Undoubtedly one of the most spectacular products of the post-war British aviation industry, the distinctive Fairey Rotodyne was a revolutionary large compound gyroplane which held great promise for both worldwide inter-city medium air transportation, in addition to possessing numerous military applications during the late 1950s.
The impressive looking Rotodyne featured jet powered main rotor tips which operated during vertical take-off and landing, hovering and transitioning to forward flight, before a pair of Napier Eland turboprops were engaged for forward flight.
Despite successfully completing over 350 test flights, just a single prototype aircraft would be built, before the withdrawal of government funding tragically consigned the Fairey Rotodyne to the aviation history books.

However, in this timeline, the Rotodyne entered service with the military.  The Royal Navy used them for several roles, including Carrier Onboard Delivery (COD).
The COD.1 was a purely cargo carrier, so the windows were deleted.  The COD.2 had a dual capacity to carry cargo and passengers, so had the windows installed.

This is the Airfix Classic Range 1/72 Rotodyne.  I sanded off the rivets and filled the windows.  I added a weather radar to the nose out of an old drop tank, and wingtip tanks for extra range

20240426_135800 by Paul Carter, on Flickr

20240426_135757 by Paul Carter, on Flickr

20240426_135803 by Paul Carter, on Flickr

20240426_135845 by Paul Carter, on Flickr

20240426_135812 by Paul Carter, on Flickr

20240426_135825 by Paul Carter, on Flickr

Most impressive, and a very logical development.

Really does suit that colour scheme   

Very plausible and nicely done too. 

Awesome!!
I can't help thinking five bladed props and a five or six bladed rotor would look even more cool. This looks cool and plausible right now.

Seems like a no brainer, but then, no one ever accused any government Ministry of being populated by people with brains. Looks great!

Quote from: kerick on April 26, 2024, 07:29:39 AMI can't help thinking five bladed props and a five or six bladed rotor would look even more cool. This looks cool and plausible right now.

         

That is one beautiful bit of work.   

Quote from: PR19_Kit on April 26, 2024, 08:12:19 AM

Quote from: kerick on April 26, 2024, 07:29:39 AMI can't help thinking five bladed props and a five or six bladed rotor would look even more cool. This looks cool and plausible right now.

         

Where is the thread on this?

A 'skycrane' version?! I was thinking of that idea just yesterday! Beautifully done.   

Quote from: kerick on April 26, 2024, 12:16:38 PMWhere is the thread on this?

It's here, but it goes on a bit as there's 15 pages of it. 

https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=45475.0

I can imagine that the Skycrane variant would have been onboard the SS Atlantic Conveyor during Operation Corporate instead of the Chinooks

Quote from: Leading Observer on April 26, 2024, 02:16:41 PMI can imagine that the Skycrane variant would have been onboard the SS Atlantic Conveyor during Operation Corporate instead of the Chinooks

That's exactly what the backstory says. 

I'm jealous that Kit got to see (and hear!) it! 

Quote from: kerick on April 26, 2024, 12:16:38 PM

Quote from: PR19_Kit on April 26, 2024, 08:12:19 AM

Quote from: kerick on April 26, 2024, 07:29:39 AMI can't help thinking five bladed props and a five or six bladed rotor would look even more cool. This looks cool and plausible right now.

         

Where is the thread on this?

Now this has me thinking of the MH-53 kit I have sitting around doing nothing in particular.......