1:72 Airfix TSR-2

[Dereknf]

Here is my effort at the Airfix TSR-2 with Xtradecals 617Sqn markings.

This kit fought me all the way. Some of it was due to modeller stupidity, some due to very poor parts fit. The wing/fuselage join is especially poor. Why it needs three extra fuselage panels, two of them forward and aft of the wing I don't know. The main gear doors are also a poor fit. If you want to fit exhaust nozzles last like I wanted to - don't. With the tailplanes in place, the rear fuselage section won't fit. I never did work out how the air intake interior is supposed to fit - the instructions are very vague.

Stupidity broke out (not for the first time) when I fitted the bottom fuselage plate then realized I couldn't get the main gear to fit properly. Doh..(Note to self - READ THE INSTRUCTIONS) The next bout of "not-reading-the instructions-properly" happened when I realized the model had a very pronounced nose-down sit. I had glued the twin-wheel bogie upside down. Doh.. again.

I think also the larger nose gear doors should be closed.

Not my best effort but here it is anyway.

[Mike]

Not one of Airfix's best efforts fit-wise I hear, and from inspecting mine in the box, I think that's a justifiable criticism. You've done it though, so well done!

[thx6667]

Here is my effort at the Airfix TSR-2 with Xtradecals 617Sqn markings.

Why it needs three extra fuselage panels, two of them forward and aft of the wing I don't know.

Same reason why F-14 and F-111 kits tend to be broken down in odd ways - shape of the aircraft. Not a simple "two halves" tooling exercise.

Nice finshed model, wonder how much it would cost to get TSR.2 back in the air!

[entlim]

[Stephen]

Well done,that's definitely a kit that take some effort but you've done a fine job on it.

Stephen

[Mike]

wonder how much it would cost to get TSR.2 back in the air!

More money that anyone could find, I'm sure... sadly

[Ratch]

Good result

[Osher]

More money that anyone could find, I'm sure... sadly

In the early days of the Thatcher government they looked at bringing TSR.2 back from the dead (Ala B-1 Lancer), but the cost was prohibative.

Anyway, great job on a not so great kit!

[Miggers]

In the early days of the Thatcher government they looked at bringing TSR.2 back from the dead (Ala B-1 Lancer), but the cost was prohibative.

Anyway, great job on a not so great kit!

Derek you've done a very nice job there.I've not done an Airfix TSR(mine is a Resitech one),but I've heard the stories and read the articles to know that it can be a bit of a pig,so well done with yours.

Not wanting to hijack the thread,but here goes.

This is roughly what I know .

The most complete "Tisser" is XR220.When she went to Cosford,she was pretty complete apart from the cockpits.Apparently(so I was told by one of the museum guides) an RAF lorry turned up one day with a load of crates and cases onboard.They hadn't any markings on them except for the delivery address.When they were opened up they were found to contain virtually all the missing cockpit internals.Now,I don't know how much work has been done to make the cockpits functionable or whether they've just been cosmetically restored because lots of damage was done by the strip team in so much that a lot of the wiring to the instrumentation was either ripped out or cut instead of being unplugged or undone.

She also has no engines.Whether they were removed at Cranwell or Farnborough,I'm not sure,but one of them is sectioned and on display along side her.

It is rumoured that Weybridge has a couple of new and unrun TSR spec Olympii tucked away somewhere,but whether they'd be fit to use after 40-odd years is very questionable.At the least they'd need a strip and re-build.

I'm afraid I can't see Mr Brown's Labour government stumping up the cash to the MOD to get her even to ground running condition as we all know it was a Labour government that killed the project in the first place.

The only option would be for some wealthy sort to step in and see what needs to be done,but I and probably a lot of other people wouldn't like to see her in Red Bull colours .

The Thatcher government did indeed look at re-instating the project using '220 and XR222 as pattern aircraft.The "new" TSR would have had Tornado style intakes,modern engines,avionics and a more composite manufactured airframe.

The only reason that can be seen for this move would have been to poke a finger in Labour's eye because so much developement work had already been done on the Tornado,which of course wasn't too far from service at the time.

Mark

[Dereknf]

Thanks for the kind comments folks.

Same reason why F-14 and F-111 kits tend to be broken down in odd ways - shape of the aircraft. Not a simple "two halves" tooling exercise.

Point taken but not sure why it needs to be so complex. The fuselage is double thickness along the top and down the side at the rear. Some of it is to provide moving tailplanes and fins - not really necessary.

As far as re-flying it is concerned, all it would do revisit the probems that were never solved in 1964. It only flew a handful of times in what would have been a flight test programme lasting several years. It never achieved anything like a service clearance and who knows what issues may have been found in other parts of the envelope. Why Thatcher would have resurrected the programme when the Tornado was just entering service makes no sense at all. It would have been a staggering waste of money just to "to poke a finger in Labour's eye "

[Geoff_B]

Nice TSR2 - You bringing it too SMW this year ?

As for the fit some bits are a pain and others appear only to fit in the open position as per XR220 eg the doors !!!!.

With the wing its actually easier to fit the wing first then fit the fornt and rear panels as these are easier to tweak than the wing.

The main gear gaff is a common one and i can still do it after assembling 12 of the them !!!! - DOH.

However quicker fix is to trim off the placement guide for the leg in the fuselage than redoing the belly pan, as with the fwd guide removed you can still fit the leg into place.

Word of note to all the 48th kit is based upon the master for the 72nd one, whilst the interior will be detailed the basic breakdown is likley to be the same (although it should fit a little better we hope)

Cheers

Geoff

(TSR2 SIG)

[hatchet]

It looks good Derek!

I think one of mine will be done "Thatcherized"

[falcon]

Very nice indeed.

[Stebos]

Looking good there, I think I prefer the 'what if' schemes over the all white.

[Roland Pulfrew]

Derek

Why Thatcher would have resurrected the programme when the Tornado was just entering service makes no sense at all. It would have been a staggering waste of money just to "to poke a finger in Labour's eye"

Don't forget that when Mrs T came to power we still had the last remains of the V-Force. The Tornado was never going to have the legs of a Vulcan and supersonic was still seen as good back then, so the TSR-2 would have given the RAF nuclear strike over a longer range than the Tornado. I guess it depends upon what you were trying to "replace". Not sure what loiter time a TSR2 would have but the Tornado is a bit short on legs.

Then again, given our current ops, a Paveway armed Vulcan would be quite useful now, just as the B52 and B1 have found a bit of a niche.

[beany]

That's a nice build of a pretty crappy kit - I know because I'm making one at the moment as well. Thanks for the tip re the front wheels - I could see myself falling for that quite easily. I fitted the tail planes before the exhaust section and caused myself a lot of grief - also came unstuck with the intakes like you did but managed to get mine right I think - more luck than judgement. Basically just threw the rest together from sheer frustration. I didn't think it was even worth wasting any filler on.

I'm finishing mine in an (obviously) fictitious Tiger Sqn scheme using the decals from the Monogram 1:48 Italian F-104 Starfighter TigerMeet kit. If I say so myself she looks pretty good in the black/yellow over white underside finish.

So thanks for sharing your experience about the hard time you had with this kit - I was beginning to think it was just me...

Cheers

Al.

['V']

When I see the picture of that finished one I regret not buying ..... but they never reached service .... and that's my hangup!!

Then reading the 'problems' that a modeller has to overcome I'm not so sad!! I really could do with a nice easy all fitting - no filler kit. Ahh back to dream world ZZZzzzz.

[general melchett]

Does anyone know if the new 1/48th kit will be a scaled up version of this one or a new tooling? I suppose it would be easier to upscale but it would also be nice to think that Airfix with their new found 'second wind' would be able to mould a new one from scratch!. I believe the prototype for the 1/72nd was in the larger scale. Just asking.

[tedtaylor]

More money that anyone could find, I'm sure... sadly

Who would want it back in the air? It had radio valve technology inside it so it was years behind anything else, and that is from a test pilot who knew.

This government spends too much of my money as it is.

Ted

PS. that's as near political as I get.

[DamienB]

Who would want it back in the air? It had radio valve technology inside it so it was years behind anything else, and that is from a test pilot who knew.

In the 1980s, sure, but not when originally built.

I'm sure replacing all the avionics would have been part of any resurrection but frankly I doubt the report into resurrecting the project was anything other than a 'worry PANAVIA' exercise designed to concentrate minds a bit!

[Mike]

I'm sure replacing all the avionics would have been part of any resurrection but frankly I doubt the report into resurrecting the project was anything other than a 'worry PANAVIA' exercise designed to concentrate minds a bit!

Likely true....

Ted - I think the interest in putting one back in the air today was through sheer nostalgia - not for service. Just to amaze the crowds at airshows

[Osher]

Ted - I think the interest in putting one back in the air today was through sheer nostalgia - not for service. Just to amaze the crowds at airshows

...and to remind people we used to, alone, design and build top class aircraft. As the saying goes, 'nostalgia ain't what it used to be'.

I'd love to tackle the Airfix TSR.2. In fact, I have 4 lying around, with resign FOD covers, cockpits, et al. I'm just afraid to cut the plastic...

[Skii]

I'd love to tackle the Airfix TSR.2. In fact, I have 4 lying around, with resign FOD covers, cockpits, et al. I'm just afraid to cut the plastic...

pfffff get it done you big jesse

[DamienB]

...and to remind people we used to, alone, design and build top class aircraft.

We still do. We just let the Europeans think they've got some involvement by letting them bolt some bits together. Secretly we then bin those bits and use our own. It's true - I read it on the internet.

[Pete 'o' probe]

We still do. We just let the Europeans think they've got some involvement by letting them bolt some bits together. Secretly we then bin those bits and use our own. It's true - I read it on the internet.

I second that, I was talking to a bloke in the pub and he said the same thing. His name was Walter I think