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Finally found the time to clean up my Duxford May Show shots. More here if you want to see them: https://www.hanger51.org/airshows/2017/duxford-may-airshow/ No apologies for the number of Foxy shots. Rapide at rest by tony_inkster, on Flickr P-51 Frankie by tony_inkster, on Flickr Grosvenor House by tony_inkster, on Flickr The Blades by tony_inkster, on Flickr Catalina by tony_inkster, on Flickr AAC Apache Demo by tony_inkster, on Flickr JP & Strikemaster by tony_inkster, on Flickr V-1 Doodle Bug by tony_inkster, on Flickr Winding her up by tony_inkster, on Flickr Foxy dirty pass by tony_inkster, on Flickr Foxy's first pass by tony_inkster, on Flickr Foxy G by tony_inkster, on Flickr Top side pass by tony_inkster, on Flickr

I'm going to record here my progress on a long-term triple build. It's quite likely that I'll deviate away from time to time to build something else (and I have a Sherman to build for the Great Patriotic War GB), so this may take a while to finish. I have always found De Havilland aircraft to be rather attractive designs, and their distinctive twin-boom jet designs also grabbed my attention when I was a kid. One of the first kits I bought as an adult was the Airfix 1/48 Sea Vixen. I realised when I got home just how big the finished article would be, and it entered the stash as "one for the future". Move on a few years and Airfix released their new tool 1/72 Vampire trainer. I resisted the kit as I didn't particularly like the included schemes and didn't find an aftermarket decal sheet justifiable, but Home Bargains' recent cheap sale of what I assume were Airfix overstocks meant that two kits entered my stash. Crisp's terrific and very educational Sea Vixen FAW.1 build (http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234973210-de-havilland-sea-vixen-faw1-890nas-hms-ark-royal-1963-4/) was the final straw catalyst. No more excuses! But first, let's build something a bit smaller. You know, for twin boom practice... None of these are going to be completely OOB, but neither am I exactly going to town on the aftermarket. I'll be doing both Vampires in schemes from the Xtradecal overseas operators sheet #2. One will definitely be in the sand/brown Chilean camo scheme: The other I think will probably be in the Lebanese scheme, though I could easily be tempted by the Swiss and Aussie options on the sheet (or I may just wimp out at the prospect of the red and yellow bands required). I've picked up a couple of the Pavla ejection seats to go in that one; I suspect anything else in the cockpit will be invisible at this scale. Of course, they'll both be dwarfed by their big FAA sister. Again, she won't be OOB as I have some Eduard etch for the interior, and I've invested in a nice new pot of EDSG. Can't wait to brush paint all of that

Sea Vixen FAW(TT).2 XS587, At Gatwick Aviation Museum, pics mine.

Here we have the Airfix Sea Vixen, which took me two days over 3 months to complete (not that I was working on it every day though!) Having 3 of these in the stash, I had this idea to build them all in different poses; one parked up with wings folded, one coming in to land, and one in flight mode with everything up and clean. So this is the first one ticked off! I had originally intended to do a nice colourful drone or target tug, but with the intention of building the radar I didn't know if either of these would actually have one fitted, so I elected for a more conservative colour. Decals were from a Model Alliance sheet. The other major catalyst was an abundance of reference material online, so opening up engine and boom panels was quite easy. So apart from the kit, I utilised a Pavla cockpit set and speed brake, Aires wheel bays, Eduard etched interiors, flap bays, ladders and masks, Master wing probes, and some Flightpath FAA chocks. Paints were by Humbrol, Xtracolor and automotive sprays, sealed with Klear floor polish. Everything else I added from plastic card, strip, rod, tube, solder wire. The wing folds had pipes, cables and bits added to them, even the tail hook bay I put hydraulic tanks in though you can't see them!The nose cone I was going to model folded right back but I left it too late when I tackled it and realised only after I'd painted the main fuselage that I'd have to cut a notch out of the starboard side to replicate this properly. I didn't fancy that so it's just representative more than accurate. I also initially used a vacform canopy but didn't like my effort of putting the white paint on so I used the kit version (the separate frame is easier to spray before attaching the glass!). The other thing I did was having thinned the plastic down on the removed engine panels, I was so eager to finish the decalling I put the rest of the "for sale" marking on, then only realised I had forgotten to put the remaining red No Step lines on first. So I did those the hard way - lay over the For Sale paint, and trim around the overlapping red areas while the decal was still wet. As ever, my biggest problem was deciding which pics looked best so please excuse the selection : some with a Coastal carrier base, some against blue paper background, and some on a shelf. As usual, Bruce appears in some for scale My next project might be the prone pilot Meteor F.8, which I've had in the stash for a while, but I want to find some reference pics of Meteor 8's with fuselage panels removed so I can go "one step behind" like I did with this. Sadly these are being elusive at the mo! EDIT: this is a linky to the build log photos, hope it works https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1366255540058006.1073741840.100000207207287&type=1&l=d6499d4bbf

I've recently purchased an MPM Sea Vixen for a good price. However, I've started to wonder if the Cyber Hobby kit might have been a better buy as it seems to have a lot more aftermarket accessories. Does anyone know if either the Pavla or Quickboost nose-cones are a good fit for the MPM kit? Both were designed for the Cyber Hobby kit. Links below. Pavla nose. https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/PAVU72133 Quickboost nose. https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/QB72379 Has anyone used the Alley Cat resin parts before? The general upgrade kit looks good, but I'm not sure what I'm looking at in the the Radar Set; it looks like this set was designed to be displayed with the nose swung open? General upgrade https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AC72022C Radar set https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/AC72023C Thanks for any help.

The title says it all really. As with my earlier Sea King post here I wanted to check my own notes and (limited) understanding against the collective wisdom of BMers before proceeding. I want to convert the 1/72 Frog Faw.2 Vixen back to the earlier Faw.1 variant if I can. Now I know there are some old resin sets from The Final Touch and Maintrack floating around for this scale, but these seem few and far between, so if I were to scratch-convert myself would I be right in thinking that the main areas needing modification are: 1. Airframe: the booms need to be shorter over the wings, the looker's hatch needs to be changed and made flush with the fuselage, plus some minor changes to undercarriage doors? 2. Driver's canopy. Was this the same for both variants? From Perdu's recent piece of Wasp-casting inspiration I'd perhaps try fabricating a Milliiput master to resin-cast from for the booms - it's the pilot's canopy that I'm confused about this stage. Thanks, as ever for reading, Tony

Hi mates, For my next project I've decided to build the rather unruly MPM/Xtrakit 1:72 Sea Vixen. After all of the bad reviews and general harassment this kit has received, one might be tempted to ask: Has Uncle Navy Bird lost the last tendrils of his sanity? Has he no other plastic to glue? Well, I can state rather emphatically why I'm building this kit: Because it is there. So, much like the earnest explorer planning his assault on Everest, we must first take stock of our raw materials (and in the case of this kit we do mean raw): In addition to the kit, the keen observer will notice a beautiful Model Alliance sheet of transfers, some Eduard painted photoetch, and a Pavla nose cone replacement, given away by its slightly darker shade of grey. The especially keen observer will notice the pinion tanks for the FAW.2 Sea Vixen, while the kit is clearly marked FAW.1. The boom extensions are required since I wish to replicate this rather colourful version, XS587, during her days as a ... I don't know, target tug perhaps (methinks that's what TT stands for)? Here is the decal sheet instructions for this scheme: Lovely, isn't she? Thanks to a very generous fellow Britmodeller who sent me the boom extensions, it looks like we have enough to start with. (I've already determined that the black stripes on the bottom of the fuselage are shown at the wrong angle on the artwork, so we'll correct that if we live long enough to get to the painting stage. More on that later.) I should also note that I have a brand new tube of putty, just waiting to be opened when I start assembly. It's a big tube (0.45kg), but it's a big job. Since the initial photography session, I've acquired the FAA Models resin correction kit which will help greatly on the hot end of this bird. Another interesting aspect of this kit is that includes its own resin aftermarket parts, including the two ejection seats. The odd part of this is that the bang seats are for dwarfs. What scale are these things? The pilot wouldn't be able to see over the instrument panel! Here we see the kit seats on the left, a pair of seats from PJ Productions in the center, and two seats left over from a CMR kit on the right. They're all supposed to be 1:72 scale Martin Baker Mark 4 seats (different versions), but only the CMR seats look the correct size. I also have the seats that came with the FAA set, and they're the same size as the PJ seats. Such decisions. Reminds me of the old line that when a man has one watch, he knows what time it is. When he has two, he's never quite sure. So that's my plan. You can help me by pointing out the known inaccuracies of the kit - no wait, that will take down Mike's servers. So don't do that, just talk me out of this!! Cheers, Bill

Fancy building some FAA stuff in the future, I really like the aircraft that the RN had in the days of proper carriers. I know a lot about the Phantom FG.1's and Buccaneer S.1 & S.2. The Sea Vixen is going to be a FAW.2 just because the kit is there and I am waiting for a 1/48 Gannet of any descripton... My real curiosity is what kind of Wessex was used for cat take off duty? What is the best 1/48 kit, Italeri? Thanks.

I've been meaning to visit this museum for years and finally got around to it a couple of weeks ago. Small, but perfectly formed, the highlight is of course the three Mosquito aircraft, and for me the opportunity of sitting in a Sea Vixen, thus fulfilling a boyhood dream! More here if you're interested: http://www.hanger51.org/aircraft-museums/uk-museums-collections/de-havilland-aircraft-museum/ IMG_8611 copy by tony_inkster, on Flickr IMG_8615_copy by tony_inkster, on Flickr IMG_8614 copy by tony_inkster, on Flickr IMG_8610_copy by tony_inkster, on Flickr IMG_8597 copy by tony_inkster, on Flickr IMG_8588_copy by tony_inkster, on Flickr IMG_8577_copy by tony_inkster, on Flickr IMG_8571 copy by tony_inkster, on Flickr IMG_8619_copy by tony_inkster, on Flickr

De Havilland Aircraft heritage centre XJ565 DH110 Sea Vixen FAW.2 All pics mine Julien

As I said right at the start of this GB, Imma gonna do the Gnat and this bad girl. <insert obligatory box shot, c/w parts and aftermarket> There's a Pavla nose cone, Master metal pitots (because they were cheap) and a new pilot's seat from High Planes - the observer gets to sit on the undersized seat as supplied by Mr Cyber-Hobby (because I'm cheap). I'll use the kit decals, probably the one with the shark's mouth, although that may be subject to change. I'm heading out to work for at least 7 days, so I was casting around for something to do to keep my modelling mojo motoring, and decided that this was a good candidate, seeing as everything I'm currently doing for GBs is pretty well at the stage of not being portable. I'm hoping to get this thing's internals done and the the whole airframe ready for paint before I get back, then I can have a big airbrush session and cover everything in jam. Seeing as I'll be modelling in a small room that's not mine, I've decided to do this'un in acrylics instead of enamels - not so much for the smell, as thinner doesn't overly worry me, but for the ease of cleaning brushes and mopping up any spills that may happen; management get shirty if we make a mess of the accommodations. I'll do the whole thing in acrylics I think, even the outside, just to keep it easy. As I'm using acrylics, I'll throw a coat of rattle can primer over the whole sprue before I start, to help the paint stick a bit better. Hopefully I'll have time to do that and let it dry before I hit the road tomorrow... I've got the sprues washed and have made a short list of the paints I need to pick up on my way out of town, so here's hoping I can make it through 12 hr days with a bit of energy left over! Photos as progress progresses.

http://www.mpmkits.net/2016/02/novinky-special-hobby-anoncovane-na.html The Vixen is news to me.

Another of the "new" AIRFIX range of aircraft - an aircraft that was much in demand, and what a big beast she is. The current Historic Flight Vixen is an impressive sight to see at the Air Shows, but equally sobering is the number of Vixen aircrew lying in graves at St Barts church in Yeovilton. (There is even an impressive memorial there placed by the actress Kristen Scott Thomas - her father was killed flying Vixens in the 60's - I believe her mother remarried another vixen pilot, subsequently killed on F-4s in the 70's). Working at yeovilton a few years ago there was still an old Vixen "Looker" working in uniform - in discussion he suggested that one of the reasons for the "side-by-side" arrangement for the Observer was a hang up from the de havilland design team still flushed with that arrangement on their Mosquito. With the requirement to sit "down in the coalhole" it took some courage (and faith!) in your driver to get it right. i understand that at one point in the 60's young Midshipmen were sometimes taken off training on Frigates & destroyers and sent on the Observers course just to make the numbers up for replacements! markings are for 890 NAS - the "witch on the Broom" is taken from the pub on the road to Yeovil - that is still there today. what? another kit missing it's Pitot tube.......there's a theme building here!

As promised on one of the Sea Vixen builds, it has inspired my first real WIP topic here. With this beautiful beast: Hope to get some work on this done and posted by tomorrow. Cheers Harrison

Hi mates! Here is my latest project, the very colourful and ever popular de Havilland Sea Vixen XS587, rendered in glorious Braille Scale. I thought I would make it a bit easier to digest the project by presenting an "Executive Summary" as follows: Project: de Havilland Sea Vixen FAW.2 (TT) Kit: MPM Sea Vixen FAW.1 Kit No. 72545 (FAW.2 parts from Kit No. 72003) Scale: 1:72 (God’s Own Scale) Decals: Model Alliance (RIP) Sheet No. MA-72197 XS587 RAE Llanbedr Resin: FAA Models Set No. 72004 (engine face plate, tail boom plugs, tail cone, exhaust, arresting hook) Resin: Pavla Set No.U72-133 (nose cone) Resin: PJ Productions Set No. 721208 Martin Baker Mk 4 ejection seats Photoetch: Eduard Interior Set No. SS446 Paint: Testors Model Master No. 2720 Classic White, No. 2118 Deep Yellow, No. 1103 Red, No. 1139 Semi-Gloss Black, Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black, Alclad Klear Kote Light Sheen Weathering: Pastel chalks Soul: Sold to Devil (twice) Improvements/Corrections Replaced nose cone to improve shape Replaced tail cone and jet exhaust to provide correct depth and proper shape for arresting hook bay Replaced engine face plate to provide correct appearance of vanes, engine cone, and tube Added boundary layer inlets and intake vanes Shortened booms by 4mm to match drawings Reshaped front of pinion tanks to remove “blunt” look and added fairings to blend pinion tanks into wing Reshaped top front of tail fins to better match drawings Added bulges to main gear doors Added photoetch scissor links to main gear struts Added hydraulic lines in gear bays with 0.3mm solder Replaced fuel dump pipe to correct size, and relocated to starboard wing Added de-misting duct to front windscreen Reworked rain removal/air conditioning ducting Added target tug brackets on lower front fuselage Moved observer’s window up by 1mm (should have been 2mm) Replaced Hobbit ejection seats Repositioned observer’s instrument panel to correct position Reworked observer’s radar hood to correct length Detailed the cockpit and ejection seats with color photoetch Added hinge and handle to observer’s hatch Added photoetch attachment points to pylons Scratch built rear pressure bulkhead and canopy jettison release strut Added gunsight using photoetch and items from the Magic Box of Fiddly Bits Replaced front fuselage red pinstripe to get correct width Correct black stripe pattern on undersides (Model Alliance have you do six stripes at a 20 degree angle from aircraft centerline instead of the correct five stripes at a 30 degree angle) Used proper size roundels on forward fuselage sides Added various blade antennae and whip aerials; wing pitot tubes made from two different size of hypodermic needles Elapsed time: Approximately two months, or 747,652 grey hairs So why did I decide to tackle a kit with such a tarnished reputation? Well, because it was there, and you can find all the details here. On with the pictures! I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I'm enjoying moving on to another challenge! Cheers, Bill PS. Now that I've finished her, you can be assured that a 1:72 Sea Vixen will be the first item on the 2014 new kit list from Airfix. You can thank me then.

de Havilland Sea Vixen FAW.1. XJ482 There are only 2 FAW.1 Aircraft to survive, and this is the only one on public display, at The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton. Pics mine.

De Havilland Sea Vixen FAW.2 Miniwing 1:144 The Sea Vixen was an all weather, front line fighter; specifically designed for the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy as a successor to the Sea Venom. The initial design of the Sea Vixen goes back to the early de Havilland DH.108 Swallow although that design did not incorporate the twin boom of the Sea Vixen. Progression from the DH.108 led on to the DH.110 Sea Vixen which was accepted into the fleet as the Sea Vixen F(AW) Mk.1. The early F(AW).1 version suffered from short range capability, plus difficult handling at approach speeds on carrier landings, with a need to enhance the aircraft's capabilities. The new version had the twin booms extended forward, ahead of the wing's leading edges, and these contained conformal tanks to hold additional fuel thereby extending the aircraft's operating range. Of the 106 Sea Vixen F(AW).2's produced, 29 were new manufactures and the remaining 67 were converted from F(AW).1 airframes. The Kit This kit is of all resin construction, although an additional vacform cockpit has been included, and may require additional care and application when building compared to the standard injection moulded kits. The main piece of the assembly is the fuselage; produced as a single piece unit this feature removes the problem of those unsightly seam lines encountered on kits with two fuselage halves. Panel lines are finely recessed but clearly defined with the pilot and observer's consoles being fairly basic with just rectangle cut-outs. The underside of the fuselage surface is again well defined but the wheel bays are just basic cut-outs in the resin body. There are however plenty of images in books and on-line which should help those who wish to add a little extra detail here with some general scratchbuilding. Most of the parts are still attached to the pouring stubs but these can be easily removed and cleaned up with some light sanding. Care must be taken when cutting and sanding resin parts and a facemask and glasses is very much recommended for this activity. The wing units have the correct panel lines and aileron areas marked out. There is a possibility of slight warpage with the thin wings and they should be checked before fitting to the fuselage. Any area that is found to have warped can be corrected by placing in warm water, reshaping (with extreme care!) and then dipped in cold water to set. The boom units which connect the tailplane to the fuselage are two separate items, one each for port and starboard, and these are crisply defined. there is no flash evident on my model with just the cleaning up of the mould-stub separation needed. The tailplane piece is a single unit which needs careful separation from the pouring stub. The piece cuts away easily but again care is needed when separating these items. As can be seen in the image above the tailplane unit fits neatly into recesses set in the rear of the tail boom units. The final piece for the main body is the twin exhaust unit which requires careful lining up when fitting as there on no locating pins for this item. Having a separate tailpipe section like this does have benefits though, mainly as this piece can be painted up before fitting; especially the silver/burnished metal colour of those exhausts. This next 'sprue' holds the seats, main gear oleos, main wheels plus a single piece nosewheel assembly. These need to be separated from the sprue, cleaned up and fitted. The seats are quite basic however they are only 5mm long and would mostly be hidden in the dark area of the crew compartments. Notwithstanding that, I'm sure that they would benefit from some fine additions such as belts and head restraints, especially if you wish to enhance your model by cutting the cockpit to have it open. The Sea Vixen F(AW).2 had six hardpoints, three under each wing, which could be fitted with a combination of Firestreak Mk.4 (Red Top) missiles and SNEB rocket pods. The outer wing points were plumbed for fuel so would have tanks fitted in these positions if needed. Although not included with this kit the Sea Vixen could also carry Matra rockets, Napalm tanks and Bullpup air-to-surface missiles. Pylons for the missiles and rocket pods are separate units but the fuel tanks and their associated pylons are single piece units. Additional pylons could easily be scratchbuilt if you wanted to build an all weapons fit aircraft. The pilot and observer's canopies are clear resin components and look to be clear and accurate; there is also a vacformed set of these canopies included, which are much thinner than the resin versions and therefore much clearer. Decals The decal sheet contains insignia and markings for a single aircraft, that of XJ580 [131] of 899 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) based on HMS Eagle in the 1960s. This aircraft is currently on display at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum after being fully refurbished. Although there is only one set of serials, the common component decals for any Sea Vixen are present on the sheet and therefore it shouldn't be too difficult to find markings to make up serials for other Sea Vixens. Instructions The instruction sheet is very basic with only a single page of instructions in illustrated format. There is enough information however as this is a very small model with only about 25 parts. The colour markings and decal placements are identified on the colour sheet which accompanies the instructions; with the most complex element being all those no-step area markings to be added! Conclusion These kits are beautifully designed and cast in high quality resin, the workmanship on the detail of such a small model needs to be seen to be really appreciated. I have started to build my model and it looks as if it might be a tail-sitter, if so then a rod stand under the tail may be required; or some holes drilled behind the nose-wheel and metal rods inserted for weight. Highly recommended This review kit has been sourced from my personal collection.

I've seen mention of EDSG for the upperworks of the Sea Vixen being described as Humbrol H123, or even H164, but is there an equivalent for this colour in Vallejo? I would need to lighten it somewhat as this is in 1:144 scale. I'd be grateful if someone could advise me what percent to lighten the recommended colour by. Mike

Pitot Probes and Refuelling Probes 1:48 Master[/size] We've received another batch of these superb items for Master Models. Their reputation continues to grow with some of the best turned components you can buy. They are all packaged in the standard small flat packs with card headers which help protect the components. Inside the parts are all in separate bags with an overturned flap to keep them from falling out, although the probe ends are so fine they could easily have pierced the bags. Once fitted the modeller really needs to be careful when handling as they will take someone’s eye out, and we wouldn’t want that. The quality is well up to their usual standards and I would love to see the lathes they’re turned on. All items are in 1:48 scale. [AM-48-098] - This set contains two pitot probes designed for the Airfix Gloster Javelin as direct replacements, although the modeller will have to drill the holes out to 1.0mm. [AM-48-099] – Similar to the Javelin set, in that it contains two pitot probes, but these are for the Airfix DeHavilland Sea Vixen so are in fact smaller and even finer than the Javelin items. The location holes will need to be drilled out to 0.5mm. [AM-48-100] – This set is slightly different in that it contains not only a pitot probe, but also the refuelling probe tip and is designed for use with the Airfix Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer both of which require having the location holes opened up to 0.5mm. [AM-48-101] Designed for the Heller Dassault Mirage IV, this set is the only one that doesn’t include a pitot probe. Instead it contains a beautifully turned refuelling probe and like the other sets the location hole will need to be opened up, this time to 1.0mm. Conclusion You really can’t fault the way these parts are designed and produced. They make excellent replacement for the styrene kit parts which can rarely match the finesse of these items, to produce a much closer scale look. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of Piotr at

Hi everyone, i was chatting to a model shop owner yesterday, and as far as he can tell Airfix might be / have finished production of the 1/48 Sea Vixen. has anyone else heard this? Would be a real shame, especially as i haven't got around to one yet!!! Please if you have any info on this it would be useful. Thanks. kev

I built this a few years ago OOB apart from a little bit of jiggery pokery with the decals. It was a straightforward build, the only problems being caused by myself. Trying to sort out the horizontal seams on the cockpit I managed to over sand it and ended up with a plane that was sucking its cheeks in. I build it back out with milliput and it ended up ok.It represents XJ524 that operated as a tug with Flight Refuelling Ltd at Hurn in the 80s. Hope you like, best wishes Liam ps, yes the tank is wonky. I didn't notice at the time of photo, it doesn't look like that normally.

Ejection Seats Quickboost 1:48 Quickboost have been really busy lately releasing all manner of add-on parts for various models. These three sets provide resin replacement ejection seats for three different aircraft. Each seat is moulded in grey resin and covered in some really great detail. Each seat is packaged in the standard poly sleeve but fortunately they don’t appear to have suffered any damage. All the modeller has to do is to remove them from their casting blocks, give then a nice delicate paint job and fit them to the chosen cockpit. F-100D Super Sabre (QB 48 509) is quite a simple affair, but still packed with detail. The seat appears to be pretty accurate when compared with research photographs, although the ejection handles look a little low. They do need to be more prominent and hollowed out a little more, but once fitted they probably won’t be seen much. The moulded lap belts look ok, but the shoulder straps look a little limp and need a bit more body to them. Quickboost haven’t forgotten the back of the seat and all the high pressure lines are well represented, as are the seat fittings and attachment rollers. AV-8B Harrier II (QB 48 522) is a very nice representation of the Stencil S III S seat, and also looks to be very accurate. The seat belts are very nicely done and even the rear of the seat including the aircraft interface and ejection tubes are shown. The seat pan appears to be shown in the fully down position as there is a large gap between the seat pan top and the head box, obviously for the shorter pilot. The only thing that does need altering is the firing handle needs to be opened up as there is some resin flash in place. Sea Vixen (QB 48 540) these two ejection seats have additional parts included on the casting block and protected by large extension on the block ends. Now while the seats are really well moulded with some great looking straps and belts, although minus leg restraints, there is something not quite right about them. The basic seat framework is ok but it goes a bit awry at the back. The barometric time release unit and drogue gun and piston are missing, and the frame at the top doesn’t look right which has a very poor representation of the prominent scissor shackle. The seat pads also look wrong as the pilots seat and the observer seta differed in pad style and therefore straps, whereas these two seats are exactly the same. They look to neat and tidy rather than the organised mess that the real seats looked like. Conclusion While the F-100D and Harrier II seats look spot on for accuracy unfortunately the same cannot be said for the Sea Vixen seats which is a shame really as they had promise. I guess they could be modified to suit, but why would anyone want to buy an add-on, only have to fix the faults. The other two seats will look great with some careful painting and due to the detail on the backs of the seats could even be used in a diorama with the seats removed from the aircraft. Review samples courtesy of distributed in the UK by Hannants Ltd.

Hello World. Here is my 1:48 Airfix Sea Vixen I just finished.. quite a bit of fiddling to get it finished, But I think you will agree it stands out well against the Dutch snow in the beck ground.. and there is some out of scale bird poo on the table thanks for looking

Here's all the modelling I've done so far for 2012, minus a few binned failures (AZ Spitfire Vb with horribly askew landing gear, some others) and a Whif (USN Sea Hawk). I expect to finish a Merlin and hopefully a fast jet before the arrival of the new year, but this is probably pretty representative of my work as a whole. Please excuse the quality of the photos, I use my phone camera, and please excuse the quality of the models as well.

Hi mates, I'm working on a model of XS587, a Sea Vixen FAW.2 (TT) in the colourful target tug paint scheme. I've found just this one picture that shows the top of the fuselage: The obvious thing that's missing here are the bright red hatches (I think that's the word) that are quite prominent on all other Sea Vixens. Does anyone know for sure that they were not on this plane in its operational use? Or perhaps they were removed or painted over before going into storage? There seems to be a light impression of the hashes in this photo. Also, the fairing around the jet pipes appears to be grey in this photo, but only on top - you can see the yellow on the lower starboard side. Can anyone verify this? Thanks for your help! Cheers, Bill