BAC TSR.2 (Airfix)
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35 8 January 2018, 14:52
Bill GilmanHi mates, it's time to start another project. The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC - a Government desired merger of English Electric, Vickers, Bristol Aeroplane, and Hunting) TSR.2 has always fascinated me, and I started collecting the aftermarket parts before I even had the kit. I opted for the later Stratos 4 version of the kit since it was more readily available and it has a much better decal sheet. And all the parts are there to build the original TSR.2, and I can save the lady jockeys for some future project.
Technically, the TSR.2 was the Supermarine Type 571 (Vickers having absorbed Supermarine a few years earlier) but in reality it mostly resembled the English Electric P.17 design. As it turned out, this marvelous aircraft only made a handful of test flight before the project was cancelled. Mythology aside, the project was terminated because of cost and the change in defence policy when the UK removed the "East of Suez" requirements. I hope I can due justice to Britain's lost bomber (or Britain's lost Cold War strike aircraft depending on which book you read).
The Airfix kit is not bad at all, but could use some extra details here and there. I've started fitting the internal resin pieces and will be moving on to detailing the cockpit next. Welcome aboard to those who like big white pointy things!
8 January 2018, 15:30
Derek HuggettWhenever I get to visit Duxford or Cosford, I just want to go up to the last airframes and give them a big hug! 🙂 The best of British that never was! Do it proud Bill!
9 January 2018, 00:15
Dave FlittonGlad to see you started this, mine is on hold, good luck, but you never needed that
9 January 2018, 04:04
Bill GilmanSome work done on the cockpit. I used an alloy finish on the ejection seat structure (Alclad Dull Aluminum), with black cushions and a dark grey headrest. Harnesses are from the Eduard set, as those in the CMK set are the wrong colour (tan), and look suspiciously like WWII surplus.
The instrument panels were fun. I used the CMK resin, but remember that the CMK photoetch (made by Eduard) was pre-painted in the wrong colour. The Airfix decals, however, are in the right colour. So I added the photoetch to the resin and then applied the Airfix decals over the top, with a lot of solvent to make them snuggle down over the etch. Here's the deal, though - I had to cut the Airfix decals into individual sections and add them one at a time, matching instruments up the best I could. The pilot's panel has eight separate decals, whilst I lost count on the navigator's.
The cockpit tub, seats, and instrument panels all had a wash applied made from Tamiya dark grey, Future, water, and a drop of some magic ingredient that escapes me presently. I like this wash, you can use it over matt paint and you don't have to wipe off any residue after it's dry. All the paint molecules seem to line up along the edges, and the clear Future gives a nice gloss layer over everything else - ready for any decals you want to apply. For instance, the decals for the side consoles (also several individual pieces each). Whoever thought this up was brilliant - oh yeah, that Barracuda guy. Nice man. A flat varnish was applied when I got tired of working on it.
Next I need to look at the destructions to make sure I don't do something out of sequence that I'll regret later on. Some new pictures have been posted. Cheers for now, Bill
10 January 2018, 23:42
SpanjaardCockpit will be awesome. tons of work with all the resin, but it will be a very nice model at the end.
10 January 2018, 23:47
Bill GilmanWell, the CMK intakes will need a bit of work to properly conform to the fuselage. Ah, the joys of resin!
11 January 2018, 16:14
CuajeteThese air intakes have to look well once fit, like the rest of resins. Good job, Bill.
11 January 2018, 18:11
Bill GilmanThanks everyone. I've done a small amount of additional work on the BWPT (Big White Pointy Thing). I had to modify the intake cones so they would contact the fuselage side, and this was easily done with some sheet styrene. The intakes were puttied and blended into the fuselage, but there will be some more work to be done here once the top fuselage section is added. Some very strange engineering by Airfix in this area, which is compounded by the resin intakes being very slightly undersized (shrinkage?) but it will all work out OK.
I also spent some time getting the airbrake wells added to the top rear fuselage section - the resin parts from CMK are much nicer than what comes in the kit. The TSR.2 had an unusual system for deploying the four airbrakes where all were connected to a single central screwjack. CMK provide not only the hydraulic actuator that opens/closes the petal, but also the shaft that connects the actuator to the central drive. Nice work!
I removed all of the exhaust pieces from the pour blocks, and I will use these along with photoetch flame holders from the Eduard set. Eduard also have this roll-up photoetch afterburner nozzle, but it would be almost completely hidden inside the exhaust shroud, so why bother? I'll just use the resin.
I started painting the wheel wells, since it will be much easier to do this now before the fuselage is closed up. Photos show that XR220 had light grey wheel wells, so I used Gunze H332 Light Aircraft Grey. Equipment used on the aircraft solely for flight test purposes (sensors/recorders, etc.) were painted orange, and some components in the main gear bay got this treatment using Gunze H14 Orange.
The wells for the lower airbrakes require more significant modification to the lower fuselage, so I'm avoiding that at present! Enjoy the few new photos that I posted. Cheers, Bill
15 January 2018, 14:39
Bill GilmanA little more progress - at least the fuselage is closed up now. Airfix moulded the vents above the intakes but they needed to be drilled out. The nose gear bay was added along with the cockpit. Test fitting the navigator's instrument panel showed that it protruded too much into the cockpit, so I fixed that. Now it looks much better.
After gluing the fuselage halves together, I reinforced the top seam underneath with pieces of sheet styrene. For some reason, I just didn't trust that seam by itself! The rear fuselage will need some spreaders, too, to set the sides at the correct width. The main landing gear wells (that big hunk of resin) slip into the closed fuselage easily, but final positioning and gluing will probably wait until the bottom section is added. It looks like it might be tricky.
Before the wings go on, I have to cut out the flaps which is next on the agenda. Cheers, Bill
18 January 2018, 18:27
Bill GilmanI just finished up some wing surgery to make way for the new resin flaps. I've documented the necessary cuts with some more photos. I'll say one thing - this kit had a lot of negative comments concerning fit, etc. when it first came out. But I've found the only real modifications or fixes that I've had to do (so far) have been to accommodate the CMK resin parts. The kit itself, although it has some odd engineering, has been OK.
@playtime 222 - The red filler is an automotive glazing putty called NitroStan made by Standard Coatings Company. It's been around forever. I found it way back in the 60s when I worked part time in an auto body repair shop. A one kilogram tube costs about $20 here in the USA, and will literally last a lifetime of making models (unless they're really bad kits!). I like it because it dries fast, sands easy, and feathers to a beautiful edge. I've never had any kind of paint affect it in any way. Only downside is that it can shrink a bit, so two applications are sometimes necessary.
19 January 2018, 03:00
Mark MedwellHey Bill, Was thinking of getting the CMR intakes and tail pipe. Do you think they are worth it? Provide much of a lift over the kit parts? I have the other CMR kits (and pavla cockpit)?
20 January 2018, 04:11
Erik LeijdensVery interesting project Bill. A month or 2 ago I visited the RAF museum at Cosford UK and looked at this aircraft closely. Amazing aircraft indeed!
20 January 2018, 10:27
Bill GilmanThanks, mates! I took the three pieces for the top of the fuselage (the wing, top of the intakes, and top of the rear fuselage) and joined them together. Airfix have you do this by putting each piece onto the main fuselage individually, but I wanted to make sure that the seams between these three pieces were carefully aligned, and wouldn't leave any steps as has been reported elsewhere. After all, any bad seams here are going to be very visible on the model. By doing it this way, the seams look great, and shouldn't need any filler. The seams are on natural panel lines. Once I did this, I was a bit worried that it might give me trouble attaching it to the fuselage, but it fits great! This is definitely the way to build this part of the model, don't pay any attention to the instructions! 🙂
You can see in the new photos how the resin pieces on the bottom of the wing make a nice pocket for the resin flaps to fit into.
@Mark Medwell - the tail pipes are quite nice, and fit well. Definite improvement over the kit parts. The intakes, at least my samples, were slightly undersize, so there is a bit of fettling with filler required. However, if you want the auxiliary doors open on the side of the intakes, which is the way the aircraft almost always was on the ground, then I would get them. The small auxiliary doors that are part of the CMK set are very detailed - you can see the ribs inside at the edges.
@Erik Leijdens - You lucky guy! I envy you. I'm coming over to the UK in April, but I don't know if I'll have a chance to see either one of the TSR2 aircraft. Maybe!
20 January 2018, 13:21
Bill GilmanI added a few new photos - I've added the resin parts for the lower airbrakes, and I started taking a look at the main landing gear splay angle. When these kits were first released, the angle that the main gear legs "splayed" out was a big topic of discussion. It looks like I can get close to the correct angle with careful gluing - probably good enough for me. Despite all of my builds, I'm not really a rivet counter. No, really, I'm not. 🙂
21 January 2018, 21:13
Bill GilmanI took a week off and went to Florida, but now I'm back. I've done some more work on the TSR.2 and posted some new pictures. Finally the fuselage is closed, and we move towards painting. Closing up the fuselage was much easier than expected thanks to the spreaders and shims that I added. Without those I think it would have been quite difficult to get everything aligned and not have any seams pop open.
4 February 2018, 18:52
Bill GilmanLots of work recently. Finally the TSR.2 "Bird of Prey" is painted and the stickers are being applied. I spent quite a bit of time fixing and smoothing the wing seams, and then re-scribing that entire area. This is one part of this kit that everyone seems to have difficulties with. I guess I'm happy with where it is now, but there is still a lot of work to do before this project is finished. I've posted many new photos to show the progress. Cheers, Bill
21 February 2018, 14:58
Michael StewartExcellent job Bill, this is definitely one of the best 1:72 representations I have seen for this A/C. Certainly are doing it justice!!! Looking forward to seeing it cross the finish line! Cheers!
21 February 2018, 16:27
Łukasz GlińskiGrand job Bill, I admire your patience to fight the seams and those decal lines 👍
21 February 2018, 20:43
Derek HuggettThe thought of finishing all that white scares the bejeezus out of me!. The very light grey shading/panel line works makes it look terrific though, and the anti-flash markings look spot on! This is turning out to be another real beauty Bill! 👍
22 February 2018, 07:45
Bill GilmanThanks mates. The old gal has her shoes now, please have a look at the new photos. The landing gear was a bit of a challenge to get everything straight, and have all the flat spots on the tyres contact the ground evenly. Very strange design. The TSR.2 had a very obvious group of hydraulic lines that ran down each main gear strut, around the torque links and into the brakes. I tried to replicate this with the smallest solder I had and although it's not perfect, it ain't too bad. I started painting the details in the avionics bay (lots of switches!) and next I'll move on to the control surfaces (vertical fin, tailplanes, flaps, elevators, etc.) These have all been primed and are waiting for their coat of white. Cheers, Bill
23 February 2018, 02:13
Mike DanielsLooking great. I wish you could still get your hands on this kit. Time for a re-release Airfix?
23 February 2018, 09:52
Bill GilmanHi mates, it's time for an update. Most of the gear doors are on, and I've added the extra linkage (known as the Aylesbury Tie) to the main landing gear. This was added during the flight test programme to reduce the lateral oscillations in the main gear when landing. The lower airbrakes and their actuators have been added, along with the wing flaps and the horizontal tailplanes/elevators. I also attached the small auxiliary intake doors (two per side). Some additional detail painting was done on the avionics bay. Things are looking pretty good! I need to do an overall varnish, preferably semi-gloss, add the canopies (which are ready to go) and the upper airbrakes and vertical fin. Oh, yeah, I've got the Master pitot tube. And a few antennae and other sensors and she'll be ready to go! Enjoy the new pictures. Cheers, Bill
1 March 2018, 15:54
Derek HuggettBecoming more fantastic with each update - blinkin' brilliant Bill! 👍 (Photo 97 - I think there might be a popped circuit breaker in the avionics bay? - Joke, honest! 🙂 )
2 March 2018, 15:47
Christian RistitsVery nice Bill, I like those low vis schemes of the Royal Air Force!
2 March 2018, 15:49
Bill GilmanHi mates - the TSR.2 is finished. I'm not real happy with the photos, but I never said I was a photographer! I hope you like them. Cheers, Bill
5 March 2018, 20:33
Hanno KleineckeWhat a beautiful bird that was ! You've really done it more than justice Bill, Simply excellent modelmaking 👍 👍
5 March 2018, 22:22
DutchBill, Just fantastic! Utterly beautiful! Truly sad that, along with the AVRO Canada CF-105 Arrow, it was cancelled. You have done a remarkable job, and in such a short time. You have my respect, sir! R/ Dutch
5 March 2018, 23:15
Bart GoesaertVery nice work, and idd, white models are difficult to photograph... let alone make them lively and interesting, but you've succeeded... very nice model, and a real pleasure to follow
6 March 2018, 07:42
Łukasz GlińskiYou might not be a photographer, but a Modeller (capital M intentional) for sure. It looks awesome on the pic 107 👍
6 March 2018, 08:53
Mike FleckensteinPretty well along on this kit myself Bill. Used the same CMK sets as you. Cockpit and equipment bay are done and especially nice. Wheel wells & bomb bay are next. Too bad CMK didn't do a bomb pay package to stick in there as it looks at Cosford. Would seem to be easy. Thanks for this great build. It has been my guide so far through the project
3 May 2023, 15:57
Bill GilmanThanks Mike. I'm glad that my build has been of some help to you. It wasn't the easiest kit to build but I like how she came out. I'm doing another white bomber now - the Airfix kit of the Handley Page Victor. One of my favourite aircraft. Cheers, Bill
3 May 2023, 16:36
Mike FleckensteinWell, after a long haul my TSR is finally finished. Very pleased with the result. I just wish it was easier to handle. It seems everywhere you try to grab it there's something delicate sticking out!
See a photo at this link: [img1]?dl=0&rlkey=14rjyyxybxw3r4zrzubsa6qv7
29 June 2023, 16:09
Album info
With a little help from a pile of resin...
