Antonio Gatling
Northrop T-38A Talon and Northrop F-5E Tiger II Portuguese Air Force
100% scratch built model, using standard 1/72 scale (aprox.). I used a lot of material combinations, as you can see through the pictures, 80% wood carved and sawed, small details using plastic and sometimes paper, in some details, electric wires...
The model describes a normal routine in a airbase, aircrafts ready to fly, with pilots and ground crew for support, before going for a training mission.
The history behind these aircrafts started when in the final of the seventies beginning of the eighties of the 20th Century, Portugal needed a new multirole fighter low-cost and easy to maintain, and great performance in air combat missions and alsoin the ground attack role.
The aircraft chosen was the F-5E, but at the last minute , for economical and political reasons and also American pressure at some point, The Portuguese government stepped back to the final decision, and decide as an alternative, the Vought A-7P Corsair II for ground attack and anti-ship missions, but with secondary mission air defense, not really adequate for that type of aircraft.
During the decision of the F-5E, the Americans sent 6 T-38 Talon in 1977 advanced training aircraft and another 6, 3 years later, for a initial training to transition to the F-5s...
In reality, we kept the T-38s flying in 16 years (last flight was in 1993), and the F-5 was a kind of dream that never happened...even was an alternative to get second hand units from Norway (F-5A), without success...
The F-5 was a kind of dream for me, that's a reason I decide to build this model with the Portuguese markings, the wish that not became true..
The model describes a normal routine in a airbase, aircrafts ready to fly, with pilots and ground crew for support, before going for a training mission.
The history behind these aircrafts started when in the final of the seventies beginning of the eighties of the 20th Century, Portugal needed a new multirole fighter low-cost and easy to maintain, and great performance in air combat missions and alsoin the ground attack role.
The aircraft chosen was the F-5E, but at the last minute , for economical and political reasons and also American pressure at some point, The Portuguese government stepped back to the final decision, and decide as an alternative, the Vought A-7P Corsair II for ground attack and anti-ship missions, but with secondary mission air defense, not really adequate for that type of aircraft.
During the decision of the F-5E, the Americans sent 6 T-38 Talon in 1977 advanced training aircraft and another 6, 3 years later, for a initial training to transition to the F-5s...
In reality, we kept the T-38s flying in 16 years (last flight was in 1993), and the F-5 was a kind of dream that never happened...even was an alternative to get second hand units from Norway (F-5A), without success...
The F-5 was a kind of dream for me, that's a reason I decide to build this model with the Portuguese markings, the wish that not became true..