Grumpy Old Modeller

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Seafang

After the AZ Spiteful it was only to be expected that they'd follow it with a Seafang, the main difference being of course a split rudder with the lower section holding the hook. The kit has been issued in two boxings with the one I picked, marked as an F.32, carrying the notation "Special What If?". The kit decals are for a grey/sky FAA aircraft with "Suez stripes", a dark blue RAN one with a Nowra tail code and the third in Spanish air force colours, though the logic of the last eludes me! However about the same time I brought the kit home I ran across an old Tally Ho! set for Hellcats in the Far East, mostly in sea blue gloss but with one of these in extra dark sea grey/dark slate grey, and wearing - as you can see from the photo taken before the application of the markings - white ID bands and spinner. This scheme was worn by an 808 NAS aircraft on HMS Khedive off the Malay Coast at the end of hostilities, but I used the red codes of 898 NAS, who flew from HMS Pursuer. The upper wing roundels for the Hellcat were so big that they would not only have covered the aileron but flowed over the leading edge of the Seafang's wing, so I settled for something more modest from the same sheet. The kit itself is a straightforward "short-run" production without locating pins, and presumably as a hold-over from the Spiteful both a five-bladed propeller and a six-blade contra-prop are included. Interior detail consists of a floor, stick, seat and instrument panel; there is a gunsight which attaches to the latter if you can stop it falling and burrowing into the carpet. The injection-moulded canopy is very clear. I have a second kit put aside in the hope that there's a set of post-war RCN decals on the way; from memory, some of their Seafires wore particularly interesting roundels. This is a good basic kit which, even if a little pricey, is a pleasure to make; and it's only in this fashion that we're likely to get some of the lesser-known aircraft in kit form.

'allo, matelot

A few months back I made a rather depressing pair of models marking the centenary of the Royal Air Force; the F-22 carried the colours of 9/12 Squadrons, Royal Flying Corps and its companion was a Rafale with a fin code of HMS Prince of Wales and the markings of 801 NAS, Royal Naval Air Service. As part of the new owners' requirements the Rafale carried Amraams and Asraams, so the Hobby Boss kit bequeathed me a pair of Martra Magics and two longer-range miisles which at the time of writing I haven't yet identified but which are obviously French (oh, for the days when the instruction sheets would give this sort of information!). Then, of course, I needed to find a use for them.

Somewhen around the same time Model Art set 72/060 materialised, with decals for FAA Seahawks and Aéronavale Super Etendards; I'd already considering extending the rather small number of Naval Air Squadrons equipped with Sea Harriers using the new Airfix kits, and then I recalled the trials of "XY125" with the French Navy, and had that led to an order then they would have progressed in time to the Shar 2 fitted of course with French missiles. I bought the two Airfix kits when they first appeared, and the FA.2 was within easy reach; and anyone knows how to make a Harrier, surly; so maybe that was why I didn't look at the SAM Publications book on the Shar until after I'd fixed the airbrake up (I plead the long-term habit of ensuring that Hunter airbrakes don't droop on the ground). I'd heard fairly sniffy comments on this kit, and the panel engraving is more pronounced than is common these days. Consulting the Model Art instructions for the correct colours they said merely Gris Bleu Foncé and Gris Bleu Clair, and an e-mail to Jean-Pierre gave me no further enlighenment. I should of course have shuffled through all those back issues of Replic and Wingmasters, but instead I found a couple of Xtracolor tinlets carrying those names; there are - or rather were, as they seem no longer in production - WW II shades, with the Clair looking rather more Bleu than Gris, but I told myself that it could be an anniversary scheme. The roundels were taken from the Rafale sheet, but the rest are Model Art, and I picked the seahorse of 11F; I've thought for a long time that the Aéronavale unit badges are very attractive, and while it's a pity that they're only small at least they're in colour!

You may have noticed by now that part of my Master Plan is as yet unfulfilled; with the exception of the tanks, the pylons are bare. The small sprue of missiles, carefully set aside at the time the Rafale was built have mysteriously disappeared, and I doubt if even my voracious Carpet Monster could have swallowed them without at least a touch of indigestion. When they resurface I'll apply them in the approved manner; at least it's next possible public outing won't be before the show at Coventry at the end of June.

And so it came to pass, but only just in time. The Carpet Monster gave up the ex-Rafale missiles which were duly affixed to le Shar (though it's still hiding a TV remote and my small and middle-sized orange Sandviks) and while I know those on the wing pylons are Magics, I'm less sure about the longer range missiles for which I've used pylons like those which held the RN's Amraams; I think their M.550s, but the French SIG wasn't at Coventry for me to ask.

It was at the Salisbury meeting at the beginning of June the the thought of an FAA - or more probably RNAS - Hawkeye occurred.I saw another modeller with the Hasegawa kit of the Hawkeye 2000 under his arm, and though I thought it was somewhat expensive at around £33.00 I went back to a stand where I'd seen one earlier and as well as the Hasegawa kit found one by Fujimi for £20.00, which I thought made a reasonable Senior Citizen Discount. After confirming that this did have the eight-blade propellors that are a distinguishing feature of this variant money changed hands.By the end of the afternoon I'd decided that it would join the Rafale as part of the Prince of Wales' air wing, and because it obviously called for a red dragon as part of its markings it would wear the insignia of D Flight, 849 NAS thoughtfully provided on Model Art set 72-043. And of course it would have red spinners. As you'll see from the photo, I did get that bit right, but....

A couple of brief comments on the kit; apart from the new propellers this was presumably an update to E-2C from the original Fujimi Hawkeye, and it wasn't until I came to paint the "radar" on the nose usinf some recent "Combat Aircraft" photos as reference that I realised that the nose should have been lengthened, being rather more pointed than the model allows for. And I had problems - mine, I suspect, rather than the kit's - getting the canopy to seat properly; the transparent part protrudes somewhat in front of the windscreen, forming what seems to be the area of the anti-glare, and had I fitted it earlier in the build I might have been more vigourous in reducing its width for a better fit. I had planned to get a second example on which to use at least one of the very colourful decal choices on the recent set from Authentic Decals which I'be bought in anticipation; however, I may take advantage of Hannants' "Duxford discount" to get one of the Hasegawa E-2Cs for at least a little less; one of the AD options has a very patriotic scheme that looks almost "bicentennial". That CAG really wanted to wave the flag. And thanks to Kit Spackman's spares stash, I'm mulling over an EV-22.