Dennis_C Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 (edited) Hi All, This is a model I built two years ago but did not happen to post here since then. A very well known kit so probably no need to describe construction much. I used quite a bit of aftermarket stuff including Pavla cockpit, SBS wheels, Master pitot tube (kit's part is awful) and an excellent S&M decal sheet. Not much assembling issues. I read about potentially troubling wing to fuselage fit so took enough care to make sure everything sits right. Pavla resin went in surprisingly easy. Main undercarriage is designed to be glued in place at a very early stage. I opted not to do that. In order to be able to squeeze undercarriage into placement holes at a later stage, I had to heavily cut locating pins so that undercarrige drives to the places okay. I chose Red Arrows scheme from the mid 70s from S&M sheet. This sheet allows to build any Gnat in RAF service. A must have for a Gnat fan Colours on tail are painted. Stencils are from the kit's decal. Red paint I used is Hobby Color Flat Red. Finished in several layers of Future. Mods I had to do to make a display team Gnat were addition of smoke pipes next to the exhaust and skipping fuel tanks. Lastly - couple shots of my three RAF trainers in collection so far. Vampire and JP were posted here earlier. All the best! Dennis Edited September 10, 2020 by Dennis_C Spell check 47 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeddahbill Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 Very nicely done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 You do build some beautiful models! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 Some real beauties there Dennis great work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangor Lad Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Lovely build and a nice addition to your collection. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomthounaojam Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Fantastic collections 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted September 7, 2020 Share Posted September 7, 2020 Very nice work, what a great collection! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_C Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 Thanks, folks, for nice comments! 17 hours ago, F-32 said: Very nice work, what a great collection! On 07/09/2020 at 03:43, Bangor Lad said: Lovely build and a nice addition to your collection. 18 hours ago, tomthounaojam said: Fantastic collections Yeah, I like trainer aircraft and plan to further grow this collection. I already have CT-133 and Vultee Valiant on the shelf and Harrier T.8 can probably count toward trainers too. Some kits in my stash include F9F-8T, T-2C, L-29, MiG-15UTI, Magister, Chipmunk... So some more to build. Great that kit producers start to pay more attention to this theme! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyJammedKenny! Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 Totally awesome Gnat! The red finish is outstanding! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_C Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, TheyJammedKenny! said: Totally awesome Gnat! The red finish is outstanding! Hi, and thank you! Couple comments on the red finish. From past experience I knew that red is a very delicate colour that requires homogenous primer to avoid strong colour variations (unless you actually desire it). Secondly, Red Arrow Gnats had a very consistent red finish so smooth colour was a must. Thirdly, I also knew the red is best applied over white primer rather than over typical grey so that the colour is brighter and is not changed with thinner paint layer. So my approach was to prepaint exhaust, silver parts, and blue on the tail over some grey primer, then I covered everything with white primer to get homogenous surface (and get a white stripe on the tail) and then applied red. Exactly same approach was adopted on my Jet Provost where the red was the last colour applied over white. No wash at all since Airfix has very deep and wide panel lines and dark wash would destroy the model. Existing panel lines look more pronounced on real model than on shots. Lastly I found red more difficult to photo too! I spent some time fixing white balance. Getting right focus on the red thing was more complex too. Dennis Edited September 8, 2020 by Dennis_C 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis95 Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 I was grateful to see all 3 of those liveries in person at South Wales Aviation Museum on the weekend! The Gnat is deceptively small I must admit. Cracking job of the livery. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_C Posted September 8, 2020 Author Share Posted September 8, 2020 18 minutes ago, Lewis95 said: The Gnat is deceptively small I must admit Yeah, very small dimensionally and sits very low on the ground which makes it look even smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis95 Posted September 8, 2020 Share Posted September 8, 2020 31 minutes ago, Dennis_C said: Yeah, very small dimensionally and sits very low on the ground which makes it look even smaller. By contrast, a 7 or 8 step platform was required for viewing the Hunter T.7 pit but the Gnat was a bathroom stoolto see inside! 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesModeller Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Very nicely done! I have this in my stash. I’ll look into the aftermarket parts you mentioned when I come to do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis_C Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 6 hours ago, BluesModeller said: Very nicely done! I have this in my stash. I’ll look into the aftermarket parts you mentioned when I come to do it. Hi, I looked up my records and edited wheels manufacturer name in the first post. Wheels are from SBS not Reskit. Wheels and pitot tube are cheap, easy and quick replacements for kit parts so definitely recommended. Interior is not seen too much, except for ejection seats which are definitely an improvement over kit's offer. Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted September 10, 2020 Share Posted September 10, 2020 Beautiful Gnat and great looking collection 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now