Armstrong Whitworth Aw169

[van883]

Fantastic build,  Geoff. I don't know where to start when it comes to scratch building. Perhaps I should just dive in one day.

Van

[Thorvic]

Here it is after a bit of priming and defect fixing







And one of the next one to be completed  



G

[cthulhu77]

Sleek and Sexy !  Nice stuff !  Love the lines on that bomber...

[Thorvic]

Fantastic build,  Geoff. I don't know where to start when it comes to scratch building. Perhaps I should just dive in one day.

Van

Van if you can do a vacform you get a better feel for the fact that models are just shapes. Scratch building is just the next step by creating your own shapes.

The key factors are enthusiasm and research !!. You need to have scale drawings to know what your are trying to recreate, pictures to try and get the shape & feel and the enthusiasm to stick with it to the end.

Start by scratch building parts beofre working up to the full job.

G

[Mossie]

Great, AFVG as well!  Have you modified a Tonka kit for this one?  I looked at doing this one myself, worked out it'd need a fair bit more work than I first thought.

[Brian da Basher]

Yowsa what an incredible, amazing wonderful feat of modelling, Geoff! These birds have such a sexy shape! I can't wait to see your next progress update!

Brian da Basher

[Gary]

drool...


wow, I simply can't do that. I am in awe.

[Thorvic]

Great, AFVG as well!  Have you modified a Tonka kit for this one?  I looked at doing this one myself, worked out it'd need a fair bit more work than I first thought.

Mossie

Yeap the AFVG is from an Airfix GR4, Yeap crap as a Tornado except for GR4 parts donor for the Revel GR1. However if you remove about 4-5mm from the centre line top and bottom you get a better starting poistion for the AFVG and similar aircraft. Fwd fuselage is from a cheap Su-21, intakes from the Mirage 2000 and lots of plastic card and milliput to blend it altogether to create the basice AFVG shape. The canopy is really a mix and match concoction, trimmed and reshaped to fit.

Joe has cloned this with the canopy in place so hopefully somebody might encourage him to dremel out the cockpit and do a production version rather than display model

Cheers

Geoff

[ysi_maniac]

This is what I call "Plastic Surgery"  

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Once more he creates sex-with-wings and is sooooooo modest about it !

Ian

[B777LR]

And one of the next one to be completed  



G

Is that the swing wing mirage fighter that never passed prototype stage?

[Mossie]

No that was Mirage G, Dassault's own aircraft.



AFVG (Anglo French Variable Geometry) was a different design, although very similar in looks & capability to Mirage G.  The French & the British realised in the sixties that they both needed a multi role aircraft to replace aging types, Britain especially, after the cancellation of TSR.2 then the F-111K.  They started collaborating on a design, although strangely, Dassault started design of it's very similar Mirage G at a similar time & were actively hostile to AFVG.  It wasn't a surprise when France pulled out (& eventually cancelled their own Mirage G) & Britain went ahead with it's own dedicated variant, UKVG.  Several other nations were very interested in the aircraft including Germany, Italy, The Netherlands & Canada.  The Netherlands & Canada pulled out at an early stage, leaving the partner nations of Panavia & Tornado was born.

To sum up, AFVG was the first major design in the line that eventually became Tornado.  You can see it in AFVG's lines, it looks very like a short Tornado ADV.

Geoff, yeah, that Airfix GR.4 is a bit of dog isn't it, I've got the same kit (luckily got it for free on joining the old Aifix Classic Club!).  Like you say, the GR.4 sprue is good thought & provides for a lot of modern RAF weapons, almost worth buying the kit for on it's own.  My approach would have been to keep the Tornado forward fuselage & use an ADV nose.  Hadn't thought about trimming the fuse down though, does make a big difference.

[Thorvic]

Hi Mossie

Yeap the Tornaodo is way to wide for the AFVG, it also very boxy which didn't lend it self to the AFVG. The Airfix F-3 however can be used as a basis for the UKVG as its was a dedicated strike aircraft after the cancellation of F-111K and the withdrawal of the French from the AFVG (The AFVG was also supposed to be swing role as well with initially Carrier/Land based interceptors and strike aircraft).

UKVG however proved to be unaffordable on its own (as the money had gone into first TSR2, F-111K and AFVG). The creation of Panavia was a really big compromise as whilst we wanted a UKVG strike aircraft, Germany & Italy both wanted a G-91 replacement in the light strike fighter role (kinda what the Jaguar became !!!). The Tornado therfore is a bit of cockup really as its the smallest design to do the job due to the german restrictions on cost and size There were to be 3 different Panavias - 100 Single seat VG strike fighter, 200 two seat strike fighter and the 300 two seat VG dedicated strike aircraft (from what i recall). In the end costs dicated on concentrating only on the mid design to appease all members and please none of them. (i think the 300 concept was to be based around the UKVG specs).

BTW look at the BAC 583 as more the origin of the Tornado, as the 583 evolved from the Vickers VG designs evolved from Barnes Wallis's swallow concepts.

G

[ysi_maniac]

Hi Thorvic,

I am very interested on Panavia 100 and 300. Where can I find more information?
Do not hesitate to PM me, if you prefer.

Thanks,
Carlos.

[Spey_Phantom]

those are some verry n ice looking planes, cant wait to see them finished