Pete's Vampire T11

[stillp]

I haven't done any modelling since I scrapped that Patton tank - lost a bit of mojo, and got distracted by a new (to me) car as well as getting the gearbox and overdrive rebuilt in my Triumph. Had a clear out of completed models too, which made a tiny dent in the cost of the cars.
Anyway, it's time I got back to some plastic, and this looks a suitable contender:

As you can see it's another of my charity shop bargains - the box is a little tatty but the sprues were still in the sealed bag. Not bad for £3.99.
Fairly recent (2012) Airfix, so I expect the fit to be reasonable. The 3 grey and 1 clear sprues look good, with crisp recessed detail, but a bit of misalignment on some of the parts.
This being a trainer, Airfix giver you two pilots, but as usual they're identical. Never mind, I'll probably leave them out anyway.
Two schemes and a rather nice decal sheet:

I'll probably do the WZ507 scheme to save me buying some fluorescent orange paint!
More tomorrow I hope.
Pete

 

[JR]

Can't grumble at that price Pete.
Front seat please .

 

[papa 695]

Nice one Pete just pulled up a chair, I do hope it gets your Mojo flowing again.

 

[Mickc1440]

Your charity shops are way better than hours, hundreds of jigsaws

 

[stillp]

This one was classed as a jigsaw Mick! See the price sticker.
Pete

 

[Jakko]

Well, isn’t it a bit like that?

A few years ago, my mother (who used to have a junk shop until a few months ago) had gotten a jigsaw puzzle in. The problem with selling those second-hand is, of course, whether they’re complete, so she tried to make it, but it seemed to be in the wrong box too because nothing seemed to match the picture. After I took a good look at it, it suddenly dawned on me why you couldn’t make it per the picture on the box:



Pola being, of course, a brand of model railway scenery …

 

[flyjoe180]

It's a fantastic kit Pete, nice find

 

[Tim Marlow]

Have fun with the new 3D jigsaw Pete

 

[stillp]

Plodding on with the identical twins and the cockpit:

A couple more bits to add. I nearly forgot this one:

Not very big is it. Full marks to Airfix for providing it instead of relying on the modeller buying etch.

Pete

 

[adt70hk]

Cool!!

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Looking good Pete

 

[papa 695]

Moving along nicely.

 

[stillp]

The twins are now in their office:

That tiny trim wheel is of course totally invisible! I had to carve a bit off the crew's legs to get the dashboard in, but apart from that everything fitted perfectly.
The instructions specify 7 grams of nose weight. Just forward of the IP and the crew's feet is a bulkhead that seals off the nose, creating a perfect cavity for filling with steel shot. The nose gear bay is in a separate panel that will seal that cavity, so I've filled it with steel shot and PVA.
The steel shot came from a craft supplier - it's intended for filling the legs of decorative teddy bears, and is a lot cheaper than Liquid Gravity - IIRC it was about £5 for a kilogram. I wonder if that's the stuff used to fill those cuddly-looking door stops. If I see one going cheap at a boot sale I might cut it open to see.
I'll let the PVA dry overnight.
Pete

 

[flyjoe180]

Good progress Pete. It's a fantastic little kit.

 

[stillp]

I can see the pilots' seats and heads getting damaged, so I think I'm going to ignore the instructions and fit the canopy next before I do any more assembly. The clear parts will need masking sooner or later, so I might as well do it now:

The frames are moulded crisply enough to be easy to follow with a scalpel. The top pert is rather curvy so I used two strips of tape each side, with a blob of masking fluid over the join. I was hoping to get some more done today but SWMBO had other ideas!
Pete

 

[Waspie]

Nice find at a nice price. Last I saw a Vampire was Arbroath late 60's. Yours is looking good.

 

[Scratchbuilder]

Pete,
Coming along very well indeed, nice to see the older UK jets getting into the act... And yes, I have some under my bench ready to be built, but let me get the big jobs out of the way first...
Mike.

 

[Lee Drennen]

Pete I’m in nice start I would like to build one of these some day

 

[Allen Dewire]

Mr. Late as usual here, Pete. A bit too small for my peepers, but you're doing a great job so far Sir!!! Don't know much about jet wing thingy's, but the idea of the crew sitting side by side is a good one to me. A lot easier to share a sandwich or a cuppa while underway. But hey, what do I know, I'm living in 1918 right now...

Prost
Allen

 

[adt70hk]

Looking very good indeed Pete!