Recent content by Admiral Beez

Why is it that we see so very few single seat monoplane fighters with fixed undercarriages AND liquid cooled V-12 engines? There's the Miles M.20, Kawasaki Ki-5, and Dewoitine D.500, with only the latter being produced beyond a prototype. Should we include the steam-cooled Supermarine Type...

I'm no aerospace engineer, but my understanding is that weight does not directly change an aircraft's absolute top speed, but it does affect how quickly the aircraft accelerates and the induced drag it experiences at various angles of attack. For example, while the PR Spitfire was up to 400 lb...

I wonder why. If you put fixed undercarriage onto a Spitfire or Mustang surely the drag would cause an appreciable reduction in speed. Perhaps the drag of radial engine is the issue? When Argentina ordered fixed wheel Curtiss Hawks were they much slower than the normal type?

I expect the paints on HMS Hermes were the old stuff.

Here is CVN-72 arriving in Thailand after 286 days at sea. And here's how the media reports it. Do people really think a warship looks so pristine?

Thanks. I've just posted it over at Britmodeller and WhatifModels. Had Hawker not acquired Gloster in 1934 we might well have seen the F5/34 developed faster and be offered to the FAA as a replacement for the Nimrod instead of the Sea Gladiator (the first of 98 were delivered to the FAA in...

I've just finished my take on the Gloster F5/34 naval fighter with a Perseus engine. I think with a warmed over Perseus we should be able to at least compete with the Bf 109E.

Okay, I'm calling this project complete. We'll skip the radio mast and landing lights. Maybe I'll return in the future to add some weathering and oil stains. So, here we have the non-folding Gloster Gannet Mk.1, armed with eight .303 and powered by a Bristol Perseus to enter service as a...

A top grade and well led and trained ARA Fleet, with all its kit in order, appropriate for the task (including anti-ship fuses), and well-armed (including more Exocets) would have been interesting. Start with the carrier 25 de Mayo able to operate Exocet-armed Super Étendards, A-4Qs, as well as...

Thanks. A little sanding and the first coat of paint helps the canopy look right. A little more putty around the cracks, a second sanding and final coat of grey will have it right. I think the model kit came with an overly tall canopy, reminiscent of an A-1K Skyraider II. But in my mind...

Well, the canopy came out “okay”, with some matte clear coat contamination, and my dodgy trimming work required some filler. I’m still satisfied enough to keep going. I’ll paint the hook the same colour as the bottom, but with a red tip. Next steps are to install the prop and radio mast...

True. I wonder if in a neutral Italy the populace, politicians, industrialists and the king himself will have soured on Mussolini by 1943. The Ethiopian adventure and supporting Germany politically brought no benefit to anyone.

If we can keep Italy from invading France in 1940, we may find that once the USSR adventure begins to sour, that Germany invades Italy in order to secure its southern flank. We'll need a good military then.

We'll know in the morning if I taped the canopy well. I've never built a model where you had to trim down the canopy from a sheet. Thankfully they provide two.

Even if with a GOP win in 2028 it takes a year or more to clear out the maga sycophants, commissioning of CV-81 isn't expected until at least 2034. By then POTUS49 (or 48 if reelected) will be in power for nearly five years since the orange was squeezed out. My hope for my American cousins...