Airfix 1/72 Blackburn Buccaneer S.2C - completed

[Guest]

Hello everyone.

The Buccaneer is finished in it's Royal Navy test squadron XN974 livery from 1971. I chose this prior to discovering two things; that the same aircraft was recently refurbished in Yorkshire and that the kit decals included a HMS Eagle bird.
I picked it purely for the grey over white scheme and fortunately had a wealth of useful reference material available!
I did cock up the under wing designation marking spacing, so they are a little tight. I'm not overly worried as I applied all the stencils from the Airfix kit for a bit of added interest and detail. The war birds decals don't include any and don't call for them.

This kit is superb. I will definitely be picking another up in the future.

I did use eduards PE for the cockpit, wheel wells and air brake.

Anyway, here she is.






And a quick couple of shots of her with her stable mates.




Cheers for looking in.

[scottie3158]

That is a great finish.

[topgazza]

Quite superb. i've been looking 1/72 for these "bigger" planes compared to the 1/48 WWII fighter planes. Avoid them for the WWII fighters as not enough work in them for me but this range looks good.

[Jim R]

Hi Chris
That is a great finish. One to be proud of.
My dad was a designer on the Buccaneer. I lived in Brough as a child and we would watch the completed aircraft being towed through the village to Holme-on-Spalding Moor where the runway was longer. The test pilot was a guy called Derek Whitehead and he let me sit in the cockpit and put on his helmet :smiling:
Jim

[Guest]

Great looking model Chris :smiling3:.

[Guest]

Superb job Chris, now let's have the Sea Vixen to complete the party.
Mike.

[Mini Me]

Beautiful finish on that Chris.
Rick H.

[yak face]

Beautifully done chris , a superb build . I love the classic Dark sea grey over white scheme , i really must do a bucc in this one . What next , Sea venom , Scimitar ?

[Guest]

That is a great finish.

Thank you Paul.

Quite superb. i've been looking 1/72 for these "bigger" planes compared to the 1/48 WWII fighter planes. Avoid them for the WWII fighters as not enough work in them for me but this range looks good.

Thank you Gary. I can see why you'd choose 1/48. The detail is superior. I chose 1/72 as I always intended on this being a display collection and anticipated space being necessary! Some of the kits in this scale can be really good and as you say, allow a decent representation of a large aircraft you'd otherwise pass by due to size.

Hi Chris
That is a great finish. One to be proud of.
My dad was a designer on the Buccaneer. I lived in Brough as a child and we would watch the completed aircraft being towed through the village to Holme-on-Spalding Moor where the runway was longer. The test pilot was a guy called Derek Whitehead and he let me sit in the cockpit and put on his helmet :smiling:
Jim

Thanks Jim. This has been one of my favourites and my most pleasing finish. Thanks also for the story, very interesting! I'm also not at all jealous, I would have been fascinated and spent all day sat waiting to see them.

Great looking model Chris :smiling3:.

Cheers Ralph!

Superb job Chris, now let's have the Sea Vixen to complete the party.
Mike.

Thanks Mike. It's on the shortlist but alas not yet in my stash. I'd like the dragon kit but can't find it anywhere :disappointed2:

Beautiful finish on that Chris.
Rick H.

Thank you Rick. I am pleased with it, despite some varnishing issues, which involved a colossal spillage...

Beautifully done chris , a superb build . I love the classic Dark sea grey over white scheme , i really must do a bucc in this one . What next , Sea venom , Scimitar ?

Thanks Tony. As you can tell I am also a fan, however I am yearning for something a little different as it's getting a little samey. I would wholeheartedly recommend this kit. Just the right level of fiddliness, excellent detail and next to perfect fit. As I mentioned to Mike I don't have a Vixen (yet). I do have the other two 'V' aircraft though which I might save and do all three at the same time. I also have a Scimitar winking at me. Other options are Swordfish, Sea Fury, Phantom, Wessex, Lightning II & Gannet. I did sit staring at them waiting for something to jump out yelling "ME NEXT, ME NEXT". I'll leave it a few days and think on it.

[JR]

Wow that's some finish you've got there Chris, nice photos as well .:thumb2:

[colin m]

This looks lovely Chris. A brilliant job indeed. And, I totally agree about the kit. I built one and will certainly buy the RAF version when it's available.

[Guest]

Wow that's some finish you've got there Chris, nice photos as well .:thumb2:

Thank you John, nice of you to say. For once I did manage some decent photos!

This looks lovely Chris. A brilliant job indeed. And, I totally agree about the kit. I built one and will certainly buy the RAF version when it's available.

Thanks Colin. If I hadn't butchered one of the national fin markings to save a roundel I'd offer the left over RAF decals from the war birds set.

[HAWKERHUNTER]

That is lovely Chris. The Buc is a great aircraft.

[Guest]

That is lovely Chris. The Buc is a great aircraft.

Thanks Steve! It is a cracker. Your name sake is on the list too, but finding a GA.11 isn’t straight forward. I also live close to what was RNAS Ford and they have one that is posed elevated by the main road and I see it often and it goads me every time.

[Guest]

@SWR specifically for you, I forgot to mention that I caught up with Catching The Impossible on amazon whilst I built this.
If you can’t get to the bank it’s the next best thing!