Navy Bird Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) Hello mates, A long time ago in a galaxy far away, I had this idea of building the 1:72 Trumpeter Lightning F.2A kit. It looked great in the box, so it should be a nice quick little build, eh? Those of you who've been following my work-in-progress thread know that wasn't quite the case. By the time I was done, I had used portions of the Trumpy kit, part of the old Matchbox kit (belly tank and refueling probe), an Aires resin cockpit and bang seat, the Eduard photoetch cockpit and exterior detail sets, Quickboost rear fuselage corrections and exhaust nozzles, Quickboost resin intake ring, Xtradecal markings for 92 Squadron, Xtradecal stencils, inspiration, perspiration, and a whole lot of very bad words. The WIP thread has all the gory details. Thanks to the encouragement and expertise of my fellow Britmodellers, I think I've managed to make a reasonably nice model. Paint is mostly Alclad (aluminum, dark aluminum, magnesium, steel, dull aluminum, chrome, and white aluminum), Gunze acrylic (primarily H322 masquerading as Roundel Blue), and some Testors ModelMaster enamels. The final coat over the Alclad is their new Aqua Clear Gloss which I like quite a bit. So here she is! Enjoy! By the way, my pilot has been severely reprimanded for not only leaving the nose wheel turned, but also the air brakes open and the flaps down! So belly up to the bar, mates! The first round is on him! Cheers, Bill Edited February 17, 2018 by Navy Bird Photobucket Eradication 3
Mike DeTorrice Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Wow ! That is a superb replica you have completed here of the unmistakable Lightning interceptor. Clearly, all the hard work (and naughty words !) were well worth it. Mike
periklis_sale Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 amazing work my friend! :clap2::clap2:
trickydicky210 Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Bill Now that is a model to be very proud of, she is a real beauty!!!
Rob P Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Gorgeous, absolutely GORGEOUS! That's one to take pride of place in the display cabinet.
Rich F Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Absolutely beautiful All your hard work has paid off in replicating English Electric's finest. You've captured the shape and stance of the Lightning beautifully. Definitely one to be proud of.
Duncan B Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Bill you absolutely nailed it! This is the best model I have seen on here so far this year and the best Lightning I can remember seeing. Trumpeter please note this is what a 1/72 scale Lightning should look like, not a stubby nosed, pork bellied freak on stilts! (rant over).
Gary West Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 You did those kits proud - beautiful Lightning Bill
Harry Lime Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Bill, This model is well worth the hard slog that has been the WIP thread. The attention to detail has paid off with a simply stunning rendition of a Lightning! Mark.
crobinsonh Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Congratulations - that is stunning and the best 1/72nd Lightning I have seen.
Bri48 Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Yep....one heck of a real beauty. Compliments and 'drinks' are the order of the day. Bri
kev67 Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 that a lovely build, very crisp, looks more like 1/48 scale
AnonymousAA72 Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 That was well worth the effort Bill! She has come out a treat! 10/10
Ronnie Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 That's a superb result - such accurate work in 1/72, and a lovely finish. Ronnie
Nobby Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Lovely model all round! You seem to have captured the sit perfect! The shot head on slightly of to one side though.....wow!!! That's the one that does it for me! Daredn't build mine now!!!
Navy Bird Posted February 16, 2012 Author Posted February 16, 2012 Mike DeTorrice said: Clearly, all the hard work (and naughty words !) were well worth it. Mike Thanks, Mike. It was a fun project, I don't normally research as much as I did here, but in order to get a faithful replica it was required. It seemed like every time I found a fix for one problem, another popped up. Those were the times when my language relegated me to the naughty corner. I think the most common remark during the build was "you've got to be (expletive deleted) kidding me!" I have quite a few Trumpeter kits in the stash, but this was the first one I've built. It did not leave me with a good taste about Trumpeter's design team!! I'm afraid to pull out the Sea Fury kit. Cheers, Bill
heloman1 Posted February 16, 2012 Posted February 16, 2012 Just two words, very tasty.. Colin on the Africa Station
Navy Bird Posted February 16, 2012 Author Posted February 16, 2012 Rich F said: You've captured the shape and stance of the Lightning beautifully. Thanks - I'm glad that it came out that way. I spent a lot of time comparing to drawings, figuring out what the correct wing anhedral should be, how long the main gear legs should be, where the wings should be mounted (Trumpy had them too far forward) etc. It was really important to me, because the Lightning is one of those aircraft where its stance is a "signature" - if you don't have it right, and Trumpeter most definitely did not get it right, it just looks "off." And it's far too important of an aircraft for that! Cheers, Bill
Navy Bird Posted February 16, 2012 Author Posted February 16, 2012 Nobby said: Lovely model all round! You seem to have captured the sit perfect! The shot head on slightly of to one side though.....wow!!! That's the one that does it for me! Daredn't build mine now!!! Yeah, I think that's my favorite shot too! I have a photo of a real Lightning in the very same pose, and it was one that I kept referring to during the build, to make sure that I captured that look. It's just an awesome angle! And please, Nobby, if you have a Lightning in the stash, you owe it to humanity to build it! I am absolutely sure that you will do it justice! You will probably even scratchbuild the personal services disconnect that I left out of the cockpit. Cheers, Bill
Navy Bird Posted February 16, 2012 Author Posted February 16, 2012 Duncan B said: Bill you absolutely nailed it! This is the best model I have seen on here so far this year and the best Lightning I can remember seeing. Trumpeter please note this is what a 1/72 scale Lightning should look like, not a stubby nosed, pork bellied freak on stilts! (rant over). Thanks Duncan! I need to say that many of the Britmodellers helped me during this build, particularly Duncan, Iain, and Bill Clark, both on the forum and in PM. Even though I'm on the other side of the pond, you guys really helped with your expertise and advice! I can't thank you enough. I would have made some bone-headed decisions without you guys pointing me in the correct direction. And yes, hopefully Trumpeter has been following the WIP thread! Cheers, Bill PS. How do you get the replies to several messages all in one post? I did it one time, but I don't recall how. I don't think I manually edited the code, I think it just happened somehow.
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