One of my dreams
came true when Trumpeter announced a 1:32 scale Lightning and gave me the chance
to expand my model collection of Cold War Jets with this famous British fighter.
The kit contains all
the parts to build either of these early Lightnings, including alternate fins,
weapons and cannon panels. I've chosen the F.3 version for my project and I
was surprised by the very straightforward engineering and the simple parts
breakdown. The somewhat "pinched" exhaust area of the 1:72 scale kit
of the same type produced a little earlier has been partly corrected
by the Chinese engineers.
I've built my
Lightning straight out of the box correcting some shortcomings usually found on
this manufacturer's kits and I must say that the fixing was fairly easy.
"Mr. Riveter" seems to have worked on this model too, therefore I've
coated my Lightning with Gunze's Mr. Surfacer 500 to slightly reduce the
size of the rivets and panel lines prior to plating the model with simple
kitchen foil as already described in my previous contributions to ARC.
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images below to see larger images
The cockpit detail is
generally good, but the ejection seat could be better detailed for a model
of this size; there has been no attempt to depict the tangle of harness
and straps that adorned the real thing. I can imagine that it won't be
long before we see a resin after market replacement though. For my model
this stuff comes too late, but I've tried to update the seat by scratching
the details a little bit.
The exhaust area is nicely
detailed using only 11 parts. No effort was made to produce the engines,
only the exhaust pipes are reproduced. There is a big difference compared
with the engine of Trumpeter's F-100 D Super Sabre, which is indeed a model in
the model. I think that the Chinese have to save money too on there future
products.
The decals are nicely printed and
easy to work with. The wrong color of the fin flash is meanwhile corrected.
For my Lightning I've chose the
colourful markings of No. 111 Squadron Royal Air Force, but unfortunately the
black and yellow lightning besides the roundel on the forward fuselage is
undersized and I hope, that the after market can help to correct this point in
the future and in this case l am sure to update my model.
By the end of this year Trumpeter
announces the release of a late version of the Lightning, an F.2A/F.6 and this
type is already on my "to do" list.
Peter
Doll, Germany
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images below to see larger images
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