1:48 Gannet AS.1/AS.4 Canopy Mask Airfix

Fairey Gannet AS.1 and AS.4, canopy frames in 1:48 scale

A set of cuts for the framing of the glazed part of the carrier Gannet in the AS.1 and AS.4 versions, 1:48 scale. The cockpit runs across a large part of the spine of the fuselage and is divided into several separate sections, so it is one of the most laborious pieces of glazing to be met on a propeller machine in this scale.

An unusual machine of the Royal Navy

The Gannet was created as a carrier hunter and killer of submarines. The most interesting thing about it is its power: in a single engine casing two turboprop sections work, designated the Double Mamba, and each drives one of the coaxial contra-rotating propellers. On a long endurance patrol the crew shut one section down and feathered its propeller, so the machine stayed in the air considerably longer than running both would have allowed. The pilot, the navigator and the equipment operator sit one behind the other, each under his own section of the canopy. The AS.4 version received a more powerful engine and revised equipment.

Recommended procedure

Because of the length of the glazing, work in sections and do not hurry. First level the frames into one plane with a little sanding, so that the cut seats over its whole area. Apply the shade of the cockpit as the first coat and the top color only at the end. At the inner corners of the pieces a toothpick helps, with which you press the edge down before you start spraying.

Who the set is worth it for

• builders of British carrier aircraft of the 1950s
• anyone who has counted up how many frames they would have to outline by hand
• modelers who want glazing with no paint crept under the tape
• for models with the sections of the canopy open, where the framing is in plain view