1:48 Fairey Swordfish MkII

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

My next completion is Tamiya's mighty Stringbag, which I will say from the outset is a superb kit. I've completed it as LS276, which flew as part of 836 Sqn FAA from Merchant Aircraft Carrier (MAC) Amastra in 1943. Here's a photo of Amastra, which was a coverted oil carrier:

 

 

I couldn't find any photos of LS276, but here's another aircraft from 836 Sqn:

 

 

These aircraft were unusual in that the 'Royal Navy' above the a/c serial was overpainted with 'Merchant Navy', initially as a joke but eventually a source of some pride. As my grandfather served in the Merchant Navy throughout the war I feel a small personal connection - these aircraft could well have been flying as part of the many convoys he sailed across the Atlantic. Here's the WIP if anyone is interested:

 

 

The kit was built OOB with the exception of the Tamiya rigging PE set, which was veeeerrry fiddly. This build nearly ended up on the Shelf of Doom due to decal disasters, so I'm glad I had a word with myself and pushed it over the line. Anyway, on with the photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite a myriad of minor imperfections and errors I'm pretty pleased with the way she's turned out, and she certainly has shelf presence. I might move on to something a little simpler next time though!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

 

 

[TonyOD]

“Merchant Navy”. LOL. Great result that.

[Dunny]

23 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

“Merchant Navy”. LOL. Great result that.

Thanks Tony - much appreciated!

[bigbadbadge]

Glad you persisted Roger,  the Stringbag looks absolutely gorgeous,  you have done a fantastic job with the paint.  It is great to see the Merchant Navy machine and a fantastic bit of backround information too. Great work 

What's up next fella?

Chris

[Dunny]

Just now, bigbadbadge said:

Glad you persisted Roger,  the Stringbag looks absolutely gorgeous,  you have done a fantastic job with the paint.  It is great to see the Merchant Navy machine and a fantastic bit of backround information too. Great work 

What's up next fella?

Chris

Thanks Chris - I'll call it a save! I'm thinking a brace of Hellcats next, although I do have an Oxbox winging its way to me as we speak. I was doing a bit of research and saw your lovely Navy version from a couple of years ago - very nice work!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[beastieboy]

That is top class

[Dunny]

1 minute ago, beastieboy said:

That is top class

Thanks BB - much appreciated!

[Epeeman]

Hello, Roger -

 

The Swordfish is not one of my favourite looking biplanes, but you have done a grand job of yours - like the folded wing look and your finish is good.

 

What did you use for rigging material?

 

Regards

 

Dave

[theskits62]

That looks great !

[bigbadbadge]

10 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Thanks Chris - I'll call it a save! I'm thinking a brace of Hellcats next, although I do have an Oxbox winging its way to me as we speak. I was doing a bit of research and saw your lovely Navy version from a couple of years ago - very nice work!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Hi  Roger 

It's a great Save and a great result fella.  Oh yes the Oxbox sounds great. The one I did a few years ago was enjoyable, thanks for mentioning that.  I have a 48th scale one in my not too far from the top of the stash although that will still take a long time to get to!!!

What ever you choose I am sure it will be Ace.

Chris

[Dunny]

1 minute ago, Epeeman said:

Hello, Roger -

 

The Swordfish is not one of my favourite looking biplanes, but you have done a grand job of yours - like the folded wing look and your finish is good.

 

What did you use for rigging material?

 

Regards

 

Dave

Thanks for the kind words Dave - much appreciated! The rigging is a Tamiya PE set, which looks very effective but is a pig to fit! 

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

2 minutes ago, theskits62 said:

That looks great !

Thanks for the kind words!

[Dunny]

1 minute ago, bigbadbadge said:

Hi  Roger 

It's a great Save and a great result fella.  Oh yes the Oxbox sounds great. The one I did a few years ago was enjoyable, thanks for mentioning that.  I have a 48th scale one in my not too far from the top of the stash although that will still take a long time to get to!!!

What ever you choose I am sure it will be Ace.

Chris

I'll hold out for a group build if you like Chris! 

[bigbadbadge]

15 minutes ago, Dunny said:

I'll hold out for a group build if you like Chris! 

You might be waiting a while 😄 my building pace is somewhat Glacial.

 

[Dunny]

3 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

You might be waiting a while 😄 my building pace is somewhat Glacial.

 

I'll see how my patience holds. I do have another possible alternative for my next build. It's a heavy, but not a Lanc or Halibag. Hmmmmm...

[bigbadbadge]

1 hour ago, Dunny said:

I'll see how my patience holds. I do have another possible alternative for my next build. It's a heavy, but not a Lanc or Halibag. Hmmmmm...

Hi Roger, I would carry on fella as it will be quite a while with my current projects and have a GB commitment at somepoint too. Although the second choice is intriguing 

 

Chris

[Dunny]

2 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Hi Roger, I would carry on fella as it will be quite a while with my current projects and have a GB commitment at somepoint too. Although the second choice is intriguing 

 

Chris

No worries mate. I've got a day off tomorrow so all may be revealed 😉

 

[Stephen]

That looks absolutely first class.

[Dunny]

Just now, Stephen said:

That looks absolutely first class.

Thanks Stephen - much appreciated!

[RMCS]

Excellent work 

[Harold55]

Love it!  I built this also and also thought the PE rigging is a big pain to use.  Glad to see you got it to work as I can appreciate the effort.  And I also folded one of the wings back and was very surprised the the plane does not tip over but it stays upright but I think it looks good this way as you can see the size of this plane, which is quite big for a bi-plane but also how it would work on a carrier deck. 

[Dunny]

2 hours ago, RMCS said:

Excellent work 

Thanks for the kind words!

1 hour ago, Harold55 said:

Love it!  I built this also and also thought the PE rigging is a big pain to use.  Glad to see you got it to work as I can appreciate the effort.  And I also folded one of the wings back and was very surprised the the plane does not tip over but it stays upright but I think it looks good this way as you can see the size of this plane, which is quite big for a bi-plane but also how it would work on a carrier deck. 

Thanks Harold! Yes it is a fair size - I thought that folding a wing would add some interest (obviously saves space too!)

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[dogsbody]

That looks great!

 

Hey, my Dad was in the RCN during the war and was on an escort destroyer from 1941 until early 1944. Who knows, maybe he escorted you Dad's ship at one time.

 

 

 

 

Chris

[Dunny]

1 minute ago, dogsbody said:

That looks great!

 

Hey, my Dad was in the RCN during the war and was on an escort destroyer from 1941 until early 1944. Who knows, maybe he escorted you Dad's ship at one time.

 

 

 

 

Chris

Thanks Chris,

 

It's an interesting thought - as with any personal connection it is no longer an abstract concept but really makes you appreciate what that amazing generation endured,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Homer]

Congratulations on a beautiful model, well done 👏. 

[Dunny]

Just now, Homer said:

Congratulations on a beautiful model, well done 👏. 

Thanks for the kind words Homer - much appreciated!