updated air wing ATLANTIC CONVEYOR 1/700 Falklands

rickshaw · October 04, 2009, 05:54:13 AM

You might want to also look at the preceding ARAPAHO concept of contain ship conversions.

Hobbes · October 04, 2009, 06:14:03 AM

This may be of interest: it's a model built by BAE to show the SCADS concept. The model is kept at the Brooklands Museum just outside London. Unfortunately it's in a glass case making photography difficult. Here's a few of the photos I made:

There are two models of the same ship side by side: the one in front is made partly from plexiglass so you can see inside.

the rest is in this folder:
http://www.acme-engineering.nl/SCADS/
If you want the higher-resolution originals, just ask.

sandiego89 · October 04, 2009, 06:38:47 AM

Thank you to everyone for the pictures and references. Good stuff. Now tempted to do both a quick conversion, and a version with the containers with the deck, weapons etc. Perhaps in the backstory the ATLANTIC CAUSEWAY or another sister ship could have to more extensive modifications.

tinlail · October 04, 2009, 11:50:37 AM

I have another notion for a container ship conversion that might be a little more practical than the carrier conversion, with it requirement for heavy decking to carry the weight of air planes.

Assault ship, a LCM-8 landing craft is 74 feet long by 21 feet wide, fitting in to a space 3 containers wide (3x8ft) and 2 containers long (2x40ft) place davits at the ends, to lift the boats over the side. Containers in the middle to hold troops, and supplies. twelve percent of the container fleet is idle which makes your fleet more affordable. And commanders more willing to put them in harms way.

sandiego89 · October 08, 2009, 06:59:32 PM

Basic structure complete. Ski jump done. First primer coat on. Addititional gear after some sanding and paint.

Looks like I will have hangar space for 6 Sea Harriers/Harriers and 2-3 SAR Wessex. Could park a few more in the elements. A usefull "spare deck" for the second sailing of the task force!

As it will have a smaller VSTOL force it will likely be single mission or to augment the larger carriers. I have 3 options I am culling over:
1) An extra deck for Sea Harriers that could be multi mission, but primarily CAP. Maybe to launch a small surprise raid on the mainland.
2) A GR3 complement for mud moving to support the landing attempts.
3) A platform for my WHIF of a AEW.1 twin seat Sea Harrier. Done in an earlier forum in 1/72 scale

rickshaw · October 09, 2009, 09:14:37 PM

I note that MBD (mentioned in the new kit news forum) http://www.modelsbydesign.co.uk/ offers a 1/144 scale ATLANTIC CONVEYOR model.

sandiego89 · October 14, 2009, 05:21:30 PM

Build is complete.
Mods include stregthened flight deck, ski ramp, hangers mid ships, bow and aft, CIWS, machine gun nests.

Air wing is standard FRS.1 Sea Harrier, with perhaps a GR.3 sneaking in, and 3 Wessex for SAR.

Back story: rapid refit in Portsmouth and sailed with the second sailing of the task force. Most notable achievement was the surprise dawn launching of the raid on Rio Grande air base on October 3, 1982, which resulted in little damage, but caused much concern on the mainland. Other taks included support to the amphibious landings, and CAP patrols supported with the newly introduced AEW.1 Sea Harrier near the end of the conflict.

sandiego89 · October 14, 2009, 07:22:38 PM

A few more shots, stern hangar, overhead of middle hangar and overall view.

proditor · October 14, 2009, 08:41:02 PM

That looks great!!!

Thorvic · October 15, 2009, 12:48:53 AM

Certainly does look the part now in teh grey scheme and the Harrier deck.

You might want to add some more RIB boats and life raft canisters to reflect the increase in crew required for the airgroup.

Geoff

Weaver · October 15, 2009, 01:14:58 AM

Looking good!

Another suggestion: chaff rockets. My apologies if they're there and I've missed them. Plenty of room on all those flat roofs

thedarkmaster · October 15, 2009, 03:32:43 AM

looks really good mate, the build has come along excellently, top class work

Mossie · October 15, 2009, 05:01:10 PM

Fantastic!

sandiego89 · November 07, 2009, 02:04:37 PM

New air wing added. Both in 1/700 and 1/72 scale!

Late in the sailing of the second task force, several new aircraft arrived in theatre. The first being the Sea Harrier AEW.1, which had been devloped rapidly with covert assistance from the United States with the import of several radar sets from the F-14 Tomcat program. The sets were mounted on the spine of several two seat T2 harriers and christened Sea Harrier AEW.1

The second modified aircrarft were Harrier KGR.3's. These mounted a buddy refueling pod on the starboard wing and a 300 US gallon tank on the port wing. Additional pumps and plumbing were installed to transfer fuel around the aircraft and to the pods. The KGR.3 could offload fuel to the AEW.1 or Sea Harrier for longer CAP or AEW patrols. Two were dispatched to the Atlantic Conveyor and one each to the to the Illustrious and Invincible.

More pictures of the AEW.1 and KGR.3 harriers can be found on WHIF Sea Harrier AEW.1

PR19_Kit · November 07, 2009, 03:47:46 PM

Quote from: rickshaw on October 09, 2009, 09:14:37 PM
I note that MBD (mentioned in the new kit news forum) http://www.modelsbydesign.co.uk/ offers a 1/144 scale ATLANTIC CONVEYOR model.

They do indeed, and I have one filling up my model room!

That 'model' is a fibreglass hull intended for R/C, as mine will be, an excellent set of plans of both the original wholly civilian 'Atlantic Conveyor' and the mods needed to make the South Atlantic version, plus a LARGE pack of styrene sheet of all thicknesses to make the superstructure etc. A 'kit' it certainly isn't, but it's a good basis for a great model. The hull's original designer and producer, Dave Metcalf (he sold that side of his business to MBD a couple of years ago) told me he'd NEVER seen one of his Conveyor models finished as yet, and he'd sold about a dozen of them by the time I bought mine.

I'm a long way from finishing mine, but have all the parts needed, motors, propshafts, ECUs, batteries, vast amounts of lead sheet for ballast plus an electic car aerial to fit under the deck so I can 'launch' the QRA SHAR off the fore-deck!

However I do have a small production line of SHARs, GR3, and Chinooks going, The GR3s have resin reproduced noses, made from the original Crown kit, grafted onto numerous Revell or Minicraft SHARs. The mouldings for these two are identical BTW. The Chinooks are OOB Revell kits, but the Wessexes I need, there were six of them on the AC, 4 on the front deck and two aft, have been a problem. There are no proper 1/144 scale Wessex kits available, so I've got a resin H-34 Choctaw from the Czech Republic which I plan to convert to a Wessex and then make some resin copies. On the trip south most of the aircraft were covered in tarpaulins, leaving two SHARs and a Chinook, plus a variable number of Wessexes un-covered, so that makes the models easier,, I just need the shape with no detail, but the tarpaulins in that scale have proved a problem to date. But today at Telford I bought some the heat formable plastic sheet from MS which could do the job.

The containers are N scale model railway items, at 1/148 they're close enough for Government work and I have most of them converted and painted, but I've not yet done the support structures for them.

In a 'full circle' mode I bought the Revell 1/700 'Colombo Express' kit today, with a view to converting it into an 'Atlantic Conveyor' in the smaller scale.....

BTW sandiego89, where did you get your 1/700 Air Wing from please?