23 Sqdn. DH Venom T5

[PR19_Kit]

Wonder how well that Airfix Vampire would take a Nene back end from a Mistral?

Didn't Heller do a Mistral at some stage?

But the Venom based Aquilons were pretty much the same as the UK ones IIRC.

[loupgarou]

Wonder how well that Airfix Vampire would take a Nene back end from a Mistral?

Didn't Heller do a Mistral at some stage?

But the Venom based Aquilons were pretty much the same as the UK ones IIRC.

Yes, but if I remember correctly, the only different part were the air intakes.

[sandiego89]

Here is the Heller 1/72 Mistral.

Intakes are by the point of the blade.  I don't know enough about the type to comment on the intake differences. 

[PR19_Kit]

The Wikipedia page on the Mistral re-directs to the Vampire page, which totally ignores the fact that the production Mistrals were powered by Nenes as opposed to Ghosts!

The Nene was much more powerful and about the same size as the Ghost so I suspect, but don't know for sure, that the outer profile of the fuselage was the same. But the intakes were a lot larger, in width and height, and had internal boundary layer bleeds instead of the Vampire's external diverters. The intakes also had no flow straighteners inside the intakes.

It ought to be a pretty straightforward conversion for a T11 kit, with just the intakes needing to modified, but they're pretty fiddly.

[The Wooksta!]

Heller did two fuselage pod sprues for the differences between Vampire and Mistral*, all the common bits were on the other sprues, and released them as separate kits.  To this day there are people who say that Heller only did the Vampire.  These people are quite categorically WRONG and should be pitied if not outright ignored.

*Larger intakes for the larger inflow of air needed by the Nene.  New fuselage pod with all the different panel/vent differences plus large bore exhaust.  Late wheels, bang seat and new slotted air brakes.

I did consider doing a Nene Venom, crossing the Frog Sea Venom wings with the Mistral fuselage pod.

[PR19_Kit]

Meanwhile, back on the T5's progress............ 

I found that sanding all the putty off the wing/fuselage joint worked a LOT better using the old fashioned scrap of wet-and-dry paper held between the fingers. The sponge sanding block just didn't fit in between the booms and the fuselage and a Flexi-file just couldn't apply enough pressure.

So now it's all smoothed off ok (as far as it's going to be anyway) and the booms and tail glued in place. Interestingly the tailplane was quite bit too wide and the booms ended up splayed outward quite noticeably. Well they did until I sawed the tailplane down anyway.....

Also the tailplane doesn't have any sign of the charachteristic twin mass balances in the underside. Instead it had two socking great bulges that I filed and smoothed off and I'll fit the balances from the Vampire.

[Tophe]

One of the potential Whiffs I've always considered is a Venom with no booms and the tail-fins mounted directly onto the rear of the wings - a sort of 'straight-winged' DH Swallow

Maybe I should just leave the booms off the T5? (Sorry Tophe..........) 

This would not insult twin-boomers (that I cherish) but inventing derivatives for them (to prove actual twin-boomers are better for users), I like that! I even do that myself quite often, with P-38 Lightning drawings. So, Kit, do as you want, this time or the next one!

[NARSES2]

Coming on nicely Kit 

Kit, I should say that your builds are very inspirational, but, given the temperature in your and mine parts of the world, I feel more perspirational. 

[PR19_Kit]

Having got all the bits and pieces assembled in place I checked the CG to see if I need add any nose weight but the white metal seats from the Sea Venom kit are heavy enough, so I've glued in the undernose panel and added the drop tanks too.

Ready for the first primer coat at last. 

In passing, Aeroclub's seats for their Vampire T11 are actually cast in one piece, both seats in one casting. 

[PR19_Kit]

As with the Rotocrane, the first coat of primer on the Venom has proved that there's lots more PSR needed....

[PR19_Kit]

All over grey does the look of the T5 a lot of good, but makes the faults stand out. So the 2nd lot of PSR is in place now.

[Knightflyer]

I always like the overall light grey (upper and lower surfaces) with dark green camouflage applied over for the RAF immediate post-war night-fighters. I quite fancy using a dark grey instead of the green as an alternative.

Will your T5 be silver with yellow bands, or an OTU camo with yellow bands perhaps?

[PR19_Kit]

Will your T5 be silver with yellow bands, or an OTU camo with yellow bands perhaps?

The former, to make it look a bit like the first jet (A Vampire T11) that I ever flew in.

[The Wooksta!]

Shouldn't it have those tailplane extensions outside the booms similar to the T11 and Venom FB4?

And I hate you, because you're giving me ideas for Vampires and Venoms and I don't want to go down that route right now!

[JayBee]

Shouldn't it have those tailplane extensions outside the booms similar to the T11 and Venom FB4?

Nope, the two seat Venoms did not have those, for whatever reason.