FOR AIRCRAFT MODELLERS

fSSN 0263 4899

Vol. 8 No. 4
MAY 7991
£2.95
 SKYBIRDS '86 SUPERMARINE SCIMITAR
Supermarine Scimitar c a n lay claim to a number of notable
'firsts' and at least one significant 'last'. The first swept wing single seat
fighter produced for the Fleet A i r Arm; the first to be capable of
supersonic flight and the first equipped to carry an atomic bomb. It
was the last aircraft designed and manufactured by the Supermarine
division of Vickers Armstrong (Aircraft).
Developed through a number of earlier designs, including the
butterfly tailed Type 508 and the Type 525 the definitive Scimitar
prototype, Type 544, first flew in early 1956. Although 100 were initially
ordered 24 were eventually cancelled. The first operational squadron,
No.803, was formed in 1958 and was subsequently joined by 800, 804
and 807 Squadrons. The type remained in service for eight years,
finally being replaced by the Buccaneer.

I found that one of the two lower wing paneib HL ai^ i i a a u siiynt
curve along its length but this was corrected by holding the component
under hot running water for a minute or so whilst applying gentle hand
pressure.

Mike E a c o c k of Skybirds '86 has already filled a number of gaps for

the enthusiast with the provision of kits for Hornet and Prentice and so
the promised arrival of his Scimitar kit was eagerly awaited. By
contrast with the earlier subjects the Scimitar is a large aircraft
requiring a n iimovative approach at the tooling stage for manufacture
of a model on small mould, low pressure production equipment. This
particularly applies to the fuselage, which has been broken down into Before committing myself irrevocably the wings and fuselage centre
forward, centre and rear sections in order to be accommodated by section were stuck together with masking tape and trial fitted to nose
Skybirds machinery. Following the format already established with the and tail. It's particularly important to make sure that the fuselage
earlier kits the basic plastic components are supported by an halves are a flush fit along their entire length. In the assembly of these
outstanding selection of highly detafled white metal items, metal components it is as well to remember Skybirds advise that it is
etchings, detailed drawings, photographs, comprehensive instructions preferable to remove plastic rather than rely on filler to overcome
and decals for no less than 6 subject aircraft. problems! A s aheady noted, mismatches with nose and tail will be
only too apparent as these latter items are split vertically and have to
integrate with a horiziontally split centre section. The importance of
great care here cannot be over emphasised.

The kit instructions take the modeller progressively through the

construction stages. These do need to be read before commencing
work, not just once but preferably several times with care if a number
The two halves of the rear fuselage were cemented together and
of potential pitfalls lurking to catch the unwary are to avoided.
offered up to the centre fuselage. Before doing so the rear of the lower
fin was reduced in thickness, a fault of early kits that the instructions
advise will be dealt with on later production nms.

C a r e and dry fit trial runs are very much the watch-word in
preparing the wings to ensure that they and the fuselage centre section The kit includes a useful selection of brass etched components
halves are compatible. Failure to achieve a good match of these which not only provide instrument panel and side consoles (together
components will result in a serious mismatch at later stages when nose with photo negative instrument faces),throttles, gunsight and coaming
and rear fuselage are added. but also the airbrake panels for the rear fuselage.

92 Please mention PLASTIC KIT CONSTRUCTOR when replying to advertisements

 The instructions warn that the assembly of the tailpipe castings and After thinning down the inside walls of the cockpit to scale thickness
airbrakes to the fuselage is the most difficult part of the model and I (necessary if the instrument panel and side consoles are to fit) the nose
certainly would not disagree. The white metal tailpipes need careful sections were cemented together. O n c e dry the white metal floor was
filing down of the raised pads on their inner faces and several dry fits slid into place from the rear, the interior painted black and the white
before cementing into place with superglue. Before doing this the metal rudder pedals and control column glued into place. The panel
plastic discs provided to blank off the jet pipe interiors should be and coaming was added, together with the white metal ejection seat
positioned, again with superglue. and etched throttle levers.

The location of the vacuform canopy is very positive and simple.

Before tackling the airbrakes I first of all cemented horizontal and Untrimmed, it is located over the rear of the nose section and pressed
vertical tailplanes into position and here again a certain amount of down over the nose which is recessed to take the thickness of the
fettling is necessary for a good fit. acetate. O n c e cemented into place it is a simple job to cut away the
unwanted plastic with a scalpel following the photo guide included in
the instructions. I opted for a n open canopy and, again, the additional
cut necessary to separate the sliding portion was very easy.

Before fitting the brass etched air brakes the instructions

recommend rounding them to the correct shape by placing on a soft
surface such as styrene sheet and pressing on a pen, or something The white metal nose cone required a little bit of trimming to its rear
similar, into the centre of e a c h panel. This does seem to work. face to achieve a flush fit with the adjacent plastic. The metal is soft-
However, cementing the panels into their recesses and blending them and c a n be rubbed down in similar fashion to vacuform components.
with the siurounding plastic and the forward end of the tailpipe O n c e in place, the entire nose assembly was carefully located into the
castings was much more difficult. In the end I h a d to use a little filler to centre section, ensiuing that it was a flush fit top and bottom before
produce a result that still looked a little less than satisfactory. gluing into place with liquid polystyrene. Finally, the white metal
Personally, I would rather have settled for the airbrakes included refuelling probe was cemented into its recess in the nose.
integrally as a part of the plastic mouldings, accepting the loss of some
of the fine detailing that this approach may have resulted in.

Although the instructions recommend adding the drop tanks at a

later stage I felt they were better cemented into place before painting
After dry fitting the nose section to the centre fuselage the a i i intakes as this would aid adhesion and make it easier to fill gaps between
were bonded into place with superglue. These are neatly moulded pylons and wing surface. The white metal pitot tube was cemented into
components that fit well and require little additional filling or blending. its recess in the port wing and blended in with a little filler.

Please teU your friends about PLASTIC KIT CONSTRUCTOR 93

 EASTERN IMPORT & EXPORT
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1 / 4 8 OEZ S u 2 5 U B K £6.00 1 / I GO Y A K 4 0
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Eastern Star U S S R Series Novo/Frog - Sale
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K.P. M I L S £3.00 Rogozarski I K S ..£4.99
Fieseler F 1 . 1 6 7 ..£4.99
New Eastern Star Vacform Kits
The airframe was first of a l l given several coats of gloss white paint 1 / 7 2 W W 1 Series
Avro 7 0 7 A
Nieuport 1 2
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before masking off the imdersurfaces, remembering to allow for the top Morane Saulnier Type B B PTU Avro Rota C 3 0 A .£6.99
Top class vacform kit with decals and metal YAK40.., ..£10.99
surface colour extending under the leading edges of wings and parts. Look out for more future kits in this M B R . 2 W W 2 Russian Flying Boat £6.99
horizontal tail. Together with the white, the top surface overall extra range. DC2
Nimrod M R 1
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dark sea grey was sourced from the Xtra Color range. In addition to the Phoenix 1 / 7 2
New J u n k e r s J 1 1 . £6.50
Handley Page Hastings... .£19.99
6 options provided for with the kit decals, M O D E L A R T have marketed New 1 / 1 4 4 New 1 / 4 8
SSWRI 1/15.. ...£12.50 Junkers 8 7 A
a sheet that provides the modeller with a further three options, New Decals 1 / I 4 4 W W 1 RFC Casa 1 0 1 (full range in stock)
including the colourful yellow and black checkerboard fin decoration Roundels..
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£1.95
Pioneer 2
sported by 803 squadron. S u 2 1 G Flagon £4.99
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1/48 7 2 0 0 5 Bell P-39 Aira-Cobra £0.5
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7 2 0 0 8 Vickers Wellington M k I C £0.99
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Full range in stock Eastern Star 1 9 9 1
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1 / 4 8 Buccaneer Mkl I
VTD Vacuforms S a l e 1 / 7 2 Sea Vixen, price t.b.a.
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not one but two kits, enabling me to try out Model Art's excellent set
Post and Packing: Up to £ 5 , £ 1 ; £ 5 - £ 1 0 , £ 2 ; £ 1 0 - £ 2 5 , £ 3 ; Over £ 2 5 , free.
but also the kit alternatives, choosing the red firmed XD317 of 800
squadron from those available on the Skybirds '86 sheet. There's little 35 KENNEDY COURT, STONEHOUSE DRIVE,
to choose in terms of quaUty and neither sheet gave cause for concern. ST. LEONARDS-ON-SEA, EAST SUSSEX TN38 9DH
Telephone: 0424 720958 Fax: 0424 444204

AMERICAL/GRYPHON DECALS
Markings for WWI aircraft

Construction was now in its final stages and at the tail the white
metal bumper and arrester hook were located into their recesses.
The white metal imdercarriage legs locate easily into place in wings
New Releases
and nose together with the relevant doors. Main wheels provide a
choice of the earlier hubs or later. S e a Vixen, perforated style. Both #42 Eiserne Kreuze (larger aircraft)(1:48) $5.00
choices have pre- flattened bases which is a good example of #43 Eiserno Kreuze (smaller aircfatt)(1:4B) $5.00
Skybirds general attention to detail evident throughout the kit.
#51 Gotha markings a (1:72) $10.00 (a&b together markings for 48
* — * — * — * — •
#52 Gotha markings b (1:72) $12.50 aircraft for $20.00).
To summarise, this is not the easiest of kits to put together, certainly
not a case of merely shaking the box and adding glue and paint to suit! (prices do not include postage)
However, a satisfactory outcome depends not on highly developed Catalog $0.75 (stamps) or 3 I.R.C.s (surface)
modelling skills but much more on a careful application of basic
AMERICAL/GRYPHON D E C A L S 4373 Varsity Lane. Houston. TX 7004 USA
modelling principles. Provided the modeller approaches the
construction in the expectation of having to apply a little extra time
and attention to the fundementals a pleasing representation of
Supermarines' final fighter design will result. It is also worth bearing in
mind that since the passing of Frog's Scimitar, unavailable since the
early sixties, that this is the only injection moulded kit of the subject
around. jIM HOWARD PAIVI A G
NEW 1 991 SUBSCRIPTIONS for PLASTIC KIT CONSTRUCTOR
(4 issues) are £1 3.50 U.K. and £1 7.00 overseas, including postage.
Back Issues of PKC are still available: Issues 2 to 11 at £ 2 . 0 5 each
(£2.75 overseas) and 1 3 onwards at £ 3 . 0 0 each (3.75 overseas)
Prices include postage (surface mail). Issues 1 and 1 2 are out of print.
Binders for PKC A 5 size (for issues 2 - 1 1 ) £ 4 . 7 5 (£5.25 overseas); A 4
size (issues 1 3 onwards) £ 5 . 2 5 (£5.75 overseas), including postage.
NEW Planes in Scale No. 2 Lockheed Starfire F 9 4 A / B / C
£ 1 . 7 5 each plus 3 5 p post and packing U.K., 6 5 p overseas surface.
Complete range of RAREplanes vacform and
H A L L A M VAC vacform still available - S A E for lists.
BarclaycardA/ISA, Access/Mastercard accepted
PAMAG (Publications) Ltd.
Unit 308, J . C. Albyn Complex, Burton Road,
Sheffield, 83 8BZ, England Tel. (0742) 752292
Completed SCIMITAR with kit decals 112/R/XD317.

94 Please mention PLASTIC KIT CONSTRUCTOR when replying to advertisements