Gloster Meteor UAV

[Daryl J.]

The prerequisite sprue shots and box taken on my iSight camera which is both bad and mirror image.   Assembly of kit to follow with no pre-painting apart from the silver shot on about a year ago so no airframe assembly pix until the good stuff begins at the end of assembly.....this build won't begin with the cockpit, it will finish with the E-Bay where the cockpit used to be.

A Meteor F.8 would be preferred as a starting point but didn't want to sink a fortune into this project.   The kit being on sale was about $16.00US + shipping out of Japan. 

The plan: Changing the role of the aircraft to that of electronic surveillance and pilotless, and of course new-build airframes.   Various backstories are being considered and am thinking of putting it in Scottish colors under the charge of Scotland Yard as a police aircraft protecting the locals from the many break ins at the Scottish distilleries by roving international gangs of 'Morality Police'.   Another is that of late Cold War coastal patrol by the RAF to monitor Soviet submarine movements used in conjunction with the Nimrod albeit on a much reduced range and capability.    Another being that of aerial mapping much like the US Dept of Agriculture monitors all farmland production with spy photography (yes, they do that....we'd get the pictures every year..... ), but conducted with digital sensors rather than film photography.   Again under RAF command.   

Irrespective of backstory, the overall air frame is to be a satin white, gloss & matte black sensors and transmitters, and hi viz markings with no canopy/cockpit.   

Being done as the ARC What-if GB.  Apophenia's CF-100 UAV is the inspiration.


Piccies:








Edit 28Feb09:

Tail prepped for 'metalizing'


Gun ports filled with Magic Sculpt:



Thunderjet is another project getting a squared off tail and SEA USAF markings.......more later on that glacial paced build but here's a preliminary sketch.  Build to get it's own thread at the appropriate time.







Daryl J.

[Edit]  Photos changed to something shot with a camera better than the one in my computer screen
[Edit 28Feb09]  Preliminary painting done getting things ready for initial assembly.   

[GTX]

Watching this one closely.

Regards,

Greg

[jcf]

How about adding a longer nose like that used on the U.16 and U.21 drone conversions?



BTW there was also an unmanned/drone conversion of the Canberra, the U.10.

Jon

[Daryl J.]

Am thinking of clipping the wing tips and adding surveillance pods in that location.

Why did Meteors get their wing tips shortened originally?



TIA,
Daryl J.

[kitnut617]

IIRC it was to improve roll

[Just call me Ray]

How about adding a longer nose like that used on the U.16 and U.21 drone conversions?


BTW there was also an unmanned/drone conversion of the Canberra, the U.10.

Jon

Wow, wasn't aware of that before. Why the long nose, and do you have operational histories?

[kitnut617]

A very good book to get about Meteors is the Aerofax volume called Gloster Meteor-Britain's Celebrated First-Generation Jet written bu Phil Butler & Tony Buttler.  ISBN 1-85780-230-6

[jcf]

Hi Ray,
the lengthened nose held the bulk of the electronics for the remote piloting system.
I have the book The Gloster Meteor, Edward Shacklady, Doubleday edition1963,
which has a complete list of serials for conversions produced through July 1962,
the list includes notes on each of those aircraft.

The final drone conversion was made in 1972, and there were still U.16s in service as late as the early 90s.
Warpaint No.22, Gloster Meteor by Tony Buttler includes a profile of a U.16 at Llanbedr circa 1993.
Are you looking for anything in particular?

Jon