At Sea

Bookmarked this. Excellent how to on a difficult scheme!

They'd be most welcome in my cabinet! I have the FRS.1 in my stash, the above images have tempted me to move it further up the pecking order! I actually like Airfix's panel lines at 1/72, it prevents the need to use techniques like panel shading as the lines capture the light well enough. At 1/48 then the fine line and rivet detail is great but it is too often too busy at 1/72 when a representation of the aircraft is the best you'll hope for unless you are an 'Ace' modeller.

I should add that this marvellous kit was purchased from @Duncan B at Black Mike Models. 👍

Yup. Italeri Stirling, the RFI is on here. Thanks very much.

Stunning... Where's my wallet!

😆

Got some yellow paint from Setchfields in Poole when we were there on Friday so got to give Wing Commander Owen & his Nav some lifejackets and some yellow stripes on their bang seats! Now it is carefully packed in bubble wrap and a box to await repatriation whilst the Harrier continues apace!

Thanks, the rivet detail really impressed me. Sorry. Humbrol, not Halfords. Humbrol 163 Dark Green Humbrol 27 Sea Grey Humbrol 165 Medium Sea Grey Halfords Satin laquer.

Thanks, MicroSol, but the roundels are Airfix and the codes are Xtradecal.

Correct. My plan is to build XZ499 as she would have looked en route back to Hermes after combat. So a single Sidewinder on the Stbd wing and a empty rail on Port.

Wow.

Hi there, cobbled this one together completely OOB. Finished with Humbro & Halfords Aerosols. The kit decals were good apart from the roundels which looked a bit odd in colour so I used Airfix ones from my spares box. I used Mig Ammo oil brusher silver to do the engine panels and black eyeshadow for exhaust staining, a very restrained wash and then Halfords Satin laquer. All in all a great fun kit to build, and I have another couple in the stash!

If my FRS.1 comes out looking half as good as that I'll consider it a roaring success!

Revell 1/48 Tornado F3 built as 36-10 of the Aeronautica Militaire for the Tornado Warning Group Build. Master Pitot, Pavla resin seats, Mark1 dozen set Decals plus some Italian stencils from the Revell Typhoon kit. Build thread here:

Nice work on a well know incident.

It is a belt & braces arrangement. If the canopy doesn't detach, then the MDC shatters it. See below extract: "2.5 Aircraft Canopy and Associated Jettison System. 2.5.1 The Tornado canopy was an assembly constructed from a stretched acrylic transparency manufactured in two sections, joined by an aluminium alloy strap [9]. The assembly had a mass of around 140kg [10]. It was hinged and pivoted at the rear, providing access to the front and rear cockpits. 2.5.2 The canopy was raised and lowered hydraulically by a single canopy jack, with the locking being carried out mechanically via a shootbolt mechanism [11]. Internal handles in each cockpit and an external handle on the front left-hand side of the fuselage controlled canopy movement. 2.5.3 Jettisoning of the canopy was accomplished via two rocket motors, situated one each side at the forward corners. Actuation of the Canopy Jettison System (CJS) was Page 6 of 70 QINETIQ/AT&E/CR00782/1 initiated by either operation of the canopy jettison handle, or as part of the automatic ejection sequence. 2.5.4 The jettison sequence commenced with either the ejection sequence or the canopy jettison handle operating the canopy jettison initiator unit [7] (Figure 8-8). The initiator unit comprised of two breech units in a main body, a bell-crank and a piston unit. Expending gases, generated by the firing of the unit cartridges, were fed to the Canopy Unlocking Jacks (CUJ's) and canopy jack mechanism via two outlet connections [12]. 2.5.5 The expanding gases detached the canopy jack by operation of the canopy jack release mechanism, which activated the canopy jack trunnion assembly release plunger. 2.5.6 The expanding gases also rotated the locking/unlocking torque shaft via the CUJ's which unlocked the canopy and withdrew•the sears from the canopy rocket motor firing units. This caused the rocket motors to ignite, with the rocket efflux rotating the canopy assembly on its hinges away from the fuselage via nozzle assemblies (Figure 8-9). 2.5.7 As the canopy ascended, the hinges rotated around the link assembly hinge bolts until tongues at the centre of the link assembly's contact the rear of the hinge brackets. The canopy continued to rotate and sheared the centre link assembly at a machined slot (designed weak point) which freed the canopy from the hinge bracket and transferred the canopy from the aircraft separation phase to complete jettison. 2.5.8 If either of the CUJ's failed to operate during the jettison phase, the respective sear would not be withdrawn from the rocket motor firing unit, resulting in the CJS operating with only a single rocket motor." From here: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/432912/response/1089995/attach/4/20171214 FOI2017 10392 Jones Mk10a ejection seat modifications report.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1 Turns out RAF aircrew are heavier chaps than they were in 1975 when the Mk10 was cleared for Tornado, and they never envisaged female occupants either!

Looks fabulous.

Thanks for the kind words, as mentioned before the difficulty is due to the damage, the kit itself is nice, 100% better than the KittyHawk Jaguar I was 'fortunate' enough to build last year!

Been busy with real work, but managed to get the undercarriage doors all on and the fuselage joined up. The doors are not sized to fit in a closed position, and as mentioned earlier no option for the wing outriggers to be retracted is given. Still some filling and finessing to do. The uneven gap by the nose gear door and stbd intake is the last vestige of the bent fuselage. Lt. David Smith is tucked in nicely, test fits are showing that he fits well, even if this picture is the last you'll ever see of my cockpit panels... Honestly don't know why I bother! 🙂

2 great schemes in the initial boxing by the looks of it. Honestly was expecting 617 squadron in anti-flash white!

From all the images I have looked at it seems port fires first. I don’t know if this is 100% but it will do.

I am building XZ499 as it was at the time of the last air-to-air kill in the Falklands. I plan to build it in flight and on the way back to Hermes. Is there an order in which a Sea Harrier would launch it's Sidewinders? Port or Stbd first, or would it be selectable by the Pilot. Does anyone know or have a picture of XZ499 recovering to deck at the time? I presume Lt David Smith's aircraft would have come back with one missile aboard? Thanks in advance.

50% off, so £20 for this kit is worth the hassle. Everything else was fine so all the weapons and other bits are prefect. I'll only need one sidewinder on here as it'll be built as on it's way back to mother. The rest will be used on Phantoms no doubt.

Have a look at the latest Eduard Info magazine, lots of research was done into the aircraft represented in the Spitfire Story boxing and is here: https://www.eduard.com/info-eduard-1-9/

Love the 'pit. Nice work indeed.