One of my all time fav fast jets is the legendary E.E Lightning. This jet was the first to accelerate vertically. From what I've read, it was a delight to fly, but I imagine the workload must have been immense when used in it's role operationally. This is the 1/48 Airfix/Eduard re-release, quite a expensive kit. Had I known, it would have been better to source the standard Airfix release and buy all the resin "bling" (as I did) to jazz it up. I used a Aires exhaust and wheel wells. The wheel wells were very difficult to install, requiring shaving the insides of the wings until they were translucent. Due to this, once I inserted the wheel wells and glued the wings together, they warped - ARGH! It was at this point, my Frightning almost hit the wall at a scale representation of Mach 2!
By gently twisting the wings to the correct shape, there was a crack (luckily along the joins) and both "stress relieved" to the correct profile - PHEW!
Finish was achieved using Tamiya gloss black, then Alclad polished aluminium. This made the model look like a toy, so I had a crack at scratching the finish and "tarnished" it by semi-dry brushing Metaliser paint. I also replicated fuel and oil leaks using artist oils. This is a 74 "Tiger" Sqdn bird, the first squadron to operate and do aerobatic formation displays with the Lightning - what a sight that must have been!
Also check out this super cool vid on the Lightning - now where's the nearest "Way back machine" to take me back to 1961?
It's supersonic, super-normal!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3xVAxBM4RI
