Peter s

I did the Airfix version of the one John Glenn flew in korea. Good kit. Can't remember what sub type that was but they'll still have the moulds. There was a club double with a mig15 equally worth another run.

Wow... Those are a blast from the past! I grew up under the landing path to Glasgow airport and you heard tridents 10 mins before you saw them. Looking forward to seeing this progress.

Btw I checked scalemates. They say the top gun is a rebox of Airfix 1960s D model. Which is the original top gun kit.... My other cynical thought is how much do Miramax get per Airfix kit sold? that "top gun" logo won't come free.... on a slight tangent I'm not impressed with the dogfight double A4/mig 17 pairing.. The only A4 to down a mig 17 was a C with zuni rockets. Happy to be proven wrong but why do I think the A4 will be a B with 2x 500lb bombs? The real enemy of the mig 17 was the F8 crusader... Not well represented in 1/72 (at least not at A4 price) I've picked up a vintage hasegawa on eBay (decent kit for its age but decals were yellow and cost the same again from hannants) but Airfix could do waaaay better. That's a hint Airfix! I've got another A4b in the stash and enough zuni rockets to refight Vietnam so I might see what I can DIY.

I've just bought one 35 years after I first made it.... It's ok too. Not nearly as many parts as a new tool but crisp mouldings still. Jeff: awesome job!!! I did the academy black cat in CC colours and yours is far better. I like to weather and white is a brilliant colour to totally c**k up and overdo it. BTW you can get 0.2mm brass wire on eBay which is superb for rigging and serial wires. Superglue gel fixes it neatly ps when I do coastal command models i normally use model air dark slate grey and extra dark ocean grey. Both are very dark colours. Your final shades are lighter but I like the fact the difference between the 2 colours are obvious. Perfectly plausible weather fading too

Hi FAAMAN, I'm well aware McCain flew an E, hence my comment about the Airfix kit being unsuited to it. if they'd do an accurate E it would allow so many potential schemes it's not true. I quite like the current new tool as a cheap fun build because it does go together nicely. I guess it was always designed with the Argentine version in mind to pair with the sea harrier. I'm not a rivet counter with 60s jets and I get £10 of fun from the current new tool.... The top gun one I bought on eBay however was a waste of plastic . I'm also with Rach in that I've done the new tool B in a few builds that stretched credibility but there is a limit. It looks like the "mavericks F18" is an A not a super hornet. That's unlikely to work out well as a commercial decision

I recently bought the old Airfix ju88 because I've never made one... It looked fairly poor and I've put it to one side. In contrast i just got the 8th reboxing of the Sunderland I made 35??? Years ago and apart from having a fraction of the parts a new tool would it's really sound. If another manufacturer is doing an early bomber version maybe Airfix should do the full new tool on the type formally at Hendon / now cosford? German twins are very underrepresented at the moment and Luftwaffe kits always sell well.

Do you mean the A4-B? I know a few people are very rude about that kit but I like it.... Problem is that it's a very specific early war Vietnam / Argentine version and simply not the version used in movie. The current Airfix isn't even appropriate to hang a couple of bullpups on or do the version John McCain flew. I'm happy to admit it when I'm proved wrong but I think this will be a restamp of the same box I bought on eBay last year.

Nice job! I've nearly finished mine wheels down and it's one hell of a tail sitter. I put a phenomenal amount of lead in it and even then had to sacrifice the pilot for a few more grams. (It does now sit on its nose wheel) It's a very good kit though with many options for many airforces. The undercarriage is the weakest part of the kit but it does work .. Let the cement cure overnight before letting it sit on its wheels

I've never modelled an aircraft flown by a relative but I've made a few famous planes with the Xtradecal numbers. Printing your own decals black on clear (especially if you have access to a laser printer) is very easy but printing decals that look good on a black kit is far less easy. Numbers in red on a black background printed on white (not clear) decal film is my best DIY advice. Clear and white decal sheets are easily found on ebay. If you use an inkjet printer you need a sealing spray on the film after printing. Lasers dont.

Agreed with all of you.... for several years I've been saying that the Beaufort is the obvious next kit after the excellent Blenheim and Beaufighter kits. Add in the relative popularity of Airfix in Australia and Japan and it's an export success too. Equally I've flagged up lack of spitfires in 1/72... Crazy that a British icon like Airfix is so ignoring spits. You need a IX (with round and pointed rudders) and a 1/72 version of the 1/48 XIV next. Whoever approved these (and the vulcan) knows the market and can make sensible choices The 5 top gun kits are a joke though. I bought the A4 from eBay to pair with another brand's F14 after watching top gun with a few beers in me ☺☺☺. It's a million miles from the new tool B. More flash than kit. Flogging an F18a as a super hornet is a very very bad idea. The only word for it is cynical. Many of the other releases are the same. I like the dogfight double concept but again when the double is more than the cost of the 2 kits individually it's not a good move. The 2020 releases totally lacked any surprises like the 2019 mig 17 (good kit btw) I was scratching my head that there's a quick build F35b but not a full kit. What was the last contemporary RAF/RN aircraft Airfix did? Tornado F3? Do a few from this century!

They should call it "Tom cruises mustang". From what I've seen of the trailer maverick is equivalent to a colonel in rank (navy captain). £60,000 ish pay? If he can afford a £2.5m warbird the security services seriously need to sweat the guy!

Looks like both are "new for 2020" so listed prematurely and presumably removed to avoid spoiling the announcement . The S79 is back again so I've reordered it.... God knows if and when it'll arrive

I've noticed that too. They're missing a lot of opportunities for sales. Almost none of the d day kits were in stock for the 6th of june. They came in July August.... Wonder how many people clicked the link, saw "out of stock pre order now" and just logged out. I've just checked that my 2 outstanding pre orders (mig17 and hs123) are still listed. (They are)

My wife had that on pre order as a Xmas prezzie for me. It's yet another minor strike against airfix. The people who pre order via their website are the core customer base. Don't offer a kit you won't make and don't say it'll be available in October then deliver it in march. Hmmm yes Airfix doesn't do itself any favours by apparently dropping kits advertised for release... as you had a pre order on the SM79 have you had notification of cancellation and with any reason given ? None at all. Ok they don't take any money until the kit arrives in the warehouse but that's not the point. It's a running joke in our house that she orders me a kit for Xmas that arrives for easter. (See initial F4 release for a classic) it's just such bad management.. I know delays happen but if you can't guarantee a delivery month don't advertise it.

My wife had that on pre order as a Xmas prezzie for me. It's yet another minor strike against airfix. The people who pre order via their website are the core customer base. Don't offer a kit you won't make and don't say it'll be available in October then deliver it in march.

Nice! I was so tempted to do my buccanneer conversion in gulf war pink that I bought an R...... Tornado gr1 . The jaguar also served in pink and by that stage had the French style over wing sidewinders. Worth a thought?

Touch wood i haven't had the same paint issues for awhile but never say never.... I prime by airbrushing Tamiya acrylic then giving it at least an hour in a warm room. I leave 24 hrs before applying masks. As a result I tend to have a few projects on the go at once. For rattle cans out them in a bowl of tap hot water for a few mins before spraying. They dry much faster which minimises the damage any solvent can cause. Humbrol acrylic varnish has killed a few of my models stone dead. Warmed in hot water makes it less dangerous. Btw a filter at this stage might help your whirlwind. Either commercial or make your own.

The droop looks ok to me. It's not a bad kit... I built one pretty well then had a complete balls up with a 2nd one. The side windows just refused to fit properly. The new version is a league ahead though. btw what's the story with an all grey RAF rescue version?

Thanks! "If in doubt find a photo of the real thing".

I probably got enough lead in the nose (off cut of deep sea fishing weight bashed into a wedge with a hammer) but just to make sure did exactly as Rach shows and put extra weight into the void between the intakes to make sure. I was really impressed with this one. Perfect part fit and very little ambiguity in the instructions. The kit is as solid as the real thing.

If they do I'll add it to my shopping list. The final low vis grey they wore is attractive too. I very nearly did this one in 91 gulf colours but settled for just a gulf war style weapons load. I've another Airfix project getting the pink paint which I'll share soon if I don't screw it up. Btw if anyone fancies a grey and green buccanneer the straight Airfix kit would be quite appropriate for a 1970s grey and green over light grey with three colour roundels .

Nice job! I built one of these a few years ago and it went together very nicely. Like you say not up to "new tool" standards but no fit issues either.

I'm 99% sure you're right. There are some almost drilled holes in the wings that suggest a second release is " in the post". They made useful positioning marks for my own pylons. I tend to try and play around with new releases and try for something different. TBH I'm amazed at the buccanneer variation already! Keeps me on my toes. I've posted the whole build today so fingers crossed it's approved soon

Post 4: finished job. I'm sure I missed some fine detail but I think it basically looks like I want it to look. Weirdly I actually had a pave spike laser designator in my parts box. I did consider a Gulf war scheme but I prefer the wrap round green and grey /media/tinymce_upload/6c91c2366f7cd35012bb5e492dfd1595.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/88164c260079559356c43f1bc975231f.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/8149002cc438a770486891b2894b3010.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/64834b085b7c0d837072c4d1a291c3a5.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/2485cb29329459c319f88b248df7a5ba.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/c42cfb295228e19c74b5a4951354f627.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/a0e576bc89667f73da9dbc83f07332fa.jpg (those jet pipes / intakes do look good! )

Post 3: Airfix were very kind when it comes to painting the engine intakes: If you paint the jet pipes white: /media/tinymce_upload/01709037c0102438aae3441a7b8c8325.jpg Then the outer intakes steel you get a very neat final effect. I used a Mig Jimenez trick of filling the finished intakes with foam rubber (cut from a wash up sponge) to make sure no paint spoiled the final finish. /media/tinymce_upload/05dded5bb7bb1fc0b164589e844d1317.jpg Before spraying I fitted the canopy (I found the windscreen fit a bit uncertain... thats probably the only minor criticism I can possibly make). I painted wing and tail leading edges in steel and masked them and painted the inside of the dive brake a paler grey and also masked that. The later RAF Buccaneers had a few vanes and antenna not included in the S2.c kit so working from photos I tried to add what I could. Most obvious where two small horizontal vanes on the tail. These came from a Paveway. I should also praise Airfix for the dive brake. It comes in about 10 bits if you want it open. Its a work of art. Just don't fit it upside down like I did initially! Doh!!!! I've started priming my kits in black tamiya paint. When you overspray with vallejo the water based vallejo is reluctant to flow into the panel lines and you get a nice neat black panel line effect. /media/tinymce_upload/a3a03ba53e0c7fa08a729110d2c70b37.jpg After priming I sprayed with my own mix of RAF green. This is 50/50 vallejo 1324 Dark green and 1316 US dk olive drab. Initially I used 1273 RAF Ocean grey for the grey but it looked to light compared to Buccaneer ref pics so I lightly oversprayed with 1110 Extra dark sea grey/US dark grey which is a WW2 coastal command shade. The Buccaneers I remember were looking a bit old and tired so I weathered the wrap around scheme with oil paints. Basically a small amount of olive green or dark grey oil in turps... basically dirty turps... which was applied with a clean brush randomly and allowed to flow over the base coat. As it dries it varies the shades of the base coat nicely /media/tinymce_upload/f78d7474b733b136c3df116c41dbd9ce.jpg Believe it or not this is almost complete. Decals, fine detail work like tyres and weapons load to do.