1/72 Gloster P.376 Thin-wing Javelin 3d Print

[scautomoton]

Not being content with having one 3d print design in the works, since I finished my Javelin FAW.4 conversion I couldn't stop the idea for this rattling round in my head, so have spent a couple days getting started on it.

For those not in the know, the P.376 was Gloster's effort to take the most draggy aircraft known to man and make it a M1.8 supersonic interceptor armed with the proposed Red Hebe all-aspect missile.

They got as far as partial completion of a mock-up before the whole thing was canned; a) because the Avro Arrow was in development and was better in most every way, and b) because they had ideas for the M2+ F.155T requirement. But, lets suppose in another timeline it happened. Personally, I quite like the look of the much sleeker, stretched Javelin. And who doesn't like a pair of Olympus engines in full reheat?

So I started the design work with what I thought would be the most challenging shape to get right. Not just because its tricky, but because Fusion 360. Just, because Fusion 360! And I was right. Very. It took multiple different approaches over 2-3 evenings to find a method that forced Fusion to generate the shape correctly without any stupid creases or strange shape interpolations.

I appreciate it may not look like much but it was a pig, mainly because Fusion is not a great surfacing program, so the only accurate way of doing it is to create many sketch planes, do lots of line drawings to define the cross-sectional shape, and then create a surface by linking all those together.

After that, the rest has mostly been plain sailing. I took a bit of a wrong turn with the backend, since most images (like the 3-view above) show it with some carrot shaped bulges added for area-ruling purposes. So I wasted a day or so trying to accurately capture the shape of them. Then I found this image:

As you can see, the rear is blended really nicely, which suggests to me its one of the final iterations before cancellation, so this is what I'm going with. That and the fact its far easier to model! Also, ignore the bullet at the top of the tail, all information suggests that was just an equally draggy shape to the tail plane used for wind tunnel purposes. The actual thing would have had the same high mounted unit we all know and, er, love?

Anyway, in a relatively short space of time I've gotten to the point where the fuselage, wing, tail fin, tail plane and weapons pylon shapes are broadly finalised. I give you some pics:

As you can see I've made a start on the cockpit location. And I've also started modelling the canopy buck. As far as it goes I'm effectively going to copy most things from a regular Javelin FAW.9 (panel lines, access panels, undercarriage, etc) since I don't expect it would have been significantly different in those aspects. I've already got the Red Hebes designed from the AW.169, so thats one less job luckily. As far as the jet pipes, well, I'll likely end up copying some left over bits from my TSR.2 build. I really can't imagine they'd have ended up different enough to worry about.

One question I do need to answer is what the airbrakes would have looked like. The drawing below carries much more detail than the other 3-view, and you can see the design for them is quite different to those on the regular Javelin. Answers on a postcard please.

Finally, I suspect I'll end up moving the engine faces and jet pipes forward and rearward respectively since they're buried so deeply it would be painful to paint the trunking.

[Thorvic]

  

Nice to see it finally being tried, many of us have considered it after seeing it in Project Cancelled and then later in BSP but, it was always that bit bit too much to modify a Javelin, and a scratchbuild seemed to be more effort than it was worth due to the complex features of it. Look foward to see it progress 

[PR19_Kit]

How about some extra wings for the longer spanned PR version too? 

[Stan in YUL]

I've been thinking about this one for a while.  I would think that changing to a low fuselage mounting is much a much easier way to reduce the chord with the wheels being retracted into the edge of the fuselage while the MLG struts being enclosed within the wing.  Stretching the fuselage as suggested is a must to get some area ruling happening and might also make it possible to reduce the size of the vertical fin.

[PR19_Kit]

But then there might not be enough clearance for the MASSIVE Red Hebes.

[Gondor]

One question I do need to answer is what the airbrakes would have looked like. The drawing below carries much more detail than the other 3-view, and you can see the design for them is quite different to those on the regular Javelin. Answers on a postcard please.

I can't definitely answer that question, but I can make a suggestion or two. The best place is somewhere between the chord line for the pylons and the fuselage. I would have thought maybe just behind the main undercarriage wheel wells, but going by that drawing, the area boxed off is not an offset rectangle. In front of the flaps would be another area to put them, but then you have the problem of "how do you mount everything?" Split trailing edge flaps are another option, similar to the A-6 and F-16 air brakes? All possible options that use elements of the drawing, but none that stand out.

[scautomoton]

Well, I just took a look in BSP1 to see what it had to say. And as luck would have it there was a solid description stating that "Balanced-slotted-type airbrakes came in two sections and were joined by a common actuating mechanism." So this suggests to me the exact same design as the Javelin, but with two per side instead of one. So 8 half-sized airbrakes compared to the usual 4, and in basically the same location. Which makes sense since it appears Gloster were intent on evolution of the design rather than revolution. For the sake of expediency I'll take Tony's research as gospel!

On a side note, looking on the next page at the GA.8 Guardian design, I think I can take what I'm doing and shorten the fuselage and add a more FAW.7-esque tailpipe arrangement to create that variant. Then its just adding a bunch of rocket pods, Genies, Firestreaks, 1000 pounders and we have the final multi-role Javelin proposal for minimal extra work.

[Gondor]

You do realise that my bank account is going to hate you.

[Weaver]

I know this isn't the historically correct answer, but it's always struck me that the best location for airbrakes on advanced Javelins would be on the sides of the fuselage in the area-rule bulges at the back. You could even have the entire rear end of the bulge swing forward, like half a Buccaneer tail cone. They're be clear of the wing and clear of the tailplane, and it would contribute towards solving the ridiculous situation whereby the voluminous delta wing of the standard Javelin was full of just about anything that wasn't fuel (guns, ammo, airbrakes, forward flaps..)

[scautomoton]

The thing is, when you look at the more detailed drawings, one of the things the area rule bulges give is the space for the reheat of the Olympus. But I agree, there is a ridiculously poor use of the wing volume in general. But at least the Supersonic developments don't have the guns, so that a saving of sorts.

[Weaver]

True, but there's a still a clearance between the reheat pipes and the outer mold line, and if they went for the "half-Buccaneer" style airbrakes, there's be no mechanism next to the reheat, just an actuator further forwards. The airbrakes would open like a pair of half tubes, leaving the jetpipes out in the breeze.

The last drawing posted shows some dotted lines in the position of the normal Javelin's guns and has some staggered boxes inboard of them. I can't think what they'd be except possible gun locations, although given the doctrine of the time I'd expect it to have no guns too.

My (entirely fictional) last-edition Javelin has WAY more fuel in the wing and fuselage (T.3 front end) and the belly pods replaced by a pair of Hawk-style gun pods with one ADEN each.

[Accidental Loggie]

Brilliant news @scautomoton and, if I helped nudge you towards this many months ago, then hooray!  I'll definitely take one in due course, which means I can hang on to the wings of an Astra Arrow vacuform that I was going to graft on to an Airfix or Heller Javelin.

I wonder what Tony B's thoughts would be on the issue you raise😁.

[scautomoton]

The next big task was the cockpit. By scouring various reference material I was able to determine that the Radar would have been AI.18 notionally. Otherwise, there was little to go on. So I've mostly copied the Javelin interior, but with certain aspects simplified for ease of modelling. Since it was supposed to be missile-armed only I've omitted the gunsight and repurposed that space (I mean the Lightning seems to have had a new panel layout with every marque, so why not with a new Javelin?). Historic image courtesy of flight-manuals-online.com.

 

 

In the rear I've worked from some images kindly shared by @TeeELL, but with the radar scope replaced with an AI.18 unit as found on some images from a Sea Vixen. I think its good enough. And, no, I couldn't be bothered to try to accurately replicate the crow bar, the blobby shape will do.

 

 

And finally a 3/4 shot to give it some perspective. Working on the basis it was to go into service in the early 1960's I've given it some MB Mk.4 seats rightly or wrongly.

 

 

Since taking these images I've also started on the wing detail. Airbrakes, ailerons, main gear bays, and flaps are in progress. I'm undecided whether to add the pitots as seen on the FAW.9 since they're not in any of the drawing of the P.376, yet they are shown on later designs for the GA.8 Guardian. I'll worry about that much later on I think.

[Stan in YUL]

But then there might not be enough clearance for the MASSIVE Red Hebes.

Not necessarily: the MLG wouldnt be shortened all that much so there would still be a "nose up" stance.  In any case, I'm inclined to think the Red hebe was a dead end and the Firestreak  was a clear next step.  Red Top wouldnt be that much further down the road.

[The Rat]

Put everything else aside and work on this 24/7/365. You get a lunch break on February 29, 2028.