Airfix 1:72 Lightning F6

[matto21]

Hello all,

Been away from modelling for about 2 years. I was working on an Airfix 1:48 Hurricane but that's stalled...mind you I have moved house in the meantime.

I've always loved the Lightning, one of my earliest memories is seeing one at an airshow with my dad sometime in the 80's. I can still remember the ground shaking after a vertical climb.

This kit has been in my stash for about 2 years and I've bought a few extras to use with it. Progress will be slow...

box.jpg

I'm going to use the Barracuda Cast resin replacement cockpit set. The difference between the kit parts and the resin item is clear to see:

original cockpit.jpg

resin cockpit.jpg

[matto21]

The resin cockpit fits reasonably well into the fuselage into the fuselage - dry fitted only here.

installed cockpit.jpg

There are several large ejector pin marks within the fuselage that need removing because they interfere with the fit once the intake part is installed.

gaps.jpg

By removing these and sanding the sides of the intake heavily, you get a much better fit. Again only dry fitted here but the difference is clear.

no gaps.jpg

And this is about as far as I've got!

Thanks for looking

Matt

[DrSprue]

Cool, slow is cool as well!. Count me in to follow.

Never attempted resin myself so all new for me as well...

[matto21]

So, skipping a few steps, here's where I'm up to:



I tried a midway point between preshading and black basing in an attempt to get a shaded effect with less effort. It was partially successful I think, as hopefully this photo of the underside shows.



Onwards I go with the decalling!

Matt

[DBMiller]

That cockpit really makes a difference! Very nice!

[matto21]

Thanks! It does but the cockpit aperture is really tiny so I've not bothered with all the details!

[chief5437]

Looking very nice so far, good luck with the rest of the build!

[aur0ra145]

That's some wonderful looking resin. Looks like the build is going well!

[matto21]

That's some wonderful looking resin. Looks like the build is going well!

It's not been without its challenges but I'm on the home stretch now. Next up is sorting out the undercarriage so I can get it on its own legs!

Resin is a definite improvement but in hindsight it might not have been worth the effort!

[matto21]

Today's progress has been around trying to get the undercarriage sorted.

I've used resin items again from Barracuda Studios. The tyres aren't painted yet but the hubs look great with a wash to highlight the detail.

[chief5437]

wheels look nice, but i know what you mean about the cockpit, the lightning cockpit is tiny irl, so at 1/72 its hard to see much, especially if you close the canopy! i see you got one of the kits that have the rear stab missing on the boxart, lol. i cant imagine how they missed that!
looking great so far though, lightning is one of my fave jets as well.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Blown away by the paint a few posts ago....BEAUTIFUL!!!

[DrSprue]

Oh man that looks cool! Love the paintwork!

[matto21]

Thank you so much for the positive comments!

Let's get these tyres painted - but which colour?

[matto21]

wheels look nice, but i know what you mean about the cockpit, the lightning cockpit is tiny irl, so at 1/72 its hard to see much, especially if you close the canopy! i see you got one of the kits that have the rear stab missing on the boxart, lol. i cant imagine how they missed that!
looking great so far though, lightning is one of my fave jets as well.

You're totally right - I never would have noticed the missing stab if you hadn't mentioned it. Now I've noticed, I can't believe I missed it!

[Spook]

awesome looking build matto21. got abit of a soft spot for the lighting as I used to live at raf binbrook and ive crawled all over these

[TommyKillander]

That looks fantastic!

This was one of the first kits I built when I got back to the hobby... Well, your model looks lightyears ahead mine

Keep up the good work!


Tommy

[matto21]

Nearly there!

Just the ejector seat to paint, the pitot and canopy to add and a coat of flat varnish.





Matt

[Spook]

Awsome work pal

[DrSprue]

Just awesome!