Gloster Meteor F8 1/48 Airfix
Well here we are with another rendition of Airfix's new Meteor this time as you can see in markings for an aircraft flown by the Israeli airforce.
It is nice to see another 1/48 Meteor available to us and I must admit to getting a little giddy when I first heard that it was coming ,having already built the Tamiya Mk1 prototype I anticipated something similar in terms of buildability (have I made that word up ?) ,sadly this was not the case as there are some definite problem areas which need to be addressed unlike the Tamiya offering.
So what are the niggles to be ironed out I hear you ask ,well in no particular order ,the vertical stabiliser, parts B5,B10 and B11 are moulded with an exaggerated flat surface running perpendicular to the rest of the fin, I had a good look at some pictures and although there does seem to be something there Airfix have oversized it by a long way and it needs to be carefully shaved down ,next was the strange decision by the design team at Airfix to build the nose cone in two parts separately from the rest of the fuselage which just gives the modeller another seam to hide. Airfix have kindly given us choice of engine inlets and cockpit canopies which is good but sadly no information at all as to which one goes with which forcing the builder to either guess or do some research on the net, now I enjoy that side of the hobby but not everyone does and so Airfix really should have given us more information .Finally I think it was Mr Cleaver who said this kit cannot be built with the canopy closed as it doesn't fit ,this is true if you are using the more recent canopy the one that is fully glazed and painted in camo however the earlier canopy painted in silver in my picture does appear to fit with a little downward pressure while the glue goes off.
A bit about my build now, I am a fan of all things IAF and so it was a no brainer that that was the direction I was going to take and so aftermarket goodies would be needed. The paint was from the excellent Hataka set which comes with six colours ,these went on nicely but they do clog up in the airbrush a bit and needed a couple wash throughs during the painting process. The decals were from Isradecal whom I have used before and while in my opinion are quite expensive are always of the best quality so I suppose you get what you pay for. Finally my research showed that the IAF chose American 5" HVAR missiles rather than the much bigger and presumably more expensive British version so these had to be sourced from True Details .
Yes there are a few problems with the kit but nothing that a bit of patience can't fix and there are some good points ,the exposed gun bays are nice as is the engine on display if you want it.
I am hoping that Airfix will bring out a trainer version at some point.
In conclusion I would have to say that if you want a Meteor in your collection and don't mind which one then go for the Tamiya kit .
So let me know what you think ,also if anyone else experienced any problems let me know.
Cheers Neil.
Lovely build, Neil. She’s really eye catching in that scheme and I can see why you have a soft spot for Israeli colours. When you compare her to the real thing (below) it’s clear that have a feel for the Meteor, too.
‘Liked’
Cheers Dave ,I'd love to go to that museum one day.
N.
Do you see what I meant about that tail fin by the way ?
I do see what you mean but I think you’ve done a pretty good job of thinning it down. Compared to the photo she stands up pretty well, Neil. Nice catch with the canopy.
A great build!
Thanks Rob.
🙂 … Greetings … 🙂 :
Nice clean build Neil, good paint job too.
Cheers , I wish I had the skills to weather it up like the one in the picture though.
N.
Love it Neil, another 'less built subject'! We can always expect to see something little different coming off your bench! Big fan of the opened up panels. And you'd definitely have my confidence if you went for a bit of weathering, but the clean version looks very striking indeed!
Thanks Paul, It's true I don't like to build run of the mill subjects, there's enough Spitfires ,109's ,190's etc etc
N.
Nicely done Neil, never seen one in camo. Looks good.
Cheers Tom, someone posted a similar build not long ago (better than this one as well!) just as I was approaching the finish line, Ssheesh what a jip ! 🙂 , still that's the way the cookie crumbles...
N
Nice work, Neil. Sorry to hear you had issues with it. Which boxing did you build that from? I purchased the original RAF boxing that was produced in India and discovered significant warpage on the fuselage parts. I plan to build it in either Israeli or Syrian camouflage. I also picked up the second release that featured RAAF Korean War a/c. This kit was molded in the UK and had no warped parts. I built it last year and was really pleased with it.
Hey John, my kit was the Korean war moulding which was in perfect condition . The decal set I used was Isradecal IAF95 which includes markings for not only IAF aircraft but Egyptian versions ,which is the one I will build if I do another and Syrian aircraft which I am pretty certain is not on my "to do" list, if you make a definite decision to build the Syrian aircraft let me know and I will sort you out with the decals.
Neil.
Thanks, Neil! I’ll keep it in mind. Again, nice work.
Hello Neil,
Interesting subject. Well executed.
I have been to the IAF museum. Interesting to hear the metal settling when the temperature rises to a very high degree. Also seen many bird nests in the tailpipes from the permanently parked aircraft. During my visit they were still operating the Skyhawk for qualifying new fighter pilot students. I can advice everybody to pay a visit if you are in the vicinity.
Regards, Dirk / The Netherlands.
https://www.tripadvisor.nl/Attraction_Review-g297741-d2232892-Reviews-Hatzerim_Israel_Airforce_Museum-Beersheba_Southern_District.html#photos;aggregationId=101&albumid=101&filter=7&ff=384178186
Thanks for the link, Dirk. I’d love a 1/48 Ouragan in Israeli colors.
I'm a su**ker for anything in Israeli colors! They must have had an artist or a woman in the camo-development section or something... they just always catch my eye. Very nice clean build of the Meteor.
Hey Greg ,thanks for looking , I know what you mean Skyhawks, Phantoms even the really early postwar stuff looks great.
N.
Hey I just thought, being as the British government backed the wrong pony and didn't really get on board with supplying the Israeli's with military equipment like the U.S. did and continue to do, can you imagine an E.E. Lightning in Israeli camo...