Mini-Camm. 1/72 AVIS Hawker Cygnet G-EBJH w/ ABC Scorpion

[TEXANTOMCAT]

 

Hi all, another from the bench with a civilian flavour - I know she's not a sexy Spitfire or menacing Messerschmitt so might be a bit boring for y'all but she is different!     

 

…first a bit of history from Wikipedia…

 

IMG_5413 by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

In 1924, the Royal Aero Club organized a Light Aircraft Competition. £3000 was offered in prizes. An entry was made by Hawker Aircraft, which was a design by Sydney Camm (his first design actually), the Cygnet. Camm had joined Hawker the previous year. Two aircraft were built (G-EBMB and G-EBJH) and were entered in the competition, held in 1924 at Lympne Aerodrome, by T. O. M. Sopwith and Fred Sigrist. The aircraft were flown by Longton and Raynham and came in 4th and 3rd places respectively. In 1925, G-EBMB was entered again in the 100 mi (161 km) International Handicap Race, this time flown by George Bulman, who won at a speed of 75.6 mph (121.7 km/h). At the same meeting, the Cygnet came in 2nd in the 50 mi (80 km) Light Aeroplane Race. In 1926, both aircraft were entered in the competition piloted by Bulman and Flying Officer Ragg, taking first and second place respectively.

The aircraft were of wood-and-fabric construction, the fuselage being four longerons-strutted in the fashion of a Warren girder. The wing had two box spars with Warren truss ribs. Initially the two aircraft were powered, one by an Anzani, and the other by an ABC Scorpion (both opposed twin-cylinder engines). In 1926 the engines in both Cygnets were changed to the Bristol Cherub III, another twin-cylinder engine. The airframe weighed a remarkably low 270 lb, and its weight when empty was only 373 lb.

 

IMG_5414 by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

G-EBMB was kept by Hawker in storage until 1946, when it was refurbished and reassembled at Hawker's Langley Aerodrome. It was later transferred to their new facility at Dunsfold, where it stayed, being flown to various displays and airshows, until 1972, when it was transferred for exhibition at the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon.[1] More recently it has been transferred to its site at RAF Cosford in Shropshire, where it can now be seen. Two airworthy replicas are on display at the Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden, Bedfordshire – this machine ‘EBJH was written off in a crash in 1927.

 

When Avis released this kit last year I knew I had to get one. They issued three boxings with ABC Scorpion, Anzani or Bristol Cherub engines, which, means you get a slightly different amorphous blob to stick in the cowling, but otherwise apart from the decals the kit is unchanged.

 

IMG_5415 by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

I am an Avis fan, if only for the fact that they release kits of machines no-one else will – and someone at Avis HQ has a soft spot for interwar civilian stuff – good work fella.

Only one sprue, two decal options and some acetate screens make up the package.

 

The kit has some really nice touches, fabric effect which IMHO is well done and a somewhat clunky cockpit which actually builds up to be a good replica of the original.

Fit is where things are let down, the turtle deck needs a fair bit of fettling and filled and the two piece cowling is too narrow for the fuselage by a couple of mm, so I added a shim of plasticard.

 

PPP was used round the tail feathers and lower wing join and cowling to neaten some small gaps.

 

IMG_5416 by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

The wheels are nice, but the axle is at least 4mm too wide for the struts so needs to be cut down. One of the wing struts was creased and bowed slightly and there was nothing I could do to straighten it – in retrospect I should have made a new one. The prop looks chunky too but actually it is quite prototypical – just needs some swipes of a sanding stick. I added the screens as provided on acetate, they are too large I now notice!

 

The pips and dimples are not helpful as if used both lower wings are mismatched in alignment. The engine comes in two halves inserted from outside, the exhaust pipe is integral but too thick to go into the hole in the cowl so I replaced that with lead wire and it looks a lot better.

 

There are dimples for rigging holes which I enlarged, only to discover some are in the wrong place. By that stage I just wanted her finished so they were filled and I didn’t rig her despite starting – she is so small that any thread/filament I used looked grossly overscale (that’s my excuse!)

 

Colour wise there is only one scheme- CDL -  For mine she was sprayed with Rustoleum white plastic primer , Humbrol polished ally metalcote for the cowlings duly masked then some very thin coats of the recommended Humbrol 103 Cream to try and get some form of patchy translucent effect. Actually I think 148 Radome Tan might be better but my tinlet was dodgy…

 

For the woodwork, Humbrol 110 wood per the instructions was used, then an overcoat of 1322 Clear orange. The trick with the latter is NOT to stir it but just use the pooled liquid at the top of the tin. When overcoated with Klear I think it looks quite good.

 

The larger decals were trimmed of excess film and applied individually and I have to say behaved superbly with Set and Sol – I used Daco Red on the upper wing letters to let them sink into the aileron hinges – but overall was very impressed with them and they really make her pop. A single coat of Klear, over matt paint tends to give a good semi-gloss sheen.

This took me a longer time than it should to complete as I lost my mojo a bit – not really the kit’s fault, just been busy!

 

IMG_5417 by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

Kudos to Avis for releasing these though, they are delightful machines and look lovely when they’re finished. There is evidence here of real care and attention to detail – just 10% more work on the moulds and they would be absolute gems – much like all Avis/Amodel short run kits – and they ARE short run – 500 per engine issue -  - also perhaps a bit pricey for what you get  -  at over £20… but as I said, I am an Avis fan and incredibly grateful that they, and others, escape the 109/P-51 treadmill and produce items like these.

Here's a pic of the full size machine at OW taken at their recent model show:

 

IMG_5191 by Ben Brown, on Flickr

 

Until next time…. 1/144 Jetstream dual combo on the bench!

 

TT

[IIBSWAT]

Thanks for all the info, very interesting read. Your model is a great (and tiny! ), thanks for sharing it. 

[Paul J]

Brilliant. Would love to see more lots of this category.

[RidgeRunner]

Very nice, Ben. I wish I had the skill, dexterity etc for such models. A delight to see

 

Martin

[TEXANTOMCAT]

Thanks folks, very kind and much appreciated 🫡

[SoftScience]

I love seeing stuff like this.  Firms like Avis, A Model, etc. Really fill a huge void, but they're not easy to build kits. You really did a great job making the most of this model. 

[Farmer matt]

Well that is a real little stunner Ben,  love it.

 

Matt

[Andy H]

Ooooh! I like that!

[kapam]

Beautifully done!  👏👏👍

[TEXANTOMCAT]

Thanks very much chaps  

 

TT