Cop Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 This ones being built for a very good friend of mine. Who is an ex RAF police man. The only stipulation on the build by him ,was it must be BMF. Which put me off initially as have never done one before. But seeing as I have never had anybody ask me to build them a kit before either, nor built a Lightning, in for a penny in for a pound. As they say. The kit was purchased from Ebay for a reasonable sum. But came with a horrendous warp to the left wing. I managed to get rid of this with hot water and lots of bending and cursing. I then put the wings together and fine tweaked the wing with more hot water. Then the tip lights were fitted. Or should I say placed into the correct postion and sanded to fit. The rest of the kit may be 1/48 but I'm sure the tip lights are 1/24!! The build will be completely OOB. So I`m afraid the kit cockpit would have to do. Luckily its going to built in flight so the lid will be down. I Tried to use the kit decals in the cockpit. But it was like trying to lay down strips of thick leather. The basics are just that basic. (Luckily I have several resin replacements for mine.) Both of the Fuselage halves had a signifcant bow inwards where the wings attach. Once more hot water to the rescue. Then just to make sure some scrap sprue was used as a brace, keeping the centre of the fuselage pushed out. (Sorry no pics) I only use the instructions as a rough guide and opted to fit the belly pack to each fuselage half prior to joing the fuselage halves together. The fueslage halves went together easily enough. Just aquick tip if ou build this kit though. Leave the intake cone loose so that you can align it perfectly with the nose prior to gluing it. The two halves went together well. I also took this oppurtunity to get the nose to fit perfectly. So that I could fit it at the end of the build without any worries. I then glossed the whole thing up with gloss black from a Tamiya spray can. Excellant paint and perfect for a good base prior to Alcad. I then picked out certain areas with Alcad polished Aluminum and masked them off. Using a combination of Tamiya tape and Maskol. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cop Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 The whole of the airframe was then painted with Alcad Aluminum. And a few panels further picked out with Dark Aluminum. And the inspection panel under the wing in chrome. And this is where I stand so far with the airframe. So far so good. the only problem I have encountered so far is the Alcad Crhome. It lays down perfectly and gives a very convincing finish. But it just rubs off, even after leaving overnight. I think I may have picked up one of those faulty batches which won't dry. Heres the result after wiping off some fingerprints. So Mike if you have a knock at the door tonight it will only be me cap in hand. Begging for a drop of chrome Alcad So what do think so far? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
viper494 Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Looks good always thought of doing a bare metal varient. Cheers Clive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pablo189 Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Nice and smooth, looks good. Spent a very noisy week on base at Binbrook about a year before they retired so I'm quite keen on the Lightning. Which squadron? Gary Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Graham T Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Wow nice work so far! What markings will you be using? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 For your first BMF your doing a bang on job, in fact for your 20th BMF your doing a bang on job. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Chris Kethan Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Great looking lightning, Cop. That BMF looks great! Someday I'll muster my courage enough to try one, and I hope it turns out half as nice as yours! Keep posting progress. Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor Supporter Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 That looks very nice. The panel lines looks very impressive on that model. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AnthonyWan Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Cop that is a beautiful paintjob Looking foward to the finishing touches Did you do anything about the panel lines? or were they originally like that? :huh: Also, what kind of thinners is that in the first picture of the black painted jet? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scooter Man Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Beautiful.....!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rodney Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Really great start. Thanks for the detailed info. I'll be following along for future reference when I build mine. Rodney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bennygmanuk Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Looks absolutely beautiful! Is eem to remember that unlike regular Alclad the chrome and polished aluminium don't like being masked over, perhaps that was part of the problem. looking forward to more, Steve. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fulcrum Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Impressive BMF job! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cop Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 (edited) Cheers guys. Yup its all OOB as my mate has no idea, with regards to the additional cost of resin or etch. The Panel lines are as is other than those near the seams. I'm going to give Tamiya chrome a shot to see how that goes. If it fails does anybody know of a shop stocking Alcad in the Chester or Greater Manchester area? With regards to the thinners its just Halfords (a local automotive shop in the UK) own brand cellulose. Out of interest does anybody know of a aftermarket decal sheet for any variants of the lightning as I have another 4 to build for myself with all the bells and whistles. I already know of the Heritage early Lightning offering. Nigel. Edited March 7, 2007 by Cop Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Damian Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 WHOA!!! For a first BMF that looks stunning! I hope my Korean War SAAF F-47N comes out half as awesome as your Lightning!! -D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Notdoneyet Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Nigel, Lovely lightning, I would never have guessed that it was your first NMF!! Your Alclad Chrome problems mirror (ha!!) my own with my Airfix Lightning F6 build :- The nose ring is currently on its 3rd respray - I'm going to give the chrome a coat of Future tomorrow to see if this will arrest the tendancy to rub off. I think that this will be preferable to using Tamiya Chrome which is much more "grainy" than Alclad. Cutting Edge do 3 nice decal sheets for the Lightning, although the one I used had a couple of errors and omissions. HTH, Ian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
madmike Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 Cop That is simply a beaut BMF job you have done there. Lovely! MikeJ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dave_b121 Posted March 8, 2007 Share Posted March 8, 2007 :) stunning!!! :blink: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
parche Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Awesome BMF job...I don't have the guts to attempt BMF yet...I have a nice two tone grey scheme picked out for my Airfix Lightning... Cheers, Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kaburaya Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 (edited) Morning, I don,t know if you have a store chain called Wilkinsons in your area, but they do a small can of chrome paint in an aerosol form in the DIY section. It works very well on plastic and its only draw back is it does not like any type of varnish on it. My mate uses it for highly polished spinners and they look supurb. Its about £2.50 a can and I think its called Plasicoat, but not to sure on that. Hope this helps Peter :) Edited March 9, 2007 by kaburaya Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cop Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 (edited) Nice Lightning Ian. Just one thing though. You need to spray the centre panel under the wing in chrome as well. My understanding is that this was left chromed for easier inspection of the wing spars. From what I can remember the chrome finish made it easier to spot cracks and deformation in that area. Its just a 2 minute masking job. But adds some interest to that area. I too also attempted future over the chrome. It just pooled like water on glass and wouldn't level out. Hope it goes better for you. Pete I`m out the door as we speak. Thanks for that. Tamiya chrome is just plain nasty to spray. It goes down like iron filings from a brass brush. Mike I`m on lates again till Monday otherwise you could have come over and inspected her in person and given me an old fashioned, in the hand, honest opinion. Nigel. Edited March 9, 2007 by Cop Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TF51GREGWISE Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Looking real nice- I never built an airfix model I was happy with until I built my EE Lightning. :lol: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cop Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 Not wrong about the chrome. Somebody must have been high on LSD when they labeled that. I picked up some chrome from Wilkes. It goes on well but I would suggest decanting it to your airbrush for smaller parts and better control. Initial thoughts are. Yes it simulates chrome, nearly. Not as well as Alcad. But if it stays on the plastic thats a major plus for it. Mike I'll try and drop the tin off tomorrow, before I go to work. I'll also bring the Lightning round so you can have a peak. Nigel. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Quiddy Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Nice finish Nigel. I sure wish I could use the Alclad on my kits. Keep up the great work. :) Wayne Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcin_S Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Looks fantastic !!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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