Airfix 1/72 English Electric Lightning F.2A – East Fortune Museum of Flight 2019....ish
Hi There,
On our last visit to East Fortune Innis absolutely fell in love with the Lightning displayed there.
He listened to the audio and looked at her all round and then sat in the Vulcan Ejection seat next to her and just stared lovingly for ages.
So, as a surprise I thought why not give the Airfix tooling a go. My last Lightning build was also an Airfix kit but that was about 52 years ago and was my first kit ever. This one turned out a little bit better than that one.
Primed with Ultimate Grey Primer.
Painted with Colourcoats Dark Green, Light Aircraft Grey, Medium Sea Grey, AK Extreme Aluminium, Polished Aluminium, Tamiya Rubber Black.
Washed lightly with Citadel Nuln Oil.
Finished with Windsor & Newton Galeria Satin Varnish.
The ..ish in the title is there because she is not exactly like XN776 as displayed. I put the stencils on just to give her a wee bit more visual appeal as the paint job at East Fortune seems rather drab.
As always, Many Thanks for looking and any comments and criticism are welcome.
Cheers,
Alistair
9 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Robert Royes said on September 14, 2020
Beautifully done Lightning! I did that old Airfix tooling many years ago too. maybe it's time to do this one.
Alistair Gauld said on September 14, 2020
Thanks very much.
There are a couple of issues with ejector marks and such on the inside of the fuselage that can cause fit issues but nothing a bit of sanding can't sort out.
Cheers,
Alistair
Greg Kittinger said on September 14, 2020
Good looking Lightning! Such a cool aircraft.
Alistair Gauld said on September 14, 2020
Thanks very much Greg,
She certainly has a unique look.
John vd Biggelaar said on September 14, 2020
You created a great looking Lightning, Alistair.
Always liked this aircraft, impressive look when it had the fuel tanks attached on top of the wings.
Alistair Gauld said on September 14, 2020
Thanks so much.
Allan J Withers said on September 15, 2020
Nicely done Alistair.
Alistair Gauld said on September 15, 2020
Thanks very much
Spiros Pendedekas said on September 15, 2020
Nice Lightning, Alistair!
The "green over grey" camo looks fantastic and suits the Lightning a lot!
Alistair Gauld said on September 15, 2020
Hi Spiros,
Thanks very much.
As regards the scheme. In service she would have been Dark Green over Natural Metal but this airframe was used at Leuchars as a decoy for many years and was then repainted in these colours by the RAF before donating her to East Fortune.
Cheers,
Alistair
Dan DeSilva said on September 15, 2020
Hi Alistair,
You are an awful person, reigniting my desire for an Airfix 1/48 lightning with this 1/72 build of yours! Thanks for sharing it- I had the opportunity to visit East Fortune Museum on one of my young married trips to Scotland- also was enthralled by the BAC lightning in the dark green scheme...so I will now plot how to get the 1/48 Airfix kit again for a time, lets see if I eventually go through with it!
Alistair Gauld said on September 15, 2020
Thank you, Yes I am.
Go for it you know you want to.
Cheers,
Alistair