Airfix 1:72 Gloster Javelin FAW 9/9R

[Admiral Puff]

I recently picked up one of these (kit 04045, with decals for XH887 from 64 Sqn and XH839 from 60 Sqn) in a stash clearance from a deceased estate. I have a couple of questions:

1. From the frame layout, and my less than perfect memory, this kit is actually a repop of the Heller Javelin trainer. Is this correct?

2. Again from my less than perfect memory there was aftermarket resin available to convert the kit to other versions. Is this correct, and if so are those conversion sets still available? Google has not been my friend on this ...

[Navy Bird]

Here is one possibility to fix the too skinny rear fuselage on the Airfix 1:72 FAW9:

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/high-planes-models-hpa072073-gloster-javelin-corrected-exhaust--1237834

 

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Admiral Puff]

Thanks, Bill - for whatever reason that didn't come up when I searched!

[Navy Bird]

1 hour ago, Admiral Puff said:

Thanks, Bill - for whatever reason that didn't come up when I searched!

 

The resin set is not perfect, but I think it will do the trick. The rear fuselage section has no surface detail, but since I will be rescribing the rest of the fuselage it won't be a big deal to do this too. The exhausts have one error that I've noticed - each exhaust on the real plane has two cooling "scoops." One is open towards the front and the other towards the rear. The resin exhausts have both scoops open the same way. Not a big deal in my book.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Paul Thompson]

You may have been thinking about the Alleycat range of Javelin conversions, but IIRC they're 1/48th and meant for the newish Airfix kit in that scale..

 

Paul.

[theplasticsurgeon]

9 hours ago, Admiral Puff said:

I recently picked up one of these (kit 04045, with decals for XH887 from 64 Sqn and XH839 from 60 Sqn) in a stash clearance from a deceased estate. I have a couple of questions:

1. From the frame layout, and my less than perfect memory, this kit is actually a repop of the Heller Javelin trainer. Is this correct?

2. Again from my less than perfect memory there was aftermarket resin available to convert the kit to other versions. Is this correct, and if so are those conversion sets still available? Google has not been my friend on this ...

Confirming point 1, the Airfix FAW9/9R kit was a modification of the Airfix T3 mould,  which was originally the Heller.

It builds like this:

Undernourished rear end and jet pipes, because of that T3 origination.  A vital part lost during that conversion being the pen-nib - a Javelin feature upto the FAW-6.

That kit builds like this:

And here is an FAW-4 that I cobbled together.  Frog Javelin, with Airfix pen-nib part grafted on from a wrecked model.  

BUT that kit omits the wing vortex generators.

 

Others will comment upon resin rear fuselages, I've never seen any advertised. 

BUT there was a resin part for the pen-nib advertised in the first issue of 72 Scale Modeller Javelin - from about 20 years ago.

and recommending the route to build all marks of Javelin.

Next time I'm at Jet Age I'll tape measure our FAW9 rear fuselage for an authoritative figure - its engines are removed.

 

What version of Javelin are you thinking of Admiral?

 

 

 

[JagRigger]

Currently reasearching Javelins myself....... Have a T3 in the stash and an FAW9 on the way. Need to decide whether to buy that back end or not ( sure I have a junked FROG one somewhere if I can only find it )

 

Bill - I went through your T3 build with great interest - cracking job you did.

[AWFK10]

The Seventy-Second Scale Modeller conversion part was offered to readers back in 1998 and was described both as "resin Javelin 'pen-nib' fairing tail pipes" and as a "'pen-nib' fairing rear fuselage". It was designed for the Airfix FAW.9. It wasn't illustrated and it hadn't been available when the conversions in the very useful magazine article were done but from a reference the author made to it I get the impression that it was just the tail pipes and fairing. There's no indication who it was commissioned from.

 

One thing the S3M article missed is that the Frog/Novo/etc. FAW.9 needs a replacement fin and rudder. The one supplied in the kit is about half the thickness it should be and unfortunately it's moulded in one piece, so it can't be corrected by inserting a shim.  The same applies to the ZTS FAW.7 (and no doubt the FAW.9) currently boxed by Mistercraft, which also suffers from a narrow rear fuselage.

[Dave Swindell]

4 hours ago, theplasticsurgeon said:

Others will comment upon resin rear fuselages, I've never seen any advertised. 

Maintrack did several rear fuselages for the Heller/Airfix kits, Whirlybird took them over and released some if not all of them

https://www.scalemates.com/search.php?q=1%3A72+Gloster+Javelin&fkSECTION[]=Kits&fkTYPENAME[]="Detail and Conversion sets"&fkCOMPNAME[]="Maintrack Models"&fkCOMPNAME[]="High Planes Models"&fkCOMPNAME[]="Whirlybits"

[Jabba]

Unfortunately Whirlybirds have either closed up shop or are about to.

[Navy Bird]

11 hours ago, JagRigger said:

Bill - I went through your T3 build with great interest - cracking job you did.

 

Thanks. I really wish someone would do a new tooling for the Javelin in 1:72 scale. I've given up hope that Airfix will scale down their superb 1:48 kit, but maybe someone like Arma could do it.

 

Here is my Airfix/Heller T.3 for those who missed it a few years ago:

 

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Admiral Puff]

With you on that, Bill - I wouldn't be looking for resin bits if there was a decent 1:72 Javelin around!

 

Thanks for all the responses. It may well have been the Seventy-Second Scale Modeller conversion set that I was thinking of. I may even have that particular edition in the collection - will have to go excavating ...

 

And it wasn't the AlleyCat conversions I was thinking of, Paul. I have most of them, plus kits to match. I may drag some of them out to see how easy it might be to scale something down.

 

I haven't decided on a subject yet - it will depend on how easy the conversion might be

[Vulcanicity]

Another alternative, if you can get hold of a scrap Frog kit, is to cut off the rear fuselage at the joint and graft onto the Airfix, which gives you a correctly-sized, if rudimentary pair of exhausts. I did this about 10 years ago, and had enough Frog kit left over to make a "looks OK from a distance" FAW. 1 with a scratch built pen nib exhaust.

[Admiral Puff]

Thanks, Phil. The only problem is getting hold of a Frog kit in any shape or form ...

[Giorgio N]

10 minutes ago, Admiral Puff said:

Thanks, Phil. The only problem is getting hold of a Frog kit in any shape or form ...

 

The Frog Javelin, in either original or Novo form, is not a particularly rare kit. A quick search on a certain auction site showed several available for decent enough prices and I bet that they can be found at swap meets and modeling shows for less.

The Airfix kit on the other hand seems much harder to find and fetches higher prices.

[Admiral Puff]

That's partly why I grabbed the one that I got, Giorgio - for about 30 Pacific pesos it was too good to let go. The usual suspects in Australia don't seem to have either Frog or Novo Javelins at the moment, and there have been none at any of the shows I've been to lately (not that there have been many of them over that past two years!).

[Giorgio N]

10 hours ago, Admiral Puff said:

That's partly why I grabbed the one that I got, Giorgio - for about 30 Pacific pesos it was too good to let go. The usual suspects in Australia don't seem to have either Frog or Novo Javelins at the moment, and there have been none at any of the shows I've been to lately (not that there have been many of them over that past two years!).

 

My fault, I forgot you're in Oz! I understand how these kits may be harder to find there. With postage being what it is today buying one from Europe, where they are easy to find, will likely become terribly expensive. 

30 for an Airfix one is a great price, cheapest I've seen here are over twice as much..

 

Having the Heller kit in the stash I've condidered casting a resin copy of the kit fairing, guess this should fit the Airfix kit 

[Admiral Puff]

Yep, too rich for my purposes. There's a show coming up in Wollongong in May - I might strike it lucky there ...

[Navy Bird]

When you find the Novo kit hopefully yours will have a wee bit less flash than mine.    

 

 

Cheers,

Bill

[theplasticsurgeon]

1 hour ago, Navy Bird said:

When you find the Novo kit hopefully yours will have a wee bit less flash than mine.    

 

They're all like that - here's one that I built in 2019.

[71chally]

Where's the wow emoji! 

I always say, that if you can, try and get the original Frog molding of their kits, their Shackleton, Sea Vixen and Javelin bring prime examples 

[JagRigger]

Now the shrunken back end of the Airfix is obvious !

 

[JagRigger]

Been having a play with plastic tube and bits of the FROG one - first cast attempt. Too much air in the resin ..........

 

 

 

 

 

 

[theplasticsurgeon]

On 3/3/2022 at 9:51 AM, theplasticsurgeon said:

Undernourished rear end and jet pipes, because of that T3 origination.

Next time I'm at Jet Age I'll tape measure our FAW9 rear fuselage for an authoritative figure - its engines are removed.

So today I put a tape measure to the rear-fuselage of the Jet Age Javelin.  Our aircraft has the engines removed, so these are the rear fuselage dimensions.

Rearmost fuselage width = 74 inches or 1880mm.

Jet aperture diameter = 34&5/8 inches or 880mm.

Gap between engines = 3.5 inches or 90mm.

 

I also measured my model with engineer's calipers:

Rearmost fuselage width = 22mm*72= 1584mm  so undernourished by 296mm or 4.111mm in 1/72.

Jet aperture diameter = 10mm*72=720mm, so undersize by 160mm or 2.22mm in 1/72.

 

[TeeELL]

I know this is a late entry but I have spent a happy few hours with Fusion360 designing a 3D replacement rear end for the Airfix kit.  I have addressed the shortcoming of the High Planes tear end (that too is to narrow) and the reheat exhausts including creating 27 orifices!  instead of their 24.

 

I can’t show you images unfortunately.  I shall print off a set and see how well they fit the Airfix kit, it is very easy to modify them if required, just go back into the appropriate drawing and adjust it!