Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat "Red Arrows"

AIRFIX 1:72 FOLLAND GNAT "RED ARROWS"

Reviewer: Pete Noyle (peternoyle@kw.igs.net)
Kit Review submitted: 29 June 2002

Airfix 1:72 scale FOLLAND GNAT of the RED ARROWS

Aircraft:
First flown on July 18^th 1955, the Gnat was intended as a lightweight fighter for smaller airforces around the world, however it is as a training aircraft that it became to be best known. The RAF ordered 105 trainers and they entered service at the Central Flying School in 1962. In 1964 the Red Arrows were formed as an elite aerobatic team flying nine Gnats (with one in reserve), and they have performed at airshows all over the world. Export sales were to Finland (13), Yugoslavia (2) and India (40), where the aircraft was named ‘Ajeet’ when it was manufactured by Hindustan Aircraft who made a further 175 units. India used the aircraft as a fighter in a war with Pakistan. Powered by a Bristol Siddeley Orpheus 100 single spool turbojet of 4,320 pounds static thrust, the aircraft has a maximum speed of Mach 0.97 in level flight (one Finnish aircraft was flown faster than mach 1), and a range of 600 miles. In a series of aerospace consolidations in the UK Folland became part of Hawker Siddeley who in turn became part of British Aerospace. Bristol Siddeley became part of Rolls Royce.

My interest in this aircraft stems from the time when I used to be a test coordinator at Bristol Siddeley, where my job was to oversee experimental testing of BSE and later, RR engines. I have to confess that I burnt out the turbine of an Orpheus once. Ooops!

Kit Parts:
The kit comes in a sturdy box that suggests a skill level of 1 on a scale of 1 to 4. The kit is made by Heller, France. Molded in thick but soft gray plastic the detail of the 34 kit parts is adequate. There is one mould for the transparent parts – the cockpit (in one piece) and the prominent nose headlight (this part was missing from the box and I had to make one from clear sprue). The molded parts are loose in the box. No cockpit detail is included except for molded pilot figures and rudimentary ejection seats. There is no wheel well detail but the kit can be made up with wheels up or down as may be wanted by the builder. The pilot figures should be discarded!

Instructions:
Printed on three pages of 11.5-inch by 8-inch paper. The first page describes the aircraft, how to apply decals, symbols general notes and the instructions used for general construction - in ten languages. Page two shows in line drawings 4 steps to complete construction. Page 3 gives the color scheme and the location of the decals.

Construction:
This is a simple kit and goes together simply! The only area where filler was needed was at the wing to fuselage joint top surface.

Scratch built parts added to the basic kit:-

The cockpit canopy was sawn down through the joint line to allow for an open canopy model. Seat belts were made from masking tape and wire was used for the ejection seat firing mechanism. Instrument panels were made up with just blobs of black paint used to illustrate the instruments themselves. The under carriage wells were cut out and new wells made up and installed without further detail. The engine intake boundary layer scraper was added and the exit grills cut out and finned. “Smoke on – go,” the Flight Leader calls, so three small holes were drilled into the fairing at the root of the fin to provide the exits of different colors of smoke used at the airshows. The fragile nose probe went ‘missing’ and I made a rugged replacement from a nice shiny needle.

Once the aircraft had been painted (I used automotive spray by Tremclad), wheel wells painted white and decals applied, it was given a coat of Future to bring up the gloss associated with the highly polished original aircraft. I used a 01 Steadtler ‘pigment liner’ to highlight the control surfaces.

Options:
Any of the 10 Red Arrow aircraft.

Versions:
One version only.

Decals:
Decals are good, giving enough options to model the complete Red Arrows fleet. I chose to make XR995, the team leader. The decals settled down very well with a little Micro Sol setting solution, however the white of the roundels, fin stripe and the lightning flash alongside the nose of the model was thin enough to allow the red paint below to tinge the white into a pale pink. There is no decal for the black stripe on the leading edge of the wings; I cut one from some letters in my spares box.

Accuracy:
Wingspan is 24 feet according to the instructions and this is confirmed on the Warbird Alley website. The model comes in at 100 mm, 2 mm undersize. The instructions say that the length is 37 feet 10 inches, but my books say that it was 29 feet 9 inches long (without the nose probe) and Warbird Alley puts it at 31 feet 9 inches. The model comes in at 132 mm without the probe. I think that the model is closer to my book dimensions than those given in the instructions when it comes to length, but closer than my book when it comes to wingspan! Whatever – it looks good.

Overall:
A fantastic little model of a renowned aircraft. Airfix kits are cheap (the price on the box is $5.85 Canadian (bought in 2001), and the whole flight of the Red Arrows can be made up without bending the budget beyond repair. Highly recommended.

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