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Thunderbirds are Go! The new Thunderbird 2 and TB4


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So after the Delek, I felt like going back to something "traditional" and it seems like ages since I built a Thunderbirds model (all the way back to Nov 2016 - omg how could I have lasted so long!) so I decided to dig out the new model from Takara Tomy of the new CGI Thunderbirds series TB 2 and 4

 

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As it says on the box, this is a "Real Kit" !!! 

 

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It is however designed to be a snap-together kit, but it does have the option of "stickers" or decals

 

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and here is the instruction sheet for assembling TB 2 on the reverse...

 

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I've also got the Aoshima original series TB 2 and 4 as a kit, so I may dig that one out and build them as companion pieces :) This should be a fun Christmas build!

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:lol:. Actually, I do like the look of the "new" T-Birds but , I hated the CGI Fireflash!! Even in 1/144 this should be a big model as the "real" aircraft was 75m long!! Did you get your model in the UK or, have to import from overseas?. My favourite from the otherwise dreadful new series has to be Thunderbird Shadow. I know Takara produces a kit for this too but, I don't know if its available in the UK. Guess I might have to do a bit of digging!!

 

Allan

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I ordered mine from Hobby Link Japan last year. I'm ambivalent towards the new show to be honest - I'm not offended like many were and I watched it up until midway through this second series but when it came back I couldn't be bothered to watch. Its a kids show and therefore suffers from all the problems that brings. That said, so was the original but I WAS THAT KID when it was first broadcast in the 60s, so it has meanings for me beyond what appears on the screen, so I can ignore the faults most of the time :) and enjoy watching Thunderbord 2 taking off for the umpteeth time!

 

For a scale comparioson here is the cockpit with a ruler

 

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This is the kit body next to an Imai 9" TB2

 

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and finally my 144 Imai Thunderbird 2 wearing the new one as a hat

 

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Since these are both supposed to be 1:144 scale, you can see the issues the original had with scale - the original TB2 was supposed to be 250' long and look at the size of those cockpit windows!

 

 

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I'll pull up a recliner* for this one if you don't mind.

I thought from the box that it would be bigger than it is.

That last picture, is it me or is there/could there be a hint of HALO in the new one?

 

 

*So long as it doesn't motor off through the wall to a hidden hangar.

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Work has commenced and so I'm here to update the progress. First of all the cockpit which I've painted up and added the decals which give it a nice appearance, although it probably won't be seen

 

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Next is the rear wall of the cockpit, painted in Tamiya XF-5 Matt Green which is a more yellow green than the plastic its moulded in as you can see from the above cockpit pic

 

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Next, the engine intakes have been painted - these originaally came in dark rusty-red plastic for the intake wall and grey for the intake grille. I've repainted with a brighter red and Mr Color Stainless with a dark wash in the intakes themselves

 

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Next is the rear plate that will go in the fuselage at the back of the pod "cut out". This have been painted with  Tamiya XF-5  matt greeen and some details picked out with Mr Color Stainless

 

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Next are the vector thrust exhausts that slot into the sides of the vehicle and can rotate to provide vertical thrust. These have been again painted in Mr Color Stainless with a dark wash for the intakes themselves.

 

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Finally, the main parts of the fuselage have been painted with XF-5 to give a more yellow-green colour than the bluer-green of the moulded plastic as you can see here:

 

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The nose has had the window transparency glued in and then masking fluid applied over the windows before painting. The sprue on the right contains the parts that make up theinternal walls of the pod. These will be painted and detailed in the next stage. The main engine exhausts have also been painted and give a wash, but I forgot to take photos of them. I'll do it next time...

 

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18 minutes ago, The Chief Smeg said:

Kallisti, I’m afraid I’m not seeing any images, just the image names (DSC_9431.JPG etc)...

I'm seeing a few, but most aren't playing. 

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Hmm looks like someone managed to inject some malicious JS into my gallery site earlier, but I've raised a ticket with my hosting company and it now appears to have been removed - they probably restored the site from backup and all seems well again.

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The green you've gone with looks spot on, I'm looking forward to it coming together to see it as one piece. I was thinking I'd have to mix something up when I eventually get to my original one. Did you base your colour choice on information you'd got elsewhere, or just from eye?

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This is my 3rd TB2 model and on earlier builds I played witht he colour a bit but in the end found that pure Tamiya XF-5 gave a green I was happy with. There is huge debate abotu exactly what colour TB2 was, but frankly there was not ONE single colur as there were multiple studio models of various scales, all of which were different in colour, shape, detail and finish, so in the end it comes down to what YOU think the colour should be.

 

On the Gerry Anderson FB page one of the common question asked is "what colour was TB2" and it ALWAYS sparks arguments :)

 

My Previous TB2 builds for reference:

 

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So having removed the annoying website hack that was blocking the images loading last week (bloody hackers!) and having recovered from some excessive Christmas dinner celebrations, the main bits of assembly for TB2 have happened

 

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As you can see the wings are sort of desinged to fold up, but I've glued them open as this ISN'T A TOY!!! :) I've also masked up the various previously painted bits as I will need to respray the green - you can also see the filler in the pod bay side. More of that here

 

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I've used Mr Surfacer 500 but I'm not sure its up to this job. Will sand it down and see how it goes, but it might need some more serious filler, just like a couple of spots on the rear did:

 

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Funnily enough, the big horizontal gap is part of the design, so I', not going to attempt to fill that!. The panel lines/trenches that are moulded into the kit do a very good job of hiding most of the joints - the one down the sides is not the joint, but moulded into the plastic. The actual joint is underneath as the lower fuselage slots into the upper with the sides extending to the bottom. Its quite clever and obvious as its a snap-together kit.

 

I'll have a go at some sanding today and will post progress later...

 

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After the Christmas hiatus, here is an update of what went on. First off there was the filling of the seams. After the first round with Mr Surfacer 500 , I then resorted to putty

 

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Which in the end did the job much better. in the meantime, attention switched to the module as the old pods are now called in the modern TaG, it will however for me always be a pod! The panels that make up the interior have very good detail moulded into them and once you attached the 6 reddish arm thingys, it all looks rather spiffing - when painted of course!

 

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These photos were taken before washes were applied to highlight the moulded detail - this is just basic painting and decaling. 

The centre section is the launch rail for TB4 and slides out and down when the door is attached

 

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Finally the outer shell of the pod has been painted but I'm aiming to paint metallic panels into the insets in the sides before it goes on.

 

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As promised here are the photos of the decals in place - this is after I've give it another coat of Klear

 

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There are over 50 decals on the main fuselage! Here is the underside which hasn't had its second coat of Klear yet

 

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Next will be completing the assembly of the pod and applying the outer decals for that as well. TB 4 will be built after that...

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You're doing such a beautiful job of making this kit really special, that it's almost growing on me. That is indeed a lot of decals, but they're really bringing the model alive, and breaking up all the large areas of green. It's clearly a really nicely designed model when you get to see it like this, rather than just in the show (if you get my meaning). I can honestly say I don't hate the look of this 'new' TB2 design anymore, I just don't like it as much as the old one! :rofl:

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The pod's paint job was finally done to my satisfaction = the masking and spraying of the silver insets didn't go well the first time so had to be redone. Here it is assembled and ready for Klear

 

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The door pivots and closes nicely and the detail inside is good as you've seen from previous photos

 

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Thinking about it now, I probably should have lit the inside as its not easy to see into - even more difficult to photograph well!

 

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It got its Klear coat this evening and will have its decals added tomorrow. I'm going to begin on TB 4 this evening...

 

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