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1/24th Blackburn Buccaneer S2B, 208 squadron


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Well it arrived this afternoon and all I can say is OMG !!!. :yikes: ..it's an absolute work of art, the quality being ten times better than appeared in Stuarts photos. I've got to say I was totally gobsmacked upon opening the box. Another thing that struck me is the enormous size of the thing...I'd forgotten just how big the real machine is, (I've included a quick shot of a 1/72nd MiG 21 sat on the centre section)....if you want one then be aware that it's HUGE !!. Stuart pm'ed me saying that he must point out that the kit was never initially intended for commercial release and that he hoped that expectations weren't too high !!...good grief, the mould quality is superb with far fewer air holes and distortion than any Magna or Anigrand resin kit that I've built.....and that's quite a few. The brass set is amazing, 28 thou coming in 0.7mm for the wingfold detail and 0.25 for the airbrake and wheel stuff... and weighs a ton......you can see for yourself the level of detail in the photos. I haven't even begun to open all the little zippy bags for the smaller parts....

All in all it looks top notch......(do you get the impression that I'm impressed !!!).

This is going to be a very long build as I intend to go to town on the beast as befits a model of this magnitude.......

Hope to make a start on the cockpit as soon as possible....break out the Plasticard and acetate.....!! A trip down to the Cold War day at Bruntingthorpe for a look see at their Buccs at the end of the month will be of great help too....

Well done Stu....how about a Lightning next !! :whistle:

Cheers all,

Melchie the impatient...

As arrived...

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Box is crammed full of goodies...

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My table just isn't big enough to put all the bits out...

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1/72nd MiG 21 ...just to show the size of this thing.....

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Brass frets...all the parts you need including replacement vgs...28 thou, the most solid brass I've evber seen !

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Edited by general melchett
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Holy frijole!!! I'll be enjoying this build every step of the way. Doc won't left me lift more than 10 pounds, so I suspect the finished beast will be outside my limit. But OMG that's a big 'un! I know the General will do it justice! :)

Cheers,

Bill

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Thanks chaps, well I've been playing around with the fuselage halfs this arvo as I reckon they are going to be one of the toughest parts of the kit to sort out..being the backbone of the model from which everything else hangs as it were and needs to be right. There is some distortion to the front end of the unit, (understandably as it's such a huge resin moulding), but nothing that can't be sorted out with hot water and a little gentle persuassion. :fight:

I must point out here that the model is really more suitable for those with a LOT of previous experience with resins. I'm not trying to be a smart bottom here but feel it's only fair to point this out otherwise some modellers may get a bit frustrated with the build, (Stuart asked me to point this out too.........so I have :winkgrin: ). Like vacforms preparation, patience, more patience and planning is key...........there's a Hell of a lot of cleaning up and dry fitting to do, but for me that's half the fun. Also a lot of careful scalpel work........try to avoid regular trips to A&E !!!

Anyhoo the centre sections and forward cockpit halves have been cleaned up, sanded and carved to fit, (to give you some idea this took close on 4 hours to complete, mainly thanks to Stuarts industrial grade resin...like the real thing it's built to last !!. The next stage with these will be scribing the panel lines and for this I am awaiting Chris (Stringbag's) scale line drawings which will help enormously.

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Cheers all,

Melchie...

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:mike: Your words of warning are duly noted. Kudos to the manufacturer for stating the same. I'm interested in how you approach something like this so I may learn how to cope with my rather more modest projects. I think air-brushes and resin are akin to witchcraft but I'd still like to learn how to use them. Edited by SleeperService
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Thanks everyone, sorry, not much progress today, mainly more cleaning up and a spot of hacksaw work !! An old and long time friend is visiting at the mo and with a lot of catching up to do, not to mention visiting of local watering holes, I'm not sure just how much will be done this coming week..............normal service will be resumed soon....

Sleeper service, I'll try and explain things as I go along..it's not so bad once you get to grips with it....Stuarts, (scratchers) own build will be of great service too as he knows what to expect and should be ahead of mine as without instructions I'm relying on him for a bit of guidance..

Dave, yep one and the same... resin jobbie, I hate to think how much internal bracing would be needed if it was a vac !

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Well, just got a pm from Colin (crobinsonh) to let me know that he'll let me crawl all over and inside his Bucc XX894 at the Bruntingthorpe Cold War day next weekend. This will really give me a chance to take all the photographs and data that I need for all the detail stuff needed to do the model justice...something I'm obviously looking forward to I must say..................cheers Colin, very much appreciated,

No chance of a lift down to the end of the runway I suppose !! :whistle:

Melchie...

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OK, well Stuart has asked me to be as honest and if neccesary brutal as possible with the review and build so I will. The main reason for this, and I agree with him is so that those folks wishing to get hold of one of these really understands what they paying for ! It isn't cheap and if anyone is under the illusion that it's a straight forward build then they'll be in for a shock. The model is wonderful but needs a heck of a lot of cleaning up and repairs to small defects, air holes and missing sections. If like me you find this enjoyable and most of the fun of a unique build on this scale then fine...but if not..steer well clear.

I've had to liase with Stuart on several points already mainly regarding the width of the forward fuselage and cockpit 'tub'. I couldn't get the tub to fit snuggly come Hell or high water as it seemed to be about 3mm too wide and forcing the fuselage halves apart. Stuart said that his just fitted in with no problem so I guessed that I'd sanded too much off the sides !!...however he asked me to measure the parts to see what dimensions I had. I told him and he said that they were spot on so it must be that the tub was too wide. I duly sanded that and the bulkhead back and now everything fits'. and the dimensions are correct, (looking at my tub it looks as if the resin is a lot thicker on one side than the other so I'm guessing that all kits may be subject to this. A good idea in the instructions will be to give relevant dimensions of the sections as they are done.

Anyway back to this one,

Understandably nearly all parts need a bit of work..on mine one wing is perfect the other needs repair,

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The centre section is distorted and will need a good session in hot water and parcel tape to match the top half....

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The undercarriage bay inserts need cutting right back and a good quality razor saw is a must,

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The Spey compressor facings are delicate and need a lot of cleaning up and some repair,

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The leading edge of the tailplane 'slide was damaged and needed a new plug insert...

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The surface of most of the big components are pitted with small pinpricks which all need filling and or sanding back,

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Intakes had a few air holes,

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Test fitting the sanded tub/cockpit took quite some time but resulted in a nice even fit....

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And test fitting seats and pilots to find best position...

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This is just a sample of what awaits...nothing that can't easily be overcome with a bit of skill and a lot of patience. This models going to take me a LONG time to complete to my satisfaction as fitting the major parts is a big job let alone all the detail work to come !

Having said all that I'm loving it and can't wait to progress with things..

Must thank Chris, (stringbag) for the excellent set of scale line drawings that he sent over yesterday..cheers old fella,

Buccan_MA.jpg

Melchie...

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