What do you want from Freightdog? suggestions needed....

[Weaver]

How about a conversion set to turn a Vulcan into the Sea-Dart armed 'flying battleship' despcribed in Battle Flight?

For a 1/72nd scale conversion, you wouldn't have to master the missiles; you could just buy them in from Fleetscale. 'All' you'd have to make is the shorter radome for the Vulcan's nose, the teardrop-shaped search-radar pod that went underneath the nose, and the pylons.

You could do the same thing in 1/144th or 1/200th scale, but then you would have to master the missiles as well. An alternative would be to do the 1/144th conversion as the Phoenix + AWG-9 variant. That wouldn't need the separate radar pod, just the nose and the pylons. You could either master the missiles using kit parts as patterns, or possibly buy them in too, given the resurgence of 1/144th aftermarket stuff.

Update: OZmods do 1/144th scale Phoenix missiles.

[McColm]

The Blackburn Buccaneer is also a popular model to build with plenty of Whatifs.
Blackburn''s chief designer B P Laight proposal was to fit the Blue Parrot radar in the nose and use another one in the rear. The Buccaneer's trademark split breaks would be relocated creating a two seater AEW platform for the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.
There were issues with the Blue Parrot radar due to coverage but studies had shown to increase the antenna to 8ft/2.4m in diameter.
The resulting aircraft looked like a dumb-bell with wings.
There's an artist sketch in Chris Gibson 'The Admiralty and AEW' on page 15 on what it might might have looked like.

[Lord_Voyager]

How about either a 1/72 (or dare I dream) 1/48 NASA X-planes series? Nobody has produced any really good lifting body kits in 1/48...

[NARSES2]

The Blackburn Buccaneer is also a popular model to build with plenty of Whatifs.

But the base models are not readily available, or at least not in up to date forms

[Seabo14]

Perhaps a 1/72 Mosquito Highball? I'm a tad obsessed, but the existing ones are either unfindable, or ridiculously priced on ebay.

[Hobbes]

The Blackburn Buccaneer is also a popular model to build with plenty of Whatifs.

But the base models are not readily available, or at least not in up to date forms

Would an S.2 conversion for the old Airfix kit be viable? New intakes and exhausts, maybe a cockpit tub, the small fairings that attach to the front of the wing (ECM?).

[darthspud2]

Perhaps a 1/72 Mosquito Highball? I'm a tad obsessed, but the existing ones are either unfindable, or ridiculously priced on ebay.

like your thinking, might get some of my older kits built with a renewed idea.

[Thorvic]

Perhaps a 1/72 Mosquito Highball? I'm a tad obsessed, but the existing ones are either unfindable, or ridiculously priced on ebay.

http://www.blackbirdmodels.co.uk/mosquito-highball-conversion-72-1351-p.asp

Ask Glenn when its going to be bac in stock, he also does 618 sqdn decals to go with it

http://www.blackbirdmodels.co.uk/dh-mosquito-pt2-72-1263-p.asp

[The Wooksta!]

The Blackbird one is a direct copy of the second Paragon release.

[Gondor]

Would an S.2 conversion for the old Airfix kit be viable? New intakes and exhausts, maybe a cockpit tub, the small fairings that attach to the front of the wing (ECM?).

Which Airfix kit are you referring to, The N.A.39 kit or the Buccaneer S.2 B? If its the latter have you seen what is already on the Freightdog web site?

Gondor

[Seabo14]

Perhaps a 1/72 Mosquito Highball? I'm a tad obsessed, but the existing ones are either unfindable, or ridiculously priced on ebay.

http://www.blackbirdmodels.co.uk/mosquito-highball-conversion-72-1351-p.asp

Ask Glenn when its going to be bac in stock, he also does 618 sqdn decals to go with it

http://www.blackbirdmodels.co.uk/dh-mosquito-pt2-72-1263-p.asp

I saw that, but I just assumed it was OOP, because it had been out of stock for quite a while.

[Thorvic]

Perhaps a 1/72 Mosquito Highball? I'm a tad obsessed, but the existing ones are either unfindable, or ridiculously priced on ebay.

http://www.blackbirdmodels.co.uk/mosquito-highball-conversion-72-1351-p.asp

Ask Glenn when its going to be bac in stock, he also does 618 sqdn decals to go with it

http://www.blackbirdmodels.co.uk/dh-mosquito-pt2-72-1263-p.asp

I saw that, but I just assumed it was OOP, because it had been out of stock for quite a while.

It the nature of the small trader, they can afford a certain amount f stock but cant maintain a complete inventory, so once enough enquiries or requests come in Glenn will get a fresh batch cast along with any others.

He's just sent off the resin masters for his Saro Lerwick kit to CMR which should be in delivered in about 6 weeks, so not sure if any others sets are being done at the same time.

Colin on the other hand sells through Hannants as well as his own site so try's to keep up stock levels on the resin sets, where as the more expensive resin kits are not and again will be produced when the cost is justified by enough interest and pre-orders.

[Lord_Voyager]

I just had a quick thought... We have kits of the Bell X-1 and we have kits of the B-29 that carried it... but no conversion to mate the two! Either in 1/72 or 1/48 it would be a killer product... There's a trapeze, a manual elevator for the pilot to enter the X-1, cut away areas of the B-29 to make... Even the landing gear doors were removed from the B-29 to make room for the wingtips of the X-1.

I did this conversion years ago and it took quite some time to make the interior of the B-29 correct... Include the decals for the carrier craft and it's quite a tidy little package.

Comments? please?

[TallEng]

How about a conversion set to turn a Vulcan into the Sea-Dart armed 'flying battleship' despcribed in Battle Flight?

For a 1/72nd scale conversion, you wouldn't have to master the missiles; you could just buy them in from Fleetscale. 'All' you'd have to make is the shorter radome for the Vulcan's nose, the teardrop-shaped search-radar pod that went underneath the nose, and the pylons.

I know it's not helping Colin, but when I saw the picture of the Vulcan on the cover of Battle Flight, I thought, that's easy, Canberra wing tank as the underneath radome; pylons from plastikard; you'd only need to source the missile of your choice.

Regards
Keith

[Weaver]

How about a conversion set to turn a Vulcan into the Sea-Dart armed 'flying battleship' despcribed in Battle Flight?

For a 1/72nd scale conversion, you wouldn't have to master the missiles; you could just buy them in from Fleetscale. 'All' you'd have to make is the shorter radome for the Vulcan's nose, the teardrop-shaped search-radar pod that went underneath the nose, and the pylons.

I know it's not helping Colin, but when I saw the picture of the Vulcan on the cover of Battle Flight, I thought, that's easy, Canberra wing tank as the underneath radome; pylons from plastikard; you'd only need to source the missile of your choice.

Regards
Keith

You still need a new nose because the flying battleship's one is shorter and it's a full-section radome with the aerial attached to the bulkhead, whereas on the standard Vulcan one the top quarter of the nose is metal with the aerial hanging from it.

lf you're doing the Phoenix version you don't need any pod: it just had the AWG-9 in the main radome, same as an F-14. You only need the pod with Sea Dart because the nose has to hold the huge illuminator dish neccessary to work with the missiles polyrod aerials, so the AI radar gets displaced to the pod.

I think the pod's a bit bigger than a Canberra wing tank. It's holding a full AI radar so it's at least the diameter of a Tornado or Phantom's radome and maybe as big as an F-14's. A 1/48th Canberra tank might work on a 1/72nd Vulcan.