Jump to content

Airfix 1/48 Folland Gnat T1 Trainer XP500 from No. 4 Flying Training School, RAF Valley circa 1973


Recommended Posts

 

vVCRbFo.jpgspacer.pngspacer.pngspacer.png

 

As a young lad I saw the Red Arrows flying their Folland Gnat T1s at various air displays from the late 1960s on into the 1970s and back in the day I wasn’t that impressed by this rather diminutive jet; only paying any real attention to the heavy metal items on display, such as the EE Lightning. Unfortunately, when I bought this kit I wasn’t aware there was a version with decals for the RAF Red Arrows display team available and I was slightly annoyed when I discovered a Red Arrows version existed, but I put my purchase in the stash and in time I thought I’d end up buying after market decals to build it as a Red Arrows aircraft. It turns out that in the end I decided fortuitously to build it straight out the box.

 

I say this because now I'm older and possibly wiser, I have developed a belated appreciation for the Gnat’s compact and sleek 1950s era design and as I planned how to execute what is a rather challenging red & white hi-viz trainer paint scheme, I learned to appreciate how this scheme’s designers ensured it accentuates the Gnat’s graceful lines. Now its finished, I’m glad I didn’t go down the Red Arrows route because I think this 1970s Training School colour scheme really shows the Gnat off at its best. I had some issues getting a polished end result, because I opted to use an old bottle of Alclad white micro filler primer as a base instead of my usual favourite Tamiya grey rattle can primer thinking that the white areas would go down better on a white primer. This turned out to be a major mistake, because I ended up with a sandpaper like primer coat that I had to try and sand smooth all over, so making masking for pin sharp colour demarcations and an even consistency for the colour coats rather difficult in some areas.

 

I remember one of my best friends at University had a brother who was a flight instructor at RAF Valley in the late 70s so I guess he might have flown XP500, although by then they had probably transitioned to Hawks? I expect the Flying Training School aircraft were kept in fine fettle and had a regular spit and polish, so I didn’t plan on using any pin washes, but as the uneven finish also risked being further emphasised by a wash this was probably a safer choice. At least I managed to get all of the many decals on without ruining any of them 🙂

Despite the grainy finish and the uncanny ability of the iPhone camera to highlight all the imperfections, this is now one of my most colourful builds and will share pride of place displayed alongside my Airfix 1/48 Lightning F3. Thinking back to this, I should have learned my lesson about the micro filler primer because I also used it on the Lightning and got a similar grainy finish in a few areas. I will not make the same mistake again!

  • Like 46
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for sharing your build with us. It’s nice to see a good looking Gnat after all these years. I have nostalgic recollections of building a 1/72 Red Arrows variant when I was a kid (…long time ago). Your build prompted me to purchase the Airfix kit and having examined it this evening, I’m pleased that I did so; another quality release from Airfix.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice 'n clean build. Went to Valley with 1982 Sqdn ATC for summer camp in '73... Lots of Gnats plus a few Hunters ... I remember the Gnats were really dirty, but hunters were clean in comparison....

 

Great job,

 

DaveH

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, DaveH said:

Very nice 'n clean build. Went to Valley with 1982 Sqdn ATC for summer camp in '73... Lots of Gnats plus a few Hunters ... I remember the Gnats were really dirty, but hunters were clean in comparison....

 

Great job,

 

DaveH

 

 

Oh no, the Gnats were dirty?! I'll have to get the washes out 🙂

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, NellyV said:

Oh no, the Gnats were dirty?! I'll have to get the washes out 🙂

No, don't do that - it looks beautiful!  Nice story as well, dito with your Lightning post - brings back memories of the RAF 'At Home' Battle of Britain displays at Gaydon when it was a V-Bomber base.

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...