McGreig's Gallery of Failure - Spitfire Seaplane & Yak-3 Now Finished

[McGreig]

Well, here we are at the day before the (extended) deadline and there's my modelling desk, barely visible underneath all the incomplete Anthony P projects. A monument to over-ambition and disorganisation  

This Spitfire floatplane is almost there, it just needs decals, some small parts and the propeller painted, but pressure of work in the Real World (at 21.25 last night - Saturday!! - I was filing a set of accounts on-line with Companies House) means that even small stuff like this is unlikely to get finished in time.



The same can be said for this cannon armed Yak-3 - it just needs decals and undercarriage doors but it probably won't happen.



Likewise, this alternative Lend-Lease Wildcat, although it has a bit more to do than the first two.



And then there's the Kocherigin OBP dive bomber. Spurred on by the success of the Gu-VRD, I decided to do a second Unicraft kit for this build:



It's actually gone quite well and all the major work is complete but I ran out of steam (and some enthusiasm) and so it currently looks like this:



Which brings us to the poor old P-40Z. This is actually a resurrected project. I started this in 2008 (!) and then ran out of enthusiasm and put it away in a box of incomplete kits. I brought it out again for the Anthony P build and it now only needs the windscreens fitted to be ready for final painting and undercarriage fitting. But this is unlikely to happen in the next week or so and so, for the second time, the P-40Z becomes a "did not finish".



Another resurrected project of similar vintage is this Chinese Eurocopter Tiger. It was started at a time when it was rumoured that the new Chinese attack helicopter, the Z-10, was going to be heavily influenced by Eurocopter. There is probably more to do on this project than it looks, so it becomes another serial "did not finish" project.



And finally, the canard MiG-25:



Some of these may appear in their own threads in due course, but don't hold your breath - - -

[PR19_Kit]

They ALL look very promising anyway.   

We can wait......... 

[NARSES2]

See my latest comment here http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,38885.15.html

[McGreig]

See my latest comment here http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,38885.15.html

Thanks for that  In that case, I'll probably select a couple of the more likely ones and set up threads for them tomorrow. Or, I suppose, I could just use this thread and re-title it. Hmm - - - "McGreig's Gallery of Impending Failure"? "Potential Failure"? 

[NARSES2]

I'm treating this thread as possible's mate

[McGreig]

I'm treating this thread as possible's mate

OK, that makes life simpler. I'll just add these two - the He-162 for the obvious reason that it's as near finished as the Spitfire, Yak and Wildcat, and the MiG-21 for the not-so-obvious reason that I've just acquired all the parts that I need to finish it.





Now we'll see how many of these I actually finish in the next month 

[Weaver]

More like McGreig's Gallery of Endless Potential! 

Good luck with all of these excellent projects.

[McColm]

Looking good.

[McGreig]

Soviet Spitfire Seaplane:



In 1946 the Border Guards Flight of the Baltic Fleet was using captured Arado Ar-196 seaplanes. These had been captured in Finland and Bulgaria at the end of the war and were far from new when the Russians began to use them.

Unfortunately, replacing these machines was not a high priority and most aeronautical funding was directed to the rapid development of front-line jet fighters and bombers.

However, the USSR had been sent approximately 1,200 Mk.IX Spitfires in 1944 and 1945 and many of these had relatively few hours on the airframe and were almost new. TsAGI, the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute, was aware of British experiments with float equipped Spitfires and suggested that, although a single seater, a float equipped Spitfire might be a suitable replacement for the Ar-196.



This proposal was attractive for several reasons. The Spitfire was relatively modern but was obsolescent as a fighter and , therefore, available for conversion. The airframes were in good condition, spare parts were plentiful given the number of Spitfires available and the cost of conversion was expected to be minimal.

Once the go-ahead was given, the Beriev Bureau at Taganrog was given the task of converting the Spitfires into floatplanes. Originally it was proposed to adapt floats from either the Arados themselves or from the Beriev KOR-2 seaplane. However, in the end, new floats were designed and manufactured at Taganrog.





Twenty Spitfires were converted and these served with the Baltic Fleet until 1953.

This is the Airfix 1/72 Mk.IX converted into a floatplane by using the floats from the PM Mk,V kit. The beaching trolley is a white metal item from the long-gone Esoteric Models.



And in reality, there were no Soviet Spitfire seaplanes and it was the venerable Arados that served until 1953!

[comrade harps]

That float spitfire is lovely 

[Captain Canada]

Holy cow you're super busy over there eh ? Nice ! Lots of tasty goodies to peruse. I really like the twin P-40....and that Spitfire looks awesome in those colours ! I cn imagine the look on the Germans faces when they started facing Spitfires again.....

[PR19_Kit]

Love that Soviet Spit floatplane. 

And you're right about Esoteric and their range of stuff, I wish I'd bought more of their beaching trolley kits when they were about.

[JayBee]

I see no failures here. Just some works in progress. 

[dumaniac]

nice spit - is the dolly scratch built or out of some kit ?

[PR19_Kit]

nice spit - is the dolly scratch built or out of some kit ?

See the note just above the last pic.  It was a white metal kit made by Esoteric Models from East Hagbourne in the UK. I know this for sure becayse a) I have  a couple of them and b) Esoteric worked from a house that was one occupied by one of my best school buddies.