Colorful Javelin
Hello,
I'd like to present the Airfix Gloster Javelin FAW.9 1/72. I found this kit in my stash and with some free time on my hand decided to build it. A flawless build by the way - no problems at all.
Then came the painting and I got a little creative. I read a little about the Javelin's history and decided to paint it in in the colors as you can see in the pictures. Then I had to come up with a story to justify my model so here it is...
Boscombe Down, England - november 1973.. A cold and rainy month. Only one Javelin remaining in de RAF - for weapons testing. Flown by two very caring pilot and maintained by a terrific ground crew with a lot of paint in stock. To have a good visual on the Javelin while weapons testing RAF command asked to paint the Javelin in flashy colors - free to choose.
18/11/1973 - football on the TV: Belgium vs. Holland in Amsterdam. The game decided who went to the 1974 Wold Cup. Belgium scores but... offside! No offside-cameras then so the referee disallowed the goal. Holland on their way to the World Cup!
The watching pilots and ground crew were loyal Belgian supporters and were angry! They decided to paint their Javelin in the Belgian colors for support - and the poor Belgians needed their support heavily!
23/11/1973 - General alert! The Russkies are coming! All planes airborne! Load that old Javelin up with two Firestreaks and give it a go! Never heard of again...
My imagination..
Good modeling,
Maurits
Maurits, het is een ongelooflijke Javelin! Wel gedaan! I like the colourful markings very much. Maybe I should do this scheme on my Airfix 1/48 Javelin.
Definitely Loud Maurits.
Like the story behind it.
Well done mate.
Maurits,
Gotta love the story an the scheme fits.
Glad to see another 1/72 builder! What kit was this? I've got an old Heller Javelin that I want to build. Initial impression from looking at the stuff in the box is that there isn't much in the engine nacelles, and I may need to scramble to make it look anything real.
I also enjoyed the imaginative paint scheme. Modeling is about enjoying the process and outcome, and it sounds like you did both! Love the story-telling!
Thanks for your kind words! It's the Airfix Javelin and the engine nacelles were little tubes which I painted dark grey.
Maurits, it's good to see a Javelin, and in a scheme that would have been a show stopper at say, Farnborough.
I think the Airfix is a modification of the Heller T3. Frog had an F9 (?) way back. There was also some eastern european boxing (Chemetic?) which I saw once. I couldn't tell whose, so I passed.
Love that 50s stuff.
Nice Javelin, Maurits ! Its always nice to see some what iffs