SLoB

Sean I suspect you are correct. I have looked at the website and I think it is the tail that is the problem, as you say. Seems like I will have to get the conversion set and then see about another Javelin kit in due course. Thanks for input.

Tony I have painted most of mine (hairy stick painter so got odd bits to finish off) and if care is taken with cutting, fitting, filling and sanding it may be possible to simply paint the new parts and gradully blend in. Or am I being too optimistic about a) how easy it might be and/or my skills I am thinking: 1) that cutting off the vortices is no big deal and clean up should be OK if care is taken 2) cutting out the wing leading edges should not be too much of a big deal 3) not sure what the tail changes will require and it is this that troubles me most 4) not sure if there are other chagnes that might be easy/problematic The whole reason behind this is that I want to depict the 228 OCU squadron that my dad served in (as armourer/general ground crew) when Javelins first arrived there, but when I started the build any conversion set seemed a way off. I am also not sure I could get past SWMBO a second Javelin! (they are a bit big to hide). For these various reasons it may be a while before I get another Javelin to have a go at. I am therefore keen to try to fit the conversion to what I have built. The pic below gives an indication of how far I have got. I suspect I am not the only one who has started one of these and now wishes they had waited If someone could give an indication of how practical it might be to make the changes at this late stage I would be grateful. Thanks. P.S. I hope I am not hi-jacking this thread - sorry if you think I am.

Ali I have largely completed my build of the kit OOB, but how easy/hard would it be to retrofit your resin? I am interested in the FAW5. I assume it is a matter of cutting out certain wing leading edge sections and the tail section, but is this possible with the original put together (I am thinking mainly of the tailpipe alteration)? If too difficult I may have to wait until I can afford/justify another Javelin, but if not too hard I may have a go with what I've got.

At the far end of the Airfix stand there was Club info. They had a whole load of club kits on show (past ones), but the lad I spoke to indicated that the 2014 club kit was to be a boxing of a Hurricane and Swordfish (both 1/72 scale) in US Operation Torch markings.

According to this site: http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/Javelin.html both XH880 and XH883 had JWH on the fin at one time. If you scroll down to the relevant serials you will find that there is a photo of XH883 with JWH on its fin. Not sure how accurate the info on the site is, but it is what I am using to decide what markings to go with. They also indicate that both had J on the fin as well.

Some great stuff going on here. I am building mine (1st one) more or less out of the box without any of these modifications (not sure my modelling skills are up to the standard required at present), but this is great stuff and really helpful reference for when I do my 2nd - when I might try a bit more scratch building A quick question for Vulcanicity - do you have photos of the wing tips/edges (not just front part, but about half-way along)? There are rectangular sections scribed in the end that I think are some form of light, but I cannot find a photo that is good enough to determine what it is. If it is a light might it be worth cutting out and putting some clear sprue in its place?. Also, I notice (from the Xtradecal sheets) that there is an aerial of some description on the top of the tail fin of some (but not all) FAW9s. It looks like a blade aerial and not too big, so easily made from a piece pf plasticard, but wonder if there are some decent shots of it? Looking forward to the next installment.

I have an Academy F-86F in the stash (looking at me right now) and I will probably be just about ready to start it some time mid next year. If there is no list I may just pop up on this one as well. As I am a hairy stick painter and it is likely that the scheme I will pursue is NMF it should be an interesting challenge.

According to the Warpaint book the T3 was used in the following squadrons: 3, 5, 11, 23, 25, 29, 33, 41, 46, 60, 64, 72, 85, 87, 151, Fighter Command Instrument Rating Squadron, 228 OCU (both original; and post 1965) There is a list of the airframes as well, but too long to type out here.

You sometimes find some on ebay. At present this is being listed and is suitable for the T3 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-72-Decals-Gloster-Javelin-Squadron-Markings-/121195785519?pt=UK_ToysGames_ModelKits_ModelKits_JN&hash=item1c37d4ed2f

Lancaster at War (Mike Garbett and Brian Goulding) has a few shots of some isolated damage (odd holes in wings and fuselage), but no photos of the sort you see of B-17s, etc. If you think they might help I will see about scanning a few pages (it really is only a couple of shots - not many). Stephen

Very nice. Really like the look of the Jag.

Looking good. I note your method of dealing with the intake seams and not being brave enough to risk a dremel on it I decided on wrapping the sandpaper round a pencil of suitable diameter and that seemed to work well.

It looks really good in silver. Nice job. Did you find that the 25gm weight they recommend in the nose is enough? I have not yet got to that stage, but just wondering.

A short while ago I acquired the old SAM that included a feature on the Javelin. In it there are these line drawings. So far I have found nothing else to show the navigators area. Hope this is of some help.

Not wanting to hijack Crobinsonh's thread for his WIP I thought I would post this here. It is just a quick note for reference. As I am wanting to put some figures in my Airfix Javelin I have three options: 1) use the Airfix Canberra crew, 2) use the Alleycat standing figures outside the plane, or 3) use the PJ Production figures. I now have all three so here is a quick comparison. 1) is painted up, 2) is dark grey 3) is the cream resin figure. The Alleycat figures scales to about 6ft, the Airfix Canberra scales to under 5ft and the PJ Productions figures is just over 5ft. The Alleycat figure beside a scale rule. The three torsos are interesting because there is not a lot of difference between Airfix and PJ Productions, whereas the Alleycat figure is clearly bigger. The Airfix and PJ Production figures side by side. The PJ Productions figure clearly has longer legs. Having tried the figures in the seat the PJ Productions figures are what I will use. I appreciate that if the model is correct to scale on the exterior then due to the thickness of the plastic, etc the cockpit will inevitably be slightly under scale, but I had not appreciated quite how much these figure vary and how small some seem to be. SLoB

John That does indeed help greatly. Thanks. I have now received the PJ Productions figure, the AlleyCat figures and I have the Airfix Canberra figure. The Alley Cat figures scale up to c. 6ft tall - about right. Although these figures are standing they look too tall and I doubt would fit the cockpit. The Canberra figure scales in at under 5ft and the PJ Productions figures come in just over 5ft. I notice that the torsos of the PJ and Arifix figures are about the same size (PJ just fractionally taller). However, the difference is in the legs the Airfix ones are distinctly short and the PJ ones would appear to be about right for the seat. My concern is that in using the Airfix one it is too small without doubt. Using the PJ Productions ones will probably just do, but the torso is a touch small as is the figures head. If I get a chance soon I will post some photos (under a new thread - as we have hijacked this thread enough! ) to show the differences. Stephen

Looking great. Excuse my ignorance on the matter of the ejector seat, but I am thinking of putting figures in (with all that fine detail in the cockpit you probably think me mad ). What I am not sure about is where the various belts go when there is someone strapped in I have looked on the interweb and found no helpful photos. I can make some assumptions, but it would be good to ahve a clear guide. Lap straps and shoulder straps seem obvious, but there are quite a few other straps to these things and I have no idea where to wrap them Thanks in advance for any help Stephen

No. My Dad did his National Service in the mid 1950s at RAF Leeming serving with 228OCU and he was an armourer for Javelins. I would therefore like to do a FAW5 of 228OCU.

Mine also arrived yesterday (28th - my birthday), but as I was out it was taken in by neighbours who then went away for the weekend However, good news is they are back and popped round with it this evening Thanks Wonderland. Now going to see how easy/hard it will be to convert this to a FAW5. Out with the drawings and photos now to have a look-see.

Thanks for the input. Will wait until I receive kit and then consider what to do. My research indicates I would need to convert it to an FAW5 and I am presently searching for images and information (including scale drawings if poss) to assist. As for the tail insignia I have it from a 1/72 old set of decals and could probably do something with that. I suppose I could pop by RAF Leeming to see if I can get a decent photo of the gate-guard tail, but that seems unlikely in the foreseeable future. Looking forward to seeing the new kit. If anything like other Airfix recent releases it should be pretty good. I may even decide to wait and hope that someone brings out some aftermarket conversion rather than risk me messing up a good model.

I have just placed a pre-order with Wonderland as its my birthday on the 28th and they say it is available on the 27th - so its a b'day pressie My father did his national service at RAF Leeming as an armourer for the Javelins on 228OCU. I know he worked on the earlier version of the Javelin (FAW 5 I think). My questions therefore are: How easy to create an FAW5 from the FAW9? Bearing in mind this is not going into a competition and I am not a very experienced modeller (doing it for my pleasure mainly and to show/give to Dad when done). Did the Leuchars 228OCU tail fin include the horse head insignia? From the pictures of the schemes I have seen it is difficult to make out. If not are there any 1/48 scale decals that include that insignia (I cannot find any) or any decent photos of it that I could use to make my own decal? Thanks in advance. SLoB

That's a bit of an unfair comment whoever told you that as it is run on a shoestring and it seems they rely on volunteer help quite a bit. I was there earlier this year and enjoyed an hour or more wandering round taking a few pics. Outside they have a Vulcan, Canberra and Lightning and the main area is one hanger. Within this there are various complete aircraft and many bits and pieces around. There is another small hanger and various other small bits and pieces. It does have an untidy appearance and the exhibits are not sparkling clean. However, I thoroughly enjoyed having a nose around. Where you get the tickets they have a small 'cafe' with some books and a few kits for sale. I would say it is worth spending a couple of hours there. It also helps support them so that they can continue to save and restore the aircraft. If no-one goes because it is "not worth the effort" they will soon close down and there will be nothing to see at all.

Not sure these help. When passing on a couple of occasions they were working on her and I took a couple of photos, but not sure they are helpful to you. Nonetheless here they are: That's all I have I'm afraid.

Not sure if these help, but took these when visiting and they had some cowls off.

HELP I am looking for some help from you good people here. In my professional life I am presently organising a conference to do with conservation. I had intended that on Sunday 25th March in the afternoon as an introduction to the course we would have a behind the scenes tour of Duxford and The Fighter Collection. This was to be an optional extra. The take-up on the conference itself has not be as good as we had hoped and only two had signed up for the Duxford tour (we need at least 20). I am therefore on the brink of cancelling the Duxford tour, but there is a cancellation cost involved. The only way to avoid this is to see if I can get 20 people interested in the tour. It is £25 per person but will involve a guided tour of the museum, specifically the American Hanger and The Fighter Collection. The guide will be talking through how they deal with conservation of static and flying exhibits and is therefore somewhat technical. However, I am hoping that it will be an extremely interesting tour. The reason for posting this here is to see if any of you are interested. Although the tour will no longer be part of the conference if I can get enough people interested to come along (and pay!) we can avoid heavy cancellation charges and those that go will have an interesting time. Anyone interested in this please PM me asap. Many thanks. Stephen