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I’ve always loved
the BAC Lightning and immediately bought the Airfix 1/48 F.6 when it was
released several years ago. I’ve
also followed the history of the 11 Sqn at RAF Binbrook given its distinctive
“double eagle” motif and was equally as happy when Aeromaster
released their Lightning Pt III decal sheet, which included “the black
spine” Lightning. Unfortunately,
my schedule really didn’t allow me to build the kit until now.
In fact, this is my first completed kit since I built the 1/48
SU-27/Flanker several years ago (see my Feature article in Gallery).
The kit itself is nice and it has great/finely engraved panel lines;
however, the wheel wells and cockpit “leave a lot to be desired.”
Luckily, after market products came to the rescue and I ended up using
the Cutting Edge cockpit and its beautiful ejection seat as well as Eduard
photo-etch details. At the time, I
didn’t want to spend the extra money for the CMK wheel wells and flaps,
but after building the kit, I wish I would have.
When
building a model, I always start with the cockpit as I find that to be the most
interesting part of any aircraft. The
Cutting Edge cockpit was absolutely wonderful and fit into the model like
a charm. This is especially the
case for the area behind the cockpit where the canopy raising mechanism is
located. For the mechanism itself,
I discarded the Cutting Edge version and scratch-built a more accurate
version with stainless steel tubing. The
Martin Baker Type 4BSC ejection seat from Cutting Edge is absolutely
gorgeous and very accurate. I
painted and weathered the seat using Testors paints, washes and dry
brushing to bring-out the details. I
used my now standard technique to replicate the ejection pull cords by taking
extremely fine yellow and black automobile modeling wire and twisting them
“very tight” to better replicate the ejection wires themselves.
Trying to paint the fine black and yellow lines on these handles is not
near as exacting as using this method. I
also rebuilt the HUD and used a small MV Lens (clear) and acetate to
replicate the refracting mechanism/glass. I
used the same thin model car black lines as I did for the ejection handles for
under the canopy and windscreen. Finally,
I scratch built locking mechanisms on the canopy frame.
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Next, I built the two Redtop missiles pretty much out of the box, but took
painstaking hours to research a painting/color scheme of missiles carried
during the mid-to-late 1980s. Again,
I washed the missiles with a black wash and then dry-brushed them to
pick-up the details. I built
the refueling probe as indicated in the instructions, except I added an MV
Lens (clear) to replicate the probe refueling light. |
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I spent a lot of time on the landing gear and wheel wells.
I added the same automotive modeling wires to all landing gear and
cut bans to hold the wires in place from candy bar wrapper foil.
Again, I used an MV Lens for the main landing gear lights
and used a black wash on the seams to better differentiate the folds.
I wanted to display the model with “Remove Before Flight” (RBF)
tags and used Verlinden RBF flags (diagonal, alternating red and
white lines normally used on British aircraft). |
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The nose gear received similar treatment as the main.
However, I scratch build the locking/retrieval mechanism/arms on the gear
door to better replicate the ones on the actual aircraft.
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However, it was the wheel wells that caused
the most problems due to inadequate kit alignment problems.
The main gear doors and wells went together pretty well.
I used Eduard main gear well photo-etch parts as well as
replicating the wiring with the same model car
thin colored wire. In this
case, I used yellow wire and larger braided wire (see the underside of the
aircraft and wheel well reflection off the mirror in the picture(s) below).
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The nose gear well is where the problem lies and I certainly wish I would
have used the CMK front well.
Once assembled, there was at least a ¼ inch gap between the well
tub and the aircraft’s outer skin (argh!!).
I ended up having to putty the gap and then sand it smooth, all in
a very confined/small area. Once
sanding was complete, I added ribbing by using Evergreen styrene
strips. When painted and
washed it looked OK, but ____. |
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After the wheels and wells, I then assembled the aircraft and dealt with the
other slight problem area—the exhaust and burner cans.
The burner cans and rear fuselage actually fit together better then
expected and I painted them with SNJ aluminum and then followed with a
black wash to pick-up the detail. Similarly,
I painted the rear ring around the immediate exterior aluminum and, after
masking, I painted the exterior of the cans with Testors Metalizer
exhaust. The picture below also
highlights the rear RBF
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I decided to “open up” several vents throughout the aircraft.
In total, I drilled-out eight vents and/or air intakes and
scratch-built a vent on the starboard side of the aircraft.
In the scratch-built vent, I added a fine-mesh screen and several
very thin metal sheets to replicate the vents themselves (in the open
position). The below picture
highlights the vent and also shows the anti-collision beacon I used from Cutting
Edge.
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The kit’s wingtip formation lights are actually quite nice—all
I did was drill-out the lights themselves and filled them with red or
green paint and then glue them to the aircraft.
After fine sanding and rubbing them out with Bluemagic polishing
compound, they look pretty realistic.
I’ve found Bluemagic to be the best compound on the market
today for modeling and polishing canopies,
windscreens or any clear part to ensure they “sparkle under the
lights.”
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Normally, I try to use a new technique with each model and I did so with this
kit as well. I was enthralled by how dirty Lightnings get and wanted to
replicate this look as nearly as possible with this kit.
In my research, I found the Aeroguide No. 8 Lightning book showed
“this look” the best, particularly in the aft portion of the aircraft around
the CPU exhaust (see below of actual aircraft).
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After experimentation with artist oils, inks and other products, I went back to Pelican
water-based inks as the best way to replicate these stains/streaks.
With any water-based inks like Pelican, I believe you can control
the amount of ink/smear better. Even
better (from my perspective), if you don’t get the effect you want, you can
immediately wipe it off with water and reapply.
Below photos show both the port and starboard rear of the model with this
weathering technique applied.
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Lastly, I decided to scratch build the intake cover and prominent
long pitot tube. Scratch
building the intake cover with handles was easy, but it took me several
weeks to find straight pins with the exact head to replicate the securing
points along the side of the Lightening.
I used telescoping stainless steel tubing for the pitot tube and
added a cover made from the typical armor modeling technique of white glue
and tissue paper. I added the
RBF flag while the glue was still wet to ensure it adhered to the finished
cover. |
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I
painted the model with Testor Model Master enamel paints.
For the underside I used FS 36440 (Flat Gull Grey); FS 36314 (Flint Grey)
for the mid-fuselage; and FS 36270 (Neutral Grey) for the top of the wings.
These are the FS colors recommended by Aeromaster and several
other publications on the Lightning and I found them to be pretty realistic.
I washed the entire aircraft in Pelican sepia/black ink and wiped
away the access with water. I’ve
found this wash method to be superior to artist oils because it is faster and
can be immediately corrected with water. Finally
and in an effort to make the aircraft look even more worn, I dry brushed several
panels throughout the entire aircraft with a slightly lighter color paint
(several of the pictures above show this effect).
In the end, I truly enjoyed adding this model to my collection and I’m
mostly satisfied with the “worn and dirty” look of this replica Lightning
F.6 from 11 Squadron.
Al
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