8/31/2023 0 Comments Gloster meteor cockpit![]() Once the separate roof is in place, the undercarriage bays really look great. The main undercarriage sidewalls are slotted over the spars for a rigid fit. The undercarriage bay front and rear walls and the engine mounts are moulded as part of main wing spars. Optional undercarriage doors are fitted from the inside of the wing if you are building your Meteor wheels-up. Airfix also supplies a decal to lay over the raised detail if you prefer. This should look good after careful painting and subtle dry brushing. The instrument panel features raised dial and switch detail. There are several resin 1/48 scale aftermarket MB.2 seats available and I think a replacement would be worthwhile. Alternative parts are provided for the front of the seat – one with harness straps moulded in place and one without. The Martin Baker Mk.2 ejection seat is made up from six pieces and gets a resounding “passable” from me. These separate parts are simply glued to the outside of the tub.īasic cannon, ammo drums and feeds are provided if you want to display the gun bays open. ![]() The cockpit is built in conjunction with the fuselage cannon bays and the forward undercarriage bay. Features are moulded in place, and this seems to me to be a good compromise between detail and ease of construction, particularly as the front office is painted black and you won’t see much anyway. It is hard to make out in the bright light of the photograph, but it looks great in real life.Ĭonstruction begins in the cockpit with nicely detailed sidewalls. We first saw Airfix achieve this authentic metal rippling on their 1/24 Typhoon, but it somehow seems ever more impressive in this familiar scale. Most ambitious of all is the “oilcanning” effect on the forward gun panels. The metal control surfaces feature incredibly fine raised rivets. Surface textures are beautifully done with fine, crisply recessed panel lines, raised panels and other structural features where appropriate. Inside are a modest 156 parts in pale grey plastic and 11 parts in clear. The brand new 1/48 scale Gloster Meteor F.8 is packed into a stout top-opening box. So we come to 2016 and the iconic British brand Airfix takes its turn with this classic British jet. And, of course, the kit is now long out of production. With patience and time, an excellent result could be achieved, but there were some construction challenges, especially around the fit of the intake parts. The kit was pretty typical fare for Classic Airframes at the time. This was well detailed with resin parts for the cockpit, engine and undercarriage. Next up to bat was Classic Airframes with their 2003 1/48 scale Meteor F.8 release. ![]() I built one of these in 1999 and was very pleased with the result, but there is undoubtedly an intimidation factor when it comes to vacform kits. Yes, Tamiya released the Mk.1 and the Mk.3, but their Meteor family stopped abruptly there.ĭuring the 1990s, Aeroclub released a multimedia 1/48 scale Meteor F.8 that comprised mainly vacform parts with low-pressure injection plastic and white metal detail parts. The nose mounted 20mm cannon were also well suited to strafing attacks.Ĭonsidering its significance as an important bridge between WWII fighters and modern jet combat aircraft, it is surprising that we have not yet seen a mainstream Meteor F.8 in 1/48 scale. The Meteor's solid design offered a stable platform for bombs and up to 16 rockets. The real forte of the Meatbox, however, lay in its ground attack capabilities. Nevertheless, in Korea, pilots from 77 Squadron RAAF managed three victories over MiG 15s. The nimble MiG could out-climb, out-turn, out-run and, with its 37mm cannon, out-gun the Meteor. Its straight wings, conventional fuselage, and twin nacelle-mounted engines betrayed its World War Two design origins. The "Meatbox" looked old-fashioned by comparison. Its swept wings and stubby fuselage built around its powerful single Klimov engine (ironically, a copy of the Rolls-Royce Nene) was the most advanced design of its time. The MiG 15 was designed as a modern jet fighter from inception. World-class surface textures, high level of detail, many useful options (both documented and undocumented) and an important but relatively neglected subject all combine to make this a very appealing package.Īirfix's 1/48 scale Meteor F.8 will be available online from Background This 1/48 scale Meteor continues Airfix’s run of great kits. A09182 – Gloster Meteor F.8ġ56 parts in grey injection moulded plastic 11 parts in clear plastic markings for two aircraftĪUD$60.00 plus shipping available online from HobbymaniaĮxcellent surface textures, high level of detail many useful options including engine and gun bays on display separate control surfaces wing and conformal tanks included.
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