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De Havilland Sea Vixen FAW.2 - Miniwing (Mini069) 1:144 scale


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De Havilland Sea Vixen FAW.2

 

Miniwing 1:144

 

 

 

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_01_Box_Art_resiz

 

 



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.

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_02_fuselage_top_

 

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.

 

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_03_fuselage_bott


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.

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_04_wing_1_resize


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.

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_05_left-boom_1_r


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.

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_06_tailplane_1_r


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.

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_exhausts_1_resiz


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.

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_07_seats_&_under

 

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.

 

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_08_missiles_1_re


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.

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_09_wing_tanks_1_


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.

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_10_clear_sprue_1

 

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.

 

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_11_decals_1_resi

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.

 

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_13_instruction_r


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!

Miniwings_069_Sea_Vixen_15_instructions_

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.

 

Miniwing_logo_250.jpg

 

 

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Interesting review, it looks like Miniwing might have cleaned up their act a bit. Outsourcing their decal printing to Boa Agency is a huge improvement in itself.

Their earlier kits (I had their Saab Draken and Grumman Tracker) were quite underwhelming in most respects, with sloppy moulding, air bubbles, so-so vac form canopies and really questionable decals that had clearly been done on a home printer ill suited to the task.

I may have to give them a second chance going by this review.

Edited by upnorth
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