1:48 ASV Mk. II radar for Fairey Barracuda

3DF 1:48 ASV Mk.II radar, antennas for the Fairey Barracuda

3D-printed antennas of the ASV Mk.II radar from 3DF are intended for models of the British Fairey Barracuda carrier aircraft in 1:48 scale. This is a detail accessory, not an airplane model; it replaces the coarse plastic antennas from the box with thin, sharply printed parts, which on such a slender feature can hardly be made any other way.

The real subject

The ASV (Air-to-Surface Vessel) Mk.II was a British airborne radar for finding surface targets, used from the beginning of the Second World War by Coastal Command and by the Fleet Air Arm. It worked on metric waves and therefore needed conspicuous Yagi antennas, arrays of transverse dipoles on a boom, which on the Barracuda projected above the surface of the wing. The radar made it possible to find a ship target at night and in poor visibility and became a typical mark of anti-shipping and patrol machines. It is precisely these thin rod antennas that are the most delicate detail of the whole aircraft for a modeler, and at the same time the one that gives away the quality of the build most of all.

Fitting and painting

• Wash the parts in lukewarm soapy water to remove the residues of print resin.
• Cut the supports away very carefully with a fresh blade, as the antennas are fragile; sand the remains wet with respiratory protection.
• Glue with cyanoacrylate glue (super glue) or with UV glue; apply the least possible, ideally on a pin.
• Glue the antennas at the very end of the build, after the clear coat and the decals, to reduce the risk of breaking one off.
• Painting: a thin coat of primer and the shade of the fuselage or the wing; a thick coat of paint will clog the detail.

Who the set is for

• Builders of the Fairey Barracuda in 1:48 who want faithful radar antennas.
• Anyone interested in Fleet Air Arm aircraft and British carrier equipment of the Second World War.
• Modelers who object to oversized plastic antennas from the box.
• More experienced modelers, as the parts are fine and call for patient handling.

The accessory is supplied unpainted. The base kit, glue and paints are not included in the package. Use respiratory protection and ventilate when sanding resin.