Silver Wings Gauntlet II

[mozart]

So this is the Silver Wings Gloster Gauntlet with some AIMS additions which were designed for the Gladiator I but which apply equally well to its predecessor the Gauntlet.  First some eye-candy:

 

 

I'm intrigued by the dull matt patches below the cockpit on the fuselage sides, anybody any thoughts about this please?  And my references to date:

 

 

both really excellent books, well worth every penny!  And to the kit, which of course is almost entirely resin:

 

 

 

The Silver Wings prop looks a bit thin, but I'd always planned for a two-blade Gauntlet, so much more characterful!

 

Celine didn't pack my kit quite carefully enough!!  Simon at Silver Wings has been contacted asking for the missing bits.

 

 

The Silver Wings pe above, the AIMS Gladiator/Gauntlet pe below:

 

Silver Wings instruction booklets are, shall we say, rather enigmatic! 

 

 

 

....especially in some areas:

 

 

So I've made a start on the Mercury engine.....love a decent engine!

 

 

More soon I hope, if this heat wave continues......

Max

Edited October 7, 2022 by mozart

[Rockie Yarwood]

Cool project Max, looking forward to following along. Those AIMS bits look really nice.

 

Cheers,  Rockie

[Fanes]

I'll watch with great interest, since I have a Gauntlet in my stash as well.

Edit: Just checked my box — mine is missing the same struts 

Edited August 13, 2022 by Fanes

[mozart]

Good photograph of the Bristol Mercury engine:

 

 

 

[mozart]

First minor problem, there had to be one didn't there!  The 2 exhaust pipes running from the front of each cylinder don't quite meet with the inside face of the collector ring, and it's very noticeable so something is going to have to be done about it:

 

 

Looking at this excellent picture from Sandy Crawford's book, it's clear that there is a faired bump where each pipe mates with the collector ring, though the profile of the SW ring doesn't really enable me to try to replicate this, so I may need to re-shape this, or do I simply cut off the pipes and replace with more precise ones? 

 

 

 

[jbrennan]

Hello Mozart. The Gauntlet is by far my favourite biplane and therefore will follow this build with great interest. I dont know any info re the matt forward cockpit sides but at a guess I wonder if they have been left bare as this area would have suffered more heat/smoke/oil stains etc therfore easier to keep clean !?

Thanks

Jon

[mozart]

Interesting theory Jon, certainly better than any I’ve come up with! The Gauntlet is an intriguing aircraft, not beautiful in the Hawker Fury sense of the word, but a consummate pilot’s plane by all accounts. 

[Alain Gadbois]

Very interesting project Max!

I hope the flash on the cockpit frames isn’t too hard to remove.

The exhaust pipes: as it is usually the case, it may well be simpler to completely remove and replace them rather than trying to fix the parts.

 

Alain

[mozart]

Flash was very easy Alain, all done and dusted. Yep, exhaust pipes have been removed ready for consideration about the next step! 

Edited August 13, 2022 by mozart

[RadBaron]

Awesome project, Max! Excited to see what you can do with the kit!

[mozart]

So here's the cockpit parts cleaned up, plus the brass AIMS bits that I'll be using:

 

 

I don't think the Gladiator IP is 100% accurate but it's good enough for me!  The AIMS seat is a thing of beauty:

 

 

The engine is progressing but it's a bit like rubbing your tummy and patting your head at the same time, I'm not sure about the order in which to do things, so cogitation is the name of the game at the moment.  I have a cunning plan for the exhaust pipes coming from the cylinder fronts but need to do a trial or two first....talking of which I've been doing quite a bit of research and have found a very knowledgeable and helpful gentleman over on iModeler, Christopher Amano-Langtree.  He knows a great deal about Gauntlets and has responded quickly to all my questions, including the interface between the exhausts and the collector ring, picture:

 

 

This is a Swordfish but the principle is the same, so the "bumps" are the pipes themselves!  The other thorny question was the matt panels on the fuselage shown very clearly in this photo:

 

 

Christopher's explanation:  The panels were aluminium and were anodized as an anti-corrosion measure. An anodized aluminium panel will appear matt in finish.  The Gauntlet was a transition between polishing and painting. The early Gauntlet Mk.1s (the K40-- series and only with No. 19 Squadron) started out with highly polished panels like the Furys and others before them. The Mk.2s, however, came into service as the polishing policy was actively discouraged and used unpolished anodized panels. The Gladiators were painted overall aluminium as paint formulas had improved to the extent that anodizing wasn't needed.

 

So there we are....sorted!! 

 

 

 

 

[mozart]

This photo from "On Silver Wings" shows the anodised panels in question very well.

 

 

 

[mozart]

It's been a good day.....we've had some rain, not enough but every little helps!  And I've made solid progress with the cockpit structure, in fact as Silver Wings cockpits go, this was a breeze:

 

 

 

 

 

Nestles very nicely:

 

The 2 horizontal “prongs” in the centre of this structure were part of the original seat moulding, but I carefully cut them off to form the shelf on which the new seat rests. 

 

 

There is no indication in the instructions about which way the doors fit, but Sandy's book came to the rescue:

 

 

Eagle eyes in the photo above this one may have spotted that I've added the pull chord opener!

 

I've no idea what colour the cockpit interior is but I'm inclined to go for a black framework, aluminium seat, a silverish interior to the panels and the usual pinkish doped fabric.  If anybody knows more, please tell! 

Edited August 15, 2022 by mozart

[quang]

While not exactly your inter-wars British aeronautics expert, I’d suggest painting the Gauntlet interior like you did on your ICM Gladiator: inside metal panels in anti-corrosive grey-green with tubing and (superb) seat in natural metal.
I also guess you’d like to use the new Gladiator Quinta Prints for a realistic Sutton harness.

Following your build with interest,

Cheers,

Quang

[mozart]

9 minutes ago, quang said:

While not exactly your inter-wars British aeronautics expert, I’d suggest painting the Gauntlet interior like you did on your ICM Gladiator: inside metal panels in anti-corrosive grey-green with tubing and (superb) seat in natural metal.
I also guess you’d like to use the new Gladiator Quinta Prints for a realistic Sutton harness.

Following your build with interest,

Cheers,

Quang

Thank you dear friend, I need to investigate the options for the Sutton harnesses, at the moment I have an HGW one from my collection which is listed as Sopwith Snipe (late), so about 10 years out of date for the Gauntlet.  I'll look at the Quinta stuff straight away!