Fairey Gannet AEW.3 - Sword 1/72
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I let fate decide and rolled the virtual dice... The first number was just an after market set in my scalemates stash. The second number was en Emhar F-94C which I had buit before...but the third numer was...
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...my new project!
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After reading some articles from fellow modellers who have already tackled this kit my "to do" list for improvements/corrections had grown quite long.
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I acquired this CMK set to add some more "substance" to the display which I plan to build once the Gannet is finished. I looks like these starter pods could be hung under the wing to carry it with the plane.
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Different pencils were used to add texture to the cockpit. Some are dedicated "weathering pencils" for scale modelling, others are artist's watercolor pencils. I found that the Supracolor II Soft series from Caran d'Ache works quite well.
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The white stripes mark the most important instruments. It took me quite some time to cut such tiny decals from some white decal paper and apply them. But I think they are a nice and important feature for my Gannet's cockpit.
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The radar operators' compartment doesn't seem to be too cosy.
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The doors of the operator's compartment were cut out - or rather drilled out. The kit offers replacement resin doors to show them opened up.
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As the fuselage's thickness looks a bit too much the inside area around the new door holes was thinned down.
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I want to show the access ladder deployed. Sword shows the location of it with nice engravings which made it easy to open it up, too.
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On the right I have already started to open up the numerous air scoops which are placed all over the Gannet's fuselage. It must have been like: "We need cooling for this electronic device? Just drill a hole and add another air scoop!" Anyway, opened up they will look much better.
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The front landing gear whell received some extra plumbing and other detail. The same is true for the leg itself. Here I spent most of the time opening up the solid-cast torque arms.
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Front landing gear installed in one side of the fuselage.
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The fuselage is ready to be closed. Some careful dry fitting and sanding was needed to avoid any large gaps between the fuselage halves. Nose weight will be added later.
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The seams will definitely need some more filling and sanding...
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The stabilizers on the horizontal tail needed some filling.
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Sword doesn't provide any axle on the main land gear legs. These were made from some copper wire. I also added some wiring.
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The wheel bays look very busy with tubes and wires in walk around photos. I tried to recreate this look - at least to some extent.
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More than 20g were added to the models nose to prevent it from being a tail sitter. All air intakes in the front part were opened up. The engine blades were only indicated on the original part, so I cut them out.
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The exhausts are a bit tricky to assemble and need some filling and sanding. Some more tubes were added to the sidewalls of the main landing gear bays.
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This should be enough extra detail for the wheel bays.
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One wheel bay has been painted with Model Air 049 Medium Sea Grey - close enough to represent the Medium Grey that's visible in walk around photos. After a gloss clear cote (Future) I applied a grey wash made from black and white ooil colours.
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The openings for the landing lights were revetted with thin plastic sheet which was sanded to follow the form of the wing's leading edge.
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The position lights were cut out and some clear sprue added. I had previously bored a small hole in it and filled it with paint to represent the light.
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For the transparent landing light covers I'm using the kit parts. They need some sanding to fit (due to the plastic sheet that was added) and I drilled a hole and filled it with silver colour - that's the landing light.
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Attaching the wings is a bit tricky. I used slowly bonding glue (Revell Contacta). The second wing was only glued in place when the first wing was already completely set. Checking pictures and drawings helped with getting the angle right.
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Some gaps needed to be filled. Nothing unexpected though.
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The Gannet is getting in shape!
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On the left: the original canopy from the kit. On the right: a vac-formed canopy from Sword's set "DSW 7201 Fairey Gannet AEW3 operator's cockpit". It was cut out with a fresh blade and after taking the photo I cut it in order to show it opened. The frustrating part: My version of Sword's kit already included the resin parts for the operator's cockpit. But Sword did not supply the vac formed canopy. So I had to buy the whole set DSW 7201 to get those clear parts - and all the nice resin parts from the set are now left.
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There are lots of discussions online about what is the correct Extra Dark Sea Grey. I thought leave it to the British and opted for Alclad II's MIL-Spec colour. Despite being the darker colour I sprayed the Extra Dark Sea Grey first as I thought this to be easier for masking.
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Still, masking was a tedious job. But the flexible masking tape I bought some time ago really helped with the curves.
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The main paintjob is done! I had to touch up some overspray here and there but nothing serious. For the Sky colour I used "AK2015 SKY" from AK Interactive.
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The decals are very thin and need to be slided off the paper directly on the model. The de-icing areas were recreated with black decal stripes. I found that it's always good to have an assortment of black, white and yellow decal stripes in various thicknesses.
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So this happens when your mind is somewhere else while applying decals - and when the decal soft and the ultra thin cement bottles look exactly alike but their colour. First I thought "Damn, that decal soft is strong today" Then I realized that it wasn't decal soft eating its way through my roundel and the underlying colour coat. Luckily I had only applied the cement to the white area of the roundel so it was still fixable.
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A grey (black + white) oil wash brought the model's surface to life.
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Caran d'Ache pencils "Supracolor II Soft" were used to highlight any protruding structures and egdes.
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For the first time I used a "Pin Flow" tool to apply ultra thin plastic cement - in this case when gluing the landing gear in place.
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Only a few small parts and the propeller are still missing. The somewhat complicated aerial wire will be added at the very end.
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The landing gear received some extra attention - as did the landing gear bays before.
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Some last bits and pieces were added...
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...I almost forgot the boarding ladder that I had planned earlier (see photo #10). This was scratched from some leftover plastic parts of another kit and some wire (copper and lead).
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The final step was the notable aerial cable which put my patience to the test one more time. I needed to drill some holes in "delicate" places - no small feat when the model is actually finished and you don't want to ruin it by slipping with the hand drill 😄 But it all worked out in the end.
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Originally I had planned the show both propellers in an "+"-position as this can be seen in photos quite a lot. Probably ground crews turned them in this position for easy access (as they did with the Shackleton's propellers, too). However, one blade of the rear propeller was 2mm shorter than the rest, which really looked odd in the "+"-position compared with the longer blade of the front propeller. Perhaps this is also the reason why all built Sword Gannets that I have found on the net have the propellers the way I positioned them now, too.
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8 € worth of resin for the "Palouste" - which is Finnish and means "firewood". A pretty good name for a tool which helps to start the engine.
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The Palouste is a tailsitter. The only way would have been to drill a big hole from behind and hollow the resin part out. The easier way will be to just glue it to the display base...
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I finished a small display base. The tarmac was made out of "Heki dur" which is basically a thin foam board.
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Now I'm waiting for a small metal name plate that I ordered online.
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The name plate has arrived - and the project is finished!
Kommentarer
140 6 February 2021, 10:09
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I didn't know what to build next after Bandai's B-Wing was completed. So I let fate decide. Do I already regret it? I'm not sure. After reading some build logs on the internet my list of improvements and corrections is quite long. But then again - I'm sure it'll all work out 🙂 In any case this will be different from the Bandai kit which required nearly no putty and took me merely a month to build.
6 February 2021, 10:13
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Curious and original way to choose the next kit. I'm sure the resulting model will be very good.
Following!
6 February 2021, 19:03
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Thanks for all your interest!
@JD: Who knows. Perhaps's I'll use this method for choosing the next kit again in the future. The Star Destroyer is still "in the pod" 🙂
@Oliver Zwiener: Yes, kind of! I've already built Revell's new tool Gannet AS Mk.4 and Trumpeter's T.Mk.5. The AEW.3 will now complete my Gannet collection.
By the way, my fiancée said "That's a cute plane, and it has a propeller" when she saw Sword's box art. Well, there is somethign to it. With a bit of imagination the Gannet could be one of Pixar's "Planes" characters...
14 February 2021, 09:38
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Thanks for your interest!
I didn't know "Jimbo and the Jetset" before but youtube is your friend. So, yes, I can also picture the Gannet in that show 😄
By the way, for full disclosure: I'm more or less following what this guy did with his Gannet: obscureco.wordpress...egory/fairey-gannet/
Or at least I'll try.
20 February 2021, 09:49
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Da schau ich dem Experten mal über die Schulter, was er aus einer Gannet zaubert, vielleicht versuche ich dann die von Revell doch mal zu bauen..
28 February 2021, 09:20
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Hallo Dietmar! Die Revell Gannet ließ sich ganz gut bauen, soweit ich mich erinnern kann.
Some more progress in the last couple of weeks. The fuselage is now closed. Despite some very careful dry fitting the seams will need some filling and sanding. But nothing too bad. Next I'll ad some detailwork to the main landing gear wells.
13 March 2021, 09:53
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Phew, I am not the only one using a random numbers generator to choose my next project 😄 😄
14 March 2021, 00:04
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Kabelbinder und Klemmen - super - auf die Idee bin ich bisher noch nicht gekommen !
14 March 2021, 08:50
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Thanks, Ricardo!
@Alexander: Yes, perhaps I'll choose the next project like this again. It certainly adds some excitement to the hobby 😄
@Oliver: Kabelbinder nutze ich gern für ovale Formen wie Flugzeugrümpfe. Und wenn man den kleinen Pin im "Schloss" der Kabelbinder nach oben drückt, kann man sie wieder öffnen und erneut verwenden.
14 March 2021, 18:04
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Welcome, David!
During the last week I spent some more time on wheel bay details and the exhausts. Building this kit is really time consuming, at least when I compare it with the "shake'n bake" Bandai B-Wing kit that I've built before this one.
21 March 2021, 20:45
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I'd love to build this in 1:48 but since the only one was a unicorn-like resin kit I'll happily watch your build 🙂 Looks like you've made a fine start!
21 March 2021, 20:53
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Thanks, Nathan! I'm glad you like what you're seeing!
Over the last couple of days I finished the wheel bays and glued the wings together. Today I spent the morning working on the landing and position lights in the wings. For the landing lights there are in fact some transparent parts in the kit. The position lights need to be added from scratch. I really like how it turned out 🙂
3 April 2021, 12:03
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All your attention to detail is turning this into a fine build indeed, Bernd! 👍
3 April 2021, 12:34
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Been awhile since i saw one of these, they flew out of Lossiemouth when it was a naval base can't remember its name just now, I'm sure there was one as a gate guard as well, will watch with interest looking good so far
3 April 2021, 19:58
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Thanks for all your encouraging comments!
@Simontie: You're lucky! I'm not sure if I every saw a Gannet AEW.3 in person at all.
4 April 2021, 07:52
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Nice work on the lights! I´m sad that I have to wait until March 2022 to see the model...
4 April 2021, 09:02
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Thanks David and Nathan! @David: Yes, I'm also looking forward to meet again in person some time!
The Gannet project is slowly coming along. All wings are now attached which required quite a bit of sanding.
10 April 2021, 13:13
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Thanks Cuajete! In the meantime I finished decal work. As some fellow modeller's have already noted the decals of this kit are very thin. So it's best to slide them from the paper directly onto the model surface. Otherwise they will curl up.
22 May 2021, 18:28
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Thanks Ricardo! There was a minor set back, though - when I confused ultra thin plastic cement with decal soft. Luckily the decal could be saved as described in the picture.
12 June 2021, 06:59
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Thanks Guy Rump! The finish line is now almost there. The build takes more time during these final steps as I discovered a few details just now which I still had to add - for example the fuel dump pipes coming out at the end of the pylons.
27 June 2021, 18:33
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Thanks Roland, Robert and Guy!
I managed to finish the kit this weekeend. Here are a few photos that I just took. In the end the build was quite demanding in some places, but now I'm quite happy with the result 🙂
Next I'll finish the Palouste Jet Air Starter Trolley and then I need to build a small display base to finish this project.
4 July 2021, 19:03
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That's a beautiful build Bernd. I'm really wishing for one of these in 1/48 now.
4 July 2021, 19:22
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Lovely! Good to know I have the same feeling towards the damn aerials 😉
4 July 2021, 19:40
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Excellent work and finish on the Gannet and nice to read and follow your WIP.
4 July 2021, 19:42
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Beautiful work. JLTRT! An ugly prototype, but a long time favourite of mine. Really enjoyed following the build and eagerly anticipating the finale. 👍
4 July 2021, 22:00
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Thanks, fellow scalemates! Your feedback is much appreciated in these "model show-less" times - one way less to feed the modeler's ego 😉
Frankly I had already started on the Palouste some time ago. So here's already a photo of the finished mini-kit. Continuing with the display base now...
5 July 2021, 16:55
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Thanks Cuajete and Oliver!
@Oliver: Das ist "Rig that Thing" von Uschi van der Rosten. Eine Alternative wäre "Aero Black Rigging" von Infini Model.
8 July 2021, 11:54
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" Rig that Thing" von Uschi van der Rosten , die Lernkurve steigt wieder an 🙂
8 July 2021, 17:41
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Es gibt verschiedene: Standard, Fine und Superfine. Superfine soll für 1:72 sein, aber das ist mir schon fast zu dünn. Ich glaube ich habe hier "Fine" genommen.
11 July 2021, 18:36
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Thanks, Christoph! I just realized that we haven't met in ages - I hope that will change next year when hobby shows will hopefully again take place.
I just added a few new "eye level" shots.
12 July 2021, 12:46
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Yes, it has been a long time since we last met. Let's hope that we can meet again soon at a show.
12 July 2021, 14:44
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Thanks Cuajete and Micky! Taking the in progress photos always helps me to keep up the motivation. Especially concerning extra detail work that is not out of the box.
13 July 2021, 18:53
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What an excellent result ! This would go for 1/48 without question 👍
19 July 2021, 17:52
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I love this. I want to build this in 1/72 now that you've done it right for me to follow.
13 December 2023, 07:34
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Thank you MellOtt and Bernd for your comments! Despite being short run, Sword has become one of my favorite brands as they tend to kit subjects overlooked by others.
13 December 2023, 11:18
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It turned out really great. I have 2 of them in the stash. @ Nathan, your wish has come to pass, The Airfix 1/48 one looks great. I want one!
14 December 2023, 03:29
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Thanks Clifford and Guy! It is now more than two years since I completed the build..And the kit was purchased even longer ago. But I guess it has become topical again now that Sword has reissued the kit.
14 December 2023, 19:49
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That's an incredibly detailed build!
Can I ask what drill you used for the coper rod one wheel axle?
I have the drill buts but need the dremel/drill to use them.
1 June, 10:28
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Thank you for your kind comments.
It's just a regular no name micro hand drill. You can find different models online and they cost about eight Euros.
3 June, 21:00
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It may be an ugly duckling, but it makes a beautiful model. You did a fantastic job on it.
4 June, 01:57
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Very well done, the Gunnet looks superb👍. Also nice to see some pics of all the hidden details in the pit and wheel bays. Sword kits are always a lot of work, but as you show, they are worth it.
4 June, 07:52
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Quite a few Gannets seen around here lately. Yours is as well a nice model of this ugly bird.
4 June, 16:36
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Thank you for pushing my old build to the top of the news feed 🙂 Over time I became a true Sword fan and have quite a few of their kits in my stash or on my wishlist.
However, since the birth of my twins roughly 1.5 years ago I haven't had any time to start another one…
4 June, 20:17
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Thanks for the info Bernd!
I have a few hobby drills but none fit my new drill bits and there simular to the ones you have.
Congrats on the top news feed build!
6 June, 11:50