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Post by Bruce on Jun 22, 2006 19:14:47 GMT 12
Hi guys,
please excuse me for drawing on your collective knowledge base once again, but I'm looking for pictures of RNZAF F27 Friendships. I have started my Airfix F27 kit, which will require a nose job (as it has the early style blunt nose) and other reprofiling here and there. Thats not too much of a worry as I have some good scale drawings showing the work needed, however the underwing tanks on the RNZAF machines are a little harder to get accurate gen on. Does anyone have any photos that clearly show the shape of the wing tanks and their pylons? dimensions would be awesome but I'm probably going to be out of luck there! The tanks may turn out to be the hardest bit of this kit - I have some in the bits box, but I dont think any are the right shape or size and I may have to scratchbuild.
BTW Dave - did you ever find those RNZAF paint scheme drawings you mentioned on an earlier thread?
cheers.
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Post by corsair67 on Jun 22, 2006 19:57:36 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 22, 2006 21:24:55 GMT 12
I still have not located the paint plans sorry
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Post by Bruce on Jun 22, 2006 21:42:50 GMT 12
Excellent - best pics of the tanks of seen to date - cheers mate!
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Post by corsair67 on Jun 22, 2006 21:57:04 GMT 12
Glad to be of help, Bruce.  Do you know if the RNZAF tanks are the same as the ones fitted to variants of the F-27 Maritime? If so, there are probably more photos out their on the 'net if you do a Google image search. |
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Post by corsair67 on Jun 23, 2006 10:50:56 GMT 12
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Post by Bruce on Jun 23, 2006 11:11:37 GMT 12
cheers, those are useful too - I'm amazed at the nose down angle the tanks are fitted at (the last photo above shows this very clearly). I would assume someone tracked the airflow around the wing to find the best alignment, but it looks quite weird!
I worked some dimensions off the other photos last night, and I have some ex F16 tanks which are the right length and diameter, but the tail ends are blunt and will need reshaping. I wonder If I can find any others amongst the "external stores" kits that are available.....
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Post by corsair67 on Jun 23, 2006 13:59:37 GMT 12
Bruce, those tanks look quite similar in shape to the short range (have no idea of the capacity - sorry!) tanks carried by the Harrier, as shown in the photo linked below: www.airliners.net/open.file/1055482/L/(R.I.P - Sea Harrier!)  Do you have an old Harrier kit amongst your collection that might be willing to give up it's tanks to assist? |
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Post by Bruce on Jun 23, 2006 14:44:24 GMT 12
its an RNZAF collection - why would I have a Sea Harrier?  I have a cunning plan to scratch build the tanks.... stay tuned for progress pics. |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 23, 2006 16:50:27 GMT 12
Same reason why you'd have an F-16 then?
At least RNZAF pilots actually got to operate the Sea Harrier
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Post by Bruce on Jun 23, 2006 19:12:04 GMT 12
Somewhere I actually saw a GR3 Harrier model in "what if" RNZAF markings. Back in the Muldoon years I think the Harrier was suggested as a Skyhawk replacement, but for fairly obvious reasons (cost and complexity) this didnt get very far. Have to say the kit looked good with kiwi roundels!
I dont actually have an F16 either, but my brother was throwing out an old kit of his which had got broken, so I scored it for the wheels and weapons.... I suppose I could justify having one in the collection as I already have an NH90 which may be a "what if" (I hope not).
I do have a number of Non-RNZAF models, but I havent built one since my Martin Baker MB-5 a few years back.
If I knew the dimensions of the Harrier tanks I might be tempted to get a kit "for later" and steal the tanks, but its a bit of a gamble - the scratch build way may be safer....
by calculating dimensions of the tanks from a photo against the wing chord at that point, the tanks should be 73mm long and just under 10mm diameter in 1/72 by my reckoning - any ideas?
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 23, 2006 19:41:08 GMT 12
Any ideas? Yep, ditch the Airfix model and buy the Esci kit. It has the tanks, the correct nose and much better detail than an Airfix kit. I used to have the kit and would have given it tou you Bruce only I already gave it away to another mate a few years ago. Here's one www.aire.org/maquetas/img/f27.jpg |
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Post by Bruce on Jun 23, 2006 22:11:01 GMT 12
There is an esci kit on TradeMe at the moment, however the Esci kit is not perfect either, according to the scale drawings I have which show corrections required for both the kits, the Esci fuselage cross section is too narrow and the wrong profile, and the tail fin is not right either. It actually looks as though the best solution is a hybrid using the airfix fuselage, esci nose and wings, Airfix tail and lots of filler! - hmm maybe a TradeMe bid is in order....
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 23, 2006 22:50:11 GMT 12
Yes, there were a few issues with the kit but not as many as Airfix - a combination would be the best option. When I had my Esci kit you couldn't get the Airfix one at all.
I doubt you'll find many 1/72nd kits that are accurate, manufacturers don't really seem to care with the smaller scales. That's why I prefer 48th and 32nd.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 25, 2006 11:44:31 GMT 12
Good news Bruce - I have now located the paint charts
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Post by corsair67 on Jun 27, 2006 9:59:12 GMT 12
Just to muddy the waters even further, here's an RNZAF Offical photo of an RNZAF F-27 Friendship taken before the underwing tanks were fitted!   |
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Post by Bruce on Jun 27, 2006 21:26:02 GMT 12
I think it actually took a while before they were in full "RNZAF fit. I recall looking inside one at the Whenuapai airshow in 1982 (I think) - I distinctly recall the orange NAC wall panels and Carpets!
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Post by corsair67 on Jun 27, 2006 21:37:58 GMT 12
Oh my God: I remember that horrible orange NAC had in their F-27s! |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jun 28, 2006 0:09:17 GMT 12
I used to work on the NATTS F-27's fairly regularly and I always recall when you walked in that Friendship smell, it always took me back to my first ever flight in any aeroplane, a flight to Norfolk Island in an Air New Zealand friendly in 1981, as a ten year old.
I recall the back half of the NATTS ones were still airline seats, for carrying passengers, and only had technical gear up the front. has anyone got an interior shot of one or are they still classified?
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Post by Bruce on Jul 3, 2006 22:04:04 GMT 12
O.K here are some progress pics which I thought may be of interest to anyone who may have to do structural mods on their kits:  The fuselage has had its "nose job" and some further mods around the tail fin.  The node was lengthened by making a new nose cone out of Fimo (oven baked synthetic modelling clay) which was sanded to shape and glued in place. It was faired into position using plastic card and filler putty. It was then sanded and filled reapeated times. the greay paint is used to judge the pofile and shaping correctly - imperfections show up better.  the vertical fin fillet has been increased in height using plastic card, and small fairings added behind the tailplane, also using plastic card.  the wing tanks have been scratchbuilt from plastic tubing, with noses and tails crafted from Fimo. the pylons are built up from plastic card around "spars" which are slotted into the tank body and into the wing. Fairings are then built up using lots of filler and sanded to shape. will post further pics as I go later. |
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