The English Electric Dalgety, the 'Just in case' project.

[Wardukw]

The full, 1/72 scale versions of the drawings aren't all that good, but had to ne done to see if the hardware would actually fit.

Oh good idea bud ...those drawings you put up do look bloody good tho ...it's a classic case of they should built that mate 👍

[kerick]

I was thinking I saw this before but that was the Meteor with the turpoprop engines. That would be an interesting build for a Canberra. Maybe the next reengine it GB.

[PR19_Kit]

It's like a Trent Meteor, but with piston engines, multiplied by 1.5 or so.

[kerick]

I have that box scale kit of a Canberra. It's smaller than 1/72 so would look perfect with Merlin engines.

[PR19_Kit]

Now that I have the main part of this build, the Airfix Canberra B(I)6, I've started on the main construction. I'll forego posting a pic of the Canberra kit as it was all in a plastic bag, and I'm sure you all know what a Canberra looks like anyway.

I'd forgotten quite how good that kit was, despite it being lambasted all over the place for being inaccurate, and having all sorts of faults. It's actually quite a nice job, with all sorts of options for it's weapons load, for its age anyway. I won't be using any of them of course as it'll be a (THE....) prototype.

It does take some trimming and fiddling to get the parts to match up, to the extent that I chopped most of the location pips off the wings. Mine will have a closed bomb bay, and I can't quite see how that will fit as there's nothing to stop it vanishing inside the fuselage when I try and glue it in place. I may add a false bulkhead or two later.

I'll post some build pics when it's worth showing anything, but it's interesting to note that the Griffon engine cowling from the Spitfire XIV is EXCACTLY the same width as the Avon engine cowlings on the Canberra. 

And the whole Canberra kit will fit inside the Academy Spitfire XIV box too. 

[Rick Lowe]

it's interesting to note that the Griffon engine cowling from the Spitfire XIV is EXCACTLY the same width as the Avon engine cowlings on the Canberra. 

It's like it wanted to be built...   

[PR19_Kit]

        

Just what I was thinking too. 

It's not quite so good from the side view, but nothing that a bit of styrene and some PSR won't sort out, eventually.................

[PR19_Kit]

See what I mean about the engine nacelles matching nicely?



There'll be a fair amount of work trimming off the Avon's exhaust pipe and faring, of that I'm sure.

And the cockpit's all in place now, but I'll use an Aeroclub white metal bang seat for the pilot, MILES better than the odd shaped one Airfix supplied originally.

Note the large number of tube things protruding above the nose gear hole and behind the pressure bulkhead, those are the attachments for the nose wheel! VERY strange, and VERY difficult to assemble too!

[Gondor]

The tubes are because that is all of the nosewheel bay that Airfix supplies, nothing else, just the tubes for parts of the nosewheel they supply. Tapered rods that are flights of fancy compared to the real thing, go to either side of the undercarriage leg and are supposed to be trapped in the tubes as you close the fuselage half's together. Reskit do a nice replacement set of Canberra wheel bays.

Gondor

[kerick]

That's the problem with these older kits. The cockpit and wheel wells are barren or don't even exist. The outsides can be nice detail. Get what we pay for I guess.

[PR19_Kit]

The tubes are because that is all of the nosewheel bay that Airfix supplies, nothing else, just the tubes for parts of the nosewheel they supply. Tapered rods that are flights of fancy compared to the real thing, go to either side of the undercarriage leg and are supposed to be trapped in the tubes as you close the fuselage half's together. Reskit do a nice replacement set of Canberra wheel bays.

Oh yes, I've dry fitted it a couple of times already, and it's a real pain to line all the rods and tubes up at once. I doubt SAC do a white metal set for that old a kit, but I may try and adapt one of their sets.

I'll have a look at the Resikit stuff, but the wing halves are already glued together as I needed to check how the Griffons fit in the plastic. One of them is already glued in place and it looks pretty good. 

[Gondor]

The tubes are because that is all of the nosewheel bay that Airfix supplies, nothing else, just the tubes for parts of the nosewheel they supply. Tapered rods that are flights of fancy compared to the real thing, go to either side of the undercarriage leg and are supposed to be trapped in the tubes as you close the fuselage half's together. Reskit do a nice replacement set of Canberra wheel bays.

Oh yes, I've dry fitted it a couple of times already, and it's a real pain to line all the rods and tubes up at once. I doubt SAC do a white metal set for that old a kit, but I may try and adapt one of their sets.

I'll have a look at the Resikit stuff, but the wing halves are already glued together as I needed to check how the Griffons fit in the plastic. One of them is already glued in place and it looks pretty good. 

I can send you a spare nose wheel bay kit as the 3D-printed Canberra upgrade kits I have include the bay with the cockpit so I have the nose gear bay spare from at least one set.

Gondor

[kerick]

Personally I would not bother with the original engine exhaust. Lots of work for not that much reward. Just put some sort of cap over the back end.

[loupgarou]

Personally I would not bother with the original engine exhaust. Lots of work for not that much reward. Just put some sort of cap over the back end.

No, I would leave them open, and duct the exhaust pipes through the nacelles (and appropriate gimmicks) to give additional thrust, instead of leaving the exhaust gases uselessly wasted. 

[PR19_Kit]

I can send you a spare nose wheel bay kit as the 3D-printed Canberra upgrade kits I have include the bay with the cockpit so I have the nose gear bay spare from at least one set.

Thanks for the offer Alastair, but when I went to order a Resikit set on the Big H's website they told me I already had one, and it'll be in my 'Jet's Bits' box when I can find it. 

Personally I would not bother with the original engine exhaust. Lots of work for not that much reward. Just put some sort of cap over the back end.

No, I would leave them open, and duct the exhaust pipes through the nacelles (and appropriate gimmicks) to give additional thrust, instead of leaving the exhaust gases uselessly wasted. 

Already done, I don't hang about at the construction stage you know. 

I drew it with the Griffon nacelle faired back into the Canberra wing, so that's how it's going to be.

Here's the wing with the lower rear part of the exhaust cut away (26 strokes of the scalpel on each side!  ) and the chopped off bits below.



And here it is with one of the chopped off bits re-positioned to act as the fairing, and a blanking plate glued into the gap where it was.



Some more styrene surgery to do yet, plus lots of PSR of course, but it's getting there. And then I have to do it all again on the upper surface......