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Ark Royal's last cruise -Phantom FG1:Tractor and base close to completion


Massimo

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Good evening mates,
to be honest, at the moment my Jaguars’ main wheel bays are a little too demanding in terms of …inspiration and I’ve ended up postponing and postponing them.


Now there are a few things happening to other members that have let me understand that probably…it’s normal to loose a bit of motivation when a project is taking too long to be brought to an end.


Fritag has a perseverance I admire, but we’ve just seen he just went through what first it looked like an experiment (with those PE) and it may turn out as a new job!!!


Ex-FAAWAFU was a bit tired with his Sea King and is now going Through Supermarine’ production!!!


Perdu is passing with nonchalance from a “Perduxbox” Buccaneer to a “Pernovo” Gannet,


Martian’s putting everything else momentarily aside to start a Kamov 28.
Forgetting for a moment he did momentarily put his Roc project aside to go on with what seems to have been another project momentarily  put aside … the Karel Doorman’s last cruise.


This last Thread , whose meaning I understood only on a second time (initially I thought Karel Doorman was a friend of Martian’s!!!) reminded me an old dream I had for a long time , but I never started for lack of …existing models in the right scale (for me 1/48).


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Back in 2011, on one of my many journeys to the UK, I had bought  Aircraft magazine’s April issue, to have something to read in the night.


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In it there was a beautiful article about Ark Royal’s last cruise.I literally felt in love with the opening page  picture ( here below ) and I started dreaming of a diorama depicting a Gannet, a Phantom and a Buccaner parked on the flight deck. 


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All those coloured tails were wonderful and a Wessex as that depicted in the article’s third page would have been a nice addiction. At that time, I discussed the idea with my friends modellers and I must say the picture was a real success. But then, the idea only remained an idea for all these years.


The “Royal Navy… air” I’ve been  breathing since I joined BM and in particular Martian’s friend Karel’s  thread brought the old dream back to my mind. The only thing I’d liketo avoid, is to bring the Jaguars to an end first and start working to the Ark  project every now and then.
About it I have a question for the well informed,: did these helicopters belong to a Squadron ? 
The aircraft on board the Ark during her last cruise I found what follows:
1.    NAS 809 on Buccaneers.
2.    NAS 892 on Phantoms.
3.    NAS 849 on Fairey Gannets EAW3.
4.    ???          on Westland Wessex.
5.    NAS 824 on Westland Sea kings.


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1.    I had been  waiting for years for a Decent Gannet AEW 3 in 1/48th , but finally went for the Sword model in 1/72nd, as I saw it and couldn’t resist! That was my first model in 1/72nd after more than 20 years!!! 


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The model looks great and I thought to depict it while landing…
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…so I purchased the Eduard PE flaps ( I love that system and some times I’ll scratch build it for my Wyvern, which I…left momentarily aside a few years ago!!!). Of course, the fact this set is  dedicated to the Revell EAW1 kit wouldn’t have been a problem…untill I heard on this version the wing was shorter!!!
My wife, whom I call “Treasure” is always disappointed as she says I don’t listen to her and she’s got to tell me twhat I’ve got to do at least twice!
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Eduard Staff may have been listening , and that’s probably why I had a doupble copy of theinstruction sheet!!!
Anyway this isn’t going to be important, as I’m not going to use most of the set!!!


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I also purchased the ALLEY CAT decaal sheet dedicated to thie version of the Gannet, as I heard the orignal stencils are so thin, the ay just …get lost in the decalling process.

 

 

1aYHwVP.jpgM5Vtc8v.jpg

2.    The news that Airfix British Phantom’s will be released in the next few months, together with the high quality standard this glorious Manufacturer has reached in their last products, did the rest! I’ve got it on order. I also ordered Xtradecal dedicated sheet 72268, to have more choice.

The Phantom doesn’t say much in the parking configuration, much better to show it ready to launch, maybe with the deck’s heat deflectors open.


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3.    Perdu’s Matchbox Buccaneer’s thread gave me strength and I bought aRevell reboxing of the thing. If I follow Perdu’s instruction , I can do it!!! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNIrEYimmXs
…sorry, but I couldn’t find the english version!!!! The only problem seems to be the decal sheet: I’ve got the Airfix sheet for 1/48th kit, but  
4.    Italery Wessex will be chosen to represent the SAR aircraft.
About it I have a question for the well informed,: did these helicopters belong to a Squadron ? I can’t identify the crest  on the top starboard (…correct…???) side, behind the cockpit.
5.    Hannants seems to have only the Airfix kit on stock, which should be a new tooling.
Any ideas if there’s some PE or decal suggested for the version belonging to NAS 824 on board Ark Royal in her last cruise?

On second thoughts, I’m getting interested in depicting the Ark herself. The model which seems to be the closest one to this configuration of the famous ship seems to be Fujimi 1/700th scale kit.
The main question mark for a project like this is: how to develop it?
I mean, the first idea started from was a diorama with a Gannet, a Phantom and a Bucc as shown in the picture. This could do, with all aircraft in parking configuration with wings folded. 
On the other hand, these aircraft could be depicted in a quite effective “ready to take off” pose .  
•    The Buccaneer is quite singular in both cases, ( wings and airbrake folded or nose up , ready for launch).Even showing it on the lift notfully up wouldn’t be bad!!!
•    The Phantom’s  best configuration is with th nose gear extended , ready for launch.
•    The Gannet is quite singular with folded wings , hook down, open canopy and ladder out, but it’s not bad even with those curious flaps extended. Even a pre-flight configuration could be interesting , with a couple of crews and what seems to be a starter, as seen for Buccaneers too.
At the moment I’ve already started cutting the Gannet’s flaps, just to discover the Eduard PEset is wrong for this model. I could still use the folding mechanism struts( if this is the right name for them!!!) and modify the flaps cut off the wings.
•    The Wessex could be depicted parked with folded rotor or even i 1/144 scale in the background of a Buccaneer or the Phantom ready for launch, as shown in one of the article’s pictures.
•    The Sea king is the less colorful of the party and is still a question mark. Suggestions are welcomed.
I could :
1.    build a big base depicting the flight deck for the three aircraft as in the article’s picture;
2.    Build a separate base for each model;
3.    Build a big base with some sort of …”islands “for each model, something like my F-15, as in the picture below.I like this idea, but room might be a problem.
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That’s all for now… enough written modelling , for this weekend!!!
Hope I’ll soon share some real modelling.
In the meantime, any answers to my questions or suggestions are welcomed. Thanks for your patience!!!
Ciao 
Massimo

Edited by Massimo
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1 hour ago, 71chally said:

Interesting project!

 

The planeguard Wessex belonged to the ships flight, and didn't belong to a Sqn as such.

The colours are the same of RNAS Culdrose aircraft, but I couldn't identify the unit. So maybe the crest on the starboard side is the ship's?

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I started a similar project in 1/48 a few years back, initially it was going to be the Buccaneer and  Phantom using the Airfix and Hasegawa kits respectively, the Wessex was going to be a scratch conversion of the Revell HAS.3 and the Sea King using the Flightpath conversion for the Hasegawa kit. There was talk at the time of Classic Airframes producing the Gannet AEW, IIRC they even produced artwork but the kit never got released and CA closed down.

 

The project has been on hold for a number of years now, but these were the core kits I kept hold of when I had my mega-stash clearance about 10 years ago. Of course in the intervening years the Italeri Wessex HAS.1 arrived and that was acquired in place of the Revell conversion and also Hasegawa have done a few British Sea Kings (although not a HAS.2 as yet) but I've still got the Flightpath set for those all important details Hasegawa didn't cover.

 

I still live in hope that the Gannet will appear maybe from Sword or Special Hobby.

 

I'll be keeping an eye on this.

 

PS Atlantic Models are doing a 1/700 HMS Ark Royal in 1970's fit, but it will be a resin kit and probably won't be cheap, but the quality will be superb as always.

 

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10 minutes ago, AntPhillips said:

I started a similar project in 1/48 a few years back, initially it was going to be the Buccaneer and  Phantom using the Airfix and Hasegawa kits respectively, the Wessex was going to be a scratch conversion of the Revell HAS.3 and the Sea King using the Flightpath conversion for the Hasegawa kit. There was talk at the time of Classic Airframes producing the Gannet AEW, IIRC they even produced artwork but the kit never got released and CA closed down.

 

The project has been on hold for a number of years now, but these were the core kits I kept hold of when I had my mega-stash clearance about 10 years ago. Of course in the intervening years the Italeri Wessex HAS.1 arrived and that was acquired in place of the Revell conversion and also Hasegawa have done a few British Sea Kings (although not a HAS.2 as yet) but I've still got the Flightpath set for those all important details Hasegawa didn't cover.

 

I still live in hope that the Gannet will appear maybe from Sword or Special Hobby.

 

I'll be keeping an eye on this.

 

PS Atlantic Models are doing a 1/700 HMS Ark Royal in 1970's fit, but it will be a resin kit and probably won't be cheap, but the quality will be superb as always.

 

Hi,

after several years,it could be a good opportunity to join the party and have a go with this old project!!!!

 

My choice would have been 1/48th scale, but I've lost my hopes!!!

I have an Airfix Buccaneer,an Italeri Wessex, and an Hasegawa RN Sea King, but I could buy an Hasegawa Phantom only if a Gannet was due to release.I thought about it, but a multiscale project wouldn't be the good, thus I decided to go for the smaller scale.

 

As for many other kit in past, I'm sure if I start building these ones in 1/72nd , a new 1/48th Gannet will be announced and the Tanmodel Buccaneer will be released!!!So...be ready for them, I'm sure they'll come now!!!

 

About the ship...I'd rather convert an old model , rather than spend £85 for a resin kit, as I built my only ship model, an Airfix HMS Hood when I was 12...about 40 years ago!!! I think it would be a waste!!!

Ciao

Massimo

 

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You certainly have my attention.  

 

As others have said, the planeguard Wessex 1s were Ship’s Flight.  To be strictly correct, the AEW Gannets were 849 NAS B Flight; 849 was parent squadron for all AEW aircraft, including in the days when the RN had several carriers - each ship had a flight, and Ark’s was B Flight (hence pictures of bees, black & yellow etc).  At one stage I think they went as far as A - E Flights plus HQ, but those had long gone by 1978.  When 849 reformed in 1983 with Seaking AEW2s, they used a similar arrangement, but eventually they split into 3 separate squadrons.  849 B Flight were on board my era Ark, too.

 

The lack of an AEW Gannet in 1/48 is the only thing preventing me from doing something similar!  I have the Toom (Hasegawa), Buccaneer (Airfix... shudder) and Seaking (Hasegawa - though it will end up as an HU5 instead), and there’s the Italeri Wessex Mk.1. I even have the deck tractor!  But no Gannet is a problem - even ASW Gannets are rare in 1/48, and there were so many changes for the Mk.3 that it might as well have been a different aircraft altogether.

 

Should be fun!

 

P.S. the starter you mention was a high pressure air generator called a Palouste (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbomeca_Palouste) - used for Buccaneers (and, indeed, Scimitars and Sea Vixens) becuase they didn’t have internal starters.

 

 

Edited by Ex-FAAWAFU
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43 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

You certainly have my attention.  

 

As others have said, the planeguard Wessex 1s were Ship’s Flight.  To be strictly correct, the AEW Gannets were 849 NAS B Flight; 849 was parent squadron for all AEW aircraft, including in the days when the RN had several carriers - each ship had a flight, and Ark’s was B Flight (hence pictures of bees, black & yellow etc).  At one stage I think they went as far as A - E Flights plus HQ, but those had long gone by 1978.  When 849 reformed in 1983 with Seaking AEW2s, they used a similar arrangement, but eventually they split into 3 separate squadrons.  849 B Flight were on board my era Ark, too.

 

The lack of an AEW Gannet in 1/48 is the only thing preventing me from doing something similar!  I have the Toom (Hasegawa), Buccaneer (Airfix... shudder) and Seaking (Hasegawa - though it will end up as an HU5 instead), and there’s the Italeri Wessex Mk.1. I even have the deck tractor!  But no Gannet is a problem - even ASW Gannets are rare in 1/48, and there were so many changes for the Mk.3 that it might as well have been a different aircraft altogether.

 

Should be fun!

 

P.S. the starter you mention was a high pressure air generator called a Palouste (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbomeca_Palouste) - used for Buccaneers (and, indeed, Scimitars and Sea Vixens) becuase they didn’t have internal starters.

 

 

Just for your SA 849 is back to flights again.

Meanwhile the wessie 1s which were ships flight but presumably they were parented by a squadron ....771?

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12 minutes ago, junglierating said:

Meanwhile the wessie 1s which were ships flight but presumably they were parented by a squadron ....771?

Yes, their parent squadron was 771 NAS based at Culdrose. Source: "Fleet Air Arm Helicopters since 1943" published by Air-Britain.

When back with the squadron, the tail code would revert to 'CU' and only be 'R' whilst deployed onboard HMS Ark Royal.

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I

4 hours ago, andyf117 said:

A couple of points about the helos - as mentioned in a couple of the above responses about similar ideas in 1/48, the Wessex belonged to the Ship's Flight, which I believe operated two of the type for 'Planeguard' duties. Note that they were the HAS.1......

 

 

and as such will need to be converted, either from the Italeri HAS.3 or Matchbox/Revell HAS.5/HAS.31.....

 

 

The original Matchbox kit included separate noses for the HAS.31 and HU.5, I can remember using the HAS.31 nose to build a Commando Mk.1 off HMS Albion using some old Frog decals back in the day when I built in 1/72 scale.

 

Modeldecal 18 included markings for an earlier incarnation of the Arks' SAR Flight Wessex, and of course Modeldecal sheet 99 includes SAR Flight markings from Victorious, Hermes and Eagle but oddly not the Arks'.

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20 hours ago, massimo said:

The colours are the same of RNAS Culdrose aircraft, but I couldn't identify the unit. So maybe the crest on the starboard side is the ship's?

The colours (RAF Blue/Grey and fluo red/orange) were standard for Royal Navy Search and Rescue helicopters at the time.  Culdrose had 771 Sqn based, there wre others such as 772 Sqn at Portland.  The land based Wessex SAR tended to be HU.5s.

 

The motif on the side (as in those lovely pictures above) is the Ark Royal crest.

I haven't seen the Ark Royal Ships Flight (SAR) attached to 771 Squadron before now, even Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm doesn't link the two.

The two Wessex of the Ships Flight, XS881 046-R XP151 047-R did join 771 Sqn at Culdrose after Ark Royal was retired.

 

 

Frog did a Wessex HAS.1, nice little kit if you can put in the work.

Edited by 71chally
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3 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

To be strictly correct, the AEW Gannets were 849 NAS B Flight; 849 was parent squadron for all AEW aircraft, including in the days when the RN had several carriers - each ship had a flight, and Ark’s was B Flight (hence pictures of bees, black & yellow etc).  At one stage I think they went as far as A - E Flights plus HQ, but those had long gone by 1978.

Not quite, the various Flights were not ship related, for example A, B, C, and D Flt Gannets all operated aboard Ark at some time, and B flight operated from Victorious, Hermes, Centaur and Ark Royal at various times.  849 HQ Flight was always shore based and was the administrative part of the Squadron.

Obviously by 1972 there was only Ark Royal left, so this only required one ship based flight, and so B Flight remained, while HQ Flt was permanently based at Lossiemouth.

HQ Flight actually outlived B Flight by a few weeks.

Edited by 71chally
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WOW WOW WOW!!!

This is exactly the way I hoped things would have turned out for this thread!!!

 

I'm determined to go for it,  but due to my lack of knowledge, the ifs are so many !!!

For a project like this, every little piece of info adds something to the picture!

this morning Since this morning my knowledge has already improved a lot !!!

Thank you all!

I really appreciate it!!! 

Now I'll read everything again and take notes of what I've learned !!!

 

...by the way, tonight I really enjoyed a different sort of...modelling...

90OWruf.jpg

this will be my diet for this week!!!

Ciao 

Massimo

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Hi Massimo,

 

Guess what I found this evening:

 

Modeldecal 18 Wessex

 

Modeldecal 18 Wessex

 

Modeldecal 18 Wessex

 

It's the only portion of Modeldecal sheet 18 that I have left. Whilst it represents the 1970 Ships Flight, as the photo caption says the '78 markings are very similar. I have no use for it now, if you would like it I'll send it to you.

 

PM me your details if interested.

 

Ant

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2 hours ago, 71chally said:

Not quite, the various Flights were not ship related, for example A, B, C, and D Flt Gannets all operated aboard Ark at some time, and B flight operated from Victorious, Hermes, Centaur and Ark Royal at various times.  849 HQ Flight was always shore based and was the administrative part of the Squadron.

Obviously by 1972 there was only Ark Royal left, so this only required one ship based flight, and so B Flight remained, while HQ Flt was permanently based at Lossiemouth.

HQ Flight actually outlived B Flight by a few weeks.

I didn't mean to imply that each Flight necessarily stayed with each ship - just that when Massimo talks about 849 NAS he's actually only dealing with a subsection of it.  I never really understood why the sole surviving Flight wasn't A Flight (red & black aardvarks rather than yellow and black bees).

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35 minutes ago, massimo said:

this will be my diet for this week!!

For Heaven's sake, Massimo, what's that stuff??? In which corner of the world are you confined this time?

 

 :D:P

 

Ciao

 

 

 

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On 27/11/2017 at 21:20, giemme said:

For Heaven's sake, Massimo, what's that stuff??? In which corner of the world are you confined this time?

The place is my favourite in the entire world and it's called Scotland.

The Stuff is called "Haggis , neeps and tatties" and is made of....

...well...when I asked, the first time I had it , I was answered:"you may be better not knowing!!!"followed by LOL, but I love it!

it's stuffed meat (I think there's also some sheep stomac in it) with a side of creamed turnips and creamed potatos topped with  a pepper or whisky sauce.

I'm normally a bit...delicate, when it comes to entrails, but this is something you've got to try!!!

A nice alternative s Chicken Balmoral, a chicken breast filled with haggis and topped with whisky cream. 

ciao

Massimo

Edited by massimo2
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Strangely enough, I know what haggis is, for having seen a documentary about it on TV (one of those "How it's made" kind of stuff).

Well, you seem to be having a great time, so enjoy it! :)

 

 

Edited by giemme
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