Westland Wyvern SF.4 (A.S.) and S.6c

[Dizzyfugu]

Looks very good!

Getting into the cockpit would have been a true hill climb, though!

[kitnut617]

Thanks guys --

Maybe to get in, it would have had a boarding ladder, or even a flip-down panel on either side of the cockpit that became a small platform to stand on --- the fuselage at the front is plenty wide enough for something like that.

I think once it's on its wheels, you'll see that the stance is fairly flat, not steep at all.

[PR19_Kit]

Getting into the cockpit would have been a true hill climb, though!

It was on the RW Wyvern too, the thing is MILES off the ground! 

[TomZ]

Looks much better than the real one.

TomZ

[kitnut617]

I'm going to post a pic of it once it's done, next to the RR Mustang FTB, the difference in size is huge.

[kitnut617]

Thanks Tom ----

[kitnut617]

So I was just on SPF and saw the Westland Wyvern thread in the 'new posts' section. There was this drawing just posted there;



I printed it off so I could read it and it says the overall length was 40'-1 1/2".  So, out of curiosity, I measured the model and surprise, surprise ---- I've got my modification within an 1" which would be about 1/128th of an inch in 1/72 scale   

But as you can see the ground angle is not that steep --- 8 3/4º

[NARSES2]

I wasn't expecting that colour scheme - stuck in my ways  - but it certainly suits it 

[kitnut617]

Thanks Chris, I decided on the scheme because originally I was going to used some decals from the Model Art sheet for RN Skyraider AEW aircraft, all Glossy Sea Blue. One scheme has it during the Suez crisis. But after looking at UK Serials, none of the serial number options on the sheet could be swapped around to do a Wyvern serial number. My thinking being, if this version had been picked by the Admiralty, the serial numbers used for the real Wyverns would still have been used.

Besides, everyone does the XDSG/Sky scheme and I wanted something different ---   

[The Wooksta!]

Different but not UK.  The Skyraiders were blue because that's how they were supplied from the US and were never repainted.  Had they been, it would have been in standard UK FAA colours.

[PR19_Kit]

Had they been, it would have been in standard UK FAA colours.

That would be quite a good 'Paint Whiff' in itself. They did do that with the Avengers of course.

[kitnut617]

Like I said, I wanted something different ---

[NARSES2]

Had they been, it would have been in standard UK FAA colours.

That would be quite a good 'Paint Whiff' in itself. They did do that with the Avengers of course.

Did they ? I'm not sure, but I have an inkling that FAA Lend Lease aircraft delivered to the UK were in standard FAA colours applied in the States ? Once they got out to the Pacific replacements were supplied in overall Glossy Sea Blue direct from the US. You can see an interesting mix of schemes in that theatre at any give time. Mind you the ships crew would have been busy enough painting the different types of national markings. They had 3 during their journey out there. Standard European style, SEAC while transiting the Indian Ocean and attacking Sumatra, finally getting the US style ones once they reahed the Pacific. On some BPF aircraft you can see where both of the previous roundels have been over painted.

[kitnut617]

The loadout for this has been an evolutionary process as I built the model. The idea being this is an SF-1 (A.S.), Strike Fighter.1 (Anti-Ship)Originally, I was going with the four Hispano 20mm's, the 200 Gal drop tank on the centerline, and a full sixteen RP3's with 60lb warheads. That changed with me adding Firefly slipper tanks under the outer wings which have AN/APS-4 radar scanners in them, and then the RP's became eight Triplex RP's and two Vickers 'S' 40mm cannons in underwing pods. I decided against using the Vickers cannons and thought maybe the internal wing cannon could be ADEN 30mm's, but after reading up on the ADEN and learning they are 'revolver' cannons, I then started investigating if there was a larger revolver cannon made. Turns out Oerlikon has a line of anti-aircraft cannons of 35mm and are also revolver cannons. One type was the KDB, which was a 'light-weight' version of the KDA, but for use as armoured vehicle turret guns. This led to me having a what-if development of the KDB made specifically to mount in aircraft, I've added modified gun bay access panels which have bulges top and bottom of the wing, then I had to come up with a story of where the ammo gets stored, but not many rounds I think, maybe be lucky if 160 rounds per gun even though it has a rate of fire of 1000 rnds.p.m. So about 10 seconds worth of firing time. I read that the Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons fire in 28 round bursts so my thinking is this would be the same.

Then last night I was re-reading the 4+Productions bookazine on the Wyvern, and came to the part which had photos of various loadouts the Wyvern was tested with. One type was an enormous FFAR RP of 11.25" diameter and weighed 1000lb. It was code named Red Angel. As it was tested on a Wyvern and I wanted to find out more about it, so out came the BSP, Hypersonics, Ramjets & Missiles book to see what was in there. Quite a bit apparently and pleased to see it was earmarked as an anti-ship missile too, there was also a 4-View drawing of it which I scanned and scaled.

So today, I thought I would see if I could make a 1/72 scale model of it and here is the result





Now I have to build another one.

This is what's in the BSP book.

[PR19_Kit]

Anything LESS angelic would be difficult to imagine! It looks a seriously lethal device, a bit like an un-guided Sea Eagle.

Great modelling nonetheless.