de Havilland Dragon - (not Rapide)

[John B (Sc)]

Hi.

 

Does anyone know of a de Havilland Dragon kit?

 

Or - has anyone managed to convert a Dragon Rapide kit to a Dragon. Not sure how much commonality there is - maybe the tail feathers , aft fuselage and engines? 

(I know the Rapide was developed from the DH 86 Dragon Express not from the DH 84 Dragon.  Did Aircraft in Miniature release a DH 86 kit  a few years back, or was that speculation?)

 

John B

 

Edited February 8, 2022 by John B (Sc)

[Cheshiretaurus]

1 hour ago, John B (Sc) said:

Does anyone know of a de Havilland Dragon kit?

This is the DH84 entries on Scalemates https://www.scalemates.com/topics/topic.php?id=15105

 

Rugrats resin kit in 1:72 seems to be only available kit.

 

Oxford also do a dicast https://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/collections/dehaviland/products/dehavilland-dh84-dragon-g-ecan-railway-air-services-72dg001

 

[viscount806x]

13 hours ago, Cheshiretaurus said:

This is the DH84 entries on Scalemates https://www.scalemates.com/topics/topic.php?id=15105

 

Rugrats resin kit in 1:72 seems to be only available kit.

 

Oxford also do a dicast https://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/collections/dehaviland/products/dehavilland-dh84-dragon-g-ecan-railway-air-services-72dg001

 

Rugrat kit latterley issued by AIM, ‘Historic Wings).

[Dave Swindell]

3 hours ago, viscount806x said:

Rugrat kit latterley issued by AIM, ‘Historic Wings).

Nope, still under the Rugrat Resins section of the AIM website, but not currently available by the looks of it.

[Dave Swindell]

18 hours ago, John B (Sc) said:

Did Aircraft in Miniature release a DH 86 kit  a few years back, or was that speculation?)

Yes, another Rugrats Resins product, not currently available

http://www.aim72.co.uk/page174.html

[John B (Sc)]

Thanks all.

 

So, no evidence of a DH 84 Dragon as a kit.

 

Thanks for the diecast info, CheshireTaurus.

 

John B

[k5054nz]

I'd quite like one in 1/48, it looks like a design that would easily (famous last words) lend itself to scratchbuilding.

[Admiral Puff]

I believe that someone (not sure who) in  the Czech Republic is contemplating one in 1:72, but don't know more than that.

 

It should be a straightforward scratchbuild - the fuselage is all flat panels, the outer wing panels are taken from the DH 82, and most of the rest could be adapted from a Tiger kit as well (you'd need two, just for the noise-and-vibration generators).

[Fredag]

https://rnzaf.proboards.com/thread/27241/dragon-converted-heller-rapide-kit

[follasha]

LoL tht's my beast, a late Australian WW2 production DH.84 converted from the Heller Rapide kit, 2 Airfix Tigermoths and spare Amodel DH.60 wing sections (+ some scratchbuilding) . Much of the fuselage is pretty much the same, window apertures need changing, the nose section needs to be broadened and 'blunted' the cockpit and glazing isn't quite wide enough for the DH.84 (tapers a little too much) so there is a bit of a compromise there but it doesn't look too bad. You can re-use the center-section of  the wings out to the inner struts (from the Heller DH.89 kit), however the tapered outer section of the dh.89 wings need to be removed from there and the DH.60 wings substituted. DH.60 struts can be used for outer wings too . Tail feathers are exactly the same, except the cut-out in the vicinity of the tail wheel.

 

Rear Engine cowls  were re contoured to match the Tigermoth Gypsy Majors and tapered to match drawings of the DH.84. The landing gear was totally scratch built using the wheels from the original Heller kit.

 

Untitled by Harry Follas, on Flickr

 

Untitled by Harry Follas, on Flickr

 

 

Untitled by Harry Follas, on Flickr

Edited February 28, 2022 by follasha

[John B (Sc)]

Wow, Harry - that is impressive. Only just saw this just now.

 

My wife, who first asked the question  - and likes Dragons and Rapides especially - is now wondering whether she can stomach that much butchery, just to produce a model of one of Captain Fresson's machines, used here in Northern Scotland.  That nose is excellent - a very distinctive and hard to get right part of the Dragon. My wife is an artist as well as a modeller and pilot, so she likes to get the lines as accurately as possible. 

 

(Hmm - do I have enough Tiger Moth kits or bits in stock?)

 

John B

Edited March 10, 2022 by John B (Sc)

[alancmlaird]

On 3/10/2022 at 9:12 PM, John B (Sc) said:

Wow, Harry - that is impressive. Only just saw this just now.

 

My wife, who first asked the question  - and likes Dragons and Rapides especially - is now wondering whether she can stomach that much butchery, just to produce a model of one of Captain Fresson's machines, used here in Northern Scotland.  That nose is excellent - a very distinctive and hard to get right part of the Dragon. My wife is an artist as well as a modeller and pilot, so she likes to get the lines as accurately as possible. 

 

(Hmm - do I have enough Tiger Moth kits or bits in stock?)

 

John B

Superb job by Harry there, but, John B, please be aware that DH60 Moth wings differ structurally from the Tiger Moth's (rib positioning). I'd suggest Frog's old Moth kit is often reasonably priced for robbery purposes!

Good choice on Capt Fresson's Dragons, and this combination of components inspires a three-way swap - one set of leftover Tiger wings on the spare Frog Moth fuselage for a Moth Major (Scottish Flying Club machine?).....the other set on a scratch-built (or AIM conversion) Fox Moth fuselage (John Sword's perhaps?). Waste not, want not.

[John B (Sc)]

Good heavens Alan, you have added to the possible exercise, I like it; we shall see if my wife does. She is the better model fettler and modifier now.  (She will mull this and hunt out some pictures.

I think I have an old Frog DH60 Moth kit somewhere - presume that is the one you mean

 

As a frugal Scot I approve of the waste no want not thinking and making more hard to find variants from that era sounds great.  SMT had several Fox Moths, I/we believe ; my wife thinks there is a picture of one at Longman, possibly with one of Fresson's machines.

 

Could be another project...

 

Thanks.

John B

[alancmlaird]

1 minute ago, John B (Sc) said:

Good heavens Alan, you have added to the possible exercise, I like it; we shall see if my wife does. She is the better model fettler and modifier now.  (She will mull this and hunt out some pictures.

I think I have an old Frog DH60 Moth kit somewhere - presume that is the one you mean

 

As a frugal Scot I approve of the waste no want not thinking and making more hard to find variants from that era sounds great.  SMT had several Fox Moths, I/we believe ; my wife thinks there is a picture of one at Longman, possibly with one of Fresson's machines.

 

Could be another project...

 

Thanks.

John B

I've got quite a few 'Scottish' aviation books - I'll see what I can find and pm you.

PS, my wife is also smitten with the Dragon Rapide after a flight in one at Duxford a few years ago. It was also the first aircraft I flew in - a 'ten bob flip' at Prestwick for my 7th Birthday in 1959!

PPS, I'm talking rubbish about the Moth Major - that would combine DH60 wings with Tiger Moth fuselage - oops. Its an age thing. Still, its a worthwhile project for bits'n'pieces, besides, it might be easy enough to alter the rib detail on the Airfix Tiger Moth wing for the Dragon considering the leading edge slats have to come off anyway.

[John B (Sc)]

Thanks Alan. I was puzzling slightly about the Moth Major, as was my wife. 

 

Snap ! - my first ever flight was also in a Rapide, at RNAS Lossiemouth, certainly sometime in the Fifties.  My vague memory of that is that I was told by an FAA family friend that it was an ex-Navy Dominie; I recall the Navy still had a few Dominies in service until the mid Sixties !  Superbly graceful machines.

[alancmlaird]

On 3/21/2022 at 6:23 PM, John B (Sc) said:

Thanks Alan. I was puzzling slightly about the Moth Major, as was my wife. 

 

Snap ! - my first ever flight was also in a Rapide, at RNAS Lossiemouth, certainly sometime in the Fifties.  My vague memory of that is that I was told by an FAA family friend that it was an ex-Navy Dominie; I recall the Navy still had a few Dominies in service until the mid Sixties !  Superbly graceful machines.

My good friend was brought up in Lossie till his folks moved to Glasgow in the late 60s where I lived. From time to time he's built a Heller/Airfix Rapide up into the Lossie station hack (he moves around a lot!) and has a few photos of your ff Rapide. I can get the info and identity etc and pass it in for you if you fancy replicating it in miniature! His detective work found  the identity of the one I flew in age seven, and that's been a must-do project of mine for a few years now.

[derekS]

deHavilland Dh 84 Dragon. In `Aircraft Illustrated` vol 2 No 7 (Jul 1969) there is an 8 page article

including a scale drawing by Alf Granger.HTH 

 

derek S

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[John B (Sc)]

23 hours ago, alancmlaird said:

My good friend was brought up in Lossie till his folks moved to Glasgow in the late 60s where I lived. From time to time he's built a Heller/Airfix Rapide up into the Lossie station hack (he moves around a lot!) and has a few photos of your ff Rapide. I can get the info and identity etc and pass it in for you if you fancy replicating it in miniature! His detective work found  the identity of the one I flew in age seven, and that's been a must-do project of mine for a few years now.

That would be super, Alan, thanks = yes please !    I have two or three Heller Rapides tucked away - that would make a fine project.

[AMB]

On 2/9/2022 at 12:35 PM, viscount806x said:

Rugrat kit latterley issued by AIM, ‘Historic Wings).

I had two of these, having flown in three different DH84 Dragons, so had to build one, but never got around to it as it looked like too much hard work. When Oxford Diecast brought out a lovely diecast DH84 Dragon, I immediately sold my RugRat Resin kits and now have three Oxford Diecast versions, which when the few joints were filled, they were repainted as G-ACGG of the King's Flight and G-ADDI or Chrisair and look superb. They are already rigged and you would never know they were noit built plastic kits. That's cheating you may say, but a far better job was made repainting these than struggling with a resin kit!!    

[KRK4m]

Looks like it is doable

Cheers

Michael