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Supermarine E10/44 - Attacker prototype TS409 - AZ models 1/72


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This was Supermarine’s first jet and was, I believe, basically the wing of a Supermarine Spiteful fitted to a fuselage containing a RR Nene. A second prototype was ‘navalised’ by fitting an arrestor hook and wing-folding and guns. I don’t think that it was known as the ‘Attacker’ until the first production variant, the FB1, was produced. Not the most graceful of a/c and nowhere near as nice as Hawker’s first effort, the P1040/Sea Hawk. Not the most interesting a/c either but one that belongs in my collection of early jets.

This model was built from the AZ Attacker Prototype kit. The tailplanes were reduced in size, the guns were reduced to stubs, the arrestor hook was removed and the ejector seat converted to a non-ejector version. I suspect that there are a few bulges and panels present more appropriate to the production version. The only data I could find relating to the reduced tail size was a drawing of the E10/44 in Phillip Birtles book of the ‘Attacker, Swift and Scimitar’ but as this pretty well matched the shape of the rest of the kit I used it as the basis for the smaller tail.

The kit is infuriating because the surfaces are nicely detailed but the parts themselves are less than wonderful. The wing trailing edges are too thick and the leading edges too blunt, something that I only realised after glueing the top and bottom surfaces together. Fortunately the LE was corrected by some careful scraping but the wing is too thick and needs filler to fair it into the root.

The fuselage was a problem in that the top and bottom surfaces did not match vertically. I got around this by glueing along the top surfaces then when this joint was thoroughly dry the fuselage was squeezed with a clamp until the halves matched then superglue was used to fix them together. This was done in several steps along the length of the fuselage.

The tailwheel fitting is weak and I fitted a reinforcing piece inside the bay to give some support.

There are a couple of problems with the decals. The positioning given for the fuselage roundel looks too low so I  moved it up a bit but I could be wrong. The second concerns the registration markings. They cover the u/c bay doors so I  put the doors in place, applied the decals and then cut the decal with a sharp knife. This is a lot easier if you make sure the doors fit the openings BEFORE assembling and painting the kit.

The finish is Alclad Airframe Aluminium over Gloss black enamel.

The last picture shows it alongside the 510, Supermarine's first swept wing jet, which was basically an Attacker with swept surfaces and eventually led to the Swift. 510 is from Maintrack.

Any corrections or observations welcome

 

John

 

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Both are really beautiful aircraft.

The Attacker and the Swift are interesting pioneers

of the jet age,and with their classical undercarriage

look a bit like piston engined planes.

A great work you did there.

Congratulation!! Polo.:clap2:

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Lovely looking build, I remember seeing the 510 described as looking like quick silver when it was in the sky and your model captures that look well.

 

I must admit I'm one of those odd people that really admire and like the look of all the  Supermarine jets!

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Very nice model John, with a lovely paint finish and you've really made the most of the kit. I really want to love the Attacker because of my adoration of the Spitfire, and so there's a sense that one therefore has to love all of Supermarine's children. But the Attacker is something of an ugly duckling. I wonder how it would have looked with a fully-fledged tricycle undercarriage arrangement, and one wants to go back and tell Supermarine to develop it properly, as Messerschmitt did with the 262....

 

Justin

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A great pair of Supermarines you've got there John. It's hard to believe that they came from the same stable as the Spitfire. Nevertheless, you've done a superb build on both and the finish is outstanding. 

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Sorry I missed these earlier. Nice work! I have the AZ Attacker in my stash (with prototype markings) but I think all of the AZ Attacker kits have the same plastic so you can build the FB.1 from it. I'll probably end up building it as a production example. 

 

While it may be true that the Attacker was not the most graceful aircraft, it has that "look" common to many early naval jet aircraft. I particularly like the traditional tailwheel set of the aeroplane. I think you captured the look and feel nicely.

 

Didn't know about the 510 kit - vacuform or injected?

 

Cheers,

Bill

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1 minute ago, Procopius said:

 

The Maintrack kit is/was a vacform -- I think Whirlybird rereleased it with resin inner gubbins.

 

Thanks - I hate vacuforms. Started a few, finished none. Hey, aren't you supposed to be working? Does your boss know you're cruising the forums?

 

Cheers,

Bill

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Just now, Navy Bird said:

 

Thanks - I hate vacuforms. Started a few, finished none. Hey, aren't you supposed to be working? Does your boss know you're cruising the forums?

 

Snitches get stitches, Bill.

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3 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

 

Thanks - I hate vacuforms. Started a few, finished none. Hey, aren't you supposed to be working? Does your boss know you're cruising the forums?

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

3 hours ago, Procopius said:

 

Snitches get stitches, Bill.

 

Now Now Children!

 

I'm not particularly fond of vacforms either but I was cursed by the wicked witch and given an interest in 'off beat' a/c so that consigns me to the outer reaches of the modelling universe where vacforms, resins and limited production items reside.

Some of my stuff at Telford

Telford%202016_zpslmp09geb.jpg

 

Bill, my Phantom prototype might interest you, if you have not seen it

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234982036-prototype-phantom-f4h-1-172/

Have fun with the Attacker!

Cheers

John

 

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Wow, that's quite a selection on the table. Nice work! I remember the Spook prototype when you first posted it, that's a great conversion - and not easy! Good job!

 

Cheers,

Bill

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Very smart John.

 

It has been said that although the Attacker did sit like a classic piston fighter and didn't perform a great deal better,

it did at least allow the Fleet Air Arm to look and sound like a modern air force.

 

I have Whirly's BAC 221 to sit alongside an old Frog Fairey Delta II,one day,one day.....

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