Lockheed WV-2

[ajmm]

Transport aircraft design can throw up some of the most dreary and downright ugly aircraft but I think the dolphin-backed Constellation has to be the most elegant and graceful - even with a beer belly and shark fin! This is the naval version of the early-warning Connie, the WV-2 Warning Star.

 

 

These aircraft ploughed up and down each American coastline for up to 20 hours at a time, usually below 6,000 feet (very much 'in the weather'), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

 

 

This helped provide a radar barrier or 'picket line' to warn of incoming Soviet bombers or - as was feared at the time - paratroopers. Missiles weren't so much of a bother just yet. These missions could be anything but pedestrian. Take this (actual) flight report from a Willy Victor commander:

Quote

"On takeoff, the sky was obscured. Visibility was just one mile and blowing snow. Wind was at 75kts, gusting up to 92kts - and 25 degrees cross wind. Take-off was made towards the mountains. Severe turbulence was encountered for one hour after take-off, consequently, we were unable to fire up the radar during that time. GCA was unable to operate because of the possibility of the wind blowing off the antenna. The radio range was out of commission as the antenna had been blown down. There were no instrument departure aids. Rest of flight was uneventful."

Proper pilot stuff that - love it. The commander was part of VW-13 - this model represents an example from this squadron. VW-13 was established in 1955 and helped comprise the Atlantic Barrier (BARLANT) force. It was based formally at NAS Patuxent River in the late-1950s and early-1960s, but in reality it often called NAS Argentia in Newfoundland home, and roamed to and fro across the Atlantic fairly frequently (there are some great photographs taken in Glasgow). Weather in Newfoundland was diabolical - the norm in winter was a 600' ceiling and visibility less than 1.5 miles. Argentia itself is very exposed, and colossal near hurricane-force crosswinds could often be expected on landing (many of which were made on instruments almost the whole way down). The accounts of the ice build up are astonishing - on a 15 hour barrier flight, one Connie staggered home with ice on the underside of the wings one foot thick in places! Fascinating, gutsy flyer stuff - shot through with skill and courage. Anyway.

 

 

This is the Revell kit, kitbashed with a Minicraft Connie picked up for a fiver on eBay. I know some on here have been able to fashion great things from the Minicraft Connie. Alas I did once try to build a Minicraft constellation but found the experience so miserable and unrewarding I promised myself never to do it again. After plundering the parts I needed for this build from the Minicraft kit and using a few spares on other projects, I'm afraid I just binned the rest of it. 

 

 

The Revell kit is superb. The fit is basically really good (wing fuselage join needs a bit of attention) and detail is excellent (yes, panel lines are a little deep, but I'll forgive that given the lack of alternatives). The only problem with the Revell kit is that it is the passenger transport version - so you have to fill, sand and rescribe a fair bit to lose the passenger windows. Not as big a chore as I feared, but the first time I've done this. The Minicraft radomes fit fine with no real problem - the bottom one is a bit tricky to get right. The top radome is actually much too thin in plan, but I didn't amend this. I just won't look at it from directly ahead! 

 

 

Paint was Hataka as usual. I have the Caracal Decals sheet which offers lots of enticing EC-121 and WV-2 schemes. I went for this fairly plain WV-2 scheme as I want ultimately to do all of these schemes (yup - yet another ludicrously ambitious plan). This being the first conversion I'm doing, I wanted a fairly simple and forgiving scheme to learn the pitfalls for something more complex next time. Still, it's pretty handsome, I think, and the scheme is faintly nostalgic for me as the Minicraft kit I did build before was a VW-13 aircraft.

 

 

Oddly the Caracal decals, which are otherwise excellent, only offer one set of the three white stripes on the nose - but I did manage to find some others from the Minicraft decals. Also the wing walkway is incorrect. I made half an attempt to correct it but it should have another box towards the leading edge between the nacelles. But they behave superbly and couldn't be recommended more highly.

 

 

These got very worn-looking towards the end of their life in service (see the aerial photo above). I did some weathering with pastels and pencils, but tried to keep myself under control.

 

 

I don't know what it is about transport aircraft from this period but painting the props is always a royal pain! Anyway - glad I made the effort. (By the way I went for yellow tips for an early WV-2 - in the late-1950s these were repainted with red-white-red tips as you can see on most photos in this post). 

 

 

I also added a multitude of tiny aerials which was quite satisfying actually. Unsurprisingly the radio antenna locations changed quite a lot so it's worth checking your references quite carefully if you're into getting this more or less right.

 

 

 

I think what impresses me about the Constellation is its size. It was designed to be high off the ground so that its engines could turn massive propellers at fairly low revs giving it superb range and fuel economy (relatively speaking - it's hardly a Prius...). I've seen one flying at Duxford and they are much bigger than they look from a distance.

 

 

 

And finally with something almost completely unrelated - but a transport.

 

 

Thanks very much for looking.

Angus

 

Niche side note: the USN vs. USAF naming is confusing and took me a little while to decypher. The WV-2 (or Willy Victor) was the same as the USAF's EC-121D, but later versions of the WV-2 were fitted with a more sophisticated radar, making them the equivalent of the EC-121K even if the naval name didn't change. Just on the off chance anyone is taking part in an aircraft designation pub quiz over the weekend.

[Vulcanfan]

That's beautiful.

 

I'm building the Minicraft WV-2 with Caracal decals at the moment and if it looks half as good as yours I'll be really pleased!

 

I'm going for 131388 with the dayglo.

 

Yes the Minicraft kit is basic, but the shape looks okay to me (unlike the cockpit windows on their EC-135 which is my other project - how could they mess that up?)

 

Regards,

Vulcanfan.

[TheyJammedKenny!]

That is a real bang-up job, and your historical context is fascinating, too!  I had no idea they operated at such a low altitude.  What amazing stories.  I suspect the dorsal antenna was a height-finding antenna that would scan in the vertical, while the lower antenna did a 60 degree sector scan in front of the aircraft.

[busnproplinerfan]

You made a silk purse from that model. She looks great.

[72modeler]

Beautiful airplane and a beautiful model! Hard to believe it's not the 1/72 Heller kit. Can't wait to see the rest...maybe an R7V-2 conversion?

Mike

 

https://oldmachinepress.com/2021/02/05/lockheed-model-1249-turboprop-super-constellation/

[dnl42]

Very nicely done! And quite striking markings. 

[CaracalModels]

Your Connie looks great! I really thought it was the 1/72 kit.

[busnproplinerfan]

2 hours ago, 72modeler said:

Beautiful airplane and a beautiful model! Hard to believe it's not the 1/72 Heller kit. Can't wait to see the rest...maybe an R7V-2 conversion?

Mike

 

https://oldmachinepress.com/2021/02/05/lockheed-model-1249-turboprop-super-constellation/

I hope to make that one sometime. Wanted to do it a few years ago but got stuck with commissioned models. Hopefully someone does, love to see one. Need to rob the nacelles off an Orion.

[CJP]

Great model of an elegant aircraft - looks good on that base too

CJP

[ajmm]

Thank you so much for the kind comments @CJP @dnl42 @busnproplinerfan - they are greatly appreciated.

 

10 hours ago, Vulcanfan said:

I'm going for 131388 with the dayglo.

 

Yes the Minicraft kit is basic, but the shape looks okay to me (unlike the cockpit windows on their EC-135 which is my other project - how could they mess that up?)

Thanks! Oh that scheme was nice - I was tempted by that and will look out for yours! I haven't tried the EC-135 yet but yes I can see what you mean about it looking a bit off up front now. The Minicraft Connie looks good once you get there and I'm sure you'll do a cracking job. In fairness I tried mine when I'd only just got back into the hobby and I doubt I did it justice. There seemed to be a rash of Revell C-121s on eBay over here lately so I picked up a few for notalotofmoney.

 

8 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

That is a real bang-up job, and your historical context is fascinating, too!  I had no idea they operated at such a low altitude.  What amazing stories.  I suspect the dorsal antenna was a height-finding antenna that would scan in the vertical, while the lower antenna did a 60 degree sector scan in front of the aircraft.

Ah interesting, thank you! Yes that would make sense. Oddly I only really discovered the historical context as I was doing this and became enthralled with the subject (one of the things I love most about this hobby).

 

6 hours ago, 72modeler said:

Beautiful airplane and a beautiful model! Hard to believe it's not the 1/72 Heller kit. Can't wait to see the rest...maybe an R7V-2 conversion?

Mike

 

https://oldmachinepress.com/2021/02/05/lockheed-model-1249-turboprop-super-constellation/

Thank you - that's very kind of you. Yes, that's definitely on the shortlist. I have the Welshmodels conversion and got it out of the stash the other day so it's a question of when not if. I think it will marry up to the Revell fuselage quite nicely. Worth looking that up by the way if you don't want to butcher those increasingly rare and expensive Orions @busnproplinerfan  Also - glad to see someone else is a fan of Old Machine Press - one of my favourite parts of the internet - I often retreat there on a lunch break in the office (and emerge several hours later!). Brilliantly informative articles - I'm finishing a 1:144 Beech XA-38 Grizzly and the OMP article has been invaluable as well as fascinating. Another one I want to build is the EC-121L with the mushroom dome on top - I have the RVHP conversion for that. Ahhh. So many projects, so little display space!

 

6 hours ago, CaracalModels said:

Your Connie looks great! I really thought it was the 1/72 kit.

 

Well thank you for making such great decals! They really are outstanding in quality and the breadth of subjects on offer (you probably get tired of hearing it!). Can't wait for the Orion, Hustler and Peacemaker!

 

 

 

Edited May 27, 2021 by ajmm

[Winenut]

I didn't even know that thing existed!

 

Looks the the crazy evolution/offspring of a Neptune

 

Great job

 

Absolutely striking

[Britman]

Very nice indeed, thank you for sharing with us. Is that a DC5 at the end?

 

Keith

[Wulfman]

Gorgeous build on the Connie, one of the most beautiful aeroplanes ever built !

 

Wulfman

[SAT69]

Very nice work on both the airplane and the setting.

[72modeler]

10 hours ago, busnproplinerfan said:

Need to rob the nacelles off an Orion.

Didn't LS do a 1/144 Orion?

Mike

[busnproplinerfan]

18 minutes ago, 72modeler said:

Didn't LS do a 1/144 Orion?

Mike

Yep, have two of them, I was referring to a 1/72 one.

[72modeler]

3 minutes ago, busnproplinerfan said:

I was referring to a 1/72 one.

You ARE a steely-eyed modeler! 

Mike

 

[busnproplinerfan]

1 minute ago, 72modeler said:

You ARE a steely-eyed modeler! 

Mike

 

and a glutton for punishment.

[ajmm]

11 hours ago, Winenut said:

I didn't even know that thing existed!

 

Looks the the crazy evolution/offspring of a Neptune

 

Great job

 

Absolutely striking

I know - bizarre looking thing isn’t it! Necessity is the mother of invention and all that. Thanks!

 

10 hours ago, Britman said:

Very nice indeed, thank you for sharing with us. Is that a DC5 at the end?

 

Keith

Sure is. F-Rsin kit. Pretty rough and there’s no way in all that’s holy that I’ll be doing it in natural metal. But it should brush up nicely I hope. They’re quite handsome aircraft. Anyway - thanks very much!
 

Thanks for the kind comments @Wulfman and @SAT69!

Edited May 27, 2021 by ajmm

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

14 hours ago, busnproplinerfan said:

Yep, have two of them, I was referring to a 1/72 one.

Those engines and props on the Turbo Connie don't bare much resemblance to a P-3's Allisons, what are you plans for the Hasegawa bits?

[busnproplinerfan]

1 hour ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

Those engines and props on the Turbo Connie don't bare much resemblance to a P-3's Allisons, what are you plans for the Hasegawa bits?

Just the nacelles, at least the upper portion. Don't want to cut up a good wing just for that though. The props are (petty sure or very passible) to the C-130As. Cowlings and how they attach would have to be made.

[Homer]

Congratulations on a fine piece of modelling, all your hard work certainly paid off. 

[Red Dot]

Super job

 

Andy 

[Alan P]

Looks superb. Thanks for sharing a great model and equally good article on the subject 👍

[Mig88]

A spectacular job as always Angus! Well done!

 

Miguel