Beyond The Sprues
Current and Finished Projects => Physical Models => Aero-space => Topic started by: Brian da Basher on April 26, 2014, 11:41:01 PM
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1931 was a difficult year for the Central Committee of the Communist Party and Josef Stalin in particular. The General Secretary was fighting for his political life and he had to show he was more of a hard-liner than his opponents.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/Stalin_Marx_Portrait.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/Stalin_Marx_Portrait.jpg.html)
Under the slogan "Taking Back What Capitalists have Stolen", Stalin decided to use Soviet airships in a strike against Alaska.
Until this time, the Soviet airship program had proceeded apace with other leading nations, even if military uses were never mentioned in the propaganda.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/SovietAirshipforWorkersposter.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/SovietAirshipforWorkersposter.jpg.html)
However, Soviet airships had more sinister capabilities as was proven when the Konstantin Akashev bombed Anchorage on the morning of September 10th, 1931.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/SovietZepbombing.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/SovietZepbombing.jpg.html)
Suddenly, the U.S. was jolted out of the torpor of the Great Depression to face this new menace to freedom.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/SovietZepoverDCcapitol.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/SovietZepoverDCcapitol.jpg.html)
U.S. forces were totally unprepared for a sneak attack from the Soviets. Fortunately, the U.S. Navy had continued development of the famous Curtiss RC-3 Schneider Cup winner.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/CurtissRC3.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/CurtissRC3.jpg.html)
This new, combat seaplane had just come on line in a service-test squadron which was hastily dispatched north.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_002.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_002.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_001.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_001.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_009.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_009.jpg.html)
Flying as the 41st Scouting squadron, the new Curtiss Alaska Defender took up patrolling off the coast just south of Anchorage.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_004.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_004.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_003.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_003.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_008.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_008.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_007.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_007.jpg.html)
Powered by a Wright Super-Cyclone triple row supercharged radial engine of undisclosed, top-secret horsepower, the Alaska Defender had many advanced features, including an enclosed cockpit and a drop-tank for added range. The seaplane fighter was armed with two .30 guns on the cowling and two .50s under the wings. The pilots of Scouting 41 felt confident they could best any Red foe.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_005.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_005.jpg.html)
Alaska had not sat idle during this crisis either. Since forces in strength would not be arriving from the continental U.S. any time soon, the indigenous Alaska Territorial Guard was formed, manned by Alaskans and supplied with surplus W.W. I gear.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/atgwtext.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/atgwtext.jpg.html)
With a Red invasion fleet led by the Workers' & Peasants' Aircraft Carrier No. 17 (it was the only one in the Soviet Navy) rumored to be en route, defensive patrols were stepped up. The Curtiss Alaska Defenders flew countless sorties.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_016.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_016.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_013.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_013.jpg.html)
The men of the Alaska Territorial Guard were not only very patriotic, but crack shots as well. After a bombing raid on their HQ by the Soviet semi-rigid airship Commissar Limpski, the A.T.G. started shooting at anything that flew.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/eskimo_1.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/eskimo_1.jpg.html)
This would have a huge impact on the conflict. While the Soviet invasion fleet never materialized, when the Red airships Comrade Potemkin and Anti-Dialectical Materialism were intercepted by Scouting 41, serious losses would be suffered on all sides by A.T.G sharpshooters. Only one Alaska Defender managed to limp home, riddled with bullets, while all other aircraft, both Soviet and U.S. were burning wreckage on the ground.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_012.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_012.jpg.html)
This forced both sides into negotiations, brokered by the British under League of Nations auspices on the South Pacific island of Fiji. A treaty was soon signed which restored the status quo ante bellum.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/GovHouseFiji.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/GovHouseFiji.jpg.html)
Still, for one brief moment, a floatplane fighter was all that stood between America and the Red Menace.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_006.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_006.jpg.html)
Brian da Basher
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This all started when Jeff Fontaine generously sent me one of those famous 1/48 Testors Curtiss Racer kits a while back.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/TestorsCRboxtop2.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/TestorsCRboxtop2.jpg.html)
This kit is a classic and the very definition of simplicity. While some may deride it as not being state-of-the-art, I find these kinds of older kits perfect whiff fodder.
As some of you may remember, I'd cut off the engine and used it on my P-47 I "Pengie" (http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=4136.0). What to do now? Fortunately, the front of an I-16 cowl and a Spitfire canopy came to the rescue. It took a little bit of work to get things right. The shots with white paint are where it started to come together.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_001.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_001.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_2_002.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_2_002.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_003.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_003.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_2_003.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_2_003.jpg.html)
The new cowling needed an extra wrap with sheet stock and a bit of sanding to fit and look square. I also took the opportunity to move the ventral fin all the way back on the tail and swap out the kit prop for one from an Airfix P-40.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_006.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_006.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_2_004.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_2_004.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_002.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_002.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_2_001.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_2_001.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_003.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_003.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_2_003.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_2_003.jpg.html)
I added a drop-tank from an Me-109 and an aux. radiator (for Archipelago missions) cut from a pen grip to the rear fuselage.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_2_005.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/A_D_prog_2_005.jpg.html)
Busted guitar strings were used for rigging and the entire model was painted by hand in acrylics. Kit decals were used along with codes from spares.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_upper.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_upper.jpg.html)
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_under.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_under.jpg.html)
I had a lot of fun on this model which was two weeks in the making.
(http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/g392/Bri2k/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_017.jpg) (http://s1099.photobucket.com/user/Bri2k/media/Alaska%20Defender/AK_D_017.jpg.html)
I hope you enjoyed it and reading a little bit of forgotten history. Many thanks to Mr Fontaine for sending me the kit!
Brian da Basher
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Brian, this looks even better now than in the previous WIP images you shared with me a couple of weeks back. Now that it is finished and on display the only thing that is missing is the island base surrounded by tundra and the sound of the waves crashing on shore.
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I love the camo pattern and a great backstory! The mods are great, too - I thought you'd used parts from a Corsair at first.
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Freakin' hilarious.
I've often wondered what you would do with a Wright Apache.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cf/Wright_XF3W-1_seaplane_at_NACA_Langley_1927.jpeg/988px-Wright_XF3W-1_seaplane_at_NACA_Langley_1927.jpeg)
;D
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Another BdB Masterpeice! :) ;D
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The Whiff is strong in you BdB, you are truly ............ a Whiff Lord!!! ;D ;D
Sensational work there Brian, love the story and your pics (especially the RC-3 ;) ), great build, love the lot, WOW!! :-* 8)
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In the early 70s I worked in Anchorage. Even then (40 years later) if folks had enough to drink, they would tell about that 1931 attack. Is all rather foggy cuz I was drinking too.
As Jeff said "this looks even better now than in the previous WIP images you shared". :-* How/where do you come up with simple two color schemes that work so well?
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Astounding!
Alvis 3.1
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With the new canopy, the silhouette is transformed, and beautiful! :-*
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Another great model and a wonderfully thought out back story! 8)
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Another great model and a wonderfully thought out back story! 8)
DITTO!
I love this Brian!
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This is great!! LOLed at the story, and I really like the scheme. Good job on the new engine too
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What can I say, what can I add? Nothing really, just everything they said, top job, again!
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That is excellent :-* BdB comes through once again ... and I love that the Alaska Defender has some Soviet influences as well ;D
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Great job.
That colour scheme works nicely.
I am constantly astounded how excellent (and in this case, witty) some of the back stories are here.
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How is it that you decided (knew to) paint gray and follow with white ?
To obtain same kinda result, my inclination would be the opposite.
My mediocre level building knowledge/skills have room to improve.
Much to learn from the rest of you at BTS.
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I'm really glad you guys liked this one. I had a lot of fun, especially with the paintwork.
The camo is a variation of one of the classic U.S. Navy North Atlantic schemes from W.W. II.
I read somewhere that it was often applied in a non-standard manner, especially during overhauls. Some aircraft had the white carry over the top of the wing leading edge. and horiz. stabs.
I used Polly Scale Reefer White and Model Masters Light Sea Gray acrylics. I'm not sure the gray is accurate, but it's as close as I could get.
Brian da Basher
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Works for me - and I figure you can always say the film was overexposed in the original. ;)
Another great build, Brian.