English Electric Lightning T.5

[The Wooksta!]

You knew it was coming, didn't you?

A collection of seemingly random bits thrown together with abandon and filled and sanded to within an inch of their lives.

This is yet another of my interminable build threads, but it's being detailed in my "Not a Spitfire" Blog (see here https://www.whatifmodellers.com/index.php?topic=35117.270), so I'm not going to key yet another wall of text.

Basically, it's a P.8 with the front end of an Aeroclub Lightning T4/5 grafted on.  But it's not that simple.  The core of the project is in this photo.



Ignore the middle bits.  What you need to be looking at here are the centre sections with integral printed wings top and bottom.  Alistair couldn't find the original files, so I've had to make do with the later printed back end, so there's a huge chunk to be filled.

The newer rear end is at the lower left in this photo, although I have removed the fin.



The cross sections of the parts didn't quite match, so there was some considerable sanding of the mating surfaces of the grey bits.  The printed wings were too far gone to keep, especially the trailing edges.  They got hacked off and sanded back, but all the other filling and sanding has oblivionised any trace of where they were.

The replacement wings are from a Novo Lightning I paid pennies for in the early 1990s, whilst the fin is a home cast one.  Naturally, it's getting a belly tank and it's already in place.

There's hopefully the last skim of filler over the rebuilt nosegear bay, and once that's sanded off, I can refit the spine and get the fuselage finalised with the fitment of the fin. 

Which just leaves the tricky issue of fitting the wings...

[DogfighterZen]

Some of those kits look like quite a bit of work and i admire the dedication involved just to get exactly what you want. 

[The Wooksta!]

Spine is back on and filled, then sanded back and after somewhat of a struggle cleaning it up, the white metal nose ring is in place.  Hard to clean up as the radar bullet is in place and no file I have is quite thin enough to do the job.

I think I'll get the fin in place, filled and then a coat of primer.  Although scribing in the top engine hatch and the airbrakes first may be a better idea.

[Gondor]

Try sand paper, I found it can get into those awkward places that no file and the like can get, it's also something that we tend to forget because sanding sticks and pads are so useful.

Gondor

[The Wooksta!]

I remembered I had some really thin files, so did manage to get in there, just about.

Haven't bought sandpaper in...well, a very long time.

[The Wooksta!]

Update. This is where it's up to, although I've yet to do much more.  Wings are just pinned in place.  I'll probably give it a shot of primer before the wings go on to tie it all together and show up the flaws.

Vanquish has higher priority though.