1/72 Gloster Gremlin

[Brian da Basher]

Sensing the winds of change coming in aeronautics, the Air Ministry, in late 1929 issued specification 29/29, seeking designs for a modern monoplane fighter.

The Gloster Co. was quick to respond to the challenge, entering their design 131.7 in the competition. This radical design incorporated the new incredibly powerful Vauxhall Quicksilver 12 turbocharged, fuel-injected inline engine mated to a very slim and streamlined fuselage which featured such modern accessories as an enclosed cockpit with a tinted,  bubble shaped canopy and wide-track, spatted undercarriage. The Air Ministry sat up and took notice and two prototypes were ordered.

The 131.7 monoplane demonstrated amazing speed and agility as well as unheard of high-altitude performance. The Air Ministry immediately placed orders for the new champion of the skies which was heavily armed with two .303 machine guns synchronized to fire through the propellor arc and a 37 m.m. Bofors cannon which fired through the propellor hub.

Continued..

1st of 6 pics.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

No. 46 Squadron (We Rise to Conquer), upon being reformed at Kenley in June of 1930 was the first to be equipped with the new "fighter of the future". It was here that the Vauxhall Quicksilver 12 showed itself to be somewhat meddlesome and the new fighter was christened the Gremlin by its frustrated mechanics. Fortunately, the R.A.F. groundcrew were very highly trained and ironed out the bugs in the new engine.

The Gloster Gremlin proved its worth when deployed as part of the Emergency Expeditionary Force sent to counter Nazi Germany's move into the de-militarized Rhineland in 1934. Squadrons of Gremlins forced the Germans to withdraw their troops, leading to the ouster of the impotent Herr Hitler and the end of the Nazi regime. The example shown here, B6299 Zed flown by Flight Leader Neil "Lancer"  (he tossed the javelin at university) Cream was key in making the Germans retreat by repeatedly buzzing the Germans and menacing them with his firepower and wickedly sexy spats.  Flt. Ldr. "Lancer" Cream was awarded a knighthood and the Air Medal for his daring efforts.

Herr Hitler for his part was forced to take a job in a bakery on Kaiser Wilhelm Strasse in Berlin to keep body and soul together. Shortly before his death in 1949, he was interviewed by Die Sterne magazine and was quoted as saying, "Because of those verdammt Britishers and their spatted marvels, Ich bin ein Berliner!" - a jelly donut, if translated literally.

The Gloster Gremlin went on to serve faithfully after the Rhineland Incursion of 1934 and was eventually retired in 1941. Flt. Ldr. (later Air Commodore) Sir "Lancer" Cream's old B6299 Zed is currently on display at the No. 46 Squadron's museum in Digby, Lincolnshire.

2nd of 6 pics.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

This project actually had its beginning while I was smash-forming nose glazing for my K-44 Cyclone entry. It took a lot of trial-and-error to get exactly what I needed and I was left with six clear blisters in different shapes and sizes. I pulled the optional, left-over side panels from an He-112 and an old pontoon out of the spares box and I was in business. It looked like with a little work, I'd have a good looking engine from those He-112 panels that would fit the pontoon nicely once the tip was cut off and that one of my smash-formed blisters would make a decent canopy. I found a prop from an He-100 that looked right and now all I had to do was figure out the wings, tailfeathers and landing gear.

3rd of 6 pics.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

I raided a Testor's "Spirit of St. Louis" kit for the tailfeathers and decided to fashion a fillet for it as the pontoon had this little centerline ridge on the rear portion which was too nice to go unused. I sanded down the bottom edge of the pontoon until it was even and covered it over with sheet plastic. I snagged a wing from the spares box and carefully rounded the tips. Then I used more sheet plastic to form the top and bottom of the engine compartment. I added a radiator scoop left over from a Dewotine 520 on the belly and added an oil-cooler inlet fashioned from part of a 1/144 P-38 tailboom right under the prop. The spats were made from spare drop tanks with half-wheels glued to the bottom and the landing gear struts are actually wingtips from an F-15. Here's a shot that shows off the radiator scoop, oil cooler inlet and those spats!

Did I mention that I love spats?

4th of 6 pics.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

The entire model was brush painted by hand using acrylics. As I ham-handedly creased the canopy while attaching it, I was forced to "tint" it using Liquitex Copper. The rest of the model was painted in Testor's Dark Gull Gray and the red squadron markings (inaccurate, I know, but I figured they could be a "precursor" to No. 46's actual markings) were painted with Polly-Scale Red as was the red in the tail stripes and on the propellor hub. The white tail stripe was done with gesso and the blue stripe was done with more Liquitex (a mix of Aquamarine Blue with a bit of red). The prop blades and exhaust stubs were painted with Model Master's Steel and the tires were done in Liquitex Mars Black.

The decals were from an Academy Sopwith Camel and the Zed code was from a Roden SE-5A.

5th of 6 pics.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

I want to thank kitbasher and his excellent Supermarine Spatfire for inspiring me and Wooksta and Hobbes for starting the Piston Perfection GB which got me thinking of how I could make my inter-war models more sleek and streamlined.

Last of 6 pics.

Brian da Basher

[Brian da Basher]

Here's a "bonus" shot.

Brian da Basher

[Rafael]

Another spatted marvel, Brian!!!

A great way of celebrating your B-Day!!!

The tinted canopy sure is elegant and adds personality to the build. And those spats, widely separated give the idea of great stability, and give the model that swooping eagle look

Great one!!!

Rafa

[Arc3371]

Amazing that you can build something like that out of spares.

 

[SPINNERS]

A fine looking bird BdB and it's great to learn that it changed the course of history!

[BlackOps]

Brian, that profile pic is definately the money shot!  Another keeper    

[Brian da Basher]

Brian, that profile pic is definately the money shot!  Another keeper  

Thank you! And the money in that shot is currently worth a whopping .00049 British pounds.

I'm really glad you folks are enjoying this little inter-war whiff.

Brian da Basher
(who thinks a "Berliner" would be very tasty right now)

[ysi_maniac]

A beauty as usual. I do love fuselage's shape
           

[Mike Wren]

another classic from Brian!    

[cthulhu77]

Spatastic!!!!