DONE +++ English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", RAF 65 Sq., Coningsby 1983 (pics@p. 4)

Dizzyfugu · February 18, 2016, 09:32:57 AM

More progress concerning the smaller things, including the canopy, the gun ports with cannons made from hollow steel needles, antennae etc.

Closing in on the painting phase!

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

su27rules · February 18, 2016, 11:30:02 AM

Looking so natural!!

Dizzyfugu · February 19, 2016, 09:41:15 AM

Building process finished, now for some paint to conceal the bodywork mess.

A beauty, eh?

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Painting started. First, the leading edges' undersides were painted Dark Sea Grey and then masked...

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

...for Light Aircraft Grey added under the wing surfaces.

Yes, this is going to be a late Lightning style low-viz RAF scheme (with many thanks for the information and input from here: http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,41850.0.html).

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Captain Canada · February 19, 2016, 11:22:23 AM

Defo going to have to do a double take on this one !

DogfighterZen · February 19, 2016, 12:43:10 PM

Gorgeous! And great job on the guns!

Dizzyfugu · February 20, 2016, 12:25:43 AM

Thank you! More painting process:

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

At this point, a color issue arose: while things to not look fishy, the Medium Sea Grey on the lower fuselage turned out rather dark and blue-ish, almost like PRU Blue! $:-\$ I think the Humbrol enamel paint was just too old? While that opened the interesting option for a South African aircraft, I decided to re-paint the area with the same paint from a fresh tin, and this looks much better and more RAF-like:

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

I hope the difference is recognizable?

Besides, I am amazed how smooth the fuselage ended up - there's hardly anything visible that reveals the messy structure under the paint...

zenrat · February 20, 2016, 01:20:21 AM

This is definitely going to be a "look twice" build.

Gondor · February 20, 2016, 02:29:56 AM

Really coming together. LTF markings perhaps?

Gondor

Dizzyfugu · February 20, 2016, 03:22:50 AM

Probably RAF 65 Squadron. Waiting for decals, hope they arrive in time, but there's still a lot to do concerning the painting.

Actually, this turns out as major act of masochism - it's a really subtle whif, and it looks so simple. "Oh, a single engine Lightning, so what?". Once the paint is on, it's almost impossible to tell how messy the way until here has been...

Gondor · February 20, 2016, 03:56:16 AM

If you display at shows perhaps a set of in progress pictures should accompany the model so people can appreciate the work that has gone into the build?

Gondor

The Wooksta! · February 20, 2016, 09:29:42 AM

Personally, I'd go with the markings of the Lightning Training Flight.

Dizzyfugu · February 21, 2016, 01:04:05 AM

After basic painting has been finished, a light black ink wash emphasizes the (raised) panel lines.
Since a lot of them got lost on the wings and the fuselage once had engraved lines (now all hidden under putty...), I will simply simulate them with a soft pencil, extending what's left.

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

For effect painting (Panel shading) I use slightly brighter colors (lower row) on top of the basic tones (upper row), applied with a soft, flat brush.

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

kitbasher · February 21, 2016, 02:23:01 AM

Looking good, Dizzy. And the LTF would be a good idea, something slightly different from the usual 74 Sqn, etc.

5 or 11 Sqns would also be good choices as they were the last Lightning units and so fit the colour scheme.

If I was going to have a 'non-authentic' squadron (if you get my drift) I'd go for 111 Sqn. They moved on to Phantoms but some Phantom markings for that unit (the smaller lightning flash) would I think look smart.

Dizzyfugu · February 21, 2016, 08:18:28 AM

Thanks for the suggestions, but this will become a 65 Squadron aircraft, before the unit "converted" to Tornado ADVs. Before that it was dormant, AFAIK, and until 1970 an AA missile unit. So there's a perfect gap in the 70ies and a logical succession. It's whifworld, after all, and I would not cling too much to the Lightning units. They operated the Lightnings, so I'd rather put the Levin "elsewehre.

Besides, progress from the painting department: fake panel lines all over first...

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

...followed by counter-shading with the lighter, aforementioned tones:

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

The effect is subtle, but enough to fill the blank fuselage with some life.

At this point, though, we got that certain message from Apollo 13... the main landing gear struts are too short!

Never expected THIS problem, but somehow the wings seems to sit a tad higher on the Levin than on the Lightning!? When I mounted the OOB struts I had a dedicated tail-sitter, almost like a Skyhawk. What to do?

I tried shortening the front wheel first, but this ended up in a wacky low rider. So back to the original ground clearance, and despite the shallow wells I went for consoles/spacers at the attachment points. These add around 2mm - not much, but enough to get the tail high enough for s decent stance. Good that I added enough lead to the front fuselage, now this pays out!
Another odd occurrence is that the tail turned out to be relatively long. The fuselage is not much longer (maybe 0.5"), but the new tailpipe protrudes considerably, so that the wheelbase appears a bit short. Wacky, but I'll leave it this way.

Here you can see the consoles added to the main landing gear, for dramatic effect I also added a hydraulic hose (thin wire):

1:72 English Electric P.6/1 "Levin", a.k.a. the Mono-Lightning (WiP) by dizzyfugu, on Flickr

kitnut617 · February 21, 2016, 08:34:49 AM

Lovely bit of kit-bashing Dizzy