Gannet ripple and relaxxxx

[giemme]

2 hours ago, perdu said:

 I have me snout stuck in a fine book

 That's a very good thing per se  See, I didn't even have to ask for the meaning of that phrase, it means I'm learning  

 

Ciao

Edited December 7, 2017 by giemme
Typos

[71chally]

Nice work on the bumper Bill.

Amazing how well that Frog Gannet fits over them plans!

 

Little Gannet fact, when originally designed with the Firefly style rearward folding wings it was known that the CG point on the ground would be a bit fine and so the original arrester hook was a very sturdy affair that doubled as a tail bumper, and this would prevent the Gannet tipping on its backside.  

The 1st prototype was the only Gannet to feature that tail support and even with the double fold wings would prove to be very useful, and helped with manually maneuvering the aircraft on the ground, with the nose wheels up in the air.

The CG problem took some solving, one of the protos having a horrible jury rigged fixed maingear for a while, the problem was eventually solved by cranking the main legs aft a bit.

 

Talking of Wessex porn, have you seen that Haynes are to release a Wessex book?

[perdu]

I hadn't, but a plan develops 

 

I did read about that CofG issue with the early birds, nothing's easy is it

 

When laid better over the plans its easy to see why some of us would rather work with fifty year old properly shaped Frog models than some of the late comers isnt it

[Pete in Lincs]

Another vote for 'Scram!' from me.

An excellent read.

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Which Sea Harrier book?  If it's Dave Morgan's (Hostile Skies), you'll enjoy it.  If it's Sharkey Ward's, it might depend on how well your arrogance filter is working.  Mind you, it obviously got you through Chris Parry OK...

[perdu]

Its the latter

 

I don't feel strong enough for that

 

In Scram! I am about to head south after reading the build up

 

It's almost as if I remember all that happening

 

(More like wondering if a four year absence would have me called to arms anyway after leaving the unit to go on my new civvy job. Will they still have my SLR  waiting for me? Will I be fit enough? All sorts of daft thinks were happening that Spring in my head) 

 

Happy days

 

In happier days ie now I have been experimenting with making new nose gear doors because when I cut out the kit's nose door area I hacked out too much untidily to reuse them and the Gannet needs her nose closed

I held the two Eastern Express fuselage halves together and pressed the lower nose portion into some warmish plasticene to make a quick and dirty mould for a dollop of resin

The first one I did was a bad mix with the consistency of a dollop of Fry's Crunchie honeycomb, but exceedingly resistable to the tongue

The latest mix held up nicely (so nicely that it distorted the mould taking it out, I will be making a new one tomorrow) This one I have used as test of concept vessel

Here cut off the block and begun reshaping

The front edge will be carved to look like the closed doors on the front end picture I'm using for the intake area alterations and the innards at the back which will be invisible to the nekkid eye will be carved roughly like this

All the moulded on lines will be removed (they are raised lines on the Gannet kit) and the proper ones engraved

Ah me, if only I had not made a cut to begin the fitting I could have probably used this version, still part three will be better

I'm working on my spinner castings to try for a decent aerodynamic curved one to stick twisted blades into for parked in opened pitch display

[TheBaron]

I do like to see you at work with resin Bill.

10 hours ago, perdu said:

I'm working on my spinner castings to try for a decent aerodynamic curved one

With the requisite ingredients now sitting in a corner of the bench I'll be keeping note of any casting developments here if I may? 

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Bill, I know you are building an ASW rather than AEW, but just in case these are of any use to you, here is some Gannet-ry from yesterday:

 

Sorry about Dave Morris in mid-dit in picture 3.  The Reserve collection is somewhat crammed in (not help by the fact that they are helping out the RN Museum by looking after two MTBs in the same hangar at present), so getting uncluttered access to some of the aircraft is tricky.  Not a complaint; they are in storage, not on display - and it's a privilege to be able to get up close and personal with them.

 

Hope they are of assistance, anyway.  [That wing-fold! Ay caramba!] 

 

[NAVY870]

6 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

 

 in mid-dit 

Been a lot of years since I last heard that expression.

[perdu]

Great wingyfoldy pictures Crisp, more and very powerful evidence I made the right call

NO FOLDY WINGS ON THIS ONE

 

 

Every time I see Humphrey I wish I'd made him instead of Antrim's earlier pinger

Not because the allover RAFBG is prettier, but because it hasn't got yellow on top 

 

That scheme tried my patience to its limits...   and is by far the prettier scheme

 

Just read past Broadsword losing the nose of her borrowed Lynx and poor Simon Weston being recovered, SCRAM! is a great if harrowing, read

 

How the hell we won that war beats me sometimes, didn't anyone learn anything from the previous wars?

Just been allocated the weekend's home maintenance taskings...

I may be some time     

 

 

 

[perdu]

After quickly dashing through the taskings (and more) I had time to whizz up some more of my depleting supplies of resin and have another 'knock' at the front door for the COD bird

 

Looks a decent mix this time and is the raw material I need to sort out the front and build a model

 

These rather dim images come from the 'flashless' Lumix on wider aperture than I'd like but the north facing window isnt going to give me a glowing bright light on a day like this

 

These two do show you that rather than having to go in for complicated (and blooming expensive) mould making just holding two fuselage halves together and pressing into a dollop of plasticene can work out just fine

 

The slot across the dollop is a piece of polycard

The purple stuff is Maskol used to seal off the edge of the mould and stop the resin running for the hills

It ain't cheap you know

[giemme]

Ingenious and very effective

 

Ciao

[perdu]

Thanks Giorgio, here is the result

 

Cut to size and the innards chased out with files chisels and the trusty Swann Morton number 11 scalpel blade

Sized to fit the unruly hole

These pictures are a tad washed out because I have flattened the Lithium batteries on the camera with a working flash hence this one has been aperture opened to get an image

 

[Cookenbacher]

Brilliant bit of casting, fits just right!

[perdu]

Took a leetle bit of trimming to get from that to here , but thank you

 

[CedB]

Good stuff Bill, them doors look spot on

[giemme]

7 hours ago, CedB said:

Good stuff Bill, them doors look spot on

Agreed 100%

 

Ciao

[perdu]

Thanks guys, it might not look like it but

 

Soon be time for RAF BG yeehaw

 

Just a lot of tidying up on the upper fuselage and some panel lines to add when the wings is on her

 

After that I will be able to concentrate on the hanging off bits

 

Which reminds me, can anyone cooperate with a cunning plan Baldrick mentioned down the pub

 

Well I was IN the pub, he was sat against the wall

 

" Leaning on it to stop it falling over Mr P" he said

 

Does anyone have a Gannet drop tank from a kit that he/she could draw round and photograph next to a ruler/measuring item so I could use it as a yardstick for scratch building a few

 

Or a real one he could measure up and post here

 

Just thinking out loud

 

It is OK General, I sent him orf with a flea in his ear

 

And two glasses of V.S.O.P in his belly

 

 

It was a dark and stormy night...

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

3 hours ago, perdu said:

Does anyone have a Gannet drop tank

Typical..read this after I posted your Buccaneer bit  (see didn't let the cat out of bag!)

Vacform tanks any use?

[perdu]

I only need the dimensions cos I have loads of tanks and missiles to convert

 

Don't worry

 

😊

[perdu]

We were supposed to be having mince pies, cakes and pop at our last (Christmas) club meeting today but there is between six and ten inches of some white substance all over the streets of Brum so our chairman wisely sent us all emails cancelling

Karl who is one of our members set up a little challenge as the Chairman finished with, "have three hours modelling instead" the challenge?

 

Take a photo of your bench this afternoon

 

So that was easy wasnt it

 

I'm fiddling about working on ways to make white metal bits fit into the revised wheel bays reasonably accurately

Tomo has sent in a picture of his Fury being fettled furiously to within a ninch of its life

 

Our chairman is within a Hurricane enriched environment and there is much evidence of model making within the Birmingham Universe this day all round

 

good Idea Karl

 

Does anyone else think the spinners on non-AEW Gannets are rounder than the straight lined conical of the later mark?

 

I have been turning the blank cast spinner in my Expo drill but Im getting conflicting images as I work

Curvy?

Straight

 

Not something I'd noticed before, there must be more

 

 

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

I think they were pods rather than tanks which means you will have even more tanks when letter arrives!

I measured the Alleycat ones and they are 32mm long and 7mm diameter. They look like they have a different shape front and rear but I think this is photo distortion (Alleycat has same rounded front and rear)

Note that they are not totally round but have a flattened bit faired in on the top where they attach to pylon.

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

14 minutes ago, perdu said:

Curvy

I think that photo exaggerates the curve but would say its different. Looking at the two I've just added above,I would say that there is a slight curve compared to this

(71chally..where are you ?)

[perdu]

Cheers Scimitar, I think the nose and tails of the tanks/pods are different, they look that way on all the pictures I see

 

7x32 mm is great thanks

 

Flat at the mounting point? Check, sihrsc at the ready

 

 

There is an obvious curve to the other spinner, I'm working towards that shape for the COD airframe

[Cookenbacher]

90% of my knowledge of the Gannet comes from reading this very thread, so feel free to disregard this opinion. The AEW spinner does look different to me too,  straight with an almost semi-circular 'cap' at the nose, where the others seem to curve in a more 'conventional' manner.