This is not the best
kit around – soapy plastic which doesn’t seem to respond to Tamiya super
thin glue as well as one would expect. The kit comes in a large box complete
with two warped fuselage halves….hmm….
Anyway, having read all about the
horrors of this kit, it was one insane day that I thought I’d start to build
it. 2 years of on and off building later, I was very pleased with the finished
product. It looks like a Buccaneer and the warped fuselage pieces, once glued
together, were straight !
Click on
images below to see larger images
I wanted to build a late version
South African Air Force version as used in the border war in Angola (rather
effectively I might add). This was fitted with the bulged bomb bay with integral
fuel tank. But the kit I had was of the early model without the bulged
bomb bay. Solution : turn the kit bomb bay part upside down, add some plastic
card detailing, 4 bombs and, presto, one neat open bomb bay. I added another 4
bombs to the wing pylons for a full operational load – couldn’t have been
much fun being on the receiving end of a fast low flying Bucc !
I used the Neomega kit cockpit which
is an absolute must in this scale. The kit parts are lousy. The build was
tedious with many applications of Milliput – I swear half the mass of the
final model is attributable to Milliput. Other bits and pieces added were the
RWR, comms and nav antennae and rear fuselage chaff dispenser pods unique to the
SAAF birds. I dropped the flaps and placed the speed brake in the open position
– this required adding a fair amount of detail simulating the speed brake
actuating mechanism.
My subject model was for a late
colour scheme SAAF Buccaneer, similar to the well preserved sample at the SAAF
Museum at Swartkop Air Base in Pretoria. Colour scheme was matt extra dark sea
grey upper surfaces and PRU blue lower surfaces. Paints used were :
- Extra dark sea grey – 30
parts Model Master gunship grey FS36118 with an overspray of mix 50% FS36118
/ 50% Tamiya X-2 white
- PRU blue – 30 parts Model
Master FS35164 + 30 parts Tamiya X-2 white + 5 parts Tamiya X-14 blue
Weathering was
accomplished with pastels, sealed under satin varnish. No national insignia were
carried by operational Buccs late in the war. Anyway, it now has pride of place
in my collection. It’s a truly magnificent machine. It also now seems as if
Trumpeter will be releasing a 32nd scale version in the near future
(if the internet forums are correct). Can’t wait !
Thanks to Gary in New Zealand for
the kit !
Malcolm Reid
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