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Trumpy 1/32 Lightning F6 fix!


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Just a quick update... decided to tackle the cockpit area...the sills are too low as is the fuselage and windscreen mount. The windscreen itself doesn't look too bad, but I will need to remove a wedge on the lower edge - when its time to fit it. One of the problems with the canopy is that it appears to be too bulbous. By removing some clear plastic from the lower frame MAY improve it..along with beefing up the spine behind the canopy....

Anyway..I used plastic card to raise the fuselage slightly

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And faired it all in with Milliput

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All a bit "Heath Robinson" at the moment!! This may throw out the internal dimensions - I have a feeling I may need to do something there as well - but thats a bridge I'll cross when I get to it!!

Edited by Bill Clark
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Crikey Bill, that's a lot of work, fantastic to view though, keep it up and thanks for sharing.

All the best

Chris

I'm enjoying this - at the moment anyway!!!

A bit of an update - started to add some of the bumps and lumps to the fuselage halves - in between sanding and Halford-ing!

Here we see the two halves with most of the intakes and vents added - still to add the airbrake. Some of the vents were poorly fitting...

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Showing the ammendment to the canopy sills

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Another coat of Halfords....

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Looking great Bill. I wish i had have found all of this out before i built mine! Well at least i know what to do on my next one.

Well, I thought that you were mad completely stripping down your F6!! BUT at least you've managing a great salvage job!!! :goodjob:

I will try a 92 Sqn F2 next (have you seen the latest Model Alliance sheet?) just to see how and where the 5mm plug will fit with the small belly tank.

I've been looking at the wings today, and in particular the wheel bays. Apart from being the wrong shape, they are too long! Now that with the additional length of the undercarriage has the alarm bells ringing!

I'm now worried that the undercarriage location MAY be in the wrong place! If thats the case then they may be too narrow - too close together? I haven't measured anything yet, but I'll check that tomorrow.

It also got me looking at the nose gear door is also too long - which MAY also mean that the nose leg's location point its in the wrong place- too far back!!!

In comparison with the Echelon drawings it also seems that the panels for the upper nose aden cannon (and blanking plate for the F6) are a bit too low. Thats going to make the Anti-glare panel above it appear too deep and the cannons (IF building the F2A) too far down. All of this will along with the bulbous canopy and intake ring will have a knock-on effect in making the nose area look wrong!

I don't think any of this will cause major problems.....(He added with fingers crossed!!!)

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, and the other memory that stands out is the one at Basinbourne Burma Star Airshow in the early 70's, that was so low at 600MPH+ until he when vertical, and out of sight in second at the end of the display.

Nice work

Dave

Hey Dave I was there that day also and saw that, very impressive.

Ted

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Thanks for the updates Bill...

Am I the only one that feels like this is a bit of a roller coaster?

Was just about to order an F-1A from my usual 'street' dealer in light of the 5mm stretch (which looks entirely straightforward) and now there's even more... So I'm heading downwards again.

I really used to be one of Trumpeters supporters - and they've done some cracking stuff - but on this one the price/quality/work required equation is *way* behind the drag curve...

Iain

Edited by 32SIG
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Thanks for the updates Bill...

Am I the only one that feels like this is a bit of a roller coaster?

Was just about to order an F-1A from my usual 'street' dealer in light of the 5mm stretch (which looks entirely straightforward) and now there's even more... So I'm heading downwards again.

I really used to be one of Trumpeters supporters - and they've done some cracking stuff - but on this one the price/quality/work required equation is *way* behind the drag curve...

Iain

Hi Iain, It is certainly a roller - coaster!! I started on the cockpit today and its not bad at all! It looks reasonably accurate and nicely detailed. Hope to get some paint on tomorrow.

I still haven't had a chance to look in any great detail at the undercarriage issues - yet! I hope to do that tomorrow. I'll also need to check the rear end. It is a bit "pinched" though no where near as bad as their 1/72nd scale kit. I think that the figure "8" section may start a bit to far forward.

I really WAS looking forward to this (and more so the "round-topped" version) in a similar way to when Revell issued their Hunter, or the re-tooled Tornado GR1, though feel like I've been let down by Trumpeter! You can't knock their choice of kit, nor can you knock them for their large scale output. They're well engineered - but why oh why, can't they get it right?

Despite all of this - I am rather enjoying this build/fix!!!

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I am a bit frustrated too. Ive nearly done mine now and thats fine , but the problem is for £89 i shouldnt have to. I have been a big supporter of Trumpeter but this will be my last. I find them too hit and miss for me.

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I am a bit frustrated too. Ive nearly done mine now and thats fine , but the problem is for £89 i shouldnt have to. I have been a big supporter of Trumpeter but this will be my last. I find them too hit and miss for me.

Thats a shame . Ive recieved my F6 now and i've been reading this and Bill Clarke's thread about the pro's and con's of this kit measurement wise. personally I dont intend to correct the 5mm length discrepency or the fuel tank thats to fat I shall build as is with a few detail touches of my own that i hope will enhance this error ridden kit. firstly im opening the starter panel on the spine (which incidentaly is'nt long enough) to show the avpin tank and all the pipes and stuff. I've got the eduard cockpit detail set ( very good too) . Dispite all its flaws it is the ONLY 1/32 EE Lightning injection moulded kit on the market and I cant see any other manufacturer doin one any time soon. I really enjoyed building the F3 I'm half way thro building the second one. But i have to agree with you ...." For £89 you should'nt have to " statement what a shame.

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Thats a shame . Ive recieved my F6 now and i've been reading this and Bill Clarke's thread about the pro's and con's of this kit measurement wise. personally I dont intend to correct the 5mm length discrepency or the fuel tank thats to fat I shall build as is with a few detail touches of my own that i hope will enhance this error ridden kit. firstly im opening the starter panel on the spine (which incidentaly is'nt long enough) to show the avpin tank and all the pipes and stuff. I've got the eduard cockpit detail set ( very good too) . Dispite all its flaws it is the ONLY 1/32 EE Lightning injection moulded kit on the market and I cant see any other manufacturer doin one any time soon. I really enjoyed building the F3 I'm half way thro building the second one. But i have to agree with you ...." For £89 you should'nt have to " statement what a shame.

I wasn't sure about the 5mm extension and had planned on leaving well alone...however....the 5mm plug puts the wings further back on the fuselage - to where they should be - and also extends the spine to its correct length - this should in turn mean that the starter panel would be (hopefully) the correct length.

There are a host of minor issues with t his kit - and it is a great shame that Trumpeter got this kit sooo wrong!! BUT it is the only game in town in this scale - apart from the Echelon kit - and not everyone is as lucky as I am!! Its far too much to hope that Revell would enter the fray......

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Thanks for posting all this info Bill

i'm currently tackling my f6

and so far REALLY enjoying it

but then again i find stuf to correct on a good day

just re worked my tail and i'm moving on now to the ventral fins

before tackling the fuze

incidently i used a few different plans i have the echelon plans (not the kit unfortunaltey

) but.... and also cross referenced them with the Richard J caruana plans from the lightning

SAM datafile and theyre correlate to within .5 of a mil

:thumbsup2:

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No photo's to update yet - BUT had a quick look at the wings - and the positioning and shape of the undercarriage units. Good news is that the legs SEEMS to be in the right place. I was worried that as Trumpeter's legs were too long that they may be too far inboard giving a too narrow track. The bad news is that the wheel door is the wrong shape and slightly too far outboard -ever wondered why Trumpeter's lower wing roundel was nearer a scale 24" instead of the prescribed 36"?

The fix shouldn't be too difficult, chop a bit of plastic wing here, add a bit of plastic card there - AND it will mean scratch-building undercarriage bays - I wasn't too keen on those provided by Trumpeter anyway!!

Edited by Bill Clark
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Time for an update - was working on the dreaded 12-8 shift last week, so couldn't come out to play I'm afraid (well not with my Lightning anyway!).

Just a few shots here of what we discerning Lightning freaks are up against here!!

Trumpeter's undercarriage is PANTS!!!!

From L to R: The two white metal Tyres are from Flightpath's set for the Echelon kit. The hubs and brake discs would be made up from laminated photo etch.

In the middle are Echelon's legs and wheels and them long gangly things on the right are Trumpeter's "interpretation"!! Not content with ONE insult, they've included both white metal AND plastic legs!

Below this are the wheel hubs.

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The censor's have censored my comments here.......

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And just in case you missed it above! Trumpeter's wheel and vinyl tyre is shown next to Echelon's

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Edited by Bill Clark
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I KNEW it, the gun ports ARE too low! We spotted this looking at a completed model and comparing it to a book (and a 111 sqn Lightning pilot who i was chatting too yesterday) Top bloke!

This is a great thread, i may purchase one now and try all these little fixes!

Thanks

Adam

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A bit of butchery...

As you will have gathered by now, Trumpeter's belly tank is all over the place! I decided that I'd add the forward cannon/tank pod a half at a time, rather than adding the section as a whole to the fuselage. I had originally planned on bending the plastic upwards and inwards as I had with the portion of the rear tank. This wasn't practical, so I decided to remove the top 4mm from the section......keep up at the back, it'll all make sense soon....(I hope!)

You'll note that I've added a section of plastic tube for the aden port. I'll chop this back later, fill and sand, fill, sand and file. I'll also need to to a fair amount of rescribing AND I need to add the cannon muzzle's over the troughs - muzzle troughs - already!

I've drilled put the two outlets below those on the kit which will be lost later - you can see the line where the plastic needs paring back to...

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I've tentatively added the front section here

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And here I've started the gap filling process...

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Tomorrow night I'll be mostly sanding this lot down - then tackling the other side..

Cheers - Bill

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Last one for tonight. I've sanded back the tube for the cannon trough, and added some Milliput, the cannon bulge looks too big, so I've filled it from the back with milliput - superglued into place.

If necessary I can re-profile the bulges from the front - I'll need to check a load of photo's before I start to tackle that one though

IMG_1964.jpg

Thanks for looking - feel free to add any comments......any suggestions?

Cheers!

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Hey Dave I was there that day also and saw that, very impressive.

Ted

Sorry I know this is off topic :offtopic:

Sorry only just seen this

Small world isn't it Ted, It' really was awsome how low the guy was at that speed. Why it will always be a favorite of mine, Just awsome flying in a Awesome machine.

As for Bill's build

Really awsome work so far Bill, I'm always impressed with people who can do this, it takes not only skill, but confidence in ones self to cut a £80 kit in two, even if you didn't pay for it!!!

I shall keep watching, with interest, and thanks for your comments and advice on my Phantom build too!

Great work Mate.

Dave

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A bit more hacking away tonight...The cannon bulge is waaaaay too bulky. I had applied some milliput and superglue to the inside of the bulge, and tonight filed and spraped and sanded it into a more acceptable shape. The other half is next to it for comparison

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I opened up the cannon port...

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...added some plastic tube...

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....and then some milliput...

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Here's the inside showing the cannon "tube!" and the milliput

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And the section in place - it was a better fit than the other side.

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Constant checking against the plans helps...still not certain what to do regarding the fin. It certainly is smaller than Echelon's plans, so will need enlarging. That shouldn't be a problem as I'd use a rectangle of plastic card wedged and glued in between the two fin halves and then apply plastic card and filler on the outside.

IMG_1974.jpg

She's getting there, and I'm quite pleased with progress! I am thoroughly enjoying myself as well!! Aim is to get the fuselage together this week - and then on to the wings.

I'm still hoping for an all metal finish, I'll be using some Alclad - well quite a lot actually!! The most likely candidate is XR753/"A" of 23 Sqn, with white fin and spine, though I've always liked 5 & 11 Sqn schemes. I could do one of those in all over NM with white spine section.....but this all depends on how good the surface is after I've lost them goddam divots!! AND before anyone argues the toss - they are NOT apparent on NMF, and only hidden by paint on camouflaged aircraft as I read in another WIP elsewhere!

Granted some are noticeable - particularly on individual panels but Trumpeter have NOT got it anywhere near right! That said its up to each & every one of you to make your own choice! If rivets/divots float your boat - then let it do so!!!

Plan B will be a camouflaged F6 of 5/11 Sqn.....

We shall see!

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That Belly Tank!!! A year or so ago I started to build Trumpeter's 1/72nd scale Lightning F6. That has similar problems to the 1/32nd scale kit in its bloated belly tank. On that occassion I removed the WHOLE of the rear portion of the tank - remove a couple of mm and re-glued it on - I'm just wondering now if I should have used that method on my 1/32nd scale Lightning??? Not that my current method hasn't worked okay - well, so far anyway - I still have to glue the fuselage together.....but it may have been an easier option to build the whole tank up as a one-piece unit......just a thought? More than one way to remove the fur from a feline - and all that....

Here are a few pic's of that 1/72nd scale effort (which I still haven't finished BTW!!!)

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