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Other / Re: Wellington & Fulcrum, blue : hybrid aircraft/animals e.a.
« Last post by Camthalion on Today at 01:31:25 PM »Nice ones
... where imagination trumps reality
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Land / Re: Mercedes-Benz Unimog truck family Ideas and Inspiration
« Last post by Rickshaw on Today at 11:06:48 AM »Mogs are quite pleasant to drive. 
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Land / Re: Claymore's AH AFVs: Take 2
« Last post by Old Wombat on Today at 09:12:26 AM »Great idea, but how about Scorpion and / or Scimitar turrets for an NZ M-41 upgrade to serve along side the Scorpions
Looked at Scorpion, Scimitar and even Warrior turrets but all lacked the additional bulk of the Bradley turret and looked a bit lost on the M41 hull - although to be fair the 30mm Rarden did look the part compared to the diminutive Bushmaster!
Well, you know what to do, then!
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New Model Kit News/Reviews / Re: Black Dog
« Last post by Old Wombat on Today at 09:09:38 AM »Wrong bloody scale, of course! 
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Profiles and Pixels / Re: Apophenia's Offerings
« Last post by apophenia on Today at 07:15:25 AM »Cheers Brian. I toyed with a B-25 style gun position but couldn't figure out how to get around that tailwheel 
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Profiles and Pixels / Re: Apophenia's Offerings
« Last post by Brian da Basher on Today at 06:45:55 AM »Those are so magnificently rendered I bet you could fool lots of people into thinking they were real.
Is it just me or is that tail begging for a gun position on the end?
Great stuff apophenia and always a treat to see more of your work!
Brian da Basher
Is it just me or is that tail begging for a gun position on the end?
Great stuff apophenia and always a treat to see more of your work!
Brian da Basher
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Aero-space / Re: The Space Conquest Part 4 - Lab in the Sky
« Last post by Brian da Basher on Today at 06:42:34 AM »I especially like how the little bits of color draws my eye in.
Out of this world, Antonio!
Brian da Basher
Out of this world, Antonio!
Brian da Basher
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Land / Re: Claymore's AH AFVs: Take 2
« Last post by Claymore on Today at 05:24:00 AM »Great idea, but how about Scorpion and / or Scimitar turrets for an NZ M-41 upgrade to serve along side the Scorpions
Looked at Scorpion, Scimitar and even Warrior turrets but all lacked the additional bulk of the Bradley turret and looked a bit lost on the M41 hull - although to be fair the 30mm Rarden did look the part compared to the diminutive Bushmaster!
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Land / Re: Claymore's AH AFVs: Take 2
« Last post by Claymore on Today at 05:20:21 AM »I'd say a promotion is fortunate &, depending on where, an overseas move can re-invigorate the ol' grey cells!
Very true and the extra cash is not too shabby either.
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Profiles and Pixels / Re: Apophenia's Offerings
« Last post by apophenia on Today at 05:08:27 AM »Junkers Ju 188C series - Co-winner of Luftwaffe's Bomber C Programm
Several Ju 188 prototypes were fitted with manual armaments to prove the proposed Ju 188B concept. None of these prototypes met with approval of the RLM or Erprobungsstelle Rechlin - the Luftwaffe's test centre. On Ju 188V9, two types of nose positions were tested - one based on the swivel mount from the Ju 86, the other on the in-production mount for the He 111 bomber. Neither option proved very useful within the tight confines of the very narrow Ju 188 fuselage. Several manual mounts were also tested in the C-Stand belly position. The Ju 188V9 trialled a single 2.0 cm MG FF cannon mount while the Ju 188V10 trialled both a 7.92 mm MG 81Z mount and paired 13 mm MG 131s. Neither approached proved completely acceptable.
Of the defensive weapon system trialled, the most promising was a hydraulically-operated rotating turret armed with an MG 131 machine gun. This Drehlafette DL 131 turret was made available for trials in late 1941 with production due to commence in early 1942. This was adopted as the solution for the B-Stand mid-upper position. For the A-Stand nose position, it was concluded that a flexible mount was impractical and probably tactically unnecessary - nose defence would consist of two fixed MG 81s. For the belly it was decided to return to the Me 210's remotely-controlled FDSL 131/1B turrets, albeit mounted lower on the fuselage and with the aiming 'tube' mounted in the C-Stand position.
Change of Power - Junkers Ju 188C series' Jumo 321 M-18 Engines
While the Ju 188A had been powered by the same Junkers Jumo 211 V-12s as the Ju 88, it had always been planned to install more powerful engines in the Bomber C candidate airframe. Alas, the multi-block Jumo 222 engine was running late. More promising was the resurrected Jumo 231 expected to deliver a more modest 1,700 hp (for take-off). The Jumo 231 was a triple-banked 'M-18' engine - effectively comprised of three Jumo 211D cylinder banks. Having been test-flown in the nose of a Ju 52/3m, a second set of airworthy Jumo 231As were installed in a converted Ju 188A prototype - the Ju 188V7. To handle the extra weight of these larger engines, the Ju 188V7 was also fitted with the sturdier main undercarriage of the Ju 288. This installation was entirely successful other than its four-bladed propellers.
For the pre-production Ju 188C-0, three-bladed VDM 'paddle' props were fitted with improved performance at altitude - as did extended wing tips. To speed production start-up, the Ju 188C-1 abandoned the longer-span wing tips in favour of standard, Ju 188A-0-style wings. The Ju 188C-1 also differed from the 'C-0 in having the FDSL turrets fitted (whereas pre-production aircraft had manual gun mounts armed with MG 81Zs). In service, the triple-banks Jumo 231 engines were found to generally produce a maximum power closer to 1,600 hp. This was seen as a worthwhile increase over the Jumo 211D despite the Jumo 231's much increased dry weight. Finally, the RLM and Rechlin were satisfied with results. The Ju 188C joined the Do 217E as a production type to satisfy the Luftwaffe's Bomber C Programm.
Several Ju 188 prototypes were fitted with manual armaments to prove the proposed Ju 188B concept. None of these prototypes met with approval of the RLM or Erprobungsstelle Rechlin - the Luftwaffe's test centre. On Ju 188V9, two types of nose positions were tested - one based on the swivel mount from the Ju 86, the other on the in-production mount for the He 111 bomber. Neither option proved very useful within the tight confines of the very narrow Ju 188 fuselage. Several manual mounts were also tested in the C-Stand belly position. The Ju 188V9 trialled a single 2.0 cm MG FF cannon mount while the Ju 188V10 trialled both a 7.92 mm MG 81Z mount and paired 13 mm MG 131s. Neither approached proved completely acceptable.
Of the defensive weapon system trialled, the most promising was a hydraulically-operated rotating turret armed with an MG 131 machine gun. This Drehlafette DL 131 turret was made available for trials in late 1941 with production due to commence in early 1942. This was adopted as the solution for the B-Stand mid-upper position. For the A-Stand nose position, it was concluded that a flexible mount was impractical and probably tactically unnecessary - nose defence would consist of two fixed MG 81s. For the belly it was decided to return to the Me 210's remotely-controlled FDSL 131/1B turrets, albeit mounted lower on the fuselage and with the aiming 'tube' mounted in the C-Stand position.
Change of Power - Junkers Ju 188C series' Jumo 321 M-18 Engines
While the Ju 188A had been powered by the same Junkers Jumo 211 V-12s as the Ju 88, it had always been planned to install more powerful engines in the Bomber C candidate airframe. Alas, the multi-block Jumo 222 engine was running late. More promising was the resurrected Jumo 231 expected to deliver a more modest 1,700 hp (for take-off). The Jumo 231 was a triple-banked 'M-18' engine - effectively comprised of three Jumo 211D cylinder banks. Having been test-flown in the nose of a Ju 52/3m, a second set of airworthy Jumo 231As were installed in a converted Ju 188A prototype - the Ju 188V7. To handle the extra weight of these larger engines, the Ju 188V7 was also fitted with the sturdier main undercarriage of the Ju 288. This installation was entirely successful other than its four-bladed propellers.
For the pre-production Ju 188C-0, three-bladed VDM 'paddle' props were fitted with improved performance at altitude - as did extended wing tips. To speed production start-up, the Ju 188C-1 abandoned the longer-span wing tips in favour of standard, Ju 188A-0-style wings. The Ju 188C-1 also differed from the 'C-0 in having the FDSL turrets fitted (whereas pre-production aircraft had manual gun mounts armed with MG 81Zs). In service, the triple-banks Jumo 231 engines were found to generally produce a maximum power closer to 1,600 hp. This was seen as a worthwhile increase over the Jumo 211D despite the Jumo 231's much increased dry weight. Finally, the RLM and Rechlin were satisfied with results. The Ju 188C joined the Do 217E as a production type to satisfy the Luftwaffe's Bomber C Programm.