A Trilogy of Twinfires

[Tophe]

Hurrah for the forthcoming achievement!

[NARSES2]

My tuppence worth on the name would be Twinfang if only because it sounds a little more aggressive than Twinful ?

[PR19_Kit]

In top view that looks remarkably like an F-82. But those mega-fins change that idea as soon as you look even slightly sideways!

[Wardukw]

Nope Twinfang is the way to go ..twinful sounds like twins who've had a big meal .
This is looking pretty so far mate 

[steelpillow]

Thanks all. Looks like Twinfang is the new Twinful, then.

[NARSES2]

Thanks all. Looks like Twinfang is the new Twinful, then.

  

[steelpillow]

I was wrong about the fuselages. They were Mk 21, adopted along with the wings. You can tell because the Mk 32 had additional side camera ports in the fuselage. Engines and mounting frames still had to be taken from the Mk 32 line, but as these shared the same attachment points and the planes were not yet assembled, this was simple enough.

The Mk 31 was converted from cancelled Spitefuls and left in its original RAF camo. But this is to be in the new Naval Dark Sea Grey and Sky type S, as seen on the sole Mk 32 flown. Because I want it to contrast with the Twinfires, so there. So I have "discovered" a Ministry instruction issued during construction of the Mk 31s, to repaint them in the new scheme to match the 32s before delivery. Supermarine's Whiffland paint lads and presumably lassies (hardly a job for a man of fighting fitness at that time)* got busy on them, just before the order was cancelled and Tanner nicked a couple.

*Actually, I know little about that. Presumably once all the squaddies, erks and ratings started pouring back into Blighty and getting demobbed, all those kind but unimportant and lowly "girls" who had kept them in sharp ends were dismissed to release jobs for the "proper" workmen who were of course by definition ahead in the queue. But there would have to have been some sort of skills transfer and no doubt some companies were less chauvinist than others while some ladies were keener to get back home than others, so I wonder how that handover went and how long it took. Does anybody know?

[NARSES2]

*Actually, I know little about that. Presumably once all the squaddies, erks and ratings started pouring back into Blighty and getting demobbed, all those kind but unimportant and lowly "girls" who had kept them in sharp ends were dismissed to release jobs for the "proper" workmen who were of course by definition ahead in the queue. But there would have to have been some sort of skills transfer and no doubt some companies were less chauvinist than others while some ladies were keener to get back home than others, so I wonder how that handover went and how long it took. Does anybody know?

It's a very interesting period of social history and on the whole it went reasonably well. All the guys who'd been conscripted were promised that their old jobs would be guaranteed for them when they returned. Now whilst that sounds great, if as in the case of my dad's younger brother that job had been as a "junior" on a brewery dray it wasn't particularly the job he wanted some 4 years later. However on the whole it went reasonably well and unemployment rates were quite low. Presumably a controlled de-mobilisation programme helped with that.

As for the female labour force, then the majority were more then happy to return to a pre-war lifestyle although there was a substantial minority who'd had their eyes opened and weren't., but as their wasn't such a thing as a "feminist movement" (well not for the masses anyway) until at least the mid 60's in the UK they didn't have the back-up and in the main had to settle for the status-quo.

One of the real problem with this period of British social history is that there are very few books readily available, most are very serious tombs written for people studying at University and a lot of those are written by people with an axe to grind. I think that the fact that those books available are by those historians who want to promote "their" view and that there is very little general material after all these years, goes some way to prove that it wasn't an issue and that on the whole it went reasonably well.

As for chauvinism, all I'll say is that it worked  both ways. Being sent by your manager as a 16 year old in 1968 down to the typing pool which had 600 mainly under 21 year old females in it was a terrifying experience 

[steelpillow]

The fuselages cannot have been Mk.32 or they would have the camera ports in the sides. So this is Mk.31 airframes with the Mk.32 engine mountings grafted on. That makes sense, as the Mk.32 was better adapted to naval requirements, i.e. tougher and heavier, which is not what a speedster wants. It may be basically a twin Spiteful with even the Seafang tail mod undone, but it was painted in naval camo and the engines and mountings were taken from true Seafangs. And anyway, the modified Spitefuls were re-designated Seafang Mk.31 by the Powers-That-Be, so Twinfang Mk.31-32 it is.

But why Naval camo? The Mk 31 development aircraft that flew kept their RAF camo. Why don't these, too? That is because the main batch remained undelivered, and unassembled. Meanwhile the Mk 32 followed on and the only one to fly had Naval camo. That is history. But what happened next? I speculate that by the time the whole programme was cancelled, the Mk 31 kits had all been repainted Naval in anticipation of imminent delivery. And anyway, I was fed up with the standard camo pattern having painted it on four Twinfire fuselages; late-Seafang was where I wanted to go, just for the change of air.

On to the model. Revell enamel, i.e. matt sky, underside went on first as their solvent did funny things to the Humrol underneath it on my Mk V-V. Given two coats of acrylic satin varnish, to try and match the Humbrol satin enamel Extra Dark Sea Gray (courtesy of eBay, as Humbrol withdrew it, boo! hiss!). Said EDSG upper surface on next. Poor adhesion to varnish, but adequate with a little follow-up TLC. Masked for the polished ally custom fabrications, and first thinned coat of gloss black undercoat now down (the secret of shiny silver is a shiny black undercoat, don't ask me why).

Next will be more thinned coats of black to build up the smooth gloss. Then a Humbrol silver of choice, still to be decided. But [oh dear children, did he really say that?] I forgot to shine up the satin airframe a bit first, it's still a bit lacking in the glossy department. So I'll be checking that the silver can take a coat of varnish without going dull, as not all can.

[Tophe]

 

[su27rules]

 

[Vulcan7]

twin-tastic!!     

[steelpillow]

So then I got distracted by coming out of retirement and getting a new job, while publishing a book. Still only got this far, props and canopies only placed for effect as yet. And yes, in the story the wings did come attached to the fuselages:

[Captain Canada]

Vert cool.

[chrisonord]

I am still catching up on this thread, but I am liking what I see. This latest creation really does look the part.