WM373 Meteor N.F.11 R.A.A.F. 1964

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

        Hello Everybody... Im throwing a third build into the fray. I will be building a Gloster N.F.11 Meteor converted to a range test aircraft. Im not 100% sure if this means it is a T.T.20 Meteor. The aircraft is WM373 and is in a very good looking Red & White scheme.

 

http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/index.php?/category/meteor-wm373#&ui-state=dialog

 

http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/index.php?/category/meteor-wm373#&ui-state=dialog

 
For this I will be using the Old 1/72 Matchbox kit.

 

 

 

 

Please feel free to ask questions, post comments or add thoughts. 

Dennis

Edited November 28, 2021 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[mark.au]

Don't matter what colour it's painted, it's an ugly airplane.  I'm sure yours will be a lovely model though.  Of an ugly airplane...  🙂

[BritJet]

The old Matchbox kit has a few quirks but it's not a bad kit. Some suggestions for you;

 

The tail joint is very weak and likely to break at some point also there is usually a step between the fuselage and tail which is difficult to deal with.

Cut away the lip on the rear of the fuselage halves and clean out the opening. Find some sprue that will fit into the tail unit to brace across the joint. Pack inside the rear fuselage so the sprue is a good fit. Glue some thin plastic card onto the rear face of the fuselage halves and make a hole in the middle to take the sprue – this is to shim the joint and avoid the step. Trim the plastic card on the outside once the parts are joined together.

 

The fuselage is very flexible due to the design and needs to be braced under the top-deck. Cut some lengths of sprue and glue in place avoiding where the cockpit opening/parts are.

 

The intakes do not fit very well as they get opened out by the lip on the nacelles – remove the lips and just butt-join the intakes. The jetpipes usually fit ok but if not remove the lips there as well.

 

The tongue on the wings is not thick enough and the joint will be sloppy. Insert some plastic card to shim until the joint is tight – make sure it is clear of the wheel well.

 

Add weight to the nose.

 

None of the above are difficult to do but will help reduce the amount of fill, sand, repeat that this kit is known for. I've built 9 or 10 of these and these modifications avoided them all taking a very short flight......

 

Hope this helps.

 

Steve

[JOCKNEY]

Great stuff Dennis, should really stand out in your collection with that colour scheme. 

Best of luck 

Cheers Pat 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

        Good morning everybody ... I was finally able to start a couple builds this evening. I’ll be honest Im not a fan of Matchbox’s construction of this. Its not a bad mold per se, just trying to squeeze to many models of the aircraft out of the same mold. I think had Matchbox issued two kits on with the NF.11/12/13 fuselage and the other with the NF.14 it would have been a lot easier to put these together. That being said its not that bad. I still need to paint the grey interior floor on this. Anyone know what color of the seats are in these ? 
 

 

 

Please feel free to ask questions, post comments or add thoughts. 

 

Dennis

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

        Morning everyone... I was able to get some more work on this tonight. I finished up a rough sand and filled the major gaps around the wings and nacelles with plastic strip.

 

Once that was done I added the nose cone of the later Mk.12 as the photo’s of WM373 show a non-standard nose for an N.F.11. On top of that it has an additional probe that for lack of better terminology looks like a nipple. 

 

I sanded the nose flat and cut down a bomb from the spares. Its the same set-up on A77-3 another N.F.11 the Probe houses electronics  for the Fire-flash tracking equipment. In A77-3 it was for tracking during the Blue-Boar Bomb trials. 

http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/gallery/Meteor-A77-3/A77_3_Blue_Boar_Electronics

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Boar_(bomb)

 

WM373 Nose:

 

http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/gallery/Meteor-WM373/Meteors_at_Woomera_Photo_by_Bill_Aiken

 

 

Please feel free to ask questions, post comments or add thoughts. 

 

 

Dennis

[Ray_W]

Hi Dennis, 

Great subject! I am enjoying your build of this "ugly duckling" very much. Thanks for also posting your references.

Ray

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

        

Morning everyone... Bit of a delayed post as this was done Wednesday night. I was able to mount up the canopy on this. 

 

  For this it was primed with Lt.Admiralty grey. Once done the white was sprayed, almost half a jar and its almost there. 

 

 

 

The unpainted areas are where the red will be sprayed. As I have no clear photo of the upper wings it is pure speculation. I will paint the wings red, control surfaces white. Please feel free to ask questions, post comments or add thoughts. 
 

Dennis

Edited March 13, 2021 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[Ray_W]

Hi Dennis,

 

It is looking quite special.

 

 

2 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

I will paint the wings red, control surfaces white.

 

Can't offer any more advice for WM373, I have to agree, noting for wing upper surfaces red outboard only from the engine nacelles with white against nacelle and at wingtip (possibly wingtip band red underneath or just dirty). Control surfaces? A guess.  Per that nice image you already have:

 

http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/gallery/Meteor-WM373/Meteor_NF_II_WM373_Woomera_Photo_by_Bill_Aiken

 

Alley Cat did the decals for WM374 and made life easier - all white:

 

 

Ray

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

        Morning everyone... I haven't been idle but not moving fast on this. When @Ray_W posted this ⬆️ I realized I had forgot to add the sensor probes to the wingtips. So I've been working on that today. 
 

Its not perfect as I have only one grainy B&W photo but it gets the idea across. Please feel free to ask questions, post comments or add thoughts. 

 

Dennis

[Max Headroom]

You’re doing a good job on this. The last one I made I actually used a rasp on some of the joins! It’s a bit of a putty monster.

 

Trevor

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

        Good morning everyone... I was able to spray the final colors tonight. The red for the panels, wings, and black for the anti-glare. 
It isn't easy to get straight lines with the compound curves so it will need some touch-ups.

 

 

Though the drop tanks aren't in the photos, I cheated as I didn't want to fill the gaps poorly. So they're being painted and will get mounted later. Next up is to touch-up, clear it, then decals. Please feel free to ask questions, post comments or add thoughts. 

Dennis

[Ray_W]

Hi Dennis,

 

Very attractive.

 

I use Tamiya Flexible Masking Tape (the white stuff) for compound curves. Maybe there are cheaper alternatives, but, as usual, the Tamiya just works (also use it for Luftwaffe spinner spirals). I have a roll of 6 mm and rarely use the full width slicing a 1 or 2 mm wide piece for the edge and fill the rest with a cheaper masking . I would use my dividers with the sharpened point to cut a radius in normal yellow kabuki tape for the forward radius of the fuselage red band. A thin strip of Kabuki tape (say 1 mm wide) sliced off a normal width roll will often also take a slight compound bend.  

 

Ray

[John Masters]

This is looking very indeed Dennis!  

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

        Good morning everybody ... Well I was able to get the decals done on this and my Kiwi Scooter. Not much to them but I had to chop up the serials to get the correct codes. 
 

 

 

Please feel free to ask questions, post comments or add thoughts. 

 

Dennis

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

        Good morning everyone ... Well Ive added the gear, wing-tanks, and doors. Good to know she isn't a tail sitter. 
 

 

 

 

 

Satin coat and minimal weathering is up next. Please feel free to ask questions, post comment or add thoughts. 

 

 

Dennis

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Calling this one done. Please visit the gallery and Look for an RFI later this week sometime. 

[Ray_W]

Hi Dennis,

Great build and a fascinating subject. You have given me a problem though, planned next build just started is my StuG III and yet I have Airfix's F8 Meteor also ready to go in (mine though in boring high-speed silver) and I am now highly motivated to do a a Meteor build. Decisions, decisions.

Ray

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

14 minutes ago, Ray_W said:

Hi Dennis,

Great build and a fascinating subject. You have given me a problem though, planned next build just started is my StuG III and yet I have Airfix's F8 Meteor also ready to go in (mine though in boring high-speed silver) and I am now highly motivated to do a a Meteor build. Decisions, decisions.

Ray

Thank you Ray ... Well you could build both if you are inclined to listening to Enzo Matrix ? But build the one you desire, both group builds end in May so seven weeks yet. You of course could cross your fingers, toes, legs and eyes. Ultimately in hope the Meteor Single type build gets through in November, then build it next year ? This is my first ever Meteor but wont be my last, I do like the way they look. 

Edited March 31, 2021 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[Ray_W]

2 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Ultimately in hope the Meteor Single type build gets through in November, then build it next year ?

 

 

A great possibility.

 

Anyway, I will stick with the StuG as I like to follow through with my commitments to the group builds and finish a subject within the time frame. My Mirage will be done in a couple of days so hopefully I can squeeze in both. There are so many interesting GB's running concurrently it is hard to choose.

[JOCKNEY]

Looks really smart Dennis, congratulations mate.

I wonder how many of these will appear in the future Meteor GB ?

Cheers Pat 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

7 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Looks really smart Dennis, congratulations mate.

I wonder how many of these will appear in the future Meteor GB ?

Cheers Pat 

Im hoping more than a few.