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The Velociweiler

By The Velociweiler
in Aircraft Cold War

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Bandwagon 106 Very Obsessed Member

Bandwagon 106

Posted
Posted

Well whoopie-do, another grey and white jet *yawn* :mg::poke:

How dare he? I hear you all scream!Yes, pot, kettle, dark shade, considering whats in my avatar! Just having a little fun with you all. Seriously, I really hope this sells well for Airfix, and I hope you all really enjoy this kit. It does look good though dunnit, I might well get one someday.....

Right that's my weekly turd stirring post, Mike, we really need a run to the hills smiley!

Joel

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Mark M Completely Obsessed Member

Mark M

Posted
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Well whoopie-do, another grey and white jet *yawn* :mg::poke:

How dare he? I hear you all scream!Yes, pot, kettle, dark shade, considering whats in my avatar! Just having a little fun with you all. Seriously, I really hope this sells well for Airfix, and I hope you all really enjoy this kit. It does look good though dunnit, I might well get one someday.....

Right that's my weekly turd stirring post, Mike, we really need a run to the hills smiley!

Joel

joel i know where you live!! :fight:

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tonyot Blabber Mouth

tonyot

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My local shop has been waiting all week but have not received any Sea Vixens so it looks like next week now......why are we always the last to get anything up North! (Yes I know about time, distance etc...and we`ve recently had electric fitted up here too..........so no wisecracks.......its just a bit of a bummer that you soft southerners should always get everything first!!)

Cheers

Tony O

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jenshb Obsessed Member

jenshb

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My local shop has been waiting all week but have not received any Sea Vixens so it looks like next week now......why are we always the last to get anything up North! (Yes I know about time, distance etc...and we`ve recently had electric fitted up here too..........so no wisecracks.......its just a bit of a bummer that you soft southerners should always get everything first!!)

Cheers

Tony O

Don't worry Tony - people here down south will only hoard the kits, not build them:)

Go on chaps and chapettes - prove me wrong. Looking forward to seeing many build threads on Sea Vixens.

Jens

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moaning dolphin Very Obsessed Member

moaning dolphin

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Posted (edited)
My local shop has been waiting all week but have not received any Sea Vixens so it looks like next week now......why are we always the last to get anything up North! (Yes I know about time, distance etc...and we`ve recently had electric fitted up here too..........so no wisecracks.......its just a bit of a bummer that you soft southerners should always get everything first!!)

Cheers

Tony O

Hey Tony, us in the south west haven't seen it yet either so it must be those darn cockneys and midlanders who are hoarding them all! But then again it would be nice to have a model shop to buy it from as well!! Right through the post it is then!

Cheers now

Bob!

Edited by moaning dolphin
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The Velociweiler Obsessed Member

The Velociweiler

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Got mine beside me right now. Large and stout box, and lots of plastic inside. I'll do a very brief outline of what's in the box later today, but if anyone has any questions as to what's in the box, ask away and I'll outline the answers later. Naturally it's unmade and on sprues - I won't be able to check dimensional accuracy or authenticity of shape, but otherwise I'll do my best.

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The Velociweiler Obsessed Member

The Velociweiler

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OK.

Three large sprues featuring multiple parts, the smaller ones all tightly spaced. One sprue of tranparencies within a seperate sealed bag.

Large (slightly larger than A4 size) decal sheet featuring four options for markings, and not trying to be pedantic, only one is strictly a Carrier-based option - will explain that in a bit. To the finnicky, decals are likely to look marginally thick, but I'd personally be happy to use them. Finish is on the matt side of semi-matt and register is very good across the sheet. A full half of the sheet is devoted to stencils and other airframe, fuel tank and weapon markings. Well-printed glossy double-sided colour schematic sheet providing a four-view profile of each marking choice and stencil markings are in greater detail within the 24 page instruction booklet.

This model will naturally build the FAW 2 version. Of course. Might sound a bit silly - however, there is no option within the box to attempt an earlier FAW 1. The extended tail booms are moulded integrally with the tails and lower sections. If Airfix intend to release on a subsequent occasion an earlier Fighter then a full new sprue will need to be created, the extended tail booms are moulded within a sprue which features no gaps nor blocked gates leading to as yet unseen alternative parts. The swollen extensions of the booms where they join the tail at the rear more closely resembles those airframes which had initially been built as FAW 1's with the extensions scabbed on upon rebuild. Those airframes which were built from start as FAW 2's have a smoother transition between the extensions and tail booms. Very small point to most people, but there will be those to whom that will be important.

Options for underwing stores provide four Red Top AAM's which are well provided for decals-wise and transparent caps for the seeker heads. Two fuel tanks and four Matra Rocket pods are also here - rocket pod 'hole' count features thirty-six rockets in the Matra pod nose cones. The facility for Mighty Mouse air-to-air rockets was removed from the FAW 2 and the respective swellings either side of the nose gear bay have no facility to be mounted open. They are moulded integrally closed with the lower fuselage part. Combine that with the fairing over the Observer's enclosure again being an integral feature of the upper fuselage moulding - you can't build an airframe which did not feature that transparency without a conversion job; and that no Firestreak missiles are provided within the sprues, (nor spaces for them), I don't believe this model has been engineered with a view to eventually providing a Mk. 1. Famous last words....

General feel is rather similar to that of the Canberra. Robust, arguably on the agricultural side for those to whom Hasegawa is a religion, but this is a piece of standard British post-war boilermakers engineering. Justifiably, the parts should look on the rugged side to the eye.

There is nothing here that I personally wouldn't be happy to use straight from the box. Doubtless to those who enjoy a festival of superdetailing, etch parts and resin, there's plenty of three-dimensional space for your art, and I would suspect that first to be replaced would be the ejection seat - but they look OK for my purposes.

The model is configured for a folded-wing display. Experience from the models of christmas pasts shows that kits of that era moulded for wing folds don't enjoy being assembled with wings in the 'down' position - an uncomfortable knuckle appearing somewhere or other along the join. Here I have no reason to doubt the moulding engineer's skill in avoiding that, but the modeller should bear that in mind. In particular the Vixen has an extremely attractive and interesting looking aspect with wings folded, and on those models I'm not building 'in-flight' mode, I'll be building the birdie (or should that be Foxie...?) with wings up. The instruction sheet devotes a generous depiction of the process to complete the model thus, and a securing rod is also provided to give an assured hold and maintenance of folded angle 'twixt fuselage and outer wing.

All significant moving surfaces are moulded separately. Airbrake can be displayed open in two positions. Where drooping parts such as this will interfere with a model displayed on undercarriage the instructions helpfully and clearly highlight this. Airbrake, undercarriage and flap recesses have perfectly decent interior detail representation, but again, the born-again superdetailer will descend on these areas with aplomb. Both cockpit and observers enclosure have good detail - the Vixens I have seen the interiors of have interiors which are frankly very, very black indeed - even with canopies displayed open (which the model facilitates) and even with the finest etch brass detail set, your model will have a very dark hole to look into. Hence I'll be using the kit parts - here I just wouldn't see the benefit of the micro-modellers art. However, radome is provided seperately, and if the modeller wished to go to town on a personal project, then a fully equipped radar and associated instruments surely will become available from one of the usual accessory manufacturers. Standard Airfix post-war flight crew are provided to inhabit the cockpit enclosures.

Flaps can be depicted deployed to the rear of their respective rails. That, and other features meaning that Airfix have thoughtfully provided sufficient potential to display the model in flight with a view to a Carrier landing approach. Nice touch, and rarely seen elsewhere. Undercarriage doors have been created to be utilised either open or closed - unlike the Canberra, the model can be built from the box with wheels up with no significant compromise to the parts which would spoil the look with U/C down. Panel lines and access panels are picked out with recessed lines throughout, and the finesse is perfectly in keeping with authenticity of an aircraft of this vintage. Undercarriage parts are perfectly well-detailed and will be acceptable to most modellers. Personally, in my case, I don't ever expect to replace any part of a kit undercarriage with an after-market set. To those to whom this is normally vital, I'm sure similarly these Airfix parts won't pass muster and where the aftermarket becomes available, that replacements will be sought. That said, this is only an out-of-the-box overview, and by no means a review as to accuracy.

Air intake tunnels are moulded upper/lower and lead to compressor faces. The intake is fairly large and so it might be beneficial to fill the seam inside the completed assembly. That detail will become clear to all upon the multiple builds which will soon be undertaken... Jet pipes have a perfectly decent depth and the tail hook can be depicted down.

Markings are provided for:-

XP924 in its G-CVIX scheme in 2010 with representative markings of 899 Squadron from HMS Eagle in the final years.

XS577 899 Squadron, again from HMS Eagle with the famous sharkmouth and floral design applied under the tail. Legend for the scheme gives this airframe date as 1975 - long after departure from HMS Eagle and the decommissioning of that ship. Three years or so may not have changed any detail whatsoever for this airframe - but - for the pedantic - it's not necessarily a contemporaneous HMS Eagle scheme. I'm not trying to be unfair to Airfix - just highlighting the significance of the scheme date vintage.

XN650 892 Squadron based at Yeovilton, marked up for the 'Simons Sircus' display team period in 1968.

XP954 893 Squadron aboard HMS Victorious in 1966 - hence the only specific contemporaneous Carrier-borne scheme.

To paraphrase Tommy Lee Jones in 'No country for old men' - if this isn't the definitive kit of the Sea Vixen in this scale, it will certainly do until the definitive one gets here. Even to the OOB builder, there's a lot of work here, and clearly a lot of thought has been given as to display options and configurations. Other than pedantic whines, I just can't see anything here to complain about nor to tax the pacemaker too unduly.

Buy it. Build it. Have a drink.

Don't worry, be happy.

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Toe Established Member

Toe

Posted
Posted

Wow, thanks for the detailed description and the time you took to do it, as you say, buy it, build it, have a drink, I'll take you up on that :)

Off work on holiday next week so will have a mooch around to see if I can pick one up in the general Suffolk area :)

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tonyot Blabber Mouth

tonyot

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Hey Tony, us in the south west haven't seen it yet either so it must be those darn cockneys and midlanders who are hoarding them all! But then again it would be nice to have a model shop to buy it from as well!! Right through the post it is then!

Cheers now

Bob!

Hiya Bob,

I used to be a regular visitor to the South West so I know what you mean about the lack of model shops, especially since the toy shop in Truro and the model shop which used to be in the Market Hall at St Austell closed down...plus the hobby shop on the front in Plymouth has closed down too hasn`t it? Mind you you`ve got all of those lovely beaches and the beautiful countryside to make up for it, I`d love to live in the South West, plus you are near to Yeovilton! By the way I love your banner at the bottom of your page.....hoofing!

Cheers

Tony O

PS.....and sorry to rub it in.......but I`ve got myself a Sea Vixen now and its a beauty....totally represents the brute!!!

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AnonymousFO98 Completely Obsessed Member

AnonymousFO98

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yay pretty flowers!

Would like a couple but sadly not gonna.

Not keen on the jelly mould rocket pods.

And for a new kit there are prominent seam lines

Nice to have weighted and non weighted wheels

no jockeys which is unusual for recent Airfix releases.

Thanks for letting us stick our noses in your box Velo! :P

much appreciated

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