Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

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splash
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Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by splash »

Manufacture Airfix
Scale 1/72
Airfix skill level 1
Number of parts 49
Price in the UK £5.99 (2012)
Number of build options 1
Central Flying School RAF Little Rissington Gloucester 1964

First Impressions
On opening the small box I was pleasantly surprised to find a bag containing 2 light grey &. 1 clear plastic sprues.

The kit has engraved panel line that look to be a bit deep and over scale but not to bad for a kit in this price range, after a thick coat of paint applied with a hairy stick the panel lines should look OK, if you are airbrushing the paint, a coat of primer first should tone the panels down.

Airfix have thoughtfully included two nice pilot figures in this kit which will be appreciated by the younger modellers or anyone wanting to display the a/c in flight.

Instructions
These are quite comprehensive with 30 separate stages, which might be a bit difficult to follow for first time or younger builders, but having said that, looking at the way Airfix have designed the kit, the Instructions need to be this complex, due to the way Airfix have moulded the wheel wells and engine intakes.

Decals
Only markings for one a/c are supplied in Silver and Fluorescent Fire Orange. The colour and registration of the decals look good and you get a very, very extensive set of stencil markings, 62 in all

This kit looks excellent value for money and I can see it, (if you excuse the pun), fly of the shelves in the shops.

I suspect Airfix have only given you one set of markings so they can issue a starter set in possibly the Red Arrows or Yellow Jacks markings (that's only my guess)

This kit will not stay in my stash for long, as it just cries "build me", "build me", "please build me"


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My work bench is starting to look like Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.
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PaulBradley
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Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by PaulBradley »

Thanks for that, splash - looks great. I wish there was a second decal option though.
Paul

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jssel
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Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by jssel »

I am impressed with the markings selection but the two schemes that light my fire are the Yellow Jacks and Red Arrows .
Besting 60 years of mediocre building of average kits in the stand off scale
peebeep

Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by peebeep »

PaulBradley wrote:I wish there was a second decal option though.
jssel wrote:the two schemes that light my fire are the Yellow Jacks and Red Arrows .
Series 1 kits don't get alternative schemes.

A Red Arrows starter set is in the pipeline.

S & M Models decal sheet covers most bases in respect of RAF Gnats but appears to be sold out. I'm sure Xtradecals are planning something.

peebeep
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Colin
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Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by Colin »

Of course, you could use spare decals to model the aircraft from the film 'Hot Shots'
T-21
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Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by T-21 »

Thanks for the review Splash, Still drooling, do you get the rear cockpit clear internal visor that protects the instructor ?
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splash
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Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by splash »

T-21 wrote:Thanks for the review Splash, Still drooling, do you get the rear cockpit clear internal visor that protects the instructor ?
Hi T-21

No you only get a closed canopy and the nose light in clear plastic, the canopy does look very clear and the two pilots are detailed with their oxygen maskes hanging down and webbing, but both pilots have their hands on their thighs so it looks like no one is actually flying the a/c.

Apart form the missing visor and the panel line it's difficult to find any negative points with this kit, with luck it should be an enjoyable build.
My work bench is starting to look like Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.
T-21
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Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by T-21 »

peebeep

Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by peebeep »

Great links T-21.

peebeep
T-21
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Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by T-21 »

The instructions say that the seats and cockpit interior should be Humbrol 126, I am going with Hu127. In the later red/white finish in the seventies the cockpit colour is darker more like Hu140 and seats in Dark Sea Grey. The nosewheel hub is shown as Hu22 white. All the Gnats of that era have silver hubs. The pilot figures are shown to have Hu80 Olive green flying suits. These did not start appearing till late sixties,before that they were blue/grey Hu109/89 approx.
Again open to discussion.
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Dazzled
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Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by Dazzled »

I've got one of these too and, after getting my hands on an aftermarket decal set from Hannants, I'm trying to get hold of a couple more.

Just need to sneak them in past the wife ;-)
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Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by theconfidencestoat »

splash wrote:
T-21 wrote:Thanks for the review Splash, Still drooling, do you get the rear cockpit clear internal visor that protects the instructor ?
Hi T-21

No you only get a closed canopy and the nose light in clear plastic, the canopy does look very clear and the two pilots are detailed with their oxygen maskes hanging down and webbing, but both pilots have their hands on their thighs so it looks like no one is actually flying the a/c.

Apart form the missing visor and the panel line it's difficult to find any negative points with this kit, with luck it should be an enjoyable build.
Instructor and student have hands on thighs as the boss is checking Bloggs' use of the trim wheel.........
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splash
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Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by splash »

I hate to say it, but this new kit compaired to the old kit does not show 48 years progress in model making.

There are bits of the new kit that are just not up to the mark for example the intakes and the wing tanks, the fit is poor and they need lots of work to get them to look right.

For an average modeler who has some experience building limmited run kits or kits like those made by PM, will have little problems building the kit, but any young new starters I think might have problems so I would not recommend the kit as a starter kit.

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The two Gnats in the front are the new Airfix kit, the grey one at the back is the old kit, The silver and Day-Glo has had the deep panel lines filled and the red version shows the panel lines with just one coat of paint.

Check out the Gnat GB for more details on the new Gnat

Regards
Splash
My work bench is starting to look like Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.
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splash
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Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by splash »

New Airfix Gnats

Day-glo markings using the decals from the box and the Red Arrow using the old kits decals on the new kit.

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Link to New Airfix Gnat GB
My work bench is starting to look like Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.
techboy
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Re: Airfix 1/72 Folland Gnat T.1

Post by techboy »

Just bought one of these as a break from a monster build of Mustangs.
Now then that ORANGE what colour undercoat does the business best? I'm picking a white to serve for the silver and orange. Anyone fancy the canopy sealing strip as a paintjob?
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