jaw Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 I have just returned from the London Plastic Modelling Show clutching a 1/48th scale resin Gannet AEW3! Having seen it made up at the show and having just had a fondle of the goods, first impressions are very positive - it looks like an AEW3. The panel lines are fine and the kit seems well detailed. The maker - Alan Wilson ([email protected]) accepts that the decals (XL471/043 of 849 Sqdn with the wonderful bee on a black/yellow flash))are not wonderful but look usable to me. It will need a fair amount of fettling in construction as many resin kits do, but at the end of the day it is an AEW3. I never thought that I would see an AEW3 but here it is... John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dads203 Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 Pictures or it never happened 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaw Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 I do not do flickr or these other things but if you PM me you e-mail address I will forward pics of the kit - it does exist and is not a figment of my imagination! John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 That email address is wrong. Just got bounced. Model Alliance MA 48121 covers the 'Bee'. 23 hours ago, jaw said: I have just returned from the London Plastic Modelling Show clutching a 1/48th scale resin Gannet AEW3! Having seen it made up at the show and having just had a fondle of the goods, first impressions are very positive - it looks like an AEW3. The panel lines are fine and the kit seems well detailed. The maker - Alan Wilson ([email protected]) accepts that the decals (XL471/043 of 849 Sqdn with the wonderful bee on a black/yellow flash))are not wonderful but look usable to me. It will need a fair amount of fettling in construction as many resin kits do, but at the end of the day it is an AEW3. I never thought that I would see an AEW3 but here it is... John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafrobbo Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 Please tell us more, how detailed, price, cast or vac canopy,? Guessing hollow cast? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerbannog Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 23 hours ago, jaw said: I do not do flickr or these other things but if you PM me you e-mail address I will forward pics of the kit - it does exist and is not a figment of my imagination! John If you do not mind, I can PM you and post the pics for you here. Very interesting news. Rene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaw Posted December 3, 2018 Author Share Posted December 3, 2018 1 hour ago, rafrobbo said: Please tell us more, how detailed, price, cast or vac canopy,? Guessing hollow cast? The fuselage is hollow cast and pretty well detailed with fine panel lines. The exhausts are moulded with the fuselage. Each wing is cast in one piece. A fairly well detailed cockpit area. Weaker points are the cast transparencies which will need something to polish them up. The maker Alan Wilson ( incidentally the correct e-mail address is [email protected]) recognises that the decals are not wonderful but they are usable, although Model Alliance sheet 48121 has markings for an AEW3. To me it looks like a good representation of an AEW3 . I paid £52 at the show. Hope this helps, John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaw Posted December 3, 2018 Author Share Posted December 3, 2018 1 hour ago, Caerbannog said: If you do not mind, I can PM you and post the pics for you here. Very interesting news. Rene That's fine with me Rene. John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafrobbo Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 Thanks for the info John 👍 certainly fancy one to go with the classic airframe AS.1 I have and I don’t hold much hope for a mainstream kit being released, although there was rumour CA had one in development before they folded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaw Posted December 3, 2018 Author Share Posted December 3, 2018 CA certainly did have a Gannet AEW3 on the stocks - I remember seeing the box art on the CA website about 10 years ago now. But unfortunately CA stopped production before the AEW3 was released. However there are rumours that one of the Czech manufacturers have the moulds, so a mainstream one could be on the cards - especially as other ex CA kits have been released. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 Well I e-mailed Mr Wilson this morning but haven't had a reply to date. I'm a little surprised that he doesn't inhabit the pages of BM but each to their own. I wonder how many he made? He may have been testing the water and found that he sold all of his stock on Sunday but I am hoping to get a reply at which point I will pass on whatever he has to say. Sounds promising though. I must say that I thought it might be a conversion for the CA AS 1-4 kit but obviously not. As John says, the weak points are the decals and the glazing but we can sort decals easily enough and, hopefully, a but of TLC and Clear will sort out the glazing. Fingers crossed!! Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 56 minutes ago, Simon Cornes said: Well I e-mailed Mr Wilson this morning but haven't had a reply to date. I'm a little surprised that he doesn't inhabit the pages of BM but each to their own. I wonder how many he made? He may have been testing the water and found that he sold all of his stock on Sunday but I am hoping to get a reply at which point I will pass on whatever he has to say. Sounds promising though. I must say that I thought it might be a conversion for the CA AS 1-4 kit but obviously not. As John says, the weak points are the decals and the glazing but we can sort decals easily enough and, hopefully, a but of TLC and Clear will sort out the glazing. Fingers crossed!! Simon I'm waiting for a response too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaw Posted December 4, 2018 Author Share Posted December 4, 2018 17 hours ago, Caerbannog said: If you do not mind, I can PM you and post the pics for you here. Very interesting news. Rene Hi Rene - picture of Gannet bits sent to you. Cheers, John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerbannog Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 Thanks John. Here it is: May I ask about the price for the kit? Rene 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 Still no reply from Alan Wilson!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted December 4, 2018 Share Posted December 4, 2018 Rene John mentioned it cost £52 at the show. That's a fair chunk of resin so I would expect £5 - £6 postage on top Simon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaw Posted December 4, 2018 Author Share Posted December 4, 2018 Rene - thanks for doing that for me. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerbannog Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 16 hours ago, jaw said: Rene - thanks for doing that for me. John You are more than welcome. It is not so that I am uninterested in this kit ;-) Rene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britman Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 I do like the nose molding, haven't seen that before. It would appear to be a good starting point if an AEW3 is ones desire. Thank you for sharing. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 I have had a reply. Short run, no more than 20 and he doubts there will be a second. Price £55 plus postage. Mine is ordered. Hollow cast and he reckons about 55 grammes of ballast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 Thanks for the update. No reply to my e-mail - sent on Monday morning - so I'm getting a bit worried! I've just sent Alan a second e-mail so I hope I don't wind him up but we all know what its like when there are only a few of something up for grabs and we have done our best! Price seems reasonable in every respect. We may have to use yours to 'clone' if Alan doesn't do any more!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 Had another response a few mins ago. Mine is reserved, he will contact me in a few days for payment, He takes paypal, and postage is RM signed for. Watch this space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted December 5, 2018 Share Posted December 5, 2018 Reply now received! All is good! It turns out that Alan is based in Iceland but he can ship from within the UK so no problem but these Gannets sound like a finite resource so if you think you might want one then don't hesitate for too long. Not a 1/48th Vulcan, but you can put your Gannet with the Hen's teeth! Simon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rafrobbo Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 I too have made it on the shortlist. Now or never decision to send that email! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Cornes Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 If Alan has up to 20 kits and isn't thinking of re-popping them then its got to be now or never time I would say. I cant imagine them getting any cheaper either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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