Scale: 1/72 | Model used: Airfix – Folland Gnat T.1 (Kit nr. A02105)

A Folland Gnat belonging to RAF Valley is ready to take off in Wales. The Folland Gnat was originally developed as a light and affordable jet fighter, but went on to be used extensively by the Royal Air Force as an advanced fast jet training aircraft. Entering RAF service in 1959, the Gnat was responsible for training many hundreds of future fast jet pilots during its 20 year service career.

Operational Gnat T.1 of No. 4 Flying Training School RAF in 1971. Credit: RuthAS CC BY 3.0.

The build itself was pretty straight forward. Be aware though, the alignment of the parts can be a little bit off (could have been my fault), so have some filler and sanding sticks at the ready. I love the inclusion of the two pilots, it means that you can display the model taking off or in flight. The decal sheet consists of more than 50 decals, so it’s up to you to decide if you want to place them all. I went for it and I’m pretty happy that I did.

The wooden base I ordered from Superhobby.com. I utilised the ‘card board method’ to create the airfield plates. I cut out the pieces, stippled different kind of greys on top which then created the weathered effect. In this case I used a stiffer paint brush to do this. The yellow line was painted by masking off the desired area.