AAbshier

Actually, as delivered, there was only the maple leaf emblem. There's a nice shot of a brand-new 5 Sqn. F6 in the Aeroplane Monthly Lightning supplement (page 70) showing this. Andy

Actually, the early F6s, delivered in the 1960s, did not have guns. Ventral guns didn't start appearing until 1971 or so. I know this because I had planned to do my gun-equipped F6 as 5 Sqdn. in NMF, but all of the pictures of their NMF Lightnings showed them with no guns! Also, a few airplanes late in the type's life, mostly with LTF, were not equipped with guns. Andy

Actually, the Grand Phoenix decals for the one-off DSG/DG F6 with Type D roundels will work for an NMF F6, if you can put up with the reds looking muddy. If I do one, I'm painting my roundel bars and using roundels and fin flashes with brighter reds. Andy

Ahem: http://www.aviation-picture-hangar.co.uk/xr754.html You were saying....? But to stay on topic, I'm looking forward to his release too, except that MRC in the United States will jack the price up to the stratosphere! Andy

Having just finished an F6 with patched-together decals from no less than four sources, including adapted Barracudacals stenciling, I'm very happy to see a gloss-printed and very nice decal included with the reissue. I can now use my carefully-hoarded Grand Phoenix black stencils on a future NMF F6! I have one on special order with my LHS, and I'll build another in due course. Andy

Heh. My completed F1A and F2 both have black cockpits! I had been under the impression that the Lightnings cockpits starting with the F3 were grey, but I'm not sure where I got that from. Frontal cerebral flatulence, perhaps. OK, grey it is for the F2A. I'll go black for the F1, just so all of my early-tail Lightnings are consistent! Andy

I've just started preliminaries on my next two Lightnings, an F1 of 226 OCU and an F2A of 19 Squadron, and have these questions: 1. Did the F1s of 226 OCU carry live missiles at any point, or were they generally flown without missiles or acquisition rounds? 2. On the F2As, were the cockpits black, or were they repainted grey at the time of conversion to F2A standard? 3. Also, on the F2A, did they get the auxiliary air scoops on the right side of the fuselage at the time of conversion? Did they also get the flange at the aft end of the AGTB exhaust? Thanks Andy

I was wondering when someone would notice it! XR769 did fly with the dual markings for a short time after the aircraft was taken up by 5 Squadron: http://www.aviation-picture-hangar.co.uk/xr769am.html Andy

Hi Stu, Nothing in-progress on the F6 (I wanted to get it done and not interrupt to take photos), but I did review the F1A (Eduard rebox) for Modeling Madness, and that includes some in-progress shots: http://modelingmadness.com/reviews/viet/gb/ab48lite.htm I'm planning an F2A from the reissue, which just reached our shores. Since I already have a 92 Squadron aircraft I'll do the F2A as 19 Squadron eventually. I'm in the middle of a house move, which is why I built the F6 at top speed; I wanted to get it done before having to pack up the model bench! Andy

My regular camera is on the fritz, but while I had all three out, I couldn't resist taking a snap with my iPhone. Left to right: F1A, 56 Squadron; F2, 92 Squadron; F6, 5 Squadron. I'll take better photos soon when I get my camera working again. Andy Alton IL, USA

I LOVE that you did your model with clear windows and windshield! To me that looks much more real than the decal windows many favor (though I've built a few airliners that way, also). Great job! Andy

I have this set, intended for an ancient Revell 727-100 blank I have had ready to paint for 32 years (!!). I'm in the process of using a different set of decals from Vintage Flyer, and have a few tips: 1. The decal film is pretty tough, but the printing isn't. On the decal I was using (National DC-6B) I got a few pigment chips on the stripes when I cut them out using a straightedge and a #11 blade. Cutting out with scissors solves this problem. 2. The decals do respond to the Microscale decal system, but will take some coaxing over compound curves and bumps. The Continental 727-100 set does indeed look good, and matches well with the one photo of the actual aircraft I've found: http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2436/3745396...1e2a_z.jpg?zz=1 Apparently it was a rare bird even when it was in service! Andy

I think Eduard 48250 is a better choice overall if you're doing an F6. The Zoom set doesn't have any canopy details that I can see, that is definitely an F2A instrument panel, and it lacks the dispersal vanes for the ventral gunports of the F6. Plus, since 48250 is supplied unpainted, you have no worries about matching pre-printed colors. Andy

As it turns out, using the resin cockpit as a guide, I know how to redo the Revell cockpit so that the resin seat fits. So I guess there is another Hunter in my future. Any Blue Diamonds markings available in 1/32nd? Andy

A good online place to start is Vertical Reality's pages on the Lightning: http://www.aviation-picture-hangar.co.uk/Lightning.html Another good overview is Volume 11 of Wings of Fame, which gives a fine history of the Lightning. Andy

If you know someone with an Eduard rebox of the small-tank Lightning kit, it does have separate instrument panels for the F1A and F2. You might see if they can spare the F2 version. That said, I'm a pretty solid Lightning-phile, but I couldn't tell an F2A from an F6 panel on a bet, so I'm not worrying about it for mine! Andy

I'm thinking of getting one to go with my Revell Gannet! That looks like a great kit. Andy

I don't have an unbuilt F2A/F6 any more, but will give your early Lightning a good home if you're interested! (email me if so) Andy

I tried altering the cockpit so that the seat would fit and made a total hash of it. A True Details (ex-KMC) resin cockpit has been ordered, and I can drop my finished seat into that. Of course, the question is, what can I put that extra seat in? Andy

Eduard 48-250 has canopy details, and also some nice wheel well parts that greatly enhance the wheel wells without the trauma of trying to get the Aires resin wheel wells installed! Andy

My latest Lightning (an F6, awaiting stencil decals) has a Neomega cockpit and Eduard etch from the older set 48-250. The Eduard set includes wheel well tops in relief-etched brass that are easy to install, only requiring minimum thinning of the upper wing half. The set also includes some useful bits for the canopy and exterior. To me a resin cockpit is essential, especially for the F3 and F6 variants with grey cockpits. I've used the Cutting Edge cockpit and it is excellent, but also impossible to find these days. Neomega's cockpit is readily available and fits well. Andy

Works for me. I've used their Mk. 4s in two different Lighning projects and I was happy with them. I just took one to test fit into my Mirage cockpit and it works perfectly. Thanks to all for the tips! Andy

I did a complete paint job on the seat BEFORE fitting it to the cockpit, natch. The seat is gorgeous (even if I painted it myself) so I really want to use it, but it seems too long at the base for the cockpit. I know it was designed for KMC's own resin cockpit for the kit, so maybe that's the way I need to go, except I have the cockpit painted too. Conundrum! Any ideas on how to proceed? Andy

Hi folks, Post title says it all. I have an Eduard Mirage that is otherwise ready to be started, but needs a seat! (I don't like doing PE harnesses, so prefer a resin replacement.) Andy

Great job on a pig of a kit. I fought an F1A/F3 (built as an F3) for 3 months, and won, but nearly gave up on it at least twice. Andy