Boeing XEC-97 & Stratoseeker AEW2

[JayBee]

In 1945 the Boeing Aircraft Corporation proposed to the British Air Staff a version of the C-97 Transport configured as an airborne radar platform.
To prove this concept the third XC-97 airframe was used as a flying testbed, and was designated as the XEC-97.
The aircraft retained it's US Military serial number but was painted in RAF markings.

After many years as a Boeing test bed  it was finally broken up as scrap.












After the RAF had ordered the Boeing EC-97, it went into service as the Stratoseeker AEW1.
It served for many years in this role until eventually retiring when the Boeing E-3 Watchman came into service.

This model depicts it in it's final form in the last operational flight of the type patrolling the Iceland gap. In the colours of 8 Squadron RAF. This was the final colour scheme (of many) worn by the type.













The inspiration for both these models came from two highly inspirational books by Chris Gibson. Battle Flight and The Air Staff and AEW.
Having seen the artists impression and the drawings I was determined to do this conversion. Then along came Freightdog models with a resin conversion set in 1/144. Fantastic! Only a true lunatic would attempt this in any larger scale. OK, so Martin did do it in 1/72 but then should tell you something about OGL!!!!!!!!.

To the builds.
The Stratoseeker (and I give full acknowledgement to Mike McEvoy for that name) was built essentially OOB with the Freightdog conversion thrown at it.
The markings come from the CMR kit of the 1/144 Shackleton and many thanks to Martin of CMR for supplying me with the transfer sheet for that model.  No problems here.

The XEC-97. Well as the artists impression, and the drawings, showed it with B-29 engines and wings I was determined to go down that route. So cross kit the Minicraft B-29 and C-97.
This turned out to be a bad idea as the two kits have no common ancestry. The B-29 being the old Crown kit, and the C-97 being a new mould. Other than the fact they are to the same scale and are pretty accurate they have no commonality at all. This did cause a problem in this build.

The XEC-97 had to have the B-29 style fin/rudder, this was not a great problem.

This photo shows how the difference looks in the final models.





This photo shows the two profiles side by side.





Then there are the wings.
My first thoughts had been a straight swap. No chance!!
The B-29 wings join to stubs that come out of the fuselage.
The C-97 wings fit into holes in the fuselage.
Two problems here.
Doing that with the B-29 wings would bring the engines too close to the fuselage,
AND...
the wings do not have the same aerofoil section.

This was overcome by using plasticard to build out the holes in the C-97 fuselage, and then a fair bit of PSR.
Her is the result.





Finally, anyone wanting to upgrade the Crown/Minicraft B-29. Here is what you have to do to the fin/rudder to make it more accurate.

[Martin H]

Only a true lunatic would attempt this in any larger scale. OK, so Martin did do it in 1/72 but then should tell you something about OGL!!!!!!!!.

Ohhhhhhh I've finally been promoted to to the exulted level of Lunatic 

[sandiego89]

Nice surgery skills, especially with those rather poor minicraft kits.  They are pretty basic kits.  

So what size dish in the nose?    

[JayBee]

Only a true lunatic would attempt this in any larger scale. OK, so Martin did do it in 1/72 but then should tell you something about OGL!!!!!!!!.

Ohhhhhhh I've finally been promoted to to the exulted level of Lunatic 

Just making public knowledge what was already known by a number of us. 

[PR19_Kit]

BRILLIANT job on both of those JayBee, they both look great. 

[sturmvogel]

This is probably the most fugly aircraft I have ever seen here on the site, but it has a beauty to the pug-like radome and various other bits attached. Great work!

[Devilfish]

Wow, that's an amazing pair of aircraft there.  I've never seen them before.  One thing tho, I wouldn't want to be sat in that cockpit with a huge radar dish blatting RF out behind my head....

[TallEng]

Lovely job, of what could have been one the most ugly aircraft of all
I do wonder though how the Pilots would have seen to taxi and take off
Forward vision looks to be a bit limited.

Regards
Keith

[JayBee]

So what size dish in the nose?    

According to Chris Gibson the nose antenna was 15ft X 7ft 6ins (4.6M X 2.3M).

[NARSES2]

Wonderfull Jim, especially the 8 Sqd aircraft 

[Captain Canada]

Great stuff ! Glad you posted all the differences in the two aeroplanes, and all the work that went into it ! At first I thought it was the same kit with diferent paint jobs ( even pondering if you just repainted it to make it look like two  )

I really like the grey one....looks fab. I'd like to see a photo of the two of them together.

[Weaver]

Those look great - well done! 

[Hobbes]

Agreed, they look great, even more so in the flesh. I like the subtle difference between the fuselage and the radomes on the AEW1, going from gloss to matt in the same color. I'll have to try that sometime.

[JayBee]

I like the subtle difference between the fuselage and the radomes on the AEW1, going from gloss to matt in the same color.

It is actually from Satin to Matt. I avoid gloss whenever I can>

Jim

[Hman]

Love em