This is the taped together mock-up of the BICh-110. It will also have fins above and below the outer wing panels and a conventionally located cockpit.
The airframe is loosely based on two sources - a design in a David Myrha book said to have been prepared for the Russians by Heinkel's Siegfried Gunther and a twin-engine Cheranovsky design illustrated in "Soviet Secret Projects".
The kit is the old Frog Sea Vixen, as re-issued by Eastern Express. I've cut off the various unwanted bits of the tail booms but I've still got to cut open the new cockpit location and decide on a source for the outer wing fins. Not to mention a whole lot of filling and psr.
F7U Cutlasski lookalike, almost? ;D ;D
Quote from: kitbasher on February 06, 2009, 12:28:48 AM
F7U Cutlasski lookalike, almost?
Sort of :thumbsup:, although the fins will be mounted on the wings, not built out on mini booms at the trailing edge like the Cutlass. First photo below is from the David Myrha book and shows the effect that I'm aiming for.
Construction has now started and the PSR is going to be a lot worse that I'd anticipated. I have to say that I'm glad that I'm not building this as an actual Sea Vixen - I don't know what the original Frog kit was like, but this incarnation from Eastern Express has poor definition, soft detail and very poor fit. OK for whiffing, but if you want a Sea Vixen, don't start from here - - -
I'd assumed that I'd just have to fill and smooth the gaps where I'd removed the tailbooms from the wings, but the overall fit is so poor that the entire area shown white in the photos has had to be puttied and sanded to produce a smooth, even wing surface. And there's a lot more to do yet >:(
This is gonna be a pretty nice lookin' aircraft once yo get past the evil PSR stage :thumbsup:
Nice work, that Diagram is sweet.
I'm a fan of Cheranovsky designs, I think the Sea Vixen is just right for the later designs. On the edge of my seat....
I really like this design. Unique and intersting :thumbsup:
This is looking very promising! :thumbsup:
How often does it happen? You buy a cheap and nasty kit on the grounds that it's "good for whiffing" and then spend more time fixing the basic kit's flaws than doing the whiffy bits (shades of my Migina) ........ :rolleyes:
Wel, the PSR stage is almost over and I've finally fitted the fins which have been causing the most problems conceptually.
In the drawing I reproduced here these are "D" shaped, located ahead of the aileron and extend below the wing. However, on the original Arado design said to have inspired this, they are located on the trailing edge and are more angular while the Cheranovsky twin engined design in Soviet Secret Projects has more rounded fins which go across the entire wing surface but do not extend below the wing.
I thought that the fins looked better extended across the entire wing and on the upper surface only, but I was having a real problem trying to get a suitable rounded shape so in the end I mixed things up and used a more angular design (which started life an E.E. Lightning wingtip - the remains of the Lightning may yet appear in this GB as a sort of Super Fitter).
Next stage is the cockpit and missile pylons - - -
That is a beauty :thumbsup:
This is looking seriously good!
Thanks for the encouraging comments :thumbsup:
Slow and steady progress - cockpit interior and weapon pylons now added. The missile pylons are from Hasegawa's MiG-17. They will carry that kit's Alkali AAMs and the outer pylon on each wing will carry a fuel tank. The cannon fairing on the nose is from an old Airfix MiG-15.
You can see in the last photo that the cockpit instrument panels are the products of the finest Soviet paper photocopying technology while the seat is an unknown (well, to me anyway -but it's probably Western, not Soviet) white metal Aeroclub offering that I've had for years. (In fact, it's so old that it has a price sticker from H.J. Walker in Homerton - does anyone know whatever became of H.J. Walker, which hasn't been around for years?)
Next stage will be the addition of the canopy and the undercarriage.
This is looking great! :wub:
This just geats better and better
Neat design! :thumbsup: Really beautiful! :wub:
Latest update - it probably doesn't look too different from the last post, but construction is now complete and the DH BICh-110 is now ready for painting.
The aircraft lurking in the background of the last photo is my (Wyrmshadow-inspired) Sovietised VG Prowler. This has been lying dormant for almost exactly one year and I've just re-started it (adding the underside wing root fairings, the undercarriage legs and the weapons pylons) with a view to resurrecting it for this GB.
Both are looking great! Would have never recognized the Prowler if you hadn't told me what it was.
can't wait to see the delta Sea Vixen when she's done, great design/conversion McGreig, :ph34r: :thumbsup: :tornado:
Amazing work as usual McGreig, looking forward to seeing this finished.
~Steve
Very handsome! Natural metal finish? ;D ;D
Those are really great looking AC's :wub: :thumbsup:
Looking forward to the finish :mellow:
Quote from: Taiidantomcat on March 07, 2009, 04:01:35 PM
<...> Would have never recognized the Prowler if you hadn't told me what it was.
Yeah, me neither! :o Looks great, though. :thumbsup: As does the BICh-110! :bow:
Love the Prowlerski. Oh yeah and the Delta Vixen aint bad either ;D
Far too handsome for a Soviet jet! Step back from the dark side - stay with the Prowlerski, Super Fitter up the Lightning by all means, just keep this a de Havilland!! Please!!! It's crying out for some RN or RAF markings. Go on, you know it makes sense!!!! ;D ;D
This is looking damn good - well done! :thumbsup:
Brilliant build!!! Mcgrieg, you surely have some serious talent there.
Thanks again for the encouraging feedback. :thumbsup:
I got stalled at the painting stage and I see that it's been almost a month since I last posted on this. However, after an intensive day's work the basic painting is finished and everything's back on course. Natural metal would have been quite appropriate for this but I didn't think that it would work very well over all the PSR on the wings and I didn't want to use light grey again as I did that on the Kondratyev Fighter, so I've gone for a four colour camouflage often seen on MiG-21s.
I've already replaced the missing gun and missile pylon rod visible in the photos and the next stage is to touch up the painting where necessary, varnish it with Klear and add the missiles and wheels.
Very mean looking! What stores are planned for it? ;D ;D
Most excellent camo :wub: :thumbsup:
Funky pattern! Nearly there!
Excellent camo. This one is coming along nicely.
Ed
Great camouflage! :bow:
Awesome work on the camo scheme!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Brian da Basher
^ What they said :thumbsup:
Beautiful..... simple as that.
Ian
Thanks for the comments on the paint scheme - hope you like the finished result. We're almost at the (extended) deadline, but the Cheranovsky is finished at last.
And where are the pictures you ask? Well the photo upload in "additional options" has disappeared >:( - I thought that this had been fixed? - and I'm struggling unsuccessfully to link to Photobucket :banghead: More progress soon (I hope)
Edit: Well I've eventually got the better of Photobucket :drink: and the photos are now posted below. However, I hated the whole process - please can we have the photo attachment back??!!!!! I'm happy to contribute if we need extra funds.
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi706.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww67%2FMcGreig%2Fbich19.jpg&hash=8b800964555d550a8ab5a285abfe8276cbd6e50a)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi706.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww67%2FMcGreig%2Fbich20.jpg&hash=88e4c99c8bc4dc991c0153940fe207a22ccdd15b)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi706.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww67%2FMcGreig%2Fbich24.jpg&hash=82e22e3a9c7ea09f056ee8ca849198d738be6ae1)
(https://www.whatifmodellers.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi706.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fww67%2FMcGreig%2Fbich23.jpg&hash=01a72001341cca3544413a260e97f82a129e6ab9)
Now that looks the business!
It takes some time before you realise its roots too, it just has that 'complete' look about it, nice one! :cheers: :bow: :drink:
Gorgeous! :wub:
Wow, that's a stunner McGreig! :wub:
Paul Harrison
A stonker, sir! ;D ;D
Great concept and beautifully modelled! :thumbsup: The colour scheme really suits it.
Simply outstanding :wub: :wub:
Wow!! :o :wub: :thumbsup:
Gorgeous :thumbsup:
Beautiful - the proletariate have excellent taste. The curvy pattern perfectly complements the aerodynamics.