BAC TSR2 XR219 (pics restored to thread Mar 7)

[dwomby]

I am reposting at the request of the moderators:

BAC TSR2 XR219.   











She's built from the Merlin kit and has Airfix decals provided by my great friend Cammnut.  In hindsight, I think I should have used a lighter shade for the area of the blown flaps on the upper wings but, on the whole, I am pretty happy with how she turned out.

This is what she started as.



This is what she looked like at a few stages in building.  Apart from the abysmal fit, I was missing a major part of the fuselage. I must have used half a pound of filler on her.









Thanks for looking. 

David

[TheChronicOne]

Turned out great, bud!!   

[The Wooksta!]

Fantastic job on probably one of the worst model kits ever. 

That'd the third one I've seen built in about 30 years.

[PR19_Kit]

What The Wooksta said! 

That's an ASTONISHING result from a real dog of a kit! I've got one too, but there's NO way I'd ever think about building it nowadays.

RESPECT! 

[AeroplaneDriver]

Absolutely gorgeous! 

[Tophe]

Here's my rendition of the great lost opportunity: BAC TSR2 XR219.   This is the only TSR2 that ever flew.

This is a beautiful model you have made. If the source was imperfect, you deserve a double dose of clapping hands.

[PR19_Kit]

If the source was imperfect, you deserve a double dose of clapping hands.

Imperfect?

That's the most generous description of a Merlin kit I've ever read! 

[PR19_Kit]

That wonderful job you made of the 'kit' will always serve to remind us that a Merlin 'kit' CAN be made into a superb model!

[AeroplaneDriver]

A great build of a true missed opportunity for the UK both in terms of defence and industry.  And plenty of us post pics of real world aircraft builds.  This one being whiffier than most.   

[Scotaidh]

I'm not familiar with the kit manufacturer, but by all accounts you turned a sow's ear into a silk purse.  I really like the TSR.2, and your rendition looked great. 

[TheChronicOne]

She flies again!!!! 

[kitnut617]

You've done a very credible job on that kit David, wasn't the Merlin kit the only injection kit of the TSR2 at the time ? I know about the vacuforms and resin kits.

[dwomby]

You've done a very credible job on that kit David, wasn't the Merlin kit the only injection kit of the TSR2 at the time ? I know about the vacuforms and resin kits.

Thanks.  Yes, I am sure you are right and this was the only injected kit of the TSR2 until Airfix released theirs.   

If you think about it, this was a very bold subject for Merlin to try with the technology they had available back then.  I think all their other models are smaller aircraft.  I have built their Meteor and Swift and I still have the Vampire T11 in the stash along with a second TSR2.  This kit actually seems pretty accurate and has some nice recessed detail but the fit is terrible due to warpage of the various major parts.  It comes packed in a tiny box (about the size of the old Airfix Series 2 boxes).

I bought two of them at a shop outside San Francisco in the late 1990s.  They must have had over a dozen of them on the shelf - all very dusty!!!!

David

[Gondor]

That's a great result from one hell of a model

Gondor

[NARSES2]

I've heard so many stories about this kit, but have never seen a built example before. All I can say is that it looks absolutely stunning.

Fantastic work