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Airfix 1/48 Blackburn Buccaneer S.2 New Tool for 2022


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Not surprise only one reply in ARC and about 90 in Britmodeller being a English subject.

I hope it is a nice kit.  I sold the previous offering long time ago since they were very crude and required a lot of aftermarket.
 

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23 hours ago, fulcrum1 said:

What are the differences between this S.2 version and the s.mk 2b version? 

 

This is a post I made on britmodeller.com.  The kit I am referring to is the recent 1/72 effort by Airfix.  This post is perhaps more detailed than need be but it answers your question:

 

The variant designations - S.2, S.2A, S.2B, S.2C, & S.2D - denote Martel capability.  The pre-Martel era Mk.2 Buccaneer, the S.2A and S.2C are not Martel capable and the S.2B and S.2D are.  S.2As and S.2Bs were RAF aircraft and S.2Cs and S.2Ds were FAA aircraft.  Before the RAF had Buccaneers, there was just the Mk.2 Buccaneer.  The changes required for Martel involved longer, more widely spaced pylons, the control unit, tv display and the removal of the fifth from inboard vortex generator which was over the outboard pylon in its new location.  Some pictures to illustrate:

 

172E91C9-B198-4136-8800-C0D98F7EFCC5

 

The black controller and arm rest on the right and  screen in the middle of this picture of the Nav's office are for the Martel system.

 

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An illustration showing different pylon spacing. 

 

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Long chord pylons for Martel

 

7A74DB96-1E66-461C-BD14-4A38EB93D906

 

And the pre-Martel short chord pylon.

 

Now that about does it for the variant specific differences.  The many other variations of equipment were associated with upgrades and modification programs over the years.  Many of these differences apply to As, Bs, Cs, and Ds.  Examples of each of these modifications can be seen on different aircraft at the same time. The OCU for example had S.2As in its inventory right up to the end.  So there are no bright line rules and, as is the usually the case with these things, you should try to find some photos of the subject you wish to replicate.

 

1) The airbrake petals.  The kit comes with pre-Mod 1503 air brakes.  There is a substantial reinforcement plate on the outside.  This would have been applicable to ex-FAA aircraft in the XN, XT and XV serial range.  The XWs, XXs and XZs were post-Mod 1503.  The XKs were converted S.1s and had a different type of stiffening panel.  I don't think we will see new air brake petals in any future releases so I think we will likely be on our own here.

 

4F19B694-1DB3-4445-91DB-C17FCE0119AA

 

This is a post-Mod 1503 air brake.

 

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And this illustration shows stiffening plate which is depicted in the kit.

 

2)  Nose gear light.  This is an easy one.  The RAF adopted a head light for the nose gear.  One is in the kit.

 

47E6789F-02D5-4E1E-98B9-BAD9D2A0B484

 

3)  Tail fin bullets.  RWR gear was installed in the mid 70s. 

 

49BB7397-8300-4D04-8AFB-C9DC31C542C3

 

 

This is the old style.  The light is located on the point of the rear bullet.  This is offered as an optional part in the kit but the bits for the later version are not included in this release.

 

7519491C-6B63-43D4-BF73-48A5F013550D 182CA7B0-192F-46C0-B2A0-C980B109AC16

 

This is the RWR installed on the tail fin bullet.  Note the light relocated to the rear of the cap above the bullet.  I am not sure what the second bump is.

 

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And the front bullet with RWR.  Also note here the base of the antenna that was installed on either side of the fin. 

 

4) Aerial on either side of the fin.  This was an early to mid 70s modification.  This was a bolt on piece.  Sometimes it was not installed but the base was visible (see picture above).

 

67C8598E-8814-474F-993F-817C77F50508

 

5) Intake fairing.  Installed from the mid/late 60s on.  Applicable to most RAF examples.

 

IMG_3794

 

Without fairing

 

IMG_3795

 

And with the fairing.

 

6)  Antenna on spine.  From the early/mid 70s onward the antennas were different.

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Before

28FB4893-068C-4BB9-85F5-0769D0710A7C

 

After

 

7) Anti-collision beacon.  They were changed to a pointed style late in life.  I think this started appearing sometime in the late 80s.

 

551452ED-495B-4802-8946-3C5DFF3E9D5F

 

8 ) Wide band homer.  These were attached to the wings but were removable and not always carried.   

 

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This is the older round style.  

 

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And this is the newer version which has a flattened oval cross section and stepped point.

 

9) Wing fold inspection panels.  This is not so much a modification but just something that varied over the years and in different contexts.  There are photos of Buccs from the late 60s onward with open hatches, closed hatches or just the front one open.  The FAA seemed to have the panels on more often than not which makes sense I suppose with the potential for corrosion.

 

1881B6B9-C729-499E-88E3-3763B08F68CC

 

Both front and back panels are removed here.  It looks like the kit provides an option for this although the current release is silent on the subject.

 

10) Slipper tanks.  I don't intend to address payloads in this post but the slipper tanks were carried so often that I tend to think of them more as part of the airplane than an external store.  These were revised in the mid 70s.  The new style had a sharper edge on the fairing on the top of the tank.  The current release of the kit has parts for the older style.

 

Blackburn Buccaneer S2A XT270 St Mawgan 8-8-73

 

This Bucc has the older style tank as provided in the current release of the new Airfix kit.

 

957683FD-8BDB-494B-BBDE-F9F0C8CA8805

 

Another example of the old style tank.

 

7136D57C-EDD1-4063-A178-1F4AC8CCA485

 

This is the newer version.

 

11) The seat.  The older style is offered in the kit.  The older seat had a D pull handle and the newer version had a B handle.

 

D696965C-C85B-4CE1-BBB5-8DF14087979F

 

48381BAB-789E-4D7C-8E71-2CD06F4FE0C8

 

Older version

 

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Newer version.  The parachute pack was revised in addition to the different pull handle.  Note also the splayed thigh guards.  This is a rear seat; the front seat was not splayed.  The splayed thigh guard was to allow some room for the Martel tv display between the navigator's legs.

 

12) Under water ejection system.  This was deleted in the 70s.  Buccs that had it fitted had a third red triangle on the port side.

 

F4794477-3CEB-4937-ACCD-79B35DC42B58

 

Not a great shot - it is a still from an old 8mm film - but it shows the shape to good effect.

 

13) Canopy MDC.  This upgrade happened in the 70s. 

 

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13) Blade aerial/light on belly.  A blade aerial was placed where the strobe ahead of the bomb bay was formerly located.  The strobe was relocated to the electronics bay access door.  This happened in the mid 70s.

 

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The electronics bay hatch is hanging open in this picture.  You can see the relocated light well in this picture.

 

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The light is flashing in this picture.  The aerial is visible just ahead of the bomb door.  It is black with a white dot on the front.

 

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The profile is clear in these pictures.

 

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 Another view of its position.

 

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In this picture the 2nd and 3rd Buccs have the new blade aerial and the 1st and 4th do not.  Note also that the light has been relocated to the electronics bay door on all four examples.  This picture is from mid 1973.  The picture of XT270 above with the older style slipper tanks also has the relocated light but no blade aerial as of yet; that picture is from the same time period.

 

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