Vickers Armstrong/Supermarine Type 559`s Older Brother

[tc2324]

With the Harrier Ejection dio completed and no builds planned until the start of a What If GB on another forum, I have to admit to having plastic withdrawal symptoms.

This meant I had to do something and felt that if I pulled some bits off the sprue and looked at the concept of what I want to do, hopefully I`m not breaking to many, if any, of the GB rules before it starts.

So here`s the basis for the design, the Vickers Armstrong/Supermarine Type  559.....,





Are they Tiger stripes...   



So I`m going to be using two main kits for the main body of the build, a EE Lightning and F-4 Phantom.

In true Hollywood style this is going to be a `based on` build, i.e, the basic story is there, the rest is just fantasy.

First I`m looking to use the intakes of the F-4 and `transplant` them onto the Lightning....,





Then I be using the wing of the F-4 and sticking that onto the Lightning.....,



I`m going to be using a lot more of the Phantom than shown so not much will be left. Thinking of grafting the front cockpit of the F4 above the intakes and then onto the front of the Lightning fuselage.

Unfortunately I can`t show this without starting the model which obviously I can`t do as the GB has not started yet.

When it does, my first post will show all the `cuts` and amputations and type of prescribed medication I`ve been given. 

Roll on 1st August..... !! 

[Hobbes]

 

Looking forward to this one, the 559 is such a weird-looking creature.

[Sticky Fingers]

I always wondered what it would look like parked up. The undercarriage... where does it go? How long are the legs?
Can't wait to see what you come up with 

[NARSES2]

Pulls up a comfy chair 

[tc2324]

And so with the GB this model is going to be made for a couple of days away from starting, I managed to cut a few bits to size and have a look at the dimensions while not breaking the 25% complete rule.





Pretty it is not.

But as mentioned prior this is not a straight forward copy of the original design and more a version that was developed from the original concept.

[Captain Canada]

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder 

This is going to be epic. Love the look so far.

[Tophe]

Wonderful go on...

[tc2324]

So welcome back all to a tc Enterprises episode of `What the feck have you done to a perfectly good Lightning kit..., AAAAAAAGH!!!`

(Not sure that title will catch on..., but anyhoo, moving on .....),

First the pictures and then if you can stand to look any further, the explanation.







As you can see I`ve been a little busy chipping away at this and that. Trimming down some edges that were redundant and making a pigs ear out of it in general.

`But tc.., where`s the u/c going to go on this?` I hear someone at the back say.

As with all ideas in whiffing a model, everything tends to be in a state of flux with new things popping into my head. This aircraft will not have a u/c and this will all become clear at a later date. The reason? Well if I`m honest the u/c question was really going to be an issue with this. It`s kitbashed to hell now so it was going to be a real problem coming up with a workable solution. That is until I remembered some rather cool stuff involving the F-104. (That should pretty much give the game away!)

Next job on the agenda is to work the intakes and cockpit together and blend it all in at the front.

Should be easy then..........?

[kitbasher]

To be honest I think not chopping off the Lightning 'pit and fairing in a radome has all the makings of a convincing canard Lightning - and a better looker than the 559.

Either way, it's all very Fireball XL5.

Young people please refer to http://www.gerryanderson.co.uk/dt_portfolio/fireball-xl5/.

[Captain Canada]

....and theme song to boot ! 

Love the chopped up look of this...I think it`s going to look excellent.

[tc2324]

I`ve been working on blending the cockpit to the main fuselage section today.

Now after I removed the spine from the Lightning, this left me, as you can imagine, a rather large gap. This however was beneficial to the whole plan as it meant the front end of the fuselage had some `play` in it and could slightly bend into position. All that was needed was a couple of sprue bits to act as `tabs`.





The tabs have played their part in keeping the two sections straight and level......





Of course there still was the issue of the gap that needed to be filled. Now the way that I do it without using ten tubes of putty/filler and forgive me if I`m teaching you to suck eggs here, is to line the inside of the `gap` with masking tape. This is very easy to apply and conforms with all little gaps that are a pain to reach. Once this is done and then add a good spread of super glue and wait for it to dry rock hard. This means that when you apply the putty/filler to the gap from the exterior, has a `base` to rest on and less putty/filler is used.

Following picture shows what I mean and has the super glue spread on it.





Filler has been applied so now I just have to wait. And wait..., and wait. 

[Captain Canada]

Definitely at the ugly stage ! Got to admire a man, unlike Clarke W. Griswald, whom ain't afraid to 'go for it'

[Gondor]

Rather than simply filling such a large gap with half a ton (metric or otherwise) into the hole, try using scraps of plastic such as off cuts of plastic card or chunks of sprue/runner. It's free and comes with the kit so ideal to fill gaps and saves on filler.

Gondor

[tc2324]

Definitely at the ugly stage ! Got to admire a man, unlike Clarke W. Griswald, whom ain't afraid to 'go for it'

The liquid refreshments is always a help in these matters.... 

Rather than simply filling such a large gap with half a ton (metric or otherwise) into the hole, try using scraps of plastic such as off cuts of plastic card or chunks of sprue/runner. It's free and comes with the kit so ideal to fill gaps and saves on filler.

Gondor

Yep, not to worry, all the cut off`s have been saved.. 

And so a nice warm welcome to the newest member of the build......,



Now certain `heel` jokes aside, I needed a tank chassis that looked like a 1950`s design while keeping to the 1/48 scale. Hopefuly this will look the part once it`s put together and other bits added.

The kit itself is starting to take....., er..., shape? Although I don`t doubt it looks like it has more holes in it than the Titanic does these days.



Dodgy aircraft build, meet tank bit. Tank bit, meet dodgy aircraft build.......

[scooter]

Here ya go tc- The Type 559, as realized in KSP (as best as I can with what's available  )