Alpha Jet mock up at Paris Air Show 1969

1
April 23, 2020
Picture borrowed from Dutch booklet "Luchtvaart 1970"
2
April 23, 2020
Picture borrowed from secret projects website
3
April 23, 2020
Picture borrowed from secret projects website (originally published in Aviation Magazine 1969)
4
April 24, 2020
Picture borrowed from secret projects website (probably taken during tear down of the stand after the event). Origin, see picture bottom right.
5
April 29, 2020
My own coloured drawings based on the photographs
6
April 30, 2020
Red Devils and Patrouille de France "what if" drawings
7
April 24, 2020
Balsa blocks to cut fuselage
8
April 24, 2020
Fuselage elements shaped by hand (sharp knife and sanding)
9
April 24, 2020
Trial fit of balsa elements and plastic wings & stabs
10
April 24, 2020
Trial fit of balsa elements and plastic wings & stabs
11
April 25, 2020
Today on its wheels for the first time
12
April 25, 2020
Nozzle fairing also added today
13
April 26, 2020
Separate elements with first coats of primer and most of the filling done
14
April 26, 2020
First coats of primer and most of the filling done
15
April 27, 2020
Trial mounting on the display pylon as in 1969, see next photo
16
April 23, 2020
Something strange at the bottom left. Puzzles me... (Picture borrowed from secret projects website)
17
April 29, 2020
Separate elements with final coat of primer applied
18
April 29, 2020
Final coat of primer applied
19
April 29, 2020
Trial fit of the landing gear
20
May 1, 2020
Canopy pulled from 0.4 mm PVC clear sheet
21
May 4, 2020
Fuselage plug in parting board
22
May 5, 2020
First half of the fuselage mould is cast in silicone rubber
23
May 8, 2020
While waiting for the silicone to cure, I did a test print of the decals and took the occasion to make a pair of fridge magnets to adorn my wine fridge 😉
24
May 8, 2020
Cast some resin today and made myself this first kit 😉
25
May 9, 2020
Just printed the three sets of decals. Yes, I can print white!

Comments

4 23 April 2020, 17:06

Matthew A
Exciting

23 April 2020, 21:37

Michel Avonds
This is great!

25 April 2020, 10:03

Philip Avonds
I'm really enjoying this project. Very rewarding!

25 April 2020, 10:45

Łukasz Gliński
Low-wing Alpha Jet? A wooden kit?! I'm speechless 😠

25 April 2020, 14:01

Philip Avonds
It's not from a kit. I made the drawings first, based on the photographs you can see in my album, and I worked from those drawings to create the balsa wood fuselage parts.
I prefer the looks of this low wing proposal. I was kind of disappointed when a shoulder wing design was chosen for the production model...

25 April 2020, 16:17

Łukasz Gliński
You're right, I meant model, not a kit 🙂
It looks more like BAe Hawk in this configuration😉

25 April 2020, 17:51

Tom
Philip, this is really a very, very sexy airframe! First replica i am heard of! Wow! 🙂

25 April 2020, 18:03

Philip Avonds
Thanks for the nice comments!

25 April 2020, 21:03

Erik De Smet
Het is eeuwen geleden dat ik nog iemand balsa heb weten te gebruiken. Prachtige collectie ook , Philip.

26 April 2020, 08:01

Philip Avonds
Dankjewel Erik. Die van jou mag er ook zijn!

26 April 2020, 10:38

Philip Avonds
I have added a few more coloured drawings. One in the scheme as originally displayed in 1969 and one in a Patrouille de France "what if" scheme.

29 April 2020, 12:15

Philip Avonds
I may use the elements I made as masters for silicone moulds, so I can make more than one model 😉

29 April 2020, 14:06

Philip Avonds
I have also added a Red Devils "what if" scheme and updated the Patrouille de France "what if" drawing

30 April 2020, 10:39

Michel Avonds
Now you need to make moulds for sure! The 3 colour schemes are begging to be materialised.

30 April 2020, 14:55

Patrick Hagelstein
I don't understand picture 16... The guy in the left is clearly in the foreground, yet his head is under the starboard stabilo. Other than that: magnificent build! 👍

30 April 2020, 15:25

Philip Avonds
Yes Patrick, that got me puzzled as well and I can't figure out how this could be anything else than some kind of photoshopping... Anyway, the picture is not mine, it was borrowed from the secret projects website.
Yes MichAv, I will definitely do the moulds and probably make all 3 versions.

1 May 2020, 04:35

Patrick Hagelstein
😄 😄 😄 The only possible explanation! 😄

1 May 2020, 20:24

Philip Avonds
I have cast a few "kits" and printed the decals for the 3 versions

9 May 2020, 11:09

Erik De Smet
You can print white !!! Tell us how, please. The molds look very well made

9 May 2020, 11:42

Philip Avonds
I have a printer that is compatible with white toner from this company: ghost-white-toner.com/

You need to replace the black toner with this white toner and print the white areas as if they were black. To print the other colours including black, you need to reinstall the black toner and feed the decal sheet a second time. Registration is a problem, so I print the underlying white areas separately. These white decals are placed first and where required, the coloured decal goes on top. This allows you to place the decals accurately in register on the model.

9 May 2020, 14:19

Łukasz Gliński
I have to admit that sounds very clever 👍

9 May 2020, 20:06