1949 - Xtrakit (ex MPM) Gloster Meteor F8 ****FINISHED****

[PeterB]

Hi Dave,

 

I have had problems in the past with Xtradecals, particularly the thin line ones. I have probably said this before, but the trend to ever thinner and more realistic decs has perhaps gone a bit too far at times to my mind and they can be very fragile. The first Airfix kits had decs like lino they were so thick, but the were indestructible and even stuck to matt painted surfaces for many a year. The old Frog ones were a bit thinner, but provided they were stored flat, in the dark and in a cool place they still work after 40 or more years as we saw in the Frog GB. The only real problem with them is variable colour and RAF roundels being way out of register on the earlier ones. Old Hasegawa ones can also deteriorate a bit, but seem to work with care and a coat or two of clear varnish. I now take a copy of the sheets before using them, so I can "reprint" them if the need arises.

 

The replacement sheets arrived today and are nearly as fragile as the ones with the kit, but being forewarned I gave them a couple of coats of clear acrylic varnish and managed to get them on almost intact. The NF 14 is ready for its undercarriage, and the F8 is sprayed and waiting for some decent weather to get some outdoor pics. If not I will take some shots indoors for the gallery. With any luck I should be able to post my "Meteor family group" of the FIII, FIV, F8 and NF14 as well, though the 14 may not be sprayed. I have given the old Airfix FIII a facelift since my FIV build.

[PeterB]

I have taken the gallery pics of the F8 and will post them before long, but here is one to be going on with. It shows off the late model wide intakes well.

 

 

It seems I mounted the nose gear fork at slightly the wrong angle so it sits a bit nose down but there is nothing I can do about that now - not disasterous! The NF14 sat on its wheels for the first time today and confirmed what I had said earlier about the ballast. My 13g is far too much and I could have got away with 8g I believe - as to the recommended 20g somebody was clearly having a very bad day and nobody seems to have bothered checking the instructions - I doubt the rather poorly fitting nosewheel leg could stand that much for long without breaking! Pity I could not have tested it with a dry fit before I closed up the fuselage but the undercarriage is a butt fit and would have likely broken off part way through the build.

 

Matchbox are a bit inconsistent as they have not only provided the bracing struts for the main legs but also one of the retraction struts for the main doors - only one mind as I think there should perhaps be two. However they have not provided the bracing strut for the nose leg so I have added it. Unfortunately the geometry of the leg looks a bit wrong but it is Matchbox! I might not have time to give it a quick coat of satin varnish before the deadline but hopefully I will be able to do my group photo this weekend - assuming I can find somewhere to take it as I doubt the weather will allow me to do it outside.

 

Nearly there!

[Rabbit Leader]

Yet again some superb modelling on display Pete and you’ve done a great job with the kit which by all accounts can be a little challenging to build. Overall she looks great and I appreciate all your efforts in keeping this GB active for its entire three months duration. 
 

Cheers.. Dave 

[PeterB]

Thanks Dave,

 

I would have prefered to have finished a bit earlier but my mad decision to buy and build the ex Matchbox Meteor NF slowed me down a bit. Even though it is not an actual entry as it did not fly/enter servce until quite a few years later, I have come down with the "Meteor Bug" and decided a representative line up of all the fighter variants would be fun. Just finished putting the very last of the decs on - even with 2 coats of varnish the thin black lines broke up a bit, which is certainly not up to the normal standard! Oh well, got there in the end so just a few aerials to add and touch up and then with luck I will get it sprayed Saturday. Providing Flickr behaves there should be some pics by the evening. Then I will get my Flying Clog finished in Pat's Flying Boats and Floatplanes GB and take a short break before concentrating on the KUTA. 12 builds and 2 refurbs since the start of June is enough for a little while, particularly after the fun and games with the Frog Shackleton. Good job I don't have to work for a living!

 

I don't suppose you have had time to start on your Revell Shack yet? As they have now decided to accept Manchesters, Yorks and Lincolns in next year's Lancaster build, perhaps you could get it in that - if not perhaps you could do it as WIP as I would like to see how it builds up compared with my marathon effort.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

[Rabbit Leader]

Thanks Pete, I knew they expanded the Lancaster STGB, however would doubt a Shack would be accepted. I’ll have to read the rules to see whats going on there. I’m hoping my builds for next years GB’s are small and quick as I need to improve my completion rate after the all too often failures that bugged me this year. 

Cheers.. Dave

[PeterB]

Hi Dave,

 

You are probably right about the Lancaster GB as the Shack has got little if any Lancaster left in in - Lincoln-ish wings and a completely new fuselage. Looking on the bright side, the new Revell kit is big and has a lot of parts but unlike my Frog one you will not have to scratch build or modify anything so it should be OOB, and the paint scheme is fairly simple.

 

Pete

[PeterB]

The continuing bad weather shows no sign of letting up for several days so I have abandoned all hope of taking any pics outdoors. I have also delayed giving the NF14 a final coat of varnish for technical reasons so her are my last few pics.

 

 

The canopy is not tinted - I painted a layer of Humbrol Maskol on hoping to get it sprayed today. It is in the markings of 64 Squadron who seem to have operated both NF12 and NF14 in parallel for about 4 years.

 

 

And here is a Group photo.

 

 

From left to right Airfix FIII, Frog FIV, MPM F8 and Matchbox NF14. Those of you who saw my build of the FIV a couple of months ago may notice that I have given the old Airfix FIII a facelift! The NF14 will be a bit less glossy after a coat of Satin varnish. As I mentioned previously I have always considered the clipped wing versions to be a bit ugly, but I still like them - I think somebody used the term "purposeful" for the Meteor earlier in this build and that certainly fits. The engine intakes on the NF14 are the shorter type with wider opening. The NF11 and NF12 had longer narrower ones which would make he nacelles about the same length as those of the F8. The growth in power  of the engines and therefore the size of the nacelles and intakes was of course one of the main driving forces behind the changes to the various marks.

 

I will now post the F8 in the Gallery and bring my contribution to this GB to a close. It has been fun and thanks to Dave and the other organisers for giving me the incentive to get a few more of my stash built. In fact, as I seem to be building post war RAF jets, I suppose I might as well have a go now at the Xrtakit ex MPM Vampire FB5 which should be fun as they just say "add weight" not how much! If anybody wants the left over nose, tail, canopy and engine nacelles for a Meteor NF 11 or NF 12 send me a PM. I also have a sheet of decs but given the trouble I have had I doubt anybody would be desperate enough to want them.

 

Thanks for your interest guys!

 

Pete

Edited November 25, 2019 by PeterB

[CliffB]

Bravo Pete!  It just goes to show that you can't have too many Meatboxes 

 

Cliff

[PeterB]

Hi Cliff,

 

Not sure exactly when I bought the Airfix FIII but probably not long after it came out in 1970. Somewhere around 1975 I built the Frog version, but by the time I moved down here in 1979 it had gone for whatever reason, so for almost 40 years the FIII was my sole Meatbox, and then in the last 2 or 3 months I have added another 3 to my collection. I would blame it on Pat and Dave but that would be only partially true as I bought the F8 about 8 years ago and never got round to building it, as is the case with the more recent Xtrakit Vampire, Swift and Scimitar - looks like I will have to put some more shelves up!

 

Cheers

 

Pete

[Rabbit Leader]

Thanks for the group Meatbox shot. They all really look great and highlight the basic airframes development over it's long and illustrious RAF career. 

Cheers and well played.. Dave 

[Ventora3300]

Excellent modelling Pete, lovely results on this latest Meteors and all the others. Looking forward to seeing more of your builds somewhere or other on here. All the best. Mike

[PeterB]

For the record I did eventually manage to put a satin varnish spray on the NF14.

 

 

 

 

The kit was a bit of a pain but ended up looking quite good.

Edited December 2, 2019 by PeterB

[stevehnz]

That looks good Peter, you've a nice line up of Meteors there. I've been in a Meteor buying mode myself recently, more to come, after seeing your builds I became somewhat inspired.

Steve.