I had misgivings about this kit. I was troubled by the depth of the panel lines on the wing but, if memory serves, it would struggle to be worse than the old tooling. As it happens, it's really a non-issue after four rounds of touch up coats. White is a nightmare to work with and nearly impossible to keep free of marks.
All the same, it's come out alright. A bit tattier than I had hoped for, but I know next time to use a better primer than Vallejo. The last three builds have had serious problems because of it.
The kit itself is a challenge. You would think for a new generation Airfix kit it would go together better than it does, but if you're doing the Blue Steel variant, there's quite a bit of work to get the bay sitting flush. That said, I now have to do another one in the familiar green/grey because the bomb bay detail is superb.
As to the cockpit detail, you can't see any of it apart from the yellow ladder, and in classic Airfix tradition the instrument panel decal doesn't resemble the part in the slightest. It's good to know that will never change.
The main difficulty for me was attaching the nose gear doors. They don't slot into place without a fight and the hydraulics are a nightmare to fit. I've left them off the nose bay. There is also an irritating oversight in that the engine rails don't have locators so I ended up leaving them off. The instructions aren't especially clear either. There is some confusion over version options which extend to the decal sheets.
One thing I'm quite pleased with is the fin ECM thingy, where I'd assumed it was a decal, only to find after adding all the other decals that it wasn't - and had to delicately mask off the area and mix the right colour. It's these small victories that make a modeller.
A mistake I made was adding the exhaust pots before painting, and filling and sanding the seams. There is now no line of delineation and it made painting them harder. I suspect though, I'd have had fitting issues had I done it any other way. We shall see next time. Also, if you're attempting this one, I suggest adding the airbrakes before painting.
Painting wise, I have at least refined my technique with white paint and had it not been for the primer problems this would have been better. I thought I would have an easier time of it with a white primer, so to test the theory I did white on the top and black below, and I surprisingly, the smoother, black primer yielded a better finish.
I'm usually quite a fast operator when it comes to model building, and I have very little patience for waiting around. You can usually get away with it, but this kit is one to savour. I ended up having to make corrections at the worst possible time, which I should have noticed before priming. I think I was just excited to see it done. This is a very nice thing to have.
I don't have any serious gripes about this kit other than those that go with the territory, and it should be appreciated that this kit is for reasonably advanced modellers. It's trickier than its shape suggests. I expect the version with the conventional bomb bay is easier to do build, and probably more rewarding.
If there is a gripe it's the price. I bagged a bargain at £59 which for me is at the top end of model kit affordability. I know it's a precision boutique item, but I'm not alone in feeling gradually priced out of the hobby especially when consumables mount up. It's expensive when you consider the kits like the 1:48 HobbyBoss Intruder or F111 which comes in at around £40 - and there's no quality penalty. At this price it should at least come with a canopy mask. They all should really.
In the round this is a long overdue kit, and a worthy addition to the range. It's not without problems, and it doesn't fall together like some other new generation Airfix kits, but you will get a fine model out of it. Now I have to go and scrub all the white paint off the kitchen floor.
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