1/72 Armstrong-Whitworth Ascot

[Brian da Basher]

In 1927, the R.A.F. wanted a replacement for its aging bomber fleet of Vickers Virginias and sought a new twin-engined night bomber to fulfill specification B.19/27. Fairey, Handley-Page and the Armstrong-Whitworth Co. all submitted designs and all three firms were requested to build prototypes for testing. The lead designer at Armstrong-Whitworth, Geoff Notlob had created design N.B. 4 and the brilliance of Mr. Notlob's concept was not lost on the officials at the R.A.F. The N.B. 4 had such forward-thinking features as a fully-enclosed cockpit for the pilot, navigator and radio operator as well as extensive nose glazing for the bombardier and a dorsal gun turret. The N.B. 4 was armed with two .303 Vickers "L" guns and with its powerful Irish-built "Pair-O'Green" engines was able to carry a substantial bombload. The icing on the cake however was its amazingly streamlined and sexy spats which were lauded far and wide by the Daily Mail's aviation writer, Brian McBasher.

The R.A.F. was impressed but wary of a design with such modern features and instead chose the Fairey and Handley-Page proposals for production. Fortunately for the Armstrong-Whitworth Co., the Fairey workers were unable to produce their Hendons in a timely manner owing to a terrible Bovril shortage which left the Fairey workforce sluggish and unmotivated. The R.A.F. immediately ordered the N.B. 4 into production as a stop-gap christening it the Armstrong-Whitworth Ascot. The Ascot entered service with No. 38 squadron at RAF Mildenhall in late 1931. Its most famous mission was dropping leaflets on German troops who re-occupied the Rhineland in 1936 forcing Herr Hitler to re-think things and withdraw his army back to Germany.

The Ascot in these pictures is shown during tests at Martlesham Heath in early 1931 when it carried an inert 2,500 lb. bomb. Ascots served until 1939 when they were withdrawn from front-line service and used as trainers and target tugs. The sole-surviving Ascot is currently on display at the Imperial War Museum.

1st of 6 pics.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

The base kit for this was the Eastern Express Vickers Vimy which is a bit of a rough offering. I've always been fascinated by the British night bombers of the early 1930's and wondered what a competitor to the Hendon and Heyford might be like. I had some spare drop-tanks to fashion engines from and the nose-glazing from a Ju-86 and some very cool 1/48 scale spats Glenn sent me all the way from Oz to start with...

2nd of 6 pics.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

I did a little re-working of the Vimy's original rudder and rounded it to fit better with a more modern aircraft. I also swiped the horizontal stabilizer from a 1/48 Willow Mr Howling Mouse sent me as I didn't want my Ascot to have the Vimy's biplane tail. Then I went and cut two more holes in the upper fuselage for a navigator and radio operator. The Vimy's original nose-gun/bombardier postion had already been amputated as I had other plans for this kit before I decided on the Ascot concept. With a bit of sanding of the fuse, the Ju-86 nose glazing was a fine fit. I made the dorsal gun turret from part of an old clear plastic box for cookies and scratched the canopy and windscreen from an old blister pack AAA batteries came in. The fairing with the antenna is a quarter of a drop-tank from a Corsair.

3rd of 6 pics.

Brian da Basher

[Maverick]

Egads Brian, she looks brilliant.       Quite suitably RAF inter-war!!  

Mav

[Brian da Basher]

The machine guns, bomb and propellors were from my spares box. I used the tip of the drop-tanks I built the engines from as prop spinners The exhausts are struts from the Vimy kit. Originally, I'd used smaller drop-tanks from a 1/144 B-47 for the engines, but they just didn't look right. Fortunately, the chin scoops I'd made for the too-small engines looked fine on the new larger ones.

4th of 6 pics.

Brian da Basher

[Ian the Kiwi Herder]

Ooooohhh look, Dick Dastardly, Muttley and those other two have got a new ride !

I luv this, BdaB.... your imagination never fails to please/astonish !

Ian

[Brian da Basher]

The entire model was brush-painted by hand with acrylics. I've always found the elusive color N.I.V.O. (Night Invisible Varnish Orfordness) fascinating and I owe Thorvic many thanks for his assistance in my research. I discovered that there's a lot of debate about what N.I.V.O. actually looked like, from a grayish-blue to a dark, almost black grayish-green. I opted for the green approach. I used artists' acrylics to custom mix the N.I.V.O. I found that I could mix up the color in an old paint bottle and so far it's managed to keep very nicely, although I've now got what amounts to a life-time supply of the shade. I wasn't sure what color inert R.A.F. "test bombs" would be so I used red as it seemed to look nice against the dark grayish-green. Here's a shot that shows off the test bomb.

5th of 6 pics.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

I did a lot of research into R.A.F. bomber markings in the 1930's and I've got to admit that what I chose for this build isn't very accurate. I tried a few of my blue and red roundels and even went so far as to re-paint the blue part with a brighter shade but no mater what, the blue in the roundels was lost against my N.I.V.O. I finally decided to use some markings left over from a Sopwith Camel as the thin white outlines helped the roundels to be more visible. The fin flashes were from my decal stash and were trimmed to fit. I had a great time on this project and I hope you enjoy looking at it.

Last of 6 pics.

Brian da Basher

[Glenn Gilbertson]

What a brilliant kit bash - almost believable!
 

[Chap]

I'm speechless Brian, beautiful work!    

~Steve

[frank2056]

That's fantastic, especially considering the donor kit. Those are mighty big spats, Brian!

[Brian da Basher]

"Are those big spats or are you just happy to see me?"

I'm thrilled you guys like the Ascot.

Did I mention that I love spats?

Brian da Basher

[Rafael]

Sorry, guys. I didn't post earlier because I was very busy giving Brian and his model a standing ovation. (By the way, where's the applauding emoticon when one needs it?)

Brilliant execution, and knowing Brian, I can almost taste how much fun he had building this little beast  


Rafa

[BlackOps]

A whole squadron of these babies overhead would sure be a sight! Very cool Brian.

[The Rat]

OH BLOODY 'ELL HE'S DONE IT TO ME AGAIN!

Pass the ball of wool my dear...