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1/48 Airfix Buccaneer


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23 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

I have 2 in my stash -

 

All tips gratefully received!

Sell them both and continue waiting for the Tanmodel kit to be released!

That was my conclusion after wrestling with this pig.

21 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

IIRC the intakes will need work/filler at the rear joint. The exhaust nibs may need work too.

Correct. The approach that eventually worked for me was to join the two fuselage halves together - sand and fill the aft area like crazy, fill and sand the nib area, paint the nib areas and then mask them off to protect them from the rest of the painting, THEN insert the jet tailpipes (painted during the nib process). Inserting the tailpipes is done via sliding them in from the intakes on the end of a long stick with blutack attaching the exhausts. Put into position, remove stick, then put the intakes together.

Whichever idiot at airfix designed the kit with a horizontal fuselage join instead of a (much easier to hide the joins) vertical one... I'd like to meet in a dark alley one night...

20 hours ago, Lord Riot said:

Having said that, all the Buccs on the RFI look awesome so it should be doable.

Yes it is doable.

It is the quantity of swearing & cursing involved which is the issue. Since it's the only dog in town (currently) we have to man up and be brave.

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I've ended up with <counts on fingers> 5 of these. Does that make me ill? Looking forward to seeing how this progresses, and mining the other builds here for hints, as well.

 

I would sell them and wait for Tanmodel's kit, but given the long delay in it arriving, I'm not sure that I have enough life left!

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I've heard that the best way to assemble the fuselage is to glue and clamp just behind the wings. When it's dry, work your way forwards and backwards gradually from that point.

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I bought two of the original issue and tried building one, doing a few weeks at a time with long breaks in between but eventually gave up on it. I sold the other on fleabay shortly before leaving the UK and got a reasonable price for it, if I'd kept it I would have got silly money for it now, never mind.

Good luck.

 

John

Edited by Biggles87
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10 hours ago, Rob G said:

I've ended up with <counts on fingers> 5 of these. Does that make me ill? Looking forward to seeing how this progresses, and mining the other builds here for hints, as well.

 

I would sell them and wait for Tanmodel's kit, but given the long delay in it arriving, I'm not sure that I have enough life left!

I've built 3 so far, with another 3 in the stash.  That must make me insane then.....

 

42938099632_da5a2c2e12_z.jpgDSC_0043 by Paul Carter, on Flickr

42938110712_cd076333c9_z.jpgDSC_0039 by Paul Carter, on Flickr

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3 hours ago, Devilfish said:

I've built 3 so far, with another 3 in the stash.  That must make me insane then.....

 

42938099632_da5a2c2e12_z.jpgDSC_0043 by Paul Carter, on Flickr

42938110712_cd076333c9_z.jpgDSC_0039 by Paul Carter, on Flickr

Beautiful! Just shows what can be achieved from the kit with a bit of skill and time. I'll be happy if mine looks like this.

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I’ve one of these to build did one before and from memory it wasn’t too bad ...I’ll add it to my other collection of buccs ...1/24 and 1/32.. looking forward to this build mate ...

terry

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Well here we are, the fuselage is coaxed together and forced into place! Not as many holes as I was expecting (sorry vicar) although I will fill the small one just behind the rubber band. If I make a mess of it at least the nose roundel will cover that bit! 

 

IMG40941539375645.jpg

 

 

The jet pipe fairings are a terrible fit, however. And now I cannot tell which is which, they both seem to fit badly in both sides! Is the slightly steeper down curve on the top side or the bottom?

 

IMG40951539376093.jpg

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Anyone who finished one of these kits and presents it to a good standard with no seams, out of line panel lines or twists in the fuselage being visible is elevated to the rank of 'model god' in my eyes! Started two and abandoned two over the years.

 

The Bucc is a great subject that Airfix should seriously consider revisiting and retooling in 1/48 to the same standard as the current stuff they are putting out (IF) Tanmodels don't produce one as suggested elsewhere.

 

Gary

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Having set overnight, the fuselage is ready for some attention. Firstly, the upper half is very slightly wider, so I smoothed off the step where they join, gently scraping the excess away with the knife then rough sanding followed by smooth sanding to buff it up again. 

 

IMG41021539419067.jpg

 

I'll need to do this along the nose, intakes and rear fuselage too.

 

 

Meanwhile, I think I've decided to do her as XW530 of 12 squadron. Not only is this one of the kit decal options, but the 48 inch 1/72 letters/numbers seem to be a reasonable size to represent 36 inch in 1/48. My maths is far from good enough to know if it actually equates to the same, but they look ok. Don't they?

 

The lack of a 0 won't matter as that would be covered by the slipper tanks! I did want to do an XN or XT one really, but I've only got Ws!

 

IMG41031539419612.jpg

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That's not looking too bad at all, I had a lot worse with the Academy F14

That's given me confidence for building mine in the STGB next year

 

Following with interest 

 

Ian

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Slowly beating the join lines into submission- not too far away now. 

 

IMG41041539429038.jpg

 

I'll make the exhaust nozzles fit somehow!

 

IMG41051539429673.jpg

Edited by Lord Riot
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Airfix offers a choice of wing tips; slightly wider for the camo Buccs and narrow for the Gulf War version. They were shortened to prolongue the flying hours I think.

 

However, the slot between the wing halves doesn't line up correctly. The tab on the port wing tip is on its lower side, whereas the slot is in the upper wing, so you have two choices:

1. Fit them upside down on the opposite wings (but the detail on the top should be upper, so it wouldn't be accurate).

2. Cut off the tab on the wingtip and file everything smooth at the join then just glue them on.

 

I chose option 2.

 

IMG41101539450243.jpg

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I may be a tad over-ambitious here, but does anyone know if there's a wing fold kit available that actually folds and unfolds the wings? A hinge, basically, but obviously one that looks like a real Bucc wing fold hinge?

 

 

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It would be nice if EVERY kit maker would have the wing tips molded in halves. That way you could fit each half to the wing half and then deal with an edge seam instead. With regards to the wing fold, Airwaves makes an etched set though non-working...https://www.scalemates.com/kits/945178-airwaves-aec48101-buccaneer-wing-fold-for-airfix-kit

https://www.modelhobbies.co.uk/shop/airwaves-blackburn-buccaneer-wingfold-48101-p-39185.html

Edited by fubar57
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Thanks, I did see those ones but I'm after an actual hinged one if it's out there? Otherwise maybe two tiny jewellery hinges perhaps ...

 

Or maybe best just to glue the wings down! I think I may be over-stretching my abilities.

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On ‎10‎/‎11‎/‎2018 at 7:27 PM, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Following, definitely; I have 2 in my stash - 1 destined to be an S1 in Anti-Flash White, the other a folded 809NAS S2.  

 

All tips gratefully received!

Hello Dears,

I'm not glad with my first attempt on the making of the Gyron Junior, I'll give it another try and send you resin parts !

Another Bucc build, I'm in of course !

My kit is already butchered to make an S 1, now let's face the reshaping of the rear part of the engine cowling since it seem to be funny to cope with !!

Hello Crisp on the S1 the engine seem to be angled slightly lower then the Avon ones..

Do you think it's possible or just me that need a new pair of spec ??

Sincerely.

CC

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8 hours ago, corsaircorp said:

On the S1 the engine seem to be angled slightly lower then the Avon ones..

Do you think it's possible or just me that need a new pair of spec ??

When you say “angled slightly lower”, do you mean a different thrust line (i.e. a straight line through the engine would emerge from the exhaust pointing closer to the ground for a Gyron Junior than for a Spey)?

Edited by Ex-FAAWAFU
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