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A pair of EE Lightnings


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Hello all!

 

Over the years, I have tried many times to produce a model of an EE Lightning which had a decent silver finish. I had tried Humbrol Metalcote spray, Mr Metalizer paint, acrylic and enamel by brush, but never had much success. The Metalcote finished without a gloss effect and appeared to be grainy  The Metalizer, after buffing up, was WAY to shiny (mind you, it did look like metal and you could also use the plane as a mirror but it lost the scale effect).

 

I decided I was going to do a parallel build and use two new techniques (to me) and see how things got on.

 

First up is the 1/72 Airfix F6, and is finished in 74 Squadron markings from 1970 in Singapore at RAF Tengah. This is the one plane I have really wanted to do but, due to the poor finishes in the past, never got round to. It is important to me because of a bit of my history. I was in Singapore, and also in the Scouts. We had a weekend camp over at Tengah, and one of our treats was to go onto the base and ogle their Lightnings. The ground crew that took us round said we could clamber into the cockpit if we wanted to, as long as we did not touch any controls. So we took the opportunity! That sealed my love of the Lightning that has stayed with me to this day.

 

The kit went together pretty well, much better than my F2A I had done a few years ago, and the only issue I had was having to pare away a little bit of the cockpit tub front. I was very much aware of how much needed removing for the cockpit and exhausts modules, but I think I had a good kit this time as very little needed to go.

 

As I do not have an airbrush, I sprayed from the tin some Tamiya primer, and then, after masking off the tail, used another can of Tamiya Bare Metal Silver spray. The result was pretty good to me and it gave a nice, even covering which was well suitable to put the transfers on, which settled like a dream. I picked out a few panels with Revell Silver acrylic with a wide, flat brush to give some differentiation to the surface and ended up with this:

 

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I was very pleased with this one for its finish, and also the build process as it was a credit to Airfix. 

 

All the best,

 

Ray

Edited by Ray S
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The second kit I did was the Sword 1/72 F3.

 

It was interesting building the Sword kit alongside the Airfix one, and I must say the experience was just as enjoyable. Taking into account the extra cleaning up, removal of ejection towers and remembering the etch on the Sword kit, it again went together well. I had built a Sword T4 Trainer a few years ago too (the too shiny one with the Metalizer paint) so I knew what to expect. I did not use too much filler on this one, but the important thing was the paint job, and I tried the second new technique.

 

I sprayed it with Tamiya primer, then picked out various panels with Revell Gloss Black acrylic by brush painting, then brush painted their Silver acrylic and gave the airframe two coats. This then left a nice difference in the silver finish for the panels, and looked much better to my eye than the Airfix one above. The effect is subtle and can be seen in different lights.

 

I finished this one as an aircraft from 226OCU, 2T Squadron 1973. The major markings came from the Xtradecal X72097 sheet, and the rest from Sword's own transfers and they all bedded down well.

 

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Oh yes, I did have one two disasters with this. I lost the etch blade aerial on the cockpit canopy, so scratchbuilt one (crumbs, that was difficult!), but worse was that when I was attaching something with CA towards the end (I think it was one of the missile pylons), the part fell out of the tweezers and landed on the wing. The glue left a really black mark on the silver finish. This was the first time I had used Gorilla CA Gel. I have always used other CA, and that had not marked the paint at all previously. Live and learn...

 

I have every intention of doing more colourful Lightnings (I have another 5 1/72 ones in the stash and 2 x 1/48) and these little experiments have given me the confidence to continue!

 

Thanks for looking, all the best,

 

Ray

Edited by Ray S
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These are absolutely superb!

 

What a fantastic silver finish you've achieved too; after seeing these I'll definitely use Tamiya silver spray when I come to need it. 

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Both very nicely finished, but I have to agree with you that the slight tonal variation of the panels on the second one makes it look so much more realistic :)

 

Ian

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Wow lovely pair of Frightning !!

One day... I'll start my second 1/48 lightning and paint her in NMF... One day ! Promised !

Congratulations for the shiny pair !

Sincerely.

CC

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Thanks everyone for the kind comments.

 

The next ones I do will be done slightly differently again. I am going to try:- spray Tamiya Primer, pick out various panels etc with Revell Gloss Black and browns, then spray Tamiya Silver leaf from the can over that. I found out the hard way not to spray Tamiya over Humbrol enamels, although it did look good if you wanted the model to look like it was made from (fake) leather! Basically I am still experimenting, but there are plenty of colourful (Lightning) reasons out there.

 

Thanks again all, it is very much appreciated.

 

Ray

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Very nice indeed and a nice finish on both. I have done several NMF paint jobs and they can be difficult to obtain that perfect finish. I have come to a conclusion that it is almost impossible as simply turning the model can give differing nuances, shades luminosity to what is sometimes an almost mirror like finish, or not, as the case may be.

I am just finishing a Lightning myself and the pics I have for reference show a mirror finish to an almost light grey finish and everything in-between. Go with what you think is best as IMHO no one can really say you are wrong.

Have fun, I know I have.

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