Rockwell Space Transportation System Vehicle (Space Shuttle)

Here are some more images of  Tamiya's 1/100 scale Rockwell Space Transportation System Vehicle (Space Shuttle).

From Wikipedia'
The Space Shuttle was a crewed, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft operated by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Its official program name was Space Transportation System, taken from a 1969 plan for a system of reusable spacecraft of which it was the only item funded for development. The first of four orbital test flights occurred in 1981, leading to operational flights beginning in 1982. They were used on a total of 135 missions from 1981 to 2011, launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Operational missions launched numerous satellites, interplanetary probes, and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST); conducted science experiments in orbit; and participated in construction and servicing of the International Space Station.
Shuttle components included the Orbiter Vehicle (OV), a pair of recoverable solid rocket boosters (SRBs), and the expendable external tank (ET) containing liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The Shuttle was launched vertically like a conventional rocket, with the two SRBs operating in parallel with the OV's three main engines, which were fueled from the ET. The SRBs were jettisoned before the vehicle reached orbit, and the ET was jettisoned just before orbit insertion using the orbiter's two Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) engines. At the conclusion of the mission, the orbiter fired its OMS to drop out of orbit and re-enter the atmosphere. The orbiter glided to a runway landing on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base in California or at the Shuttle Landing Facility at the KSC. After the landings at Edwards, the orbiter was flown back to KSC on the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a specially modified Boeing 747.
The first orbiter, Enterprise, was built purely for Approach and Landing Tests and had no capability to fly into orbit. Four fully operational orbiters were initially built: Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, and Atlantis. Of these, Challenger and Columbia were destroyed in mission accidents in 1986 and 2003, respectively, in which a total of fourteen astronauts were killed. A fifth operational orbiter, Endeavour, was built in 1991 to replace Challenger. The Space Shuttle was retired from service upon the conclusion of Atlantis' final flight on July 21, 2011.
Until another US manned spacecraft is ready, crews will travel to and from the International Space Station (ISS) exclusively aboard the Russian Soyuz spacecraft.
A planned successor to STS was the "Shuttle II", during the 1980s and 1990s, and later the Constellation program during the 2004–2010 period. CSTS was a proposal to continue to operate STS commercially, after NASA. In September 2011, NASA announced the selection of the design for the new Space Launch System that is planned to launch the Orion spacecraft and other hardware to missions beyond low earth-orbit.
The Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program began in 2006 with the purpose of creating commercially operated unmanned cargo vehicles to service the ISS. The SpaceX Dragon became operational in 2012, and the Orbital Sciences' Cygnus, is expected to be launched in September 2013. The Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program was initiated in 2010 with the purpose of creating commercially operated manned spacecraft capable of delivering at least four crew members to the ISS, to stay docked for 180 days, and then return them back to Earth. These spacecraft are expected to become operational in the mid-2010s.


Space Shuttles have been features of fiction and nonfiction, from movies for kids to documentaries. Early examples include the 1979 James Bond film, Moonraker, the 1982 Activision videogame Space Shuttle: A Journey into Space (1982) and G. Harry Stine's 1981 novel Shuttle Down. In the 1986 film SpaceCamp, Atlantis accidentally launched into space with a group of U.S. Space Camp participants as its crew. The 1998 film Armageddon portrayed a combined crew of offshore oil rig workers and US military staff who pilot two modified Shuttles to avert the destruction of Earth by an asteroid. Retired American test pilots visited a Russian satellite in the 2000 Clint Eastwood adventure film Space Cowboys. In the 2003 film The Core, the Endeavour's landing is disrupted by the earth's magnetic core, and its crew is selected to pilot the vehicle designed to restart the core. The 2004 Bollywood movie Swades, where a Space Shuttle was used to launch a special rainfall monitoring satellite, was filmed at Kennedy Space Center in the year following the Columbia disaster that had taken the life of Indian-American astronaut KC Chawla. On television, the 1996 drama The Cape portrayed the lives of a group of NASA astronauts as they prepared for and flew Shuttle missions. Odyssey 5 was a short lived sci-fi series that featured the crew of a Space Shuttle as the last survivors of a disaster that destroyed Earth. The 2013 film Gravity features the fictional space shuttle Explorer, whose crew are killed or left stranded after it is destroyed by a shower of high speed orbital debris.

A United States Space Shuttle stamp

The Space Shuttle has also been the subject of toys and models; for example, a large Lego Space Shuttle model was constructed by visitors at Kennedy Space Center, and smaller models have been sold commercially as a standard "LegoLand" set. A 1984 pinball machine "Space Shuttle" was produced by Williams and features a plastic Space Shuttle model among other artwork of astronauts on the play field.

US postage commemorations

Main article: U.S. space exploration history on U.S. stamps#Space Shuttle Issues

The U.S. Postal Service has released several postage issues that depict the Space Shuttle. The first such stamps were issued in 1981, and are on display at the National Postal Museum.

Eagle HLT (Heavy Lift Transport)

Here are some images of my kitbash of the Eagle HLT (Heavy Lift Transport) inspired from the Space 1999 universe. Built from two MPC 1/72 scale MPC Eagle 1 Transport kits and parts from my spares box.

With two and a half times the lifting capacity as the Eagle Transports the Eagle HLT was instrumental in the construction of Moonbase Alpha.

Hawker Sea Fury FB 11

Here are some images of Fisher Model and Pattern's 1/32 scale Hawker Sea Fury FB 11.

From Wikipedia"
The Hawker Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, and also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built. Developed during the Second World War, the Sea Fury entered service two years after the war ended. The Sea Fury proved to be a popular aircraft with a number of overseas militaries, and was used during the Korean War in the early 1950s.
The Sea Fury's development was formally initiated in 1943 in response to a wartime requirement of the RAF, thus the aircraft was initially named Fury. As the Second World War drew to a close, the RAF cancelled their order for the aircraft; however, the Royal Navy saw the type as a suitable carrier aircraft to replace a range of increasingly obsolete or poorly suited aircraft being operated by the Fleet Air Arm. Development of the Sea Fury proceeded, and the type began entering operational service in 1947.
The Sea Fury has many design similarities to Hawker's preceding Tempest fighter, but the Sea Fury was a considerably lighter aircraft; both the Sea Fury's wings and fuselage originate from the Tempest but were significantly modified and redesigned. Production Sea Furies were fitted with the powerful Bristol Centaurus engine, and armed with four wing-mounted Hispano V cannons. While originally developed as a pure aerial fighter aircraft, the definitive Sea Fury FB 11 was a fighter-bomber, the design having been found suitable for this mission as well.
The Sea Fury attracted a number of international orders as both a carrier and land-based aircraft; it was operated by a number of countries, including Australia, Burma, Canada, Cuba, Egypt, West Germany, Iraq, and Pakistan. The type acquitted itself well in the Korean War, fighting effectively even against the MiG-15 jet fighter. Although the Sea Fury was retired by the majority of its military operators in the late 1950s in favour of jet-propelled aircraft, a considerable number of aircraft saw subsequent use in the civil sector, and several remain airworthy in the 21st century both as heritage and racing aircraft.
The Hawker Fury was an evolutionary successor to the successful Hawker Typhoon and Tempest fighters and fighter-bombers of World War II. The Fury's design process was initiated in September 1942 by Sydney Camm, one of Hawker's foremost aircraft designers, to meet the Royal Air Force’s requirement for a lightweight Tempest Mk.II replacement; the Tempest, while a successful aircraft, had been viewed as being heavy and oversized for typical fighter duties. Developed as the "Tempest Light Fighter", the semi-elliptical wing of the Tempest was incorporated, but was shortened in span by attaching the two wings at the aircraft centreline, eliminating the centre-section. The fuselage itself was broadly similar in form to that of the Tempest, but was a fully monocoque structure, while the cockpit level was higher, affording the pilot better all round visibility.
The project was formalized in January 1943 when the Air Ministry issued Specification F.2/42 around the "Tempest Light Fighter". This was followed up by Specification F.2/43, issued in May 1943, which required a high rate of climb of not less than 4,500 ft/min (23 m/s) from ground level to 20,000 feet (6,096 m), good fighting manoeuvrability and a maximum speed of at least 450 mph (724 km/h) at 22,000 feet (6,705 m). The armament was to be four 20mm Hispano V cannon with a total capacity of 600 rounds, plus the capability of carrying two bombs each up to 1,000 pounds (454 kg). In April 1943, Hawker had also received Specification N.7/43 from the Admiralty, who sought a navalised version of the developing aircraft; in response, Sidney Camm proposed the consolidation of both service's requirements under Specification F.2/43, with the alterations required for naval operations issued on a supplemental basis. Around 1944, the aircraft project finally received its name; the Royal Air Force's version becoming known as the Fury and the Fleet Air Army's version as the Sea Fury.
A total of six prototypes were ordered; two were to be powered by Rolls-Royce Griffon engines, two with Centaurus XXIIs, one with a Centaurus XII and one as a test structure. Hawker used the internal designations P.1019 and P.1020 respectively for the Griffon and Centaurus versions, while P.1018 was also used for a Fury prototype which was to use a Napier Sabre IV. The first Fury to fly, on 1 September 1944, was NX798 with a Centaurus XII with rigid engine mounts, powering a Rotol four-blade propeller. Second on 27 November 1944 was LA610, which had a Griffon 85 and Rotol six-blade contra-rotating propeller. By now development of the Fury and Sea Fury was closely interlinked so that the next prototype to fly was a Sea Fury, SR661, described under "Naval Conversion." NX802 (25 July 1945) was the last Fury prototype, powered by a Centaurus XV. LA610 was eventually fitted with a Napier Sabre VII, which was capable of developing 3,400–4,000 hp (2,535–2,983 kW); this aircraft become possibly the fastest piston-engined Hawker aircraft after reaching a speed of around 485 mph (780 km/h).


With the end of the Second World War in Europe in sight, the RAF began cancelling many aircraft orders. Thus, the RAF's order for the Fury was cancelled before any production examples were built because the RAF already had excessive numbers of late Mark Spitfires and Tempests and viewed the Fury as an additional overlap with these aircraft. Although the RAF had pulled out of the program, development of the type continued as the Sea Fury; many of the Navy's carrier fighters were either lend-lease aircraft and thus to be returned, or in the case of the Supermarine Seafire, had considerable weaknesses as naval aircraft, such as narrow undercarriages. The Admiralty opted to procure the Sea Fury as the successor to these aircraft instead of purchasing the lend-lease aircraft outright.
While the RAF contract had been cancelled, the Fury prototypes were completed and used for work in developing the Sea Fury as well as for the export market. The first Sea Fury prototype, SR661, first flew at Langley, Berkshire, on 21 February 1945, powered by a Centaurus XII engine. This prototype had a "stinger"-type tailhook for arrested carrier landings, but lacked folding wings for storage. SR666, the second prototype, which flew on 12 October 1945, was powered by a Centaurus XV that turned a new, five-bladed Rotol propeller and did feature folding wings. Specification N.7/43 was modified to N.22/43, now representing an order for 200 aircraft. Of these, 100 were to be built at Boulton-Paul's Wolverhampton factory.
In 1945, the original order to specification N.22/43 was reduced to 100 aircraft; as such the manufacturing agreement with Boulton-Paul was ended and all work on the Sea Fury transferred to Hawker Aircraft's facilities at Kingston. This included the construction of what was intended to be a Boulton-Paul built Sea Fury prototype, VB857, which was transported to Kingston in January 1945; this aircraft, built to the same standard as SR666, first flew on 31 January 1946. Immediately upon completion of the first three airframes, the flight testing program began at Kingston. It was soon discovered that the early Centaurus engine suffered frequent crankshaft failure due to a poorly designed lubrication system, which led to incidents of the engine seizing while in mid-flight. The problem was resolved when Bristol's improved Centaurus 18 engine replaced the earlier engine variant.
 The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) became a prolific customer of the Sea Fury, and many of its aircraft were diverted from existing Royal Navy contracts. On 23 June 1948, the first aircraft was accepted at RCAF Rockcliff. The type was quickly put to use replacing Canada's existing inventory of Seafires, taking on the primary role of fleet air defence operating from the aircraft carrier HMCS Magnificent. Two Canadian squadrons operated the Sea Fury, Nos. 803 and 883 Squadrons, which were later renumbered as 870 and 871. Pilot training on the Sea Fury was normally conducted at the RCN's HMCS Shearwater. Landing difficulties with the Sea Fury were experienced following the RCN's decision to convert to the US Navy's deck landing procedures, which were prone to overstressing and damaging the airframes as the Sea Fury had been designed for a tail-down landing attitude. The Sea Fury would be operated between 1948 and 1956 by the RCN, at which point they were replaced by the jet-powered McDonnell F2H Banshee. The aircraft themselves were put into storage, and some were subsequently purchased by civilians.

Chance Vought F4U-1D Corsair

Here are some images of Trumpeter's 1/32 scale Chance Vought F4U-1D Corsair.
This aircraft served with VMF-351, USS Cape Glouchester, and was flown by Lt Col Donald K Yost.

From Wikipedia"
The Chance Vought F4U Corsair was an American fighter aircraft that saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Demand for the aircraft soon overwhelmed Vought's manufacturing capability, resulting in production by Goodyear and Brewster: Goodyear-built Corsairs were designated FG and Brewster-built aircraft F3A. From the first prototype delivery to the U.S. Navy in 1940, to final delivery in 1953 to the French, 12,571 F4U Corsairs were manufactured by Vought, in 16 separate models, in the longest production run of any piston-engined fighter in U.S. history (1942–53).
The Corsair was designed as a carrier-based aircraft. However its difficult carrier landing performance rendered the Corsair unsuitable for Navy use until the carrier landing issues were overcome when used by the British Fleet Air Arm. The Corsair thus came to and retained prominence in its area of greatest deployment, land based use by the U.S. Marines. The role of the dominant U.S. carrier based fighter in the second part of the war was thus filled by the Grumman F6F Hellcat. The Corsair served to a lesser degree in the U.S. Navy. As well as the U.S. and British use the Corsair was also used by the Royal New Zealand Air Force, the French Navy Aéronavale and other, smaller, air forces until the 1960s. Some Japanese pilots regarded it as the most formidable American fighter of World War II,^[6] and the U.S. Navy counted an 11:1 kill ratio with the F4U Corsair.
After the carrier landing issues had been tackled it quickly became the most capable carrier-based fighter-bomber of World War II. The Corsair served almost exclusively as a fighter-bomber throughout the Korean War and during the French colonial wars in Indochina and Algeria.

F4U-1D (Corsair Mk IV): Built in parallel with the F4U-1C, but was introduced in April 1944. It had the new -8W water-injection engine. This change gave the aircraft up to 250 hp (190 kW) more power, which, in turn, increased performance. Speed was increased from 417 mph (671 km/h) to 425 mph (684 km/h). Due to the U.S. Navy's need for fighter-bombers, it had a payload of rockets double the -1A's, as well as twin-rack plumbing for an additional belly drop tank. However, these modifications necessitated the need for rocket tabs (attached to fully metal-plated underwing surfaces) and bomb pylons to be bolted on the fighter, causing extra drag. The extra fuel carried by the two drop tanks would still allow the aircraft to fly relatively long missions despite the heavy, un-aerodynamic loads. A single piece "blown" clear-view canopy was adopted as standard equipment for the -1D model, and all later F4U production aircraft. Additional production was carried out by Goodyear (FG-1D) and Brewster (F3A-1D). In Fleet Air Arm service, the latter was known as the Corsair III, and both had their wingtips clipped – 8 inches (203 mm) per wing – to allow storage in the lower hangars of British carriers.

Dave Porter's Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1

Here are some images of Dave Porter's Messerschmitt Me 262 A-1

From Wikipedia'
The Messerschmitt Me 262 Schwalbe (English: "Swallow") of Nazi Germany was the world's first operational jet-powered fighter aircraft. Design work started before World War II began, but engine problems and top-level interference prevented the aircraft from attaining operational status with the Luftwaffe until mid-1944. Compared with Allied fighters of its day, including the British jet-powered Gloster Meteor, it was much faster and better armed. One of the most advanced aviation designs in operational use during World War II, the Me 262 was used in a variety of roles, including light bomber, reconnaissance and even experimental night fighter versions.
Me 262 pilots claimed a total of 542 Allied kills (although higher claims are sometimes made).^{[Notes 1]} The Allies countered its potential effectiveness in the air by attacking the aircraft on the ground and while taking off or landing. Engine reliability problems and attacks by Allied forces on fuel supplies during the deteriorating late-war situation also reduced the effectiveness of the aircraft as a fighting force. In the end, the Me 262 had a negligible impact on the course of the war as a result of its late introduction and the consequently small numbers that were deployed in operational service. The Me 262 influenced the designs of post-war aircraft such as the North American F-86 Sabre and Boeing B-47 Stratojet.

Norton 500 cc Manx

Here are some images of Protar Models 1/9 scale Norton 500 cc Manx.

From Wikipedia"
The Norton Manx or Manx Norton is a British racing motorcycle that was made from 1947 to 1962 by Norton Motors Ltd. A Norton had contested every Isle of Man TT race from the inaugural 1907 event through into the 1970s, a feat unrivalled by any other manufacturer, and the development and honing of the Manx racing motorcycle was another step in this racing achievement.
New Manx Nortons, built to various specifications are still available to buy new, from various suppliers around the world. These suit different categories and definitions of Classic Motorcycle Racing and Historic Motorcycle Racing in different countries around the world.
Norton's first use of the name 'Manx' was applied to the 'Manx Grand Prix' model available from 1936-1940, a special racing version of their 'International' roadster, with telescopic forks and a plunger rear suspension, magnesium for the crankcases and cambox, and no provision for lighting. Just after WW2, the 'Grand Prix' was dropped, and Norton named their 1947 racing model the 'Manx'. It was a lightly redesigned prewar racing Norton International, an overhead cam single-cylinder machine available as a 350cc or 500cc. The Norton factory race bikes under team manager Joe Craig were experimental models, and a version was available to buy from the factory in Bracebridge Street - to selected customers. Fitted with the McCandless brothers Featherbed frame for 1950, the Manx gained a new lease of racing life as a racing machine, the new frame giving the fine steering necessary for high speed navigation of some very fast racing circuits of the time.
The last Bracebridge Street (the original home of Norton) Manx Nortons were sold in 1963. Even though Norton had pulled out of International Grand Prix racing in 1954, the Manx had become the backbone of privateer racing. The Classic Motorcycle Racing movement from the 1970s onwards has seen relatively large numbers of Manxs return to the track, and a flourishing supply of parts and services has appeared all around the world to nourish this demand.

The Norton Manx was developed to win the Isle of Man TT from single overhead cam international racers by Norton racing team engineer Joe Craig. The double overhead cam configuration was developed in 1937 and after many problems perfected one year later. The Manx was delayed by the outbreak of World War II but reemerged for the 1946 Manx Grand Prix. The motorcycle was upgraded with new telescopic forks and in 1948 gained twin leading shoe brakes. In 1950 the innovative Featherbed frame was developed, giving the Manx a significant competitive advantage through a low centre of gravity and short wheelbase that was perfectly suited the challenging island TT course. The all-welded, tubular featherbed frame was light and trim, without the usual forgings that added unnecessary weight. In 1950, the featherbed Manx recorded a double hat-trick of podium positions at the TT. The Manx engine was redesigned in 1953 with a much shorter stroke of 86.0 mm × 85.6 mm (3.39 in × 3.37 in) to improve the rev range.
The major 1954 upgrade to the Manx was to have been a laid-down engine design, with lower centre of gravity – along the lines of the Moto Guzzi and Benelli racers. However, a decline in sales in the mid 1950s prompted a number of manufacturers to withdraw from GP racing in 1954, and Nortons did likewise. The Norton F Type Manx, as it was to have been, still exists, and restored is displayed in the Sammy Millers Museum Collection. With Nortons withdrawal from racing, Joe Craig retired after more than 25 years of coaxing ever more power and reliability from his single cylinder Cammy racers.
 British racer Les Archer, Jr. worked with frame specialist Ron Hankins and engine tuner Ray Petty to develop a Norton Manx for motocross competition. The double-overhead-cam, short-stroke Norton Manx road racing engine was fitted into a Hankins frame and finished with an aluminium tank and titanium axles. The Manx MX was successful, winning the 1956 F.I.M. 500 cc European Motocross Championship, but was not able to compete with the emerging two-stroke bikes.^[10][11]
 Manx Nortons also played a significant role in the development of post war car racing. At the end of 1950, the English national 500 cc regulations were adopted as the new Formula 3. The JAP Speedway engine had dominated the category initially but the Manx was capable of producing significantly more power and became the engine of choice. Many complete motorcycles were bought in order to strip the engine for 500 cc car racing, as Norton would not sell separate engines. Manx rolling chassis were frequently sold on and paired with Triumph 500 cc twin engines to create Triton cafe racers.

1962 was the last full year for the production Norton Manx. In July AMC announced the transfer of production from Bracebridge Street to Woolwich in London. Forty two Manx Nortons were produced between November 1962 and January 1963. In 1966 Colin Seeley purchased what remained of the spares and tools, which he eventually sold on to John Tickle in 1969. When Godfrey Nash rode a Norton Manx to victory at the 1969 Yugoslavian Grand Prix at the Opatija Circuit, it would mark the last time that a 500cc Grand Prix race was won on a single-cylinder machin^e.
John Tickle took over the Manx name when Norton ceased production and acquired a large quantity of spare parts. He also manufactured complete racers, called the Manx T5 (500) and T3 (350). Both used the short-stroke Manx engines in a frame designed by Tickle but he could not compete against the Japanese racers and sold his stock and the rights in the late 1970s to Unity Equipe, a retail spares business in Rochdale, UK.
The manufacturing rights then passed in 1994 to Andy Molnar, an engineer based in Preston, UK who firstly produced parts faithful to the original 1961 drawings, followed by engines then complete machines named Molnar Manx. A road-version with alternator and 'softer' engine spec is also available in conjunction with ex-racer Steve Tonkin, called Tonkin Tornado with a 2013 base-price of £34,000 (GBP)

Motori Minarelli 125cc GP

Here are some images of Protar Models 1/9 scale Motori Minarelli 125 cc GP motorcycle.
I decided to build this model without the large fairing which covers most of the motorcycle
as it would cover most of the engine and gear work. Besides being that this is an old kit, the decals wouldn't have been of much use anyway.

From Wikipedia"
Minarelli is an Italian motorcycle engine manufacturer which was founded by Vittorio Minarelli. It is now part of the Yamaha group.

Minarelli was founded in Bologna in 1951 as a motorcycle manufacturer. In 1956 Minarelli switched to exclusively manufacturing two-stroke engines, in a 2000 square metre purpose-built factory. It employed 20 technical staff and produced 70 engines a day. These were sold to companies in Italy, other parts of Europe and South America.
In 1967 the company changed its name to Motori Minarelli and opened a new plant in Calderara di Reno. By the 1970s engine production had reached 250,000 units a year. Minarelli successfully competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing with Spanish rider Ángel Nieto winning 125cc world championships in 1979 and 1981.
^{In 1990 the company began a business relationship with Yamaha. Five years later it employed 350 people and engine production had reached 450,000 units a year. In 2002, following changes in the world motorcycle market, Motori Minarelli became a member of the Yamaha Group.}

T2 Aerial Hunter-Killer

Here are some images of Pegasus Models 1/32 scale(?) Aerial Hunter-Killer from the movie T2 Judgement Day.

From Wikipedia"
First seen in The Terminator these unmanned vehicles (Aerial Hunter-Killer and Tank Hunter-Killer) are a family of combat robotics used by Skynet to wipe out survivors of a nuclear holocaust. In the Terminator franchise, they have branched into multiple designs of varying sizes and purposes. What all Aerial HK share is that their jet engines are mounted on rotating pylons on the end of the center-mounted wing, allowing vertical takeoff and landing, hovering, and rotation in place while having the speed of a jet aircraft. The basic (as depicted in The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day) HK has a pair of engines (with a smaller third engine mounted on the tail in Terminator 3), a large plasma cannon mounted under the nose (variants in Terminator Salvation had twin cannons), and is used for air-to-ground combat (although a capable fighter too). Other variations include smaller models that can navigate inside buildings, large four-engine transport or heavy bomber models, early models armed with conventional guns, and the revised models seen in Terminator 3 and Terminator: Salvation. A nearly identical craft appears in the unrelated TV series Starhunter (2000–2001) as a type of human-piloted gunship

Bachem Ba 349 Natter

Here are some images plus a composite of Dragon models 1/48 scale Bachem Ba 349 Natter (Viper). If there ever was a prime example of a desperation weapon the Natter was it. Born out of necessity in 1944 in response to the ever increasing daylight bombing attacks by the U.S. 8th Air Force the disposable mostly wood Natter was designed to intercept enemy bombers quickly and with deadly force firing it's 24 Fohn rockets mounted in the nose of the craft. After which pilot along with engine would bail out for later reuse. There was one major problem though, the Natter was a little too fast. Due to its extreme climb rate pilots would invariably black out. I find it amazing the kind of technological advancements that are developed when desperation is breathing down your neck. Germany at the later end of WWII is a prime example. In fact I believe that the technological and scientific advancements Germany made contributed greatly to the U.S and the U.S.S.Rs to becoming superpowers. The spoils of war.