Appreciate the excellent instructional video. So many vids are rendered unwatchable due to unsubtle and inappropriate music soundtracks but here is an example of how it should be done. Another quality contribution from Owen.
Made this kit myself just the other week, still awaiting paint. I had the same issue with the cockpit fit, and got around it by sanding both the fuselage halves and the cockpit pieces to fit.
Thank you so much for your videos. You're an inspiration for the people who's starting this hobby with just paint and some brushes. When you see other pros using the airbrush so much you start to believe you can't achieve good results with just brushes. You prove them wrong. As I sometimes play your videos at a lower speed it would been awesome if they had 60FPS.
Hello Owen, I like your videos and especially I like that you paint your kits with a brush. You show how the kits is possible to build in an easy way and I think that it can attract new model makers to this wonderful hobby. Best Daniel
Nice! I've built the Airfix Lightning F.6, and it does still have the same fitting problems as your kit. Even the fuel tanks didn't fit properly, and they stand out so much as they're above the wings. Great job on your F.2A though!
Nice job Owen! I had the same issues as you regarding the cockpit fit and also found all of the small decals quite challenging. Spent lots of time sanding and filling, used Revell Plasto. I brush paint and cho se the same colour scheme as you and was pleased with the result
Made one of these a few years ago for my Dad. It's his favourite plane so I put a lot of effort into it :) I was a newbie at that stage though, so mine ended up unbalanced, or as you said, "a tail-sitter". I might do some aircraft surgery on it some day to fix that.
Hi Owen. I have almost finished this kit. I remedied the fit issues with sanding to leave a 2 ish mm gap at the bottom of the front fuselage, which was easy to fill with squadron white putty. I am going to be using AK xtreme metal aluminium colour for the body, which will hopefully yield good results. I might use semi gloss varnish on top of decals, or maybe an acrylic gloss, but depends on how the aluminium paint works out...
+Quick Kits I will be airbrushing the xtreme metal paint, but I believe there is also a true metal product for brush painting. From what I've heard the xtreme metal is very good, but I'll update on how it worked for me. Amazing modelling on your end as ever.
You made a great job of that build, I had the same cockpit and intake fit issues when I built it. The is Airfix kit is the still best 1/72 Lightening out there.
AK and alclad have gloss coats specifically for metal finishes however you have to use an airbrush. Also the shine you get by using ak or aclad metal paints are signficantly better compared to humbrol metalcote. Having said that i understand your channel stays out of the airbrush territory and i think that is quite challenge. However you make the models look very nice and most importantly i really like watching your vids they are very therapeutic. Actually you are first modelling channel i watched because at the time i didnt own an airbrush and you quite helped me with the tools and technqiues i should use. I dont know how i ended up here by talking about metal paints but nonetheless thanks for tips and tricks and the entertainment
I must say I built the F.6, but i had pretty much all the same issues you had. Kind of a bummer. But I absolutely hated the belly stripes and the no step lines on the wing. Someone as young and as unsteady as me found those quite hard
I can recomend an automobile acrylic sprays - metal spray and clear spray. They are very cheap but very effective. Like "BOSNY" for example. Aproximately 2,5 eur for the can. For fullmetal early reactive planes very good. Only one thing - they are toxic, so you should use them in the street, must dry for a day on the street or in the garage.
Great video Owen, I have a number of Lightning kits to make from Airfix, Sword and Trumpeter, going to be very busy when I get around to it! Incidentally I have found it possible to get a nice metal cote finish using a tin of Humbrol 27002 neat with a filbert brush. Cheers
Wonderful kit by airfix and by far your best build. if you don't mind I am going to nick a few of your suggestions for my Lightning build. 10 out of 10 owen.
Great tips! I'm just getting back into modeling after many years away. I subscribed, so please keep the great videos coming! This kit looks like a handful, though. Is this aircraft available in a kit from another company?
I did encounter a problem with the intake trunking on my F.2A kit. It is molded too wide to sufficiently allow the fuselage halves to close around properly. I solved the issue by sanding down the sides of the intake trunking and constantly test fitting. Even then the fit wasn't great, but definitely better than fitting it stock. I also found that the belly tank area was slightly problematic. The central seam line was difficult to clean up. The nose gun ports didn't sit flush into their mounting slots and required sanding and filling to get them to look presentable. The plastic was extremely soft and prone to scratching from abrasion. It was only compounded when aluminum paint was applied as the scratching became visible. It required polishing and re-application. Overall it produces a satisfactory Lightening, but required careful assembly.
JUST SAW THIS ; you are so right about the nose . it is supposed to be completely flush . the only thing I could do was build up the joint with thick ca glue as filler is too soft to actually build up the circumference of the fuselage halves . we're probably talking less than 1mm . the join along the belly was quite poor . Other than that it is a very pleasing model . The back engine fittings are perfect . the later all grey F6 versions avoid the need for metal finish . I guess a less pedantic person might be happy with the fit as it is not massively out ; like an Italera Eurofighter I have been building .
I had exactly the same fault with the cockpit/air intake fit. I ended up extensively sanding and thinning the air intake until it fit. To be honest I was surprised how poor fitting this was, given how good the fit has been on many other recent Airfix releases I've built. Like you I would not recommend this kit, unless you have some experience and patience, but it can certainly look the part once done, as your model shows so well. Regards, Dan Tassie Australia
I didn't have a problem closing the fuselage on my F.2A kit but my F.6 kit did need more work since it had a lot of ejector pin stubs protruding. They do need a little bit of patience but overall they're very nice kits.
hey owen! build looks great. I really love the silver finish. by the way, to obtain a better finish, and retain more of the metalcote's shine and avoid damage to the paint, you should varnish it after it has dried ad cured.
Superb job on the lightning, you are completely deserving of the 24000 subs. This makes me want to go out right now and buy one but i'm right next to a shop that only sells revell products :-( No hate on revell though.
Nice lighting Owen! It's great to finally see you upload another timelapse video. Oh yeah and by the way what size of brush do you use to paint your 1/35 tanks? and are they rounded or flat brushes? Couldn't see them clearly in your tank build videos
absolutely beautiful. I may have to pick one up. I had the old hasegawa one but ended up tossing it in the bin after the decals peeled off huge sections of paint. evidently the decals were too old.
I'm really enjoying watching your videos. I'm looking to get back in to making models, not something I've done since I was a kid and it's interesting to hear how much filling, filing and drilling seems to have to take place. Back when I used to model I always went with Matchbox kits, they were - I think - better in terms of fit than the Airfix kits of the day, but of course they no longer exist (exist on eBay) so I wondered if you had experience of any other manufacturers and which ones you feel need the least amount of refinement?
Hi Owen, regarding your tip of using a toothpick over the masking tape in places where you don't want the paint to spill under the mask, I personally do a single layer of basepaint over the tape joint in order to seal it with the original color underneath it and then proceed to apply the second color over after it's dry. It's given me nice results (specially using brushes) have you tried it? which one would you rather use (I didn't knew about the toothpick one and I'm curious now) by the way, nice channel, your modelling is very thorough and your reviews are entertaining and reliable :) cheers from Argentina and thanks for the excellent work!
Minor nitpick to this excellent model, but F.2As would have either four guns or two upper guns and two Firestreaks (AAMs). Excellent work overall though! Thanks!
I'm not normally a plane builder but watching your vids has me wanting to do a phantom but couldn't find it in your play list, any chance you could do one ? many thanks for the inspiration.
Well done, looks like a struggle due to the poor quality of the kit - fairly typical of airfix when I look back to getting them in the early 70s - so it wasn’t my fault that they never fitted properly as expected when you are only 10 with nothing more than a tube of glue and a couple of pots of paint. I had this model back then and remember it looked ok all painted silver and hanging off the ceiling, but the buccaneer was much more interesting
Tried one of these metal cotes steel color for my 1/24 harrier and ran out of bloody paint, looked good on half the model but the other half was unpainted so it was too messy. I ended up buying some hycote aluminium paint and it worked fine with extra paint for my tamiya hornet
Not entirely sure that you can imply that Airfix are 'lower grade'. Sure, many of the earlier kits are tired and dated but their newer stuff is usually very good and their choice of subjects is outstanding; built the F2a last year and had no serious problems with it, also thought it the best 1/72 Lightning I have done (have tried the old Airfix, Matchbox and Hasegawa offerings).
Owen, Have you tried using one of those tipex correction pens on the wing to fill them. I haven't myself but It's quite popular on the ATF (airfix tribute forum).
I'm building the F6 version on this Airfix kit. Also had fit issues- fuselage halves around the nose and the nose panel inserts, wings, rear elevators, belly panels, missiles, plus huge ejector marks in the way all over the kit, had 2 panels where not enough plastic had been injected into the mould to complete the pieces, wrong part numbers in the instructions... For a 2015 new tool, I'm disappointed
The new tool Airfix kits seem to have a lot of very tight clearances. Probably due to CAD design. Just a little paint or a tiny bit of mold separation mark will interfere.
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Hello, Owen. It is beautiful to watch your models getting better day by day. Excellent job. Your big fan from the Czech Republic.
Which video is coming out first, the Mig SMT or Eduard Hellcat?
PLASMO - plastic models wow and i am your fan, your models are just pure art
PLASMO - plastic models AYYYY ITS YOU
PLASMO - plastic models can one of you guys do the 1:35 scale tamiya stug
Thank you very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it and think I'm improving! :D
Looks great! Nice to see a good old British jet fighter. :)
The og modelchilli is here
Wonderful built. Thanks for uploading of these videos, they are nice to watch.
Hello Owen. Great job on assembling and painting this model. Patience must be very needed. Never got bored watching your video. Very nice result
Appreciate the excellent instructional video. So many vids are rendered unwatchable due to unsubtle and inappropriate music soundtracks but here is an example of how it should be done. Another quality contribution from Owen.
Thank you Martin!
Me watching this,.. idiotically thinking," man, this guy, works fast"
I used Deluxe materials perfect putty today and it's fantastic stuff sands flat with little effort, thanks for recommending this Owen
Yeah I got it it's good
Made this kit myself just the other week, still awaiting paint. I had the same issue with the cockpit fit, and got around it by sanding both the fuselage halves and the cockpit pieces to fit.
Absolutely brilliant. Really talented guy!
Thank you so much for your videos. You're an inspiration for the people who's starting this hobby with just paint and some brushes. When you see other pros using the airbrush so much you start to believe you can't achieve good results with just brushes. You prove them wrong.
As I sometimes play your videos at a lower speed it would been awesome if they had 60FPS.
Thank you very much, I'm glad you find my videos inspirational :) Unfortunately I don't have a camera capable of 60fps
Hello Owen, I like your videos and especially I like that you paint your kits with a brush. You show how the kits is possible to build in an easy way and I think that it can attract new model makers to this wonderful hobby. Best Daniel
Beautiful work on the Lightning Owen! It was awesome watching you build and paint one of my favorite aircraft.
Thank you, I'm glad you think I did it justice :)
Honestly, I think you are painting them better than anyone would in real life.
Those Acrylic paint jobs looks as well as an Enamel paint job, Great work Owen !
Great to see another Quick Kits video, and it was super relaxing to watch with the great music choice. :)
Another beautifully done model Owen!
Came out looking very nice!
Lost my airbrush, time to brush paint..no choice.You do it masterfuly..!
Quite spectacular result (yet another). Thanks for sharing.
Nice! I've built the Airfix Lightning F.6, and it does still have the same fitting problems as your kit. Even the fuel tanks didn't fit properly, and they stand out so much as they're above the wings.
Great job on your F.2A though!
Owen, I'm not much of a modeler, but you are definitely inspiration for this 13 year old me
Nice job Owen! I had the same issues as you regarding the cockpit fit and also found all of the small decals quite challenging. Spent lots of time sanding and filling, used Revell Plasto. I brush paint and cho
se the same colour scheme as you and was pleased with the result
I really enjoy watching your videos and especially your enthusiasm as well as tips I have picked up from you, thank you.
Very nice build 👏👏
Made one of these a few years ago for my Dad. It's his favourite plane so I put a lot of effort into it :)
I was a newbie at that stage though, so mine ended up unbalanced, or as you said, "a tail-sitter". I might do some aircraft surgery on it some day to fix that.
Your lightning is absolutely brilliant but instead of inspiring me I feel like chucking my models in the bin lol. Well done Ows
Hi Owen. I have almost finished this kit. I remedied the fit issues with sanding to leave a 2 ish mm gap at the bottom of the front fuselage, which was easy to fill with squadron white putty. I am going to be using AK xtreme metal aluminium colour for the body, which will hopefully yield good results. I might use semi gloss varnish on top of decals, or maybe an acrylic gloss, but depends on how the aluminium paint works out...
+Fractal are you brush painting it? What is the AK crewmen metal colour like? Let me know when you've done it, best of luck
+Quick Kits I will be airbrushing the xtreme metal paint, but I believe there is also a true metal product for brush painting. From what I've heard the xtreme metal is very good, but I'll update on how it worked for me. Amazing modelling on your end as ever.
You made a great job of that build, I had the same cockpit and intake fit issues when I built it. The is Airfix kit is the still best 1/72 Lightening out there.
Great work. Such a steady hand and detailed
Nice work man
Thanks for your explanation in detail. It gives me great help.
A great video thanks Owen. You always inspire me to pick up the paintbrush again.
Thanks Philip, that's great to hear!
I really do enjoy your videos mate and I'm glad you were able to post one for us.
Nice build mate and thanks again.
Al
I just don’t have the words oh yes I do you were born with a special talent keep up the good work😁
Congratulations from your Brazilian fan.
Thanks Raphael!
Hi Owen, I love your videos they have made my models so much better and improved my skills thank you so much I hope your uni work is going okay ;)
Thanks Harry, I'm glad to hear that my videos have helped you. Uni is going great, exam next week!
good luck!
What experiences have you had building the kit? What is the best product to seal decals with so that the shine of the Humbrol Metalcote is not lost?
AK and alclad have gloss coats specifically for metal finishes however you have to use an airbrush. Also the shine you get by using ak or aclad metal paints are signficantly better compared to humbrol metalcote. Having said that i understand your channel stays out of the airbrush territory and i think that is quite challenge. However you make the models look very nice and most importantly i really like watching your vids they are very therapeutic. Actually you are first modelling channel i watched because at the time i didnt own an airbrush and you quite helped me with the tools and technqiues i should use. I dont know how i ended up here by talking about metal paints but nonetheless thanks for tips and tricks and the entertainment
Quick Kits I always have a problem with humbrol 11 not staying on the model and disappearing when applied any way to fix this?
I must say I built the F.6, but i had pretty much all the same issues you had. Kind of a bummer. But I absolutely hated the belly stripes and the no step lines on the wing. Someone as young and as unsteady as me found those quite hard
You're very welcome, I'm glad my videos have helped you and thank you for the advice :)
I can recomend an automobile acrylic sprays - metal spray and clear spray. They are very cheap but very effective. Like "BOSNY" for example. Aproximately 2,5 eur for the can. For fullmetal early reactive planes very good. Only one thing - they are toxic, so you should use them in the street, must dry for a day on the street or in the garage.
You made this model lightning quick(kits)! Super fast ;)
You should do a video showcasing your collection of models. Would love to see them all. :)
Handbrush art 😀Congrats
Thanks for the video, unexpected find, I bought this kit as a “starter kit”, a couple of days ago...
Great vid Owen!
Liking before even watching cause I know it's gonna be great! You did it again Owen! Nice work
great work
Escelent Work congratulations
a great build of a classic aircraft. Keep up the good work :)
Great video Owen, I have a number of Lightning kits to make from Airfix, Sword and Trumpeter, going to be very busy when I get around to it! Incidentally I have found it possible to get a nice metal cote finish using a tin of Humbrol 27002 neat with a filbert brush. Cheers
Wonderful kit by airfix and by far your best build. if you don't mind I am going to nick a few of your suggestions for my Lightning build. 10 out of 10 owen.
Would love too see another tank soon!
Great tips! I'm just getting back into modeling after many years away. I subscribed, so please keep the great videos coming! This kit looks like a handful, though. Is this aircraft available in a kit from another company?
awesome work !
Thank you!
I did encounter a problem with the intake trunking on my F.2A kit. It is molded too wide to sufficiently allow the fuselage halves to close around properly. I solved the issue by sanding down the sides of the intake trunking and constantly test fitting. Even then the fit wasn't great, but definitely better than fitting it stock. I also found that the belly tank area was slightly problematic. The central seam line was difficult to clean up. The nose gun ports didn't sit flush into their mounting slots and required sanding and filling to get them to look presentable. The plastic was extremely soft and prone to scratching from abrasion. It was only compounded when aluminum paint was applied as the scratching became visible. It required polishing and re-application. Overall it produces a satisfactory Lightening, but required careful assembly.
Great thing. Beautiful model. Maybe a bit too fast for me, but... it is Lightning, it must be fast. ;)
JUST SAW THIS ; you are so right about the nose . it is supposed to be completely flush . the only thing I could do was build up the joint with thick ca glue as filler is too soft to actually build up the circumference of the fuselage halves . we're probably talking less than 1mm . the join along the belly was quite poor . Other than that it is a very pleasing model . The back engine fittings are perfect . the later all grey F6 versions avoid the need for metal finish . I guess a less pedantic person might be happy with the fit as it is not massively out ; like an Italera Eurofighter I have been building .
great build really like time lapse videos dont know how to do them yet tho.
Looks really good! Need to buy another lightning as mine went a bit wrong 😂
If you want to do another old jet, I'd recommend an Me-262, F-86 Sabre or F-104 Starfighter. Keep up the great work Owen! :)
Nice video and build Owen keep it up.
Another great build keep up the good work.
I had exactly the same fault with the cockpit/air intake fit. I ended up extensively sanding and thinning the air intake until it fit. To be honest I was surprised how poor fitting this was, given how good the fit has been on many other recent Airfix releases I've built.
Like you I would not recommend this kit, unless you have some experience and patience, but it can certainly look the part once done, as your model shows so well.
Regards,
Dan
Tassie Australia
Thanks Dan!
hello i am getting alot of airfix planes for christmas and one is the lightning. a fan from northern ireland
I had this kit back in the '80-the '90s. The only thing I remember about it is: those side missiles were an utter'COW' to fit
I enjoyed the whole video, great work!
I didn't have a problem closing the fuselage on my F.2A kit but my F.6 kit did need more work since it had a lot of ejector pin stubs protruding. They do need a little bit of patience but overall they're very nice kits.
hey owen! build looks great. I really love the silver finish. by the way, to obtain a better finish, and retain more of the metalcote's shine and avoid damage to the paint, you should varnish it after it has dried ad cured.
Nice one man! Also congrats on 20,000 subs!
Superb job on the lightning, you are completely deserving of the 24000 subs. This makes me want to go out right now and buy one but i'm right next to a shop that only sells revell products :-( No hate on revell though.
Nice lighting Owen! It's great to finally see you upload another timelapse video. Oh yeah and by the way what size of brush do you use to paint your 1/35 tanks? and are they rounded or flat brushes? Couldn't see them clearly in your tank build videos
you've done a great job with my favourite child war jet. well done mate.
absolutely beautiful. I may have to pick one up. I had the old hasegawa one but ended up tossing it in the bin after the decals peeled off huge sections of paint. evidently the decals were too old.
I'm really enjoying watching your videos. I'm looking to get back in to making models, not something I've done since I was a kid and it's interesting to hear how much filling, filing and drilling seems to have to take place. Back when I used to model I always went with Matchbox kits, they were - I think - better in terms of fit than the Airfix kits of the day, but of course they no longer exist (exist on eBay) so I wondered if you had experience of any other manufacturers and which ones you feel need the least amount of refinement?
Hi Owen,
regarding your tip of using a toothpick over the masking tape in places where you don't want the paint to spill under the mask, I personally do a single layer of basepaint over the tape joint in order to seal it with the original color underneath it and then proceed to apply the second color over after it's dry. It's given me nice results (specially using brushes)
have you tried it? which one would you rather use (I didn't knew about the toothpick one and I'm curious now)
by the way, nice channel, your modelling is very thorough and your reviews are entertaining and reliable :)
cheers from Argentina and thanks for the excellent work!
I've never considered doing what you've described, I'll have to give it a go and see. Thank you for the tip and I'm glad you like my videos!
so cool, great video
Nice job Owen, bugger of a kit, expected a little more from Airfix these days, though their new 72nd Vampire and Jet Provost are pretty good
Nice job
Interesting using PVA instead of a gloss coat before decals. I'm tempted to try this out!
Minor nitpick to this excellent model, but F.2As would have either four guns or two upper guns and two Firestreaks (AAMs). Excellent work overall though! Thanks!
great vid
quick question : have you ever used airbrush
Nice!
looks great!👌🖒
Thunderbird 1, er, The English Electric Lightning is my favourite Cold War fighter jet. The USAF Sabre is next, followed by the Mig of the time :-)
Nice
I have just ordered this model as my first to build, not sure if I have done right as I have never done model making before.
Great video would you recommend this. Also how was the build?
Check 12:40 for my recommendation, and from 11:38 for my summary of the process
I'm not normally a plane builder but watching your vids has me wanting to do a phantom but couldn't find it in your play list, any chance you could do one ? many thanks for the inspiration.
Well done, looks like a struggle due to the poor quality of the kit - fairly typical of airfix when I look back to getting them in the early 70s - so it wasn’t my fault that they never fitted properly as expected when you are only 10 with nothing more than a tube of glue and a couple of pots of paint. I had this model back then and remember it looked ok all painted silver and hanging off the ceiling, but the buccaneer was much more interesting
Looks great can you do tips and tricks for realistic effects.
Hey Owen,can u make a video on the Airfix 1:72 Messerschmitt Bf109G-6 Kit ? I'm getting mine soon.
Tried one of these metal cotes steel color for my 1/24 harrier and ran out of bloody paint, looked good on half the model but the other half was unpainted so it was too messy. I ended up buying some hycote aluminium paint and it worked fine with extra paint for my tamiya hornet
Loving your videos, I was wondering if you were considering moving up to some 'higher grade' kits, from Tamiya/ Hasegawa for example?
He's built a Tamiya Panzer IV in the past.
Not entirely sure that you can imply that Airfix are 'lower grade'. Sure, many of the earlier kits are tired and dated but their newer stuff is usually very good and their choice of subjects is outstanding; built the F2a last year and had no serious problems with it, also thought it the best 1/72 Lightning I have done (have tried the old Airfix, Matchbox and Hasegawa offerings).
Michael Evans silence libtard
Bueautiful model, just one coment. The horizontal stabilizer should show a gap, it's a moving part in the real aircraft.
should say you've ended with a good job
Do you overall recomennded this kit?
Owen, Have you tried using one of those tipex correction pens on the wing to fill them. I haven't myself but It's quite popular on the ATF (airfix tribute forum).
I haven't heard about it but I'll take a look and maybe give it a go! Thanks
I'm building the F6 version on this Airfix kit. Also had fit issues- fuselage halves around the nose and the nose panel inserts, wings, rear elevators, belly panels, missiles, plus huge ejector marks in the way all over the kit, had 2 panels where not enough plastic had been injected into the mould to complete the pieces, wrong part numbers in the instructions... For a 2015 new tool, I'm disappointed
The new tool Airfix kits seem to have a lot of very tight clearances. Probably due to CAD design. Just a little paint or a tiny bit of mold separation mark will interfere.
I agree, and it's a real shame
Ive watched your how to paint tutorial, but i still have problems with thinning the acrylic paint. Can you help me?
When you said in the English electric lightning video that this kit is for advanced Modelers but can it be for intermediate model builder ?
+Adam's Awesome Projects yeah, just not beginners
Hey Owen!,it would be cool if u did the bae harrier jump jet model kit by airfix.Nice video btw
How come the paint didn’t scratch off the model when you used the 1000 grit
Maybe try Plastic Putty from Vallejo, it comes in a tube and it's very easy to use. ;o