Xtrakit 1/72 Supermarine Scimitar F.1

[Acklington]

Recently finished, but just some quick photos on an indoor background;

XD220, 618, 736 Sqdn Lossiemouth, Acklington B of B, 15 Sept 62 (3) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

XD220, 618, 736 Sqdn Lossiemouth, Acklington B of B, 15 Sept 62 (5) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

XD220, 618, 736 Sqdn Lossiemouth, Acklington B of B, 15 Sept 62 (7) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

XD220, 618, 736 Sqdn Lossiemouth, Acklington B of B, 15 Sept 62 (8) w by Philip Pain, on Flickr

The first airshow I ever attended was the 1962 RAF Acklington Battle of Britain display, and the 736 Squadron aerobatic team from Lossiemouth were lined up with their six Scimitars. I remember them well, the only active Scimitars I ever saw, but no spotters logbook in those early days. The full serials list has since been found on the web, plus some photos which show three different variants of Scimitar - some with refuelling probes - some without - and one with the early non-radar nose. None of the six had drop tanks fitted, which was normal for aerobatic displays. So I've picked '618' XD220 for my model, and this just happens to be one of only three surviving Scimitars - it is now on the USS Intrepid museum in New York harbour.

The Xtrakit model is a bit of a nightmare, it looks like a Scimitar, it is painted like a Scimitar, but put a tape measure anywhere near it, a Scimitar it ain't! The wings are too short, at the roots; the tailplane is too large, also at the roots, and the tail and wing tips are all the wrong shape. The lower fin trailing edge needs extending to a correct shape, and there are other inaccuracies, most of which I have ignored. I do intend to add the drop tanks to the model, as optional 'clip-on' extras, just like the real thing, but I haven't done this yet as their pylons need correcting.

I had to make my own squadron markings for the model, and the double lightning flashes on the fin were a challenge. I eventually did this by taking a strip of masking tape and freehand cutting it in half with scissors, the two halves then being angled apart on the model. This took many trial & error attempts to get right, and both sides of the fin are somewhat different. At the last count I used 37 individual strips of masking tape on this model!

But the end result more or less matches my 59 year old memory.

[fatalbert]

Looks like a Scimitar to me,i have a couple in the stash and if they come out like yours i will be happy.

[wellsprop]

Absolutely superb, very smart looking Scimitar! 

[SAT69]

18 minutes ago, wellsprop said:

Absolutely superb, very smart looking Scimitar! 

Fully agree!

[billn53]

Lovely!

[Neil Lambess]

Nice work on a tricky kit .....it seems to be based on inaccurate Caruana plans in the dairyample  book  and not the way more accurate Caruana plans in the warpaint  book ...... ( which is a possibly unique case of two plans by the same artist disagreeing with each other !....)

[bentwaters81tfw]

Yes, it is fun, isn't it. I recall surgery on the splitter plates and the engine fronts/bulkhead. And the kit supplied underwing serials are too big.

Done a fine job there.

[stevej60]

Superb build and finish an aircraft long overdue as an Airfix new tool!

[Hubert]

A beautiful plane, I want one in 1/48th scale injection moulded.

Well done!

[Vulcanicity]

That's a beauty! Having struggled through this about a decade ago I could instantly spot you've fixed the fin and tailplane- bravo! Good luck with the pylons, I seem to remember they fit awfully from the box and make the tanks sit visibly nose-low...

[Terry1954]

Superb job. I'm an FAA fan and love the Scimitar, but I found this kit such a challenge, I ended up finishing it as a fun toy for one of my granddaughters who loves aircraft!

 

Well done for turning it into a superb representation.

 

Terry

[cngaero]

That's a great looking Scimitar you've produced Philip. I've never built the Xtrakit Scimitar, but there's one lurking about it the stash somewhere, so your build notes will be very useful. 

I think you've done a cracking job on the tail markings. 

As I've mentioned before, Acklington has always been my "home" airfield as that was, like you, my first airshow. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that the '62 Battle of Britain display was also my first and I now live only a few miles from the site, which is now one of Her Majesty's holiday camps for naughty boys. Sadly the aircraft are no more, but on a good night, you can hear the sound of the drones doing their drug deliveries. 

On the North East Sea Land and Air Museum's (Neslam) website, there are some very useful references to the aircraft on show together with some captioned photos of some of the visiting aircraft. This very useful site traces the history of all the Northeast's military airfields. 

Thanks for sharing this here and I look forward to seeing you next Acklington or Ouston aircraft subject. 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2021 by cngaero

[72modeler]

I have one of these in my stash, but after looking at it in the box and reading about all the issues with the Xtrakit Scimitar, I never started it- yours, however, looks very nice! Wish somebody would give us a decent injected kit. That being said, I wish I had bought one of the CMR resin kits while they were still relatively affordable...then they quit making kits! Nice job, and it looks like a Scimitar, so kudos to your modeling skills and patience!

Mike

[Eric Mc]

What a beast. 

 

Great result too.

[Mr T]

Looks very nice, I have the kit, but I also have the Skybirds kit from the late 80s/early 90s, which is probably a bit challenging, but is likely to be reasonably accurate. 

[Spitfire31]

Superb Scimitar with a beautifully smooth finish!

 

Kind regards,

 

Joachim

[Acklington]

Many thanks for the comments.  I forgot to mention another problem, the main wheel axles don't extend far enough to actually glue the wheels on!  So I had to make and add axle extensions.

[Lord Riot]

Fantastic! What a beautiful replica of a brilliant old Royal Navy jet. Very impressive.
 

One day, if the prices ever drop to realistic levels I must get one of these. I’ve only ever seen one, the example at Yeovilton museum. Beautiful looking aircraft like many 50s and 60s British jets.

[Head in the clouds.]

Well I can see a Scimitar so a Scimitar it is, and a good one at that, well done on a pig of a kit.

[Wulfman]

Looks like a Scimltar to me, excellent build and finish !

 

Wulfman

[tonyot]

Lovely job,.... I`d heard that the kit was a bit of a pig,.... you`d never guess! 

 

We need an Airfix kit of this beautiful aeroplane,

 

Cheers

         Tony

[SteveMc]

What a fantastic job. The Scimitar has been sadly neglected by the bigger modelling companies.

[593jones]

For all it's faults, it looks good to me.  Nice work!

[Adam Poultney]

I'd like a 1/72 Scimitar.... not many options it seems.

Great build, love it

Edited June 12, 2021 by Adam Poultney

[F-32]

An awesome job on what sounds like a tough kit to finish