Airfix

[NARSES2]

Some forthcoming releases in the Vintage Classics range :-

1/72 P.1127 (Kestrel)
1/72 Hampden
1/600 HMS Iron Duke
1/600 HMS Ajax

The P.1127 is the one I'm waiting for. Note that it ISN'T a Kestrel though.

Ah, right 

My fault. Box art simply says P.1127, Hannants site says P.1127 (Kestral). Should have checked the box art.

[Beermonster58]

Not in the vintage classics.  Same old same old.

There was never any intention to offer new scheme options and/or new parts. Airfix made it clear from the start that the Vintage Classics would be the original kits issued in the original schemes

[kitbasher]

They're updated versions of the original decal sheets - the Dominie, Beaver and Jetstream decals (for example) are way, way superior to the originals.

[Weaver]

Just had a look at my old Belvederes.

The really old "Bristol Belvedere" has a very basic decal sheet with just roundels and serials.

The later "Westland Belvedere" (still pre-Vintage Classics) has a much better sheet with all the stencilling on it, essentially the same as the Vintage Classics one, except that it has separate red dots for the roundels.

Bear in mind that there isn't exactly a lot of choice for Belvedere schemes.

[PR19_Kit]

IIRC you can make a reasonable Kestrel by cross-kitting a P.1127 and a Harrier GR1. There was an article in an ancient Airfix mag telling you how to do it.

Amazingly I still have an original P.1127 kit that's still in its plastic bag! 

[scooter]

Just had a look at my old Belvederes.

The really old "Bristol Belvedere" has a very basic decal sheet with just roundels and serials.

The later "Westland Belvedere" (still pre-Vintage Classics) has a much better sheet with all the stencilling on it, essentially the same as the Vintage Classics one, except that it has separate red dots for the roundels.

Bear in mind that there isn't exactly a lot of choice for Belvedere schemes.

EDSG with a 20 pounder and a pair each of Bofors and Oerllikons poking out the port side? 

[Weaver]

IIRC you can make a reasonable Kestrel by cross-kitting a P.1127 and a Harrier GR1. There was an article in an ancient Airfix mag telling you how to do it.

Amazingly I still have an original P.1127 kit that's still in its plastic bag! 

Yeah I picked up a part-started original one at a show from that trade stall who had loads of bagged kits that they'd reboxed in random inside-out boxes.

Funnily enough, an AV-8B Harrier II /GR-7 nose MIGHT help with the Kestrel since it has the same kind of optic-behind-an-eyelid shutter setup on the tip.

[Old Wombat]

Just had a look at my old Belvederes.

The really old "Bristol Belvedere" has a very basic decal sheet with just roundels and serials.

The later "Westland Belvedere" (still pre-Vintage Classics) has a much better sheet with all the stencilling on it, essentially the same as the Vintage Classics one, except that it has separate red dots for the roundels.

Bear in mind that there isn't exactly a lot of choice for Belvedere schemes.

EDSG with a 20 pounder and a pair each of Bofors and Oerllikons poking out the port side? 

Rather than the high velocity 20pdr tank gun, I'd go with the 25pdr Gun/Howitzer for the same reason that the USAF used the 105mm M102 Howitzer in the AC-130s (a howitzer can fire a reduced charge to put less stress on the airframe).

[Weaver]

Just had a look at my old Belvederes.

The really old "Bristol Belvedere" has a very basic decal sheet with just roundels and serials.

The later "Westland Belvedere" (still pre-Vintage Classics) has a much better sheet with all the stencilling on it, essentially the same as the Vintage Classics one, except that it has separate red dots for the roundels.

Bear in mind that there isn't exactly a lot of choice for Belvedere schemes.

EDSG with a 20 pounder and a pair each of Bofors and Oerllikons poking out the port side? 

LOL - you know how small and narrow a Belvedere is, right? The fuselage was really thin, of oval section, and it only held 19 troops - it was no Chinook.

[Old Wombat]

Just had a look at my old Belvederes.

The really old "Bristol Belvedere" has a very basic decal sheet with just roundels and serials.

The later "Westland Belvedere" (still pre-Vintage Classics) has a much better sheet with all the stencilling on it, essentially the same as the Vintage Classics one, except that it has separate red dots for the roundels.

Bear in mind that there isn't exactly a lot of choice for Belvedere schemes.

EDSG with a 20 pounder and a pair each of Bofors and Oerllikons poking out the port side? 

LOL - you know how small and narrow a Belvedere is, right? The fuselage was really thin, of oval section, and it only held 19 troops - it was no Chinook.

I'll happily admit to not having a clue.

The Belvedere isn't an aircraft that has ever grabbed my interest.

[jcf]

Dimensionally the Belvedere is only slightly larger than a Piasecki H-21.

[Old Wombat]

Just had a look at my old Belvederes.

The really old "Bristol Belvedere" has a very basic decal sheet with just roundels and serials.

The later "Westland Belvedere" (still pre-Vintage Classics) has a much better sheet with all the stencilling on it, essentially the same as the Vintage Classics one, except that it has separate red dots for the roundels.

Bear in mind that there isn't exactly a lot of choice for Belvedere schemes.

EDSG with a 20 pounder and a pair each of Bofors and Oerllikons poking out the port side? 

LOL - you know how small and narrow a Belvedere is, right? The fuselage was really thin, of oval section, and it only held 19 troops - it was no Chinook.

I actually think scooter may have been thinking of the Beverley (4-engined transport plane), rather than the Belvedere (2-engined tandem rotor helicopter), because that's where my thoughs went when I responded to his post without actually thinking about the actual name of the aircraft type.

[PR19_Kit]

IIRC you could get a Belvedere inside a Beverley, maybe TWO of them. 

[Weaver]

Belvedere. The troops in the top photo are gurkhas so they're a bit shorter than the average British soldier, but still. Note the ladder...







You can see the interior cabin dimensions in this drawing (dotted line). Behind it is avionics, fuel, engine and more fuel in that order, and in front of it is a half-width fuel tank on the left, an engine with a TINY crawlway down the left hand side of it, and the cockpit.

[Weaver]

This video shows the trials aircraft featured on the decal sheet and confirms that it DID have an intermediate configuration, with no endplate fins but short, single-angle tailplanes.