Airfix 1/72 Stratos 4 'TSR.2MS' (manga aerospace interceptor)

PR19_Kit · January 28, 2011, 04:30:14 PM

If they'd bit the bullet and moulded the Stratos canopy in clear, they'd have improved the sales prospects to the Whiff community and we'd be up to our neck in TSR2 trainers....

How long before one of the cottage suppliers makes copies of that shape in clear?

Martin H · January 28, 2011, 04:32:59 PM

speak nicely to Jaybee, he did have a master for smash molding TSR-2 canopies that I believe can be used for the trainer.

P1127 · January 31, 2011, 02:16:32 AM

So what do we think is in the bottom left hand side of the extra sprue, the bit that appears to have been cut off?

Thorvic · January 31, 2011, 04:49:19 AM

Quote from: P1127 on January 31, 2011, 02:16:32 AM
So what do we think is in the bottom left hand side of the extra sprue, the bit that appears to have been cut off?

Aye i noticed that Dave, it could be just an emtpy sprue gate or it might be other addon parts for a different model they have included in the mould to save costs perhaps

Rolead · January 31, 2011, 05:59:52 AM

Here is your answer http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=63150&pid=685970&st=0&#entry685970

Robert

TsrJoe · January 31, 2011, 09:31:42 AM

i concur with the chap on Britmodeller that most likely the missing parts are two halves of the larger warhead missile
hmm, me wonders if there will be another release of the model subsequently in Japan ? be worth keeping an eye out for any mouldings that have 'slipped through'

albeback · January 31, 2011, 11:12:52 AM

I reckon I'll give it a miss!!

To be honest, I consider that the Airfix 1/72 TSR-2 was a great disappointment. This is largely due to the poor engineering and appalling fit of the parts. Frankly, both are inexcusable - especially compared to such superb kits as the 1/48th Lightning & late mark Spitfires. I can put up with the general lack of detail - I'm not a superdetailer but,the problem with fit should have been obvious from the test shots!! I suspect there are several reasons why Airfix did nothing to rectify these. I suspect the main reason being that , with the entire prodction run sold in advance, they already had their money & they knew modellers would be eager to get their hands on the kits - warts and all!!

Cynical I know but, I really think Airfix did themselves no favours. I started 2 of the kits I bought but, they gave me so much grief I only completed one! The other languishes in a cupboard. It will never be finished & I might break it up for spare parts.
The other kits got sold on eBay. Good luck to the folk that bought them. I noticed several TSR-2 models on this site. My congratulations to those modellers who persevered

. Moelling should not be a chore. The TSR-2 was just that. I'm no novice - I've been modelling for 4o years but, I honestly believe a poor kit like the TSR-2 could put a lot of people off modelling for good.By contrast, I have built 2 of the 1/48 TSR-2 kits & have a 3rd to build. These were a joy to build!!
I suppose I should be grateful for a TSR-2. I don't imagine anyone else will tackle it. Sorry for sounding negative .

Martin H · January 31, 2011, 01:20:03 PM

your not the first to say that, and I doubt you will be the last.

Airfix did the tooling on the cheap, as their bean counters where convinced that the kit would bomb and bomb badly. Hence why they only did 15,000 on the first run, the original plan was for 10,000 with only 2000 allocated for export, the extra 5000 where added when the export orders went into over drive.

We all know what happened next.

albeback · January 31, 2011, 01:41:15 PM

Hello Martin.

Thank you for your reply. Another fine example of how bean counters who (typically knowing nothing of the subject matter) manage to screw up. I would like to think that both they (and Airfx!) learned a salutary lesson!! At the time I was building the TSR-2, I was also working on the Airfix B-26 Marauder. A kit of 1974 vintage which exhibited a far higher standard of detailing & fit than the TSR-2 produced 30+ years later !!

It's a shame really because the 1/48 TSR-2 is, in my view, a delightful kit. Ok, it's not perfect but, it was a joy to build - just like its smaller brother should have been. Thankfully, Airfix haven't repeated their mistake. I'm certainly looking forward to the Valiant!

DamienB · February 01, 2011, 03:50:08 AM

Quote from: albeback on January 31, 2011, 01:41:15 PM
It's a shame really because the 1/48 TSR-2 is, in my view, a delightful kit. Ok, it's not perfect but, it was a joy to build - just like its smaller brother should have been.

So you prefer a deeply flawed inaccurate kit that fits well to a much more accurately shaped kit that requires some perseverance to put together? An interesting viewpoint - if you try and correct all the problems the 1/48 kit has, you end up putting much more work in that you would to just assemble the pretty accurate 1/72 kit!

PR19_Kit · February 01, 2011, 04:08:09 AM

Hopefully the advent of the Stratos TSR2 will bring to a halt the ridiculous price escalation of the original kits on Ebay.

Compared to a Merlin TSR2 'kit' (the word 'kit' here is used in its widest possible sense....) building the 1/72 Airfix one is a walk in the park!

TsrJoe · February 01, 2011, 05:11:19 AM

'hmmm, who the furball came up with the information for this one ? that forward fuselage is soo obviously wrong !'

... and no the larger scale one wasnt me, i did pass over the drawings for the smaller one tho which Jens and i measured from the Cosford example !

ps. theres a 'small' anomaly on the Barrie Hygate drawings around the intakes which is also noticiable when comparing photographs with the drawing. the line of the upper fuselage may be suspect too but this is probably more subjective?
its stil the best one to date showing detail, panels etc and outline wise matches a BAC. ga. exactly, im assuming this being the source drawing re outlines?

albeback · February 01, 2011, 09:37:06 AM

The simple answer to your reply DamienB is - YES!

Deeply flawed & inaccurate? Well, I know nothing of that. I have never consulted a set of plans in my life & I do not go over a model with a micrometer & ruler. Neither do I spend time, effort & money in correcting alleged faults that nobody but me will know about. I consider all that to be a waste of valuable modelling time. I meant what I said. The 1/72 scale TSR 2 was a midden of a kit. I do not care how "accurate " it allegedly was. The simple truth is that Airfix produced a kit where they couldn't even make the canopies the same width as the fuselage or, the joints of the tail control surfaces match the curvature of the fuselage ( among other things!!)

I usually DO persevere. I admit that there is really nothing about the kit that cannot be put right with a bit of effort but ,that is surely beside the point because, in my view, the effort outweighed the enjoyment. There is only so far I will go. The amount of cutting,filing,filling & sanding involved turned building the wretched thing into a chore and, that is when I decided to call it a day. I am no novice by the way. I've been modelling for 40 + years!

I would also add that there have been very few occasions when I have given up on a kit!
As for describing the 1/48th kit "deeply flawed & inaccurate"? Well, I bow to your obviously superior knowledge of the type. Frankly though, I couldn't care less (no offence meant by the way!). While I know I will upset all the purists out there, there is only one test which I consider that a model needs to pass. Does the 1/48th tsr-2 look like a TSR-2? Of course it does. Ergo - it is accurate ( as far as I am concerned).

Someone else has done the research & I see no need to try and second guess them. I am happy with the way I conduct my approach to modelling. Others may agree or disagree as they think fit. I don't mind either way.

PR19_Kit · February 01, 2011, 09:43:25 AM

Quote from: albeback on February 01, 2011, 09:37:06 AM
Does the 1/48th tsr-2 look like a TSR-2? Of course it does. Ergo - it is accurate ( as far as I am concerned).

That's surely in the eye of the beholder?

That tapered forward fuselage does it for me, I'd never live with it, assuming I'd ever build a 1/48 kit anyway. And that part of the 1/72 kit's 1/48 master was right, for goodness sake!

albeback · February 01, 2011, 10:28:01 AM

Well, as I pointed out earlier, I CAN live with it. I don't really see the problem. In any case, I wouldn't have known about the alleged inaccuracy if you hadn't mentioned it. Now that you have, it still doesn't matter to me.Why should it? It's only a model for God's sake!!

Like I said. I don't do research or checking drawings or, comparing photos with plans. Someone else has done that for me already. On that basis, I'm quite happy to accept the bits in the box as they are. I'm not wasting valuable modelling time by faffing about "correcting" this, that & the next thing when nobody but me will know about it.!!

Pointless!

Modelling is supposed to be fun!!