Dynavector Fairey Gannet AS-1 *FINISHED!*

[bissyboat]

Vac-form fuselage and wings. My Word! You´re a brave man. Good progress on the Gannet. ⚓👍

[LorenSharp]

So far, but now I'm at the point of adding the wings and the Airwaves P/E set instructions are MOST unhelpful Mostly a bad mimeograph copy. I'm looking at how @CJP did his detail work along with several online walk arounds (including our own) and riffing off of that. it' won't be CJP's excellent work, but it will be a fair representation. At least all the decals are on now.

[Magpie22]

Your comments on the Airwaves P/E set are rather restrained. Based on my experience with the Gannet and Firefly sets, I would describe them as very poor, ('crap' may be more apposite), and bearing only a passing relationship to the actual subject. P/E has limitations - basically it is two dimensional - and these sets try to go well beyond those limitations. They fail badly.

 

Good luck with getting those wing folds done! ☹️

 

Peter M

[CJP]

Hi Loreen - I just found your Gannet build which is looking very good - if you want to add strength to the wing fold you could add the jury struts from fine brass wire/tubing as in the photos below.

 

CJP

[LorenSharp]

After getting past the fuselage hurdle, it's time to get the wings and landing gear on this Mr. Miyagy Mobile.

I don't think the decals that came with this kit were the originals. They appeared to be scanned reproductions on a single clear sheet. which ment after finding this out the the hard way I had to scrounge through my spare decals  for the wing and  fuselage roundels and rescue arrows. reason being the kit decals were translucent and the practically disappeared when applied. But I had some extra roundels from the Sea fury build that were the right type.

The landing gear went on without any drama. Of course the nose wheel rims were painted red on the port side and green on the starboard side.

[LorenSharp]

And as noted the Airwaves P/E set though an excellent idea, in practice leaves much to be desired. HAd I to do it over again I would have just printed out my own wingfold parts. but for this build I I'll just scratch build the extras with what I can find laying around.

I know this isn't exactly correct, but I built brackets for the folded sections to securely attach the sections.

Then started adding hydraulics that don't have the 2D look of the P/E

Some bits of plastic and pieces of thin solder I have , if not  an accurate representation, at least a "busy" looking representation. These I painted aluminum then once dry I gave everything a dark wash to bring out the detail.

[LorenSharp]

Then just a matter of adding the folded pieces. glueing one section at a time then letting it dry before moving on.

I did thake @CJP's suggestion of the smaller brace off of the upper fuselage to give the fold more solidarity before pressing on.

[LorenSharp]

Before It got too unwieldly I finished adding the small bits like the landing gear doors, the arrestor hook, the canopies and I misplaced the metal antenna, so I manufactured one from some strip.

 

[LorenSharp]

Now that all that has dried and set. I finished off with the outer wing panels. Used the same Idea for brackets.

Gluing them in place then I added some solder for hose piping.

Finally some plastic rod for the wing  fold safety brace.

I did just a minimal weathering, mostly using a mechanical pencil to highlight the panel lines. and only used a dark wash on the wingfold areas.

[LorenSharp]

And here we have the old girl in her all together.

Lastly I gave everything a couple of gloss coats to seal everything and EZ line for the antenna wire. Something to note though this may have been my fault, though there is A LOT of white metal for this kit It would just barely sit on all three gear. At best maybe another gram of weight and it would sit with out any issues. But there you have it. I think this will be my last entry into this GB. Not enough time to get another one completed in time. Besides I have 2 BIG projects in the main WIP I want finished an in the bag before the end of the new year. So, I want to thank the Mods for this epic gb. Wait that's me... 

Well since that would be a tad self- serving, let me just Thank ALL of you for following me along this more than a little interesting build. The comments and suggestions , especially towards the end, really helped get this across the finish line. I'll have the finals in the Gallery shortly. So until the next time, and as we all know there will be a next time, Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, and Model On! 

[CJP]

Good job on the Gannet Lauren - the Dynavector kit built into a nice model - now we have to wait for the Airfix Gannet which seems to have been delayed for some reason

CJP

[LorenSharp]

10 minutes ago, CJP said:

now we have to wait for the Airfix Gannet which seems to have been delayed for some reason

CJP

Naturally

[Andwil]

Great looking Gannet Loren, but have you forgotten the upper wing roundels?

 

AW

[LorenSharp]

The upper wing roundels are there. The instruction placement put them on the outer edge of the middle section. They aren't visable with wing foldeded. I thought it was wierd, because the lower roundels are on the outer piece.. but thats what showed so thats what I did.

[marvinneko]

Amazing vacform build! Crazy folded wings really make this an eye-catcher.

[Magpie22]

Very nice, Loren. Having built this kit, I can appreciate the work that you have put into it. Your modelling speed puts mine into shame!

Peter M