Bjorn Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 Sweden was one of the largest foreign Vampire operators - maybe the largest of them all with more than 400 examples doing service for over 20 years until the last one was retired in 1967. They formed the backbone of the Swedish Air Force in the early 50s until they were replaced by Saab Tunnan, but continued as a trainer for many years (that is the reason that there is no Tunnan trainer version). The FB.50 version used in Sweden was identical to the FB.5, and all necessary parts were found in the Airfix boxing. My example suffered a little from the infamous warped top fuselage, but it was nothing that caused any major problems, and the problem was solved when the fuselage parts were united using superglue. I used Mr Paint colours for the underside and Gunze (easier to chip) for the top surfaces. Decals from Moose Republic Decals were of excellent quality as always. The original aircraft flew at F 9 wing in Gothenburg. The prominent devil was the badge of the 1st Division. I added seatbelts and a scratch-built seat back cushion in the cockpit. The rest is almost invisible anyway - and kit detailing was good enough for me. Although I am aware of that flaps seldom were opened on parked aircraft, I decided to expose them in open position anyway. Just to add some interest and show the nice detailing. The worst parts were the position lights. They did not fit at all. No major issue, just a little strange, they fit is so bad that I somtimes wondered if I used the wrong parts. But apart from that, fit was excellent, especially the important boom construction was a pleasure to assemble. An enjoyable build, I would gladly build more of these. Thanks Airfix for finally bringing us a decent model of this legendary aircraft. 48 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlin Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 WOW. That one turned out real nice Björn. /Bosse 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 Lovely job, weathering looks perfect..... DaveH 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted March 14, 2022 Share Posted March 14, 2022 Very nice little Vampire! Would that be Vampirunnen in 🇸🇪 ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldy Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 Super looking Vampire Björn - it looks great in that scheme. And the weathering looks convincing too. Cheers Malcolm 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 Superb job and it looks great in Swedish colours, Cheers Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinChipmunkfan Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 Very nice again Tony, I like the subtle weathering that you have done. Did you buy a container of Vampires?? Colin 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Dyck Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 Excellent and beautiful! Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted March 15, 2022 Author Share Posted March 15, 2022 3 hours ago, ColinChipmunkfan said: Very nice again Tony, I like the subtle weathering that you have done. Did you buy a container of Vampires?? Colin Thanks! Although I am not Tony, I'd love such a container! 😃 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellsprop Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 Beautiful! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moggy Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 Beautiful model Björn! The Vampire is a unique aircraft - and anything in Flygvapnet's colours is automatically high art 😜 Cheers, Moggy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted March 15, 2022 Share Posted March 15, 2022 What a cracker, great job on this, love your paint finish and weathering. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wings unlevel Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Beautiful build. I had no idea Sweden operated so many Vampires. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Beautiful model (as usual), Björn! Old J 29 Tunnan veterans have told me that the main drawback of the Vampire J 28C as a stand-in for a proper Tunnan trainer, was the fact that the Vampire was too easy to fly. You could fly it just using the stick, without touching the rudder pedals. Whereas flying the J 29 without a judicious application of rudder in a turn, coming in for touchdown with lowered flaps, killed a number of pilots. Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiet Mike Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Stunning build! This kit is on my wish list, builds like yours are bumping it very quickly up the list, lovely work 👏 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bertie McBoatface Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 Very nice painting, really good. Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now