David Gilmour's yellow Folland Gnat - design by Gary Pilsworth

[Rubenandres77]

I feel I really need to practice more. So I decided to build a model that has been in my hard drive for a time.

A couple of months ago I found Gary Pilsworth made a model of the Folland Gnat. I asked him to repaint it following the colour scheme of the airplane registered XR991. Reason being that it was an airplane that David Gilmour (voice and guitar of Pink Floyd) owned and flew. I like Pink Floyd a lot. And though it was an interesting item to have.

Gary was very kind, and painted his Gnat in yellow, making me very happy


So thanks to Gary, here’s my building thread.




The real airplane

David Gilmour owned a 1964 Hawker Siddeley Gnat T.1. He bought it in 1989.
The plane is painted in yellow colour, after the style of the RAF Yellowjacks display team.

• Construction Number: FL596
• Aircraft Registration: G-MOUR
• Codes / Other Marks: XR991

The real code of this airplane was "XS102" When it was at service with RAF No. 2 SoTT at Cosford.
The original colour of the plane was red with white tail and black nose. The original marking of the plane was: "58".

The plane was later painted yellow to look like the Yellowjacks' planes.

David Gilmour sold this plane in 1998, 9 years after aquiring it. After that it was operated by Delta Jets, out of Kemble. In august 2010 the plane was moved to The Heritage Aircraft Trust, at North Weald, where it is being preserved.

Despite not being owned anymore by David Gilmour, the plane still is known as the G-MOUR, or Gilmour’s plane.

Gilmour owned other planes, among them a Mustang, that was sold before this one.


Photos of the actual plane:
here
here
and here





This yellow version of the Gnat paper model

Can be found in the downloads section of this forum here.

Is derived from Gary Pilsworth's original "Red arrows Gnat" (here).

The paper model is presented at 1:32 scale.

Unlike the original model, this yellow version has 6 pages: 1 cover, 4 pages of parts, and an extra 5th page for additional parts (the prominent extra fuel tanks) which are characteristic of the XR-991.



The parts are easily identifiable thanks to the big numbers used.
The cover page also contains diagrams with indications.






Beginning the assembly

I printed the kit on 160grms white cardstock. I went this morning to a place where they printed the kit using a laser printer. I like the finish and when possible I go there to print the things I like the most.
To save money on laser prints I arranged the parts to fit on a double letter page.

I started the assembly following the order of the parts.

Part#1 requires a little attention, because it is a bit complex, but once understood is fairly easy to complete it. I used strips to join the sides.





Part #2 was very easy. But I damaged the complementary part 2a when cutting, so I had to trace and cut a new one. Since the color of this part is grey, I used gouache to paint it. But I wasn’t careful with the mess in my small table and some drops of black fell onto part 2, and even though I cleaned it, the stain is very visible.

I’ll have to live with that.





This are parts #1 and #2 with the internal #2a all together.



It is nice to see that only with a couple of pieces the model already starts to take shape.

I will follow with the rest of the fuselage before assembling the cockpit.

[kenlwest]

I remember when Gary did the initial design. Great model! Good build so far!

Ken

[peter taft]

Brilliant start to a great aircraft {nicely designed too } Sorry you had a little mishap, but it's not toooo bad, and like you say, you will be able to live with that. Look forward to the next up-date

[Ron40]

Very good start Ruben. Hang in there and you will have a
model that you can be proud of. Every build is a learning
experience...Ron

[Texman]

Originally Posted by Ron40

.... Every build is a learning
experience...Ron

Well said Ron. Most assuredly a nice start.

[Rubenandres77]

Thank you very much for your words



The nose is easy because it is a cone. What was difficult for me was the clear little cone at the tip. It is made using the grey template from page 5.




I confess I’m not good at all with clear acetate, and even this small cone gave me trouble. In the end I used huge amounts of adhesive tape. Not my preferred way of working, but it was the best I could do.





The wheel pit of the front gear was assembled and glued to the inside of part 2.



The rest of the fuselage is worked in almost the same way as parts 1 & 2. So once you get to the rear part, you already know how to manipulate the parts.





Dang.
That macro photography and dramatic lighting magnify the mistakes exponentially.


Fuselage complete.




This model is not so forgiving, despite looking simple. Small half millimeter deviations create noticeable gaps. Alternatively, I can always blame it on my dogs. It sometimes works.

[GaryPilsworth]

Looking good so far

[Rubenandres77]

The transparent cone of the nose fell apart.


I tried to make a new one using a piece of clear plastic, heat, and a custom made mold made of putty. But it didn’t work. The closest I got was something that resembled a fried chicken.

I decided to make the nose with a piece of yellow paper instead.





The sides are a bit difficult for me, because the curve must be done carefully. In contrast, the seats are really easy, and the cockpit is finished really fast.






When the cockpit had trouble fitting into the fuselage, I found I’d made a mistake:


Easy to solve, but the paper suffered some damage, and things started to become skew.

(Quality of images changes from now on because my mother took the camera and for all the other photos I had to use the cell phone).



I knew from the beginning I could not do the wheels as they come from the kit. Instead, I made some with thick cardboard painted black, and cut the hubs and glued them to the new wheels.



My attempt at the canopy failed 8 times in three consecutive days with three different media
(that was the main reason of my delay posting updates).

In the end, instead of a canopy I got something that resembled more a fried chicken with chips and burnt salad. Something too grotesque to see.

So I decided to leave the plane without the canopy.

[Rubenandres77]

The finished plane.
Gilmour's Folland Gnat parked... where else? On the cover of a 1973 1st pressing LP of Dark Side of the Moon.





Now…


If I just knew why the plane is resting on his buttocks…

No those are no special effects. That’s how the plane really looks.
Shouldn’t it be resting on all three wheels?





I know it.

I failed miserably.






Mistakes I made a lot. Especially not knowing how to interpret the way parts interacted with each other. I only cared by each part separately, but could not see how they were supposed to fit. I still haven’t developed a flexible way of thinking when in absence of detailed instructions.

I should have reviewed carefully Gary’s own thread and his building photos. Some things I made differently by strictly following the order of the pieces. Not the way things would interact.

And I definitely suck at building things with plastic/acetate.

I’m sure this thread should be renamed to “How not to build Gary Pilsworth’s Folland Gnat”.

I’m sorry Gary.


I'm sorry pals.





Ruben A. Martinez

[rickstef]

drop some weight into the nose