The P.1121 get's it's feet wet

[Thorvic]

Lots of planning going on, even if not much plastic is being cut. I received a Blackdog EE Lightning F.2A detail set today with the intention of using its Airpass radar in the nose of the P.1121. However, it's moulded as part of the central intake and nose undercarriage bay, so it's not suitable for what I want. I have instead ordered a Blackdog Buccaneer update set, which includes an exposed Plue Parrot radar, which was a development of the Airpass radar, and, being from the Buccaneer, it's quite fitting to put it into this aircraft.

I'm thinking of giving the aircraft an unofficial name, "Narwhal", due to the pittot tube location.

Gondor

Looking at the 3 view, wouldn't Swordfish be more suitable, although more likely to be Sea Hurricane seeings its Hawkers

[Gondor]

Lots of planning going on, even if not much plastic is being cut. I received a Blackdog EE Lightning F.2A detail set today with the intention of using its Airpass radar in the nose of the P.1121. However, it's moulded as part of the central intake and nose undercarriage bay, so it's not suitable for what I want. I have instead ordered a Blackdog Buccaneer update set, which includes an exposed Plue Parrot radar, which was a development of the Airpass radar, and, being from the Buccaneer, it's quite fitting to put it into this aircraft.

I'm thinking of giving the aircraft an unofficial name, "Narwhal", due to the pittot tube location.

Gondor

Looking at the 3 view, wouldn't Swordfish be more suitable, although more likely to be Sea Hurricane seeings its Hawkers

That could easily have been it's real name, I'm talking about an unofficial name, one that the guy who work on it might give it.

[overscan]

Lots of planning going on, even if not much plastic is being cut. I received a Blackdog EE Lightning F.2A detail set today with the intention of using its Airpass radar in the nose of the P.1121. However, it's moulded as part of the central intake and nose undercarriage bay, so it's not suitable for what I want. I have instead ordered a Blackdog Buccaneer update set, which includes an exposed Plue Parrot radar, which was a development of the Airpass radar, and, being from the Buccaneer, it's quite fitting to put it into this aircraft.

I'm thinking of giving the aircraft an unofficial name, "Narwhal", due to the pittot tube location.

Gondor

Blue Parrot should be perfect. Hawker proposed a developed Blue Parrot for P.1129.

[Gondor]

Blue Parrot should be perfect. Hawker proposed a developed Blue Parrot for P.1129.

I had to order direct from Blackdog as I couldn't find a UK supplier with stock at short notice.

[Gondor]

Today, I have mainly been getting both fuselage halves filed down to their widths. They might be a bit rough in places, but that can be handled further into the build when they are closer to being fitted together. It was a bit messy though.



Now, the next bit is where things start to go a little left field as it were, as if it hasn't already with my deciding to turn the kit into a naval version with a side-by-side cockpit. As the drawings I am using came with a side view of the major internal components, I thought, why not add a bit more detail if I can. So I am intending to add the intake trunking and more of the exhaust than is provided in the kit, which could be for a different engine type anyway. So I had an epiphany and dug out a spare Airfix Lightning intake trunking.



Not exact, but it doesn't have to be, it just needs to be closeish. Well, who's to say that the trunking didn't need to be changed?

My favourite part when doing what-ifs is having to modify parts 



Not 100%, but good enough as a starting point



I have also glued a plan view to some card, which I will use as a template for the fuselage contours once I cut the aircraft out of it. A sort of 1/72 scale contour gauge for the whole fuselage.

Possibly more later as I am in the zone at the moment.

Gondor

[Rick Lowe]

I'm thinking of giving the aircraft an unofficial name, "Narwhal", due to the pittot tube location.

Gondor

Blue Parrot should be perfect. Hawker proposed a developed Blue Parrot for P.1129.

Why not something along the lines of 'Norwegian Blue'? 

Oh come on - someone was going to say it! 

I have also glued a plan view to some card, which I will use as a template for the fuselage contours once I cut the aircraft out of it. A sort of 1/72 scale contour gauge for the whole fuselage.

Good plan - and you only have to do it for one side, then flop it for 'tother. 
Which you already knew, of course.

[zenrat]

...Why not something along the lines of 'Norwegian Blue'?  ...

I think that project died...

[Joe CalPo]

Oh my, that looks like a MiG-21 had a good time with an F-16. 
Love a watery bird!

[Charlie_c67]

...Why not something along the lines of 'Norwegian Blue'?  ...

I think that project died...

It ceased to be...

[Weaver]

Oh my, that looks like a MiG-21 had a good time with an F-16. 
Love a watery bird!

Given the size of it, it's more akin to an Su-7 having it away with a Crusader III...

[Gondor]

After looking at the drawings, I got the urge to actually got around to making something. First, I needed a tube with its inside diameter of roughly two and a half scale feet. I found a German WWII engine cowling that fitted the bill.



So I glued that onto one of the resin bulkheads after trimming the frill away. I had previously put some positional markings onto the bulkhead.



Once the glue dried, I cut the majority of the cowling off. That left me with this.



On the left is a section of sprue, which is to be the centre of the engine intake. In the centre is the bulkhead with an off-centre ring of plastic, and on the right, the remains of the cowling. The ring of plastic was carefully cut away and then tacked into place before applying more glue so that I wouldn't have much of a joint to cut if I got the position wrong again. The sprue was cut to length and one end rounded before it was glued into the centre of the ring, right on the cross hairs, so to speak.



If that is not perfect, it will still do, as it's good enough for me. I still have to decide if I am going to put fan blades inside the ring, or if I will simply put the braces/fins inside the intake ring and leave it at that, considering where it will be and how much will be seen.

Gondor

[Rick Lowe]

If that is not perfect, it will still do, as it's good enough for me.

To paraphrase George Patton, "Perfect is the enemy of Getting the Model Finished."
Something it took me all too many years to realize...

I still have to decide if I am going to put fan blades inside the ring

What about just painting a series of radial lines in either black or silver? That might be enough, if it's sufficiently deep enough inside the casing.

[Gondor]

What about just painting a series of radial lines in either black or silver? That might be enough, if it's sufficiently deep enough inside the casing.

That's what I am leaning towards doing.

[Rick Lowe]

 

[Gondor]

It took a little time, but I have managed to get the front of the engine done, for now. I may replace a few pieces as they are not as straight as I would like, but we will see how I feel about them as the build progresses. As long as I decide to change any part before I glue it into the fuselage, then there will not be too much of a problem.



I had spent some time wondering what the front of the engine looked like, so I dove into the internet and got myself confused over which version of the Olympus engine was to be used. Then I looked at the drawings I am working from to find that there was a cross-section at exactly the point I was looking for, so that is what I have attempted to build.

I have also been thinking about the radar. It's mentioned that it would be a derivative of the AI.23 Airpass set, so a look on the internet to see if there are any detail sets that include one, and Blackdog were the only company that I could find. The Lightning F.2A detail set has one included, however, it is still in the body of the intake, so its not suitable for what I want. Back onto the internet to see if there are any derivatives. Blackdog again to the rescue, with the Norwegian Blue Parrot radar. That arrived today, and yet again, the body of the radar is inside part of the fuselage. So I can only use the radar dish as a guide and scratch build the body. I am going to rob part of the AN/AWG-10 from an Airfix F-4K and scratch build the rest.



The Airfix parts at the top, with the Blackdog parts at the bottom. More later.

Gondor