Lord Riot Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 Another 50's classic! Hundreds of Meteors served with the RAF in the 1950s, and some beyond. I've got two of these Xtrakit F.8s in the stash, so fancied giving one a go after the big Vulcan (and limited space for a bit!) I'll do this one pretty much OOB, but with Xtradecals. I liked the markings for 501 sqn that came with the kit, but apparently they only ever had two Meteor F.8s, so I'd rather do one from a proper Meteor squadron. There are plenty to choose from, currently thinking it'll be WL135, the CO's machine with yellow fin, from 245 sqn at Horsham St Faith (now Norwich airport). But I might just do her in 74 sqn markings instead! Either way, she'll be green/grey camo with high speed silver undersides. Obligatory box shot. Somewhat battered but I only buy bargains on eBay. No £95 Valiants or £60 Buccaneers here unfortunately. Kit has just two main sprues plus transparency. Xtradecals not included, obviously! Bang seat painted, and some masking tape for the survival pack. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 The wings took some persuasion to stick without gaps! Pilot's office ... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 There isn't much room to squeeze about 6kg of nose weight. The instructions suggest 3g, but I read a WIP on here from years ago that said use at least 6g, so after my experience with a Canberra I've stuffed in as much as I can, especially as it's quite far back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 2 hours ago, Lord Riot said: 6kg I hope not 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 1 hour ago, Courageous said: I hope not Haha, maybe in a real one! 6g should be enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 5, 2018 Author Share Posted March 5, 2018 Wings fit ok, although I'm sure they were ever so slightly out of alignment with the fuselage, but a bit of persuasion with liquid glue and masking tape lined them up ok. Fuselage halves fit together nicely and better modellers than me will probably be able to hide the join lines. It's a nice kit, I'd like about six of these in bright squadron markings! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Good progress but I shall be building only one F.8...at some stage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilfergylee Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Really interesting and I'm glad to see such interest in Meteors! Once I've finished my NF11, I'm going to have a crack at the Xtrakit PR11, so I'm watching your excellent post very closely! Keep it up! Cheers, Neil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 The Meteor is now sealed up ready for spraying. It didn't need much filling at all, this Xtrakit model fits together pretty well. The only areas I used a sliver of filling were around the starboard jetpipe can and the underside wing join on the fuselage. I'm very impressed with this kit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 (edited) She's got a day to dry now, then I'll handpaint the green (Tamiya XF-81, I assume?), before masking the upper sides ready for spraying the silver underneath in a couple of days. I deliberately left off the tailplane at this stage as it'll be neater to spray the top and bottom halves separately. It'll also mean it's easier to paint the tailfin, which is going to be all yellow for the 245 Sqn CO's jet. Edited March 6, 2018 by Lord Riot 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 The end result image looks pretty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Oooh good choice on the markings ... They’re my favorite from the kits options. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 Green hand painted. I think these colours are fairly close to reality. It's hard to find many colour photos of 50's Meteor F.8s, but the instructions say DSG and 'RAF dark green'. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 Nice work, should be a very striking result with the yellow tail and blue and yellow checks. I built a 111 squadron yellow tail using this kit back in 2015 for the Meteor STGB, but the squadron colours are not as nice as this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 6, 2018 Author Share Posted March 6, 2018 Thanks John! There are so many markings to choose from, I just thought I may as well start with the most colourful! I was tempted by 74 sqn too, but the yellow tail on this one swayed it in the end. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilfergylee Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 That is coming on so nicely - keen to finish my NF.11 and get on with a single seater! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 Masked up ready for silver spray. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 Straight enough. I learnt from the Javelin that masking tape pulls off some of the silver, so this time I did the grey/green first then masked that, and it worked perfectly! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 7, 2018 Author Share Posted March 7, 2018 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 8, 2018 Author Share Posted March 8, 2018 The undercarriage is pretty fiddly. Best to do it in stages and let the glue thoroughly set before attaching the next piece. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Undercarriage is now on and set, and to much relief she's not a tailsitter! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 Ideally I'd have glued the cartridge dispensers on before painting! Should be ok once I hand paint them though. Xtrakit parts don't have holes and plugs like Airfix, so you have to use photos to accurately place small extras like these, and leave the glue to set a long time before you can touch them, same with undercarriage doors and oleos. This kit definitely needs strong liquid glue or it'd be a messy nightmare. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted March 9, 2018 Author Share Posted March 9, 2018 I had to use a paint brush hair for the whip aerial, not sure how long it'll last as there's not much of a surface to glue! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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