1/48 TSR-2 XR219 - Airfix

[TeaWeasel]

My main interest in aviation has to be the random British designs produced in the middle of the century. Designs that looked a bit too absurd to work but actually were rather ahead of its time, such as the EE Lightning, Vulcan, and the TSR-2.

 

Overall the TSR has to be one of my all-time favourite aircraft. Summing it up as "Concorde but it carries nukes instead of passengers", I've always wanted to have a go at building one, and a few months ago I got the chance. If anyone has seen my previous blog of various projects they may have seen this already, but I'm slowly splitting each project into individual threads to make it more manageable. 

 

I picked this up on eBay for a relative bargain. Airfix produced a limited run of 1/48 TSRs back in the mid-2000s and they go for a fair bit these days. 

 

 

First thing I noticed was the sheer size of the thing, far bigger than I expected, far bigger than anything I've worked on recently. I had done some reading on the kit beforehand and understood that there were a few issues of which I've taken steps to rectify and will be explained along the way.

 

The first step however was the cockpit. The parts included were rather bare, so I tried as hard as I can to track down a set of the Eduard photo-etch upgrades. This proved to be almost impossible until I found a shop in France which had one. If anyone can find a 1/48 Eduard PE set anywhere else I will genuinely be surprised. 

 

The set went together pretty well, although there was a rather large issue with the colouration, as the light blue doesn't seem to match any photos I've seen of the real thing. Matching the shade for the cockpit tub was a bit of a challenge until I found a suitable shade from P3 Frostbite. Photo below is before the fuselage interior was sprayed.

 

 

 

And the front cockpit for reference.

 

 

I was really indecisive on how far to go with the aftermarket upgrades, as the cost is really starting to build up, much like the real thing. I did take the plunge with the undercarriage bays however, as the difference is just too much to ignore. Also since this is likely to be the only TSR I'll ever build, why not go all-out a bit?

 

 

 

Again you can see how much detail has been added with the resin parts.

 

 

Overall I'm confident with the project, although I've encountered some hiccups that I'll go into next time. Given the short lifespan of the TSR however I may go down the "what-if" route a little, primarily with the payload. I've bought a nice pair of WE.177s from Shapeways that I may do up in the later green scheme. I know some purists may be frothing a little at this but it's more just to break up the huge areas of white a little more. 

 

Joe

 

 

Edited July 6, 2022 by TeaWeasel

[Martian]

Never could resist a TSR2 build. 

 

TSR2 Addict of Mars 👽

[David H]

Hi Joe,

 

I've been reading many threads in BM about builds of the TSR2, and my takeaway is its one of the most looked-over, over-analyzed and obsessed-over subjects out there aside from the Spitfire. Opinion seems to be that both Airfix kits have more issues than a subscription to Vogue, but in the end they do look appropriately long, white and pointy.

 

Just press on and try to have as much fun building the model and don't lose yourself in the weeds trying to fix everything. You already mentioned unexpected cost escalation. And to paraphrase Sir Sydney Camm, Escalation leads to cancellation and ultimately ruination.

 

-d-

[GrahamS]

Can’t have too many TSR2s 👍👍👍

 

Graham

[amos brierley]

13 minutes ago, David H said:

over-analyzed and obsessed-over subjects out there

If you’ve been watching that series program about Hornby models Mr kola talks about people who buy his products get enjoyment from them…… 

 

……… Your post reminds me I need to update my own post………

 

A little bit cryptic on my part, but nice to see your work.      😉

[exdraken]

Looks great!!

Yeah, add some AM!

The kit is huge and some areas really deserve a  bit more detail!

 

[TeaWeasel]

Thanks very much for the positive feedback. 

 

I took a closer look at the CMK undercarriage set and ran into a serious issue with the front wheel-well in that the part just doesnt fit into the fuselage without modifications. While the quality of the part is excellent, the quality of the instructions is pretty piddle-poor.

 

At first I thought it was the mounting lugs on the fuselage blocking it; I was reluctant to remove these as they'd provide some extra surface area for the glue. I eventually found the cause in that the front of the part is too high, and it was actually catching on one of the pins that align the two halves of the fuselage.

 

So I got out the saw and cut away around 3-4mm of the part. 

 

 

It's not the cleanest cut but it'll be near-invisible once the front undercarriage is in place. Once it was cleaned up the fit was much better.

 

 

There's a small gap at the front there simply caused by gravity; once it's in place only a little bit of filler will be needed. 

 

Now that's sorted, there's nothing stopping me from gluing the fuselage together. There's a minor stage that still has to be decided and that's which registration to go for, with a choice of XR219, 220 or 221. If I go with 220 then there are some small camera mounts to go on the engine intakes. It sounds like such a small decision but I'm pretty indecisive with things like this. Might go for 219 as it's the only one that actually flew.

 

Thanks all,

Joe

 

[TeaWeasel]

So the front undercarriage went in no problems at all. Good bit of glue and left overnight, it's not going anywhere. Now that's done I did a rough dry-fit to get an idea of the overall configuration

 

 

 

 

 

You can see the spaces for the airbrakes, and this'll be the next step of aftermarket parts. From what I've read this part is a notorious part of the Airfix TSR-2. The internal panels for the brakes simply don't fit within the part shown in the instructions, and while it can be avoided by gluing them to the external panel, a 1mm gap still remains. I'm surprised this got past Airfix quality control. 

 

Also took a crack at the pilots. The seats in the kit are a little generic but I reckon they'll be fine once they're in the cockpit. Painting the pilot himself was a bit tricky as there are few images out there of the dedicated TSR-2 pilots. With that I've gone for a generic 1960's RAF pilot such as this one here.

 

Still got the flesh and details to go through but not so bad. It's a little annoying that both pilots are the same cast so I may do some cutting and filling to repose them a little. 

 

 

 

Thanks all, over the weekend I'll probably get some material to weigh the nose down (don't want to go through all this effort and get a tailsitter). Once that's done I'll put the fuselage together and work on the main weapons bay.

 

Any comments would be appreciated.

 

Cheers,

Joe

 

Edited December 10, 2021 by TeaWeasel
Wrong image URL

[TeaWeasel]

I took the plunge and glued the fuselage together, so no going back now! Beforehand I added weight to the cavity behind the cockpit tub using putty and some old bolts, secured with a hearty amount of superglue. I'll be sure to add more to the nosecone just to be extra safe. The wings and additional fuselage panels went on well, slight bit of filling and sanding needed for the fuselage halves but once the glue has dried at this stage I'll go over with the polishing paper to remove any unwanted seams. 

 

 

You'll see that I've added the airbrake panels in the cavities behind the wings; this was one of the parts that I hoped to replace with the CMK alternatives for 2 reasons:

• The Airfix part is pretty lacking in detail
• The instructions are poor in outlining how this piece attaches.

Apparently the second issue is a long-standing gripe with this kit. The instructions state that the part should be attached directly to the fuselage half which is impossible as it just falls straight through with a 3mm gap. The part should actually be attached to the panel that goes over the fuselage to which the tail is attached. Doesn't sound like much but it's pretty glaring error that I'm surprised Airfix's QC didn't pick up on. Even now it's attached the join isn't perfect:

 

 

I used a good bit of glue on this part as it just really needed it. Gaps still remain however so tomorrow I'll go over with a bit of putty and fill the gaps as well as remove some of the glue residue. 

 

You'll see there that I've also started to add a little bit of rivet detail to some of the panels. I saw an expertly-finished TSR on another site which had done this so thought I'd give it a go. Using a 0.5mm bit I just started making holes at various intervals. For the love of god, don't start counting them! I'm just honestly doing it by eye. After a short while this was the result.

 

 

I'm not 100% happy with the result. There's a fair bit of drilled plastic to be scraped away so that skews it a bit, but I think some of them may need filling and re-drilling as toward the end my wrist was starting to cramp a bit. I don't plan to do the whole kit like this, just a few select panels. 

 

 

 

 

[Johnson]

2 hours ago, TeaWeasel said:

I'm not 100% happy with the result

Looks OK (I know nothing about TSR-2s! ) and what you're doing looks like good fun modelling to me. Carry on the good work.

Cheers,

[Lewis95]

Looking good buddy. Better than mine which has sat unloved since last year. Hell, my current Dak is sitting on top of it as I needed the space to spray the other night. 

 

Personally I went for the panels being shut though and the fit is definitely....iffy.

[224 Peter]

As one of the team at Boscombe Down Aviation Collection I have a bit of a TSR 2 Obsession. A number of the team were working at Boscombe Down when it flew and when the order came to destroy them. 

We have models, but nothing of the real A/Cs, probably because the destruction was so rigorous. 

The general view is that if the project had continued the Tornado would never have been needed and the TSR2s would have gone out of service a year or so age... 

BUT much of the technology that went into the TSR2 was used in the Tornado, so it wasn't a complete waste.

 

I have one of the original Airfix 1/48th releases... so I'll follow along, if I may. 

 

BTW, the conspiracy theorists say that the project was cancelled on the demand of the USA to protect the US aircraft industry and as a condition of US support for the financial bailout of the Wilson Government....  

[TeaWeasel]

24 minutes ago, 224 Peter said:

As one of the team at Boscombe Down Aviation Collection I have a bit of a TSR 2 Obsession. A number of the team were working at Boscombe Down when it flew and when the order came to destroy them. 

We have models, but nothing of the real A/Cs, probably because the destruction was so rigorous. 

The general view is that if the project had continued the Tornado would never have been needed and the TSR2s would have gone out of service a year or so age... 

BUT much of the technology that went into the TSR2 was used in the Tornado, so it wasn't a complete waste.

 

I have one of the original Airfix 1/48th releases... so I'll follow along, if I may. 

 

BTW, the conspiracy theorists say that the project was cancelled on the demand of the USA to protect the US aircraft industry and as a condition of US support for the financial bailout of the Wilson Government....  

 

Damn that's interesting, never heard that conspiracy before. With all the stuff happening behind closed doors it wouldn't surprise me.

 

 

So I did a bit more rivet-drilling on the top panels and here's the result. 

 

 

 

Much happier with this one. I think the knack is just doing loads of little sessions to avoid your wrist cramping a bit or losing concentration. I probably won't do too much more on the riveting, it's one of those things that's easy to do too much and ruin it. 

 

 

Thanks,

Joe

[JohnT]

1 hour ago, 224 Peter said:

 

 

BTW, the conspiracy theorists say that the project was cancelled on the demand of the USA to protect the US aircraft industry and as a condition of US support for the financial bailout of the Wilson Government....  

Nice work so far on a less than easy kit. 
 

On Peters comment I saw a documentary many decades ago and Dennis Healey ( Defence Minister) and Roy Jenkins (Chancellor) were both asked about US pressure. Their response was the same as I recall. The matter was never actually put to to UK Government in direct terms. However the feeling was conveyed that financial support would be more straightforward for the US if the UK Gov was seen to be sympathetic to US interests. Never a mention of any current aircraft project.  The rest is history but not necessarily documented history 

 

Who knows?  Anyone who did has since passed away and no one left to tell. 
 

All the same neither Healey or Jenkins rubbished the suggestion 

[Deano353]

Great looking build so far the wells and bomb bay will look great when it's all painted. Arr you gonna do a "what if" scheme or do it in white?

[TeaWeasel]

11 minutes ago, Deano353 said:

Great looking build so far the wells and bomb bay will look great when it's all painted. Arr you gonna do a "what if" scheme or do it in white?

 

Going for the typical white, but the bombs will be the classic green to break up the white a little. Still undecided on the registration however.

[Norman]

Looking great so far ! looking forward to future instalments 

[Tomjw]

I'm glad I stumbled across this build. Looking forward to following the great work you've done so far.

 

Cheers,

 

Tom

[TeaWeasel]

Thanks everyone, 

 

Bit of slow progress at the moment as we're getting into 2022, particularly as work's being a bit of a bugger at the moment.

 

So a few more parts have gone on, namely the flaps as well as a few minor pieces here and there. The main change however is the main undercarriage/bomb bay is now attached. I decided against getting the aftermarket flaps as the wouldn't add much in terms of detail, and I'd have to cut away a significant part of the wing from what I can make out on the instructions. 

 

 

Bit of putty gone in to fill the gaps. The CMK part contains so much more detail but the fit could be a lot better as there's around 1mm of space along both sides. 

 

I've also had a look at the doors and various hydraulics that came with the CMK parts and I seem to have hit a roadblock; another issue I've had with CMK and quite a few aftermarket suppliers is the instruction quality. 

 

 

This is an excerpt from the instructions and already there are problems;

• The bit highlighted in yellow doesn't exist. That ridge is simply a small nub on the real thing.
• There's no indication of how the part circled in red attaches to the undercarriage bay. 

Have done a bit of searching an I can't find any similar projects so I've hit a bit of a roadblock on how to resolve this.

 

In the meantime I'll look at finishing the cockpit off. Will look at getting some material to weigh the nose down, and then attach the pilots/seats.

 

Thanks all,

Joe

[amos brierley]

Hello TeaWeasel, hoping to help you out.

 

From your description I think you are saying that your main U/C doors haven’t been cast correctly, here’s my CMK 1/72 offerings (WIP) :

 

And the real thing with actuating jack : 

 

And the piece you’ve highlighted in red : 

 

Another view , this overview better shows the jumbled mess of actuating arms not really shown in any of the kit nor detail set instructions : 

 

 

And a little something for the rivet counter’s - XR220’s intake camera ports - a hole in the intake side skin for said camera :             ( just in case you decide on XR220.) 

 

Hope these help you out.        😉

 

 

 

 

[TeaWeasel]

Thanks mate, those photos are really helpful. I saw XR222 at Duxford recently but couldn't get some good close-ups, and thought it too cheeky to ask a guide if I could cross the barriers for a project. 

 

Thanks also for the photos of the CMK parts, looks like mine was possibly miscast or broken in transit. 

[TeaWeasel]

Apologies for the lull in progress, been focussing on other project and decided to take a break from the TSR.

 

So the final aftermarket part (hopefully) arrived the other day. 

 

 

From what I've heard this is more for practical reasons rather than aesthetic, as it's been noted the plastic gear can start to bow out over time. The detail is nice but nothing really more than the plastic version. I *might* look at adding some cabling with lead wire, but will have to do some research first, never worked with lead wire before.

 

With the gear in place I can finally add the lower panel. Some shaving of the bomb bay was needed to get a somewhat flush finish.

 

 

Some filling is still needed in places but some areas will be hidden by the payload so not going over the top in this region. 

 

And to finish it off a shot of the whole thing.

 

 

I gave it a good couple of days for the glue to set on the gears and it's sitting nice and stable. Still looking at how to attach the bomb doors, no such luck so far

 

Cheers all,

Joe

 

 

Edited March 1, 2022 by TeaWeasel

[Robert]

Looking good Joe. I heard not sure where that the SAC undercarriage also fixed the undercarriage legs to the correct angle.

 

Regards

Robert

[TeaWeasel]

15 hours ago, Robert said:

Looking good Joe. I heard not sure where that the SAC undercarriage also fixed the undercarriage legs to the correct angle.

 

Regards

Robert

 

Thanks Robert, wasn't aware the angle was different as well. 

[TeaWeasel]

Apologies for the lengthy wait. I decided to put the TSR on the back-burner for a while for a number of reasons; I had a bit of project apathy after dealing with the CMK upgrades, as well as other things getting in the way such as work, other projects, and our first baby on the way. 

 

Here's the progress so far with the CMK bomb bay. This particular upgrade has been a real pain mainly due to the lack of clear instructions. I've tried searching for similar builds but it's a rare upgrade on an already rare kit so no real success there. 

 

 

The doors themselves are pretty solid, the issue is how to attack the various pistons and arms. There are still 4 doors to attach but at this point it's getting a real headache, as the arms provided don't seem to fit in the positions suggested in the instructions. 

 

Since the last update I've also reconsidered the rivet detail I had previously done. I looked into using a proper rivet tool and found it to produce much better results than my rather haphazard drilling. With that in mind I bought a £10 Revell rivet maker and started filling in the holes already drilled. Plan is to just go over such areas with the tool; I've seen examples where every panel has been treated but I doubt I have enough patience for that. 

 

 

I've gone over the holes with Vallejo Plastic Putty, given it 20 mins or so to semi harden, then have gone over it with wet and dry paper. Overall it's worked rather well, some areas received a light spray of white primer to determine if it's still visible. Some work is still needed but I'd say the majority of it is done.

 

While the putty was drying I also looked at the payload. I'm still looking at creating a mount for the WE177s, my 3D design skills haven't improved much, but I applied a nice basecoat to the bombs themselves.

 

 

 

From what I can gather the real 177s would have been white, but I wanted to go with the green to break up the white a bit. I've used a couple of light coats of Mr Hobby light green for the payload which may look a little bright but it'd a bit darker in reality. I've also had trouble looking for examples of live versions, so if anyone has any photos or references it'd be helpful.

 

Thanks all, comments appreciated.

Joe