An early Flying Banana

The Gyron-Junior Buccaneer S.1 in 1/72

- Bill Clark

Best modelling news this year, for me anyway, was the announcement from Airfix that a brand-new 1/48 Blackburn Buccaneer S.2 I would at last replace their old, and somewhat jaded previous issue. I have high expectations of this kit, certainly if it's as good as some of their recent issues and indeed their 1/72 Buccaneer issued a few years ago. I think that there will be an awful lot of contented modellers out there this year.

So, rather than sit around twiddling thumbs, waiting, and waiting, I thought I'd whet my appetite a bit and have a look at the 1/72 kit and see what opportunities there were for modelling something a bit different. My immediate thoughts turned to the earlier Gyron Junior powered S.1 version, as I had, safely stashed away, Modelart's decal sheet featuring various S.1s, just sitting in its envelope waiting for this very occasion.

Previous attempts at building an S.1 might have seen me use Airfix's ancient NA.39 kit as a source for the different parts, and I seem to recall a basic resin set from Maintrack, for Airfix's older S.2, but the need for either has now been nullified as Aerocraft Models have issued a dedicated conversion kit in resin featuring the Gyron's narrower intakes, such a feature of the S.1.

Airfix's Kit

I really like Airfix's approach to their newer releases. This Buccaneer replaces their earlier, 1980s vintage kit and features a much more structured approach to the build. The earlier kits tended to feature a more simplistic approach, but the newer breed feature structures to build upon. This is certainly the case with this kit, it having bulkheads where the engine parts fit into, or through. The fuselage builds up around this, and the nose and tail units are added to provide the overall airframe.