1/48 De Havilland Vampire F.3 & FB.5/FB.9 by Airfix - released

[petetasker]

See Hannants now have it as ‘in stock’.

[Wez]

4 minutes ago, petetasker said:

See Hannants now have it as ‘in stock’.

 

But not showing the box art.

 

The advert on the rear cover of the recent AMW magazine mentioned extra parts.  I'd be intrigued to know what as all of the parts were already in the kit to make an FB.5/9, maybe they've included some rockets and bombs?

[Mike]

2 hours ago, Wez said:

But not showing the box art.

I can remedy that.  Our sample arrived yesterday:

 

[Wez]

Thanks Mike, reminds me of the old Frog kits box art in a way.

[stever219]

10 minutes ago, Wez said:

Thanks Mike, reminds me of the old Frog kits box art in a way.

502 Squadron RAuxAF, the same unit (and camouflage scheme) as depicted by the old FROG kit and also over Malta. 

 

I'd have liked to have seen WR120 with her black nose and fins almost head on and at low level against a sun-blasted middle-eastern desert under a deep blue sky but that's just me being an awkward cuss.

Edited June 1, 2023 by stever219

[petetasker]

I like the look of that - can feel a purchase coming on.

[Mike]

53 minutes ago, Wez said:

Thanks Mike, reminds me of the old Frog kits box art in a way.

Welks I'd have had to take the pic for the review anyway if Airfix don't have it on their site yet.  I thought I'd mushed the colour a bit, but looking back at the box it's about right on the screen

[Homebee]

Source: https://uk.airfix.com/community/blog-and-news/workbench/vampire-britains-first-500-mph-fighter

 

 

Scheme A - de Havilland D.H.100 Vampire FB.9 WR120, No.213 Squadron, Royal Air Force Deversoir, Egypt, 1954.

 

 

Scheme B - de Havilland D.H.100 Vampire FB.9 WR128, No.502 (Ulster) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force, RAF Sydenham, Belfast, Northern Ireland, 1955.

 

 

Scheme C - de Havilland D.H.100 Vampire FB.5 VX950, Armée de l'Air, France, 1959.

 

 

V.P.

[Irish 251]

I see the painting diagram says "North Ireland" a typo, no doubt.

[Mike]

12 minutes ago, Irish 251 said:

I see the painting diagram says "North Ireland" a typo, no doubt.

I think it's cleared up in the printed version.  It's certainly how I wrote it in the review I've just posted up:

 

 

[Black Knight]

4 hours ago, Irish 251 said:

I see the painting diagram says "North Ireland" a typo, no doubt.

It may seem to be a minor problem to youse but the omission of the three letters e r n is considered to be a very serious matter here

There have been serious riots for 55 years here for that sort of thing, and for lesser reasons

I've emailed Airfix regarding it

[Mike]

17 hours ago, Black Knight said:

It may seem to be a minor problem to youse but the omission of the three letters e r n is considered to be a very serious matter here

It seems that while I was typing up my review, my Pavlov's Fingers just naturally typed "Northern", as I've just checked the paper instructions and it definitely says "North" on mine at least.  I'm sure nothing was meant by it of course, just an unfortunate typo.

 

Actually, I'd initially typed "Norther", missing the N off entirely, which was caught during proofing, and proves that mistakes happen.

[Ali62]

Can the title of the thread be changed to include Mk.5 and 9 rather than just 3?

[AstroCanary]

Found this nice (albeit small) image; "De Havilland Vampire FB Mk.9 213th Squadron at a base in Egypt in 1953":



Image from: https://www.armedconflicts.com/No-213-Squadron-RAF-t193997

 

 

[Celestialsphere]

I think the box art shows the FB.9 over Gibraltar. I wonder how often No.502 (Ulster) Squadron operated from there?

[Wez]

4 hours ago, Celestialsphere said:

I think the box art shows the FB.9 over Gibraltar. I wonder how often No.502 (Ulster) Squadron operated from there?

 

Probably once a year for annual Armament Practice Camp (APC).

[petetasker]

On 07/06/2023 at 07:14, Celestialsphere said:

I think the box art shows the FB.9 over Gibraltar. I wonder how often No.502 (Ulster) Squadron operated from there?

502 did a couple of their Summer Camps in the mid 50’s at RAF North Front (Gibraltar). Source Roger Lindsay’s Cold War Shield.

[Celestialsphere]

Thankyou for the info @Wez and @petetasker. I love how an obscure question on Britmodeller gets a knowledgeable answer. Brilliant !

 

Cheers 

Andrew