Sword 1/72 EE Lightning T.4/5 - RAF Cold War Fighters part 2

[Airborne01]

Steve,
I've never got on well with AFV Club models - I made the Vietnam Gun Truck, but never finished it, something about 40mm ammo cases - when it had .50 calibre machine guns. I still have a couple in the stash, the Duster & an AVRE Churchill, but they are a long way down on the to do list!
Dave

Dave,
I built their SdKfz 251 bridge carrier which was an outstanding build - I love their attention to detail, but they seem to assume all model makers are equipped with laser eyesight and brain-surgeon steady hand skills - far too old for that now methinks! They are definitely designed for the top echelon of 'Young Gun' modellers - pity really - I hate confronting my own mortality!!
Steve

 

[boatman]

I KNOW you will all laugh at this but my freind who has that big lighting book on the aircraft through nr all its service time an he lent it to me as when i see him again i think i'll ask him how much it costs an where he bought it as i think i may have a punt on it an get it but it lists all the times an dates of all the lightning crashes as is shows them time an date of the one i see crash an in the list there is a date that is quite spooky an that was a lightning sent up to ID a ufo for want of a better word an it crashed in the sea but when they brought the plane the canopy was still sealed but no sign of the pilot spooky eh
chris

 

[Jakko]

something about 40mm ammo cases - when it had .50 calibre machine guns

It was a common modification to hang those cases from the gun mounts, as they held a lot more rounds than the .50-calibre boxes

 

[boatman]

WELL DAVE did you finish the lightning ?
chris

 

[Dave Ward]

Stalled somewhat on this - I'm having a lot of difficulty with the decals! They look fine on the backing sheet, but there are a few nasty problems - the larger roundels etc, are OK. I'm finding that the 'film' holding the decal onto the backing sheet is very patchy, some you can put in the water tray & the thing floats off in a few seconds - the next you have to soak for about 5 minutes. Coupled with that, they are very fragile....................
I can only put one or two on at a time, as I'm getting exasperated! There are black lines outlining the wing walk areas, and I'm certain that these are going to give me grief!
Dave

 

[boatman]

Stalled somewhat on this - I'm having a lot of difficulty with the decals! They look fine on the backing sheet, but there are a few nasty problems - the larger roundels etc, are OK. I'm finding that the 'film' holding the decal onto the backing sheet is very patchy, some you can put in the water tray & the thing floats off in a few seconds - the next you have to soak for about 5 minutes. Coupled with that, they are very fragile....................
I can only put one or two on at a time, as I'm getting exasperated! There are black lines outlining the wing walk areas, and I'm certain that these are going to give me grief!
Dave

WELL Dave when i did my lightning an had to do them wing walk black line i just put the whole decale in warm water an waited a few mins then lifted the whole backing card with the W/W line on it an gently slid it off with a cock tail stick the long black 1/48 th decal onto the wing an postioned it in the corect place an they all went on ok so hope it works for you Dave
chris

 

[Dave Ward]

The problem is with the patchiness - with a long piece, you'll get one end free almost immediately, then the other end refuses to let go & with the decal being fragile, that causes a jigsaw puzzle to reassemble
Dave

 

[Dave Ward]

Rapidly approaching completion..............

Just a few bits to add - the prominent nose probe ( won't last ), the missiles, and the stand in canopy. Next pictures will be in the completed section.
It has been a real tussle with the decals I've managed about 10% of the stencils - the rest either I couldn't get to release from the backing paper, came off straight away, or were too small for me to handle ( or see! ). It came very close to a test flight into the bin several times! I managed to resist this, but it has consequently taken a lot longer than it should!
Dave

 

[Ian M]

Looking very sharp Dave. I too have a soft sport for the frightening.

Fun fact. At a training camp, might have been red flag RAF lighting went up against US F-16, yes they're that old. F16 pilot over the radio. " Hej guys, slow down a bit you're making us look bad".
RAF responded by going nose up at full throttle. Lol

 

[boatman]

Looking very sharp Dave. I too have a soft sport for the frightening.

Fun fact. At a training camp, might have been red flag RAF lighting went up against US F-16, yes they're that old. F16 pilot over the radio. " Hej guys, slow down a bit you're making us look bad".
RAF responded by going nose up at full throttle. Lol

YES Ian I QUITE BELIEVE THAT as ive seen that no end of times up at coltishall as i can remeber my dad comin home from work as he was heavy duty crane driver an he said that the amreicans liked the lightning come to that i never heard a bad word about them only trouble was i was told dont know if it was true but for every hr of flight time they needed up to 90 hrs of serviceing on the ground but a fab earoplane way ahead of its time
chris

 

[Dave Ward]

The Lightning was a pure interceptor - nothing else. It had such short legs that any interception had to be supported by in flight refueling ( The overwing tanks were used for ferrying only ). Much like the Mig-25, it was fast in a straight line, but turning wasn't it's strong point. Only having two missiles meant that a raid of a dozen or so more Tu-95 Bears would soon have swamped the defences. It was a short lived answer to a problem that lasted far longer than it should have, due to political & financial shortcomings.
Dave

 

[adt70hk]

Coming on very nicely Dave, despite all the decal issues.

ATB.

Andrew

 

[Airborne01]

In Nicosia airport, with the UN, Lightnings used to beat up the airfield almost daily and ultimately stand on their tailpipes - most impressive!!
Stevel

 

[Dave Ward]

Finished
https://www.scale-models.co.uk/thre...-4-5-raf-cold-war-fighters-part-2-done.38490/