Airfix 1/48 BAC TSR.2

AIRFIX 1:48 BAC TSR.2

Reviewer: John Armstrong (contact via SMAKR webmaster)
Kit Review submitted: 17 May 2009

The Plane

The TSR-2 has – for those of us ‘of a certain age’ – passed into legend. Conceived in the 1960s as an attack plane that could infiltrate heavily defended airspace at low level at supersonic speed. The design had all the makings of a ‘world beater’. It would undoubtedly have seen many decades of squadron service - not just with the RAF, but with air arms the world over.

Sadly, the TSR-2 was a thoroughbred that was never given the chance to run. The incoming Labour Government of 1964 ordered the project to be scrapped. Arguably, the striking power of the RAF has never made up the loss.

The aircraft now lives on in 2 museums in the UK. It stands as a monument to British technological ingenuity, and political folly.

The Kit

After a wait of some 3 decades, Airfix released a few years ago a 1/72 kit of the TSR-2. Whilst this kit was very welcome, and had some very nice features (notably some fine engraved panel lines, and overall accuracy of shape); nevertheless, this kit proved a difficult build, especially in joining the wing unit to the fuselage.

Airfix have done all TSR-2 fans a favour in releasing this 1/48 offering. However, how would the kit build up? Have any lessons been learned from the previous release?

Upon opening the box, one is immediately struck by the size of what the finished model will be. The parts are well moulded, with no flash or sink marks in visible areas. The parts feature nicely done engraved panel lines – some will find these a little on the deep side, but they look OK on the finished item. There is some nice detail for the cockpit and wheel wells in particular.

The good news is that with a little care, the build is straightforward. This kit, like its predecessor, is cleverly designed so that many of the joins are along panel lines so that cleaning up is minimal. The most awkward seam is the dorsal and ventral seam at the front end of the fuselage, requiring a little filler and sanding down.

But what about the fit of the wing unit? The fit of the wing unit to the fuselage involves 3 pieces – the wing unit itself and a forward and a rearward fuselage plate. I learned a lesson from the 1/72 build; in that, I added these 3 units in sequential order along the fuselage.

If you do this, you will ensure an accurate line up and tight fit of these 3 crucial parts. After this, it is pretty much plain sailing. One further thing I did was to leave the tail planes and the tail fin off until after painting, to avoid unnecessary accidents.

The weak points of the build are the main undercarriage supports. This model is heavy, and the supports are quite fragile – so much so that I managed to snap both supports after I added the wheels to them. These undercarriage supports would be better made from white metal (hint, hint to the aftermarket boys!).

Painting

The colour for the TSR-2 is officially given as anti-flash white. As I didn’t know how ant-flash white was different to any other kind of white: I decided that after priming with white automotive primer, I would coat the model with a spray of Halfords Gloss Appliance White. The engine exhausts were given 2 coats of Humbrol Metalcote Aluminium, diluted 1/3 with Enamel Thinners.

The model was then sealed using a couple of coats of Johnson’s Klear/Future,

Decals

The decal sheet is superb. The quality is about the best I’ve seen from Airfix kit, every bit as good as their best competitor. The stencils are very sharp, and distinctly readable in this scale. The sheet contains options for the 2 airframes in UK museums – XR219 (RAF Cosford) and XR220 (RAF Duxford).

I opted for XR219 as this was the first example that I ever saw ‘in the flesh’, so to speak.

After decaling, everything was sealed in with a spray of Humbrol Satin Cote, diluted 1/3 with Enamel Thinners.

Conclusion

If it is indeed true to say that Airfix have been reborn by their acquisition by Hornby: then this kit is powerful testimony of their new-found vitality. For me, not withstanding the fragility of the undercarriage, this is the best Airfix release of recent years. It is a better kit than the 1/72 release, and is a fitting tribute to the greatest plane the RAF never had.

It is a shame that this is only a limited edition kit, and will not be in production for a few more years.

Recommended to all RAF fans, and Airfix fans generally.

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