EE Lightning Build 1/72. Warning: Pic Heavy

[Splitpin]

Well done Nick, great reading and photos.

[chopper_nut]

Nick, there's a great Lightning article in the latest FlyPast magazine you will enjoy.

Yeah I read it, was quite good but it's starting to get to the point where there isn't much that can be written that hasn't been written before.

[Charl]

Well we are all now educated, thanks for the series.
Beggars belief, what they did to the basic airframe: was that Kuwaiti seriously sold as a ground attack aircraft, with rocket pods bolted on anywhere they would fit?
And the 2-seater is such an anomaly, proof that with big enough engines you could power a brick at Mach2.
Mind you I read that a disproportionate number were eaten by engine fire.
Amazing aircraft.

[chopper_nut]

The Saudis and Kuwatis both bought and used them as fighter bombers... amazing I know but it shows what a versitile aeroplane it was. Yep, they lost a lot of them to engine or reheat fire. That was what killed the South African one. The way that the aircraft was designed meant that everything was packed in tight and when it got hot in there you tended to start loosing other things. The pilots notes do say that if you get a fire caption and the extinguisher doesn't fix it, abandon the aircraft. The main reason was that you lost elevator control.

[chopper_nut]

Back to the kit now.
The great decaling exercise has begun. I painted the whole thing with a coat of AK Interactive gloss varnish which was a success. Glossing the kit gives the decals a smooth surface to attach to and prevents the 'silvering' caused by air bubbles trapped under the decals. AK Interactive's gloss is the best one that I've used followed by Mission Models gloss. Both are acrylic. If you're just getting into this, stay away from the Humbrol gloss that you find at model shops in NZ and get some of these more exotic ones. There's nothing worse than having all your work spoiled by a bad gloss or (later) matt coat.





I also use Microscale's decal setting solutions which soften the decals so they conform to panel lines and contours of the kit. Just using a paintbrush, you paint the area that the decal is going onto with Microset. Once the decal is ready to transfer off the paper, use a cotton bud or a blunt hobby knife to move the decal into position and then use another brush to paint the decal with Microsol. You shouldn't need to press down on it or anything. After a few hours, everything should be dry and the decal will look painted on.


If you have actual photos of the subject you're building, refer to them during the decaling process. I have had to modify a number of them to match up with the actual aircraft. Neither Sword or Xtradecal had the stencils right for the really early F1s.

[chopper_nut]

Nearly done now...


Completed canopy with photo etch mirror and my homemade detail.


The Firestreaks that come with the kit are OK but the scribing is in the wrong place. I filled in the scribing and painted the missiles white.


All major decalling done


All of the bits left to put on. I failed to document the seat going together but the kit seat is resin and the handles are photo etch. The later kits have PE seatbelts but for this one I turned to 3d decalling. These are decals that have raised detailing. Unfortunately, these particular ones are rubbish.


The aftermarket pitot tube next to the kit one. The aftermarket one requires you to cut the fairing off and drill a .5mm hole through it to insert the brass one. An easier job than it sounds.


Hanging the gear. I ended up using superglue here as there wasn't much for the gear legs to bond to. This is a common problem with short run kits like this, Airfix's Lightning is much better.


Detailing going on. The weathering is achieved with Vallejo weathering wash which is just dirty water really. I put a heap on with a brush and moved it around a bit trying not to make it look like dirty water. Once it looks suitably dirty, I put some more on and let it sit for 30 seconds and smudged it with my fingers. It takes a bit of playing around to get right.


Completed Firestreaks

[chopper_nut]

Got her done. Battled the ladder, its 3d printed but both of them have been wrong.



In hot water with weight trying to bend it into shape. It was partially successful.

[chopper_nut]

As you can see, this is the second Lightning I've built.
My thoughts:

-The Sword Lightnings are the only injection kits of the early and two seat Lightnings (the Trumpeter kits are awful)

-The kit fits together reasonably well with not too many problems. There are a few butt joins in the tail, tailpanes and some other small parts that require some care and or superglue to attach.

-You could quite happily build it without most of the photo etch parts although things like the ejection seat handles should be manageable for most people

-Decals are pretty bad. The squadron markings, serial numbers etc are fine but the stencils are pretty useless

If you just want to build a Lightning, build an Airfix F2a or F6. If you actually want an F1, F1a, F2, F3, T4 or T5, you'd be better off build a Sword kit than trying to convert an Airfix kit.

[Splitpin]

Nick, what a journey and what a result
The information and tips passed on makes it more than just a review/ build, much appreciated.
Contract build of a nonwhite non airliner ?

[chopper_nut]

I could be interested in a contract build later on but right now the rest of my year is looking like it'll be in Indonesia or the US. I'm trying to get another Hunter done before I go back to work. Still waiting to see if anybody else puts some builds up...

[Grumble]

I lived on a military base in Saudi Arabia in the 80s when they were still running those... Amazing beasts... and LOUD!

[chopper_nut]

Nice, that would've been interesting. Yep, two Avons with reheat will make your ears bleed...

[hasegawa]

It's time to move on. sorry I totally forgot about this thread. Yet it is worth continuing. You don't see the BAe Lightning very often. She is almost unknown outside the Commonwealth.Found some pictures on the hard drive that might be of interest.

[Aharon]

GREAT STUFF AND GREAT PHOTOS showing progress of building the plane

When I was kid, I built 300 planes. I am surprised to see in your photos that Revell and Airfix are still in business since I was kid in 20th century!! I never heard of the brand Sword. Is it new company founded in 21st century?

Oh the price for plastic model plane kit is between 2.50 and 5 bucks for many American and foreign brands in 20th century. The price for plastic model tank is 8 bucks with motor or 6 bucks without motor for Japanese Takima brand. Wondering how much it is now

Regards,

Aharon

[chopper_nut]

GREAT STUFF AND GREAT PHOTOS showing progress of building the plane

When I was kid, I built 300 planes. I am surprised to see in your photos that Revell and Airfix are still in business since I was kid in 20th century!! I never heard of the brand Sword. Is it new company founded in 21st century?

Oh the price for plastic model plane kit is between 2.50 and 5 bucks for many American and foreign brands in 20th century. The price for plastic model tank is 8 bucks with motor or 6 bucks without motor for Japanese Takima brand. Wondering how much it is now

Regards,

Aharon

Airfix have had a resurgence in the last 10 to 15 years and they are producing quality (albeit sometimes overly complicated) kits. Prices vary depending on the kit. The new Airfix Lightning kits go for around $50NZD ($25USD or thereabouts) but their big scale stuff will go for well over $100. Revell are a mixed bag at present. Their Hawker Hunter is the best out there in 1/72 but some of their kits are old Matchbox or even Frog molds that are really pretty poor by todays standards. Sword has been around since the 90s I think. Their kits are limited run so they don't tend to make it into most model shops. They're putting all of their Lightning kits back into production so I've got about six of them on order.