Vingtor 1,022 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 (edited) 20 years ago I built a 1/72 scale Harrier T.2 by combining the Bobcat and ESCI kits. This was one of my earliest articles in Scale Aircraft Modelling. For this group build I will repeat the conversion, but this time I will build the Hawker Siddeley T.52 demonstrator. This is the only photo I have of the model, after it fell down from the shelf. It has since been repaired, re-marked as a 4 Sqn. aircraft (I think it was) and given to the squadron through the Harrier SIG. I have this old Bobcat kit And I have just torn the plastic wrapping off this ESCI kit. Nils Edited April 9, 2011 by Vingtor Link to post Share on other sites
mrcooljules 2 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 nice. i hate opening v v old kits that you cant get anymore :-( Link to post Share on other sites
Doug Rogers 684 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Another two seater, great! You made a nice job of that original build Nils, looks like a larger scale. Link to post Share on other sites
bigbadbadge 8,031 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Very nice, shame it fell off the shelf, it looked great. Good luck, will watch with interest. All the best Chris Link to post Share on other sites
Vingtor 1,022 Posted April 9, 2011 Author Share Posted April 9, 2011 i hate opening v v old kits that you cant get anymore :-( Well, kits are to be built, not collected. Nils Link to post Share on other sites
mrcooljules 2 Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Well, kits are to be built, not collected. Nils thats what they say, but i find it soooo hard. infact i have lots of esci harriers, GR3's, FRS1's AV8As etc but refuse to make them, luckily Italeri resold them :-) Link to post Share on other sites
Romeo Alpha Yankee 7,705 Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I will be watching this one! Nice to see another twin seater built 'the old fashioned way' Link to post Share on other sites
Vingtor 1,022 Posted April 10, 2011 Author Share Posted April 10, 2011 The Bobcat kit is very simple, so I will use as few parts from this as I can, which basically means the nose section with cockpit and the tail section. Although it was first released back in the 1980s (I think), the ESCI kit has surface details that beat many newly released kits. I will display the model in flight, thus a plastic tube is installed inside the fuselage. A brass rod will go up into the main wheel door, and then into the tube. I do the same with most of my 1/72 scale Harriers, thus I ensure that the angle of the plastic tube gets the same for all. Nils Link to post Share on other sites
Vingtor 1,022 Posted April 13, 2011 Author Share Posted April 13, 2011 The tails have been chopped off the ESCI kit and likewise for the Bobcat. ESCI fuselage and Bobcat tail was then joined together. Nils Link to post Share on other sites
DougC 115 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Hi Nils, I'm following this thread with interest as I've finally just acquired a Bobcat T4 to go with the old (but great) ESCI GR3 which has been sitting in my stash for nearly 20 years! Do you still have a copy of your original SAM conversion article? Cheers, Doug Link to post Share on other sites
Vingtor 1,022 Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 Do you still have a copy of your original SAM conversion article? Yes, I do. PM your e-mail address. Nils Link to post Share on other sites
bigbadbadge 8,031 Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 Can't wait to see the finished article. Kepp up the good work. All the best Chris Link to post Share on other sites
Vingtor 1,022 Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 The progress on the T.52 is slow, I'm afraid. I have filled and sanded the joint line on the tail, and re-scribed panel lines on the Bobcat tail. Also the RWR antenna has been removed. Next is cutting off the Bobcat nose and start working with the cockpit. Nils Link to post Share on other sites
AnonymousAA72 1,211 Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Deja vu Nils!! Great to see you do this build again!! Link to post Share on other sites
Romeo Alpha Yankee 7,705 Posted May 6, 2011 Share Posted May 6, 2011 Nice Start Nils, Looks like I know what LF Models based their masters on for the Harrier T conversions. Link to post Share on other sites
Vingtor 1,022 Posted May 8, 2011 Author Share Posted May 8, 2011 Looks like I know what LF Models based their masters on for the Harrier T conversions. There are some obvious similarities ... I have continued with the nose. The shape is a bit curved at the lower half just in front of the intakes, so I replaced this with section from the ESCI kit. The Bobcat cockpit is rather sparse The seats ate moulded integral with the cockpit floor, with the head rests moulded as part of the fuselage halves. This had to go, as I plan to use white metal seats from Aeroclub. Here is the cockpit interior as provided in the kit: The seats removed, the void filled with plastic ... ... and filled with putty: I have also started work on the wings. The outriggers are positioned in the "closed" position. Some filler is required. While I was waiting for things to dry, I made sub-assemblies of fuel tanks and nozzles. To be continued ... Nils Link to post Share on other sites
Shaun 629 Posted May 8, 2011 Share Posted May 8, 2011 Nice work, I like what you've done with using the Bobcat kit for the shape and the esci for the detail. Shaun. Link to post Share on other sites
Vingtor 1,022 Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 I decided to use the front cockpit and side consols from the ESCI kit, while consols for the rear cockpit were built up with sheet styrene. The nose halves were then cemented together. To make tight joints I let the subassembly dry under clamp pressure while I went for a week's hillwalking in Wales. The nose is now ready to be attached to the rear fuselage, and for more work in the cockpit. Nils Link to post Share on other sites
Vingtor 1,022 Posted May 28, 2011 Author Share Posted May 28, 2011 Before the nose was attached to the fuselage, I painted the engine fan and intake interior. The nose was then attached, and left to dry overnight under pressure. Nils Link to post Share on other sites
Vingtor 1,022 Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 Cement has dried. Nothing more to say, really. Nils Link to post Share on other sites
Romeo Alpha Yankee 7,705 Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Nils, you build is coming along nicely. Are you building the demonstrator in your signature block? Is that the reason for the brown in the intake area? Link to post Share on other sites
Vingtor 1,022 Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 I am indeed building G-VTOL in the desert camouflage scheme. There are however many markings variations for this and I have not yet decided which to do. In the meantime, the snoopy nose has gone and been replaced by the nose from the ESCI GR.1 kit. Also the intakes are in place. I wonder how long before the pitot will break .... Next will be some rounds with filler and sanding. Not very amusing. Nils Link to post Share on other sites
AnonymousAA72 1,211 Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I am indeed building G-VTOL in the desert camouflage scheme. There are however many markings variations for this and I have not yet decided which to do.In the meantime, the snoopy nose has gone and been replaced by the nose from the ESCI GR.1 kit. Also the intakes are in place. I wonder how long before the pitot will break .... Next will be some rounds with filler and sanding. Not very amusing. Nils Taking shape nicely Nils! Filler and sanding eh? Good luck!!! Link to post Share on other sites
Vingtor 1,022 Posted June 2, 2011 Author Share Posted June 2, 2011 I wonder how long before the pitot will break .... I sanded down the putty today. Guess what .... Nils Link to post Share on other sites
AnonymousAA72 1,211 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 I sanded down the putty today. Guess what .... Nils The pitot broke off? What are the chances??!! Don't forget to lose the "camera" on the nose as well! Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts