Strike ekranoplan 903 Łuń (Dove) class.

[strk]

Hi all.

As promised to user Foxbat, I would like to present my very last project:

strike ekranoplan 903 Łuń (Dove) class, scale 1:200


If You ask some group of people, what is an ekranoplan, 98.5% will say "i don't know, I have never heard such a word". 1% will say "maybe You mean an aeroplane?". Only 0.5% will say "I know, it's also called WIG craf, it seems to me that Russians made something like that"...

That is why I decided to design and build a model of one of the most extraordinary (and armed) water(?) craft ever seen.

I encourage You to do some research in www, esp. at Youtube: keyword "ekranoplan" - few awesome movies showing those sea monsters in action.

As a navy-fan, shiplover and paper-modeler I prefer scale 1:200 - as a compromise between ease of build, detail level, size, and paper quantity required for build.

I started from this drawing:



and few pics found on the web, with help of my friend Agnius (thx for support in this project). Due to lack of detailed blueprints, this project is simplified:



Paper ekranoplan is designed as a modular construction (which is the most innovative conception in designing paper models, used by me in my Nansen class project, and by other designers in Poland) - modeler can build separated modules and, in one final move, put them together using joints (i.e. toothpicks ) and a bit of glue.

After completing most of elements in digital environment (Rhino) I started test build:

Jet engines:





Aft section and rudder. Here You can see the mounting points:







Bow section with jet engines mounted:





Midships with left wing. Those two pictures shows my "wing rapid mounting system":D





With all main sections completed, I glued them together:







All what left is to cut-off ASMs boxes and radar domes. As You can see, nose tip is missed (still in tests), exhaust deflectors too(right below ASM boxes, visible at first picture).

regards and:

sorry for my poor english. :D

storky.

[Retired_for_now]

Storky,
Your English is fine - very nice work on a unique type of aircraft.

Yogi

[Alcides]

Sweet !!! Very nice work. Someone had to make a model for this ship.

[papermodelfan]

This is wonderful, Storky. I have long wished for a model of at least one of the remarkable Ekranoplans - they are like science fiction craft to me. Hope that you will consider adding this to the download section of this forum.

Your English comes across loud and clear. No worries. But what are the ASM boxes? Are those the cylinders mounted on a slant on the back of the craft? Are they engines or rockets or something else? Rob Tauxe, Atlanta

[Stev0]

Great design. I really like how you got the fuselage to shape up nicely.

[strk]

Originally Posted by papermodelfan

But what are the ASM boxes? Are those the cylinders mounted on a slant on the back of the craft?

Your're right. ASM stands for AntiShipMissile. Boxes - for they're only containers, and not typical GMLSs like Mk-26 or Mk-13.

[Wyvern]

Wonderful work on a fascinating subject! Will you be offering it for sale, perhaps at eCardmodels?

Wyvern

[SCEtoAUX]

Those were some big aircraft. I saw a show on TV about those a few years back.

Here is a simple toy you can make that uses wing-in-surface-effect.
WISE craft
:D

[member_3]

Some of these were big birds. I recall someone posting the Google Earth coordinates for the "mothball" facility on the western shore of the Black Sea. Very impressive, even from a couple hundred miles up! Now let's see...to convert to 1:33 I would enlarge by 606%, correct?

[Zathros]

Originally Posted by SCEtoAUX

Those were some big aircraft. I saw a show on TV about those a few years back.

Here is a simple toy you can make that uses wing-in-surface-effect.
WISE craft
:D

There are a couple here in the "download" section that actually work (not to toot my own horn). The "Wise" is a slug.

@STRK. You model is fantastic. You made the build up seem so easy. Rhino is a great program for doing these type of builds. I am working on the A90 Orlyonok, which is what the Soviets were just about to produce before they went belly up. It would be great if Russia picked up the project. They are awesome ships. I e-mailed the company that was responsible for these crafts in Russia and they e-mailed me back a very courteous letter. I asked them what was the service ceiling on the A-90, if it was able of flight out of ground effect, the engineer stated they could go up to 3000 meters ( 9000 Feet) with all engines running. Many have disputed this and I don't know if I believe it but a ship that size that could not get out of ground effect would be in danger in rough sea states. Many have opinions about these ships, I think they are things of beauty. I have designed a couple of "toy" Ekranoplans. They are in the "download section", under "Penny Ekranoplans", that work with a little tweaking, using a rubber band to launch off the floor, they will fly in ground effect for ridiculously long distances.

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/d...do=file&id=112