1/72 Contrail TSR-2

The fit of the fuselage halves was pretty bad Had to glue in sheet plastic which was red from an advertising sign.Next I will break out the putty.    

Used a paper puncher and thin sheet styrene to make the hubs.  

Balance looks good!  

The plastic in The forward section is very thin ...I have to repair and file it but it should turn out .ok. 

The new landing gear is much nicer!there are additional struts and braces that will go on after installation.I used a microdrill and the  head of a pin to allow the bogey to articulate.    

Yes there is literally no cockpit detail at all!

Why bother? just paint the glass on.

Cutting out the canopy window openings looks to be quite the challenge!    ...

Thanks!the kit is very basic so it is up to the builder to figure it out!

Cut a piece of tubing in half and used the 2 halves to make wheel wells.bent a piece of tubing to accept the new landing gear.

Hate to say this but..the kit supplied landing gear is crude and  fragile.I had to order an after market white metal replacement landing gear set.hated to spend the the money but since I have come this far and did quite a bit if scratch building that I feel I must complete it..

Ok used large diameter brass tubing to make the engine savings.Turned down some parts stash fan blades to fit.     

Ok after I finally found the lower nose cone after it rolled under the display case table,I was able to glue it back on.(still will need putty work )I have elected to press on...I anticipate further difficulties as the build progresses.   

Disaster strikes!it took a header onto the floor breaking the weighted front end clean off!I am strarting to question wether it is worth the effort to continue  ...

Now you have me worried !

Hmm,. interesting. It should be fun watching someone else lose their mind. 

BK

Cool Tanker!

Okay;

 ya got me following this.!

The balance is cool now!Phil is a Libra so he likes balance in all things!   

I cut open the forward landing gear doors and fabricated a solid mount for the strut.No spindly easy to break stuff here.I am definitely into structure!    

Yes it might be tricky...have to be careful

I have the injection molded Airfix kit. It looks to be a good kit but I never liked the aircraft much so I think it'll stay on the shelf.

It does lend itself to a fair amount of "what iffiness".

You are a brave person!  I had the kit and attempted to build it, but it beat me. Their idea for cutting out and fitting individual panes for the canopies was sheer madness.  The flying surfaces were very “puffy” and so required savage thinning of their edges.  The injected parts seemed more like a cruel joke than useful parts.  Of course today there are several AM sets that address the cockpit and complex landing gear.

Bird shot too!  

Added 2 .50 Muzzle loading bullets(flattened with A file)to prevent tail sitting.