matto21 Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 (edited) 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 the RAF Valley 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 - I've got a lot of DIY tasks at the moment so modelling time is limited! Thanks for looking Matt Edited December 1, 2017 by matto21 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever219 Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 Nice choice. Any thoughts yet on colour scheme? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matto21 Posted November 29, 2017 Author Share Posted November 29, 2017 7 minutes ago, stever219 said: Nice choice. Any thoughts yet on colour scheme? The 11 Sqn grey one - I'm not a fan of NMF finishes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAG058 Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 A great kit and and an excellent book. I think I'll join you on this one! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever219 Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 45 minutes ago, matto21 said: The 11 Sqn grey one - I'm not a fan of NMF finishes! Sounds good: I'm contemplating one of the grey schemes for my 1/48th Lightning: biggest problem is which one? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted November 29, 2017 Share Posted November 29, 2017 Awesome choice and look forward to your build. Gray is good.. Good luck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinlp Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 I think I might share the same memory of the Lightning at RAF Valley, I live just at the end of the runway there. Of all the planes that ever came to Valley the Lighting was by far the one that was the most impressive, the take off was awesome to watch, just lifting off the ground then the wheels flip up before the pilot put it on its tail and shot up vertically like a rocket. Even today I find myself occasionally watching them take off on youtube videos, stunning planes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matto21 Posted November 30, 2017 Author Share Posted November 30, 2017 Thanks for the comments. Colin - sadly the airshow was the only time I saw a Lightning in flight. Many a weekend was spent on the hill at the end of the runway in Valley during the 90's watching A10's, Jaguars, Tornado's and Phantoms. Sure we even saw F111's a couple of times too. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinlp Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Shame, the lighting was special, genuinely spectacular. The Phantoms were interesting planes to watch take off too with the flames from their afterburners looking like concentric rings or the parachutes when they landed which the Lighting had too. F111s were quite common too,I only saw one with its wings swept back once,mostly they were out because they were travelling slowly here to either land or take off. The rarest (for Valley) I ever saw were the U2 and the AWACS which I only got to see once. I suppose I'm quite lucky where I live, I can see the airfield from my living room, this was taken from my living room 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matto21 Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 Wow, you are close! Plenty of variety in Valley back in the day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gondor44 Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 (edited) Um..... is this 1/72 or 1/48 which the title says? I'm going to follow the build anyway Gondor Edited December 1, 2017 by Gondor44 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratch Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 The box is the 1/72 one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matto21 Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 Oops, sorry. A glaring error on my part! It's the 1:72 as per the box! Thread title amended. I blame predictive text... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matto21 Posted December 2, 2017 Author Share Posted December 2, 2017 (edited) I'm going to use the Barracuda Cast cockpit set with this. Comparing the original with the replacement shows its no competition. Although, to be fair, the cockpit aperture is pretty tiny so it may prove to be a waste of time! Matt Edited December 2, 2017 by matto21 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 ...I'm watching. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 Watch out, mine was a bit of a "TARDIS" fit when trying to get the intakes into the fuselage. Big ejector pin marks were the culprit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted December 2, 2017 Share Posted December 2, 2017 Even in 48th the Lightning cockpit is pretty well invisible. Still, you'll know that it's all in there! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matto21 Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 (edited) The cockpit tub fits really well and only required a minimum of effort on my part. Nothing is fixed yet, dry fitted only: However Harry was right when he said the intake can be problematic to fit. I haven't done much in the way of fettling yet, again this is a dry run only: Finally, this is a tail sitter so I've started off adding some weight - but it's going to need more! Thanks Matt Edited December 3, 2017 by matto21 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 By the looks of it you've filled the wheel bay with lead shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 There was a Lightning Group Build a while back, and I remember that many of us had trouble closing up the fuselage on this kit. The resin cockpit looks fantastic. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted December 3, 2017 Share Posted December 3, 2017 (edited) I've built one and got half another that needs finishing. I had to take a load off the outside of the intake assembly and clean up the pin marks on the inside of the fuselage halves. I think i'll finish my half built one now. Here's my finished one. I'm no expert at building kits, but I was quite pleased with it. Edited December 3, 2017 by Harry_the_Spider 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matto21 Posted December 3, 2017 Author Share Posted December 3, 2017 6 hours ago, Harry_the_Spider said: By the looks of it you've filled the wheel bay with lead shot. Yes, you are quite right. No, I didn't look at the instructions. Yes, I wish I had now! Looks like I'll have to rebuild the wheel bay with plastic card because I can't be bothered waiting for spare parts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 I only know this because I did exactly the same thing... hence the half built kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matto21 Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 (edited) After a lot of sanding to remove the ejector pins inside the fuselage, and to the intake itself, I've managed to get a decent fit, top and bottom. I've also crudely rebuilt the wheelbay with plastic card, although this will need more work once the fuselage is joined properly. Matt Edited December 5, 2017 by matto21 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry_the_Spider Posted December 6, 2017 Share Posted December 6, 2017 You have inspired me to get on with mine now. Sadly the radome/intake assembly is beyond repair. I did manage to get the ballast out of the wheel bay, but due to excessive amounts of glue, filler and stupidity the tear dropped shaped section collapsed and now resembles a jalapeno. I tried to build it back up with filler and it looks OK-ish, but I will know that it is a mess so I’ll get a spare parts enquiry off to Airfix. I don’t want to start hating a kit at the very start of the build, I normally like to get at least a week or two into it first (see my Gannet thread). To stop my other Lightning from tail sitting I managed to get a couple of 5g wheel balance weights on the back of the bulkhead behind the pilot’s seat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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