The Wooksta: Not a Spitfire Blog

[The Wooksta!]

"What do you mean? It was your idea to play 'Hide and Seek'!"

Having had further thoughts, I've decided to do both Buckinghams, with the torpedo armed one being based on the Valom kit that's on the disposal pile.  I am definitely going mad...

When I was looking at things that needed remoulding, the 1052/1081 were high on the list, and indeed the tailplanes are ready for the rubber to pour.  Then I remembered that I got the Maintrack P.1040/1072 in the stash and that gives two rear fuselages - one for the standard Sea Hawk prototype, t'other for the rocket assisted version.  I also remembered that there was a proposal for a variant of the P.1052 with a rocket in the tail as well as the Nene. 

Again, possibilities.  Shortcut prototype for the spec that led to the Avro 720 and SR53?  Hawker's entry was a pure rocket delta that look like a baby Mirage III (10oth scale Mirage for a scratchbodge?) but it's unlikely that Camm would have went for just a pure rocket.  The 1052 based one would give a start, given that the fuselage was proven and jigs still available, so they'd only need to too; for the wings and swept tailplanes.  Food for thought.


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[The Wooksta!]

"That's probably Rick doing a bit of reading."

Whilst looking for something else, I pulled out one of those bookazines I picked up in Smiths a while back and completely forgotten about, this one being a Tony Buttler one on the Hawker Hunter.  Some nice schemes in there, especially the Empire Test Pilots School ones, although I don't think anyone does the decals for them.  Pity, as the overall red with white fin would look rather different on the P.1081, especially with the big Hunter fin I've given two of them.

Doing some other digging for a Hunter sheet turned up something else, but I'll come to that later.  I did find the Hunter sheet I was looking for, albeit not where I thought it was, and thankfully it still had the 74 Sqn markings that I need to complete the long stalled Firestreak armed Swift F7.  I'll need to get another copy of the sheet for the camo version of the same aircraft, which will be one of the later ones that gets replaced by the HSA Hurricane II (aka P.1121 - not sure where Hurricane comes from as a name for 1121, possibly Derek Wood or Bill Gunston via Mike McEvoy). 

The P.1121 is just as stalled as the Swift - I'd originally done it around 2001 as a 56 Sqn aircraft, but didn't finish it for Telford that year, thankfully as it turned out that Martin had done one in the same scheme - blast his hide!  So I masked it and resprayed the fin in black and did it as a 74 Sqn aircraft (this was well before my current policy of leaving the obvious sexy squadrons to the less imaginative members of the what if community), although like so many other things, it got forgotten about and some of the bits have gone walkies in the meantime.

I did find another one part started in a box, with the vacform fuselage cleaned up and everything else in resin.  Once I've got the decks cleared, I may well go back to one or perhaps both of them.  Ideally, I'd like to have a go at the side by side two seat naval version, and I might have some short shot resin fuselages from a half baked attempt at moulding it somewhere in the loft at me Mam's.  But that is one for the future.

The other thing I found was an Xtradecal sheet for Meteor F8s.  Now obviously, some of these can translate to either P.1052 or P.1081 in RAF markings, but that's not what I was thinking of, because one or two caught my eye as being former Hornet squadrons.  I do have quite a number, estimated in the high end of two digits, of Hornets stashed away, of various kits from three manufacturers (all of the Special Hobby ones have been disposed of, thankfully) and quite a number of part started Frog/Novo ones.  I'm in a twin engined aircraft phase at the moment - actually, I'm working on several minithemes, but that's almost standard for me - so why not add a few more Hornets into the mix? 

I know the fixes to the Frog kit, mainly involving strategic use of plastic card, filler and sanding.  The canopy is unfixable (until Rob Taurus brings out a canopy for the forthcoming AZ kit - I hope!  Although I've at least one Plan B...), but the rest is pretty much doable.  Mike Romeo over on Britmodeller did a cracking build of a Frog kit, but I may not go quite as far as he did in the cockpit - being black, you see sod all in there - and I may not bother with the nose, but we'll see.  I think I've a mould of the nosecone from the Skybirds which may help.  IF I can find it.  The mould with the Tempest wheels has cured and I know there's a mould for a Vampire nosegear, which was adapted from the Hornet tailwheel.  Think I've a seat mould too.

Thoughts of moulds beings me back to the Magna ones on the go and I don't think the wheel well doors in the Magna kit is up to much, so I may well look at moulding the Frog ones and use them instead.  Some of Magna's stuff was pretty basic.

What squadron markings did I find?  Well, 65 squadron is the easy one in overall silver, but another was the Church Fenton Station Flight one with a rather fetching combined marking.  There's a rather different colourful diagonal square design for the side bars on a 64 Sqn machine, with the scarab in a nice white pennant.  And it's got Aluminium Dope underneath, rather than PRU Blue, so it'd have to be a UK based machine.

Then there's the RAuxAF to consider, because they have some rather nice colours and I do have quite a few Meteor sheets kicking about.  Apart from the units that got Mosquitoes, one or two others may well be in line. I'm not sure how many Frog kits are part started, but I know it's quite a few and unlike most things, I can lay my hands on them fairly quickly.

Mention of Mosquitoes reminds me of something else I wanted to do, actually two.  The first is that there was originally to be a light bomber component to the RAuxAF and they were to get Mosquito bombers, probably the Canadian produced versions of the B.IV - either the straight B.IV or the tweaked one with the FB.VI wing which was plumbed in for drop tanks.  That's an easy one from the Tamiya kit.  I can't remember what squadrons were proposed - two in the 500 and two in the 61x range seem to ring a bell, possibly 616.

A quick look through the Sharp/Bowyer Mosquito bible reveals that 502, 504, 608 and 616 Sqns and they did get Mosquito NF36s - and the latter is on the same Meteor sheet that's giving me the Hornet markings.  Sound!  Apparently the B.16, B.25 or B35s were intended.  9 aircraft per squadron with Spitfire F21s of 600, 602 and 615 Sqns as top cover, leaving the rest with Spitfire mk XVIs in the fighter combat role.  That was the basis of the plan, until Fighter Command threw their toys out of the pram and complained about the dispersal of the fighter force.  OTL, 616 got Mosquito nightfighters  but were designated as a day fighter unit.  So that gives me another option - give them Hornets instead, single or two seaters, because either were better performers than Mosquitoes.  I rather like the idea of AAF Hornets as they could be quite colourful, especially with Alumimium dope underneath rather than the PRU Blue that most of the camouflaged versions wore.  As much as I like it, it's a bit limiting.

The second is the proposed turret fighter, which got mocked up, and I've seen a drawing with the original exhaust arrangement but the longer nacelles.  Now I'd skip that and go to an NF.II style with a BP turret just behind the cockpit.    This one is being toyed with and I may not do it as I've a feeling a mate wants to do it.

Lots of things to think about.

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[The Wooksta!]

"OK. What should you never do in a box junction?"

Well, the first set of moulds looked like they're cured so I opened up the big one.  Bad move.  Some of it wasn't quite mixed and a bit sticky.  I managed to get the masters out and I've done a quick pour of the resin to see if the Swift wings will come out better than the other set.  I only need one, possibly three decent sets to do what I want to do with the Type 528, and it'll mean some more moulding to do a new Swift nose for the Attacker donor.  I've partially reworked the nose cut off the second PR Swift but need to do some more work before it's ready to mould.  Hopefully I should have that done over the next few days.

I'm leaving the other set of moulds for now, as one is still very sticky and the other one seems a tad soft.  Other than the Perseus engine cowlings, there's nothing I need straight away in that lot

I did some more hunting for decals and found a Modeldecal sheet I didn't even know I had for Meteor nightfighters.  One option is a 64 sqn NF14 in the scheme I want too and it looks to have the big bore intakes.  Should make a nice companion for the Hornet F3 I'll be giving them.  64 did fly Hornets, but I've only ever seen photos of their aircraft in overall Aluminium dope, not camouflaged, so this could be quite subtle.  A might have been as opposed to a whiff.  And that's suits me just fine.


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[The Wooksta!]

"No, there's only two seats."

I've not done much but seem to have got quite far on.

Both the Hunter 1083/FGA9 and Swift PR6 have got their wing pylons and u/c attached.  Wing pylons on a Swift?  Yes.  The cameras on the PR6 were apparently somewhere between frames 16 and 17, but as I don't have a technical drawing with frame numbers and positions on it, I'll have to go with what Richard Franks says.  He also says in the Valiant Wings book that the belly tank would have obscured the cameras, so logic says that they're not in the nose but in the position formerly occupied by the guns and ammunition.  The fuel overload had to go in external wing tanks, so I've a pair of Hunter ferry tanks - the big inner ones from the FGA9.  My Swift PR6 does have the nose cameras too, as extras just in case.  Needs another bit of PSR before I can get the final load of primer on and a few doors and it's ready for the paint shop.

I've also got the u/c sorted out, albeit not glued in just yet, on the Supermarine 545.  I really don't like the Maintrack u/c as it looks way too beefy and I would have preferred Hunter legs but I haven't got any spare.  I did use a nosegear though, albeit a plastic one left over from an Airfix FGA9.  I've just got to get the pylons sorted and the pitot tubes and it's nearly ready.

All the Hornets have had their primer redone after tidying up the myriad tiny blemishes that needed fixing.  The Skybirds 86 rebuild is looking really good.  I've also had a slight rethink on Hornets thanks to the discovery of those decals.  I may well buy another set just for the 64 Sqn markings, as I'll be doing the F3 in camo, then they get redesignated as a nightfighter unit and  re-equipped with Hornet NF10s (that's the Magna one sorted out with a user, before getting Meteor nightfighters in 52.  I had only planned to do one Meteor nightfighter, but as I've managed to lose the distructions for all the Matchbox Meteors I've got, I don't know what goes where in the cockpit for which mark, so I'll have to get an Xtrakit repop to get those and whilst I'm at it, use said kit for 64 Sqn's early Meteor nightfighters.  They only got the NF14 in reality, so it's still a what if.

The final job of the day was sorting out the filler on the late Hunter FGA9 with the revised Sabrinas with the chaff dispensers.  That's cleaned up and ready for the wings to go on, but then I started thinking and that's never good.  You see, I'm thinking more of a reserve air defense role for this one and thus the more boring but never used on Hunters - at least, not RAF ones  - air defense greys.  I really started thinking about it due to the position of the blister covering the ejector mechanism above the outer pylon being where the upper wing roundel goes and wanted something different to avoid it.

I had considered a pair of 'winders on the outboard pylons and the big tanks inboard but then remembered that the kit has holes flashed over for a pylon inboard of the u/c legs and these are for some really odd Swiss missile in the original FGA9 release but other air forces, notably Singapore, use for an additional pair of 'winders.  I've the pylon in the FGA9 release and the shoe and missile in the F6.  I think it'll work.  I just need one extra Revell Hunter FGA9 to do the early 80s one in wraparound camo.

I've also been rethinking the Swifts slightly.  I've got the FB2 now fitted with an afterburner but given the types problems it was quickly withdrawn so 74 Sqn never got them.  Except now they do.  So that's the Testors one sorted out.  I'm also thinking of an F4 as an FB4A (as it's got the canopy of the FR5) but as a ground instructional airframe in 607 Sqn markings and 70s tactical roundels and used as an airfield decoy at Acklington.

One other thing I have also considered for A small Acklington lineup is a visiting TSR2, possibly in wraparound,  having repaired there after a jolly outing over Otterburn. And it'll probably pick up a 607 Sqn zap. Why revisit TSR2 15 years on?  I found my one and only largely built Airfix one and I'd really like to have it finished!

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[The Wooksta!]

"Why'd I do that?"

God help me, I started the Valom Buckingham.  I'm not that keen on the kit, but I doubt we'll get another one in injection.  The detail looks nice, but the execution...  the wings need some serious thinning and the engines look to be a right mare to assemble, although the resin looks good.  I thinned the wings, did some dry fitting and put it back in the box before I lost the will to live completely.

I was much more interested in getting that other two seat Hornet further on.  This is going to be one in the MSG over Night scheme, but I've yet to decide on a squadron.  I'll have a look through my Mosquito decal box to see if I can find something appropriate, although something at the back of my head says that some were used by the radar establishment or perhaps one of the ELINT squadrons.  TBH, I think the airframe is just a tad snug for any extra black boxes, so I may have a rethink on that.  The plan for the Skybirds rebuild is for a late war 23 Sqn aircraft so I may just give it to them for continuity purposes and I *think* there's a 23 Sqn option on a sheet somewhere.

Anyway, the massive resin pouring lugs were sanded off and the fuselage cleaned up, with the resin internals cleaned up and installed - both cockpits are just black coal holes, so there's nothing much to detail in there, maybe a drybush of some grey to pick things out.  Doesn't seem to be as bad a fit this time.  So far anyway.

The Swifts got more filling, sanding and priming - the PR6 is on the last round now.  So is the 1083 FGA9.  That got a final load of primer earlier and I'm looking forward to getting some paint on.  I've yet to find something appropriate for it, so another dig through the Hunter books seems to be in order.

I did some more work on the Supermarine 510 and the tail surfaces are all sanded down but TBH they, and much of the rest if the kit, doesn't seem to match the plans, at least not the Barrie Hygate ones anyway.  I'm seriously thinking about moulding and casting the tail surfaces for use in the 528/535 scratchbodge - although other than the tailplanes I think I can make a start on it now - as well as the other 510s that are in the stash.  I think there's four...  I know there's another Maintrack one and at least one Whirlybird, but I've a feeling there's another two somewhere.

Armed with that knowlege, I started comparing other bits for teh scratchbodge with the Highgate plans.  The AZ Attacker doesn't match and the Frog one seems too long.  The 528/535 seems to have a different fuselage top line too, more humpand and bulged,as though the engine has been raised, possibly to accommodate the new spars for the larger swept wing.  A few layers of plastic card and  skim of P38 could fix it, but I may just bodge a first one and let someone else argue the toss.  MFM.

Looked at the built TSR2 in the stash to see what needs doing to it.  The doors for one of the main gear bays and then a coat of primer to see what else needs doing.  I've a feeling it got left after I'd wrestled the doors shut on one bay and then left it before I lost the will to live.  This was fourteen years ago, so the memory is getting a bit hazy.  Haven't decided on a squadron yet, possibly 16, and it'll definitely be in wraparound with a simple load out of practice bomb carriers on the outer pylons and the three row rocket pods on the inners.  I really want it simple due to all the masking that wraparound involves.

The number of Hunters 607 is getting continues to grow -  it was up to fiver yesterday (F4, F6, T7 70s, FGA9 wraparound and a late 80s one in the AD greys) but then I saw an image on the Swiss Hunters website and got inspired for a retirement scheme, at least on one aircraft.  I'm tempted with a trainer, but I just don't have enough PJ conversions to do everything (1 x607, 1 x 1083 wing, 1 OTL) so it may well be another FGA9 with the revised sabrinas. It will be colourful to say the least.


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[The Wooksta!]

"No. Blame whoever rang the front doorbell, 'cause they obviously triggered off the bomb I set up."

Didn't do much yesterday and today's been limited to working on a trio of Hunters, as some of my various conversion bits have filtered back here.

First, start with some destruction.  The FGA9 that suffered an accident and the cockpit fell in?  It's allocated to be a 607 Sqn T7A (T-birds refitted with the big bore Avons used by the F6 and FGA9 - commonality reasons)  Off with the nose aft of the cockpit with some rough saw cuts and then trim back to the panel line.  The new PJ nose fits quite nicely and I idly trialled a 1083 wing and it looks to be a decent fit, looks wise especially.  Trim off the spine for the new piece and we're good to go once the cockpit interior is all sorted out.  The bang seats look a tad slim and knowing PJ are probably underscale, but they're going in a largely black cockpit with the hood down.  The wings for this one are already assembled.  I think.

Next up is the in service P.1109b, the Firestreak Hunter with a new radar nose.  I'm doing this as in in service ADV in the air defence greys with toned down roundels in the mid 80s.  I've yet to decide on a squadron - I've considered but rejected 79 (Shadow) Sqn as being just a shade too obvious, so I may have a look at one of the other Hunter squadrons.  112 is a possible but that sharkmouth is a tad too obvious and it looks too sexy, so probably not.  The new resin nose fits quite well and the fuselage is largely together.  It needs an RWR, but I'm unsure it I'd go with the fin or possibly the Buccaneer wing bullets.  I'm definitely fitting the revised Sabrinas with the chaff dispensers as I've become rather fond of them.

I'd like to do another, but with four Firestreaks and the 1083 wing.  I might have the bits to do a bodgejob - a copy of a Maintrack resin nose and a PM Ho 229 to do the wing plus an Airfix FGA9 fuselage - but I'd much prefer to do a proper one with Freightdog bits on a Revell kit.

Finally, I've made a start on the "standard" FGA9 for 607 Sqn and it's going wraparound and early -mid 80s.  Haven't done much other than assemble and paint the cockpit and part assemble the wings.

I've worked out how to do the changes in colours and markings over time - F4 with the Aluminium undersides and the chevrons on the fuselage, F6 with LAG undersides and Type Ds, T7 with LAG undersides and 70s tactical roundels, FGA9 is wraparound with Tactical roundels and finally the late FGA9 ADV with the AD greys and toned down roundels.  There's to be another FGA9 in the final disbanding scheme in the early 90s as they get Hawks but I've yet to think of anything more than lots of yellow.

Need to do some more research on Hunter schemes and squadrons.  There's a few to do.  You'd think I'd need some sort of Plan...

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[The Wooksta!]

"Neil, where's that emergency set of spaghetti hoops we brought?"


Well, the Hunters are all together, wings on and filled, pylons in place and everything is ready for a coat of primer once I fill the cockpits with sponge.

It was five aircraft for 607 Sqn plus the 1109B ADV but after finding a part started FGA9 as well as another kit in an original release Revell FGA9 box when I needed the revised sabrinas with the chaff dispensers, I just had to throw it together, which means I can do an FGA9 in an earlier scheme, so the T7 will get Type Ds rather than the later tactical roundels and the FGA9 will get the tactical roundels plus the LAG undersides.  Bearing in mind I have three FGA9s on the go, I'm tempted to do them all as the same aircraft but as the one with 'winders will be in the Air Defence greys (I've not decided quite which scheme I want, but I'm tempted with the Dark Sea Grey uppers on this one), the serial would probably be in white, so I think that'll be on it's own and the two camouflaged ones will be the same aircraft at different points in it's career.  It's something I've done before.

607s ADV aircraft, plus the 1109 ADV, have had fin mounted RWRs spliced in, in place of the removable fairing in the fin leading edge at the tip.  Even this tiny change makes the profile look different, especially with the new nose on the P.1109B variant, enough to make it look like a different aircraft entirely.  Some doubt crept in on that one when I did some research on it, finding that the prototype flew with the missiles on the inboard pylon.  Mine being a developed version, has the leading edge extensions , parachute fairing and the FGA9 wing mods - with the modded flaps to take the big tanks on the inner pylons (Hunters could fly with four of the larger tanks but that was comparatively rare) and the stores ejection fairing above the wing.  The missiles go on the outboard pylon and naturally the resin replacement didn't fit too well until a modicum of sanding sorted it out.

One thing I have considered for a future build is a conformal fuel tank under the fuselage, leaving all four wing pylons for missiles and the two cannon remain, albeit sans blisters.  The tank that fitted is one from a Lightning F3 that was lying about in a spares box.

I couldn't remember what the names of the three greys I wanted to use for the ADV Hunter so went trawling for photos of Lightnings but then had a brainwave and started looking through the Lightning decal box.  Sure enough, I found the info I needed and looked in a box of paints, and thankfully, I've got all three colours I need - Med Sea Grey, Barley Grey and Light Aircraft Grey - although I may well have to stock up again.  I need to make a shopping list for Uncle Frank.

The Basset got a coat of primer in the cockpit before I get busy painting the rest by hand, whilst the TSR2 has had several coats of primer and PSR to try and tidy up the has I'd made of the ill fitting parcel of dog turds that is the Airfix kit.  Thankfully it's going in a fairly dark scheme to hide many of the flaws, although I'm tempted with LAG undersides for a mid-late 70s aircraft.  Stores I'm settled on - 3 row Matra pods on the outboard pylons with practice bomb carriers on the inners for a jolly outing over Otterburn.  One of the FGA9s will be getting Matra pods, t'other gets the practice bomb carriers and I'm sure both the F6 and the T7 will too.   I just need to cast some up, along with pylons and an IFR probe housing for the TSR2 IF I can find the relevant moulds.

I've yet to decide on a squadron for the TSR, but 6 and 16 are in the frame.  I rather like the latter, possibly with a sharkmouth, although that be just a tad obvious so it may well be 6 Sqn after all.  Whoever it belongs to, it will get a 607 sqn shield as a 'zap'.

After sorting out the pylons for the Hunters, I have several spare, so they go on the Supermarine 545 so I can look at getting that into some paint proper.  Again, I've yet to decide on a unit for that one, and the Airfile volume on post war trainers isn't giving me much inspiration either.

And finally, three older part started light aircraft are being looked at, being a Matchbox piston Provost (another Acklington aircraft, but who it will belong to just yet I haven't decided - did Newcastle University have an Air Squadron?  Another is an Airfix Vampire T11 that was started when I got it in 2013 but got left quite quickly.  Not sure what I want to do with it yet, but 607 Sqn is again being considered - OTL the had Vampire FB5s and a Meteor T7, I'm unsure if they had a T11, so they may well do here instead, albeit in DSG/DG over HSS.  The last one is a Novo Proctor and it was going to be an RAF Habanniya hack, modified with a pair of Vickers K guns firing out the side windows.  I found a set of Aeroclub one I'd bought ages ago just lying around, so I can *finally* get this one together.  Just need to find the small bomb carriers that came with the Frog Blenheim to go under the wings, but I know where I can lay my hands on them quite quickly.


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[The Wooksta!]

"Ah hah! Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha! Driving instructor my bottom! You're a vampire and there's no denying it!"


The Hunters have had the filler sorted out, primed, refilled and sanded and primed again and as far as I'm concerned, they're ready for the paint shop, albeit after a few small bits are glued onto one or two.  I also got the wheels cleaned and all the hubs sprayed silver,  I also tackled the doors and they're going to be a pain, given that there's ten per aircraft and 7 aircraft.  Scrub that, there's 9 once the 1083/F9 and the Harrier C.1 are taken into consideration.

Incidentally, what's the collective noun for a group of Hunters?  Personally, I'm going with posse. As a side note, is the Hnter too small to take a Blue Parrot radar?  Toying with equipping a tandem seat one with that as a Buccaneer lead in trainer for the RAF.

Whilst the primer was out, the Attacker FR bird got a coat to finally blend everything in.  The wing roots got a final sanding, as did the belly tank and it's about ready to get an u/c.  That's cleaned up and sitting ready in a box.

I did a little work on the vampire T-bird, getting the intakes all sorted out and the wheel hubs sprayed.  It was really to hot to do any gluing.

The 545 is moving further, albeit very slowly.  I sorted out the coaming around the instrument panel and used the first thing I found to hand that seemed the right size, which happened to be a resin TSR2 intake bullet, although it's been cut right down and had the hell sanded out of it.  I noticed that some of the plastic just aft of the cockpit was very thin and cracked, so I built up some sort of equipment out of plastic card and painted it black.  It'll be under a canopy so no one will know. 

The canopy is also cut out and sorted, ready to go on once its had a bath in Kleer.  I did drill out the holes in the wing to take the pitot tubes but the Maintrack ones seem a bit overscale and I may have to replace them with something else.  I have a cunning plan involving Spitfire F22 cannon barrels and some stretched sprue. A pair of the Hunter wheels are allocated to this as I have some replacements in the PJ two seater.  I may even use Hunter legs as the Maintrack ones seem a bit too sturdy. I've already replaced the nosegear with a Hunter one. Finally, the bang seat got a coat or two of paint and I just have to do the straps and a few other little things and it's ready to go in. Given the work in the cockpit, I'm almost tempted to open the canopy, but there's only one with the kit and I *really* don't want to balls it up now.

The pylons are ready to go on but I'm at a loss as to where to place them and the info in the Hygate book isn't clear enough, merely saying that the second prototype was able to carry four Firestreaks.  I've a rough guess where to place them by looking at the access ports.  It does indicate where the slipper tanks for fuel overload would go, but I'm doing a 70s F1 in a training role (even if I haven't decided on markings yet) and it's getting pylon mounted tanks, again from the Hunter.  I did add a pair of Sabrinas under the ejection chutes - it's likely to have suffered the same issues with spent casings, etc, as the Hunter so I've employed a similar solution.

I've done some cleaning up on the Xtrakit Swift and I'm toying with a Royal Navy one - given the aircraft's affinity at low level, it would seem to be a better lead in trainer to the Buccaneer than a Hunter.  I really need to finish the FRADU one that's been gathering dust for some years.

Final thing today was to make a start on cleaning up the Magna Swift FR5 and that didn't take too long.  I taped up the respective fuselage halves with the corresponding ones from the Swift F1 and sanded down the nose to the earlier profile as it's going to be an FB4A, or alternatively an FGA4a.  Not sure what this will end up in, as I've several ideas for Swift fighter bombers and one involves wraparound and 12 Sqn markings.

And whilst I was looking for something to act as a coaming for the 545 I chanced upon the mould for the Bristol Perseus.  I do not know how it got where it did.  I need to do a small amount of casting tomorrow, so I can get a bit further with the twin tail Blenheim turret fighter.  I also need to do some more moulding before I run out of resin, especially the Swift belly tank as I need quite a few, but also some practice bomb carriers as the mould I did a few weeks back is not the best. And there's also the P.1081 wings too.

I'm actually running out of a lot of things and thankfully Uncle Frank is open again from the 15th and I have a long and growing shopping list for him.  Which is likely to have a lot of paints on it too, especially Dark Sea Grey and Dark Green.  I have a lot of spraying to do...

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[The Wooksta!]

"Stay right where you are! I've got a crucifix and I'm not afraid to use it!"

Been a quiet day.  I did get the Magna Swift fuselage together and the filling has largely been done, mainly by pouring superglue in the joins and sanding it back.  Under the fuselage, it doesn't quite match, but the worst of it will be hidden by the belly tank. The cockpit module fought me a bit and needed some judicious sanding to fit the cockpit, including some scraping of the starboard half to try and ensure it was almost in the middle.  Painting it was interesting.

The Perseus mould gave me two decent casts before the rubber tore and it's now a two piece mould - in actual fact, the mould tore after the first cast, but I managed to put the offending piece back and managed to get the second out of the mould with little or no difference.  Both are cleaned up and ready to go onto the Blenheim once i get it together.  I dug out the wheels I'd cast a few weeks back - I used the ones from the new tool Airfix one as a master and they *have* to be better than the buttons Frog provide.  I'll paint the cockpit interior later and hopefully should have the fuselage all tidied up barring the turret so I can get it together during the week.  Given the easy colour scheme - NMF like the Blenheim, Beaufort and Beaufighter prototypes - it should be finishable quite soon.

What may be the bodged Supermarine 535 got a bit further forward with the intake blanks going in, resin copies of those from the Xtrakit Swift which oddly fit the Frog Attacker, whilst I hacked off the fin and other extraneous protusions.  I need to find the resin canopy plug but the nose is going to be a recce one, the first one may well turn out to be a recce one in Germany but I'll have to find a suitable squadron that isn't 2 or 79.

Questions elsewhere about Venoms have given me the idea to replace the Venom's Ghost with a Nene - I'd acquired an Airmodel Vampire NF10 conversion which specifies a Heller Vampire as a base kit.  Now apart from the fuselage pod and a few other bits, the Heller Mistral is largely the same as their Vampire and I'd picked one up for a quid at a show a few years back.  So use that as the base and use the pod on a Venom, replacing the one in the Aeroclub kit with something easier to build.

I've also looked at the Airfix Vampire T11 and seeing if I could graft a Sea Venom radar nose on it.  It may well fit so I may do some more thinking on this one.

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[The Wooksta!]

"That I don't know. But when the council come to demolish the house tomorrow, Michael, they're going to find it already demolished from within!"

Well, bar the belly tank, the Magna Swift FGA4 nee FR5 is together.  Typical Magna, the wing roots are deeper than yer actual wings by a good millimeter, so a good deal of hacking and sanding brought them down to something bearable, although I took the top down rather than underneath.  It doesn't look too bad, although no doubt a coat of primer will highlight everything and prove me wrong.

Today's highlight has been the endless sanding on the Supermarine 528/535 scratchbodge.  The fuselage went together and the nose got hacked off, the gaping wound tidied up and then the new nose got attached.  Bit of filler to blend it in and put it slightly to one side to cure whilst I attack the wings.

The tips are very different between the type 528/535 and the later Swift F1, which has what I think are termed streamwise tips.  The earlier ones are squarer, less rounded and longer.  Several copies of the Hygate plans were used, by placing said resin wings on top, drawing a line round the tips and then transferring the plans to plastic card for a core to work on.  This time I went for the very easy approach - superglue and baking soda.  Flood the area to be filled with superglue and liberally drench with the baking soda, then tip off the excess.  Give it a good sanding and it polishes up nice.  You have to get sanding pretty quick, as the longer it's left, the harder it gets.  With the tips done, I made good the iffy castig before really iting the bullet and dealing with the original issue with the master for said wings - Magna. 

It has to be said that his mastering sometimes left a bit to be desired, and in this case, the starboard wing was thicker than the port, so out with the heavy duty files and get to work.  Didn't take too long but as a result there's no detail left. As it is, I'm planning a PR machine, filled and polished for extra speed, so very little detail would be left anyway.

As that had gone on far too seriously long enough by half, I pottered off for lunch, then came back to attack the fuselage.  The nose got tidied up, the remaining protrusions got sanded off - the attachment lugs for the tailplanes leaving the slots - and then I test fitted the wings.  Well, one got tacked on and I checked it against the plans and realised it was out as I'd left the original wing roots in place as a guide.  Bad move, they needed to go so I took about 2mm off by sanding the hell out of it and fitted the wing again,  Not perfect, but close enough.  On with the second and they got left to cure.

Whilst that was happening, I tidied up the glazing for the twin tail Blenheim and realised yet again that the Frog kit has a horrible fit, and especially the glazing. I also noticed that the painting in the cockpit was terrible and I really should have thrown that particular bottle of Xtracrylic out as it keeps splitting whilst it's drying and leaves a horrible mess.  That was redone with a different bottle and the glazing can go on tomorrow after I sort out a few other things.

Back to the 528/535.  I decided to tackle the wing roots, or rather the big holes that should be the wing roots.  Scrap resin pieces, scrap card, superglue and baking soda - all were employed to get something looking reasonable, although I have to sort out the trailing edge root as it just.....  One other thing I noticed on the Hygate plans was the belly tank wasn't the same one that the Swift used and it looked familiar.  Off I went to the only Airfix Swift I have and pulled out the tank.  Sure enough, this was what I was thinking and it matched the plans nigh on perfectly.  Would that it matched the fuselage perfectly, but then again, what's a bit more filler for?

TBH, given the issues I've faced, there may only be one of these, but IF I were to do another, I'd start with the Testors Swift for all the flying surfaces and an Attacker fuselage for the main body, suitably chopped about. Actually, I'd probably assemble the Swift fuselage, complete with wings in situ and then cut them out along the fuselage keeping the bottom of the aircraft in place, cutting out the corresponding section of the Attacker and do a cut and shut.  Although this would have to be a flying model, as I don't fancy having to grout out the wheel well bays.  Whichever method I empoy, it'll entail a great deal of sanding.

I've also started cleaning up the replacement Swift F7 that I got a few weeks back to replace the built up one that's become the PR6 (confused?  Yeah, so am I and it's me building the things...)  The wings were cleaned up, the fuselage too and I tried to get the cocpit module to fit a bit better than the one o=in the FGA4.  Hmm, it's a bit better but still horrible.

TBH, with the availability - pause for sarcastic response - of the far superior Airfix Swift, I'd advise to go for the latter, except I'm converting it back to a fighter for the FGA role.  IIRC, the only Airfix one I've built (but yet to finish) is going in the same role, albeit as a late one with the longer nose with electronics and black boxes rather than cameras.

This from the stash thread got me thinking whilst I raided said kit for the belly tank.  I'm using the Swift in the FGA role instead of the Hunter - or as well as the Hunter, and as it was very solidly built, it could have lasted in said role almost as long.  Now, The Jaguars didn't last long before they were upgraded with laser designators in the early 70s and if the Swift FR5s that are kept in storage as spares for the FGA4s are available for conversion?  If I splice in something that looks like a laser designator, then we're laughing.  It means I can get that one done and dusted.  How many Swifts is that on the go now/  Eight, I think.  or ten if you included the 535 and 545.  And I really didn't want to get sucked in with them...

More long term hangar queens - well, one- have had some work done.  I managed to get the interior of the American Gyro Company Crusader painted and some tape seatbelts in place before gluing the central pod together.  Bit of cleaning up and it'll be ready to fit to the rest of it.  The overall effect of the type is of a very primitive Vampire with light prop engines and trousered u/c.  Actually, it looks very Airspeed or De Havilland anyway and I'd like to do something similar starting with a DH Comet racer and some Vampire tailbooms.

Finally, I also did some painting on the interior of the Airfix Basset that may well end up as an Acklington station aircraft.  They're going to get a few of the light trainer types as hacks to go with their Spitfires.

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[The Wooksta!]

"I'm bored and deserve to die. This is the end. Armageddon! No future!"

Haven't done a lot since last week due to the change in weather.

I did get the pod attached to the rest of the Crusader, but then during sanding the filler off it got dropped and the booms broke off.  Not that bad a problem, it was a clean break and their vacation allowed better access to the wing roots to do the sanding there.  I'll get those back on and once I find the masks for the canopy, I can get on with painting the beastie.  I've long been thinking on a Malta/Transport scheme for it but there's others that are niggling away too.

The Fuji light aircraft thing got started and it's not a bad little kit.  The mainwheels have got to go and there's a few small fit niggles but it should go together quite quickly.

The Xtrakit Hunter T7/8 arrived today.  Now, I'd held off on getting one of these for some time as I'd read a few negative things on Britmodeller about fit and dubious accuracy.  Could they be right?  Well, yes they could but they could be wrong too, as if anything I think they've underplayed just how poor this rotten thing is.  And at £20 it's certainly overpriced.

Quite where to start.  Shape I think.  Two seat Hunters,  due to the subtle and complex curves of the widened nose, have always been a problem for whoever is doing the tooling and I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what's quite right or wrong.  Certainly compared to the PJ front end, the spine aft of the cockpit looks a tad skinny.  The jetpipe is definitely wrong for a British machine as it has the big bore exhaust of the F6/FGA9 instead of the correct small bore F4.  Fixable, if you have the spare small bore jetpipe from the PJ T7.  The gun blisters look a tad anaemic, and the tanks - you only get the smaller ones - look somewhat undernourished.  Again, fixable if you have a Revell or one of the other FGA9s and using SNEBs instead of the small outer tanks.

And then another cursory glance at the sprues.  The boundary layer splitters look more like scale railway sleepers and the wheels...  Do my eyes deceive me or are the wheels in the Frog F1 better with more detail?  No, they don't and the 60 year old Frog wheels are better than these... buttons.  Revell were slated and rightly so for the size of the wheels in their Hunter but these really are far worse and the nosewheel manages to be even smaller than the Revell one.  Fixable, again, with a spare u/c from a Revell kit if one has built a T7 from that and the PJ conversion which comes complete with replacement u/c.  But all the replacement parts shouldn't be needed.  How much am I replacing so far? 

Edit: Looking at the etched fret, it would appear that the wheel hubs are on here.  However, why?  There's no real need to do etched hubs, although reasons.  Looks like it's been done just for the hell of it.

Worse to come?  Oh, believe me, yes there is.

Test fit.  I've only played with the fuselage and the wing so far but already i just want to throw it in the bin.  The fit of the wing to fuselage is frankly appalling, because it just doesn't want to happen.  And if it does, I've a feeling there's a moulded in dihedral rather than the slight anhedral that the Hunter displayed and Revell got bang on the money.  The Revell fit isn't quite perfect but it's a damn sight more positive than this absolute train crash.  I did consider replacing the wing with a spare Revell one (it's not spare - yet - but at least one Hunter is going 1083 with Colin's conversion so the wing is theoretically spare). but there's a dirty great moulded in box in the recess where the wing goes that makes that somewhat difficult without resorting to the drill, the hedgetrimmers and some household bleach.  Already, I can see PTSD flashbacks to trying to get this utter parcel of toss together happening at some point in the future.  It comes to something when the prospect of building the 45 year old basic and inaccurate Matchbox kit is more appealing than building a supposedly state of the art kit from 2011.

Honestly, who designed and produced this crock of crap?  MPM, it says on the instructions and 2011.  So why is it nearly as bad as some of their earlier efforts?  I'm going to be frank here and say to anyone who is thinking about getting this utter parcel of sh*te to save themselves the grief and just shell out for a PJ conversion, even if it is pricey and a Revell Hunter. If you don't have this kit, good for you and avoid it with the same vigour you'd avoid one of Unicrap's abortions.  If you do, then get rid of it as quickly as possible.  Or at least, think of it as an ill fitting conversion for the Revell Hunter.

More thoughts about Venoms and Vampires.  One of the rather old school ways of getting a Venom was to do a cut and shut with the Frog Sea Venom for the bulk of the airframe and a Heller Vampire for the front end, with a lot of sanding to sort out the fairing at the back to get rid of it.  There was an article in SAM in the mid 80s, possibly by Pete Lockhart of Maintrack.  Well, I'm thinking about that, albeit not quite as I'm thinking more along the lines of a single seater for the navy instead of the Sea Hawk.  You'd be carrying more spares for one aircraft instead of for two and I'm sure that the bean counters safely shining their office chairs in Whitehall would appreciate the meagre savings to plough back into something less worthwhile.  More on this if and when it happens, but I've several cheap Frogspawn Sea Venoms to play with and more Heller Vampires than you can shake a stick at.

And at last we reach the end of the world.

I recently reread "The Last Flight of XM594", about a Vulcan dropping nukes during a cold war hot scenario in 1984 (apt date!) and I'm now tempted, quite strongly, to do a WE177 armed Vulcan in 44 Sqn's markings with that serial and the late overall wraparound scheme, very likely from the new Airfix kit as it has a full bomb bay.  594 still exists at Newark Air Museum, but is in a different scheme.  Thankfully, the world of "Protect and Survive" didn't happen, so that's not an issue.  The story explains the Vulcans being kept due to the worsening political situation, rather than being retired, so perhaps the camo got changed then. 

I'd also considered giving it the pylons and missiles for a Shrike armed one, as the missiles would come in handy when breaching WarPac defenses, but the text of the story doesn't mention them but then I can always do a different Vulcan during the same apocalyptic period with them, although probably with an old tool Vulcan as I have a  few stashed away.

So I go shopping for nukes and I know who to get them from - Freightdog.  And then I spot the WE177 conversion for the new tool Airfix Brick and decide to give that a spin too.  I know there's some part started old tool ones left at me Mam's so I may well dig one or two out for a Paveway equipped one dropping bridges and railway tunnels in East Germany and Poland, although they'd likely be one way trips, not that there's much to come back for.

I hadn't intended getting a new tool Brick, for the simple reason that I'm not that interested in the type and have several part started older kits tucked away in me Mam's loft - if I was that interested, I'd have finished them.  I haven't so therefore I'm not.  But this has got me thinking, plus the possibility of an S.1 in RAF colours - which I doubt anyone has done yet - and  whilst I had planned on getting several Xtrakit Hunters, the sheer vileness of the kit has forced a drastic rethink and they're now cancelled.  They're so vile I'm even considering buying an Odds and Ordnance one from Alleycat, and I'd vowed *NEVER* to deal with him again.  So I have potential cash going spare, Uncle Frank opens soon, and I'd like to put it in his pockets rather than faceless ebay sellers and shifty UK garage producers.

I've just remembered I've a "Red Beard" Brick conversion I got from Martin a while back and I'd never got round to using it.  That was intended to go on the older Airfix kit and I do have a set of Modelart intakes geared to go with that kit.  Hmmn.  Say the S1s are transferred to the RAF when the Navy upgrades to the S2 and then used as interim Canberra replacements in Germany whilst BAC are working up TSR2 production.  DSG/DG over white and the smaller S1 intakes plus glossy type Ds and one of the less sexy Brick units - say 15 sqn? - and I think we could have a go.


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[The Wooksta!]

"Look! Just give us the note!"

I've done some basic cleanup with the Pegasus Swift that I got from Kitbasher and whilst the rear fuselage is a tad bent, it will go together, especially after given the hot water treatment.  Although a few bits are by necessity of the limited run process a bit woolly, they're not that bad.  It certainly *is* buildable - I wrestled one together nigh on 30 years ago, putting in a reasonable attempt at a cockpit interior, although it got finished by someone else - and it's probably going to be another variation on n FB4 or FGA4. Again, I'm thinking of another airfield decoy, possibly with a tarpaulin over the cockpit so I don't have to put one in. 

Although that's cheating and a few bits of plastic card to represent some basic side consoles shouldnt be too hard to do - if I can do it in '91, I can do it now.  Although I could spend the wadge to get a resin upgrade for the Aifix kit and use the plastic from there to upgrade the Pegasus.  It certainly needs a new u/c and Dave had included the Aeroclub white metal set.  Although they're nice, the mainwheels are integral with the leg and looking at the ones in the Airfix kit they look to be exactly the same as those applied to Sydney Camm's finest, so I could steal a set from the Revell Hunter and I know I have at least one spare set.

I have some vague memories of Mike McEvoy building one at Donnington in 1996 - well, certainly sanding a partially assembled one into a shape more resembling an F2 rather than the FR5 of the kit - and he told me that he was doing it in 74 Sqn markings as they were to have been recipients of the F2 until it was realised by all and sundry that it was a deathtrap.  The nose on the kit does look to be a bit short for an FR5 and that had sparked his using it.  Still thinking about splicing in the laser nose from a Jaguar but I disposed of all of mine a good decade or so back.  I've a feeling Nev may have got them, not that I had many.

When I went looking for Vulcan decals yesterday - found all the ones I have but not one had the serial I was looking for - I chanced upon another copy of the Meteor sheet I referred to a week or so bak and two copies of the Hunter sheet with the 74 Sqn markings.  I now have more than enough to do the few 74 Sqn Swifts I was planning on, at least the F7s.  I did start cleaning up the Magna one but didn't get much further than that.

I'm having another think on the RAF Buccaneer S1s.  Not much just something that's very subtle - one in anti flash white with the toned down markings.  Doesn't look much different from a Navy one right?  Well, once it's got a fin flash and another unit marking, it should be just different enough to annoy the purists and that would never do...  How many S1 conversions do I have?

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[The Wooksta!]

"Well! That is the first sensible thing you have said all day."

Did some tidiying and condensed several Spitfire spares boxes - or rather, boxes with spare Spitfire bits - down into one, although it still barely scratches the surface..  In the process, I came across a part started Airfix new tool Defiant and I was determined to get it together, as there wasn't that much to do to get the airframe together.  Basically a quick coat or two of paint in the cockpit, some tape belts and glue the thing together.  I'll let the glue cure overnight and get any filler needed on it in the morning.

I'm not planning anything too radical, other than a change of location for whichever squadron it's assigned to, said location being RAF Acklington, which did host Defiants of 141 Sqn before they were re-equiped with Beaufighters in summer 41.

Tother thing I did today was try and get the Boeing XF8 a bit further forward, so the instrument panel was assembled - one of those film things behind etched brass - although I made a bit of a hash of it through rushing it.  I'm not that invested in this thing, I just wanted it built and out of the way, but I do think I could have made a better job of the cockpit so far, even though it's likely to be unseen.  I decided against the etched belts, preferring my usual tape because I know what I can and can't do and I'm happy with that. The fuselage is now together and some filler applied underneath.

It's a BIG aircraft, especially for a single seater, and it dwarves a Firebrand, makes a Wyvern looks small and even manages to make the Spearfish look a bit weedy by comparison.  Still undecided on scheme - FAA or High Altitude Day Fighter?  Given that it could carry a reasonable bomb load internally for a good range (I forget what it was), the former may be a better idea and assign it to one of the units attacking German shipping in northern Norway.  I may well do that with the Magna Firebrand that got stalled - the dark scheme would certainly hid the flaws of the horrid early Magna kit, although it would have the front of the cowling replaced by a copy of the new tool Valom one.

The Pegasus had the fuselage dipped in hot water to try and straighen it out a bit.  It worked, but showed up a need for a judicious snading to try and bring the width of the rear fuselage down a tad to something a bit more realistic.

Just another spin on the slowly rotating carousel of death.

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[The Wooksta!]

"Why won't you let me set off the bomb, you b*******!"

The XF8 is as about as together it'll be prior to getting a coat of primer.  It's a BIG aircraft - think 48th Bearcat with a 72nd pilot and you're about there.  I'm still undecided as to whether or not to fit the drop tanks, although it'll need them for trips to Northern Norway to sink a few ships.  Paintwise, it's definitely going in the EDSGover Sky scheme worn by anti shipping aircraft but I'm tempted to leave the engine cowling in natural metal or possibly white as a quick recognition feature.  I know the Mauler is going in a naval scheme, although as that didn't come with any stores in the kit - Siga did that as a separate kit - it's just going to be a prototype. 

The Defiant is also about ready to prime too.  Comments in the stash thread about the kit and what to do with one sans turret led me to suggest a cross kit with the Pegasus Defiant Target Tug to do a decent version of the latter.  Anyhoo, that led me to digging one out - it's a bit rough and ready but it's certainly buildable and being one of his late 80s kits, came with some really nicely cast metal.  And I find an assembled TT that I was gifted some years back.  The canopy has long since vanished and I've a feeling I stole the white metal u/c for the single seater with the BFO guns under the wings.  But I had intended to do it as a radar equipped nightfighter, with 4 20mm Hispanos in the wings.  The canopy is a bit ropey, but I've several spare Airfix ones and it will fit.  I also found I had a spare set of Airfix u/c that I don't know where they came from, but they'll come in handy too.

I suggested a back dating of the type to an earlier version sans turret and with a Scarfe ring replacing it with a pair of Lewis guns, a radial engine and either spats or  trousered u/c.  Possibly in markings for RAF Habaniya in 1941.  I rather like this idea but I feel using the older Airfix kit is a better idea - more rivets, the engine needs replacing anyway, the fuselage doesn't flare out so much and it's more suited to hacking about.  If you can get something decent out of teh old Defiant kit, you've proved yourself as a decent modeller and it's something that most British modellers will try at some point.

I've managed to find the Airfix Buccaneers in the loft at me Mam's, discoving I had two assembled and one off the sprues but no further - 3 in total.  This is handy, as the latter will become a Red Beard equipped one, but I'm not sure if it'll be RAF or FAA just yet.  One of the other two has the flat bomb bay, so that's going to be a Gyron Junior RAF S1 in the early scheme, probably in the early scheme worn by aircraft belonging to 237 OCU, and thankfully I have a set of the airwaves early pylons in the box of bits, along with several sets of Aeroclub bang seats and u/c sets.  Result!.  The last one was originally going to be a navy one with the bulged tank, but somehow morphed into an RAAF one, although it never got much further than a coat of primer.  I did fit the later missile pylons and the chaff dispensers, so this is now going to be a Paveway equipped one in February 1984 in Germany, as part of "Protect & Survive".  I'm planning on a WE177 version using Uncle Colin's resin conversion for the new tool Airfix kit as part of the same theme.

I did locate my box of RAF weapons, the Hi-Tech ones that Airfix brought out at some point in the 90s, so I know I've a stash of assorted lethality to equip these with  I'm just wondering if I could fit either a pair of Paveways or WE177s under a Hunter, although I'm unsure if it was ever cleared to carry such a load.

I did dig out several other things, which are all part of a similar theme.  First was an Airfix old tool Vulcan, and this will be one carrying Shrikes as well as the (internal and therefore unseen) WE177s.  And there's two in the box.  I did locate the box with the Vulcan and three Matchbox Gnats, so I know where that is.

Second was an assembled Blackbeard resins TSR2 fuselage.  IIRC, I was going to do it as an Indian aircraft, but this may end up as something else.  I dragged out an Airfix one too, just to see if it's as vile a fit as I remember.

Last thing I dug out was a part started Airfix MRCA.  Now this one is going to get a drastic nose job in the shape of a TSR2 front end, because I remember reading an article in a magazine a while back - and typically, I've forgotten which one - which had a three view of an early MRCA proposal with a TSR2 front end, and naturally, having the bits and an interest in one if not necessarily the other, I wanted to cobble one together.  I *really* need those drawings so I know where to cut the TSR2 front end - is it forward, aft or in the middle of what would have been the electronics bay on TSR2? Having compared the resin front end, it'll fit and definitely will not be a tail sitter, not with all that weight at the nose end. 

After a quick search on ebay, I found it was the November 2019 issue of The Aeroplane - and I have it! - and it's not a Tornado, but the Vickers Type 589, which led to the Type 590 to AST355.  Drawing shows cockpit is cut aft of the nav position.  It's not quite a Tornado, but it's close enough for me.  The fin is closer to TSR2, so that will help.  I may keep a number of the Tornado features as mine would be a production aircraft and thus different to the drawings - many of the same engineers would have worked on TSR2 and later Tornado with everything in between, so there's a good grey area to argue in.


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[The Wooksta!]

"I hope this isn't a dud!"

Went to see Uncle Frank and to put some shekels into his pockets.  Not as many as I wanted to but that's because he didn't have what I was after  - a new tool Buccaneer and an Xtrakit Meteor NF11/12/14.  TBH, the Brick he's ordering in and he's giving me the decals from the Meteor - I only want the 64 Sqn ones anyway and they're in the new Special Hobby NF12.

The Buccaneers that I do have are moving along.  Well, two of them anyway.  The one in white primer had the engines removed and replaced with the S1 engines from Model Art.  Sadly, no distructions with them but I managed to fudge it and got them fitted, although there were a few fudges along the way.  All filled now with a noxious brew of superglue and humbrol filler, which is all sanded back.  I reshaped the wingtips to the earlier configuration, although this was more luck than judgement as all my references on the type are still in the loft at me Mam's.  I should have the wings back on it later, plus the airbrakes, so it'll get a new coat of primer sometime soon.

The other one, the one that's not assembled, now has the Red Beard insert in the bomb bay and the intakes are painted as well as the engine fans, so I'll get the main fuselage together later.

Where do the Bricks fit into my view of the RAF post 1970?  The S1 is an interim trainer.  The S2 is grudging bought as a stopgap until TSR2 enters service in the early 1970s, but with the Brick in service, the RAF doesn't get the 300 or so TSR2s they were angling for.  The Brick is used as it was OTL, as a Cranberry replacement in Germany whilst the TSR2 is kept largely in the UK as backup as a sophisticated penetrator if the excrement hits the rotary device.  Lightning stays in the ADV role, with Harrier as the Hunter replacement. 

One other thing has had me thinking.  The RAAF.  We all know about that fool Mountbatten with his cards and "one of these or five of these" but everyone who does the RAAF Buccaneer doesn't stop to think about it, they just do the S2 as the export version whereas if the RAAF had bought it, they may well have got the S1 if they're buying them off the shelf.

The TSR2/Tornado is shelved until I do some more thinking.  The airframe is too far from the drawing and I really want that blown up to 72nd before I do anything else.  I did cut the fuselage of the TSR2 down, realising that I'd have to take a slice out of the centre of the MRCAto slim it down.  Bit too much to do right now.


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