1/72 EE Lightning HF.2A

[The Big Gimper]

Folks:

Given all the chatter about the VG wings from Freightdog and Weaver's comment about new wings,  I thought I would come out of the closet.

This one has been slowly evolving. The reason d'etre for the HF.2A is to intercept the Beriev S-13. We know the Lightning could zoom-climb to 60,000+ feet but it was a ballistic trajectory.

So what-if we added the appropriate wings to allow a stately cruise at altitude?







Wings are from the Revell 1/100 Carvelle. I had to remove the fuselage ridges to get a flush fit.

Question for the experts: My vertical stabilizer is warped. I need to straighten it out About 2-3mm. I heard boiling water will fix this but my efforts with this have been less that stellar. What is the technique to NOT melt the plastic which is what I end up doing

[PR19_Kit]

DON'T use boiling water! As you've discovered, that way lies disaster.

Warm water does the job, and if the temperature is OK you can try bending the part with your hands in the water without scalding yourself.

As for the model, it's the BUSINESS! I can't wait to see how it comes out, right up my street. 

[The Big Gimper]

Thanks Kit.

Now comes the question of landing gear placement. We have had discussions on this issue before.

The Caravelle gear is pretty much the same distance away from the fuselage as the regular gear.

I thinking of throw away pogos and reinforced skids like the U-2.

[PR19_Kit]

Sounds good to me, but the while the Lightning will have enough room for the single main gear leg at the front end of the belly tank, or in the missile/gun bay, the tailwheel may be difficult to position. Maybe where the hook goes at the rear of the tank, if you're using the tank of course?

[Captain Canada]

That is wicked ! Love the look of it.

For a tailwheel you could use the Airfi GR.7/9 Harrier 'in flight' option wing wheel. That would work.

[The Big Gimper]

I just came back from my 10 KM walk. It includes a 3 KM portion along an abandoned railway line. It is here where I clear my mind by counting every railway tie. 

How about swapping the main gear (port to starboard and starboard to port) so it retracts inward so I now have a wider wheel base. I have much thicker wing to work with so I can use thicker wheels.

@Kit: I 'm going to keep the ventral tank and add 450 Gal or larger drop tanks. The bigger/thicker wing will increase fuel consumption.

And Colin if you are reading this, thanks for building the conversion kits. In harmony withe new Airfix kits, you have taken the Lightning from obscurity (fighter only) to whole new world of potential. I have 8 kits/ideas where each one will be unique.

Keep those conversions coming.

[kitnut617]

Carl, great project ---

as for the u/c, A-7 or F-16 (maybe 1/48) and modify the belly tank to accept them, then extend the belly tank forward as in the real world projects

[PR19_Kit]

A 1/72 scale F-16 main gear would be pretty puny for a Lightning, specially for one with massive wings. I used one for my Hawker P.1086, the one based on a Snark, and I almost rejected it as it was so small.

[kitnut617]

Might be better with the Grumman Viking gear then ---

[Librarian]

DON'T use boiling water! As you've discovered, that way lies disaster.

Warm water does the job, and if the temperature is OK you can try bending the part with your hands in the water without scalding yourself.

As for the model, it's the BUSINESS! I can't wait to see how it comes out, right up my street. 

Complete agreement. I tend to use hotish warm water, fix the warp to my liking, 'splint' it, then stick it in the freezer to shock the molecules. I've found this stops the part rewarping over time (doesn't always happen but worth doing).

[zenrat]

DON'T use boiling water! As you've discovered, that way lies disaster.

Warm water does the job, and if the temperature is OK you can try bending the part with your hands in the water without scalding yourself.

As for the model, it's the BUSINESS! I can't wait to see how it comes out, right up my street. 

Complete agreement. I tend to use hotish warm water, fix the warp to my liking, 'splint' it, then stick it in the freezer to shock the molecules. I've found this stops the part rewarping over time (doesn't always happen but worth doing).

When bending rod for exhausts or roll cages I jam an old kettle into the op position and use steam to heat the plastic.  This might also work for removing warps.

[The Big Gimper]

Thanks all for the "no boiling water tip".

@PR19_Kit and @kitnut617, I have some S-3 donor kits and the MK.1 eyeball tells me that the S-3 wheel wells could be removed intact from the S-3 and installed/replace part of the ventral fuel tank. I would then make the original main gear outriggers using smaller wheels. Need to think about this some more .....

[PR19_Kit]

You have S-3 kits in the PLURAL? 

[The Big Gimper]

You have S-3 kits in the PLURAL? 

Yup. I needed 4 TF-34 engines for another build so I have two engineless S-3s.

[KiwiZac]

Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.