1/48 Sword Gannet AEW3

[Ad-4N]

 

Landing gear must be installed way too early in the build according to the instructions.  I couldn't figure out another way to do it.  Miracle of miracles, I so far have not broken them off.

 

 

Did the spinner early.  I figured this was a critical paint job and wanted it done and out of the way.

 

 

 

Xtracolour Sky and Extra Dark Sea Grey.  Hours of masking fun.  Next to the USN scheme of light gull gray over white, this is one of the top five operational schemes ever.

 

 

Finally got those two 1/48 Armstrong Siddeley Double Mamba turboprop engines up and running courtesy of some K&S tubing.  😀
 

Edited December 3, 2024 by Ad-4N
Clarity

[bigbadbadge]

Like it, looks great  especially with hhe props spinning,  great job.

Chris

[brianthemodeller]

Looks good. How did you get the props to spin?

[Ad-4N]

10 hours ago, brianthemodeller said:

Looks good. How did you get the props to spin?

Thanks so much.

 

I used K&S brass tubes.  Mounted a 1/16 inch tube in the fuselage and a 3/32 inch tube in spinner, both with Cyanoacrylate.  Hardest part is getting the alignment before gluing.  Get that straight and it’s smooth sailing.

 

A bit of light oil helps keep everything spinning smoothly.

Off camera is my bride’s hair dryer on cool to produce the breeze.

 

Edited December 3, 2024 by Ad-4N

[Marklo]

The Gannet is so wonderfully quirky and the build looks great.

[Ad-4N]

11 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Like it, looks great  especially with hhe props spinning,  great job.

Chris

Thanks big.

[brianthemodeller]

14 minutes ago, Ad-4N said:

Thanks so much.

 

I used K&S brass tubes.  Mounted a 1/16 inch tube in the fuselage and a 3/32 inch tube in spinner, both with Cyanoacrylate.  Hardest part is getting the alignment before gluing.  Get that straight and it’s smooth sailing.

 

A bit of light oil helps keep everything spinning smoothly.

Off camera is my bride’s hair dryer on cool to produce the breeze.

 

Thank you for the explanation.

[bar side]

That looks very nice.  I do think you can get a better lined up & stronger undercarriage by gluing it on early in the build.  However I rarely end up following my own advice.

What is the internal space like behind the prop?  I wondered if you could fit one of those cheap rc helicopter mechanisms in there & power the contra rotating props

[Ad-4N]

6 minutes ago, bar side said:

What is the internal space like behind the prop?  I wondered if you could fit one of those cheap rc helicopter mechanisms in there & power the contra rotating props

There is room between the cockpit and forward engine bulkhead, but I used it for weights to prevent a tail sitter.

 

I’m sure someone more crafty than I could fit something from an RC helicopter in there.  But it took all my craftiness just to get the K&S brass tubing aligned so the props spun in a convincing manner.

 

And no they don’t contra rotate like the real ones.  But once they spin I don’t think anyone can tell.  😃

[bar side]

1 minute ago, Ad-4N said:

There is room between the cockpit and forward engine bulkhead, but I used it for weights to prevent a tail sitter.

 

I’m sure someone more crafty than I could fit something from an RC helicopter in there.  But it took all my craftiness just to get the K&S brass tubing aligned so the props spun in a convincing manner.

 

And no they don’t contra rotate like the real ones.  But once they spin I don’t think anyone can tell.  😃

No you can’t tell & yes they look good!  I toyed with trying motors when I built me 1/48 Shackleton but the combination of vacform engines & individual white metal blades seemed to be a recipe for disaster.  But this kit has got me thinking about it again