Frogfix Jaguar

[Parns]

Evening each,

This was an odd one - I had been given a partially completed Frog Jaguar about twenty years ago, and had been wondering what to do with it. As it had been started, I couldn't sell it, and it would have taken a lot of work to bring it up to modern standards, which would have been pointless in view of the availability of significantly more modern kits. So it was an obvious subject for conversion. After toying for a long time with the idea of converting it to a Jaguar M navalised prototype, I eventually had another idea. There was a rather extraordinary installation on display at the Tate Britain in the winter of 2010, consisting of a retired Jaguar GR.3A and Sea Harrier FA.2, stripped of engines, seats, armament and most equipment and arranged in the Duveen Galleries. My photos are here (public FB link):

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150899333230471.756387.831430470&type=1&l=0c0068743d

With the cockpit stripped bare, the engines entirely gone along with the arrester hook and most equipment that could be removed, I thought that it would make an ideal conversion subject, with most of the missing detail not required anyway.

Of course, the Frog kit represents the A & E prototypes, so I acquired an old Airfix Jaguar from which I robbed the forward fuselage, canopy, fin and wings, grafting these onto the Frog fuselage, after engraving the panel lines throughout. One detailing job that I had to do was to add the frames to the engine bay, which was done with plastic strip. I also had to remove the tail antenna housing, but little else was needed. I polished the canopy, but refrained from treating it with Clear, as the original appeared to have been subtly treated to be slightly clouded. I also had to make the LRMTS windows from scratch - excavating the compartment, filling it with a length of clear plastic sprue and sanding it to shape, finishing with canopy polish and filling with Clearfix. My airbrush may have had a broken nozzle but it was still able to spray a surprisingly effective coat of Humbrol Silver Fox (the more so as the paint was a couple of decades old!).

Here are a few pictures of the result:

Hope you find it interesting

Edited February 12, 2015 by Parns

[David Womby]

Interesting idea and nicely executed but I have to say seeing a Jaguar in that state, even for art's sake, is very sad.

David

[Parns]

I agree entirely, David. One of the main impressions that I took away from the show. For more on the artist, her homepage is here: http://www.fionabanner.com/

[shelfspace]

Excellent - having seen the exhibition - and echoing the sentiments expressed here entirely - I was thinking of exactly the same project. Now I'm *definitely* going to do it! Thanks for sharing.

[viscount806x]

I cross kitted the Airfix and Frog kits back in the 1970s, mainly to make a T2. The two seater was an option in the Frog kit and that was the carrot, no other two seater available at that time. As stated, the Frog kit is of an early dev a/c and needs some changes which happily the Airfix (updated) kit provides, notably the kinked tailplanes, missing from the model shown here.

[Parns]

Hmmm, it does indeed look as if the tailplane leading edges are straight, but there definitely was a compound leading edge sweep put in - got somewhat lost along the way when filling and sanding the root. The Frog kit has a notably better fit than the Airfix, even though it is significantly older. Didn't go together badly at all.

[padsosheakits]

Nice project and great use of a spare kit. The artist in question was/is Fiona Banner and has done some interesting work with plastic kits - she published a book a few years back where she tried to make every available military jet kit. I like it but can see it is not to everyone's taste!

The model looks great. What was the paint from finish you used? I remember the Tate piece being more 'reflective'...!

Paddy

[Fritag]

Nive idea Parns - well executed.

I saw the exhibition at the Tate and liked it.

I thought the Jag looked absolutely stunning polished up like that and I also liked the fact it was posed upside down. I thought that both the finish and the pose changed the context and I was left with the thought that I was looking at a very beautiful object (but then I'm a bit biased about the Jag) that happened to once have been a warplane.

Edited February 20, 2015 by Fritag

[Work In Progress]

I agree: it was a striking exhibit. Had the Jaguar not been used for that it would have been saucepans anyway, so I don't mind at all.

[Parns]

Thanks for the compliments, most kind. I've a nasty feeling that both exhibits ended up in the hands of the scrapman anyhow, but at least it was a worthwhile diversion on their way. Paddy, I had originally intended to use adhesive foil to get the high polish of the original, but realised that it just wouldn't be practical around the compound curves, especially around the intakes. Uniformity of the surface was key, so I had to airbrush it with humble Humbrol 11, a tinlet that was over twenty years old! It took a long time to dry, but came out functional enough, given its age, especially when taking my airbrush's broken nozzle into account (it's since been repaired). Fritag, that's an interesting perspective. I found my response tended to dwell on the allegories that could be derived from it.