1/72 Airfix Saunders-Roe Skyrocket F.Mk.2 built from the S.R.53 kit.

[CSMO]

I started with an e-Bay find. It is an MPC release of the Airfix kit from the late '60s. The molds originated in 1958.


This build is to reflect the purchase of the Skyrocket F.Mk.2 as a point-defense interceptor to back up the E.E. Lightning. The markings are early 1980s. As the Firestreak and Red Top missles had a protracted development and a poor reliability record, the MoD mandated that the RAF purchase Sparrows and Sidewinders from the U.S..These missles had been proven in the skies over Vietnam. The inclusion or a powerful limited- scan targeting radar necessitated the redesign of the nosewheel well from the research prototype  to retract rearwards. Operational requirements dictated the need for additional fuel tankage. The ventral tank idea was borrowed from the Lightning.


To build this one, I fabricated from plastic card the nosewheel well, intake trunking,cockpit tub, bulkheads, instrument panel coaming, and a nosewheel door. I fashioned the turbojet and rocket exhausts from Contrail tube stock. The missles, launch rails, pylons, mainwheels, ejection seat, and ventral fuel tank came from Mr. Scrap-box, as did the decals. The pitot was cut down from the kit's instrument probe. The MPC decal serial #s were crap, so I substituted serial #s from an old Harrier sheet.


The ten-year old molding was already in sad shape when it was pressed over 40 years ago. The trenches(which I think were the handiwork of a pre-pubescent Matchbox trench-digger) needed de-emphasising and  some rescribing was needed. Seams were filled with superglue and Micro Krystal-Klear. A ton of flash was removed. The trickiest part of the build for me was putting the Scalemaster stripes on the missles. The striping reflects the markings on the missles in use at the time. The model was brushpainted freehand with Xtracolor Dark Green and Dark Sea Gray, over Testors square-bottle Silver, with Humbrol Aluminum for the wheelwells. Photography done via my wife's Sony digital camera(workbench) and my iPhone(cabinet).

Adios, Larry.

[Hobbes]

Very nice! Good to see one of these in different markings.

[PR19_Kit]

I do like that, oh yes! 

The placement of the Sparrows is inspired, love the way they're waaaaay out there!

[NARSES2]

That is nice and I particularly like the use of the ventral tank 

She's an old kit but your hard work has definately been rewarded

[darthspud]

Looks good to me and almost a real world interceptor.
Does make me wonder how the U.K. aero industry might have developed had Comrade Healey etc. not butchered it so effectively.

[The Wooksta!]

Nice.  I like it.

When compaed to the Barrie Hygate plans, that kit is pretty much bang on the money in terms of shape.  It's just the detail that's so crude.

Tip: the plastic guards for disposable razors make handy nosegear bays.

[kitbasher]

I' love an SR53 kit.  The Freightdog one I think deserves to be treated with respect and built real-world, but a cheap Airfix or copy would be ideal for whiffing (a Polish company produced copies a while ago according to internet sources, and there's a Czech copy I've just seen on e-Bay) .  And yes, I'm sure a cheap Airfix original would be rarer than rocking horse wotsit.
Too late to get a note to Santa now, though!

[The Wooksta!]

The Polish one *IS* the Airfix kit!  They (Airfix) loaned out the tool and never got it back.

[Hobbes]

Looks good to me and almost a real world interceptor.
Does make me wonder how the U.K. aero industry might have developed had Comrade Healey etc. not butchered it so effectively.

Well, there were plans for the SR.177, a larger follow-on to the SR.53. The 53 was pretty much a research aircraft only, with very little payload. The 177 was meant to address that. It was pretty much a competitor to the Lightning though, and the Lightning offered similar performance with much less complication.

[darthspud]

I'm fairly sure they had a restoration project at Brize Norton in the mid 1980's  refurbing the SR53. They had it in an old Fire station building behind base-hangar. Looked like they could use this model as a guide for the real thing.

[The Wooksta!]

SR177 would have been in service alongside Lightning.  TBH, given that the engine was VERY fuel thirsty, cancelling it was probably a good move.

[Chris Payne]

The Polish one *IS* the Airfix kit!  They (Airfix) loaned out the tool and never got it back.

Erm, no its not.

It is a clone of the kit that actually has less detail than the original Airfix one.The pilot figure on the Airfix kit has much more detail and the Sprue layout is slightly different too.

[kitbasher]

Last hijack of this thread from me - where did you pick your Astra clone/copy/stolen mould SR53 from, Chris?

[Chris Payne]

Thorvic picked this one up for me at one of the Doncaster model shows a number of years ago.

[The Wooksta!]

That's the one I've got.  I did have two but flogged one a few years back.  I think Geoff P got my Ursus one.