Phantom FGR2 and Buccaneer S2D - 1/48 Hasegawa and Airfix

[bryanm]

At last - two 20+ year builds completed! 

 

I started both of these in the mid-nineties.  My employers decided to send me to Central Asia for three years in 1997 so I took both of them with me, plus a supply of modelling materials, thinking the long dark winter evenings would be great for modelling.  Some hope!  They came back with me in 2000 unchanged and sat until last year in the same state.

 

The Phantom is from the Hasegawa Collector's series with a photo-etch fret, white metal parts and soft tyres.  I got as far as assembling the airframe ( I wish I had taken a bit more trouble with the fit of the intakes) but it then sat in its box as an unloved lump of grey plastic until last year.  It had decals for the 50th Anniversary Transatlantic Air Race, but I have used Xtradecal 74 Squadron markings.  It was one of those models which I felt I ought to build but never had much passion for, but as it moved towards completion, it slowly transformed into something I now really like.

 

The Airfix Buccaneer has got something of a reputation but it wasn't too bad.  I had done very little to it - just assembled the upper and lower wing halves, the slipper tanks and the ejector seats.  Some of the sink marks were enormous and needed a lot of filling, especially on some of the cockpit components.  The fuselage mouldings are very floppy, but cementing the bomb door into the lower half stiffens it up a lot and lets you get a reasonable fit.  Working round the joints a section at a time and leaving them to set really hard gives a good result.  The worst parts are the lower part of the intakes, the top surface of the wings and the airbrakes.  I think I could have saved a lot of filling by gently bending the tabs that form the lower part of the intakes (part of the lower fuselage moulding) downwards so they matched the intakes better; by assembling the top wing halves to the completed fuselage to get the best possible fit on the top and then adding the lower halves;  but I don't think you can do much with the airbrakes unless you want to have them open!  They hardly fit at all if closed.  Using the kit decals was a mistake.  They are fuzzy and some of them silvered badly even on a  Kleer base.  The roundels had a very slight out-register white margin which I carefully trimmed off.  Model Alliance do a replacement set for a very similar scheme.

 

Both are 'from the box' but I may replace the Bucc pitot with a Master one as I've it broken twice already and it's very fragile.  They are brush painted with Humbrol and Xtracolor enamels.

 

 

Edited July 14, 2017 by bryanm

[Simon382]

Certainly worth the wait as they both look great. luving the Bucc as used to work with them, shame it's in the wrong colours though, lol!!!!

[Janremco]

Nice pair of aircraft.

 

Jan Rdmco

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

4 hours ago, Simon382 said:

shame it's in the wrong colours though,

Don't listen to him..He's  brainwashed biased      Blackburn's finest has to be EDSG

[exdraken]

Very nice!

[bar side]

Like the 74sqn phantom and the buc.  Very nice.  Need to build a buccaneer one day - you've done it well

[bryanm]

Thanks for the comments.

 

The Bucc had to be in an FAA scheme as I'm ex-RNR! 

[RMCS]

Iconic......

[Mark4700]

Two superb aircraft, very nicely done.  

[F-32]

Lovely work

[bryanm]

Thanks for all the comments and 'likes'.

 

I was clearing up the Bucc box yesterday and found the transparent sprue, still with the landing light and strobes on it.  After adding those, it really is finished now!