Cheranovsky BICh-110 (Sovietised Sea Vixen)

[McGreig]

This is the taped together mock-up of the BICh-110. It will also have fins above and below the outer wing panels and a conventionally located cockpit.

The airframe is loosely based on two sources - a design in a David Myrha book said to have been prepared for the Russians by Heinkel's Siegfried Gunther and a twin-engine Cheranovsky design illustrated in "Soviet Secret Projects".

The kit is the old Frog Sea Vixen, as re-issued by Eastern Express. I've cut off the various unwanted bits of the tail booms but I've still got to cut open the new cockpit location and decide on a source for the outer wing fins. Not to mention a whole lot of filling and psr.

[kitbasher]

F7U Cutlasski lookalike, almost? 

[McGreig]

F7U Cutlasski lookalike, almost? 

Sort of  , although the fins will be mounted on the wings, not built out on mini booms at the trailing edge like the Cutlass. First photo below is from the David Myrha book and shows the effect that I'm aiming for.

Construction has now started and the PSR is going to be a lot worse that I'd anticipated. I have to say that I'm glad that I'm not building this as an actual Sea Vixen - I don't know what the original Frog kit was like, but this incarnation from Eastern Express has poor definition, soft detail and very poor fit. OK for whiffing, but if you want a Sea Vixen, don't start from here - - -

I'd assumed that I'd just have to fill and smooth the gaps where I'd removed the tailbooms from the wings, but the overall fit is so poor that the entire area shown white in the photos has had to be puttied and sanded to produce a smooth, even wing surface. And there's a lot more to do yet 

[BlackOps]

This is gonna be a pretty nice lookin' aircraft once yo get past the evil PSR stage

[Taiidantomcat]

Nice work, that Diagram is sweet.

[Mossie]

I'm a fan of Cheranovsky designs, I think the Sea Vixen is just right for the later designs.  On the edge of my seat....

[Sisko]

I really like this design. Unique and intersting

[Weaver]

This is looking very promising! 

How often does it happen? You buy a cheap and nasty kit on the grounds that it's "good for whiffing" and then spend more time fixing the basic kit's flaws than doing the whiffy bits (shades of my Migina) ........

[McGreig]

Wel, the PSR stage is almost over and I've finally fitted the fins which have been causing the most problems conceptually.

In the drawing I reproduced here these are "D" shaped, located ahead of the aileron and extend below the wing. However, on the original Arado design said to have inspired this, they are located on the trailing edge and are more angular while the Cheranovsky twin engined design in Soviet Secret Projects has more rounded fins which go across the entire wing surface but do not extend below the wing.

I thought that the fins looked better extended across the entire wing and on the upper surface only, but I was having a real problem trying to get a suitable rounded shape so in the end I mixed things up and used a more angular design (which started life an E.E. Lightning wingtip - the remains of the Lightning may yet appear in this GB as a sort of Super Fitter).

Next stage is the cockpit and missile pylons - - -

[sotoolslinger]

That is a beauty

[lancer]

This is looking seriously good!

[McGreig]

Thanks for the encouraging comments 

Slow and steady progress - cockpit interior and weapon pylons now added. The missile pylons are from Hasegawa's MiG-17. They will carry that kit's Alkali AAMs and the outer pylon on each wing will carry a fuel tank. The cannon fairing on the nose is from an old Airfix MiG-15.

You can see in the last photo that the cockpit instrument panels are the products of the finest Soviet paper photocopying technology while the seat is an unknown (well, to me anyway -but it's probably Western, not Soviet) white metal Aeroclub offering that I've had for years. (In fact, it's so old that it has a price sticker from H.J. Walker in Homerton - does anyone know whatever became of H.J. Walker, which hasn't been around for years?)

Next stage will be the addition of the canopy and the undercarriage.

[Taiidantomcat]

This is looking great!

[lancer]

This just geats better and better

[ChernayaAkula]

Neat design! Really beautiful!