Sword Lightning T5 1:72

[cathasatail]

Good morning!

I picked up this kit from Bruntingthorpe on Sunday along with a 1:48 Airfix Lightning.

I will be quite honest- this kit is a mixed blessing:

Pros:

-Great surface detail

-Resin exhaust cans and seats

-An Eduard photoetch fret included (this contains the instrument panel, belts and various aerials

-A large decal sheet (which was barely used, decals sourced from the spares box for my alternative scheme)

-Relatively straightforward to build and paint

-Positionable flaps

Cons:

-Almost nothing in the way of guides to tell you where you should place the various parts (cockpit tub, intake cone and nose gear bay)

-Nothing in the way of guide pins for the rudder and elevators

-Main wheels with no hole through them (a hole had to be drilled to fit the axle through)

-A myriad of ejection pins inside the fuselage, specifically of concern were those in the intake area

-Wing-fuselage locating pins did not fit at all and these were subsequently filed down

-No option to have open airbrakes!!!

What I've done:

Well, with a bit of fiddling around I apparently managed to get the intake cone, etc and the cockpit to line up correctly in the fuselage- once that was done I closed it up, added the various surfaces and painted her in Alclad. It's my first time with Alclad! I put down a coat of black Vallejo paint followed by a coat of Alclad gloss coat. I then sprayed on the Alclad, building it up to what it currently is. I didn't need to re-paint the black rudder because that was masked over before I sprayed the Alclad. I then masked and painted the yellow stripes on the wings and rear fuselage, added the IFR probe, small intakes and attached the PE aerials.

Kit: Sword Lightning t5 1:72

Paints used: Vallejo model air: black, gold yellow. Alclad II Aluminium

Note: Decals used and colour schemes are based off reference pictures but are to some extent fictional

Thanks for having a look!

Many thanks,

Sam

Edited June 2, 2016 by cathasatail

[jean]

Hi Sam,

calling this kit a mixed bag is an understatement! But you achieved a fine model, despite all the stumbling blocks.

I know for sure that this is not a kit for me...

Well done!

JR

[mcdonnell]

Hello,Sam - My compliments to you on a well built and painted model of your 'Lightning'.I think the cockpit detail looks splendid,including the ejector seats.I commend the Alclad finish too.Good for you! I think 11sqn and 92sqn would be doing 'battle royal' as to who looks after this beauty. All the best,Paul.