As part of a 100 year RAF group build within my local model club, I decided to attempt building the Airfix 1/48 TSR 2. Unfortunately I started late with this daunting project so I won't be able to finish it for the Imodeler RAF 100 group build. I decided to do lots of scratchbuilding on this project and add the excellent CMK resin sets for the Avionics bay, front wheelwell, airbrakes and burner cans as well as Eduard Big Ed etched parts and Pavla resin ejection seats to round it off. The canopies, instrument coming, mainwheel landing gear, tailfin, pitot tube and other minor details will be scratchbuilt. I started the scratchbuilding first as it would be the most time consuming part. The pitot was fashioned from a needle using a Dremmel tool to get the right contours. The rivets on the canopies and windshield were drilled out using a 0,2 drillbit. The front canopy received about 45 bits and pieces consisting of fine sandpaper, pewter foil, stretched sprue, 0.1 mm copper wire, plasticard from Evergreen and Tamiya masking tape.

13 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Thanks Stellan. This is me challenging myself regarding scratchbuilding.

Thanks Julio for your comment. I also wish I was at the stage to reveal the TSR 2. However, scratchbuilding is time consuming and for me a very rewarding part of the building process. The biggest challenge of the build will be an accurate representation of the complex landing gear of the TSR 2.

Today I focused on adding more internal details to the aft section of the rear canopy. I used pewter foil, Evergreen strips, stretched sprue and insulated copper wire. Only details still to be added are thin copper wires attached to the "gold" tinted clear parts (Not actually sure what these copper wires are suppose to represent but they are clearly visible in reference photos), canopy locking mechanisms and drilling rivets into the outer panel of the canopy.

4 attached images. Click to enlarge.

Great work, Morne! Would those copper wires be something like a defroster mechanism? Just guessing.

Well done, Sir!

Intricate work on the canopy is quite incredible. You can almost win model of the month for just doing the canopy alone. It is that good. Looking forward to the rest of this build.

Thanks Chuck for the compliment ! Much of what I am capable of doing has come from learning from others, such as yourself, on Imodeler. The TSR 2 is one of my all time favourite aircraft of the Cold War so I want to go all out on this one.

wow - in a zone beyond me! Looking incredible - love all the detail, and being able to see it come together step by tiny step! Fantastic Morne!