AEW Models
I have been a keen plastic modeller since I was a small child thanks to my Dad. I can still remember the names of all 28 aircraft that I used to have hanging from my bedroom ceiling, I would spend many happy hours enchanted watching him build the very early Airfix and FROG kits, that must have been when the bug bit, thanks Dad.
The "Stash"
Every modeller has one, the collection of kits that one day will all be built maybe to a theme or a particular type of aircraft. Quite often "stashes" spend most of the time gathering dust in the attic (or as in my case, the shed). My theme is obviously AEW Aircraft, I originally planned to build a single example of every AEW aircraft that achieved operational status in 1/72nd scale but realised that after some of the builds shown below that I would soon run out of space so started again in 1/144th scale. I've done pretty well so far having built every US Navy AEW aircraft in 1/144 and all of the Royal Navy aircraft (see the Gallery). I'm halfway through building three E-3's at the moment and will put them up when finally complete.
Every modeller has one, the collection of kits that one day will all be built maybe to a theme or a particular type of aircraft. Quite often "stashes" spend most of the time gathering dust in the attic (or as in my case, the shed). My theme is obviously AEW Aircraft, I originally planned to build a single example of every AEW aircraft that achieved operational status in 1/72nd scale but realised that after some of the builds shown below that I would soon run out of space so started again in 1/144th scale. I've done pretty well so far having built every US Navy AEW aircraft in 1/144 and all of the Royal Navy aircraft (see the Gallery). I'm halfway through building three E-3's at the moment and will put them up when finally complete.
The Wellington ACI
This was the model that started it all off for me. I had seen the artists impression of the Vickers Wellington ACI on the wall at the RAF Neatishead Radar Museum (see the picture in part 1 of the History section). Essentially this arcraft was the first AEW aircraft in the world. I used the MPM models 1/72 Wellington Mk. 1C as the basis for the kit.
The MPM kit is excellent when compared to the old Airfix version (from my Dad's era!) which I was originally contemplating using. The arial mounting was constructed using the superb Tamiya two part modelling putty and the aerial from plastic card and very thin brass wire.
Eastern Aircraft TBM-3W2 Avenger VS-32 USS Palau 1951
This was my first “AEW” aircraft project; I thought it would be a quick one because I had a built up Frog Avenger and a spare Aeroclub radome to put on it. How wrong could I be, the fuselage profile is very different from normal Avengers and the radome
surrounds and rear cockpit required heavy filling and sanding. The end result wasn’t bad for a first attempt, but I later researched and found out this version was more of a sub hunter than an AEW variant in this TBM-3W2 form. I now have the Falcon Conversions fuselage set and a new un-built Airfix donor kit to build a proper AEW prototype as used in “Project Cadillac 1” in the near future.
This was my first “AEW” aircraft project; I thought it would be a quick one because I had a built up Frog Avenger and a spare Aeroclub radome to put on it. How wrong could I be, the fuselage profile is very different from normal Avengers and the radome
surrounds and rear cockpit required heavy filling and sanding. The end result wasn’t bad for a first attempt, but I later researched and found out this version was more of a sub hunter than an AEW variant in this TBM-3W2 form. I now have the Falcon Conversions fuselage set and a new un-built Airfix donor kit to build a proper AEW prototype as used in “Project Cadillac 1” in the near future.
Lockheed Neptune AEW Mk.1 - RAF, 1453 “Vanguard” Flt
As part of the AEW research I discovered that the RAF had operated a few Neptunes as AEW aircraft, notably, Fighter Command’s Vanguard Flight which was formed on 1st November 1952 at RAF Kinloss, disbanded on 5th June 1953 to then became 1453 (Early Warning) Flight, which reformed again on 5th June 1953 at RAF Topcliffe and was finally disbanded again on 30th June 1956 at Topcliffe. One of their four airframes was WX501 coded’4’ and finished in Dark Sea Blue gloss. This particular aircraft had no MAD boom, the Emerson ball type turret in the nose and a very different cockpit canopy to the later P2V-7. I had also discovered that Falcon conversions do a triple conversion set that includes a complete new Neptune MR1 nose forward of the wing roots, Emmerson nose turret,
tail turret (no cannons though) and a new flat top canopy. This set also includes an Avenger TBM-3W fuselage of the correct profile. The model took a long time to complete as I had a false start. After a lot of work on the fuselage, I started again by grafting the Falcon parts onto the front an rear fuselage, I’m happy with the overall results. I made a trip to the National Archive at Kew in London to research the now de-classified "Secret" files of 1453 Flt and their 4 year struggle to get the concept of AEW to work (lots more detail is in my up coming book).
tail turret (no cannons though) and a new flat top canopy. This set also includes an Avenger TBM-3W fuselage of the correct profile. The model took a long time to complete as I had a false start. After a lot of work on the fuselage, I started again by grafting the Falcon parts onto the front an rear fuselage, I’m happy with the overall results. I made a trip to the National Archive at Kew in London to research the now de-classified "Secret" files of 1453 Flt and their 4 year struggle to get the concept of AEW to work (lots more detail is in my up coming book).
Building a wooden AWACKY toy aeroplane for my Grandson
Now for somthing completely different! My two year old Grandon Jonah loves playing with wooden toys and has started to take an interest in toy aeroplanes (with a little encouragement). So on my days off recently between shifts I decided to have a go at building a wooden AWACS along the line of Disney's " Planes" movie and indulge in a bit of fun at the same time. I might add I am not a woodworker and have never tackled anything like this before. Using a lovely carved wood AWACS my wife bought me a couple of Christmases ago as a template and some scrap wood from the garage I set to. Here is a photographic record of my efforts. I had no plans I just drew full size on my workbench what I wanted to produce.
Here's AWACKY after a coat of wood primer ready to go off to Jonah's Great Grandad Den who has a lathe and can turn the four engines and the rotdome for me, she looks a bit like poor "105" at Waddington minus the radar and her engines!
STOP PRESS - MPM announce a new 1:48 Scale Grumman AF-2W Guardian model at the Nuremberg toy fair, more info at : http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234955368-grumman-af-2-guardian-in-48th/
This will be a BIG model as it was the largest single engine piston aircraft ever operated off US carriers. Although not strictly an AEW aircraft as its primary role was ASW, it would work in pairs with a "Hunter" radar equipped version and a "Killer" attack version. I built the old 1:72 ACE kit a few years ago. It was a limited run low pressure injection moulded kit with photo etch parts and I also constructed a scratch built 1:144 scale version from bits of old plastic for my 1:144 USN History collection. Below is a picture of the 1:72 version next to a TBM-3W Avenger to give you an idea of how big this model will be.