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Canadair CP-107 Argus conversion set


tnuag

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The Argus conversion is now in detail design. AIM has released six conversion kits this year and the Argus will be the seventh and possibly the last for this year.

 

It will consist of the airframe conversion (which will include cockpit detail), together with a supplementary set for the weapons bay respectively.

 

The price has been defined and now appears on the Hannants website at https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/TWC72032

 

The forward and rear fuselages are matched very carefully to the Mach 2 kit and each piece has a 1cm sleeve which slides inside the kit fuselage to give a strong lap joint with easy alignment. This method has worked well on the Valiant, Viscount, DC-7 and the other Canadair conversions.

Edited by tnuag
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  • 3 weeks later...

ARGUS PROGRESS

The interior design is now complete and these screen shots show the final design.

Interior with left fuselage half removed (with Mk 1 radome - mk 2 will also be supplied)

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The Pilots positions and instrument panel

 

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The Flight Engineer's position and panel

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The next part is the weapons bays. I have decided not to do a further interior detail set as it will barely be visible and SLA masters are very good, but very expensive.

We did some tests to see how well the detail would build and here are two photos of the test pieces:

Lower Middle Flight Engineer's Panel

Remember that this panel is only 8mm wide.

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Pilots' Instrument Panel

This panel is 27mm wide

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The weapons bays are now complete.

A typical weapons bay
 

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Upper front 3/4 view

 

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Lower 3/4 view

 

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Three areas remain to be done:

- Rear fuselage

- Engines
- Searchlight on starboard wing.

 

None of which are particularly complicated. The most difficult part of this model were the instrument panels. where it could take a full day to do a panel 15mm long !

 

Overall it has been fun though..................

 

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This is a great development for a kit long overdue....

 

Will it come with clear parts and decals? Is the Mach 2 kit readily available?

 

I will be keeping a close eye on this conversion!

 

Mark Proulx

 

PS... if you need help at all I have lots of Argus material including photos/slides of every one built.

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Thanks for the offer of help Mark - it is always useful.

To answer your questions, yes it will have have transparent resin parts for the windows, canopy, nose and searchlight housing and by coincidence I have just mastered the searchlight (see below).

Availability of Mach 2 Britannia kit - The Britannia kit has been issued in six versions (different decal sheets) and Hannants currently have five of these versions in stock.

It will not be issued with transfers because Mike Belcher (Belcher Bits) is planning on issuing a comprehensive decal sheet.

Anyway, here are the screen shots:

Searchlight

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LATEST UPDATE - ENGINES AND PROPELLERS DESIGN COMPLETE

 

Here are some screen grabs of the engines.

 

Left front 3/4 view of complete power plant with gills open - a closed gill ring is also supplied.

 

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Left rear 3/4 view of complete power plant with gills open - it also shows the plug which locates in the front of the nacelle of the Mach 2 Britannia..

 

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Right front 3/4 view of complete power plant with the cowling removed - this makes painting the engine details much easier.

 

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Left front 3/4 view of complete power plant with the cowling removed - there is only one exhaust and power recovery turbine on the right side of each nacelle.

 

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Right front 3/4 view of complete power plant complete with propeller - the dark grey section to the right represents the Mach 2 Britannia nacelle.

 

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Only the design of the rear fuselage and MAD boom now remains, so the kit is getting close!

 

Edited by tnuag
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UPDATE

The design of the  MAD boom is finished and here are some screen shots:

 

Left front 3/4 exploded view

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Left rear 3/4 exploded view

 

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MAD boom assembled

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And now the rear fuselage is in work.

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Edited by tnuag
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CANADAIR CP-107 ARGUS DECALS

 

Belcher Bits of Canada are producing a decal sheet (which is printed by Microscale).

 

The Argus conversion will not contain any decals as Mike Belcher is far better qualified to do this subject.

 

He has sent this scan of the preliminary  design for our information - thanks Mike.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

FIRST MASTERS PRODUCED

For interest, here are some pictures of the masters for the engine, MAD boom and radomes.

 

First glance

As with the DC-7 conversion there is the option of open or closed gills on the engines, and with the gills open the power recovery tutbine housings and rocker box covers of the rear cylinders are visible.

 

The oil cooler matrix is also visible and the breakdown of parts is intended to give the easiest access to this matrix and the engine for painting or detailing.

 

The large radome is the Mk.1 and the slimmer radome is the Mk.2.

 

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Test Rings

These were produced to confirm that the cross section of the conversion parts match the Mach 2 fuselage before the full full front and rear fuselage are produced..

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Edited by tnuag
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I've wanted to build an Argus for a long time, as I remember them as a kid at St Mawgan, even had a look inside one.

However the reality for me is that £60 for the base kit, £90 for the conversion, £28 for the weapons bays, maybe £10 for the decals is around £190 that I sadly can't justify within the household. That is before consideration of other improvement sets such as the undercarriage etc, which bumps it into a £200+ project.

 

It looks like a gorgeous conversion though, and look forward to seeing this in the build section of the forum.

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  • 1 month later...

MAJOR MASTERS ARRIVE

 

I have just received the SLA masters for the forward fuselage and am delighted with them. These are just as they came off the build, so there is still work to do on them.

 

Anyway here are a few photos.

 

The Argus nose mounted on the Mach 2 Britannia centre section

 

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The contours of the Argus nose

 

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Weapons bay parts

 

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Revised MAD boom

 

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Kit fin interface

 

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  • 1 month later...

I was looking at the photos of the plane and the sides of the nacelles are rounded and not flat on the sides. Can you check your references? Hopefully it's not to late to correct it. I've seen two of these in person and have pictures to if you want.

Edited by busnproplinerfan
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The aft end of the nacelle has flat sides to fit into the wing leading edge by around a quarter inch and have to match the Mach 2 Britannia nacelles. The nacelles have all been cast.

However I agree with your comments - I will see what needs to be done.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Progress Report

 

This conversion has taken a long time and I know many people are patiently waiting. The good news is that the last set of masters are due to be built this coming weekend (1/2 Feb 2020) and unless I decide to change something this is the parts count:

Clear resin......................9 parts
Resin............................106 parts

Cast metal....................31 parts

Etched brass.....................1 fret

TOTAL PARTS................147

So as soon as the parts are cast (and there are thousands of them) they will be packed and delivered. All I have to do now is finish the instructions.

 

So it isn't far away now !!!! The weapons bay packs have already been delivered to Hannants.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have checked with Mike Belcher and he said "they are available as BD-34, price $19.99 and they will be fully illustrated on my website this weekend."

 

I have also spoken to Hannants and they also plan on stocking them.

 

I hope to see the Argus out in March.

 

22 Feb 2020

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I would love to build this, having seen several Arguses over the years here in UK. However, the cost of a MACH2 Britannia kit plus the cost of the conversion parts makes this completely unjustifiable for me. I have that old issue 'where do I put it when it's finished'?  If it was in 1/144th scale for use with the Roden Britannia kit, all at half the cost, you would sell bucket loads!

 

Another issue I have noticed is with the decal scheet!   There is only one set of RCAF and CAF roof titles included, whether you make it RCAF or CAF.  The French word 'Forces' is missing

Also only one current Canadian flag is included on the sheet!!  Same with Squadron badges and markings - only one of each for just one side. You would need two of these decal sheets to complete the model!

   

Edited by AMB
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Firstly, the decal sheet shown was a sample of the artwork. Just looking back at the decal artwork above, is says above the graphic "He has sent this scan of the preliminary  design for our information - thanks Mike." - to quote from an email from Mike Belcher on Friday last "they are available as BD-34, price $19.99".

 

Yes a 1:144 version is worth considering, but I want to get this one out, plus a 144 Valiant B2 plus other subjects first. I will certainly look at this seriously though.

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13 hours ago, AMB said:

I would love to build this, having seen several Arguses over the years here in UK. However, the cost of a MACH2 Britannia kit plus the cost of the conversion parts makes this completely unjustifiable for me. I have that old issue 'where do I put it when it's finished'?  If it was in 1/144th scale for use with the Roden Britannia kit, all at half the cost, you would sell bucket loads!

 

Another issue I have noticed is with the decal scheet!   There is only one set of RCAF and CAF roof titles included, whether you make it RCAF or CAF.  The French word 'Forces' is missing

Also only one current Canadian flag is included on the sheet!!  Same with Squadron badges and markings - only one of each for just one side. You would need two of these decal sheets to complete the model!

   

You get two sheets with this set. All the markings you need.

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  • 2 months later...

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