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Italeri is to release a 1/32nd Lockheed-Martin F-35A Lightning II kit in 2017- ref.2506 Sources: http://www.aviationmegastore.com/f35a-lightning-ii-2506s-italeri-it2506s-aircraft-scale-modelling/product/?action=prodinfo&art=134766 http://www.italeri.com/imgup/Preview%20Italeri%202016(1).pdf V.P.

Good evening all, I got a bit of a steal on eBay and found this started Lightning F.2A/F.6 for £15. A real Mojo restorer! There were some parts painted and built and the decals were unuseable as they were water damaged, so having an F.6 which I intended to build in a grey scheme I hatched a plan to use the 11 squadron stencils and some Model Alliance decals to build the 'King Cobra', Flagship 92 of Wing Cdr Mitchell. Humbrol metal cote aluminium was used for the undersides with some panels picked out in Bare Metal Foil (Matte Aluminium). Topsides were Humbrol 163 aerosol with a Flory wash and tonal variation was acheived by using matte and satin lacquers on different panels. Enjoy.

As an aside to my "Aircraft my Father fixed" project, I've decided to build examples of other 5 Sqn aircraft from periods when he wasn't ground crew. So to begin with, here is an EE Lightning, the 1:48 Airfix kit. This is pretty much OOB with just the addition of a resin seat and decals sourced from numerous places to represent a 5 Sqn aircraft. I opened up a couple of ports and intakes in the fuselage. I can't honestly say this is one of my best builds - I made a number of mistakes during the build which caused me a certain degree of grief. The paint is Tamiya Acrylics for the camo and details and Alcad Aluminium for the undersides. Its the first time I've used Alcard for large areas, prior to this I'd just used the chrome on the Routemaster handrails. I didn't have too many problems with it. So here are the photos with my new camera!

This one came out of left field for me, I haven't heard anything about this. Apologies if this has already appeared. New Sword 1:72 Lightning T.4 (Kit SW72079): New Sword 1:72 Lightning T.5 (Kit SW72080): (pictures from www.ksmodel.pl) My heart is racing - how about yours? Cheers, Bill

I've been building my own RAF 100 collection this year and needed some models to fill gaps in the collection. I thought that joining in with this group build would be a great way of participating in the fun. So here's my 1980's contribution: An 11 Squadron Lightning F.6 based at RAF Binbrook mid-late 1980's. I always thought the low-conspicuity scheme suited the Phantom and the Lightning and being a child of the 1980's, this is exactly how I remember them, so an easy decision! Yes, it's the old Hasegawa kit: a simple and hopefully quick and painless build.

Good afternoon everyone and I hope nobody has had any bad issues with the weather lately, it has been quite bad round here. My WIP thread will be based on the 1/32 Trumpeter Lightning F.2A/F.6, a very subjective kit with many mixed reviews. I brought the kit from KingKit at a very reasonable price. It was my first purchase with them and I won't hesitate to return, so thanks KingKit for the fast delivery. There are many kit reviews and lots of information on the Lightning so I won't delve too much into that but I will however explain why I chose to model it. As you can see in the Picture I have received 'The Lightning Boys 2' from my OH for Christmas and I am nowabout 2/3 of the way through and find it fascinating! This along with a couple of other WIP threads I have been following especially The Spadgent's build has made me pluck the courage to finally get one. I have never really been that interested in them until I read a bit more about them and now I am fascinated by them. I have chose to model XS903 'AM' of 5 SQN RAF Binbrook due to the distinctive shark teeth also I prefer standard grey camouflage over the cold war style, just a preference of mine. I have also got a Quickboost Aires Ejection seat on the way, but I may decide against using this as I am thinking of modelling the jet just after take off with landing gear retracting. I also have some OOP Master casters resin engine nozzles on the way and my profound thanks to the BM BST section and Gary 'Redcap' I have a set of the OOP Xtradecal decals set to enable me to complete this. More than likely I will probably purchase more AM stuff as I need to go on if I need too and of course I have a PJ Productions pilot on order. So for now just a picture of the kit and of course the brilliant book titled 'The Lightning Boys 2' by Richard Pike. Also some of the actual aircraft. More to follow soon......... PS the 'Skyrocket' in the title was given by the pilots, Commonly described as 'Being saddled to a Skyrocket'.

For my second WIP build I've chosen another vintage kit from the stash, this time its the Hasegawa Lightning F6. Rather than use the supplied decals I'm using some 74Sqn markings from an Xtradecal Lightning sheet. I'm also going to try my best to recreate a nice shiney aluminium finish using Humbrol polished aluminium metalcote rattle can.

Ex Royal Saudi Air Force T.55 55-713 at The Midland Air Museum, pics thanks to Alan.

Back to the RAF stuff, and what better way to start than a brightly marked 'Firebirds' Lightning F.3 from the mid 60s. For some reason the F.3 is my favourite Lightning species. Again, I got this kit from eBay, and it looks like it'll need some prep. I filled in the hole in the mould of the ejector seat, and cut and filed the prong out of the backrest that fits into the pilot, as I always build my kits crewless. Can't be bothered painting pilots! On opening the box I actually really like the kit decals for the camo 5 Sqn jet, but I'd already ordered the modeldecals set as I think the chequerboard tails of 56 Sqn were outstanding. I may well get another F3 and build it with the kit decals though. So, this will be silver spray all over, another Cold War RAF warrior is underway ... Some of the parts look a bit chunky, but overall shape seems ok.

In 1947, civil war looked imminent in Paraguay. President Higinio Morinigo sensed rebellion in the air and thus decided to bolster his air arm, as this consisted mostly of WW2 unarmed training aircraft. Open Civil War broke out on March 7th 1947, by this time a dozen surplus P-38J's with mercenary pilots and ground crew recruited in the US were on their way. Most of the former Paraguayan air force sided with the Communist rebels, but the hastily repainted P-38's served pro government forces well, shooting down most of the rebellions aircraft, while carrying out bombing and strafing runs on insurgent positions. By August 20th the rebellion had been violently put down. This kit is the old 1970's Revell mold. It's not a great model, I started it as just something to tinker on between projects and it had been sitting 95% complete for the last month. I did plan on doing a Cuban machine, but I decided against using a nice decal sheet on what is a pretty poor model. Thus, I made up this little story. The P-38 did not see action in the Paraguayan Civil War.

The quality of the Airfix 48 scale Lightnings is well known. I have a dream to build one of each Lightning mark in 1/48 - I have all the base kits, we'll see whether it happens. Anyway, made a start by obtaining a resin cockpit set to give the office a little more oomph. I'll model the canopy open on this one. Quite a nice bang seat: Cockpit fit seems OK at the dry fit stage: In the meantime I have been working on other sub assemblies. The wing tips need a little attention for sink marks: But that shouldn't be too hard to deal with.

A 1/48 scale Eduard's rendition of the Airfix E.E. Lightning. Both Airfix and the Eduard kit 1134 can also be made as a F.3. Since the Eduard kit has greyish PE for the cockpit you better build a F.3. Also the lack of good panels for any Aden gun tipped the scale towards a F.3. Together with Cutting Edge decals 48076, Dmold intake ring, Q-M-T wheels and a Master-in-Miniature pitot tube resulted in this. Some different Alclad2 and Mr. Color paints, which were a closer matched red with the decals than the Mr.Paint version. If you build this kit, beware of the cable ducts being in the wrong position. They should be some 1,5 cm more aft than instructed. I got it wrong and discovered it too late.

P-38F Turbochargers & Air Intakes (648285 for Academy) 1:48 Eduard Brassin The Academy P-38 is about the best of the kits available of this attractive and capable aircraft in 1:48, but even they need a little help to reach modern standards, so here is some of that help. This set was released late last year, but fell victim to the back of one of my cupboards, and has only just come back to light. On the basis that it's better late than never, and due to the fact that they're still in stock at Eduard, here they are. As usual with Eduard's resin sets, they arrive in the familiar Brassin clamshell box, with the resin parts safely cocooned on dark grey foam inserts, and the instructions sandwiched between the two halves, doubling as the header card. Inside are twelve resin parts and a sheet of Photo-Etch (PE) to add the fine details. Due to the way the turbochargers are semi-recessed in the top of the engine nacelles, they have a front and rear portion, plus two intakes each, one above and one below the wings. The kit intakes and a strake must be removed first, and the strake is replaced by a fine PE part, with a PE heat shield around the "banjo" end of the turbo. Pretty simple, all told! When handling resin, take the precaution of wearing a mask when cutting or sanding resin, as the tiny particles are harmful to your health if breathed in. Washing the parts in warm water will also improve the adhesion of paint, as there may still be some moulding release agent on the parts when you receive them. Review sample courtesy of

Well this really is my first RFI for ages, I've been battling with this mixed media kit for months and finally given in, definitely going to stick with injection kits now I've removed this from the loft lol! Ive had this kit for ages and finally decided to build it last Christmas to go with my Airfix F6 - to be fair the kit goes together ok, just my cack handed modelling that made it more difficult. The base kit was actually an F3 but I wanted to do an F1a as I had a spare Airfix F1 fin. So with that in mind its probably not 100% accurate, I shortened the ducting on the lower fuselage but theres probably more I should have done. The Eagle Eyes among you will probably notice the markings on the fin are not quite right for an F1 either, they are modified F3 decals kindly supplied by fellow Britmodeller Rob G (Cheers mate!). All OOB apart from the pitot tube. Paint used was Revell Aquacolour Aluminium & Silver and yellow and black for the spine and fin. Anyway, here is it, only managed to get a few passable photos :-)

As a side topic to the 'what should Airfix be making' and the inevitable 'why?' and 'why not' posts that follow can you list your personal wishlists in 3 categories: Near term - those you feel are likely to come to fruition in a year or two, even if you won't be buying it Medium term - within say 5 years, and can include those models You want to see that are a faintly realistic proposition. Long term - when you will be planning a release from your cryogenic chamber. (note: whilst the long term plans may include unlikely makes or marks, or even a corrected version of a current bestseller please try keep them fairly realistic - I doubt Airfix will be making a Tibetan homemade glider at any point despite the clamouring for one) .... Ok I'll start off (and I'll try to keep it as new kits only not rereleases) Near: Single seat Vamps P-47 (razor and bubble) D3A Val (extending the pacific WW2 niche) Buccaneer (a big UK seller and the old one is aged) Meteors (including at least 1 each T & NF) 2 seat Lightning (so many fighters, needs a matching trainer) Medium: Whirlwind (the forgotten WW2 fighter) DH106 Comet (4s please, RAF & Dan Air schemes) Victor (much demanded to replace the aging Matchbox) F-4 Phantoms (a European sized hole will persist unless FujiGawa get cheaper, or Revell add to their F) Panther/Cougar - (expanding the USN theme in to post war) Long: Vulcan (old mould is creaking) Wellesley (Forgotten type, fits with a WW2 desert theme) Gazelle (hard to find, simply needs updating to modern standards) Wasp/Scout (a missing link so long oop) Viggan (actually pretry much any Saab as the reborn Heller seen reluctant to mass market, and non-Gripens aren't commonplace) *I reserve the right to change my mind if I think of new options (and given time I could extend to top 100s!)

English Electric Lightning F.53 53-671. Aircraft was purchased back by BAe from Saudi Arabia. Now at Gatwick Aviation Museum. This aircraft is fully live and does engine runs. Pics mine.

Again, breaking own rules regards 2 models on the bench with time constraints (2 builds in the F16 STGB!) I am in with another Lightning.....I know there are a few around, in different scales and NMF, but I will build out of the box, depicting the 92Sqn DG over Aluminium finish. In my view you can never have too many cold war lightnings, its in my stash, so, im gonna build it! I have tended to build 1/48 since I returned to the hobby (I built a lovely Airfix 1/48 F6 in the Lightning STBG) but have started on some projects that need 1/72, so have started playing with fiddly bits again and re-engaged the carpet monster in that ongoing war over small parts! The Airfix starter kit is quite big and complex for a starter kit, with acrylic paints (never used may try!?) etc. Bit of a hiccup! Looks to me as if the ground crew are in the older style NBC suits. Any experts tell me if the missiles are live?

Hello All. I've had a few laidback months modelling wise and have been slowly chipping away at Airfix's HE 111 which has suffered a series of setbacks, namely a warped canopy straight from the box, which means I cannot continue until hopefully Airfix kindly send me a replacement... Nevermind! After seeing @The Spadgent getting stuck into his P-38 I thought I'd shelve the Heinkel and start a WIP with an MPM P-38 in 1/72, which has been in the drawer for months: When I bought this, I grabbed a set of War Birds decals which contained Col. Olds Scat II: Col. Olds is a legend and started his combat career in WW2 where he flew P-38's and P-51's and I've always wanted to pay homage to this incredible man. A particular story which has always stuck with me was where Olds shot down an enemy fighter whilst in a glide. This excerpt from Wikipedia details the story: "On an escort mission to Wismar on August 25 1944, his flight was on the far left of the group's line abreast formation and encountered 40-50 Messerschmitt Bf 109s near Wittenberge, flying north at the same 28,000 ft (8,500 m) altitude in a loose formation of three large vees. Olds turned his flight left and began a ten-minute pursuit in which they climbed to altitude above and behind the Germans. Over Bützow, undetected by the Germans, Olds and his wingman jettisoned their fuel drop tanks and attacked, although the second element of the flight had been unable to keep up during the climb. Just as Olds began firing, both engines of his P-38 quit from fuel exhaustion; in the excitement of the attack he had neglected to switch to his internal fuel tanks. He continued attacking in "dead-stick mode", hitting his target in the fuselage and shooting off part of its engine cowling. After fatally damaging the Bf 109 he dived away and restarted his engines. Despite battle damage to his own plane, including loss of a side window of its canopy, Olds shot down two during the dogfight and another on the way home to become the first ace of the 479th FG." Anyway, let's get stuck in! I started with the office, cleaning the parts and preparing them for my own mix of US interior green, Tamiya XF-71 and FX-4 at a 2:1 ratio: I then painted the radio sets and various controls with a matt black: Dry-brushed grey and silver then picked out the various knobs and pipes: Assembling begins with the seat onto the cockpit floor and I made some harnesses with Tamiya masking tape and sandwich bag ties stripped and bent to make buckles and harness fittings: These were then painted: Fitting the cockpit walls and test fitting into the main fuselage completed the work for today: Sadly that'll probably it until next weekend as the working week beckons. Hope you've enjoyed! JB

English Electric Lightning F.2A Starter Set Airfix 1:72 The Cold War era created some iconic aircraft that have remained in the hearts of aviation enthusiasts ever since. None more so than the functional but beautiful looking Lightning which was designed with the ability to get to its intercept point as fast as possible. It's design does little to hide this purpose, with two powerful Avon turbojets in an unconventional stacked arrangement at the rear and a highly swept thin wing configuration leaving little room for the array of additional equipment, cockpit, landing gear and fuel. The aircraft developed a charismatic lump underneath to address the lack of internal fuel, but it was never to become an aircraft famed for its endurance capability. Despite a career spanning nearly 30 years, the Lightning was only ever operated by three nations, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and of course Britain, but if you want to see one flying now, a trip to Capetown to see Thunder City's T.5 will be necessary although there is plans to restore a T.5 to airworthy condition in the USA in the near future. The F.2A kit was reviewed in May of this year by Paul HERE, so I won't do a review of the kit to avoid replication. That kit had decals for XN793 in the high visibility scheme as it wore in '72, however whilst this starter kit also includes decals for the same aircraft, they are the low visibility colours that it wore in 1974. Paint scheme for this aircraft was dark green over natural metal. Conclusion Whilst there has been some quality issues with the canopies provided in some of the Lightning kits, it has excellent detail and has been well received in the community with great results coming off fellow Britmodeller production lines. Whilst this set is obviously aimed at novice builders by providing the basic paints, glue and brushes to build it, it also provides a choice for more experienced builders if you want this decal option. Review sample courtesy of

I've done a wee tribute build and video for the Airfix 1/48 Lightning. Here it is, warts and all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y110jORz_LI&feature=youtu.be

Hi all, I'm currently in the latter stages of building a 1/48 Aeroclub EE Lightning F1 and made a hash of the squadron markings on the fin and had to remove them Does anybody know of any 111 Squadron decal sheets in 48th apart from the Modellers Alliance sheet as I canst stretch to 15 quid to finish the model, or has anybody got any 111 Squadron bits in the spares box?? Thanks in advance Simon

Found this pic on twitter the other day, don't know much about it but it looks awesome and projects the size of the Vulcan well;

Please see the link to the progress page. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234995376-english-electric-lighting-f3-xp753-74-tigers-squadron-148-airfix/ Built out of the box with only Humbrol products and in tribute to all those who lost their lives in this exciting aircraft, XP753 crashed in the 1980's but here she is with 74 Squadron in the 1960's at Leuchars.

Afternoon folks - my first 1:32 jet and it was an enjoyable build. This represents Sqd Ldr Black from 1965 - XR711 of 111 Sqd Wattisham. It is OOB except I got some Xtradecals to supplant some of the kit decals as they were incorrect in size. I also need to mention 'Keith in the UK' and 'DHDove' who kindly stepped in with some spare kit decals after I made a hash of the fin! Cheers guys - much appreciated. I decided early on to have this hanging from my ceiling in my office at home so built it wheels up and sourced a pilot from PJ Productions. I have put it up this afternoon and it looks great! Also the good news is I reckon I could get another 4 up there so happy days! Etched in my mind is the Lightning displays at RAF St Athan in the 70's & 80's and the excitement of them coming in low and fast - left to right along the crowd line. I've always wanted to recreate this and hence the reason it is hanging up! Hope you like it Chris

Evening all. The lightning is done. For me a fairly quick build but mostly a really enjoyable one. The kit is one of the best I have ever built. So obviously I ballsed it up several times. I had a few problems with the Klear amongst other things, but any issues are mine, not the kit's. The instructions could be better - I often ended up referring to pictures of the real thing, but that's no hardship with a laptop next to the desk. This makes 3 builds now for this year, since around ..err. July. I had forgotten how relaxing and theraputic modelling can be: It's helping a lot with the mentals. Paints were mostly Tamiya Acrylics, which I love for airbrushing, with some Vallejo acrylics for some of the brushed stuff - every time I try and brush Tamiya it all goes horribly wrong and behaves like paint stripper. I have no idea either, but there you go. There is some Humbrol enamel here too - an old favourite but a lot of the new tins don't seem to be anywhere near as nice to work with as my old ones. Clear coat is Johnson's Klear mixed with a little Tamiya flatting agent, and this is one area when everything went all horrible. The stuff bubbled like there is no tomorrow. I've not had this happen before - I brush paint the stuff as it's self levelling ( and you need to clean airbrushes with ammonia if you spray it ) and normally get a flawless finish: I went over a paint mule with it and it worked fine so I must assume the brush I used for the lightning was contaminated with dust or something. The model is nowhere near perfect, but it's good enough for me and it really is a beautiful kit. I think of it as a two footer: it looks great from a couple of feet away :-) I know lightnings weren't generally parked with flaps down and brakes out, but I like the way it looks. Right here you go: