OSCAR EW-5898 Phallus-E

[JayBee]

Well the thinking for this started quite a long time before the start date for this GB but work did not start until the 2nd. June, and the pace since then (for me) has meteoric. Yes there were a couple of times I was overtaken by striking snails and once by a glacier!

The kit used is the Special Hobby Folland Gnat F1 "British Single Seaters".
Markings in the kit are all genuine markings that have been worn by single seat Gnats.
Well, not really. The Oscar EW-5894 Phallus, that appears in the opening scenes from "Hot Shots" is in truth a HAL Ajeet, but it these markings I shall be using.

Having already started on another of these kits, see http://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php/topic,41732.0.html , I decided to increase the space for nose weight by adding a circular bulkhead at the front of the cockpit tub.





The next step was that I decided to fit the slipper tanks from the Airfix Gnat onto the F1 kit.
First problem, as the chord of the F1's wing is less than the trainer's the tanks would not fit in that they were too long from the leading edge of the wing to the control surfaces and were fouling them. So cut a bit out of the tanks aft of the wing leading edge.
You know how it is, you have decided what you are going to achieve come He11 or high water.





Well it did work, I am glad to say, and the end result was this :






This is how she looks after a coat of primer.








Hopefully finished photos, and backstory, will follow in a few days.

[Tophe]

Good start

[Captain Canada]

Nice start. Sure looks good all gray anyway !

[JayBee]

OSCAR EW-5898 Phallus-E

Many people will have seen the famous docu-drama "Hot Shots" which shows the life and times of fighter pilots "in The Navy".

In the early scenes of that program you see examples of both the original Phallus-A as well as the later, slightly enlarged, Phallus-B, all ranged, and maneuvering on deck.
The subsequent flying scenes are all concerned with the Phallus-B.

What many people are not aware of is the continuing development that the design underwent.

The Phallus C&D were developmental versions which investigated various design developments, power, endurance, weapons systems, and most of all the vertical landing capability that you see in the program.

The Phallus-E, which incorporated many improvements, was first deployed on the USS Essess in 1992 while she was still in the Eastern Mediteranean.
One of the first pilots to fly this version in combat was "Topper" Harley who featured in the original program.


With it's increased internal fuel tankage it was able to carry a lot more fuel (the slipper tanks were droppable in flight and were stressed to actually carry another tank slung underneath) so it could stay up a lot longer, The up-rated engine gave it a lot more thrust. While the addition of the missile capability meant that it could shoot a much bigger load.


































Those with a crude mentality (i.e. the deck/ground crew) reckoned that with it's ability to stay up longer, with more thrust, and able to shoot a much bigger load, the E should stand for ERECTUS, and they nicknamed the aircraft the "Big Phallus" or "The Big Yin".


Then there are those of a more cynical mental set, who believe that it does not exist at all, and that the Phallus-E is nothing more than a ...............

FALLACY

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[Captain Canada]

lol funny stuff ! I hadn't put 2 and 2 together until the end there, d'oh ! Looks great. Beefier somehow ?

[Martin H]

Nice one Jim.
The model looks good and the back story is up there at your normal high quality.

[PR19_Kit]

Superb stuff Jim, one of your very best. 

[NARSES2]

  Nice one Jim 

[TheChronicOne]

LOL!!  This is so awesome! You tied it all together perfectly.