Scottish Airforce ?

[ChrisF]

As some of us know soon scotland will be voting on independance... Now weather or not this is a good or bad idea, If they do they'll need their own airforce... It would have to be cheap and flexible so... Without further ado I present the Bae/Scottish Aviation Hawk FGR1 in temporary "Winter Splinter" camoflage...



Originally a Hawk T1 when bought second hand by the scottish government "Scottish Aviation" got to work modifying the airframes for their specific use, in particular removing the rear cockpit and replacing the space with added avionics for foul weather use bringing the old airframes up to the task of intercepting potential targets in rain snow or the dark...



Starting off as a old mould Airfix Red Arrow it was soon obvious that this kit was a dog, during construction there was not one seam that was not liberally covered in filler and sanded back to shape... Therefore instant whiff fodder...



Eventually it became Hawk shaped if lacking any detail... Never mind i had a plan for a wild scheme that would hide any detail anyway..



I cut as many spiky shapes as i could from a section of frisket, just randomly cutting with a fresh no 10 blade... Undercoated in black, Applied one layer of frisket, Coated Grey, Another layer of frisket and finished off with the white... All Rattle cans because again i wanted maximum impact with miniumum effort...



It was then rattlecanned with gloss varnish before the decals then matted down with citidel Purity seal



Sidewinders and decals came from the bits box and were added to the kits own tanks and aden cannon


Hope you like



ChrisF

[tsrjoe]

hehe, nice model, definitely a step up from the Robinson helicopters we will probably be able to afford in reality, lol 

cheers, Joe

[ChrisF]

Exactly :)

[Brian da Basher]

That's some rather sharp camo there Chris!

Brian da Basher

[GTX_Admin]

 :)

[deathjester]

Perfect!!  If the whole independence thing comes off ( ) this is probably what they'll have :)

[Weaver]

Lovely cammo effect there!  :)

I suspect Scottish air defence will go one of two ways:

1. The split is smooth and amicable and the scottish Government is okay with the idea of being defended by the Brits. Some financial/leasing arrangement is agreed whereby Typhoons continue to operate out of Lossimouth and it's business as ususal as far as the Bears are concerned.

2. The split turns nasty and by the end of it, the Scottish government doesn't want anything to do with the UK or it's armed forces. In this case, I think the most realistic option, if they want to defend their airspace and don't want to buy British, is one to two dozen 2nd hand F-16s from Davis Monthan. Whether they're As, ADFs or Cs depends on costs and availability.

[ChrisF]

Funnily enough it was a toss-up between a old mould Airfix hawk or an Academy F-16A kit for this project... Both because the kits are 'orrible and therefore perfect for wiffing.. Maybe the F-16 may still appear

[father ennis]

I say do it lad !!!!!!!   Sounds good to me .....

[tsrjoe]

hmm after Lockheed and Boeings 'Skunk' and 'Phantom' works, and BAE Warton's 'pudding works' moniker, i wonder if jockland would have the 'haggis works' developing 'dissention seeking missiles' and ECM. (English counter measures) hehehe 

as some nationalist friends have commented, come independence i'l probably be amongst the first up against the wall (or over it !) lol   

ps, for those seeking a really fun 'what if' read, have a looksee at the SNP.'s defence strategy and future postulation (if its stil online as i have been quite vociferous in responding to such bs !)  i have actually attended meetings where they have stated that 'we' need a type similar to the F.22 to defend 'jockland's airspace ... ffs, the UK. as a whole can barely afford to keep the Typhoons in place covering the GIUK. Gap !8)

cheers, Joe

[deathjester]

hmm after Lockheed and Boeings 'Skunk' and 'Phantom' works, and BAE Warton's 'pudding works' moniker, i wonder if jockland would have the 'haggis works' developing 'dissention seeking missiles' and ECM. (English counter measures) hehehe 

as some nationalist friends have commented, come independence i'l probably be amongst the first up against the wall (or over it !) lol   

ps, for those seeking a really fun 'what if' read, have a looksee at the SNP.'s defence strategy and future postulation (if its stil online as i have been quite vociferous in responding to such bs !)  i have actually attended meetings where they have stated that 'we' need a type similar to the F.22 to defend 'jockland's airspace ... ffs, the UK. as a whole can barely afford to keep the Typhoons in place covering the GIUK. Gap !8)

cheers, Joe

F-22!!!   What cloud-cuckoo land does the Scottish Parliament live in!!??

One of the most expensive to develop/build/maintain/train for/equip, aircraft in the WORLD - I doubt they could even afford to have ONE, and properly use it, let alone the 2-3 squadrons they'd need as a minimum for a proper air defence set up!

Far better for them to have a 'hi - lo' mix, as some other members have suggested - some sort of low supersonic all weather fighter, a COIN type for ground support, an STOL transport type, and some medium helos for light transport/attack/liason work.

Anything else is just madness at this point, they'll have more than enough to spend out on, effectively setting up a new country!! 

[ChrisF]

Ive been keeping quiet as to not get political but as a Scot i agree with everything just said here... The idea of Independence sounds good in theory.. I mean being led by people hundreds of miles away doesn't seem to make sense... BUT... I havent seen one policy from Alex Salmond that makes any sense, or has been thought about at all let alone thought through... He's basing his economy on oil which while in "Scottish waters" is mined by other countries who aren't going to just hand it over for free... They're either going to walk out taking all their equipment with them or worse get the Scots to pay a premium for their OWN OIL !

And don't get me started on currency... So we have a choice of Euro which would mean we're actually ruled from Brussels even further away or keep the pound which means we're back in square one being ruled by the bank of England in London !!   How is that Independence !?!?!?   

[Brian da Basher]

It's becoming increasingly more apparent that real independence may be just a state of mind.

I really like a lot of the ideas for Scots Air Force markings. Keep 'em coming!

Maybe we need to remember this the next time we're deciding on GBs...

Brian da Basher

[ChrisF]

Talking of markings ive been having problems taking a good photo of the roundel i created... Its a Blue outer, with a white inner and a tiny Gold Fleur de lys in the centre...

Decals came from a mix of WW2 Fleet air arm with the fleur de lys coming from an old Heller sheet meant for a sailing ship

[GTX_Admin]

Maybe we need to remember this the next time we're deciding on GBs...

May need to do something on that front very shortly...

[deathjester]

Well, mad as I (and all the Scottish people I know) reckon the whole idea to be, I'm actually kinda intrigued by the whole idea...!

[kitnut617]

is one to two dozen 2nd hand F-16s from Davis Monthan. Whether they're As, ADFs or Cs depends on costs and availability.

Well if you want to wait a couple of years, there'll be a few 'well-used but well looked after' F-18's going cheap --------

[tsrjoe]

i recall the 2 target facilities Lightnings at Leuchars back in the 70's had 'Scottish Air Force' markings, very controversial at the time too :)

hmm a thistle or a scottish lion in the centre of a standard roundel ?

[Weaver]

There is already a discussion/GB thread on this subject here: http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=2945.0

[perttime]

Well if you want to wait a couple of years, there'll be a few 'well-used but well looked after' F-18's going cheap --------

--- with no spares or other support easily available after a few more years...

[Gingie]

If they separate, they'll be ripe for invas...I mean colonizing...by Canada!

[Litvyak]

If they separate, they'll be ripe for invas...I mean colonizing...by Canada!

The province of Nova Scotia joined by the province of Antiqua Scotia?

I'll admit I've been doing my best to keep out of these Scottish air force discussions, because really, the best idea I can come up with for a suitable model/profile is something like, say, a Typhoon in overall grey with pale blue and pink roundels...

[father ennis]

I'm wondering how long it will be before the proud and brave Scotts ,pay the English back for the suffering they have inflicted upon the for the last several hundred years.   Do the Scotts have any nukes ?? 

[Weaver]

The province of Nova Scotia joined by the province of Antiqua Scotia?

Sound like two varieties of skirting board.....

[Litvyak]

The province of Nova Scotia joined by the province of Antiqua Scotia?

Sound like two varieties of skirting board.....