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Sea Vixen FAW.2


Quintilian

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Hi Quintilian,

 

Britmodeller is the right place to find out all the do's and dont's.

Go to search and ask for the Sea Vixen FAW2. You will be amazed what there is on offer.

WIPS (Work in Progress) and many completed models by some of the best modelers around.

Keep us informed by WIP reports on this site.

Lots of succes.

Regards, Orion / The Netherlands.

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9 hours ago, Quintilian said:

Any tips/ideas/warnings(!!) from any of you?

 

4 hours ago, Orion said:

Go to search and ask for the Sea Vixen FAW2. You will be amazed what there is on offer.

Unless the site search has vastly improved,  I suggest adding 'britmodeller' into a google search,  and search up some other builds and see what they say

 

There are some builds with added AM parts,  AFAIK there are no major problems with the kit.    As a new chap,  you might want to say how experienced you are, as that makes a difference to how you might find the kit.

 

We get a goodly number of 'built models years ago and now middle aged and come back to it'   members, we get other who have recently found the site, we get a few youngsters who are learning,   a look at your intro post does not say much about what experience you have.

 

I'd suggest it's not a beginners kit though.    You could start a Work In Progress thread, even if you first post is, I have this kit, I know this much/my skills are,  any pitfalls, and you will find a helpful and supportive community.

 

HTH

T

 

 

 

 

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Go to 'Thunder and Lightnings' and thence to Sea Vixen.

The author admits (elsewhere) that he provided a lot of input Airfix so take his comments with a pinch of salt!  More importantly there are a couple of links, one very detailed, of building.

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Hi Quintilian,

I built one of these when first issued. Only issue was the faint sink marks over the locations for the wing reinforcing spars. I didn’t notice them until too late.

You need 3 hands to build the folded wing option! 😊

The decal sheet is comprehensive, there are approximately twice as many decals as there are parts in the box.

 

TW

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8 hours ago, Tony Whittingham said:

Hi Quintilian,

I built one of these when first issued. Only issue was the faint sink marks over the locations for the wing reinforcing spars. I didn’t notice them until too late.

You need 3 hands to build the folded wing option! 😊

The decal sheet is comprehensive, there are approximately twice as many decals as there are parts in the box.

 

TW

 +1!

 

And what ever you do, don't forget the nose weight. Once you think you've got a bit too much in make sure you add a bit more.

Edited by DAG058
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A WIP is the way to go. Should you come across any issues, there are plenty of people who will come to your assistance. That's the beauty of BM, there is almost always someone who has the answer to a problem and will come back with it very quickly.

 

My personal take on the kit is that the ejection seats are a bit undernourished and the aircrew are clearly under scale. Other than that, the kit just needs care in assembly and will reward you with a fine replica.

 

Martian 👽

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When I built mine, I also added the vastly detailed Neomega cockpit. Whilst great, this added a lot of complexity to the fit in that area and in the end, probably only the seats could be seen. I think simple replacement of the seats is all that's needed. I agree with Tony re the folding of the wings - you need at least 3 hands. The only other area I recall being tricky was the fit of the wing pylons near the wing joint. Suggest trial fitting before any painting is done as I had to enlarge the slots to stop the missiles sloping upwards too much. 

Here is the finished article. Lovely kit to build.

http://www.ipmsavon.org.uk/meetings-gallery.php?year=16#20160518-8

Edited by neilh
forgot a link
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It's all a mater of opinion I guess, but the only aftermarket I would consider is the pilots seat for a closed up aircraft, or the two seats if you have the Obs hatch open.

I wouldn't say the seats are noticeably underscale, just lacking the detail of some modern kits, I don't remember it having aircrew figures at all?

 

One thing to really take care with on this kit is removing the parts from the sprues, the sprues are very thick where they meet the parts and some of the parts are small and delicate.

 

@Simon V, I can't see the reissue being a different variant, the way the kit is molded means there would have to be significant changes to the larger moldings to produce the FAW.1., it would be very nice though!

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You will find hundreds of supporters suggesting you build her with her wings folded

 

Don't ask me how I know. :)

 

I suggest you build her with her wings proudly spread

 

Just saying...

 

 

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Absolutely horrible, terrible kit. Worst of the worst - what were Airfix thinking?!? 

 

Wait, no that’s the Trumpeter kit....

 

As others have said, the Airfix Vixen is one of the best kits they have ever done, and probably vies for the position of best 1:48 British Jet kit done by anyone ever, so there you go. Regarding the wing fold, it is rare you see these built ‘full spread’ (ooh err), but if you have the space then have her unfolded.

 

A WIP is still recommended though as you’ll come across different details depending on which jet you build (please build a D3, they are beautiful).

 

I have both the Airfix and Dynavector kits in the stash - now Dyanvetor is pretty much legendary for producing some now very sought after vacforms (looks at the scimitar in the corner) and I for one cannot decide between the two which one I want to build first as the Airfix kit looks just as stunning as the dynavector example

 

So yes, 

  Horrible, terrible kit. I’ll happily ‘dispose’ of it for you ;) Happy modelling! 

Edited by WV908
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6 hours ago, 71chally said:

 

@Simon V, I can't see the reissue being a different variant, the way the kit is molded means there would have to be significant changes to the larger moldings to produce the FAW.1., it would be very nice though!

It would seem that you're correct. I'm not sure where I got the idea from - I think maybe in the Airfix 2019 thread when it was announced somebody mentioned "shame they're not doing the full blown ... version" and, having no knowledge of the subject, I assumed the reissue was a "lightweight" kit and not what they had previously released.

 

The recent workbench article seems to suggest this is exactly the same as before, though. Which is good.

 

I want one :)

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