TeeELLs Meteor NF 11 ** FINISHED **

[TeeELL]

A while back I bought an Xtrakit Meteor NF 11 as part of my 'aircraft of 29(F) Sqn' collection, it was pure chance that I subsequently discovered that it was the ex-Matchbox kit; that stroke of fortune gives me the chance to complete a build of something I require rather than the '2 French' tanks I would otherwise have had to tackle.

Here then, the obligatory photos pre start:







I have some PE and decals for the Sqn.

I must move the Mk 1 tank aside that I might crack on with this as I have only 2 weeks (in fact - less than that!!) to complete it.

[beany]

Wow - I didn't know that one was ex-Matchbox but absolutely no mistaking it from the sprue photo. I had the Matchbox original but totally ruined it - I attached the wings then walked away only to find the body dropped and I ended up with a ridiculous dihedral and a very well welded joint making it very difficult to fix afterwards.
Looking forward to your build and wishing you much better luck than I had (or much less stupidity than I showed really!!)

Cheers
Al.

[ShaunW]

I never knew that this was a re-pop of a MB kit either. Should turn out well in your hands Tony, we have every faith

[MarkyM607]

Looking forward to one of these in 29's markings. I made one recently, on here somewhere, the canopy surround left a few gaps and the nose and tail sections are a little rounded on their edges so a slight gap is visible. Some filler sorted it out.

[iggie]

I've built one before too; a very nice kit as I recall, but as Mark suggests a couple of little vices to keep you on your toes

[TeeELL]

Good morning! Up early to get started on this build and here is the progress so far:



I have put together various sub assemblies and, as you will see, done a bit of dry fitting (or perhaps dry loose alignment of parts that are supposed to fit!)



I am quite disappointed by the Airwaves PE set, most of it will remain unused, the instructions are very woolly and nothing really seems to have ever been tested on a model before release. I am using a few components only, given that the greatest complain for the NF 11 was poor visibility through the canopy, I figure the reverse will be the case. Various shades of black will make the interior difficult to make out in any case.

Later I will add some 'Liquid Gravity' to the nose cone and then determine how much extra weight needs to be added immediately ahead of the front cockpit. I briefly toyed with improving/creating the nose wheel bay, I decided that it would be a lot of effort for no return - I am also pondering making this an airborne aircraft, undecided as yet.

[Stuart]

Good start Tony - I've had the same issue with various Airwaves kits. Like you said, it does make you wonder if they test fit them before selling them!

[TeeELL]

To give you some idea of the informative nature of the Airwaves PE set, here are the instructions for the front and rear cockpits:





As you can see, it is complete guess work!! Something as straight forward as part 18 sits where?? I shall use the seat belts, I have used some of the instrument panel and radar operators display and I expect some of the external details might be used, but it isn't a very satisfactory package for £5+ !!

[TeeELL]

Yesterday I masked and sprayed grey primer on the cockpit surfaces and this morning that was followed by coats of Tamiya NATA black and Matt black.



The next challenge was to somehow fit 20 grams of weight into the front end. This was achieved with 6 grams of Liquid Gravity in the nose cone, 12 grams of thin lead sheet rolled and stuck into the front of the fuselage and another roll up behind the instrument panel. as belt and braces a little extra was added below the cockpit floor. Everything was secured in place using 'blue light' glue.



I will now go and fit the seat belts, paint them (although my memory suggests that the seat belts of aircraft of that era were of a 'silver grey' in colour - not sure how I shall replicate that, maybe not worry about it!!) and finally put the fuselage together.

[TeeELL]

I am on schedule! The fuselage is together, an interesting challenge, it had to be cemented in short sections. The fuselage has a very slight longitudinal bend which creates a marked 'step' at the rear where the tail section fits, correcting this bend makes things a whole lot easier to fit. The width of the upper fuselage section it at variance with the fuselage sides so filing and sanding will be an issue but filling the other gaps was quite straight forward using some scrap plasicard followed by Squadron White stuff. I will leave that to dry thoroughly and sand it tomorrow. The very fine raised panel lines will disappear but, in all honesty, at 1/72 panel lines are not critical - I am certainly not going to be doing any scribing.



The seam along the fuselage side is not as significant as it looks, the other side is a bit worse but nothing 10 minutes of sanding won't fix.

The undercarriage has been prepared for painting, I had thought to detail it a bit but 'silk purse and sow's ear' springs to mind! This Matchbox kit is almost as challenging as the Sword? T-33 I built, but without the PE detail. It will sit in my display cabinet as a 'representation' of a 29(F) Sqn NF 11.

Tomorrow will, hopefully, see the fuselage tidied up, the undercarriage painted (I think positioning the main gear is by guess work as there are no positive fixing points that I can make out), and perhaps the wings sorted. I have an engine detailing set due to arrive so that will delay the wings however, I can paint the inner nacelles ready.

[DavidWomby]

Fast progress. Could the seams along the sides have been reduced by splaying the lower fuselage bit?

David

[TeeELL]

Hi David,
I did attempt to splay the sides but they resisted. Perhaps, had I more time, I might have been able to work something out. The filler is set and I will start the smoothing process this morning.
Just looking at the photo in my previous post, it struck me that a wooden tongue depressor in each main plane attachment slot and pushed downwards, might have helped bend the sides out :-(. Perhaps a tip for the next person to construct this kit.

[TeeELL]

This morning I have been smoothing, filling, smoothing, filling and finally smoothing. I am certain that a coat of primer will reveal all the bits that I have missed but for now at least, all is good. Even the canopy fits reasonably well, considering comments I have seen on builds elsewhere (just a check fit!).

The Undercarriage legs have had a coat of grey although it looks as though it is a bit glossy!!

[TeeELL]

The primer has revealed a couple of places where I need a little filler but not in the areas I expected. Things are on hold now as the next fabrication is the wings and I am awaiting resin engines - the front end of the Derwent is untidy enough to warrant more detail.

[Old_Tonto]

Very nice progress so far. Keep up the good work.