Gully-Lomax GuL-29PR Boobook. Wangaratta November 1963

[zenrat]

In 1954, at his inauguration, President of the People's Democratic Republic of Victoria Edward Whitten announced that he would take Victoria to the stars1.  While Ted may have meant this as a metaphor the Victorian Central Governing Committee took him literally and created the Victorian Aerospace Development Group (generally referred to as the 'Spacies' rather than by their slightly unfortunate acronym).
GuL29-PR Boobook013 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
Requiring research aircraft to probe the mysteries of "flying really really fast, the top of the sky and other odd spacey stuff up there"2 the Gully Design Bureau was tasked to work with the noted Accumulation Engineer Professor Gregor Lomax.  The first result of this team up, the GuL-1, was a rocket powered delta canard design which accidentally broke the sound barrier on it's second flight when test pilot Barry "Clumsy" Climax dropped a sandwich and nudged the throttles fully open while reaching down to retrieve it.3
GuL29-PR Boobook024 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
By 1958 the GuL-29 (Gully-Lomax nicknamed it the Piloted Projectile but the name was never officially adopted4) was setting speed, altitude and climb records5 while the instrumentation contained in it's distinctively long and slender nose brought back valuable information to The Spacies on the upper reaches of the atmosphere.
GuL29-PR Boobook017 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
By 1960 however the GuL-30 and 31 were on the scene and the 29's were relegated to the back of the hangers, behind the spare barbecue, next to the old tyres.  In the normal course of things they would have been scrapped at the next spring clean but as luck would have it an enterprising young Reconnaissance Directorate officer who had been tasked with finding something to hang cameras on spotted them.  His brief had been to find "something fast and sexy, why should the fighter boys have all the fun?".
GuL29-PR Boobook015 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
15 GuL-29s had been built and all but one were transferred from The Spacies to the Reconnaissance Directorate6, rebuilt and redesignated the GuL-29PR Boobook7.
The scientific instruments had been removed when they had been pushed to the back of the Spacies hanger and during the rebuild the space freed up was used to house the usual military equipment.  Further modification included fitting a fixed8, high capacity in-flight refueling probe and underwing pylons for auxiliary tanks to increase the meager range.  RATO packs were found to be needed on some of Northern Victoria's shorter runways.
A South Australian manufactured Barossa Valley Optics BVO-79 Lofty camera pack was belly mounted between the nose and main undercarriage bays.  This carried 3 SC104 cameras with lenses of up to 48" in length.  A variety of interchangeable mirror/prism sets enabled mission specific camera angles to be selected9.  No armament was carried, the Boobook relying on it's speed and altitude to avoid enemy aircraft and it's nose full of ECM gear and it's chaff and flare dispensers to bamboozle any missiles that might sniff it out.
GuL29-PR Boobook020 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
All 14 Boobooks were painted all over blue.  Arguments amongst the staff of the Reconnaissance Directorate over which exact shade would be best had come to a heated stalemate (at least one ashtray was thrown) when the tea lady brought in the morning tea trolley.  It was sarcastically suggested that "as us bloody experts can't decide why don't we just ask Prudence here to pick a favourite".
Which she did.
And from that point on all Recce birds were painted Pru Blue...
During a 1976 interview for Flight magazine, it was pointed out to Gregor Lomax that many of the aircraft he designed bore striking resemblance to slightly earlier designs by overseas companies he grinned, nodded and said "yes, I've had those accusations put to me many times.  But you know what, form follows function and anyway the bastards are only jealous that mine were better than theirs"10.
GuL29-PR Boobook027 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Specifications (GuL-29PR-3)
(Data from PDRV Air Force Department of History)
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 66 ft 8 in
Wingspan: 23 ft 7 in
Height: 13 ft 6 in
Wing area: 196.1 ft ²
Empty weight: 14,000 lb
Loaded weight: 23,640 lb
Powerplant: 1 x PEF-JE12e afterburning turbojet
Dry thrust: 15,000 lbf
Thrust with afterburner: 23,600 lbf

Performance
Maximum speed: 2,134 mph (Mach 3.23)
Combat radius: 420 miles
Combat radius with 2 x wing tanks: 2,530
Service ceiling: 75,000 ft
Rate of climb: 73,000 ft/min

Armament
Guns: none
Hardpoints: 2 x underwing fuel pylons
Other: BVO-79 Lofty 3 camera conformal belly pack.

1. President Edward James 'Ted' Whitten.  Inauguration speech.  Hall of the People, Batmania, Peoples Democratic Republic of Victoria 1st January 1954.
2. PDRV specification SciCom14b.037.03.1954.  Overview.
3. "Clumsy drops a sanger and puts runs on the board".  Batmania Herald Sun 9th December 1954.
4. Official Spacies policy was that naming aircraft was frivolous.  Unofficially the GuL-29 was known as 'Mr Pointy', 'Needle Nose' or 'Faf'(Fast as F***).
5. March 1958 at Little Desert Proving Grounds- 1,527.9 mph, 93,476 feet and 25,000m in 253.23 seconds respectively.
6. Airframe GuL29006 was retained by VADG and after use as a chase plane is now displayed in the Victorian Air and Space Museum at Dadswell Bridge.
7. The southern boobook (Ninox boobook) is a species of owl native to mainland Australia, southern New Guinea, Timor and the Sunda Islands.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_boobook
8. Fixed as there was no internal space for it to retract into.  SOP at the time was to refuel at the edge of Victorian Airspace before heading into GEA territory with full tanks.
9. Vertical, Oblique, Straight Ahead etc.  These settings on the BVO-79 were not selectable in flight requiring ground crew to physically remove and replace mirror/prism sets.
10. Flight. November 1976.  "Gregor Lomax – Plagiarist and Scrabble cheat or self sung genius?" by Shan K Thomas.

The Boobook is based on a 1/72 Academy F104-G (basic, but a good place to whiff from).
Nose is a cut down 1/48 drop tank.
Wings are Mig 29 vertical tails and the stabilisers are Mig 29 stabilisers.
The drop tanks are (probably) 1/48 items and come from a box with "Plane Weapons" scrawled on the top with texta ($5 at Model Expo 2014).
RATO packs are from the Trumpeter 1/72 British Westland Wyvern.
Camera belly pack is scratchbuilt from styrene sheet and Tamiya polyester putty.
Pru Blue is White Knight Squirts Bermuda Blue gloss enamel from a rattle can under a coat or 2 of satin clear.

[NARSES2]

I like that 

[TallEng]

That's brilliant especially the back story with notes
And I love the Pru blue.....

Regards
Keith

[Tophe]

Very lovely! Thanks!

[Weaver]

Ha! That's excellent - love the "Pru Blue" 

[PR19_Kit]

SUPERB!  

And like the others, I LOVE the idea of 'Pru Blue'!  

[Amazingly the blue of my 'Superb' above almost IS 'Pru Blue' as well!  ]

[luft46models]

very nice job including the backstory!

Jeez an aircraft museum at Dadswell Bridge. I went to my mothers wedding near there ( 3rd one) and we all met at the Big Koala  around 11am which in those days was a mouldy old concrete monstrosity. They have since cleaned out the birds and spiders and it is now a proper tourist attraction  -   http://www.thegiantkoala.com.au/index.php.
It was a country wedding held near the top of a hill up a narrow goat track - many of the guests dresses were mud covered by the end. It ran really late whilst waiting for people and it was after 9pm before I got a proper hamburger at a truckstop.

William in Oz

[zenrat]

Thanks folks.
William - we usually stop for a cuppa at the Giant Koala on trips to Adelaide.  It reminds me of Totoro for some reason.  I picked Dadswell Bridge as while words were coming out of my fingers (copyright Kit 2014) the traffic reports on the radio were talking about a truck crash there closing the road to Adelaide.

[PR19_Kit]

.....while words were coming out of my fingers (copyright Kit 2014)

It's in the public domain now, so there's no copywrite any more. 

[luft46models]

It is certainly much improved now , I was last there a few years back, nice pie and coffee but visiting the winery in that area was better , lots of underground tunnels they use for storage. Totoro is yet another great Ghibli creation.

William in Oz

[kerick]

GuL-29PR "Boobook": Something to do with social media for ghosts.

Great story and cool model!

[Old Wombat]

Southern boobook.


And the somewhat similar but separate morepork - No, Terry Pratchett didn't know they existed when he 1st used the name.

[comrade harps]

That is so cool!   

And the backstory had me in a fit of giggles. 

[zenrat]

Thanks folks.
Humour is important to me.  If I can't have a laugh while i'm doing it I don't often bother.
Some people take modelling so seriously.