The Unofficial Airfix Modellers' Forum

Keep nitpicking David, you are right- I'll correct the titles.

David.

Superb build David!

Cheers Stuart.

David.

Here are the box and sprue shots for my next build,THe first P.1b/Lightning variant to reach Mach 2 on 25th November 1958, P.1b XA847.



David.

lancfan wrote:Here are the box and sprue shots for my next build,THe first P.1b/Lightning variant to reach Mach 2 on 25th November 1958, P.1b XA847.



David.

Cool! looking forward to seeing it come together David.

I've got my exrtra VG set. Just in case I haven't mentioned it. I'll try and fit it to a two-seater this time.

MarkyM607 wrote:I've got my exrtra VG set. Just in case I haven't mentioned it. I'll try and fit it to a two-seater this time.

looking forward to it!

With two BF109s built in the BF109 GB and on the shelf it is perhaps time to look at my third Lightning build, as I mentioned earlier this will be XA847, the first variant to reach mach 2 and was close to being a production Lightning F.1. The P.1b series were not built for service but for development and the series evolved with each aircraft carrying different equipment, some but not all carried armament and the engine changed from the Saphire to the Avon with associated changes to the intake ducting as the trials went on. The old tool Airfix Lightning F.1 I have chosen for this has a slightly more slender fuselage than the various new tool kits and shares the same wing that I used for my P.1a model and which I think will suit the conversion well, I will use a cloned resin cockpit tub taken from the same mould that I made for the P.1a along with a resin ejection seat moulded from a scratch built master and I will fit the spare black IP taken from the Sword Lightning F.3 kit waiting in the stash to be built for this SB at a later date.
The kit parts will need some modification to come close to modern standards and beginning with the wings the first step will be to deepen the wheel wells, the picture below shows before and after this has been done with the kit U/C attachment holes being left clear to maintain the correct sit of the aircraft on it's undercarriage. Below that is a shot of both wings having been milled out and assembled.



David.

This'll be another interesting build to watch David - I'd be interested to see how the cockpit works out.

How did you deepen those wheel wells, David?

David

I milled them out with a hobby drill David.

David.

I have been away for a little while building my Biggles themed "One for the Books" GB model, when this is complete (by) next weekend I will return to my current Lightning SB build, in the meantime I have printed out the plans for the Short SB-5 which will be a future build here but I do have a slight problem with this subject,- I can't find any pictures of the SB-5 cockpit nor any images of the information panel under the cockpit on the Starboard side as it is now displayed at Cosford, I am covered for the port side panel and will be able to make a decal of that but the opposite side text is different so I am stuck for the time being on that also. Can anyone help?

David.

I'm afraid not David - I am looking forward to seeing it though.

I can't help either if you mean those white panels with writing on them. But the aircraft flew without those in its earliest config, so maybe you could omit them altogether.

David

i really want to build the SB-5 as it is now David so will need the starboard lettering to finish it and the lack of cockpit details is a major stumbling block, will not be able to visit Cosford for some time so this may have to go on the back burner until the very end of the SB.

David.