Airfix 1:48 TSR2

[Hurricane363]

Does this kit need any weight in the nose? I've given it a 'test' and i think it does. But if anyone has built this kit, could they let me know.

Cheers,

mat.

p.s. if there are any other problems with the kit, a 'heads up' would be greatly appreciated.

[Kev67]

You will probably find that all models with the landing gear at the front will require some sort of weight, I usually use nut and bolts held in place with car body filler but fishing lead weight is ideal to

[Steve McArthur]

Does this kit need any weight in the nose? I've given it a 'test' and i think it does. But if anyone has built this kit, could they let me know.

I haven't gotten far enough along to judge, but I was planning to fill at least fill the radome with lead shot anyway.

p.s. if there are any other problems with the kit, a 'heads up' would be greatly appreciated.

Almost too numerous to go into. Try google or search here, hyperscale and britmodeler for problems.

These are the ones that stand out to me the most:

1) Phantom panel lines, incorrect panel lines. There are numerous panel lines that just stop for no apparent reason, new ones that don't exist in the real aircraft and others that intersect in ways that don't make sense. I'd look at photos of the two preserved in museums and judge for yourself what you want to deal with. One big one to me is a rectangular panel just below the cockpit. It should exist only of the port side. Airfix has this mirrored on the starboard side as well. This panel was a provision for later fitting a refueling boom and only exists on the port side. Top of the fuselage is just weird. The whole fuselage taper is off forward of the wing, but this is accentuated by incorrect panel lines along the top of the fuselage. The panel lines should be parallel and they are not. Before I did anything else I filled in any lines I didn't want. Also where the top of the fuselage blends into the wing is odd. In profile it should be a smooth transition while Airfix has a perpendicular joint.

2) The front cockpit is so bad it's comical. Neither instrument panel resembles reality, but the forward glareshield touches the top of the windscreen. The pilot would have zero forward visibility. The instrument panel needs to be cut down and a new glareshield made. I don't know if any of the aftermarket stuff addresses this.

3) Poor fit is many areas. The intakes, forward/center wing insert to main wing, main wing to upper rear fuselage, main landing gear doors. Nothing a little putty can't fix, but this definitely isn't a shake 'n bake kit.

4) Landing gear splay is apparently incorrect. There are numerous posts about this elsewhere along with corrective actions. The splay didn't really bother me, but I ran across one writeup that the builder had the landing gear collapse after the model was complete. This did concern me since it's a pretty large model. I bought the SAC metal landing gear to deal with this, but I'm more than a little disappointed with the fit.