Airfix 1:72 Folland Gnat T.1

[TonkaGR.1]

Good evening fellow modellers. New year, new build(s) and stash is in dire need of reduction

In this build, I'm going to use Pavla Model set for cockpit +  Master pitot and SBS wheel set to render version from the kit XS100 from 4 FTS.

I intend to build it in raised canopy configuration. Starting with both halves, weathering applied to both undercarriage and interior:

And view from the other side:

And both halves together with generous amount of CA to hide seams on the nose:

Adding wings on top of fuselage shows that some tender loving care will be needed:

Similarly below (I've decided to remove undercarriage as it most likely would not survive puttying and sanding):

 

So much for now, stay tuned

[TonkaGR.1]

Seams on intakes and spine were successfully dealt with. Pavla resin required some serious sanding in order to fit front instrument panel.

After re-scribing & primer, some minor touch ups were needed and she was ready for first coat of white, followed by signal red:

What I like about MRP paints is their drying times. After only few hours of drying she was ready for another round of paint. Not sure if it is just me, but that white-red scheme of Flight Training School works for me on any jet they fielded

Some additional touch ups will be needed, followed by decaling... that's all for now

 

[Steve Coombs]

Very nice indeed. I see you successfully wrestled the intake/wing interface into submission, which is better than what I achieved with the gnew Gnat.

[TonkaGR.1]

33 minutes ago, Steve Coombs said:

Very nice indeed. I see you successfully wrestled the intake/wing interface into submission, which is better than what I achieved with the gnew Gnat.

Yes, it was tricky to properly align everything in order not to sand away all of details. In addition I forgot to mention - fuselage was about 1mm too narrow and did not really fit with wing part (gap is partially visible on last photo in first post). Solution to this issue was to cut out & glue a toothpick inside fuselage to ensure widths matched

Edited January 17, 2022 by TonkaGR.1

[Robin-42]

Glad to see I am not the only one who fails to mask everything! As far as stash reduction, you picked the smallest kit with the smallest box. Not going to help much….

[TonkaGR.1]

19 hours ago, Robin-42 said:

Glad to see I am not the only one who fails to mask everything! As far as stash reduction, you picked the smallest kit with the smallest box. Not going to help much….

Yeah, never had a build where paint scheme was spick and span on the first go Yes, volume-wise it barely did a dent, but any reduction in number of kits is welcome

Anyway I was able to put decals and semigloss varnish:

What remains is: gentle weathering with oils - I plan to dirty only undersides around the engine. I will not attempt it elsewhere as my references show those jets were pretty well maintained and those already significant panel lines would stand out too much in my opinion.

Then I need to fit the rest of the cockpit (both ejection seats and backseat instrument panel), mount nose light, polish canopy, mount slipper tanks, glue on all antennas and landing gear (front leg appears very finicky) and hopefully not mess up anything made so far