wadeocu

This photo shows the nose art in a less tatty condition than I have seen elsewhere and confirms that it was left intact for some short period of time. The nose art is on top of the roundel which makes me think she had the grey paint job before the desert pink which is entirely possible. The Granby Buccs did not have roundels painted in this location while in their desert uniforms. Thanks Mark - great find!

I believe XX885 was the only gulf Bucc to get the grey paint and retain some of the nose art. There are a bunch of pictures of it with the "sky pirates flag" on the port side and the mission markers on the starboard side. These were still there by the time she retired but the "hello sailor" nose art was gone. I have seen earlier pictures of the grey paint job on XX885 with some tatty remnants of the "hello sailor" nose art on top of the grey but it was mostly washed away. It is hard to reconcile because it looks like there was grey underneath but I think the grey was applied after the desert pink paint job, but I may be wrong about that. I am not sure of the exact date the first Bucc got it's grey paint job. Hope this helps. - Jack

Looks like hard work going on in those photos! I can hear the lineys now: "Temporary my a$%!".

The RAF has done some gaudy howlers as well. I have always felt that the 12 squadron and 208 squadron special schemes for the Buccaneer were awful! To each their own I suppose.

A build worthy of thread revival! Do you happen to recall what paint you used for the martels? I think it is spot on!

I agree that it looks as if there is no dropped slat or folded wing feature. I hate that they offer the extended nose leg without dropped slats. It is just nonsense to have the extended nose leg without the dropped slats and a posable tailplane. I know they did it at airshows once in awhile, but that doesn't do it for me. I'd add pilot figures to that list for the same reasons but even if they do that, it will be those same old maskless, fused hands useless thingys, but still. Maybe they will do a release with added parts like the Tamiya F-14. As long as I am dreaming, maybe they will time that release to coincide with a 1/48 Ark Royal catapult deck section that I fantasize about!

Poor command of the written word on my part hopkp. I meant they could release a hunter t.7/f.6 boxing with decals for 12, 15, 16, 208, and 216 squadrons plus 237 ocu of course. If they throw in parts for the f.6 they could add 12, 208, 216 and 237 ocu single seat f.6 options. Just dreaming of the ultimate Buccaneer trainer boxing. One can dream about anything far fetched or otherwise, but I thought a boxing dedicated to Buccaneer operations would be a more realistic fantasy than a new 1/32 Buccaneer kit. For me, that would be news on the order of the second coming, but I’d be excited to shell out money for a Hunter boxing dedicated to Buccaneer operations.

I can see it and it is a perfect fit! Absolutely an unfortunate lost opportunity to start rumors in the modelling world of a forthcoming 1/32 Buccaneer. Really, I just hope they do a Buccaneer trainer boxing with markings options from all the Buccaneer squadrons. They could even throw in some single seat options! In the meantime, I fixed this one to comport with your vision Speedy:

Gary - I was scrolling down to post this exact question because you nailed this detail along with all the rest. This is the first example I have seen of success with the MD wing fold set. I have a few and they do look lovely but they also do look difficult to fit. You pulled that off brilliantly and this is inspiring! You hit all the other details in the most spot on fashion as well: inside airbrake color is right despite the bad call out on the instructions for EDSG here, you caught the one glaring mistake on the decal sheet with the no white background for the fire control panel, and even the sheen on the finish for an 809 "glossy" Bucc looks just right to me! I can almost see my 5 year old self standing against the nose gear with my Silver Jubilee shirt on! That is the kind of evocative memory or sense of realism that I think is the golden ring for which modelers reach and so often disappointment themselves with hypercriticisms! You sir, have firmly grasped the ring with this build - congratulations! - Jack

Very nice result. Love the Granby lineup! When you go in to swap the LGB out, I suggest moving the sidewinder to the pylon you have the LGB on and putting the correct LGB on the inboard pylon. Sidewinder was always on that port outboard pylon. You could also go with 2 LGBs and no sidewinder as that did happen later in the operation. There is an adapter rail for the sidewinder too, but you don't need to worry with that if you go with 2 LGBs. - Jack

Well the box art scheme is a spurious mash up of a couple of different schemes and some of the equipment depicted is for later mods such as the stepped housing for the wideband homers and ILS antenna - but yes, that's just a painting. Parts indicate an independently developed design, not an Airfix copy. Main gear bays for example do not seem to be a multi-piece design with support structure like Airfix. There do appear to be parts for a nose fold although the detail does not look very impressive and not very accurate from what I can see in the fuzzy pics. Not sure what those missiles are supposed to be but they look a bit skinny to be Martels and the fins don't look right. So, to summarize, this appears to be a standard Trumpeter production. Judging these issues from these pictures is a bit like trying to look through a key hole to see into the next room though so we shall see. By the way, the Xtradecal Bucc sheets are packed with accuracy issues too, so not the best rescue option. Honestly, the very best Buccaneer decal sheets are those that come in the Airfix kits. A few minor nitpicks on the Airfix decal sheets with one or two schemes but for the most part they are fantastic! - Jack

Delightful result! Love the OCU "schooling" zap on the fox for this one. - Jack

You could do a wraparound scheme in this configuration. Here is XW531 in May 79 at Honington with this load out: But, you have a fantastic wraparound example with your Pulsator Bucc so why not mix it up with an earlier LAG underside example? I’m just biased though as my dad’s era was 73-77 so my personal memories are of the LAG bottom Buccs! As for the wing thingies, my dad told me they had the wide band homer housed inside. They were not permanently fixed so you could go either way but I think they were standard kit for maritime operations. My dad tells stories of using those, the Blue Parrot and the AR seekers in the Martels to try and locate ships on the sea. When you settle on your scheme choice, let’s see if we can find a photo to confirm all these details. Happy to help with that effort. - Jack

Following with interest! Here is an XN 12 Sqn Bucc with a load out I have always been fond of: