Gentlemen and Ladies.... Welcome to the 2009 Adversary and Aggressor Group Build! After floating the idea in the Aircraft forum it seems there's enough potential interest in the subject for this to fly and I haven't seen one of these done recently. There's also a very nice selection of new kits and decals released recently of aircraft that would be candidates for such a build, so the timing seems...ummm...timely!
This Build will begin on March 15th, 2009 and finish on December 31st, 2009 (although the deadline may be extended if needed). Hopefully that's a long enough stretch to attract those that may be interested but are currently busy with other builds (like ME!)
So...the rules.
1. Aircraft to be built must have been used by Adversary (US Navy and Marine Corps) and/or Aggressor (US Air Force) squadrons to act as an opposing force in military wargames. Foreign Aggressors are also allowed (i.e. Canadian's MAPLE FLAG exercises).
2. They must be painted and marked in the scheme they would have utilized in such a role.
3. Aftermarket accessories and scratchbuilding is, as always, allowed.
4. Any scale is permitted.
5. Kits that have already been started are allowed as long as they have not been painted and decaled yet.
6. Crossovers are permitted.
7. Post your progress if possible but post a final build photo minimally when done and I'll add it to the front page.
8. And as always, HAVE FUN!!!!!
Some of the best known examples of adversary/aggressor aircraft are those flown at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (better known as "TOPGUN") or at the "Red Flag" aerial combat training exercise hosted at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada and Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Canadian Forces also have used Aggressor training in their MAPLE FLAG exercises. Some of the myriad of aircraft that have flown with US aggressor/adversary squadrons include (but are not restricted to) Douglas A-4s, Northrop F-5s and CF-116Ds (CF-5Ds), the Isreali F-21 Kfir, McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18As, Lockheed-Martin F-16Ns, As, Cs, McDonnell-Douglas F-15s, Grumman F-14s and even foreign aircraft such as MiG-17s, 21s, and 23s, Mi-24 Hinds, Mi-8 Hips, Mi-2 Hoplites, and An-2 Colts.
Some of the Adversary/Aggressor squadrons in the US armed forces include the USAF's 64th, 65th, and 527th Aggressor Squadrons, VMFT-401 (US Marine Corps) and the Navy's VFC-12 (NAS Oceana), VFC-13 (NAS Fallon) and VFC-111 (NAS Key West) as well as the famous "TOPGUN" Naval Fighter Weapons School (US Navy) which is not a squadron per se, but operates F-16A and F/A-18A/B/E/F aircraft as part of the Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center at NAS Fallon. In the 1970's and 80's there was the 26th AS at Clark AB in the Phillipines. The RCAF 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron flew in an Aggressor role as well. I'm sure I'm missing some.
So let me know if you're interested in participating. Let me know what kit and scale you plan on building and if possible some information on what markings you plan on and what squadron this may have flown historically.
Hot-Pb