Nimrod MR2 - Airfix 1/72

[rickoshea52]

I'm building this in slooooooooooowwwwwwww time.

I am doing a diorama of a Nimrod just as No. 3/4 engine has started in preparation for a see-off with the 60KVa Houchin, assorted GSE and lineys on the scene - circa 2002 (my experience of Nimrod APU starts were; APU-3-4-2-1 engines). Or, if I can bothered building a modified BW Models bowser, a see-in, again with appropriately positioned lineys and GSE. That's why the bomb doors are closed...not to mention the fact that the moulded bomb bay is awful. If I do one with the bomb doors open I will use the Alleycat kit, but this isn't faultless either.

I have the Flightpath diorama kit and their 25KVa Houchin, but I am convinced that they have made a mistake and it's a sixty. I'll consult my RAF GSE expert for clarity, i.e. my wife. Maybe some MT if I can find something suitable and easy to build.

The basic colours are done with the bomb bay seal, Doppler panel and 4a tank wheel fairings picked out in black - the doppler panel (big square thing behind the nose gear bay) has been wiped down with a cotton bud to replicate the fibre glass finish that this panel sometimes wore. The finlets need a coat of black for the anti-erosion strips. It's been given a first coat of Humbrol Clear which I am not convinced with.

And for the more observant, I STILL have another Nimrod under construction depicting a jet in Minor maintenance in AMF RAF Kinloss circa 1999 -2003.

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[Alan 45]

I have one of those and it looks a decent kit so I'll be keeping an eye on this

 

[papa 695]

Nice Rick I also have one of these

 

[rickoshea52]

I bunked off while the in-laws were around to do the tedious task of masking the finlets ready for brush painting the anti-erosion strips on their leading edges. Then it's the even more tedious task of applying decals to a large aircraft!

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[rickoshea52]

Then I remembered that the AAR probe also needed done.

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[rickoshea52]

I finally settled on an identity for my Nimrod - XV235 - with no fancy additional squadron markings or wing pylons. During my time in Aircraft Maintenance Flight at RAF Kinloss I worked on just about every Nimrod MR2 that was in service from 1992-95 & 1998-2002. I have a definite recollection of working on this jet during my second tour.

Somebody was asking in another thread what is the least enjoyable aspect of modelling and for me it has to be applying decals. I have only applied the roundels, fin flashes and tail numbers so far but the remaining decals fill me with dread at the thought of many evenings of cutting, dipping and dabbing. The paradox of this aversion is that of all the things that make up a model, the decals are the build step that really starts to bring a model to life.

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[flyjoe180]

Looking good Rick, and nice to see you have a Nimrod with which you have a personal connection.

 

[rickoshea52]

Looking good Rick, and nice to see you have a Nimrod with which you have a personal connection.

Actually Joe, I can probably lay claim to having a connection to almost all Nimrods with the exception of the AEW's. I have serviced wheels, brakes, actuators, chemical toilets, LOX pots and control columns from my time in the bays at Kinloss. A little known difference between the R1 and MR marks is that the R1 has a bigger chemical toilet. Make of that what you will!

 

[Alan 45]

Looking good rick , how does this kit go together ? I have this for my British Cold War jets collection and it would be very helpful to know of any pit falls I may encounter

Cheers

 

[rickoshea52]

Looking good rick , how does this kit go together ? I have this for my British Cold War jets collection and it would be very helpful to know of any pit falls I may encounterCheers

It goes together quite well actually. The flight deck is a bit sparse but then the windows are tiny and you can't see much anyway. The fit around the "duck's arse", the curved section at the back of the bomb bay doors was filled and I lost some of the surface detail here. The wings to fuselage join took a bit of work to glue together as they kept splitting away. The nose gear compartment is also a poor representation of the real thing just being a box. The Nimrod Nose gear bay has an inclined rear bulkhead and lots of other detail in the roof of the compartment.

The bomb bay is also pretty rubbish, I have an alley cat resin version and although far superior to the kit offering it has one glaring error - the hyd bay panel is 90 degrees out. There is also an error in the instructions when it comes to the main landing gear doors, or D doors as they are called in the RAF. The instructions show them open when they should be closed. They are only open during the gear extension/retraction sequence or while on the ground for maintenance.

 

[Alan 45]

It goes together quite well actually. The flight deck is a bit sparse but then the windows are tiny and you can't see much anyway. The fit around the "duck's arse", the curved section at the back of the bomb bay doors was filled and I lost some of the surface detail here. The wings to fuselage join took a bit of work to glue together as they kept splitting away. The nose gear compartment is also a poor representation of the real thing just being a box. The Nimrod Nose gear bay has an inclined rear bulkhead and lots of other detail in the roof of the compartment.The bomb bay is also pretty rubbish, I have an alley cat resin version and although far superior to the kit offering it has one glaring error - the hyd bay panel is 90 degrees out. There is also an error in the instructions when it comes to the main landing gear doors, or D doors as they are called in the RAF. The instructions show them open when they should be closed. They are only open during the gear extension/retraction sequence or while on the ground for maintenance.

Thanks rick that's a big help so really it's just the same sort of problems we get with many airfix aircraft and thanks for the info on making it look a bit better I appreciate it

 

[rickoshea52]

Thanks rick that's a big help so really it's just the same sort of problems we get with many airfix aircraft and thanks for the info on making it look a bit better I appreciate it

No problem.

Another tip to share is the bomb door positions - there are three, open, closed and stores loading. When they are closed they are closed for flight, taxying and towing. When parked the doors are left open and locked. In these two positions the forward and rear doors open as one even though they are not physically connected.

The final door position is stores loading and as expected this is only ever done on the ground for loading the bomb bay. There is no clearance when on the ground so the doors flare to near horizontal however the forward doors flare more than the rear doors due to profile of the wings. The stores loading controls are on an access panel on the forward left pannier close to the RT and GPU service panels.

If you were doing this jet with the doors open you should note that from arounf 1995 the bomb door insulation was removed from the inside surface of the doors. This was a black foam material and was notorious for getting damaged and ripping off in flight. For post 1995-ish MR2's paint the inside gloss white, black for before then. And of course, the R1's never had bomb doors.

 

[Alan 45]

No problem.Another tip to share is the bomb door positions - there are three, open, closed and stores loading. When they are closed they are closed for flight, taxying and towing. When parked the doors are left open and locked. In these two positions the forward and rear doors open as one even though they are not physically connected.

The final door position is stores loading and as expected this is only ever done on the ground for loading the bomb bay. There is no clearance when on the ground so the doors flare to near horizontal however the forward doors flare more than the rear doors due to profile of the wings. The stores loading controls are on an access panel on the forward left pannier close to the RT and GPU service panels.

If you were doing this jet with the doors open you should note that from arounf 1995 the bomb door insulation was removed from the inside surface of the doors. This was a black foam material and was notoriouss for getting damaged and ripping off in flight. For post 1995-ish MR2's paint the inside gloss white, black for before then. And of course, the one never have bomb doors.

Cheers rick for the info

 

[rickoshea52]

Port upper wing done. I don't remember the refuel squares being this big though.

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[papa 695]

Looking good Rick

 

[rickoshea52]

Cheers rick for the info

This website is useful - http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/howard_mason2/nimrod_mr2_fairford/index.php?Page=1

 

[Alan 45]

This website is useful - http://www.primeportal.net/hangar/howard_mason2/nimrod_mr2_fairford/index.php?Page=1

Wow thanks rick I've just bookmarked that for reference when I do mine which will be after my next build , I've been very impressed with what you've done with an old classic

 

[rickoshea52]

Another hour's decal application tonight sees the forward pannier done. The instructions are good but reference to the real thing is best. Studying photos of the real thing also highlight some of the flaws in this kit.

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[rickoshea52]

I have been wanting to get into my 1/48 Dauntless for a while now that I have got some builds off my workbench. I will be away to Exeter this week for work so it will be coming with me with the intention of filling in my downtime in the hotel. Between now and then though, I had another marathon decal session tonight on this and I am still only half way through.

The upper wings are done except the no step footprint decals as I think the instructions are wrong and I want to verify their position. I've made a start on the underside of one wing with the servicing stencils and also on the right hand aft fuselage by the APU bay. It's not until you get up close with this kit that you start to see some pretty disappointing errors in the position of certain panel lines etc.

The APU bay door is awful while the retro launcher tube is nearer the tail plane instead of being much further forward where it can be loaded and operated by the crew (in reality, by the turn of the century the retro launchers had been removed from MR2's but the tube was still there).

The engine bay doors are lacking any great detail and there are no camera doors. At some point in the future I will continue with the other Nimrod kit I have started but I'm beginning to look at Eduard's etched brass detailing set to improve the build.

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[rickoshea52]

I now have a 1/72 scale model of a 60KVa Houchin power set for this aircraft in rest and white metal from AIM available from Hannants; it's pricey!

http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/GE72055

I'll post a photo when I remember.