Jump to content

GAF Jindvik 1/72 - Royal Australian Navy


Recommended Posts

Hi Everyone, this is my latest build in my 1/72 Royal Australian Navy aircraft theme - a GAF Jindivik pilotless target aircraft. There's some good background information on the Jindivik on the RAN website here: https://www.navy.gov.au/aircraft/gaf-jindivik-pilotless-target-aircraft. The aircraft I'm looking to represent can be seen in the photo at the bottom of the page being shadowed by a Skyhawk. 

 

The model itself comes from High Planes Models https://www.hpmhobbies.com/high-planes-gaf-jindivik-drone-kit-1-72/

 

It's a mixed media kit, mostly injection moulded with some resin and white metal parts. 

 

I've made quite quick progress (compared to my usual builds) and so this first post covers a fait bit of the build. 

 

spacer.png

 

The plastic is a low-pressure mould and takes a fair bit of cleaning up

spacer.png

 

But they do come up quite nicely after a bit of careful trimming and sanding.

 

spacer.png

 

Here is a fuselage half mated with a wing. I chose to attach the wings before joining the fuselage due to the unusual moulded wing mount. You can see in the previous photo that the wing mount is recessed into the fuselage and I found it best to hollow out the mount, insert the wing and then reinforce it with some plastic strip. There's a bit of lead shot added in order to avoid being a tail sitter when on the launch trolley.

 

spacer.png

 

Here's the wings, fuselage and tailplanes all assembled. I still need to fettle the air intake at the nose of the drone. There's a little bit of filling and sanding required but the fit is still pretty good.

 

spacer.png

 

The version I intend to make has shortened wings with fuel tanks mounted outboard and so I needed to trim the wings with a razor saw. The fuel tanks required a little bit of thought. Each half of the fuel tanks has a cut out to allow them to be mounted fully over the wings. I chose to fill the outermost cut-out so that the tanks could simply slide over the wing tips.

 

spacer.png

 

Here's a view of the fuel tank cutouts. I filled them with plastic strip followed by a bit of putty.

 

spacer.png

 

And here's a look of current progress sitting atop the launch trolley. The intake still needs to be mounted and sanded.

 

spacer.png

 

And lastly for today a close up of the completed launch trolley. The wheels and mount points are white metal and the main body plastic. I added a bit of "wiring" between boxes to add a little bit of interest. The Humbrol tinlet gives some idea of how tiny this kit is.

 

spacer.png

 

Hopefully I'll finish construction and get some paint on soon. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 14
Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday, I've actually seen these taking off, many years ago. And yeah, they're not very big. It's an interesting and unusual model, I think, and looking very good. Regards, Jeff.


Thanks Jeff, that must have been an interesting sight. Cheers, Andrew

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a short update. After lots of filling and sanding I've finally reached this stage. The rear intakes and front probe (all white metal) have also been added. The wing tips are taped as I'll be sliding the wing tip tanks on once the fuselage is painted - too much work to mask the tanks while installed. I'm hoping to get some fluro orange on the next day or two. 

 

spacer.png

  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Impressive work.  I just about fainted when I saw the parts on the sprues, and wondered how you were going to make this project come to life.  But you did!  It'll look sharp.  I understand these were still in production until 1996-7 or so.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a lovely little project and one that I have undertaken myself in the past. I have another Hi-Planes kit in the stash, along with their Pikka prototype kit. I also have the Alley Cat 1/48 kit and am therefore very interested in how your build pans out. Thanks also for the tip about the tip tanks, a certain betentacled Muppet of this parish spent many hours masking his off. That went straight into the "No Fun" category.!

 

Martian 👽

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, I worked on the UK version Mk 3 and 4's, from 1986 up until 2003 at Llanbedr North Wales. At the front and rear of the wing tip tanks were Luneberg Lens and were of fibre glass construction and positional depending on the sortie. Incidentally, the Jindivik was based on a British design and "gifted"to Australia to save their aircraft industry at a time when Australian Aircraft production was falling on it's feet (Information I received from a G.A.F. Jindivik specialist on a visit to Llanbedr). We had an airframe that had exceeded 200 sorties ( a bit like Triggers broom [only fools and horses] re built from many different parts over the years only the rear fuselage was original).

The Alley Cat model is an awesome model,  first commissioned by Alistar Mclean (former owner of Alley Cat) and mastered by Alan Southcombe. If Alec (new owner) still stocks it, I full heartedly recommend it.

I have built a few high planes Jindivik models and used the original paint (Rocket red and Saturn yellow) on the models. This was a tough paint to apply as it came out of the nozzle it looked like candy floss. It did the job though, much to my surprise. The paint was applied over a white base coat and black stenciling, as the red and yellow were translucent the stencils appeared a sort of brown /rust colour on the red surfaces and a greenish /black colour on the yellow surfaces. I think the stencils were applied the same way on the Australian version. The British trolleys were a bright orange frame, Hydraulic Reservoir/pump cover and the release arms, Black hoses and Batteries. Dull metal for the release arm rebound pads (they were made of lead).

Hope this helps? 

Your build by the way looks awesome.

Bob.

 

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Impressive work.  I just about fainted when I saw the parts on the sprues, and wondered how you were going to make this project come to life.  But you did!  It'll look sharp.  I understand these were still in production until 1996-7 or so.

 

Thanks. I was a bit taken aback when I opened the box as well!

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Martian said:

This is a lovely little project and one that I have undertaken myself in the past. I have another Hi-Planes kit in the stash, along with their Pikka prototype kit. I also have the Alley Cat 1/48 kit and am therefore very interested in how your build pans out. Thanks also for the tip about the tip tanks, a certain betentacled Muppet of this parish spent many hours masking his off. That went straight into the "No Fun" category.!

 

Martian 👽

 

Thanks Martian, it's nice to know I'm not the first to wrestle with this little gem. I really scratched my head about the tanks - I was almost going to substitute some from my spares box - when it hit me that I could modify them to slip over the wing tips. The initial fit was a bit rough with noticeable gaps. In order to make the fit neatly, I dry-fitted them and masked the wing outline with some flexible tape, then took them off and puttied the gaps behind the tape. Hope that made sense? Complex masking at this tiny scale is not my cup of tea either.

 

Andrew

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, stevehnz said:

A nice looking build of an unusual subject, the final finish promises to be very colourful, I'm looking forward to that. :)

Steve.

Thanks Steve. It's going to look good alongside my A4-G and TA-4G Skyhawks!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Victor K2 said:

Hi, I worked on the UK version Mk 3 and 4's, from 1986 up until 2003 at Llanbedr North Wales. At the front and rear of the wing tip tanks were Luneberg Lens and were of fibre glass construction and positional depending on the sortie. Incidentally, the Jindivik was based on a British design and "gifted"to Australia to save their aircraft industry at a time when Australian Aircraft production was falling on it's feet (Information I received from a G.A.F. Jindivik specialist on a visit to Llanbedr). We had an airframe that had exceeded 200 sorties ( a bit like Triggers broom [only fools and horses] re built from many different parts over the years only the rear fuselage was original).

The Alley Cat model is an awesome model,  first commissioned by Alistar Mclean (former owner of Alley Cat) and mastered by Alan Southcombe. If Alec (new owner) still stocks it, I full heartedly recommend it.

I have built a few high planes Jindivik models and used the original paint (Rocket red and Saturn yellow) on the models. This was a tough paint to apply as it came out of the nozzle it looked like candy floss. It did the job though, much to my surprise. The paint was applied over a white base coat and black stenciling, as the red and yellow were translucent the stencils appeared a sort of brown /rust colour on the red surfaces and a greenish /black colour on the yellow surfaces. I think the stencils were applied the same way on the Australian version. The British trolleys were a bright orange frame, Hydraulic Reservoir/pump cover and the release arms, Black hoses and Batteries. Dull metal for the release arm rebound pads (they were made of lead).

Hope this helps? 

Your build by the way looks awesome.

Bob.

 

Wow, thanks Bob for your insights and background information. The colour information is really useful. The High Planes instructions have the RAN trolley finished in aluminium paint which agrees with some walk around photos of Australian Jindiviks I've seen. I might touch up my hoses in black though. It also calls for Dayglo Fire Orange for the airframe I'm modelling. I'll be using a white undercoat and will run a few tests with the paint I'm intending to use (Lifecolor LC23 Fluro Orange) before committing. 

 

Nice to hear about the Alleycat kit in 1/48. I build solely in 1/72 at present but that may change one day. 

 

Andrew

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi again,

I'm not sure of the Australian colours for the airframe or trolley only the UK version. The Tip tanks had a removable panel where you blended the gap for the wing access slot. These were removed for the fitting of the wing tip extensions ( 40 inch or 80 inch for higher sorties ).

Just behind the forward  fibre glass cones on the tip tanks, was a space to carry a cine camera (both tanks) used to record the results of missile fired at it ( fish eye lens ).

On the UK version , a variety of tow-able targets were fitted to the mainplanes (wings), or a fixed heat seeking flares attached to the lower rear fuselage. The skid was lowered by a pneumatic  jack, a once only operation. The flaps were also operated this way and could be lowered or raised (take off or landing settings) from neutral. There were only ailerons and elevator flying control surfaces, no rudder, only a manually (on the ground only) adjustable trim tab. Ailerons and elevator were electrically operated servo's.

 

Llanbedr ceased flying Jindiviks in the early 2000's ( I left there in 2003 when it announced it's closure rather than stay till the end as I had a job offer pending at that time ). At least a dozen new unbuilt airframes were destroyed along with a couple of low flying hours Canberra TT18's. It didn't make any sense at the time and it still doesn't, even now.

If memory serves me right "Flight International" had done an article on the Jindivik and contained some excellent cut away drawings of both airframe and trolley, not sure of the date of it's publication. 

Looking forward to the results of your efforts,

Bob.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Victor K2 said:

Hi again,

I'm not sure of the Australian colours for the airframe or trolley only the UK version. The Tip tanks had a removable panel where you blended the gap for the wing access slot. These were removed for the fitting of the wing tip extensions ( 40 inch or 80 inch for higher sorties ).

Just behind the forward  fibre glass cones on the tip tanks, was a space to carry a cine camera (both tanks) used to record the results of missile fired at it ( fish eye lens ).

On the UK version , a variety of tow-able targets were fitted to the mainplanes (wings), or a fixed heat seeking flares attached to the lower rear fuselage. The skid was lowered by a pneumatic  jack, a once only operation. The flaps were also operated this way and could be lowered or raised (take off or landing settings) from neutral. There were only ailerons and elevator flying control surfaces, no rudder, only a manually (on the ground only) adjustable trim tab. Ailerons and elevator were electrically operated servo's.

 

Llanbedr ceased flying Jindiviks in the early 2000's ( I left there in 2003 when it announced it's closure rather than stay till the end as I had a job offer pending at that time ). At least a dozen new unbuilt airframes were destroyed along with a couple of low flying hours Canberra TT18's. It didn't make any sense at the time and it still doesn't, even now.

If memory serves me right "Flight International" had done an article on the Jindivik and contained some excellent cut away drawings of both airframe and trolley, not sure of the date of it's publication. 

Looking forward to the results of your efforts,

Bob.

 

Thanks Bob, once again great information. Interesting to hear about the wing extensions. That explains some of the variations I've seen. I take it that the small winglets were used in place of wing extension for low altitude sorties. Andrew

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Andrew,

you are correct in that the small winglets were used for up to and including operational height. it was able to climb faster than an F16 as it had a great thrust to weight ratio for a small aircraft. 

I watched the clip that you posted, I am sure that I saw a splash of orange on the take off trolley, what do you think?

I am off line till Sunday and I am sure you will have added more post's by then, so if you haven't heard anything from me until then I am sure I will make up for it🙃 

Till then,

Bob

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Bob @Victor K2, here’s a picture of a similar airframe. Looking at that there is some orange in the trolley supports.  
 

Jindi009.jpg
 

The film clip was a real eye-opener for me. What a wonderful aircraft I’ve stumbled across!

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finally managed to get the main paint layers on today. Once this has cured I'll add a bit of paint detailing, decals and attach the fins to the wing tanks. I ended up using a mix of Vallejo model colour red and yellow for the fuselage. It's a bit more orange than appears in the photos below and a reasonable match to the reference photos I have. My most colourful aircraft to date by a long shot!

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Orso said:

You are doing a great job on this. I built a Swedish Mk.II and had forgot how bad it look on the sprues. Looking forward to see it finished.

 

Thank you Björn, I was somewhat aghast when I opened the box but it does clean up fairly well doesn't it. What colours are the Swedish Mk 2's? Orange? You have a nice collection of builds on your website.

Andrew  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 minutes ago, Martian said:

Most impressive!

 

Martian 👽

Thanks Martian, it’s almost extra-terrestrial. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, abat said:

 

What colours are the Swedish Mk 2's? Orange? 

Andrew  

Yes that's right. They were orange. I have another High-Plane kit in the stash. I'm not sure if I dare to look at it. 🙂

But even if they need some extra work they seem to look OK in the end.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Slow progress over the last few days but definitely getting closer to the finish line now. All the paint is now on and it's almost time for a gloss coat and some decals.

 

spacer.png

 

I'm aiming for something like this (image courtesy navy.gov.au).

 

spacer.png

 

Cheers, Andrew

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...