Trumpeter 1/32 F2a Lightning
As some of you may know, the 1/32 Trumpeter Lightning falls short on a lot of fronts. The kit however is a very straightforward build out of the box and it does resemble a Lightning should you choose to build it this way.
I had previously built a Trumpeter F3 with simple modifications (extending the fuselage by 5mm which removed the 'short wheeled base' appearance of the kit along with correcting the stalky u/c legs). I had the Trumpeter F6/2a kit in my stash and decided I would have a crack at improving the kit further.
I chose to replicate XN776 โCharlie' an F2a from 19 Squadron based at RAF Gutersloh, Germany. This particular aircraft was very lucky to survive and to go on to being preserved in a Scottish museum.
On the15th February 1974, the aircraft whilst being flown by Steve Gyles had the upper right cannon disintegrate and jam the rudder and aileron controls which very nearly forced Steve to eject from 'Charlie'. Steve however, stayed with the aircraft and made a safe recovery into Gutersloh
The improvements to the kit necessitated extending the fuselage by 5mm, reducing the profile and extending the length of the fuel tank, tapering the spine, correcting the profile of the rear fuselage, correcting the cockpit sides, correcting the undercarriage and numerous other smaller modifications. This project took around two years to complete (an off/on build!
You definitely did a truly wonderful job on this challenging project, Kevin.
Those mods you did correct this otherwise good kit's shortfalls.
The final result is hardly distinguishable from the real thing.
Congratulations, and welcome aboard!
Many thanks for your kind remarks and warm welcome Spiros!
An outstanding result out of this kit, Kevin @kevinrowbotham
The ejection seat is exceptional, like the entire build as well.
Thanks very much John!
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Thatโs a lot work improving the model. You did excellent work, it looks very realistic. A+
Many thanks Jay...very kind!
All that work sure paid off.
Thank you Haslam!
That's a lot of work, but the end result is really good!
It was a lot of work Dan but I enjoyed doing it, thank you!
๐ ... Greetings ... ๐ :
The results after the slight issues shine thru on this build Kevin.
The cockpit are is very markedly well done and the ejection seat,
from what can be seen ... is a model in itself.
Thanks very much DE4EVER, very kind!
Some more snaps...
4 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Fantastic result, Kevin, all that hard work has paid off in dividends, and thanks for the extra photographs. Definitely liked.
Many thanks for your kind words George!
That looks great! Has to be a big bird in 1/32...
Yes it is Greg...especially when you've got two of them on the shelf!
Exceptional work Kevin @kevinrowbotham! ๐ That ejection seat is in a class by itself! ๐ Wow.
This is great scale modeling for sure! ๐บ
Many thanks for your kind comments Gary!