Airfix Chipmunk T.10 1/72

[Lynx7]

Ok, two questions. where did you get a 1/32 scale Chippie from and what have you done with the tiny 1/72 scale one??????

[geedubelyer]

I keep looking at the one I built and thinking .........how?

Just bewildering work Steve, keep it up.

a 1/32 scale Chippie

If only.......

[SimonR]

Ok, two questions. where did you get a 1/32 scale Chippie from and what have you done with the tiny 1/72 scale one??????

1/32nd - yes if only!!!

I'd settle for one of these if I could afford it

Edited March 19, 2013 by SimonR

[HOUSTON]

[Fritag]

Thanks for the encouragement chaps - I lurked for a long time admiring your work - and if and when I think I'm getting close to that quality - then I'll be happy.

Isn't it interesting how the Chipmunk is such a popular aeroplane? I know that many of us have fond memories of it from our youth - but I don't think that's the entire explanation.

I've now painted the cockpit coaming and drybrushed it - using of all things 'Longbeard Grey' a Citadel paint from their 'dry' paint range intended only for drybrushing. I got it from Games Workshop following up on a tip from Geedubelyer. It saved me having to ferret around for thick pigment in the bottom of one of my Tamiya or Humbrol jars and I'd reccomend it.

That I reckon is the cockpits done - save for the shoulder harnesses.

I still haven't glued the framing onto the canopy yet - it's one of those jobs that I could easily make a Horlicks of and get glue all over the canopy.

I experimented today on a scrap plece of clear plastic using Cyrstal Clear and as an alternative Revell Contacta Clear. Both worked ok (I suppose they are more or less the same formulation) and it was neat enough putting small dabs of glue on the framing strips but the bond wasn't very strong - but that was expected. I don't think there is a viable alternative.

I had a look back at this thread on my Ipad earlier - with a cup of coffee in Caffe Nero in town - one of my favourite ways of browsing BM. And I saw that Miggers and one or two others had asked my time on Jags. I had a not untypical cold war service and left the Jag just before Gulf 1 so not particularly exciting - but I've got a handful of photos on photobucket and at the risk of thread drift I'll post a few next time me and my Ipad are having a coffee.

Thanks for looking

Steve

Steve

[bigbadbadge]

Wow this is amazing work, excellent thread, keep up the very good work.

All the best

Chris

[perdu]

she looks lovely Steve

For the canopy I would advise something like 'Formula 560' (on the bottle it says "The World's Best Canopy Glue", I believe it)

It dries very clear and makes a fine substitute for Krystal Kleer, if a little less "spready"

(just used KK to fill the window holes on Sherpybaby for when I prime it. Formula 560 didn't want to gloop across the largeish hole but I know it is a really good strong adhesive. I gave some to a mate at Cosford last year to hold the upper mast on a ship which had suffered travel sickness of the dropsy nature- worked well!)

[Marcus.Q1000859]

You really are going all out on this one. The effort you are putting into it is incredible, good on you mate. You are going to have one to be proud of!

Marcus

[Fritag]

You really are going all out on this one. The effort you are putting into it is incredible, good on you mate. You are going to have one to be proud of!

Marcus

I'm not really sure how it's happened. I haven't made a 1/72 scale kit for donkey's years and only finished one kit, a 1/32 revell spitfire, in the last 10 years or so -although I started one or two others. That's not to say that I haven't been adding to the air force in the attic for the past few years always intending to make a proper start back in the hobby.

I started this little kit to get me back into the swing of it. Love the Chipmunk - who doesn't? and I thought I would probably finish this one. I thought I'd do it a WIP as that would make me finish it. (misuse of BM?)

Then it seemed silly not to add a cockpit to it.

Then it seemed silly not to replace the undercarriage.

Then it seemed silly not to display the canopy open.

Then it seemed silly not to mould a canopy.

Then it seemed silly not to add some of the more visible bits and bobs.

You know how it goes don't you?

Whenever I thought I don't know how I'll do that - Someone pointed me in the right direction (need a list of credits here with Bill and Rod at the top of the list).

Anyway - I think that some of us are primarily builders and some of us are primarily painters and some lucky so and so's do both equally well (BM build envy revealed).

I think I'm probably a builder rather than a painter and so I'm a bit worried at the moment that my finishing skills won't do it justice - but we'll see.

Steve

Edited March 20, 2013 by Fritag

[keefr22]

As you've said yourself Steve, you've learnt all these new skills as you've gone along on this little beauty, so I'm sure your finishing skills will also improve to give her the finish she deserves!

keef

[perdu]

Keef is absolutely right you know (yes you do know)

When I see what you have achieved (with our sometimes obtrusive interjecting) there is no limit to where you can take your modelling.

I'm getting old and shaky now so I expect the Sherpa to be my last real effort at scratchbuilding and I am having to think realistically about finishing her suitably, THIS is the place where I expect to find out what I need in order to do it

right.

(No bill isnt retiring just not likely to do much scratch work in future)

This Chipmunk has taken Airfix into another place really, I love it and hope any advice I have given hasn't wrecked where you wanted to go with her.

Er, did I mention I love it ?

b

[Fritag]

Would also like to hear some stories of what you did in real Jags too Steve.

Hi Steve,

As you did your pilot training at Church Fenton I might have seen you do a circuit or two as I used to love to go and watch the jp's from the public viewing point. I still have a drive over now and again to see if there's anything interesting flying over. Last time I visited there was a hawk doing a few circuits which was a real treat! What did you fly operationally? Keep up the good work on the Chippie, great build so far.

Cheers. Martin.

Ok. Line shooting warning!

Thread drift and nothing to do with my Chipmunk (sorry Mods). Sat in Caffe Nero in rainy Leeds - had a morning fix of BM. Time to kill before having to do some work later. Here's a few photo's.

I was lucky enough to get over a thousand hours on Jags - enormous fun - and a bit sweaty at times. Loads of hours at 250' - 450kts at low level (480kts on the target run) and plenty of hours at 100' in the OLF areas (2 ships, 4 ships, 8 ships, 12 ships etc) . Got out to Canada and the US for the major Nato exercise (Maple Flag, Red Flag as well) flying across the atlantic in a Jag (no autopilot - no toilet!), air to air refueling from a victor, was something everyone wanted to do - but only once! thereafter it was more comfortable to be in the VC10 and let someone else fly the Jag. Lucky enough to do the QWI course and TLP as well.

Jags were allowed to cruise faster than every one else at low level (most others went at 420kts) cos we only had little engines so took more time to accelerate.

I also did low level Night Vision Goggle (NVG) flying, which was 500' at night looking through green tinged binoculars. Didn't have anything fancy like forward looking infrared or TF radar (like tornado) in those days. We wos men! We had to highlight the power lines on the map and pull up when we knew we were getting close to them because you couldn't see the wires through the goggles. They used to blackout the airfield when we were flying NVG because the airfield lights overwhelmed the goggles. The internal cockpit lights had to be covered in green filters for the same reason.

We also did regular air to air combat, mostly among ourselves, mostly for handling practice and mostly just 1v1. The Jag had a very respectable 8g limit (if you were going fast enough). It also had a 17 degree angle of attack limit and the wing never stalled as such (swept wing aerodynamics) if you went past 17 alpha then at some point the wing blanked the tail and the Jag departed from controlled flight and that was that - you couldn't get it back and you jumped out. Most 1v1s end in a slow speed flat or rolling scissors (nonsensical in a real situation but huge fun) and so you either stuck by the rules at 17 alpha and lost or you went beyond 17 alpha (and put the flaps down) and convinced yourself that you were the best pilot around and you were the man who would be able to spot that the Jag was just about to depart - before it departed- and stop it. It was like being in a tumble drier the amount of shaking and buffeting as you tried to go slower than, and manouver behind, your oppo. Or so I was told - I of course never went beyond 17 alpha or put the flaps down! I also never knew anyone lose it and have to eject for that matter so maybe we were professional (enough).

I was lucky enough on the QWI course to do some more extensive air combat including 1v1v1 against a Tornado F3 and a Mirage F1; and 2+2 v 4 (2 Jags and 2 F3's vs 4 F15's). I have to say that a Jag vs an F15 in a dogfight ain't really fair. Also when you play the tapes back the yanks always sound really cool over the radio and the brits always sound like squeaky school boys - or maybe that was just me.

Later on I was lucky enough to do an exchange on F16s (although the tour was truncated) and was able to get my own back a bit on F15s.

I actually wanted to fly Lightnings - and even got posted to Lightning after TWU at Chivenor but whilst I was waiting to do my first T5 trip at Binbrook some b****r landed one and the u/c collapsed. As I remember things it was going to take months to get the T5's cleared for flight again - so young Fritag got moved on to Phantoms - but he didn't want a Navigator so he managed to get a swop to Jags. This was quite ironic really as I'd spent a good deal of my time in the Hawk at Chivenor completely lost at Low Level and may not have got posted to a Jag squadron if I'd asked for it at that stage!

Anyways up. A few photos:

A clue as to a squadron I was on (me in the middle):

Something not many mudmovers got to do (Aim 9G). I was terrified I was going to f**k it up. As soon as it growled in my ear I let it go. God knows where it ended up. Sorry for the quality - no video in those days it was all wet film.

Pretty picture.

Some times you feel small. And you also wonder how long it takes a jumbo's wake turbulence to disappear. Which as I recall is longer than it takes for Athens ATC to demand that you stop whinging and take-off.

Scary moment

Why it's nice to have two engines.

And why we all love Martin Baker:

Mid-Air October 1985. I won't say any more about it because only I walked away from it. Jag buffs or those familiar with the Ejection-history.org.uk site will know the one.

Any road up. That was a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away as they say.

Line shoot over. Thread drift over. Time to go to work.

Cheers

Steve

Edited March 20, 2013 by Fritag

[keefr22]

Great tales, Steve, thanks for sharing! How I wish I hadn't withdrawn from nav. training because of stupid personal reasons ... Still, the Bulldog flying with UWAS was good...!!

keef

Edited March 20, 2013 by keefr22

[Rod Blievers]

If this is a thread drift - more please Steve. You write with a palpable honesty and humility, so no-one can accuse you of line shooting. Loved the photos too. It makes airline flying seem so boring (probably because it was - but then again I have a theory that "boring is good" in aeroplanes!)....

Edited March 20, 2013 by Rod Blievers

[Fritag]

If this is a thread drift - more please Steve. You write with a palpable honesty and humility, so no-one can accuse you of line shooting. Loved the photos too. It makes airline flying seem so boring (probably because it was - but then again I have a theory that "boring is good" in aeroplanes!)....

Come off it Rod. I thought you were with Cathay? Two words - Kai Tak?

I would also bet there were a few storms over the South China Seas, Indian Ocean or South Pacific that made for interesting times?

Line shooting - How about the - there I was 90 degrees of bank - head in the cockpit - slewing the moving map display to get it somewhere near reality (GR1 Jag so NAVWASS) when the rad alt low height warner set at 70 ft goes off.........Trouble is every Jag driver/Harrier driver has got one or two of those.

Great tales, Steve, thanks for sharing! How I wish I hadn't withdrawn from nav. training because of stupid personal reasons ... Still, the Bulldog flying with UWAS was good...!!

keef

Hey Keef.

I nearly didn't go back to OT at Cranwell after 2 weeks cos I was homesick and missed my mum! (seriously- first time away from home an 18 years and 2 months old). She obviously wasn't missing me though - cos she sent me back!

Anyway - I bet they were good - and not stupid - reasons at the time - and from what I was told by the University types the UAS and the bulldog was great fun.

Steve

[Fritag]

I'm getting old and shaky now so I expect the Sherpa to be my last real effort at scratchbuilding and I am having to think realistically about finishing her suitably,

Oh yeah....you say that now. I'm avidly following that thread of yours - just like everyone else with any pretensions to scratch stuff.

Oh - not to mention that it's a darned good read.

Steve

Edited March 21, 2013 by Fritag

[geedubelyer]

Ah, what a thoroughly enjoyable read. Thanks for sharing your recollections Steve.

cheers.

[Fritag]

Had one of those weeks. B****y awful weather. Work was a pain. And despite getting in a few hours modelling I've little to report.

Canopy's been dipped in Klear. The primer has been micromeshed and I've spent some time tidying up some of the more bodged scribed lines with Mister Surfacer. Not unenjoyable jobs but not a lot of visible difference.

Still faffing about with the canopy framing. I wanted to paint one side black and one side white before fitting them. Not a major task but I tried to save the bother of thinning paint and cleaning the airbrush by using rattle cans. Mistake. Too blunt a tool and too high pressure for the job. Lots of paint creep and generally a poor result. Need to redo them.

Not for a few days though as we're off to pembrokeshire for a short break. May see some jets in the welsh hills.

TTFN

Steve

Edited March 24, 2013 by Fritag

[SimonR]

Just caught up with this thread and what a great read Steve!

cheers

Simon

[keefr22]

Not for a few days though as we're off to pembrokeshire for a short break. May see some jets in the welsh hills.

Good luck! Can't remember the last time I saw a fast mover - although since St Athan 'closed' they do seem to stay more west/north of us nowadays. Not like the old days though when we had a couple (at least) per hour! Chivenor Hunters, Valley Hawks & all the front line heavy metal coming out of the Loop & heading home - or to Saints for lunch!! I'm going all misty eyed again...!!

keef

[woody37]

Steve, that's great reading, thanks for sharing. As someone who tried to get in as pilot, I have some envy, but do enjoy reading first hand accounts of interesting situations, especially when so well written as you've done

Cheers, Neil

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Awesome stuff on this - I just nipped upstairs to dig out my (unstarted) Chippie just to remind myself of how small the kit is. Fantastic work. I eventually plan to do mine. Similar deal; 1983 RN Flying Grading in my case - the FAA equivalent of your FSS, flying out of Roborough with a completely shot away ex-Mossie driver as my instructor. Happy days!

Can't wait to see the finished article.

[Benbow]

Cooool thread drift!! The instructors at Roborough when I was there in '90 had all been Sea Fury drivers in the Korean War!! They didn't 'artf spin some good dits!! Keep up the good work Steve - you're an inspiration to all us ex-Chippie graders!! Now then, how many notches was it for the differential braking??!!

[Rod Blievers]

Actually Steve this is inspired by your "beautiful weather" comment in response to an earlier posting of mine. A typical Queensland winter's day (yes, winter) - 20C, cloudless, unlimited visibility.

Also it's an attempt to reposition the Chipmunk article in its correct place, i.e. page 1!!

The three Chipmunks are of interest I think. WK507 (VH-SSJ) is one of the very few Chipmunks to wear the first permutation of the R/W/LG scheme (note those red wingroot fairings!) combined with UAS markings ( I know of only one other example), WK550 (VH-KMF) has appeared before while the rear Chipmunk (the very shiny VH-DBS) not only has the fin flash reversed but it's not appropriate anyway as this is one of the handful of Mk.21's, i.e. built from the "ground up" as a civil aircraft.

I eagerly await progress on your model.....

Edited March 31, 2013 by Rod Blievers

[Scratchbuilder]

Tell us more about the shiny one Rod!

That's the one I like the look of, despite having flown the red and white 'uns.

Martin