Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. Ia, 8ème Esc. de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge 1940

[Dizzyfugu]

A kind of quick co-production, since this one was inspired by a profile from fellow user NightHunter (more here: http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,36775.150.html). More info below, but first the story behind it...


1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Some background:
In the late 1920s, the Aéronautique Militaire (Belgian Air Force) set out to replace its old aircraft. Accordingly, Belgian officers attended the Hendon Air Display where they saw a Fairey Firefly and met Fairey staff. The Firefly toured Belgian air bases in 1930 and met with approval from pilots. This led to a contract for 12 UK-built Firefly II to be followed by a further 33 aircraft built in Belgium.

Fairey already had a number of Belgians in key roles in the company; Ernest Oscar Tips and Marcel Lobelle had joined during the First World War. Tips went to Belgium to set up the subsidiary company. He based the new company near Charleroi. The fighter ace Fernand Jacquet who operated a flying school nearby joined the company in 1931.
Avions Fairey received further orders for Fireflies followed by Fairey Foxes which would be the main aircraft of the Belgian Air Force; being used as a fighter, bomber and training aircraft.

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Most of Avions Fairey work was on military contracts. The contact with the Belgian military led to Fairey developing the Fairey Fantôme as a followup to the Firefly for the Belgians. Of the three prototypes, two ended up in Spain (via the USSR) the third as a test aircraft with the RAF.

Another indigenous design of Avions Fairey was the Faune fighter, or better: it's fall-back design. The original design for the Faune started as an advanced (for the era) monoplane under the direction of Ernest Oscar Tips in 1934. He grew concerned that the design would not mature, and ordered a backup biplane design, just to be safe.

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Internally called the "Faune-B",  the alternative biplane was also a modern design with staggered, gulled upper wings that were directly attached to the fuselage and stabilized by single spars.  The single bay wings were of wooden construction, while the fuselage was of mixed steel and duralumin construction, with a fabric covered steering surfaces.

Aerodynamic problems with the favored monoplane design led in 1935 to an end of its development, and further resources were allocated to the biplane. The most significant change of this revised version was the introduction of a retractable landing gear, which necessitated the lower wing main spar to be moved backwards by almost 1' and led to a distinctive wing layout.

In this modified guise the first flight was made in October 1936 with Fernand Jacquet at the controls, powered by an imported Bristol Jupiter engine and outfitted with a wooden, fixed pitch propeller. Armament comprised four 7.5 mm (.295 in) MAC 1934 machine guns with 300 RPG, two synchronized in the upper forward fuselage, and one under each lower wing, mounted in an external nacelle outside the propeller disc.

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The Belgian Air Force accepted the fighter and production as Mk. I started in 1938, now powered by a licensed built Bristol Mercury that drove a three blade variable pitch propeller, and a fully enclosed cockpit. Compared with the very similar Gloster Gladiator, which was used by the Aviation Militaire Belge at that time, too, the Faune showed a higher speed and better climb rate, but was not as agile. The field of view for the pilot was poor, especially on the ground, and the narrow and low landing gear made ground handling, esp. on unprepared airfields, hazardous. Furthermore, the landing gear's complicated manual mechanism was prone to failure, and as a consequence the landing gear was frequently kept down so that the aerodynamic bonus was negated.

In late 1939 a total of 42 Avions Fairey Faunes had been built, and in order to compensate for the weaknesses trials were made to incorporate heavier armament in early 1939: the wing-mounted machine guns were on some machines replaced by 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon in deeper fairings and with 40 RPG, and the modified machines were designated Mk. IA. Around 20 machines were converted from service airframes and reached the active squadrons in early 1940. Furthermore, one Faune Mk. I was experimentally outfitted with a streamlined cowling, designated Mk. II, but befor the machine could be tested or even flown, Belgium had been occupied.

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


With the looming German neighbors, Belgium also ordered Hawker Hurricanes to be built in Belgium. However, on 10 May 1940, the Avions Fairey factory was heavily bombed by the Germans, the company personnel evacuated to France, and then left for England. Their ship was sunk by German bombers outside St Nazaire, though, and eight Fairey staff were killed; the survivors worked for the parent company during the Second World War. None of the Belgian Faunes survived this WWII episode.



General characteristics:
   Crew: 1
   Length: 27 ft 5 in (8.36 m)
   Wingspan: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
   Height: 11 ft 9 in (3.58 m)
   Wing area: 323 ft2 (30.0 m2)
   Empty weight: 3,217 lb (1,462 kg)
   Loaded weight: 4,594 lb (2,088 kg)

Powerplant:
   1× Bristol Mercury VIII radial engine, 625 kW (840 hp)

Performance:
   Maximum speed: 253 mph (220 knots, 407 km/h) at 14,500 ft (4,400 m)
   Cruise speed: 210 mph[94]
   Stall speed: 53 mph (46 knots, 85 km/h)
   Endurance: 2 hours
   Service ceiling: 32,800 ft (10,000 m)
   Rate of climb: 2,300 ft/min[94] (11.7 m/s)
   Climb to 10,000 ft (3,050 m): 4.75 min

Armament:
   Initially (Mk. I) two synchronised .303" Vickers machine guns in fuselage sides,
   plus two .303" Lewis machine guns; one beneath each lower wing.
   Mk. IA aircraft had the wing-mounted machine guns replaced by
   two 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon



The kit and its assembly:
This one was inspired on short notice by a series of side profiles of a fictional British creation called "Bristol Badger", published by whatifmodeler.com's NightHunter with support from Eswube and Darth Panda - very reminiscent of the PZL 24 fighter, but a biplane:



A very pretty creation that could rival with the Gloster Gladiator - and seeing the profiles I wondered if a retractable landing gear could be added, in the style of a Grumman F4F or the Curtiss SBC? Hence the idea was born to take this CG creation to the hardware stage.

Another side of the story is that I had been pondering about changing the ugly Curtiss SBC into a single seat fighter. And since the "Badger" would be an equivalent build I eventually decided to combine both ideas.

Legwork turned out that the Bristol Badger actually existed, so it was not the proper name for this creation. Since my designh benchmark was a Belgian aircraft I simply switched the manufacturer to Avions Fairey (see above).

Effectively the Faune is a kitbash of  a Heller SBC and a Polikarpov I-15 from ICM - the latter is a noteworthy, small kit because it is full of details, including even an internal frame structure for the cockpit and a highly detailed engine - without any PE parts.

1:72 Avions Fairey Faune Mk. IA (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


From the SBC the fuselage and the lower wing was taken. The I-15 donated the upper gull wing and its tail - the SBC's was cut away where the observer's station would be, and the diameter of both fuselage sections matches well. The I-15's fabric cover on the tail disappeared under putty. The SBC's canopy was also used , just the observer's rearmost part was cut away and a new spine and fairing sculpted from putty.

1:72 Avions Fairey Faune Mk. IA (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey Faune Mk. IA (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Since I wanted a different engine installation (not the streamlined but somewhat ugly solution of the SBC) the SBC fuselage was also cut away in front of the landing gear wells. Bulkheads from styrene sheet were added, and I implanted the nose section and the Bristol Jupiter engine with an open ring cowling from a Matchbox Vickers Wellesley.
Once the wings were in place I implanted the SBC's struts and some wiring was added. The landing gear comes from the SBC, too. The cannons under the wings come from a Hobby Boss Bf 109F.

1:72 Avions Fairey Faune Mk. IA (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey Faune Mk. IA (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


Painting and markings:
As mentioned above, I used a Belgian Air Force aircraft as design benchmark, and this meant a simple livery in khaki and aluminum dope, similar to Belgian Gloster Gladiators or Fairey Foxes in the late 30ies.

The paint scheme is very simple, I used "French Khaki" from Modelmaster's Authentic enamel range and acrylic Aluminum from Revell. All internal surfaces were painted with RAF Cockpit Green (Modelmaster). The wing struts were painted glossy black, just as on Belgian Foxes or Gladiators of the time.
After a light black ink wash I did some shading with Faded Olive Drab, Humbrol 102 and even some RLM 02, while the Aluminum received some panels in Humbrol 56 and Modelmaster's Aluminum Lacquer. Panel lines were added with a simple, soft pencil.

1:72 Avions Fairey Faune Mk. IA (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) - WiP by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


The decals had to be puzzled together - originally I wanted to use a set for a Belgian Hurricane, but the carreir film turned out to be brittle, so the roundels now come from a generic TL Modellbau sheet, the "Cocotte Bleue" from an anniversary Mirage 5BE, and the codes actually belong to a Chilean D.H. Venom...

Finally, everything was sealed under a mix of 80% flat and 20% gloss acrylic varnish.

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 Avions Fairey 'Faune' Mk. IA; aircraft 'J-04' of 8ème Escadrille de Chasse, Aviation Militaire Belge, Chièvres, 1938 (Whif/Kitbashing) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr


In the end, a major kitbash that looks rather simple - but I am actually surprised how well the parts of the I-15 and SBC went together. And the result does not look like the Frankenstein creation this whif kit actually is...

[Spey_Phantom]

i love it 
anything in Belgian Markings looks good 

[Captain Canada]

Gorgeous. Love the colours on this one.

[nighthunter]

I actually enjoy being Thomas's idea wizard, LOL! Excellent work!

[Dizzyfugu]

I actually enjoy being Thomas's idea wizard, LOL! Excellent work!

You're welcome. 

And thanks a lot to anyone else. 

[jcf]

Very nice. 

The only issue I see is the unwarranted slander against the SBC-4. 

[Hotte]

Nice Bird 

Hotte

[zenrat]

I'm with JCF re the Helldiver.
This looks great though.

[NARSES2]

Oh that looks a natural in those markings 

[b29r]

What JCF and Fred said ^^^^^     Great job, research, and backstory . . . you really had me going as to what kits were involved.  Just terrific! 

Best regards,
Kem

[flappydaffy]

  i like it, looks so real

[Dizzyfugu]

Again, thanks a lot - and kind regards to NightHunter and his "crew" for the basic idea. 

[nighthunter]

How it works over on shipbucket, and not to say others didn't have a hand in it, but when we draw something or kitbash something together, like I did with the Bristol Badger, we credit other artist for some of the parts we use. In this case I used parts drawn by Darth Panda and eswube, along with modifying it to fit all together. But their parts from other aircraft is what I threw together to make the Badger, kinda like crediting kit companies for a kitbash, like Thomas does with his list of parts.

[comrade harps]

I really like that. 

[DogfighterZen]

Great stuff!! All the work done is very good, when i saw the first pics, i thought it was an OOB build with whifed markings and scheme...