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*Done!* Quadruple booms - parallel build Vampire T11 and a Sea Vixen


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I'm not sure I should be starting a 2nd WIP thread with one still outstanding and a RFI still to post but hey ho

 

I've made a start on a pair of de Havilland jets - the Airfix Vampire T11 and Revell Sea Vixen. No aftermarket toys - I'm aiming for a relaxed and easy life

 

I hadn't quite realized how big the difference in sizes between these planes was. With the family resemblance I thought they'd be similar(ish) but the Vixen is a behemoth

 

IMG_43291_zpsfg9rg8np.jpg

 

The most minor of mods for the Sea Vixen - reshaped seat based on the kit seat with added stretched sprue and scrap polystyrene sheet to make something that if you squint could look almost right

IMG_43311_zpsyrlxytzl.jpg

 

and a couple of shims of sheet added to stretch and slim the nose a bit (which handily gives me a neat compartment for hiding some fishing weights)

 

IMG_43301_zpsalosqa2q.jpg

 

Other than that it has been mundane cobbling together with the odd dash of regret (I wish I'd made more effort on the Vixen cockpit now that it is sealed up). a lot of filling and sanding is in the offing

 

IMG_43891_zpsjuvtwqjs.jpg

Edited by LostCosmonauts
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Nice to see a Sea Vixen - and the mods have added nicely to the model.

Both went together really well by the look of it?

Good stuff there Sir!

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Thanks both - Vampire has been straightforward, Vixen less so

 

Main issue atm is the join between the booms and the rest of the model. I thought I had it looking ok (primed grey) and then did an all over coat of matt white to make any flaws more visible and to my horror it did exactly that. Fill, sand, repeat

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Looking good the pair of them. The Airfix Vampire is a lovely little kit, the best I've ever had the pleasure of building. Watch out for the pitot on the fin though - mine broke off quite a few times during construction and handling. If the Revell kit is the ex-Frog mould then the kits were designed sixty years apart, so you might expect it to need a bit more work.

 

23 hours ago, LostCosmonauts said:

I'm not sure I should be starting a 2nd WIP thread with one still outstanding and a RFI still to post but hey ho

If you aren't allowed more than one WIP at a time we would all have been banned a long time ago!

 

Look forward to seeing some paint.

 

Regards,

Adrian

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  • 1 month later...

Some more progress to report - odds and sods of painting and a start on the decals for the Vampire and a first go at getting the colour on the Vixen

 

IMG_4669_zpspl74thmq.jpg

 

Looking at the Vampire I now see that the stripes on the wing are a bit too far outboard of the booms but I can probably live with that. I'll petition the owners of the real one to repaint theirs to better mimic mine

Edited by LostCosmonauts
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~~~~ intermission ~~~~

 

I'm going to break three habits of a lifetime due to @Graham77's kit sale (do go check it out - he's selling some nice kits and raising money for a terrific cause and charity)

 

A helicopter?! A boat?! An eventual diorama?! 

 

IMG_4673_zpsonne7wqe.jpg

 

Edited by LostCosmonauts
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State of play:

- Sea Vixen patiently awaits its decals and touching up of paint

- Vampire pretty much done, just needs a matt coat

 

IMG_4674_zpsdtdukhyp.jpg

 

Not a bad looking pair although I've only just realised that despite all the lead in the nose the Sea Vixen is still a tail sitter

Edited by LostCosmonauts
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Smidge more progress - decals on, a bit of touching up, some very discreet weathering here and there and then the last clearcoats to go on

 

IMG_4699_zps1a3v5lcv.jpg

 

Although the Matchbox Sea Vixen has flaws it built up into a handsome (to my eyes) model. Not great detail, issues with fit and raised panel lines but it gives the right impression and that's pretty much all I want out of a model

 

 

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