Colin W Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 Well the time has come and first on the bench will be the SNCASO 'Griffon II'. An experimental aircraft which delivered Mach 2.3 in 1959 setting an official speed record. Power was from a combination turbojet-ramjet as used in the SR-71. Cancelled due to problems with heat generation from the ramjet. Fonderie Miniature released this 1/48 injection resin and vacform kit back in the early 2000's and I snapped this up from the big H. Still sealed until Feb 2024 when I checked if it had a canopy. What a beast! Only 1 scheme which is silver, always a challenge when building these limited run kits due to the amount of surface polishing required but should be fun. Fonderie Miniature released a few other models in 1/48 including a Trident, Durandal and a Gerfaut which I would be keen to acquire from anyone with kits lying around unloved! No progress until the official start as off on holiday tomorrow for a week. 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted June 14 Share Posted June 14 Welcome, and an interesting choice of subject as well Do you mean SR-53 rather than SR-71 though? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 14 Author Share Posted June 14 5 hours ago, 81-er said: Do you mean SR-53 rather than SR-71 though? Hi, The SR-53 was a rocket and turbo jet composite. The SR-71 and Griffon were turbo-ramjet composite. There are a lot of publications praising the SR-71and its Pratt & Whitney J58 but the French were there first..... SR-53 upside down showing the rocket and turbo jet. 2 separate engines and exhausts. SR-71 with Meteor 20 years of flight development, but that's another story. SR-71 has the same type of turbo jet-ram jet as the Griffon. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackroadkill Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 That's a fascinating subject and an incredible speed given that the sound barrier was only broken 12 short years beforehand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Sorry Colin, I was clearly having a bit of a moment yesterday and confused ramjet and rocket It's fascinating seeing the Meteor and SR-71 together, realising they're so close in timespan. Another one that gets me is the Lancaster and Vulcan only being 11 years apart James 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 15 Author Share Posted June 15 1 hour ago, 81-er said: It's fascinating seeing the Meteor and SR-71 together, realising they're so close in timespan Yes I totally agree. Elsewhere I m building the Skyray, the 3rd of 5 aircraft to hold the world air speed record in 1953. An amazing period for sure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 What a superb subject Colin. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted July 8 Author Share Posted July 8 I've been held up on a build of the prototype F$D Skyray in the US Navy GB which has turned out to be much more involved than first thought. That's now at the point of final finishing so I picked up the Griffon over the weekend and made a start. The excellent detailed undercarriage bays were badly damaged with the fine resin on the ends shattered but I did find most of the bits in the box so have reassembled them and fitted the reassembled parts into the fuselage. Work on scratchbuilding the intake, jet pipes and the rest can now begin in earnest. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 It's a shame the bays where shattered, but it's good seeing this off to a start James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted July 12 Author Share Posted July 12 I've noticed a few of these limited run kits have small cockpits. This kit came with the white metal seat which fits nicely in the grey resin cockpit. This seat is about the same size as a 1/72 scale US seat from my spares box. A standard 1/48 scale Martin Baker 3 is similar but way bigger. Teamed with the front half of a resin cockpit from a PJ products Alpha Jet the cockpit will be the right size. Or did the French just empoly very small test pilots....? 3 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stick Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 On 12/07/2024 at 11:54, Colin W said: Or did the French just empoly very small test pilots....? I guess French ergonomic design was commonly compromised by their penchant for posing with arms in the raised position. 😉 I like your choice of build, best wishes. Stick 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 Plenty of interior detail added inc nose weight and baffles. I will make the intake trunking from Al foil and the exhaust is an interesting series of concentric tubes as it includes the turbo jet inside the ram jet. Fortunately there are some good pictures on the internet! Now clamped and setting. The fuselage halves were almost the same length but the port fin and details was about 3mm taller than the starboard one. More filler! 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackroadkill Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Well, you've got the parts to behave, so that's one-nil to you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 You're making good progress here. A 3mm difference in height between the fins is quite an issue to have made it through QC when they were designing too tooling! James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted July 20 Author Share Posted July 20 On 7/16/2024 at 9:43 AM, 81-er said: made Hi, I don't think the words 'quality and Control' go hand in hand with 'Fonderie Miniatures'. Like many of these short run kit co's of the 90's and 00's, quality is subjective. I am just happy they did the basics and gave people like me the chance to add some of these obscure planes to our collections. This was the last non US machine to hold to world speed record but how many have heard of it let alone have a model? Viva la differonce! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 There are some fabulous subjects in this Group Build, and this is one of them! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted July 23 Author Share Posted July 23 Several applications of filler later the fuselage is looking round so I decided to put the wings on. Oh dear. A classic FM kit. What did I say about being better than building from scratch! In the Jig 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 I have the same jig, a good bit of kit James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 Filling and sanding phase 1 complete and primer looking good. Canopy and foreplanes to fit then to tackle the exhaust and undercarriage. I was printing the decals for my Skyray (a prototype but not cancelled so in the Fleets In, Navy GB) so took the opportunity to reprint the Grognard decals based on previous experience of FM decals exploding in contact with water. Of on holiday to Sweden next week so no more updates for a week or so. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted August 1 Share Posted August 1 That looks very smooth and very sharp Enjoy your break James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted August 3 Share Posted August 3 On 31/07/2024 at 17:46, Colin W said: Filling and sanding phase 1 complete and primer looking good. Canopy and foreplanes to fit then to tackle the exhaust and undercarriage. It looks awesome even in just the primer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackroadkill Posted August 4 Share Posted August 4 19 hours ago, Retired Bob said: It looks awesome even in just the primer. Yes, doesn't it just? That's coming on really nicely, @Colin W. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomcat101 Posted August 5 Share Posted August 5 That is such a great looking aircraft! Sort of an F-16 on steroids. Looking forward to seeing the final result. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted August 31 Author Share Posted August 31 Wow, quite a while since my last update, how time flies! More slow progress on the Grifon. These FM kits do take a while. Although it looks the same as the previous picture, this is actually silver. Nothing shows imperfections better than a silver scheme! Canards added and undercarriage made. Some more rescribing and aerials to add then I can think about a final scheme. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackroadkill Posted September 3 Share Posted September 3 It's coming along nicely now, isn't it? I love a silver scheme. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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