VTOL figther

[Predatorpt]

So, after this thread I went and bought a Airfix 1/48 Harrier. While doing the planning on the conversion, my brother remembered there was a fighter just like that in the Tomorrow's War rulebook. It's an digital illustration, not a real model, but does anyone know who did it?

I'm asking here because there were some fellow LAFers who helped make the book and I can't find that information on the book itself (there's captions on most of the miniatures pictures with their authors/brands, but not on the illustrations). I would like to contact the author and see if he did more versions of that particular "model".

Barring that, does anyone know any good conversion of a 1/48 Harrier into a sci-fi model? I'm thinking about getting rid of the tail and adding 2 more VTOL engines, one on each wing. But for that I'll need to find some B52 engines, maybe in 1/72 scale...

[Daeothar]

Page 131 has one, which looks like a kitbash of a Lancaster fuselage, A-10 Engines on the tail, a Sea Stallion fuselage wrapped around the Lancaster and the engine pods look like they might have come from a Valkyrie plane. And there are a great many parts I do no recognise too.

A pretty involved build. I believe the creator now goes under the name of Wayswatcher here on LAF.

The artwork on page 136 looks like an amalgam of a Harrier, a Buccaneer(or SU-25) and an Osprey. The nose is not easily linked to an existing airframe though, but the missiles are Mavericks at any rate...

[Predatorpt]

Page 131 has one, which looks like a kitbash of a Lancaster fuselage, A-10 Engines on the tail, a Sea Stallion fuselage wrapped around the Lancaster and the engine pods look like they might have come from a Valkyrie plane. And there are a great many parts I do no recognise too.

A pretty involved build. I believe the creator now goes under the name of Wayswatcher here on LAF.

The artwork on page 136 looks like an amalgam of a Harrier, a Buccaneer(or SU-25) and an Osprey. The nose is not easily linked to an existing airframe though, but the missiles are Mavericks at any rate...

I was talking about the second one, it's a nice piece of art. The first one I remember from here:

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=25425.0

As you mentioned, that nose is totally new, but the rest is more or less "realistic".

[Sgt. Scream]

Check your book, page 242. I think the pic was made by Richard Chasemore. I can go and ask Shawn Carpenter of AAG if you need more info.

[Gunbird]

The Gunbird is mine (actually made from a inverted 1/32 Apache, 1/48 A-10 Engine pods, a Ju-86 nose for the nose and the Vtol engines are the exhaust nacelles on a Apache glued side to side...I used 2 1/32 kits for that. Got all of the parts second hand or from the bargain bin so she set me back 30 euros and a lot of grey hairs) but thats not what you are after.

For a 1/48 conversion of the Harrier you could always extend the nose a bit with Milliput and stick the original nose to that, then work back the lower half with the gap you see in the pics. A chaingun off a 1/72 Apache should work, and the engine pods could be made from 1/72 Me-262 which can be had pretty cheaply. Looks like they also moved the tailfin further forward-ish.  Should not cost you more then 25 euros if you are not afraid to buy scrap kits or have some of the basic parts in your collection.

Been looking at converting a 1/100 Il-28 Beagle for use with my Chinese myself. Just a simple one for a change, inverting the wings so the engine pods are on top, further back on the fuselage. Or mate the front part to a 1/72 Ho-229, they only cost about 10 euros here. But models for 1/72 Crimson Skies are a bit higher on the priority list right now.

If you need more ideas, visit this treasure trove: http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=be4053e3723bcf40d6d961ef8f64d753&action=forum

[Predatorpt]

Check your book, page 242. I think the pic was made by Richard Chasemore. I can go and ask Shawn Carpenter of AAG if you need more info.

You know... it's the first time I see that page. I've searched the beggining of the book, not the end (and being tucked before the cards doesn't help, )  Yes, its author is Richard Chasemore, . Thanks! I'll try and contact him for more info!

[Predatorpt]

The Gunbird is mine (actually made from a inverted 1/32 Apache, 1/48 A-10 Engine pods, a Ju-86 nose for the nose and the Vtol engines are the exhaust nacelles on a Apache glued side to side...I used 2 1/32 kits for that. Got all of the parts second hand or from the bargain bin so she set me back 30 euros and a lot of grey hairs) but thats not what you are after.

For a 1/48 conversion of the Harrier you could always extend the nose a bit with Milliput and stick the original nose to that, then work back the lower half with the gap you see in the pics. A chaingun off a 1/72 Apache should work, and the engine pods could be made from 1/72 Me-262 which can be had pretty cheaply. Looks like they also moved the tailfin further forward-ish.  Should not cost you more then 25 euros if you are not afraid to buy scrap kits or have some of the basic parts in your collection.

Been looking at converting a 1/100 Il-28 Beagle for use with my Chinese myself. Just a simple one for a change, inverting the wings so the engine pods are on top, further back on the fuselage. Or mate the front part to a 1/72 Ho-229, they only cost about 10 euros here. But models for 1/72 Crimson Skies are a bit higher on the priority list right now.

If you need more ideas, visit this treasure trove: http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=be4053e3723bcf40d6d961ef8f64d753&action=forum

Your Gunbird is a real inspiration for any kitbash! I've got lots of models to convert, but not a single one with engines that I can use on the Harrier. Never thought about the Me-262 ones   

I've already combed the What-If forum for ideas, but no luck so far. Just a lot of Harriers in various countries colours (including a French Foreign Legion one, for CAS)

My thanks to everyone who replied!

[Smith]

Morning all,

As I was the guilty party responsible for commissioning the Tomorrow's War artwork, I'll drop Richard a line and see if he has any comments. If memory serves, it started out as a Harrier build, then the additional features were added manually.

[Inso]

If you don't own the rulebook, this thread is useless without pix

I want to see the VTOL now...

[Predatorpt]

If you don't own the rulebook, this thread is useless without pix

I want to see the VTOL now...

I know, but it's ilegal to post scans/take pictures of the content of a book  That's why I also asked for other Harrier conversions 

[Predatorpt]

Morning all,

As I was the guilty party responsible for commissioning the Tomorrow's War artwork, I'll drop Richard a line and see if he has any comments. If memory serves, it started out as a Harrier build, then the additional features were added manually.

That would be great, thanks! I was going to send him an email (there's a contact on his site) but now I'll wait. i really like that pictures because when you look at it you can really see it started as a Harrier! I'm going to try and emulate that in my conversion.

[Smith]

If you don't own the rulebook, this thread is useless without pix

I want to see the VTOL now...

Just as well it's not illegal for me! Quality isn't the greatest, I'm afraid – I nabbed it out of the pdf, rather than converting the high-resolution original.

Courtesy of Osprey Publishing, Ambush Alley and Richard Chasemore:

[Predatorpt]

Just as well it's not illegal for me! Quality isn't the greatest, I'm afraid – I nabbed it out of the pdf, rather than converting the high-resolution original.

Thanks once again!

One of the problems that I'm seeing in my conversion plan (and in the picture) is that the wings don't seem to be strong/thick enough to support the VTOL engines on their tips. I'll have to change the wings or reinforce the normal Harrier ones.

[Smith]

I tend to go with "it's science fiction" and make up what I need as I go along. The join of engine to wing is conveniently obscured on the artwork in any case.

Perhaps the engines could be against a wider/broader/bulkier wing tip e.g.:



You'd need some sort of component to bridge from the wing to the engine. I'm afraid I wouldn't know what to suggest along those lines, though!

[Gunbird]

sandwich 0.5mm to 1.0mm plasticcard in between the top and bottom wing part (if they are seperate pieces) for extra ruggedness or add a saddle on the wingtip.

Edit: Like what Smith just posted, wingtips.