Vickers 161 COW Gun Fighter
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Introduction
"Rare avis" is Latin for rare bird; I don’t
think they come much rarer than the Vickers 161 COW gun fighter. The 161
was a complete throwback to World War One types and not surprisingly only
one was built. Be that as it may it is one of the most interesting and
unusual models I have made.
My interest was tweeked when someone gave me an old July 1997 copy of
Aeroplane Magazine at my model club. When I got home and perused the issue
I was immediately smitten by the Vickers 161. I went on the NET and fortunately
found a quite good three view drawing of the aeroplane. It was a pusher
like the Gunbus or DH-2 but with all the equipment of a 1930s aircraft.
It used a Bristol Jupiter VIIF engine and carried a huge eight foot long
37 mm gun made by the Coventry Ordinance Works(COW), The idea was to use
the big calibre gun to sneak up behind and under enemy bombers and blow
them away with one shot. Easier said than done! The Germans used a similar
method in World War Two with great effect on Allied bombers. Even the
gun was a throwback to World War One as the another aircraft, the Robey-Davis
Gun carrier was designed to do something similar to Zeppelins.
The Vickers 161, as stated, had all the elements of a modern 1930s aircraft
but appeared for all the world to be a Great war design. Surprisingly
the 161 handled pretty well in its initial tests which were carried out
by none other than Mutt Summers who later test flew the prototype Spitfire.
Construction
I commenced building the Vickers 161 after scaling out the drawing to
1/72 on a photocopier. From the excellent photos in the Aeroplane article
I decided to make the top wing with embossed rib positions rather than
my usual scribing method. I used 10 thou plastic card and folded the wing
over a length of soft flower arranging wire to stiffen it. But before
folding and sealing the trailing edge I embossed the rib positions using
an empty ball point pen to indicate the ribs This made the plastic curl
up but once the wire was taped in place the wing was flat. I used double
sided tape to seal the trailing edge ala Harry Woodman. For the lower
wing I used my usual scribing method to indicate the ribs on the piece
of 40 thou sheet that I had sanded to an airfoil shape.
Setting aside the wings I began to plan out how to build the fuselage/nacelle.
The 161 type appears to have what looks like a full fuselage but what
looks should be a rear section is in reality just a streamlined cone that
is attached to the front nacelle. But how could this be? There is a big
engine and four bladed propeller between the two parts. I started on the
front nacelle first. I made circular formers out of 40 thou sheet and
mounted them on a length of coat hanger wire. I glued these firmly in
place with super glue and small triangular wedges attached to the wire
and formers. Once all was dry I wrapped 10 thou plastic sheet around the
formers and glued it in place. This gave me a cone with flat ends. The
small end would take the engine whilst the large front end would be covered
with the rounded nose. I made a wooden plug the size of the front end
and plunge formed the nose with 20 thou plastic sheet heated over a candle.
I glued the nose on firmly with poly cement and let the nacelle dry. For
the rear section I simply rolled a piece of 10 thou sheet into a cone
and glued a round former to the open end. Once dry I sanded the seams
of both the cone and the nacelle smooth. I found an appropriate engine
in the spare box from an old Matchbox Walrus kit. The cylinders of this
part were glued to the rear end of the nacelle. The Type 161 had a peculiar
four bladed propeller; it had a collar around the four blades that was
tapered to fit between the nacelle and the cone. It must be one of the
most unique propellers ever devised.
Once I had the wings and fuselage/nacelle finished I made up The tail
pieces from 15 thou card. The horizontal stabilizer was scribed and then
slots made in it to receive the main booms. I fabricated the latter out
of soft wire cut to the correct length. I made the large streamlined interplane
struts out of Contrail material and glued them to the two wings. The wings
were constructed as a unit because the wing cell sits on top of the nacelle
similar to the Handley Page Heyford bomber. Before attaching the nacelle
to the wing cell I cut out the cockpit and attached the faring for the
COW gun.
With all the main parts ready I commenced the assembly of the Vickers
161. I attached the nacelle to the top wing and mounted the booms to the
wings and tailplanes with superglue. The cone was glued between the propeller
and the tailplane, In the real aeroplane the cone was supported to the
main booms and simply floated behind the propeller and engine. Next the
‘N’ sruts between the nacelle and the lower wing were attached.
I used soft flower arranging wire for the landing gear and some Contrail
material for the oleo struts. I finished off the main construction by
attaching the rudder and four little stabilizing fins on the end of the
booms.
The model was now ready to paint. This was fairly simple; I used Tamiya
Silver Leaf from a spray can. I hold the model at arms length and give
a couple light coats and make sure the paint doesn’t run or build
up on the edges. The finish is suitable for applying decals which was
done when the paint was thoroughly dry. The wheels came from Aeroclub
and are the only commercial items on the model. I painted the tyres and
cylinders with Humbrol number 67 grey. The latter were then dry brushed
with silver to bring out the detail. The COW gun was made by gluing two
lengths of wire together . One bit had the very visible recoil spring
on it which was a shaving of 40 thou plastic. Drawing an Olfa cutter along
a sheet of plastic results in a tightly curled shaving of plastic that
looks like a spring; perfect for the COW gun. Having only black and white
reference photos I couldn’t be sure of the propeller’s colour
but it looked like wood. So I painted the four blades and collar with
number 94 yellow brown and when dry gave the propeller a coat of Tamiya
clear orange to give it a wood effect. A few other details like a seat,
headrest, pitot tube and windsrceen were then added. All the rigging was
hot stretched sprue. That finished the job.
Conclusion
Well, I certainly have a rare bird in my collection now! Although it
was built in 1930 the Vickers COW gun fighter wouldn’t look out
of place with my World War One model aircraft. When I started this project
I figured the 161 would never be kitted. Imagine my surprise a couple
of weeks ago when I visited a major model show and saw the Karaya kit
on the Aeroclub stand! My Vickers 161, albeit in 1/48 scale. Well, sod’s
law had struck again! But if you’re into 1/72 you can still scratch
build one. If it’s 1/48 you now have a kit. Whatever you choose
you’ll end up with one of the most unique subjects in Aviation history.
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