Swifts

[The Wooksta!]

Other stuff recently finished was a pair of Supermarine Swifts. Both are from the Magna kit and both have been tweaked.

The PR6.  Most books say that the Swift PR6 was to have had the lomger wing of the F7, but apparently they're wrong.  Recent research has confirmed that the wing of the PR6 would have been the same as that of the FR5, with the cameras in the fuselage.  Their position meant that the usual belly tank couldn't be used and recourse was made to underwing tanks.

This was a Magna kit bought in error.  Well, not quite, I thought I was getting a Testors one with a load of Airkit parts.  Turned out it was only the Testors box, with several sets of Airkit conversions for the F1/F2, plus parts of one FR5 and a complete FR5 conversion.  In addition, in the box there was also an old CMK kit that looks very like the old Pegasus Swift, although the wings were missing.

It remained in the box until last year when I did some work on various Swifts from the Testors kit and decided to try and finish it as the fabled PR6.  I thought, not having any real references on the Swift, that the cameras would be in the nose, so that got hacked off and replaced by one of the Airkit ones in the box.  Good fit too.  When I did find out, well, it's a whiff and who can prove me wrong?  The other minor improvement was using Hunter pylons and large tanks underwing, although Supermarine would likely have gone for slipper tanks similar to those drawn up for the Type 545.  The canopy is an Airkit one found in that box.  Really does keep giving.

So, this is the PR6A, with the reheat sorted out, the longer F7 wing for higher altitude performance and additional nose cameras.








Moving swiftly on, this is the F7.  Again based on the Magna kit, I'd originally started it back in 2000 and did some work on and mainly off since then.  I decided to replace Magna's hilariously awful Fireflashes with Firestreaks, so did some trimming and reshaping of the nose to get rid of the bulge.  Hunter pylons went under the wings and the belly tank was provided from the old Pegasus kit.  Magna's wheels are usually laughable, but the Swift ones are some of his less bad ones (I cannot in all conscience call them better or even useable).  Even so, they got replaced with Airfix Hunter ones with the nosegear coming from the same source.

The paintwork was done before I stopped doing the sexy squadrons, although 74 Sqn were slated to get Swifts, albeit the F2.  Decals came from an Xtrakit Hunter sheet.

Still needs it's Firestreaks in these shots.  I went with the Airfix Lightning ones but TBH, they're really weedy and will get replaced in due course.

[NARSES2]

Now they are very nice Lee 

[The Rat]

...well, it's a whiff and who can prove me wrong?

That's the spirit! 

Did you ever get those resin burners cast? They would come in handy for a couple I've got on the go.

[The Wooksta!]

The mould tore after the first two came out, both with bad air bubbles.  Never did get round to redoing it.

[su27rules]

 

[The Rat]

The mould tore after the first two came out, both with bad air bubbles.  Never did get round to redoing it.

Bad luck. I'll see if I can throw something together using various round bits.