1/32 English Electric Lightning

Gallery Article by David Wigley on Oct 27 2009

 

Hi there, this is my big lightning from Echelon.  I got this kit of ebay almost completely built, a bit of a gamble, but I've never built a vac form before, so, I thought I'd take a chance.  When it arrived I was quite pleased with the build quality, but did notice a few areas that needed a bit of tweaking.  The intake ring had been sanded just that bit too much and had a slight wobble to the leading edge, so a new one was made using the lid off a pump-action toothpaste tube.  Secondly ,the engines had been inserted too far into the fuselage and had to be repositioned.  Other than that it was just a case of adding the various scoops, canopy refueling probe and all the usual bits that would get snapped off during construction..

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Painting was done with Humbrol enamels and weathered with a mix of pastel, paint and pencils.  I used the kit decals and found them to be very good for their age, finally the model was given a coat of satin varnish to seal everything in.

She's no show winner but I'm quite pleased with the result, and at last I finally have a big model of the RAF's fastest ever fighter, the legendary English Electric Lightning.

David Wigley

Photos and text © by David Wigley