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Sword 1:72 Fairey Gannet AEW.3 - Gate guard tribute


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Hi,

Been a while since I last built a model but due to inclement weather, shorter days and the start of yet another reality TV show airing, I decided to "get me out of here" and find a wee project to keep me amused.

Decided to build a fixed wing aircraft this time but stayed with the Fleet Air Arm theme and purchased the Sword 1:72 Fairey Gannet AEW.3 from flea bay. Apart from a wee 1970's pilot, this will be built OOB.

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Hopefully, I will be able to do it justice and if possible, change the airframe number to represent the old gate guard that sat at HMS Gannet for many a year. I do believe that she is now safely on display at the Dumfries & Galloway Aviation Museum - http://www.dumfriesaviationmuseum.com/fairey-gannet/

The following is a photo of her, quite a few years ago, resplendent in the Ayrshire sunshine

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The kit seems okay with plenty of recessed panel lines and raised detail. The instructions are very good and it would appear at first glance to be a straightforward build. I did notice that there is no numbers on each sprue part but this isn't really a problem as the diagrams are clear and there are not really that very many parts. Included in the kit is some photo etch for seat belts and panel instrumentation, although this cannot really be seen when the fuselage halves are joined together.

I built up the cockpit, converted a modern "PJ production" SAR pilot into a 1970's pilot and popped him into place. There was not point in doing anything else with the interior as it is not on show. Having build an ASW version of this model some years ago, it is definitely a tail sitter, so I used some self adhesive car wheel balancing weights and stuck 20 grammes into the nose/cockpit section before gluing it together. I also used some pink tac to create the right amount of clearance and extra support for the nose wheel bay and cockpit tub.

20151118_213711_zpspsmptz7w.jpg

Most of the two fuselage halves went together fine but there is no real depth to the locating spigots on each half and there was a bit of sanding/fettling required to get the front section to mate together especially around the cockpit. More work required on this when cured.

The wee pilot seems happy enough for now though ..

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The biggest problem is that the AEW dome on the underside has a huge gap which has required a liberal amount of filler to close. This will mean even more sanding and re scribing one it has fully hardened.

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Not much else to add at the moment, except that should be a fairly fast build, ie weeks instead of months. I purchased a rivet wheel a few weeks back but will wait and see if I will use it on this.

Glad to be back building again, all the best

B

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Looking good.

Finished mine a couple of months ago now, she's got her problems but nothin to write home about. Just watch out for the undercarriage and decals when you get to them..

Tim

Edited by Joesdad
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Looking good.

Finished mine a couple of months ago now, she's got her problems but nothin to write home about. Just watch out for the undercarriage and decals when you get to them..

Tim

Joesdad wasn't wrong about the undercarriage, spent the night trying to get the wheel wells just right but managed it in the end. The instructions aren't the best. As for the wings themselves, just look at the state of them !!

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The two triangular chunks out of the trailing edges wasn't me ( honest chief !!)... this is how they were on the sprue and as for the fit of the wings to the fuselage, lets just say that some patience and filling will be required. There is only a locating tab on the bottom section of each wing, so when inserted, the wing droops. Some sort of jig will be required until glue fully set.

I'm not the best at re scribing but I have a feeling that I will get better by the time I finish this. Such a pity as the detail both recessed and raised panel lines are good on this kit, but honestly why bother ?, if the builder has to fill and sand most of the major components. :mental:

Just be aware when buying this kit, that some of the quality is suspect.

Cheers

B

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  • 2 weeks later...

Apologies first of all, this is taking me a bit longer to do than I thought but managed to get a few hours tinkering done tonight. The fit of the tail planes and stabilisers isn't the best so it was out with the filler again..

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So glad I purchased some better filler at a show this year. The main wings were the same, no real locating lugs to speak of but they should clean up okay ..

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The wings are now attached and the minimal amount of filler applied. Just going to leave this overnight to set and I'll see how it turns out when sanded back.

The quality of this model has now shown itself, not as good as say Hasegawa or Revell etc (IMO) but it still makes a nice change to build a fixed wing aircraft. It'll be interesting when I get to the undercarriage, going by what "Joesdad" has said previously and the slight issues thus far.

Cheers

B

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  • 1 month later...

So much so for a quick build !! This model has fought me every step of the way, from the poor fitting of parts to the even poorer instructions. Almost all of the tail plane required to be sanded to fit and to be honest after it was attached, I felt that cheesed off that the model was left on the shelf of doom.... until today. Apologies for lack of photos, however I didn't think that anyone would be that interested in the undercarriage and few small parts being fitted.

The model is now ready for painting and having covered the whole thing in a decent undercoat, I spent the day masking and spraying the props and applying a ( very) generous amount of pre shading. I want this model to look very weathered. It should be noted that despite about 25 grams of weight in the nose, she is still a tail sitter. Not by much though and hopefully when the arrestor hook is fitted in the down position, it will be enough to have her sitting proudly.

The under wing pylons have not been fitted as these were not fitted on her, when she was proudly sitting at " the Gannet" :winkgrin:

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Cheers and happy modelling :thumbsup2:

Edited by MarkdipXV711
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Hope this works as well for you as your Seaking. I'm from Ayr and this particular aircraft has a special place in my heart. When I was last at home I went to take some pictures of her and found her gone, at least I now know that she wasn't scrapped.

All the best with this beautiful 'ugly' bird!

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How do you mask of the nose cone ?? I've tried using masking tape method but due to the decreasing diameter of the nose cone I am having extreme difficulty.

I'm drawing a blank as to paint the nose black/yellow neatly. The parts that make up the propellor assembly are not the correct shape/size to get the equal bands of black/yellow. Any suggestions ?

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Have you fitted the spinner to the fuselage yet? For this type of masking I use aluminum tape to completely cover the spinner after painting it yellow. Then I stick the spinner onto a suitable flat surface such as a coin or metal washer with double sided tape. Then I can rotate the spinner/coin against a scalpel blade set at heights to match the bands required.

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Have you fitted the spinner to the fuselage yet? For this type of masking I use aluminum tape to completely cover the spinner after painting it yellow. Then I stick the spinner onto a suitable flat surface such as a coin or metal washer with double sided tape. Then I can rotate the spinner/coin against a scalpel blade set at heights to match the bands required.

Ahhh... I see what you mean, I'll give it a go over the next few days 👍👍👍😉

Thank you

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Got the first coat of the lighter colour on but I chose to use Tamiya XF-14 (J.A.Grey) as I thought that the Tamiya XF21 (Sky) looked too dark. The XF-14 still appears a bit too green, compared to the shade that I remember when she was at HMS Gannet ( as per picture at top of thread) or indeed in subsequent photos found at Dumfries Air Museum. I may well experiment tomorrow by adding some white, until I get the bleached look that I'm hoping for.

As for the decals, the aircraft is XL497 with a side number of 041. After carrying out a google search, I found that Alleycat may do a set ( ACD72-007) but when I checked their website and the decal set, there is no mention of XL497. The link below is for a a German website

http://www.ipmsdeutschland.de/FirstLook/AlleyCat/AC_Decal_Fairey_Gannet_AEW3/AC_Fairey_Gannet_AEW3_decal.html

(7 decal versions )

and

http://www.alleycatmodels.co.uk/fairey-gannet-aew-3-decals-4757-p.asp

( 6 decal versions)

Anyone out there, know which one is correct ?. I've sent an email to Alleycat but may not get a reply for a while.

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I appreciate that the photos are taken indoor but I still think that the colour is not bleached enough, it needs to be lighter.

All the best :winkgrin:

Edited by MarkdipXV711
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Final top coats applied today and as stated, I went for a lighter version of the XF-14 by adding a drop of white. The extra dark sea grey was substituted for some heavily thinned dark sea grey and the layers built up gradually. I think that this has given me a good base for a weathered looking paint scheme. The pre shading is just managing to show through, which is what I wanted.

I also airbrushed on the non slip surfaces on the inner upper wings as well as the anti icing strips on the leading edges.

Overall, happy so far and had a relaxing day just masking and spraying. Unfortunately my upcoming shift pattern will mea that I won't probably get anymore done for a week but at least I may well get a reply from Alleycat re the decals.

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Comments / advice always welcome. Cheers :thumbsup:

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Looking very nice, I do like the subtle shading, makes it look well weathered. I can't help with the decals though but I understand that Alley Cat have ceased trading (would be happy to be put right on that one if its not true!) so a reply from them may take a little longer than planned :winkgrin:

For the prop masking I will used a thin strip of masking that has been cut with a curve which helps it lay straight on a spinner........if you catch my drift.

Cheers now

Bob

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Hiya Mark, I have to agree with you about the colour, the dark sea grey looks right but the sides just don't look white enough!

P.s. For ultimate accuracy you have to get a tiny marker pen and write 'piglet waz here' on the inside of the port main gear door at about the maximum height a 12 year old schoolboy can reach without getting caught!

Meant to say, nice work!

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Hiya Mark, I have to agree with you about the colour, the dark sea grey looks right but the sides just don't look white enough!

P.s. For ultimate accuracy you have to get a tiny marker pen and write 'piglet waz here' on the inside of the port main gear door at about the maximum height a 12 year old schoolboy can reach without getting caught!

Meant to say, nice work!

It's difficult to get an perfect match but I may well leave it as it is and see what happens when I get it sealed and the decals on and off course a bit of post weathering. Short of driving down to Dumfries to see it for myself ... if I do, I'll check for additional zaps !! :)

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Looks like a right dog of a kit, but you are making a great job of it

... thank you, it has been a dog but getting there, I think when the coloured spinner and decals go on, it will make a big difference

Looking very nice, I do like the subtle shading, makes it look well weathered. I can't help with the decals though but I understand that Alley Cat have ceased trading (would be happy to be put right on that one if its not true!) so a reply from them may take a little longer than planned :winkgrin:

For the prop masking I will used a thin strip of masking that has been cut with a curve which helps it lay straight on a spinner........if you catch my drift.

Cheers now

Bob

.. Never even thought of this, been putting the painting of the spinner to the end.. appreciate the tip. Regarding alleycat, I may just have to trawl ebay or put a message up on the wanted board.

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Whilst trawling the internet for more reference pictures, I came across this picture on open media and it's just the colour scheme I was looking for ..

Link to photo here ..

http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Navy/Fairey-Gannet-AEW3/2103124/L/

.. so with this in mind, it was out with the masking tape again and added a few grey panels in a slightly lighter shade, just to give a subtle weathering. Once this was done, I quickly sealed the whole model, in order to protect what I'd done and put the aircraft away for a few days. Once it's completely dry I will attempts to apply the decals. Going by other modellers comments, they are not the best.

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Happy with the colours now but still notice that despite packing the nose with weights, she is still a tail sitter.

Happy modelling :bye:

Edited by MarkdipXV711
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She is looking even better now!

Just as a post script, have you read the pinned post in the chat section regarding posting from Airliners, I don't know if the picture above contravenes that. Might be worth swapping it for a link to avoid any mad mods :winkgrin:

Bob

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She is looking even better now!

Just as a post script, have you read the pinned post in the chat section regarding posting from Airliners, I don't know if the picture above contravenes that. Might be worth swapping it for a link to avoid any mad mods :winkgrin:

Bob

... hi didn't see that one so post ammended to avoid wrist slap 😂👍. Definitely happier with the scheme now. Appreciate the comment and of course the posting advice !😊

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