Gloster Javelin Question

[iainpeden]

@Work In Progress - looks like I stand corrected - thanks for finding those - hopefully my friend at Duxford will be able to find more details as to when the repaint happened.

 

@Tom Cobbley - it'll be hard getting pictures of the cockpit but I will ask about the possibility.

 

Iain

[Work In Progress]

2 hours ago, T-21 said:

The Javelin has been repainted once since arriving at Duxford . It sat outside on the old hangar/theatre base  that was blown up in the Battle of Britain film for quite sometime and the paintwork faded. I cannot give a date but must be  around 1985 approx.

I think it was probably 1987 or slightly later, I was flying there pretty much every weekend 1984 until mid '87 and I think it was still outside when I finished

[Antti_K]

Does someone know about the camera installation in the nose? For example, what type of camera(s) was used? It also seems that the radome is made of metal.

 

Cheers,

Antti

[Work In Progress]

3 hours ago, Antti_K said:

Thank You Iain for your kind offer. And thank You Work In Progress for the photos.

 

That paint scheme looks challenging but it will be a real eye catcher in a model show. All of the sudden it isn't just a pipe dream anymore😉

 

Cheers,

Antti

 

You probably know about this already but the Mistercraft kit comes with the appropriate decals. I don't have the kit, and I understand that the plastic itself is rather grim, but the decals may be okay. 

[iainpeden]

Information from Duxford

 

"Yes, our Javelin was used as a test aircraft following normal RAF Squadron use. It was used, but not exclusively, on the Concorde programme.

 

It was the last airworthy Javelin and flew into Duxford on 24th January 1975 marking the last ever flight of the type. It has been repainted whilst here, in the early to mid-1980s. After this repaint, the stencils and nose unit markings were not reapplied."

[71chally]

That repaint is a classic case of how a bit of history or originality can be lost through the desire to make something look tidy.  Also why museum exhibits can not be relied on in isolation as reference material.

 

@Antti_K Alleycat did a conversion set for XH897 with the modified radome and camera window, maybe they can supply the decals only if contacted?

https://www.alleycatmodels.co.uk/gloster-javelin-mk9-xh897-conversion-and-decal-set-6359-p.asp

[Navy Bird]

On 09/12/2020 at 16:28, Tom Cobbley said:

If you can get a shot of the rear cockpit it would be great.

 

Have a look here and see if any of these help. All of these photos are Copyright 2019 by the Imperial War Museums and have been cleared for sharing on Britmodeller.

 

IWM Gloster Javelin XH897

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

[71chally]

Great set Bill!

Only just noticed that the main wheels are non standard, they look Sea Vixen like.

Edited December 10, 2020 by 71chally

[Navy Bird]

19 minutes ago, 71chally said:

Only just noticed that the main wheels are non standard, they look Sea Vixen like.

 

Huh. Never noticed that either. I need to sharpen up my eyeballs. That's another thing I'll need to fix when I built my replica.  

 

Cheers,
Bill

[Navy Bird]

12 hours ago, Work In Progress said:

You probably know about this already but the Mistercraft kit comes with the appropriate decals. I don't have the kit, and I understand that the plastic itself is rather grim, but the decals may be okay.

 

I have this "kit" and you are correct - the plastic is grim. I gave it to my four-year grandson to practice with. The main issue with the decal sheet is that the font is wrong for "XH897." Especially the 9. Also, the nose art is entirely in yellow on the decal sheet, whereas it looks to me like it was red on the real aircraft.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Work In Progress]

The nose art should indeed be red *shudder*

[Tom Cobbley]

10 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

 

Have a look here and see if any of these help. All of these photos are Copyright 2019 by the Imperial War Museums and have been cleared for sharing on Britmodeller.

 

IWM Gloster Javelin XH897

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

Thank you Bill, Just what I have been looking for. Don’t know how I missed it

[Antti_K]

Great photos Bill, thank you for the "Heads-Up". It seems I have to purchase a pair of Sea Vixen wheels as James pointed out. The pilot's cockpit seems to be the last version (five rheostats under the starboard quarter panel and an extra ILS at the lower left corner of the main instrument panel). And smaller details "all over the place"; like Total Air Temperature probe under the nose, UHF blade antenna in non standard position and the piping between and behind of jet pipes. This is now even more tempting😉

 

Cheers,

Antti

[71chally]

53 minutes ago, Antti_K said:

Great photos Bill, thank you for the "Heads-Up". It seems I have to purchase a pair of Sea Vixen wheels as James pointed out.

Cheers,

Antti

I've only managed a brief look, but it looks to me like the wheels were changed while at Duxford.

All the late service shots seem to show the standard wheels, as do a couple of pictures from the early days in preservation, when in the original paint and markings.

I wonder if it  might have been due to corrosion as those four 'spoke' types were prone to it.

[Antti_K]

Thank You James🙂

 

That observation may save either money or time (or both) for me. I was just thinking that modifying the nose would be pretty simple and straight forward model building task as is further detailing also. I have plenty of decals, only missing the lion(?) and the Flight Test emblem; which I can create myself. Do I really need that Alleycat conversion set, or am I good to go?

 

Cheers,

Antti

[Navy Bird]

13 hours ago, Tom Cobbley said:

Thank you Bill, Just what I have been looking for. Don’t know how I missed it

 

You didn't miss it - I uploaded those photos yesterday so I could help answer your request!   

 

Cheers,

Bill

[iainpeden]

After a cold and sometimes lonely (I was the only volunteer volunteered and it was very (very) quiet for the first hour until Father Christmas arrived in his Cessna!) time in H4 today I can confirm that a) the nose is metal because it "dinged" when I used a knuckle on it ,b) the rubbery coating on the intakes is rubbery not paint and c) that the camera window is on the right hand side of the nose only.  Any questions on the cockpit would have necessitated the installation of sky hook or abseiling from the beams of a102 year old hangar.