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Avis models S1 Cockle and S4 Satellite nice kits, went togther well thanks for looking

Just completed for the ATF 11th Anniversary GB, a constant fight with the very old, brittle, cheese-like quality of the plastic.

I decided to salvage this Buccaneer S1 that I originally built 30+ years ago - it was based on the Matchbox Buccaneer S2 and used bits of the Airfix NA39 kit to convert it to an S1 - over the years the finish acquired a grimy grey coat and then had an unfortunate handling accident and was stuck away for future repair. The motivation to start the repair came after viewing the excellent Buccaneer S1 & S2 models in 1/48 & 1/72 on BM, in particular the S1 by CT Modeller and the comprehensive build by Navy Bird of the Scale Resin S1 - fortunately I had not lost any of the parts - you can see where I started cleaning the grimy coat on LH side of model. Photos are the best I could do on my iPhone. I decided to retain the scratch built parts, those being the folded nose, cockpit/ejection seats, wing folds, air brakes and various airframe mods - The grime was removed and after fixing the broken bits and reassembling it I repainted the model with Tamiya acrylic white - I always struggle with white finishes but eventually managed to get a white finish I was happy with - I then sprayed the model with Humbrol Clear prior to decaling - this was a bit of a disaster as the whole models finish crazed for some unknown reason and I spent another week rubbing it back and then recoating it using Microscale clear gloss thankfully without any issues. The decal sheet used is from Model Alliance Ark Royal Air Wing selection. I also added a master pitot tube and a Flightpath etched boarding ladder set which I found a nightmare to put together & it almost did not make it on to the model - the jury struts are made from brass wire and fine brass tubing. I have a Scale Resin S1 to do at some stage and will refer to Navy Birds post when I eventually get around to making it - for now I am sizing up the Trumpeter Wyvern in 1/48. In my display case with my Highplanes Sea Vixen I have added references below I have collected over the years on interior surface colour - I acknowledge there has been much discussion on BM on what the colours should be After looking at TC2324's excellent 12 Squadron low level Buccaneer post I decided to give this one a gentle scrub and a couple of coats of gloss clear on the sea - the model is the Tamiya 1/100 scale Buccaneer S2 which is a really nice little kit and as far as I can tell no longer available? thanks for looking CJP