This one will become an Israeli trainer from the late sixties, one of three used by the "Knights of the North" Vautour-squadron for twin engine training. A quick inspection of the kit shows that it is very much like the earlier Xtrakit Mk 8 but with new fuselage halves, interior and canopy of course!
Nice box art as usual. There is a colour photo of this aircraft on the cover of the Gloster Meteor Warpaint book (No. 22) showing large dayglo areas that are missing from both the box art and the decals.
A good looking decal sheet...
...still lacking the drop tank sling marks and with the same excellent spelling as in the Mk 8 kit...
A nice and clear canopy, once again cast in one piece. I won't attack this one with the saw since I still remember my misadventures with the Mk 8...
IsraDecal will supply the markings, without doubt the best possible choice when it comes to Israeli aircraft. I haven't counted the options but you can probably do whatever Meteor you like (F8, T7, NF13) from any time period during its service in the Israeli air force. And they have sling marks and correctly spelled stencilling for the tanks as well, lots of them! Finally, there are markings for both Egypt and Syria as well. Check their web site!
As usual, work starts in the cockpit! I won't add any details here since not much will be seen through a closed canopy, I will however add belts to the seats.
While on the subject of seats: Does any of you out there have interior photos of the T7 showing the seats, preferably colour photos? Was it bakelite or metal? Where did the seat harness attach?
Paint scheme will be the blue/tan scheme of the fifties. Since I am in asking mode right now I wonder if any of you have a good recipe for this camouflage, if possible acrylics of some kind?
Magnus
