1/48 Airfix DeHavilland Vampire F.3
My growing collection of twin boomers!... I completed this one last week in my Vampire feast...looking to do a 1/72 and 1/144 one too!
IT was a pretty nice build..no real issues BUT it does need considerable nose weight to avoid tail sitting. I employed the Reskit wheels, type 1; Pavla resin seat and Kit World 3-D decals for the cockpit.
A shot of it sitting next to my 1/48 Classic Airframes Sea Venom. I also got the Mikro Mir 1/48 DH Venom FB.4...Looking to be a Suez Crisis Bird!
Thanks for looking
Steve,
The Vampire is one of my favourite jets, Steven, and this one looks great.
Nice work, Steven! I love that kit.
Steve: Beware on the FB4 kit that the underwing drop tank is for one of the Swiss airplanes (since the kit is modeled from the Venom FB4 flying in the UK - which is ex-Swiss). Also, assembling the forward fuselage is a nightmare - get the (many) parts cleaned up and assemble the fusealge attaching it to the lower wing assembly to give you something to figure things out from. I've got this in progress and that fuselage nearly stumped me completely.
The Airfix Vampire's a beauty - follow the instructions and get a great model. You certainly did that.
Thanks Tom! The Airfix Vampire goes together pretty nicely! Nose weight was a PITA in the Airfix kit. Just not a lot of room . I even put weight in the wing tanks but I suspect the COG wasn't forward enough. I did manage to get some liquid gravity in the Airfix kit [under the cockpit area...and it sat on its tricycle.
I noticed some issues with the Venom kit too. I will be very wary of tail sitting in the Venom kit. I want to build a FB.4 Suez Crisis. I have the decals from the Classic Airframes kit to use on it. I will be using the instructions too for reference to clear up any construction mishaps. Let me know how yours goes!
BTW--It reminds me of the Infiniti 1/32 Vampire...the Fuselage is split in halve and there is a lot to line up...not to mention the twin boom!?!?!
Steve,
The Vampire is a beautiful early jet and your build clearly shows that, Steven @sjcorvi
Great result. Looking forward to see them in those challenging scales of 1/72 and even 1/144
A beauty, Steven!
Well done!
Great-looking Vamp! Well done.
Awesome build, great looking nmf finish!
Some strong work on a British classic. I'm amazed the amount of wood that was used in the fuselage to make this jet. Wood being the Kevlar or Carbon fiber of it's time.
Awesome looking vampire with a stunning NMF!