AnticlockwisePropeller Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 (edited) Hi! I'm Chris, a 22 year old girl from the South of England. I used to model quite a bit when I was younger, but I took a break for a few years to focus on higher education. Now I'm done with that, I want to get back into the hobby, and I figured I'd start with something I don't care too much about, so if *cough*when*cough* I ruin it, I won't be too upset - but, if I make a decent enough job of it, would look nice to display. The kit I chose was a slightly dodgy airfix Lightning F.3. I got the kit back in 2006 as part of a "100 Years of Flight" multi-kit set that was on sale (a while before any of the nicer modern toolings were made). I'd already started it and scratch-built a reasonable cockpit for it, so I might as well finish it rather than bin it. The kit needs a lot of work to make it look like a lightning, plus it didn't help that teenage-me had spray painted the underside with a very spotty and not at all shiny "silver" - so that had to go. I didn't like the raised panel lines, so I'd sanded them off and started to scribe my own... but in my naïveté I'd assumed the existing panel lines were accurate... which, of course, they weren't. So I've filled the incorrect ones in, and once that's set and sanded, I'll scribe them in properly. The canopy, of course, didn't fit - there was a huge gap between it and the fuselage. I glued some triangles of plastic card in place to fill the gap, and built the rest of the space up with putty. Trying to get the fit of the canopy snug enough to glue closed however would be too much of a pain (the ghosts of glue-clouded canopies past still haunt me to this day), so instead I've sawn the canopy in half so I can have it open instead. Moving to the rear of the lightning, much was terrible here. There was a void in the tail, which I filled. The elevators were about half an inch too long (!!) so they had to be cut down and rounded. And the tail pipes... left a lot to be desired. The shaping was bad, and the holes had been moulded off-centre. So I dremmeled-out the exhausts, and filed down the cowling until it looked about right. I intend to chop up an old pen to make some replacement exhausts. Aaaannd... that's as far as I've got. I'm currently waiting for the putty to set before I do any more to it. I'm probably putting in far more effort than this kit deserves, but it's good practice for doing things I don't want to get wrong on kits that are more precious to me. Edited June 27, 2018 by AnticlockwisePropeller 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 Welcome to Britmodeller Chris. That's a lot of work going on this old kit but what better way to hone your skills. Might want to be carefull saying the Lightning isn't a subject you care for around these parts though You going to post up a thread in the Work in Progress section so we can watch the action? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnticlockwisePropeller Posted June 27, 2018 Author Share Posted June 27, 2018 11 minutes ago, Col. said: Welcome to Britmodeller Chris. That's a lot of work going on this old kit but what better way to hone your skills. Might want to be carefull saying the Lightning isn't a subject you care for around these parts though You going to post up a thread in the Work in Progress section so we can watch the action? Thanks! I do like the Lightning as a subject - one of my fave planes, actually! 😁 I just meant this particular kit was one I didn't mind messing up, due to its age and inaccuracies. I'll probs get a nicer, newer kit of it later on! 😉 I'll post a thread up in the WiP section with updates, sure! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 Hello Chris! Nice to see another female modeller join the fun. I’m still a relative newbie here, but I like the place. Looking forward to seeing more of your modelling. 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnticlockwisePropeller Posted June 27, 2018 Author Share Posted June 27, 2018 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnticlockwisePropeller Posted June 27, 2018 Author Share Posted June 27, 2018 17 minutes ago, Heather Kay said: Hello Chris! Nice to see another female modeller join the fun. I’m still a relative newbie here, but I like the place. Looking forward to seeing more of your modelling. 👍 Thanks, Heather! I love your Fairey Rotodyne! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 Ta. I have another thread I’ve started on a hybrid Dornier Do17. I also mean to take some nice photos of finished models in my cabinet and post them in the Ready For Inspection forum. Sadly, real life is stopping me from fun modelling at the moment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnticlockwisePropeller Posted June 27, 2018 Author Share Posted June 27, 2018 Oooh! Sounds fab! I'll defo have to check that out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 1 hour ago, AnticlockwisePropeller said: Thanks! I do like the Lightning as a subject - one of my fave planes, actually! 😁 I just meant this particular kit was one I didn't mind messing up, due to its age and inaccuracies. I'll probs get a nicer, newer kit of it later on! 😉 I'll post a thread up in the WiP section with updates, sure! Ah I see. That's okay then It certainly was a basic old lump of a kit so ideal for technique practice to apply to the much nicer new kit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 Welcome! It sounds like you are taking this quite seriously and determined. Good for you!!Looking forward to seeing how you progress. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 Hello Chris ... to britmodeller from the USA. Its my one yr. anniversary and it feels good to welcome a new member today. Im looking forward to seeing your work progress. Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 Welcome indeed! Good luck on your Lightning! Reminds me I should get back to work on my lovely new-mould F.2A kit. Best Regards, Jason 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Mc Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 Welcome to the forum. I've built the old Airfix Lightning a number of times over my modelling "life" (in its original F1A guise and as the later F3). It's crude and basic but can still look quite nice if built with care. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnticlockwisePropeller Posted July 8, 2018 Author Share Posted July 8, 2018 Thank you Paul and Dennis! ☺️ Good luck with your lightning too, Jason! And I hope so, Eric! I'm doing the best I can, and I'm learning a lot as I go, so with a bit of luck I'll end up with a nice model! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Ford Posted July 8, 2018 Share Posted July 8, 2018 Hello Chris and welcome from a similar part of the world. I enjoyed reading your intro, I have to say you definitely know your stuff. Scribing is something i havent even considered as yet after reintroducing myself to the hobby a few years back. Look forward to seeing your builds. Do you have any particular genre of interest? All the best, Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seahawk Posted July 9, 2018 Share Posted July 9, 2018 If I was building a Lightning, I wouldn't start from there! But I'm really impressed by your research and dedication and, as many on this site show regularly, there's many an excellent tune played on an old fiddle! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPuente54 Posted July 10, 2018 Share Posted July 10, 2018 Hello, Chris, and to Britmodeller, it's a great place to be. I am Joe, live in the SE corner of Wisconsin, USA. I like what I see on your Lightning; will check your WIP. My interests are 1/72nd scale aircraft, any era. I look forward to your builds, comments, and questions. Joe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnticlockwisePropeller Posted August 27, 2018 Author Share Posted August 27, 2018 On 08/07/2018 at 20:24, Martin Ford said: Hello Chris and welcome from a similar part of the world. I enjoyed reading your intro, I have to say you definitely know your stuff. Scribing is something i havent even considered as yet after reintroducing myself to the hobby a few years back. Look forward to seeing your builds. Do you have any particular genre of interest? All the best, Martin Thanks, Martin! With scribing, having the right tools for the job certianly helps. The naff old knife I was originally using kept slipping and cutting my fingers. But with a sharp new knife and a metal ruler... I won't say it's easy, but it's a lot more do-able! As for genre of interest, 1:72 aircraft is what I'm into - particularly test/prototype aircraft, or just ones with neat colour schemes! 1:72 is a rather fiddly scale to fit detail into, but I'd like to keep all my models the same scale (it's interesting to me to see all the aircraft's relative sizes) and I wouldn't really have the space to display some of the larger models I plan on making if they were in a larger scale. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnticlockwisePropeller Posted August 27, 2018 Author Share Posted August 27, 2018 Thank you, Seahawk and Joe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandsaw Steve Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Hello Anticlockwise. As I note that you have just generously showered my Avro 504 build with a bunch of ‘likes’ I conclude you must be an individual with great taste, intellect and a discerning nature! Welcome to BM. 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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