Classic Airframes 1/48 Fairey Gannet ASW

[PhilJ]

Lead herewith added.
View attachment 297055
The nice hollow atop the wheel bay has been filled with lead. I found that some old lead tube that was about 6 mm ø then flattened down filled the hole quite well. Add to that the gaps have had small bits stopped into them. There is also a bit behind the bulkhead.
You might also see that I have added the pull straps to the harnesses and touched them up a bit to hid any scratches.
View attachment 297056
rather a pity with the wheel bay. All the good detail is towards the rear, where the triangle bit is. To be able to see that the doors need to be cut out. No detail on the back and having no luck finding a photo of them. If I find one I might have a go at them. 99.9% of pictures I have found the rear U/C doors are closed when on the ground anyway....Hmm
Now I get to wait until the Gator grip glue sets up and she is safe to move around. Then its time to zip it together! Should be fun.

Thanks for the comments
If the nice guys from airfix are sneaking a peak at this: Please can you make a nice plastic kit of this iconic aircraft in 1/48. There are enough in 1/72!

Totally agree, 1/48 version please! I would buy it.
Looking good, looking forward to seeing the next steps.

 

[yak face]

Looking good Ian , I think youre right in that if anyone is going to give us a 1/48 gannet then its going to be Airfix, after all they did the Javelin and Sea vixen ,so theyre not afraid of tackling something outside the mainstream .

 

[Dave W]

Looks an interesting kit. I've recently been offered one for £50. Do you reckon it's worth that?.I suppose it depends how much I want one.

 

[Ian M]

Looks an interesting kit. I've recently been offered one for £50. Do you reckon it's worth that?.I suppose it depends how much I want one.

Well lets put it this way Dave. It is at the moment the only 1/48 scale Gannet to be had. £50 is a pretty darn fair prise. I'd rip his arms off in the rush to get it. I won one on flea bay a year ago and I was lucky to get one at a ton!
Others I have seen get even higher. Hard to find so if you have one and two people want it..... Seen one go for £180! Thats just mad.
I am hoping that loads of people start banging on Mr. Airfix's door and asking them to do one.
As regards to the kit its self. It is a typical "short run" Detail is good but not amazing. but good enough that the aftermarket boys have passed it over. As mentioned Alley cat do the internal stores and weapons as well as a pair of 100 gal. wing tanks. Airwaves do a PE wingfold set, should you feel inclined to take a saw to a "rather expensive" kit. lol.

 

[Ian M]

Got a bit more sorted:

Got the flappy things stuck together, Not to bad a fit, but there was a good lip that needed sanding back, almost there.
I have had to re-scribe a few of the pane lines, so they will need a bit of tidying up as well.

A bit closer: That nasty gap at the back of the wheel well has a part to go in there so not a problem....Yet!
So while the sun is shining I will leave you all with a quick overview.

And I can wonder about how good the wing root will be.

 

[papa 695]

It's coming along very nicely Ian

 

[Jim Barry]

What a beast. Great work so far.

 

[yak face]

Nice progress Ian , hopefully the wing joints wont be a problem , cheers tony

 

[Ian M]

Cheers chaps. The wing joint was pretty good. A quick squirt of acrylic putty and a cotton bud should sort that out. I did have to chop the spar/stud off though. no way that was going to work. Not to worried though. I do not know what it is but the plastic in this kit responds very well to glue and makes a very good join. Which is more than can be said for the super glue. While joining the fuselage halv's the IP popped out. Not having a lot of luck getting the bloody thing in again! Grrrr.
Next bit s still the UC and I am just not looking forward to it...Probably be easier to scratch new ones...........lol

 

[colin m]

That's a nice picture of the Gannet sat there, just waiting for the wings to fall into place. I'm looking forward to the next update.

 

[Steve Jones]

Ian
Nice to see your work. Such a great plane as well. Keep it comin sir
Steve

 

[flyjoe180]

Coming along well Ian. Hope that spar removal doesn't have any effect on the wing joins when the weight is on it's wheels.