SNECMA Colibri (that's 'Hummingbird' in French....)

[PR19_Kit]

................and how are you planning to lengthen  a circular wing?

That's pretty much what Mrs PR_19 said when I showed her the 'first draft' of the model! 

Increase the diameter of the ring? 

Good in theory JayeBee, but the DEVIL of a job to do in reality. You'd need to do LOTS of filing to get the cross-section right and you'd have to build new struts to mount the fuselage. Plus it wouldn't fit the trolley either, so mine's going to have a hi-tech lifting section to carry the extra weight......

Yeah, right. 

[Tophe]

I love the new nose

[PR19_Kit]

Bizarrely, while digging around looking for some stuff for another project, I found I'd got a part built model of a Flettner Colibri! 

It's an old Huma kit which I must have had since the dawn of time, but I can't remember buying it, or why I did in the first place! It's not that pretty and looks an absolute pig to build!

Meanwhile, somewhere in 1/72 scale France, the SNECMA Colibri is proceeding again. Warming with a hair dyer expanded and softened the 'wing' enough to extract the fuselage and I've at last managed to assemble the instrument panel and the ejector seat, although the seat came from somewhere else as the kit offering looks NOTHING like any ejector seat I've seen before! I should get some paint on the inside of the cockpit today and then I can start the struggle to insert the myriad windows. One of them is in the FLOOR, for goodness sake!

[Weaver]

Nice project Kit! 

(Note sure how fighting a Mach 2 kit counts as an easy re-introduction to anything though.....)




Mr.Creak - couldn't resist nicking your picture for a motivational poster: it's over on the appropriate thread.

[PR19_Kit]

(Note sure how fighting a Mach 2 kit counts as an easy re-introduction to anything though.....)

I'm starting to think you may be right there! All four wheels of the trolley/launcher are different sizes.... 

[sandiego89]

Keep it up, love VTOL tail sitters!  Perhaps some little stub wings mounted at the mid point on the circular wing?  Would give a little lift and a place to mount the missiles or gun pods. 

[PR19_Kit]

That's not a bad idea! I might just give that a go, thanks. 

Of course we'll have to install the more powerful Atar DV-62-a engine.......... 

[PR19_Kit]

I'm continuing this build in this thread rather than carry on with the other one.

[NARSES2]

Kit would you like me to move any of the replies over from that new thread, delete it or what ?

Let me know and I'll see what I can do

Chris

[TheChronicOne]

How the devil did you find it, cos I looked for AGES and failed? Of course it didn't that I renamed it in the original thread.

Sometimes I use a certain search methodology when things are elusive. What I try to do is simplify and generalize my search terms as much as possible so search engines don't have to work as hard. The more words in the search, the less likely you are to find something sometimes so..... I just "boiled it down" to what I KNEW would likely be in the title: "SNECMA."  That's it.  I simply searched for "SNECMA" And it popped right up.

This is also a handy tip for looking for models on eBay. Don't look in specific categories, go all the way out to the general "models" (sometimes I go clear out to the "toys" category itself, I found an awesome rare 1/144 Boeing 727 kit this way as it wasn't listed in models at all....)  category because people are all the time listing things in the wrong place! Also, Instead of "Revell C-5 Galaxy 1/144 scale"I simply search "C-5 Galaxy"and I get things I would have missed otherwise. 

Basically, I use K.I.S.S. when I use search functions. I learned this stuff the hard way after endless hours of searching fruitlessly for things. Sometimes search engines leave out results completely in an attempt to be as precise with the search as we are with the search criteria.

[PR19_Kit]

I was looking for 'Coleoptre', forgetting that I'd renamed the thing originally. 

[PR19_Kit]

Kit would you like me to move any of the replies over from that new thread, delete it or what ?

It's OK thanks Chris, it'll do as it is thanks.

[TheChronicOne]

I was looking for 'Coleoptre', forgetting that I'd renamed the thing originally. 

I think forensic scientists have done studies on this junk. I've had it happen to me plenty of times, including things like remember something being a completely wrong color or being the wrong model or something like with an automobile. I'm starting not to trust my long term memory as much....           

[NARSES2]

Kit would you like me to move any of the replies over from that new thread, delete it or what ?

It's OK thanks Chris, it'll do as it is thanks.

[Paper Kosmonaut]

To add some more Kolibri named aircraft, the Dutch also had one, a ramjet-propelled small helicopter. It was made in 1957 and flew very well, but didn't have a lot of success at the market.