Here's a look at Airfix's great new quarterscale Sea Vixen which hit the shelves just in time for Christmas.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Nice one Rowan and nice one Airfix.
All the best.
tim

Looks nice Rowan, thanks for the review. When I get the urge for another 'plane this one will be top of the list. I wonder how long before we see one in the Red Bull colours?

As someone coming back to modelling after many years I found Rowan Bayliss' review of the Airfix Sea Vixen helpful. However not all is sweetness and light. This kit requires quite a lot of skill. There are a few snags with the mouldings; the one that surprised me, which was not mentioned by Rowan, was that the receptor slots for the underwing pods do not exist. This is serious stuff for a modeller who is a little rusty. What to do to ensure correct location and firm anchoring---I'm working on that. Advice would be appreciated. I do not entirely agree that the instructions are clear. Quite confusing in places as two versions can be built. Bill Duff

William, the box does indicate that this is the highest skill level (4). The pylon slots are present on the lower wing surfaces, flashed over in case you want a 'clean' aircraft and the instructions are quite clear about the need to open the slots up if you are intending to mount pylons on your model. I also found them quite clear as to the various alternative options (wing folded/spread, arrestor hook up/down, gear up/down, brake extended/retracted etc.).

The only snags I have found so far are the intakes give too wide a boundary layer slot and if you are choosing flaps down, the gap filling parts that join the boom assembly to the fuselage need some fettling to get them to fit, and then leave gaps that need filler. Everything else so far has been an excellent fit.

bit wary about posting this with an expert like Damien lurking, but here's my Vixen cockpit, about 20 of the kit's 84 stages - so I'm a 1/4 of the way through the build ... Added some foil belts and a couple of buckles, Lucky's walkaround elsewhere here was invaluable...can't see myself doing a WIP as I shall probably have put this to one side soon and get on with something I can actually finish...biggest kit I've tackled since the Airfix 24 scale Harrier (back when I was 12 ..)

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More progress on the Sea Vixen. Cockpit inserted into upper fuselage half and intake trunking, airbrake bay, wheel wells, jet pipes and arrestor hook located in lower fuselage part - couldn't be more straight forward. As pointed out above, the instructions recommend cutting out the locating holes for the underwing stores racks in the lower wing at this stage, although this is hard to do accurately given the location of some of these right at the edge of the thin plastic on the outer wing join - made a mess of mine. At least that faux pas has helped me come to a decision about what configuration to finish this in - one wing folded and one wing down. Fuselage booms required a smidgen of filler on the upper join. Joining the two fuselage halves is a relatively painless experience although a second pair of hands would have been handy for securing the booms while aligning the horizontal stabiliser. General fit is first class. Got this far without making too many cock-ups..
colour question if anyone can help please..cockpit is black but how much of the area under the canopy -outside of the cockpit - is black, if at all or is it all EDSG?..