1/72 C-2 Greyhound Conversion

[Dermo245]

Hi all,

Fair to say that naval aviation types figure a lot in my builds, whether jets, props or rotors. And I've always had a soft spot for the Grumman C-2 Greyhound - it's the white van of the US Carrier Fleet, bringing anything from post and passengers to spare parts and jet engines to and from aircraft carriers, wherever they may be in the world.

Not the prettiest,. Or the fastest. But one of the most important types I think. 

And sadly lacking in kits for such an important type with a service career dating back to 1965 and only being replaced this year with the Osprey 🤨

 

Kit wise, there's Kinetic's lovely recent 1/48 issue and some 1/144 resin offerings. I built the OzMods conversion a couple of years back and while I really enjoyed it, I wanted something in 1/72. 
There is RHVP's epic resin conversion for the 1/72 Hasegawa Hawkeye (on which the Greyhound is based) but I don't fancy raiding the kids' rainy day fund just yet - besides, I need it for a Bandai PG Falcon someday. 😂

 

So when the chance came to get a Falcon Vacform conversion & donor kit last year, I decided why not - I'll never build a vacform but at least I have a Greyhound in 1/72!.

And then...I went and built a vacform Super King Air for the Maritime GB here.

 

With being at home for the immediate future (and waiting on some paint orders to finish some other builds), I thought...maybe it's time to tackle the Greyhound. 

 

So here we go, sandpaper and swear words at the ready!

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_1 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Cut out from the Falcon set and lined in marker pen liner..

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_2 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Falcon handily give you some template drawings for the internal bulkheads (more on this later)

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_3 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

And a drawing of where they go...

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_4 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

So how big is this pooch? Here's the fuselage bits next to a Revell CL-415

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_5 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

And next to the slender Fujimi Hawkeye donor that will provide the wings, tail, gear and cockpit 

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_6 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Onwards and upwards dear modellers!

Thanks for looking,

Dermot

[Pete in Lincs]

In a world of sleek jets, this one was the homely girl at the prom. Interesting though, and no doubt good at its job. I wonder if the Osprey will do it as well?

I only ever built a vacform Sea Vixen so I'll hang around and watch if you don't mind.

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

I have the is conversion, watching with much interest Dermot! 

[Chewbacca]

Interestingly I had the chance for a short flight in a Greyhound many years ago; never appreciated that the fuselage was so much bigger than a Hawkeye.  Look forward to seeing how this progresses.

Edited May 7, 2020 by Chewbacca

[71chally]

Love the Greyhound, so will watch this with interest, forgot that this vacform exists.

I take it it uses the Hawkeye cockpit glazing?  

 

Got a chance to scramble around a live one many years back

C-2A Greyhound 162178 45 by James Thomas, on Flickr

Edited May 7, 2020 by 71chally

[Dermo245]

22 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

In a world of sleek jets, this one was the homely girl at the prom. Interesting though, and no doubt good at its job. I wonder if the Osprey will do it as well?

I only ever built a vacform Sea Vixen so I'll hang around and watch if you don't mind.

A lot of debate about the Osprey as replacement - yes, can refuel in flight (so longer range) but can't carry as much cargo as a C-2....which is the point of COD surely?
Vacform Sea Vixen? Would like to see that!

10 hours ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

I have the is conversion, watching with much interest Dermot! 

Thanks Ray, will try my best not to put you off building yours!

9 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Interestingly I had the chance for a short flight in a Greyhound many years ago; never appreciated that the fuselage was so much bigger than a Hawkeye.  Look forward to seeing how this progresses.

Thank you - what was the flight like?

6 hours ago, 71chally said:

Love the Greyhound, so will watch this with interest, forgot that this vacform exists.

I take it it uses the Hawkeye cockpit glazing?  

 

Got a chance to scramble around a live one many years back

 

Cool photo James.

The Falcon conversion contains a vacform canopy - more about that later!

 

So here's the Hawkeye wing sitting on top of the Greyhound, just so I could see how big this would be..

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_7 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

The Fujimi cockpit is basic so just tarting up with some plastic strip and sprue, not that any of this will be visible..

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_8 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_9 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Falcon very helpfully include three bulkhead templates on their instruction sheet. As anyone who has built a vacform will know, this is great for keeping some shape to the fuselage.

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_3 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

I had read online that these bulkheads don't fit....and sure enough, they don't - the nose one (A) is probably the most 'off' (it's not wide enough) while the wing box one (B) is a little closer but still off. The rear one (C) is also close but no cigar.  I then thought about maybe using the Hawkeye fuselage as a kind of framework with the vacform on the outside - technically it could work but was going to be a lot of cutting and clamping so decided against it - but you can see how much deeper the C-2 fuselage is.

 

IMG_E7719 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Because I definitely needed a nose bulkhead to help mount the cockpit, I persisted with that - in terms of size, it's probably 1/3 larger than what Falcon suggest.  I've also added tabs to the fuselage edge to help with some strength.

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_10 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

And here's the soon-to-be invisible cockpit painted up. Not great control freedom of movement there...ahem!

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_12 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

More vacform bodging tonight.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers,

Dermot

[Pete in Lincs]

1 hour ago, Dermo245 said:

Vacform Sea Vixen? Would like to see that!

I built it at least 15 years ago in Riaydh for a mate who use to work on them. It probably still exists somewhere in England. My first vacform I had no problems building it. 1/48th BTW.

2 hours ago, Dermo245 said:

Not great control freedom of movement there...ahem!

They'd need long arms and legs too.

[71chally]

2 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

My first vacform I had no problems building it. 1/48th BTW.

I take it was the Dynavector Vixen? It does build nice, got one on pause at the moment!

Their Gannet was my first vac, and it was so straightforward.

 

Anyhow, cracking work on the Greyhound there!

Edited May 7, 2020 by 71chally

[Moses]

An interesting topic. I will watch with interest

[Chewbacca]

15 hours ago, Dermo245 said:

Thank you - what was the flight like?

 

Actually not that great!  I'd had the chance to have a couple of days onboard USS Saratoga and as part of that, the F14 squadron CO had arranged for my pilot and I to get a back seat ride in a Tomcat.  he got off but as we were being connected to the bridle we had a hydraulic failure and I didn't get to go, so later that afternoon they had a COD flying into NAS Oceana that had a spare seat and he arranged for me to go on that purely so I could experience a catapult launch and wire recovery.  I'd previously flown in a couple of RAF VC10s and was never a fan of flying backwards (and yes I know its safer and all that).  Compared to what we'd witnessed earlier in the day with the jets launching, the actual catapult shot felt very sedate.

 

I did get the F14 back seat ride though a week or so later after I'd returned to my ship and we were alongside in Virginia for a few days.  Now that was exciting!

 

Great work so far on the vacform

[71chally]

...I'm not jealous...at all😲

[Dermo245]

44 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Actually not that great!  I'd had the chance to have a couple of days onboard USS Saratoga and as part of that, the F14 squadron CO had arranged for my pilot and I to get a back seat ride in a Tomcat.  he got off but as we were being connected to the bridle we had a hydraulic failure and I didn't get to go, so later that afternoon they had a COD flying into NAS Oceana that had a spare seat and he arranged for me to go on that purely so I could experience a catapult launch and wire recovery.  I'd previously flown in a couple of RAF VC10s and was never a fan of flying backwards (and yes I know its safer and all that).  Compared to what we'd witnessed earlier in the day with the jets launching, the actual catapult shot felt very sedate.

 

I did get the F14 back seat ride though a week or so later after I'd returned to my ship and we were alongside in Virginia for a few days.  Now that was exciting!

 

Great work so far on the vacform

My life is sooooo dull!

Great story, thanks for sharing 

[Marklo]

12 minutes ago, Dermo245 said:

My life is sooooo dull!

Dermo if the current situation is anything to go by dull is good.

[Andwil]

One wonders how anything so portly came to be called a Greyhound.

 

AW

[rob Lyttle]

Probably thinking more along the lines of a Greyhound Bus.....? 

All these deck-operating aircraft are fascinating 

[Dermo245]

So a bit more on the Greyhound.

A box to hold weight in the front - will sit just behind the cockpit and contains 30g worth of 1 cent coins

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_14 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Cut out the opening for the nose gear...

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_15 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

And for the tailhook which is recessed.

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_16 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

As moulded, the tail assembly is from the very earliest Greyhounds and contained space for a flight data recorder. As this was discontinued on most versions, I've decided to reduce it in height.

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_17 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

A little rough and will need some clean up but better..

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_22 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

The donor tailplane from the Hawkeye has dihedral moulded in (correct for an E-2) but the Greyhound tailplane is flat. So a cut with a razor zaw part of the way through to help it flatten and then reinforced with extra thin glue..

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_18 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Moving back to the nose, it had a nasty hole from opening the gear doors.

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_20 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

So out with the plasticard to box it in.

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_19 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Happier with that.

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_21 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

And ending with a question I was hoping people could help me with.

The conversion gives you a clear vac form canopy replacement. But to fit it this means a very precise cut to the nose area - the pic below shows the trimmed canopy.

I'm also worried about losing some strength in the nose area by removing the top half of the nose and windscreen, not to mention trying to blend the canopy with the front of the nose area.

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_23 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

To be honest, you can't see much in the cockpit so was thinking of fitting clear acetate to the windows instead of using the vacform.

Any suggestions on what to do?

 

Thanks for visiting.

Dermot

[Marklo]

Those window openings are small enough you might get away with Kristal Klear. 
 

Otherwise I’d be inclined to bite the bullet and carefully cut out the white styrene and inset  the vac Form canopy. Maybe with some strip to reinforce toe joints and give you a hook for filler if required.

[jean]

Hi Dermot,

 

I just love the Greyhound. Don't ask, as I am not too sure why myself. A shrink may tell me.

You are a very brave man to tackle this vacform conversion.

But starting is half the battle won!

So well done and I shall be looking in!

 

Have a lot of fun.

JR

[CT7567]

On 5/9/2020 at 5:31 PM, Dermo245 said:

To be honest, you can't see much in the cockpit so was thinking of fitting clear acetate to the windows instead of using the vacform.

Any suggestions on what to do?

I'm not sure how much the structural integrity will be a concern if you cut out the entire canopy and glare shield area, but the big advantage of that approach is moving the major seams to joints you can reinforce, fill, and sand without having to be as concerned with the finish as you will with glazing the individual windows.

 

Also worth noting, the side windows have a pronounced outward bulge so you'll probably want to use those parts from the conversion regardless how you handle the rest.

 

Progress thus far looks great, I look forward to your continued progress.

[Dermo245]

So an update on the canopy for the Greyhound..

 

Because of the fit of the cockpit insert, I wasn't able to cut out the canopy frames with the interior in place. So I taped it together, measured it twice, held on and took a deep breath

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_14 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Not perfect but not bad either. The micro saws by RB Productions were great for the tighter cuts.

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_15 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

A few areas to tidy up but generally happy how it turned out.

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_16 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Did some more fettling with the wing-box fit as well which is getting there.

 

Falcon_ Grumman_Greyhound_vacform_17 by Dermot Moriarty, on Flickr

 

Thanks for looking and stay safe.

Dermot

Edited May 14, 2020 by Dermo245
Fixing photo links

[71chally]

Excellent work, must have needed a brave pill or two.  Personally I think you have done the right thing using the Falcon canopy.

[heloman1]

Excellent work Dermot, I have one in my collection form an old modelling freind who passed on a few years back. I still have an ID Models offering somewhere in the stash. I mastered the bucks for it but just never got around to building it. I'll follow your build with interest.

 

Colin

[Eerie]

After googling, i found HPM Hobbies which is 10mins drive from my home with the Vacuum kit in stock, relatively cheap about 10 quid, comes with 2 other fuselage a skyraider and a sabre. But....... i ordered a RVHP set last night from HLJ and...... i found out that i have a fujimi kit instead of a hasegawa kit.... and the wolfpack folded wings requires a Hasegawa kit too. I got about a few days to decide, i can return the resin kit and pick up the vacuum stuff next week or i could just bite another bullet and get a hasegawa E-2c around 20quid++ before shipping. I have no experience building a vacuum form kit. 

Edited May 21, 2020 by Eerie

[Dermo245]

4 hours ago, Eerie said:

After googling, i found HPM Hobbies which is 10mins drive from my home with the Vacuum kit in stock, relatively cheap about 10 quid, comes with 2 other fuselage a skyraider and a sabre. But....... i ordered a RVHP set last night from HLJ and...... i found out that i have a fujimi kit instead of a hasegawa kit.... and the wolfpack folded wings requires a Hasegawa kit too. I got about a few days to decide, i can return the resin kit and pick up the vacuum stuff next week or i could just bite another bullet and get a hasegawa E-2c around 20quid++ before shipping. I have no experience building a vacuum form kit. 

Nice one and great to have a hobby shop so close!
There's a great article here on the forum about building Vacform kits - it's well worth a read.
IF it was me, I would probably start on a straightforward vacform kit for my first one, just to learn the ropes and find your feet rather than jumping into a conversion. 

But it's your hobby too...so you go for it if you want!!

With the Falcon conversion, I've found it needs a lot of test-fitting to get the fuselage to accept the Fujimi donor wings & tail and even then, it's only going to be ok. 
Cheers,

Der

[Eerie]

19 hours ago, Dermo245 said:

Nice one and great to have a hobby shop so close!
There's a great article here on the forum about building Vacform kits - it's well worth a read.
IF it was me, I would probably start on a straightforward vacform kit for my first one, just to learn the ropes and find your feet rather than jumping into a conversion. 

But it's your hobby too...so you go for it if you want!!

With the Falcon conversion, I've found it needs a lot of test-fitting to get the fuselage to accept the Fujimi donor wings & tail and even then, it's only going to be ok. 
Cheers,

Der

The vacuum fuselage available at HPM is the Falcon conversion kit. No news from HLJ, i assume no stock of my order.