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Showing results for tags 'Re-engined'.
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I'm having a right old bonanza with smaller multi-engined planes at the moment, and Airfix are on a roll supplying me with their Vintage Classics reissue programme! Throw in a Twin Otter from Revell and happiness ensues 😍 And all at no great expense. They've all been opened and rummaged through, amidst a little cloud of nostalgia that comes free with every box. Top of the pile, for no particular reason, is this one, First issued in 1969 and totally contemporary with the aircraft itself. I think Airfix were trying to stay ahead of the game by choosing the USAF version that was being made. Fitted with a pair of Garrett turboprops to please or to suit the US, it looks like it was destined to be used in a medical evacuation role, with an extra wide entrance. The Airfix plan fell on its face though, simultaneously with the USAF order being cancelled and Handley Page going bust. Production the plane was taken over by Scottish Aviation and ultimately by BAe, and the Jetstream succeeded for many years. But not with American Garrett engines! I'm not sure if ANY airframes were built in the style of the Airfix kit, but you'll never find a picture of one! I suppose the after market guys may come up with a viable option now that the kit is reissued....... Or maybe not. My challenge, in the meantime, is to have a go at scratch conversion and see if I can make a real Jetstream. The issue is this..... And I'm in the process of something quite different! The actual build is progressing with a few mods that I'll detail, but hassle-free and no big drama. It's just those engines. I'm sort of thinking that it was an opportunity for Airfix to make good on their error of judgement, and tool up a little sprue with the right turbine fit. Oh, and throw in a small selection of civil schemes on the decal sheet. How nice would that be?? 😎
