Airfix TSR2

[The Wooksta!]

For anyone replying to my other thread

[Spellbinder99]

So if I read the other thread right Lee, there should be minimal problems with fit if time is taken to adjust and test fit the parts before gluing?

Are most of the needed tweaks self evident when the parts are test fitted?

I can't make any direct comments myself as I am waiting on my first kits to arrive, but I certainly will be using one as a test "mule" to try out stuff first before committing to a full build.

Cheers for any comments.

Tony

[DamienB]

Having test fitted some of the major assemblies together myself, Wooksta is dead right - and yes, the minor issues of fit are pretty obvious when you dry fit. I also had to slim down the rearmost locating peg on the fuselage - it was much too large for the socket it was to go in.

[DamienB]

Ah yes, the intakes are indeed 'interesting' too...!!

[P1127]

Wooksta, maybe you should make your article a sticky else it will disappear down the pages.

The thing that struck me first off is the massive size of the sprue gates - the main fuselage sprues reminded me of the Novo release of the Javelin. Same for the wings - definitely a razor saw job rather than a snippers/knife cut.

Locating pins seem a bit long for most sockets on mine (They remind me of another kit, but I can't think which one).

Wonder how easy it will be to model the bomb bay closed??

[Radish]

Hey babies, are we "modellers" or "assemblers"?

What's a few tweakings amongst friends??

Rock on!!

Only just looked in the box...the TSR2 is WAY down the list of priorities, so I'll have a go later.

             

[P1127]

Just spent a little time fettling parts - on mine, the starboard bomb bay door has some overflow from the sprues onto the door on the hinge edge, which makes it a little messy to clean up on the stepped section  

[Spellbinder99]

I take it from some comments I read elsewhere and from pictures of an in-progress build on Hyperscale that the tailplanes and fin are poseable? Not that I like wibbly bits on a model, but it may mean that a little "life" can be injected into the model like drooped tailplanes.

Of course, drooping the tailplanes may mean drooping the flaps on them.... B)

Cheers

Tony

[Jack Bobson]

If you're building it 'wheels up' then get your putty ready!

It's probably best to build it with everything down, up, open and out! It has some really nice touches and a better modeller than me will create something special.  

[Spellbinder99]

Ok, I have had a few days to fiddle with the parts on the kit and a few things spring to mind straight away.

The gear doors question has been quite well covered, but I will give my opinion based on what I know about the aircraft and my experience as an aircraft engineer who has been working on Brit aircraft for the last seven years.

The doors should be shut for a normally posed model only if depicted with pilots in place or if shown in a long term parked situation. On the Jaguar there are certain items such as the battery that can only be accessed with the nose doors open, plus post flight servicing considerations require all doors to be open. That this would be the case with the TSR.2 MAY not apply, but without access to the appropriate maintenance documents I can't say.
However, it is far easier to have them open and close them when needed than the opposite. For this purpose, though all the main UC doors on the Jag cycle closed at the end of a normal undercarriage extension, there is a switch that opens them and this is done just prior to engine shutdown.

It is really personal choice, but the current status of the two museum birds cannot be used as a guide in this case. If someone with access to the documents (Ahem, Joe!) could confirm, it would be of help.
One thing that did strike me about the undercarriage operation as seen in the flight sim video and from various stills was that the aircraft would have had to be jacked a long way up to sequence the gear on the ground!

The insert under the nose behind the nose wheel well (part 70). It's fit if fully pushed into place certainly looks very bad, but this appears to be caused by being about a mm too short along the upper edges. If held in place and allowed to drop down that amount, the fit is flush and fine along the bottom and sides with a parrallel gap along the upper edges from front to back. I would suggest the cure is to glue two strips of plastic card along the edges then glue the part into place. Once the glue has dried, carefully trim the excess card off flush and a gentle sanding should finish the job off.

The intakes. Oh dear!
Though the outer shell (parts 15 to 16 and parts 20 to 21) go together quite well, the inner blanking/ducting part 17 or 22 leaves a large gap along the inside top if glued in the correct place. It is problematic how this will be cured, but at least from any normal viewing angle it is very hard to see. As mentioned, you do not have to follow the sequence of assembly for the intakes and can assemble the three parts as a unit and it will angle in quite well after assembly.
The auxiliary air intakes on the outside face are pretty half hearted. They will look infinitely better if scraped and sanded down a bit smoother and rescribed OR if scratchbuilt in the fully open position. Unlike Jaguar or Harrier aux doors which are opened by suction pressure, the TSR.2 ones appear to be seen fully open independant of whether the engines are running or not.
I don't hold much hope out for a set of aftermarket seamless intakes with opened aux doors for the kit, so the best and most authentic answer may be to fashion a nice pair of intake blanks and be done with it.

The seats are basic, but look like they would detail up just fine by virtue of referring to some good pictures and some old fashioned modelling. Yes, a resin and brass aftermarket seat will be easier, but the basic shape looks right and will be a good basis to work on. The rest of the cockpit, especially if modelled with the canopies closed, will be fine with some added detail from plastic scraps.

The radome is bigger than the end of the fuselage, but will sand down just fine I feel. There is a marked contour change at the point the radome opens, so don't smooth it down too much.

Just some thoughts for now.

Cheers

Tony

[SimonR]

Just pulled a TSR.2 off the stack to start. Can the bare metal section at the rear of the fuselage be added after painting with the empennage in place? Also, does it need a nose weight?

I'm not bowled over by the quality. The guy that did this wouldn't get a job sweeping up in the Hasegawa factory.

[Blue Steel]

A TSR2 is next on my list of model aircraft