Airfix 1/72 H.S. Buccaneer S.2B

AIRFIX 1:72 BUCCANEER S2B
'INBOX Review'

Reviewer: Myself (smakr@bigpond.com)
A fully built review of this kit appears on SMAKR, see links below.

Kit: Airfix #03055 1/72 H.S. Buccaneer S2B (Series 3 - skill level 2)

Aircraft: The Buccaneer started life as the Blackburn B-103 design and in many ways has been a far superior aircraft than many believed. It was the world's first two-seat carrier-based low-level strike aircraft to be built for high-speed under-the-radar penetration. It also incorporated new design features such as a tail-cone that was split in half to open out as airbrakes and a rotary bomb bay so that it avoided the high drag penalty of conventional bomb bay doors that open into a high-speed airstream. The S.2 version replaced the underpowered S.1 version and 84 examples were built and started entering service in late 1965. Royal Navy Buccaneer S.2s were not retired when progressive depletion of the UK's carrier force brought their withdrawal from FAA service - from 1969 they were transferred to the RAF and No.12 Sqn was the first to be equipped in 1970. To meet RAF modification requirements they were redesignated S.2A and then received a subsequent update and modification and emerged as the S.2B Buccaneer. After a wing fatigue problem caused the fatal crash of an S.2B in early 1980 it was clear the Buccaneer days were numbered and during the following years were gradually disbanded. In the early 90's the last remaining Buccaneers still equipped squadrons at RAF Lossiemouth.

Parts: Four sprues, plus upper fuselage half in light grey plastic - typical Airfix quality, containing about 78 parts come in an open plastic bag. Panel lines are raised and surface detail is nothing to write home about. One sprue containing two clear parts, the main canopy and windscreen - there are supposed to be three but I am missing one clear part (appears to be a screen between pilot and navigator). Attachment points on some parts are a bit thick and will need a knife or sprue cutter to separate cleanly. This kit is actually a retooling of their previous basic NA39 Buccaneer prototype kit and is supposedly vastly superior sharing only a small amount of older parts.

Instructions: This comes in the form of a large fold out sheet, about the size of three A4 pages side by side (portrait style). A brief history overview and an explanation of symbols on the front page - in a number of different languages. The inside of the instructions set out 18 easy to follow assembly steps with Humbrol numbers noted for individual part painting. On the plus side assembly is very easy to follow in these instructions and it summarises the part numbers used in each step, which are logical and in sequence. It also tells you what the underwing stores are so you know what you are assembling. On the downside a few components do have a little vague positioning, thanks mainly to Airfix's use of large arrow heads, but hopefully location holes will fix this up. The back pages provide clear four-view diagrams for painting (one thing to note is that 30/163 for the external marking is basically telling you to choose Humbrol 30 dark green (matt) or Humbrol 163 Dark Green (Satin) depending on the finish you want), markings and decaling. It also includes small front view sketches labelling which pylons carry what stores. Overall I would rate the instructions as excellent, let down only by the vagueness of a few parts in positioning and of course Airfix's con.

Versions: Two - both from RAF Lossiemouth, the last operators of the Buccaneer in service as far as my reference material suggests, when the Buccaneer retired from service in 1994. Both feature the standard wrap around dark green/sea grey camouflage and the two examples come from 208 Sqn, 1988 and 12 Sqn (the first and last operators in RAF Service), 1985.

Decals: A reasonable sized decal sheet with backing paper to protect it is provided. It has basic stencilling common to both examples, mainly warning triangles, yellow ident strip lines and a couple of other small stencils. Six roundels and the two fin flashes are in very good register with a real navy blue and deep red colour. The magnifying glass will pick out imperfections in the roundness and straightness of these, but hopefully these will not be noticed once on the model. Most of the carrier film is okay, a little bit excessive on some of the stencilling. Overall the decals look quite nice.

Accuracy: I had a problem with the Matchbox kit I bought with its overall profile so I hope this ones stands up better. From the look of the major components it does look fairly convincing. A quick stock on measurements suggest the published kit dimensions on the box are fully correct (as they should be). This makes the kit about 1mm underscale in both length and span - quite acceptable.

Addendum supplied by David Bowyer: Thought I might warn you - I think the nose is the wrong shape. I'm not a rivet-counter - but the nose shape on the buccaneer really makes or breaks the look of the aircraft. Another model review reached the same conclusion.

Further Addendum, information obtained from rec.models.scales comments: Just recently a thread in the newsgroup talked about the best Buccaneer in 1/72 and unanimously this Airfix kit got the nod, however, there were some flaws in the kit and I have compiled what was said here, in addition to Dave's comments above. The kit is a retooling of the original Airfix NA-39 Buccaneer prototype kit which is said to be lacking in accuracy a fair bit, bringing this one up to a more acceptable standard. The nose shape is it's biggest gripe but also suffers from lack of RWR pods for the wings and tailplane shape.

Detail: Surface detail is adequate but not much more. Panel lines are finely raised with engraved control surfaces. Cockpit detail is about as sparse as you can get; only seats (which aren't too bad by the way), a piece of plastic (with no detail) supposed to be the rear navigator's console; a main instrument panel for the pilot (already molded into the fuselage) - again no console detail - and a small piece, apparently a joystick coming out of the instrument panel are provided. No wheel well detail, basic undercarriage replication, and exhaust tubs are just tubular plastic. There are molded on 'fans' onto a plastic bulkhead for the interior of the intakes - again very basic. There is no bomb bay detail, other than an empty bomb bay - at least matchbox gave you molded bombs so it looked slightly realistic. Overall, adequate but very basic.

Options: There are surprisingly a few options provided in the kit other than the generic wheels up or down. Crew figures are supplied that aren't too bad. You get a generous amount of underwing stores options that includes a D Link pod and then a pair of each of Radar Martel and Infra Red Martel missiles, Sea Eagle anti ship missiles and fuel tanks. The canopy is two piece so this can be displayed open and while the instructions don't say so it looks like you might also be able to have the tailcone open as airbrakes - but there is no detail inside so you will have to fix this up yourself. The only other option appears to be open or closed bomb bay - see paragraph 2 in Impressions below.

Impressions: The Buccaneer is one of my all-time favourite aircraft so its no surprise that this one has been on my wish list for some time. I am hoping this kit will replace the antiquated Buccaneer in my cabinet that I built as a young teenager that has taken a prized position in the cabinet for many years. I think that one was a Matchbox kit (it has red unpainted missiles, suggesting multicoloured plastic plus engraved trenches for panel lines, a real matchbox trait!) and it was only half painted (the sea grey, as most of the plastic was dark green) and in long need of a replacement in the cabinet! I've heard the usual talk around the place that this Airfix kit is a decent kit accuracy wise.

To be honest it is a typically basic but adequate Airfix kit. More than a third of the parts just make up the stores, so it looks like this will be a fairly quick and easy kit to put together - the touted 'weekend project'. Apart from the nose cone, the fuselage is essentially one piece, split horizontally into upper and lower halves. A quick test of dry fitting didn't reveal any problems putting the major components together. As already stated a couple of areas in the instructions are a bit vague on positioning, one in particular is the bomb bay. You are given what on first glance appear to be two halves to make a cylindrical bomb bay, but on closer look, it appears that they are optional 'halves' depending on whether you want an open or closed bomb bay. One half is deeper than the other, so I will have to work this one out when I make the kit. The instructions say the doors are optional but show both in the closed position - could it be that the deeper one can be rotated? In any event there are no bombs or detail in the bay supplied. The only good note here is that you can see a faint arrow molded on the inside of the doors (and also shown in the instructions) telling you which end is the front - nice going.

The kit will be a tail sitter so some weight will be needed, the instructions suggest 5g. Some antennae is also provided as well as a nose refuelling probe. As already mentioned no obvious problems with fit of parts and it looks like the kit will go together pretty easily. Overall it is a basic kit that looks like it will replicate the Buccaneer quite acceptably with a few antennae bits to keep the detailing up to acceptable. Those with a knack for detail will want to consult some aftermarket sources and employ the use of stretched sprue to enhance the kit and deliver something a little better. I am still not sure of what the bomb bay is supposed to achieve and whether it can be displayed open with bombs scrounged from the spares box. I will worry about that later. In any event I can't see why this kit cannot be recommended. Looks quite okay and I am eagerly looking forward to building it!

Other Comments: One thing I really like about Airfix boxings of recent times is the amount of information they provide to the modeller on the boxtop - the skill level; a brief history on the aircraft; number of parts; dimensions of the model; versions supplied in the kit and all the paint tins (ok only in Humbrol) needed to complete the model. If only they produced some really top of the range kits with more detail like Revell!

Well, I am not sure where Airfix decided to nominate this as a Hawker Siddeley aircraft when it was a Blackburn design - reference material does not suggest the plane was redesignated under the H.S. banner.

This is marketed in a starter kit package - obviously you can get the kit separately if you look hard enough. You get 3 tins of Humbrol paint - H40 gloss (light grey), and satin H163 (dark green) and H164 (sea grey); a cheap paint brush that is best used once and ditched, and a tube of Humbrol poly cement. This is a good value kit for those who are after the starter kit extras - but remember you also need other paints to complete the kit professionally.

This is a recent release of a kit, obviously a reissue from the late 80's release of this kit which in itself I believe was a reissue. This boxed version was produced in 1999 (I know this from a modelling magazine) and contains a slip for the Airfix modellers club which includes the internet web site address, itself only up and running in 1999.

I had my eye on this kit for sometime in the department store, but was put off because it was a starter kit - not because it detracts from its quality, but because it costs about 20% more than what the kit would otherwise be! So only when did the store have a 30% off model kit sale did I end up buying this kit - all good things come to those who wait :)

Related Reviews:-

Airfix 1/72 HS Buccaneer S.2B (Mark B - SMAKR) | (Kevin Ronayne)
Airfix 1/48 HS Buccaneer

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