Fairey Gannet AEW 1/48

[Colin W]

Along with many others on Britmodeller I have a passion for the Fleet Air Arm. This runs parallel to an more general interest in aircraft of the 50's to the 70s'. I have built most of the aircraft where these overlap but one model which has been very elusive is the Fairey Gannet AEW. I expected Dynavector to release one as many of the bits in the ASW Gannet could have been reused but alas it was not to be. I built the Dynavector ASW Gannet in about 2002 and waited for the AEW but nothing has been heard from Dynavector for a few years.  Special Hobby announced one about 10 years ago but still nothing in plastic so when I heard about a resin kit made by Alan Wilson here on BM I decided to fill the gap and ordered one.

I've had it about 18 months and can resist no longer.

 

No box pictures as there's no box but here's what I have as a start point.

 

First impressions are very good. Good crisp moulding in ivory resin, only a few bubbles evident in the main structure. Detail is very good and can be improved with a bit of care. The undercarriage appears to be injection moulded so might get used rather than making my own brass one. The finished model will be quite heavy and the instructions note 70g of nose weight is required.

The main parts breakdown is typical for a resin kit and there is a good supply of minor details. There are 3 different under wing stores which appear to include a fuel tank and a palousette starter pod. I'm not sure what the other one is yet, maybe it will be clear later

I have 3 resin canopies, all unfortunately with bubbles but lets worry about that later.

 

 

No beautiful white metal props spinner and engine face here as in the Dynavector kit. I have the right number of blades but not sure why 2 are in grey resin?

 

8 x A4 sheets of instructions! Excellent.

 

 

Starting soon.

[billn53]

This will be interesting . . .

[Marklo]

There’s a certain ungainly charm about the Gannet that I love. Should be an interesting build.

[Gondor44]

Wrong scale for me, however I like the aircraft so will tag along

 

Gondor

[RJP]

The kit looks lovely and I will be following along too.

[bar side]

I remember these coming up & thinking it was a one off chance to get one.  But I didn’t so I will have to see how this goes.  Watching with interest

[bigbadbadge]

Looking forward to seeing this one build up.

Chris

[heloman1]

Looks like a good kit, going to keep you busy with all that cleaning up!. Too large for my cabinet, I'll contend myself with the 72nd Ali-Cats kit I built a could of years ago.

 

I'll watch with interest.

 

Colin

[TEXANTOMCAT]

Sod’s law someone announces a new tool next year ! 😉

TT

[Mike]

17 minutes ago, TEXANTOMCAT said:

Sod’s law someone announces a new tool next year ! 😉

TT

I give it 10 minutes, but I won't be sad.  I like Gannets

[bootneck]

Ooh! that looks good Colin.   I've just dug out an old Formaplane vacform AEW conversion kit.  I shall follow along and hopefully pick up some pointers for mine; although much scratchbuilding on my part methinks!

 

Mike

[Gondor44]

Sword did one a few years ago

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/sword-sw-72088-fairey-gannet-aew3--939328

 

Gondor

[Colin W]

 

3 hours ago, TEXANTOMCAT said:

Sod’s law someone announces a new tool next year !

Ha Ha I almost posted this in @Enzo Matrix 's KUTA Group build on the basis that I should build it before someone releases it in Injected plastic for half the price but hey ho.

I built Dynavectors 1/48 TSR2 on the basis that 'Who would release a plane that only flew 1 example 40 years ago in 1 scheme?' so who knows? I doubt it ill be a big earner for anyone to release anyway.

 

1 hour ago, Gondor44 said:

Sword did one a few years ago

Wrong scale. Everything is available in 72.

 

[Colin W]

I decided to build the radar operators cockpit in the center fuselage so I made a start today by attacking the inside with a milling tool in my Dremel. There was more snow inside the shed than outside. I'm really glad I had a good mask. Starting some propper modelling tonight.

No Pics as I didnt want my phone or camera covered in the dust.

[Colin W]

Just for a bit of fun I decided to add the radar operators cockpit in the central fuselage.

Here is the basic structure before painting

 

Now with a bit of paint on.

The electrical box's on the rear bulkhead are only thin but this wont be noticable once the fuselage is closed up.

The pilots cockpit on the lower left is pretty much from the kit with only seat belts and instrument bezzels added.

Lower right are the rear seats and the radars\ screens. In the Warpint book the 2 work stations are almost identical but we are told they did 'different functions'.

A fairly heavy lump of lead should prevent any tail sitting tendancies.

 

[amos brierley]

Great start,      I’ve just bought the Sword 1/72 kit, and so I very much look forward to seeing the finished kit. 😉

[CJP]

You are generating some interest with this build - castings look good too

[exdraken]

Great project!!

Very interesting indeed!

 

[LorenSharp]

Excellent start Colin and 1/48 AND Resin to boot! I've got the Dynavector kit I'll get to one day In the meantime I'm watching with interest with note pad in hand. Carry on Sir!

[bentwaters81tfw]

It scrubs up ok

However there a few points to keep an eye on.

The fin/rudder needs thinning, esp. the trailing edge.

The jet exhausts need adjustment!!!!  OR the angle of the port wing!

The spine holes/vents/whatever are off centre and need correcting.

Despite Alan's protestations, drill the MLG legs vertically from the bottom and insert some 0.8mm brass rod right through to the upper leg. The kit is heavy, and the legs will bend over time. I actually re-inforced mine only last week, and I built it about 3 years ago.

Take care with the canopy. It is brittle. Alan sent me the later, clearer issue, and it cracked, so I ended up with a hybrid canopy.

The kit decals are useless, you will need to source all new.

[Colin W]

I've never seen one of these built so greatto see this one. 

Many thanks for the comments Bentwaters. I've already thinned the fin but have not reached the point where I can notice the exhaust misalignment. My vents on the top appear to be centered but one is forward of the other. 

I have been suspicious of the undercarriage and canopy so will take your comments on board. 

[Colin W]

Well a bit of a halt while working through @bentwaters81tfw comments. A first layer of filler and a coat of Halfords grey were applied to the fuselage to attend the seams which turned out not too bad.

 

On 11/29/2021 at 4:02 PM, bentwaters81tfw said:

The jet exhausts need adjustment!!!!  OR the angle of the port wing!

 

The wing alignment and the position of the jet exhaustes are both suspect. The port wing was aligned with the tail fin but the starboard wing was way too high so needed some serious grinding to drop back down. This brought the wing closer to the exhaust but still not the same as the port. I looked at moving it but as such a complex shape I decided it looked better as is so who will ever notice? Does anyone read this?

 

 

With the fin as a datum then the wings and tail were gradually fitted. As @bentwaters81tfw noted the vents / intakes above the crew cockpit were neither aligned or central so have been removed to replace later.

 

 

Looking at the landing gear I decided to make my own. These resin models get very heavy and I usually do something with the undercarriage.  Looking at the plans the main gear legs should be around 2.5mm diameter but were infact 5mm meaning they looked massively over scale. The clincher was when I lifted the beast out of the drying rack above and realised the weight. I decided to make 3 new legs using concentric brass and Aluminium tubing with a few plastic details. Main grea legs and new nose leg with the original nose leg.

 

 

Filler and sanding next!

 

 

[exdraken]

it is comming together nicely!

 

[ianwau]

Following with interest - coincidentally having the Dynavector AS-1 underway concurrently!  

[mark.au]

…I read it

 

looking good so far.