiley: :smiley:
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Odd & different ... but not quite my "thing".
Not my usually thing either. I'm more to props and WWII, but I have french daughter-in-law, so I have been reading a lot of french history lately - including weird french projects ???
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looks very french and very believeable . Nice one :smiley:
Mog
>^-.-^<