I just received an Airfix Buccaneer kit. All the colour photos I have seen of these aircraft show it as being a dark blue colour, however the instructions call for it to be overall Extra Dark Sea Grey, which is a bluish-grey. What colour was the Buccaneer S2D?
The extra dark sea grey is correct. It does look blue in some light conditions.
This is a notoriously difficult kit to build, I suggest you glue the tipof the nose one day and move back at around an inch a day and it will go together without distortion.
i did a old 1/72 kit by matchbox , I painted it in dark sea grey(humbrol 164) and dark green (humbrol 163 ) camo
yeah, I’ve heard that Airfix kits can be be pretty nasty to assemble. That’s why I’ve tried to stay away from them. Unfortunatly they are the only company that put out a 1/48 Buccaneer.
Here in Vero Beach the munincipal airport used to be NAS Vero Beach and was used for aircraft carrier landing training. Amoung the aircraft used where Buccaneers. The modeling club I belong to has been able to do every aircraft except the Buccaneer.
SO! I’d appreciate any tips anyone can give me on the pit falls of putting this beast together.
Thanks
try this links
http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/portland/971/Reviews/60s/bucc_48.htm
http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/buccaneer/index.html
http://s96920072.onlinehome.us/Fea1/801-900/Fea890_Buccaneer_Taylor/fea890.htm
oh and heres a cockpit set for it as well !!!
http://www.neomega-resin.com/buccanee.htm
I’ve built a couple of them, so here’s a few tips;
The control column grip is huge, bin it & make your own.
Treat the two fuselage halves as a vacform. Glue small tabs of plastic card to the inside edge of the bottom half to act as locators for the top half.
You’ll still need a fair amount of filler to lose the joint line, so chamfer it a little before you build, this will give the filler somewhere to sit & help to lose the joint.
Give the whole model a good rub down before you build. The plastic has a ‘grainy’ texture which will show through the paint, it should be smooth.
I seem to remember needing to rub down the U/C legs to lose a joint line?
The rear end & U/C on Buccs got pretty dirty, if you weather the model.
Lose the joint line on the exhaust ‘nibs’ try cutting out a piece of thin plastic card to cover the whole nib, it’s a difficult place to fill.
I think the ‘T’ tail joint was weak, drill & insert wire for strength.
The fixed external tanks don’t fit too well, filler is needed.
Let the main U/C legs dry well before you stand the model on them, the sockets aren’t deep enough.
Build the airbrakes closed, use lots of filler!
Generously weight the nose, some old nuts & bolts, there’s room!
There’s more, but it’s been a while. meantime, it’s a challenging kit but looks good when done. i think Airfix got it moulded cheaply in Eastern Europe, along with a couple of others (Jaguar etc) & it shows. But, as I say, worth the effort, and it is the only one going.
good Luck
Pete
Sadly, no, they were all moulded at the Heller factory in Trun, in Northern France,as was the 1/48 Hawk, and the 1/72 Higgins Boat, Deuce-and-a-half, and Jeep. The 1/600 Queen Mary 2 and 1/72 Concorde are also made in Trun, but seem to be made from better tools.
The only recent Airfix kits which were not moulded in France were the 1/48 late Spitfires/ Seafires, and the 1/48 BAC Lightnings, both of which were made in Korea, and the 1/8 (ish) England footballers (soccer players) and 1/72 Seacobra and Apache, all of which were made in China, the latter two by Zhengdefu.[V]
Chris
thanks to everyone who replied to my plea for help on this beastie, especially to seanrgb4 and albertsponson, thanks guys
uhh bdanie6,
I hate to break the news but you are building the wrong Buccaner. Your building the British Jet and what flew from NAS Vero Beach was the Brewster SB2A Buccaneer, a WW2 dive bomber, which lost out to the SB2C to replace the SBD Dauntless. The only kits in 1/72 off that beastie are a VacForm, long oop, from Rareplanes and a Resin ($$$) kit from RVHP. Sorry to be the one to break the news. Let me know if you need more info, I have the former kit and have been collecting some pics.
Gary