Friday, May 19

Two more Tigers in 32nd scale pounce from the Storm Factory...

The ROCAF is the star of the two latest releases from Storm Factory. You are familiar with their 32nd scale F-5E & F-5F already no doubt, but these are very Taiwan centric. In either tiger or "Aggressor" themes, we look at some of the projected kit contents in our preview...


Two more Tigers in 32nd scale pounce from the Storm Factory...
The Subject - the F-5E & F-5F in ROCAF:
The F-5 was developed by Northrop Grumman for export through the Military Assistance Program (MAP) in February 1965.This aircraft was initially offered as a candidate for a U.S. lightweight fighter, but became extremely popular as an export finding its niche in the overseas market. In December 1970, Northrop Grumman began development and production on the F-5A-21, an aircraft design that emphasized manoeuvrability rather than high speed and was officially reclassified as the F-5E. The F-5E is a single seat, twin-engine, tactical fighter and attack aircraft providing simulated air-to-air combat training manufactured by Northrop Grumman Corporation. 

The 46th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Aggressor squadron) F-5E 5272 of Republic of China Air Force exhibited on the apron of Zhi-Hang Air Base
As a tactical fighter aircraft, the F-5E accommodates a pilot only in a pressurized, heated and air conditioned cockpit and rocket-powered ejection seat while the F-5F is a two-seat combat- capable fighter. This aircraft has an upward opening canopy, which is hinged at the rear. The design places particular emphasis on manoeuvrability rather than high speed, notably by the incorporation of manoeuvring flaps. Full-span leading-edge flaps work in conjunction with trailing-edge flaps and are operated by a control on the pilot's throttle quadrant. The F-5 also has anti-skid brakes, initial navigation system (INS), ALR-87 Radar Warning Receivers (RWR), AN/APQ-159 radar and ALE-40 chaff/flare capability.
The F-5F is a dual-seat version, twin-engine, tactical fighter commonly used for training and adversary combat tactics. The aircraft serves in an aggressor-training role with simulation capability of current threat aircraft in fighter combat mode.

ROCAF (Taiwan Air Force) Northrop F-5E 5272 TT&DC and F-5F 5392 taking off from Taitung Air Base (RCQS) at the east coast of Taiwan

The Subject - the F-5E & F-5F in ROCAF service:
The ROCAF received its first batch of seven F-5As and two F-5Bs under the U.S. Military Assistance Program in 1965. By 1971, the ROCAF was operating 72 F-5As and 11 F-5Bs. During 1972, the U.S. borrowed 48 ROCAF F-5As to lend to the Republic of Vietnam Air Force before the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam. By 1973, most of those loaned F-5As were not in flying condition, thus the U.S. opted to return 20 F-5As to Taiwan by drawing nine F-5As from U.S. reserves while repairing 11 from South Vietnam. An additional 28 new F-5Es were issued to Taiwan by May 1975. By 1973, Taiwan’s AIDC started local production of a first batch of 100 F-5Es, the first of six Peace Tiger production batches. By end of 1986 when the production line closed after completing Peace Tiger 6, the AIDC had produced 242 F-5Es and 66 F-5Fs. Taiwan was the largest operator of the type at one time, having 336 F-5E/Fs in inventory.

Both single & twin seat F-5's of the ROCAF on take off...
The only air combat actions ROCAF F-5E/F pilots saw were not over Taiwan, but in North Yemen. In 1979, a flareup between North Yemen and South Yemen prompted the U.S. to sell 14 F-5E/Fs to North Yemen to boost its air defence. Since no one in North Yemen knew how to fly the F-5E/F (only MiG-15s were operational at the time), U.S. and Saudi Arabia arranged to have 80+ ROCAF F-5E pilots plus ground crew and anti-air defence units sent to North Yemen as part of North Yemen Air Force’s 115th Squadron at Sana‘a operating initially just six F-5E/Fs. An additional eight aircraft were operated from April 1979 to May 1990. The ROCAF piloted F-5E/F scored a few kills in a few air battles, but the ground early warning radar crews and anti-air units also suffered from air attacks from South Yemen, whose aircraft were piloted by Soviet crews.

Taitung Zhi-Hang Air Force Base currently has one F-5E and two F-5Fs painted with tiger stripes as a special livery.
Taiwan has decided to phase out all 46 of its ageing F-5 fighter jets in four years’ time, days after a crash that killed one of its pilots. The warplanes will be replaced in 2024 by the domestically produced Yung Yin (Brave Eagle) advanced trainer jets,

The kits: F-5E & F-5F ROCAF kits in 1/32nd scale from Storm Factory
These two kits follow-on from the first two US -centric F-5s from Storm Factory we looked at a few months ago. These are much more Taiwanese -centric in their marking choices - although one could pick these up and apply most F-5 user-countries liveries to them.  We have a look at the features of both kits now.

F-5E Tiger II ROCAF 7th FTW Top Gun (Limited Edition Ver.)
by Storm Factory
Kit No #32001
1/32nd scale
Plastic kit with photo-etch & first edition resin engines.
Eight marking choices inside the box
June Release
There are eight marking choices for this kit. These include Taiwan's F-5E aircraft in the earlier SEAC camouflages, and several in the South Korean "Aggressor"  school.
Included in this kit are several weapons, with the A & B Sidewinders, Mk84 Iron Bombs, Mk-20 Rockeye's plus 150 and 275 gallon fuel tanks. Stencils are included on the decal sheet for weaponry too! 
The sprue layout very similar (but not the same) as the KH kit, and the photo etch included in this kit.
For the first batch of kits their will be a bonus 3D printed exhaust nozzles included.


F-5E/F Tiger II Two-Seat, Trainer Fighter Aircraft, ROCAF 40th Anniversary of 7th FTW (Limited Edition Ver.)
by Storm Factory
Kit No #32006
1/32nd scale
Plastic kit with photo-etch & first edition resin engines.
Three marking choices inside the box
June Release
There are three striking marking choices for this kit. These include the ROCAF F-5E/F's from the 40th Anniversary of the 7th FTW at Taitung Zhi-Hang Air Base. All have the attractive tiger stripes all over the fuselage and tail especially.

So you can make either the one or the two-seater out of this kit!
Even though this is a trainer, these kites still carried weapons - in this kit are several, with the A & B Sidewinders, Mk84 Iron Bombs, Mk-20 Rockeye's plus 150 and 275 gallon fuel tanks. Stencils are included on the decal sheet for weaponry too! 
The sprue layout very similar (but not the same) as the KH kit, and the photo etch included in this kit.
Again, the first batch of kits their will be a bonus 3D printed exhaust nozzles included.

No website for Storm Model just yet, but follow the links to see more at Hobbylink Japan.