Shipbucket

Thanks for that, I've just had a quick look - what a strange looking plane.

Well you learn something new everyday. It's nice to see you've done some research and that your AU is based on some true geography rather than just randomly expanding an existing country. I shall follow your 'super kiwi' AU with great interest, I'm sure you're ready to start a thread in the AU designs forum. It would be great to do a joint project or some close cooperation between the AU commonwealth nations.

I don't consider my drawings (or AU for that matter) anywhere near the same level of some others on here, so I shall take that as a great compliment, thank you very much.

-James.

Glad that helped
I appreciate your comments and interest in my au very much! Its always great to get positive feedback as I am still beginner:) . I'm not sure if I am quite ready to start in the AU forum until I post a completely own drawn design but I appreciate such a complement
I would be very interested in cooperation between the AU commonwealth nations, it sounds like a great idea and I was thinking about it a little myself actually.
(P.S. to those of you who are GIMP users, do you mind telling me what font you use, thank you in advance)

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Projects:
Zealandia AU
John Company AU
References and feedback is always welcome!

Back for the first time in a while with a drawing of some sorts. Thanx to DP for permission to use his great F-20s.
Mainstay of the Zealandic (or Zealandian whichever sounds best) Air Force from 1985 to 2014
Hopefully my paint schemes didn't desecrate DP's work

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Projects:
Zealandia AU
John Company AU
References and feedback is always welcome!

The schemes looks ine to me though why anyone would choose the Tigershark over say the similarly priced F-16 is beyond me.

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“Close” only counts with horseshoes, hand grenades, and tactical nuclear weapons.
That which does not kill me has made a grave tactical error

Worklist

Source Materiel is always welcome.

There was a short period of time where the Tighershark offered Sparrow capability by 1983 and the F-16 didn't until the Block 15 ADF if 1989. Past that minor advantage I guess because it was slightly more reliable and cheaper to maintain and cause its boring to use the F-16 in an AU kinda haha. Its kinda like in the Balearic AU, the F-16 is better than the Jaguar but its an AU so why not.

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Projects:
Zealandia AU
John Company AU
References and feedback is always welcome!

True, but then the question becomes why stop there? Why not go wild and go for the Vought V-1100 or the Lockheed CL-1200 or 1400?
That way you get an "exotic" aircraft rather than the last gasp of an ageing airframe.

_________________
“Close” only counts with horseshoes, hand grenades, and tactical nuclear weapons.
That which does not kill me has made a grave tactical error

Worklist

Source Materiel is always welcome.

Hmmm, thats a good point, infact I have considered drawing the V-1100 and have gathered material for it so maybe I'll go that route or draw the IAI Lavi and use the F-20 as a current AU "stopgap" or fill in. For the CL-1200 I feel that plane is a bit of a stretch and I don't really see why anyone would buy a drastically upgraded F-104 when that plane's reputation wasn't exactly great and when brand new designs offered similar performance for about the same cost (if only a bit more). Thats a bit beside your point though, so my basic defense for the F-20 is that of all the F-16 fill-in options its one of the most plausible as it got so close to entering service and I feel that since at this time Zealandia is operating the buccaneer for attack, all they needed is a relatively cheap sparrow capable interceptor, and with the F-16 not promising that capability (it was only added for national guard use initially) the F-20 was the quickest to produce and cheapest option.
Another way to go is to scrap the Buccaneer and F-20 and go F-4 I guess

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Projects:
Zealandia AU
John Company AU
References and feedback is always welcome!

Nice camouflages.

@Thiel
Point in chosing F-20 rather than V-1100 or something like that (in this or in any other AU) maybe be wanting to have something different from "usual stuff", but not "too different".
And You can be glad, that You haven't seen my "private" (not for SB) concepts of a Cold War AU and some of my equipment and force level choices. (Things generally based on real-life force levels and/or actual plans, with particular elements basically reasonable in itself, but together making - let's face it - completely unreasonable mix )

Yeah exactly eswube thats exactly what it it's thanks. I'd love to see that au one day if u would ever be interested in showing it to others though I would understand if u wanted to keep it private.
Anyways I hope to add the Carribou, Hawk 100, and other planes soon.

_________________
Projects:
Zealandia AU
John Company AU
References and feedback is always welcome!

It's not about "keeping it private". It's just that I'm doing it (well, "thinking of it" would be better description) for personal amusement. Besides, I suppose that the more economically-optimistic this AU becomes, the more people would find it preposterous.
It started quite modestly, with Cold War going beyond 1989 and European countries having their forces more or less within CFE Treaty levels, then I decided that with keeping pre-CFE levels would be more fun, and now it's pure fun (Royal Navy today with some dozen flattops like it had in 1950s? Why not? Some 40 nuclear-armed countries? Well, of course! Fulfilling Shah's dreams of Imperial Iranian Navy with 3 Invincibles and 6 Kidds? Certainly!...)