NARDU F4D-1P Spyray 1/48 - Finished - pic's pg.4

[NARSES2]

Given it's timescale I can see that being nicknamed "Jimmy"

[Captain Canada]

Look at that thing ! Love it. Great job so far can't wait to see more.

[Old Wombat]

Thank you, gents!

Given it's timescale I can see that being nicknamed "Jimmy"

Nope! I'm seeing more of the high-speed pelican in its looks & Mr Percival is gaining ground at the moment, especially as the mid-70's build era was when "Storm Boy" came to the Big Screen.

(Plus Jimmy Durante does nothing for me, the reference is far too obvious & he's not Australian.)

[zenrat]

I can see that.  Mr Percival works well.

[Old Wombat]

OK chaps, just to prove that I have been doing something, I finally reached a point worthy of photo's.

Here's where I'm up to now. Colours are on, touch-ups & fixes required (luckily only small ones). Still needs a pre-decal gloss coat, etc.










Obviously I chose the easy colours!

[loupgarou]

Beautiful colour scheme!

[Old Wombat]

OK, paint job ain't perfect but it came together better than the F6F's.

Most of the decals are on (I'm taking a little coffee break from them at the moment ).

So, just have to finish the decals, gloss coat, pin-wash the panel lines & semi-gloss coat.



Oh, & do all the little bits I've overlooked whilst focussing on the F6F issues, like drop tanks, & landing gear, & hook, & ....

[Captain Canada]

Does that ever look good ! Sorry I missed it but cant wait to see more.

[Old Wombat]

Not long now, I hope.

[zenrat]

I missed the pics of it painted for some reason.

Marvellous.   

[Captain Canada]

It's funny how that happens, I keep finding pics when I return to threads as well.

[Old Wombat]

Thanks, guys!


Oh-Kay ... You know how you get to the last couple of bits of a build & then "Uh-oh!"?

You've gone through the entire thing & only now do you realise that way back at the beginning you made a real rookie mistake?

Well, I've just realised that I forgot to drill out the holes in the wings for the drop tanks.

They're the last thing I need to do before this baby is done. So, I shall now have to do my chores for the day, then I can come back to her & do what needs to be done.

[Old Wombat]

Righto, this baby's done!

No photo's tonight - gotta go to bed, got a call this evening & I've got a double shift tomorrow (0800-2300).

So, may do photo's tomorrow night or Sunday morning.

There are little stuff-ups everywhere but I'm rather pleased with the result.


Until soon ...

[Old Wombat]

In 1962 the RAN purchased  four F4D-1's for evaluation purposes to replace their F9F-8's but opted for the F-8 Crusader, instead.

The Naval Aircraft Research & Development Unit (NARDU), the RAN's version of its RAAF equivalent, was gifted the aircraft & retained them for weapons, stores pylon & targetting system testing.

In the 1973 the F4D-1's were showing their age & heavy usage, so three were retired & used for parts to keep the 4th flying.

This 4th aircraft, which just happened to be the 4th airframe purchased, was virtually rebuilt during its refit & was modified by fitting a PR nose from a F9F-8P to the airframe, & designated as an F4D-1P, the only one of its kind. With the big, long PR nose it was only natural that everyone began calling it "the pelican". Then, in 1976, the SA Film Corporation movie production of Colin Thiele's novel "Storm Boy" was released & the plane had a name - Mr Percival.

Mr Percival was a busy aircraft, being used as a chase-plane to record test flights of other aircraft & the effectiveness of weapons delivery systems he clocked up almost as many flying hours as all other test aircraft combined.

On the 4th of June 1984 an undercarriage failure caused Mr Percival to crash on landing at NAS Parafield, South Australia, luckily with no loss of life or serious injury. However, after the inquest into the accident, Mr Percival was officially scrapped on the 30th of June that same year.

These images show Mr Percival in mid-January, 1984, just 5 months before the crash.

























Well, that's one down!

One to go!

Hope you like him!

[sandiego89]

Wow, great job- love the nose and paint.  Well done.

-Dave