Lancfan's stop gap Comet Racer ***FINISHED***

[lancfan]

I have had a slight hiccup on the Dart Herald build so to fill in the time lost in the delay I have picked this as an amusement.
I have always thought the Frog Comet Racer to be better than the Airfix one so let's find out!



David.

[DazDaMan]

Is it gonna be red then?

[lancfan]

Yes, just to be different.


David.

[Molly-new]

I see that Airfix have recently released a new version of this, it will be good to see the old Frog kit get an outing.

[lancfan]

Chip, the decals on the new issue Airfix Comet Racer will be new but it will still be the same old clunker- it does scrub up well but it does also need some effort to get it there.


David.

[lancfan]

I will build this model in a flying pose on the original stand and I am starting with the fuselage, this kit is far better than the shapeless blob that Airfix still sell, its shape is more realistic, it has a cockpit opening with separate seats and full pilots and the canopy is thinner, this is actually clear and is of the correct shape. The nose also has the landing light thinly and clearly moulded.


David.

[JamesPerrin]

That's very red plastic!

[lancfan]

Just as red as the plastic used by Airfix for their Comet Racer way back then.


David.

[lancfan]

The Trailblazer series came with the usual undersize pilots to fit in the model but most of them also came with superbly detailed full scale 1/72 standing pilot figures to match the subject aircraft, a brilliant feature that nobody else picked up on at the time or indeed since then. I have replaced the Frog crew and have used instead two Revell half pilots from the RAF aircrew set. These separate standing figures are shown in the pictures below.



The fuselage halves are glued together, the parts fit was perfect and the detail and accuracy is far better than the quite flawed Airfix offering.


The fuselage has been sanded ready for assembly, the joints were perfect but there was a tiny amount of shrinkage on the upper nose which was filled. The wings of this kit are of better definition than the Airfix kit and come in two halves with separate ailerons, here the RH wing has been assembled and the LH wing is still in two halves.


David.

[VickersVandal]

Great so far

Now you have me searching for one of these just to get my hands on those standing figures! Or are they slightly over scale?

[lancfan]

Each of them had different figures, they are 25mm tall which makes them 6 feet tall as people, so they are within limits.
Here is a different one from the Gypsy Moth kit, it is the same height, the bases don't help as they are quite thick.


David.

[lancfan]

The model as it now stands after cleaning up ready for the engines to be assembled and fitted, perfect joints, no gaps, no massive steps & no filler.


David.

[Zee28]

Nice choice Lancfan! I didn't know Frog did one of these.

I have always thought the Frog Comet Racer to be better than the Airfix one

Trust me, it couldn't be any worse!

This is light-years better than the Airfix one. I mean, you've got a cockpit and seats and a nose transparency and everything! I had two blobs moulded into the fuselage halves.....

perfect joints, no gaps, no massive steps & no filler.

The complete opposite of the Airfix one then. Filler required on absolutely every joint! The nacelle fit was diabolical. On no other model have I used so much filler.

It is an achingly pretty aeroplane though. If you're interested, here's how my Airfix one came out.





For comparison, and to demonstrate just how superior the Frog offering is, this is the kit contents of the Airfix one




Regards,

Zee28

[lancfan]

Zee, I am all to familiar with the problems this (Airfix) kit presents having built four so far, it was such a shame that Airfix didn't buy the Frog tools when they went into receivership. Your comet looks very good indeed, well done.





David.

[Zee28]

Cheers David, glad you like it. Despite the problems I was actually quite pleased with the finished result.

I didn't realise you were such a prolific builder of Airfix's Comet, that's a really nice set of planes you have there! I particularly like Black Magic, I want to do that one soon.

Interesting markings on the bottom red one, what are they mate?

Zee