Scimitar, Supermarine Scimitar F1 Scratchbuild at 1:18 Options

[henry brown]

Hello. Hope I'm doing this right.

I found LSP and was inspired ! So .......

I'ts a perspex profile with plastic card cross sections and balsa wood planking liberally daubed in car body filler.
It will have a plastic card/brass tube wing box at some point (still working on the details). It's 1:18 so I can have a good go at sculpting
something big. I blew up a set of drawings from Aviation News by Cliff Minney.

I'm making it up as I go along - so any comments and advice are welcome.

I thought I would choose something that was relatively simple, had little glazing (therefore not too much interior detailing), fairly unusual, Fleet Air Arm
and was a jet (no props or tricky radial to make.) Also, they used to fly from Hurn, near where I lived when I was a kid.

The downside is the tricky geometry of the area rule 'Coke bottle' fuselage and the jet exhaust areas.

Haven't made a model in years, so it might be an almighty bodge.

I would welcome any references especially a cutaway from the Febuary 1959 Aeroplane magazine.

Best, Henry

PS happy 10th birthday LSP - may you long continue.

Attached image(s)

 

[LSP_Kevin]

Welcome to LSP Henry! Glad to have you aboard. Your project is ambitious, crazy and awesome - a perfect fit here I'd say!

Kev

[KAGNEW]

and another welcome

glad to see more 1/18 builders

[Edgar Brooks]

The same cutaway (well, it has the "Aeroplane copyright" logo still on it) appeared in the "Database" article, on the Scimitar, in Aeroplane Monthly, December last year.
There are some GA drawings, in the RAF Museum's library, of Scimitar projects, which never saw the light of day:- 2-seat Navy development, single-seat thin-wing reheat, just for starters, if What-ifs" are anyone's speciality.
Edgar

[Jack]

Welcome to LSP Henry! Glad to have you aboard. Your project is ambitious, crazy and awesome - a perfect fit here I'd say!

Kev

yep, another one, i have to go with Kevin, perfect fit
Welcome

J

[John C]

Sweet: Gotta love 1:18!

Looking forward to seeing this one come together.

Cheers!
John

[Allok]

Wow.
Good stuff.

[Menelaos]

welcome.... omg...

great project... good luck...

[henry brown]

Thanks to all for your warm welcomes, and especially thanks for the information Edgar re: The Aeroplane.
God, I'll have to finish it now......

Best, Henry

[Derek B]

Welcome Henry - Nice start on your Scimitar, it looks really good so far (I also like your utilisation of 'alternative' modelling materials ). I have never ventured to anything as large as 1/18 scale, although I could be persuaded (I feel that you may need a mountain of reference material in order to ensure that everything is correct ). Anyway, I wish you continued good luck with this build and I shall pop in from time to time to see how you are faring.

Cheers

Derek

[henry brown]

Welcome Henry - Nice start on your Scimitar, it looks really good so far (I also like your utilisation of 'alternative' modelling materials ). I have never ventured to anything as large as 1/18 scale, although I could be persuaded (I feel that you may need a mountain of reference material in order to ensure that everything is correct ). Anyway, I wish you continued good luck with this build and I shall pop in from time to time to see how you are faring.

Cheers

Derek

Hi Derek, thanks for that - I'm going to finish planking the underside of the front end, slap on and carve the body filler and find the courage to cut the top half off the front so I can get into the cockpit area and the intakes to shape them. I'm still trying to figure out how to make the wings fit on at the right anhedral which I think is only a couple of degrees, and still be strong enough.
When all that's sorted I'm going to fill out the back end (which is solid) with balsa/foam etc and apply the filler again.

The two exhaust tubes will be cylinders fitted into the circular holes you can see and run to the rear, then carved to shape.
I need to start fooling around with a canopy shape soon to get it vacformed before my daughter leaves art college.

I'm struggling to with the cockpit details a bit, especially the area under the rear of the hood. That's fun I suppose, solving these things.

Really hooked on this now, thinking of doing a Beriev Be-12 ......

Best H

[Derek B]

Hi Derek, thanks for that - I'm going to finish planking the underside of the front end, slap on and carve the body filler and find the courage to cut the top half off the front so I can get into the cockpit area and the intakes to shape them. I'm still trying to figure out how to make the wings fit on at the right anhedral which I think is only a couple of degrees, and still be strong enough.
When all that's sorted I'm going to fill out the back end (which is solid) with balsa/foam etc and apply the filler again.

The two exhaust tubes will be cylinders fitted into the circular holes you can see and run to the rear, then carved to shape.
I need to start fooling around with a canopy shape soon to get it vacformed before my daughter leaves art college.

I'm struggling to with the cockpit details a bit, especially the area under the rear of the hood. That's fun I suppose, solving these things.

Really hooked on this now, thinking of doing a Beriev Be-12 ......

Best H

Hi Henry,

Your appraoch to scratch building 'one-offs' is not too dissimilar to mine (I have started a 1/24 scale P-61 Black Widow). For your wing attachment problem, there are probably a few ways to tackle it (it all depends upon how heavy the completed model shall be and whether you want the wings to be permanently fixed or removeable?). 1. Make the wing in two pieces (joined at the centre line) and cut an aperture for it in the lowr fuselage (bit like a Phantom wing). 2. Make two wing panels, and use metal tube/rod rod inserts to attach them to the fuselage, or 3. Make a couple of 'through spars' which can be inlaid/inserted into the wing panels and fuselage and be filles later - you probably have other equally good ideas of your own.

I do not have any detailed information on the Scimitar, but I am hopeful that one of the LSP members may have access to the information that you require. I wish you continued good luck with this interesting build.

(PS It may be worth asking one of the LSP moderators to move this topic to the members build forum, as your model most certainly fits that bill, and a Beriev Be-12 would be awesome!)

Cheers

Derek

[henry brown]

Thanks Derek - sorry been a long time replying. I have just picked the project up after a death in the family. I hope to post a few new pics soon showing the state of the Scimitar post heavy duty surgery. By the way, I am probably going for the through spar option.

I am still trying to get hold of a cutaway of the plane, and this is delaying things a bit. I have no idea where the cockpit floor or compressor blades are in relation to the inside of the fuselage.

I would like to see how your Black Widow is coming along - one of my all time favourite planes.

Best, Henry

PS have started seriously thinking about a Be-6 but in 1.24 (1.18 wont fit on my drawing board) , I've got hold of some really good drawings of it.

Hi Henry,

Your appraoch to scratch building 'one-offs' is not too dissimilar to mine (I have started a 1/24 scale P-61 Black Widow). For your wing attachment problem, there are probably a few ways to tackle it (it all depends upon how heavy the completed model shall be and whether you want the wings to be permanently fixed or removeable?). 1. Make the wing in two pieces (joined at the centre line) and cut an aperture for it in the lowr fuselage (bit like a Phantom wing). 2. Make two wing panels, and use metal tube/rod rod inserts to attach them to the fuselage, or 3. Make a couple of 'through spars' which can be inlaid/inserted into the wing panels and fuselage and be filles later - you probably have other equally good ideas of your own.

I do not have any detailed information on the Scimitar, but I am hopeful that one of the LSP members may have access to the information that you require. I wish you continued good luck with this interesting build.

(PS It may be worth asking one of the LSP moderators to move this topic to the members build forum, as your model most certainly fits that bill, and a Beriev Be-12 would be awesome!)

Cheers

Derek

[ssculptor]

Atta Boy!
Go for it!
Looks like you have a good start.
We need more guys here who accept challenges like this model.
Welcome.
Stephen

[maverick728470]

Henry,
As to the scracthbuilding the scimitar.Anyone who can do what u'er doing is ACES in my book.We need more guys who want to venture to the DARKSIDE.Keep it up and more updates on u'er build.We all can learn from u and others as well.Larry