F-32 Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Stunning build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 It's always difficult to come up with new adjectives to describe a masterpiece like that, but when someone like Bill Clark comes alaong and says 'That's as good as they come' well, I don't need to add anything else. But that is really superb modelling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marv Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 (edited) It's always difficult to come up with new adjectives to describe a masterpiece like that, but when someone like Bill Clark comes alaong and says 'That's as good as they come' well, I don't need to add anything else. But that is really superb modelling! Wow! I feel humbled by all of the kinds words...I never expected this model to get such a super reaction. This really shows the enduring power of the E.E. Lightning, and how it enjoys such a tender spot in the hearts of many. Again, I appreciate all the wonderful words. This kit was built started as a black-tail, with Treble One yellow markings provided in the kit. Those Airfix decals were not so good (black bled through the yellow), so I used a Cutting Edge decal sheet that I had in the stash. Of course, it's always difficult to match decal colors with paint, but, miracles happen...I found that the litttle square bottle of Testors gloss red matched the decals exactly. One hurdle down. The rest involved scratchbuilding the landing gear interiors; a lot of modellers use resin aftermarket but find that these don't fit. It's because the wings are thin and resin needs room to fit, and that's were the difficulty starts. The "roof" of the main landing gear is actually the bottom of the upper part of the wing and looks like it has lots of lines of rivets; instead of trying to get a resin piece to fit, I used a riveting wheel to make rivets and it worked great...no fit problems. A few actuators, wires and other bits make up the rest of the main gear bays, but who sees this stuff anyway? The nose gear bay is another piece of work from Airfix...it doesn't fit worth a darn. Airfix left big gaps where the bay meets the fuselage and you can see into the intake from below, if this problem isn't fixed. I used sheet plastic to build new sidewalls and finally got things sorted out. Once the landing gear difficulties were fixed, I was able to make some headway. The next issue was the cockpit...I used kit parts, enhanced with scratchbuilding. I used green stuff epoxy putty to build up the seat cushions and seatbelts...a procees that was new to me, but familiar to armor builders. In the end, the putty process worked great, and I encourage all to try epoxy putty as a building material. After assembling the kit, I sprayed it with Mr. Surfacer 1000, then sprayed Alclad "white aluminium" over that. The panel lines were sprayed with very diluted black paint, then a coat of "Future" acrylic went on for the decals. After decals were on, I resprayed with another coat of Future to blend things, then used grey oild paints to was the panel lines. I thinned some tube oil paint, and applied this to the panel lines, then wiped off the excess using mineral spirits. Finally, everything was sprayed with a semi-gloss mix of Testors Glosscote and Dullcote. That's it. Again, Thanks for all the kind words. Edited May 26, 2011 by Marv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 but who sees this stuff anyway? Well, you do! We all do it, don't we? The amount of work that goes into a model and then is never seen is astonishing, but I'm sure you're proud knowing that the detail is there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 That, put simply, is stunning. A fantastic natural metal finish... not too shiny and not overly weathered... just like the real thing... beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 That's an excellent build - perfect finish and markings Ronnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trpsarge Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Go on...build another one.. i could look at lightnings built like this all day!..beautiful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulcanicity Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 Really, really lovely Lightning. Superb build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fu_manchu Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 It is a very impressive lightning. The checkerboard tail looks stunning on that aircraft and you have captured it well. The bare metal finish is great, well done. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad 10 Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 Excellent is not a term I over use but this is!! Richard McC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cngaero Posted May 27, 2011 Share Posted May 27, 2011 A very good looking model. Well done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Simply superb. I could look at the photos all day long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diego Quijano Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 Awesome Lightning, Marv. Love the combination of silver and red. Great paintjob. Q Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 (edited) Marv, SUPER-DUPER.... Vision of GREAT Beauty ! Edited June 2, 2011 by HOUSTON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgregor Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 A superb example, very well done. Mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willow Posted May 28, 2011 Share Posted May 28, 2011 100% class. What a lovely job you have done there sir. Very nice build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady72 Posted May 29, 2011 Share Posted May 29, 2011 Excellent NMF finish. Like a real one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I absoutely love the red checkerboard scheme. I have the Trumpy 1/72 EE Lightning F.2A/F.6 kit in my stash - did 56 Squadron ever use those markings on the later marks? Was the kinked wing leading edge just on the F.2A/F.6? Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA72 Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 I absoutely love the red checkerboard scheme. I have the Trumpy 1/72 EE Lightning F.2A/F.6 kit in my stash - did 56 Squadron ever use those markings on the later marks? No 'fraid not. Those that need to be obeyed decreed that colourful markings should go before the F6 entered service. Was the kinked wing leading edge just on the F.2A/F.6? On an RAF machine yes - along with the larger bellytank... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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