VAMPIREDIARIES
SAM Assistant Editor, Karl Robinson, takes a look at the Airfix Vampire T.11 twin boomed trainer.
De Havilland Vampire T.11
Availability: Airfix stockists worldwide via
www.airfix.com
Stock Code: A02058 Scale: 1:72 Price: £7.99
Paints Used: Gunze Sangyo Aqueous Hobby Color: H11 Flat White H12 Flat Black Alclad II Lacquers: ALC-106 White Aluminium Games Workshop Citadel Colour: Blazing Orange
Weathering Agents: MIG Productions Neutral Wash
F
or many years modellers had to struggle if they wanted to build a
twin seat Vampire. Had you wanted to build a trainer in this scale previously you would have had to drag an old Frog/Novo kit out of retirement from a dusty corner somewhere and attempt to drag it up to date with a lot of blood, sweat and tears. Alternatively, should your pockets be deeper, investment in a highly detailed full resin option would have been the only other option. This dilemma was put to bed though when a rejuvenated Airfix stepped up and produced a new tooling of this classic British jet.
Cracking the box open you
will find a well moulded kit that has very good levels of detail. Surface details are recessed in what has become a now typical style for Airfix, which love it or loath it,
seems to be more than acceptable to all but the most pernickety of modellers. Markings are offered for two aircraft, one a current preserved flying example in overall silver with yellow fuselage and wing flashes, and a second from the 1950’s in the standard but striking overall silver with dayglo-orange panels.
Running through the stages
of construction we find that the cockpit, despite its small size, has enough detail to look busy. A pair of seats are provided which are close enough in shape to the real thing, but, as with most kits, lack any seat belt detail. Instruments are
replicated using a single decal and
some very finely moulded control
columns are also included. The latter are so delicate that it is difficult to remove them safely from the sprue, so I would suggest using a fine razor saw and patience. Full intake ducting and an engine fan is also provided even though the intakes are so small and seeing in there is difficult.
It is obvious that a bit of
thought has gone into this kit as Airfix have tried a different method of dealing with the connection of the tail booms. The parts are moulded so that the connection is set well into the wing and is sandwiched between the wing halves. This makes for a tight and secure fitting, as well as making sure the booms are pretty much
straight and true. I will say that you must follow the instructions to the
letter, even if it does not look the way you would usually build things. Deviation will only lead to issues in construction, as I found out with the main undercarriage. If you stick to the plan you should have an event free build without any surprises.
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