FROG Buccaneer S.Mk.2A - Finished

[AdrianMF]

I really shouldn’t be chipping in this late in the GB, but frankly the temptation to join a GB full of Airfix state-of-the-art kits with a bit of an old clunker was too tempting! Bought for a princely fiver at SMW 2018:

I also have an old Airfix NA39 but I haven’t got time to do that justice here. I did buy a pair of the Airscale Aerocraft S1 intakes as well after looking at Enzo’s build, because I fancy a nice white one one day.

 

There isn’t an awful lot to keep the breeze out:

 

FROG provide a floor and two chairs but I think I will need a little more than that...

[CliffB]

You can't beat a nice bit of clunk 

 

Cheers

[Col.]

Welcome to the GB Adrian, rather like inside the two halves of your chosen kit, there's still plenty space for you  

[CedB]

I'm in!

[AdrianMF]

Well, I’ve made a gentle start with gluing some easy bits together and doing some research:

 

 

Even though the FROG decals for RAF and SAAF versions are perfectly workable after 40 years, I’m still drawn towards the Navy version. Dunno yet. Here’s a no-painting  grey+white “S1.5”:

 

The old Airfix NA39 got the fin height right, but take a look at the main wheels and the seats:

 

And compared to my state-of-the-art resin S1 intakes, the NA39 suffers a bit in comparison:

 

So now I’m going to forget about the NA39 for this GB and continue with the FROG. Now, where did I put that plastic card?...

 

[AdrianMF]

There it is! I’ve got going with removing some of the see-through. Boxing in the wheel wells:

 

I can detail them before I stick them in permanently. The big beam in the front well will support the nose wheel. I will epoxy the front well in for strength and embed a bunch of nails for nose weight.

 

After the wheel wells I will make the intake trunk and exhausts with rolled paper, then add some sides and detail to the cockpit, which currently has just a bigger floor than the kit one with no sides at the back end:

 

I think I will have to do this as a grey/white RN scheme because it’s made me so much more enthusiastic about the build!

[AMB]

It just goes to show you don't need to buy an expensive state-of-the-art Buccaneer kit as the basic shape of the old FROG kit is good and once all the 'see through' areas are blocked off, a decent model can be made. I built a couple of these, one being all grey 809 Squadron of the "Phoenix Five" aerobatic team. Also have that Airfix NA.39 in my stash which will be converted to a Buccaneer S.1.

[CedB]

Very nice work Adrian  

[AdrianMF]

Wheel wells detailed and glued in:

Intake trunking made out of conical coil of paper smothered in Superglue:

 

Both intakes done:

Everything gets a coat of a grey base colour:

 

[stevehnz]

I'm mostly impressed by this Adrian, I can see another pork derived silk purse emerging. I very much like the look of your wheel well  & blanking bulkheads, do you use a profile guage on these or trial & error, also, can you describe briefly your CA & paper method, sorry if you've done so previously. A restoration of my boyhood Airfix NA.39 is calling to me when I see these techniques.

Steve.

[AdrianMF]

OK, simple maths time. Quiet at the back!

 

The intake is larger than the compressor face. So we are making a somewhat squashed conical section. So to get the diameters we do a bit of simple maths, or you could actually draw it out and measure where the lines cross:

 

Then we cut a bit of paper out and roll it up a bit more tightly than it needs to be. This makes it easier to get it through the inner hole in the bulkhead:

 

Once it’s in place, let it unroll and poke at it with a cocktail stick to persuade it to unroll hard up against all the edges, then blob in superglue and wipe it around with a cocktail stick to stick the inner flap and evenly coat the inside . When dry, take it out and superglue the outer flap and the front rim to harden it for filling and sanding later.

 

When it’s all done you can glue it in and cut flush behind the bulkhead before installing your engine faces.

 

[AdrianMF]

Looks like FROG spotted the trend to obesity a while back:

 

The seats aren’t too bad once they have been narrowed. I will add belts and a few details to busy them up, most notably the “Batman ears” on the top to break the canopy.

[stevehnz]

Thanks Adrian, yes, you have done that before.  Gel or liquid superglue?  

Steve.

[AdrianMF]

3 hours ago, stevehnz said:

you have done that before

Steve, that one was Beaufort cowling flaps, but a similar principle. No mention of sines this time - I learned my lesson! You can actually use any shape of paper but this keeps the roll neater. And medium liquid superglue - it self levels and soaks in a bit.

 

I’m using solder to get shapes sorted out - press it into the part then trace round it on to plastic card - I’ve been doing a bit of sanding to bed the bulkheads in but in general it has worked well:

I’ve blocked out the cockpit structures:

 

Should be able to represent the offset seats:

The seats are looking more like cat god statues from a pyramid at the moment:

 

[AdrianMF]

I hate close up photos:

[CedB]

4 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

I hate close up photos

Not me - they look great!  

[AdrianMF]

 

53 minutes ago, CedB said:

Not me - they look great!

Thanks Ced, you are very kind...

 

The cockpit is now done and undercoated:

 

i got all excited for a minute when I remembered I have a Falcon Buccaneer canopy. Sadly it’s for the Airfix kit and a bit too shallow for this one. Still, after a polish and bath in Future this one came up nice and shiny.

 

Although it’s not strictly right, I couldn’t resist using the FROG Blackburn Shark observer’s windscreen for the internal screen. I should get out more...

[stevehnz]

Thanks for straightening me out on those tips Adrian, the solder wire for profiles is flipping brilliant, so simple but effective. The seats & cockpit & oh heck, every other thing about this is looking awesomely good.

Steve.

[nimrod54]

Well that was a pleasant read through, and I agree with Steve, the solder tip is brilliant - effective, yet so simple and an idea I will be storing away for future use. Fantastic scratch work as always Adrian.

[CedB]

Seconded!

 

Shiny…  

[sanfrandragon]

Brilliant work, the ingenuity is fantastic.

[AdrianMF]

Cockpit done:

 

So before I can join the fuselage I need to sort out the intake faces, tail pipes, NOSE WEIGHT and check the alignment of the halves...

[AdrianMF]

I think that might be enough:

 

Also noticed that there are some quite heavily-moulded reinforcement plates on the air brakes. Wondering if I should take them off for an early S.2...

[AdrianMF]

Another two chunks of big solder in the nose cone and I don’t think this will be tail sitting any time soon...

 

The one-piece nose wheel is quite chunky, thank goodness, but I might drill it out and add a bit of brass rod to be on the safe side.

 

I’ve added another couple of mm to the fin, too, in the white stripe, and opened out the jet exhausts, ready for some parallel-sided paper tubing this time. I found a delicate precision instrument to help:

 

And I had no real idea how big a Buccaneer is. This might be my third-longest model behind the F-111 and Empire Boat.

[CedB]

Very nice cockpit Adrian, good job Sir!