1/48 Classic Airframes 

Gloster Meteor F Mk8

by Graham Tarran

--------------------

 

I am a dedicated builder of 1/48 scale models from the Second World War.  OK, ok, so I recently built a Classic Airframes Hornet, an Airfix Seafire 47 & Hobbycraft Sea Fury, which are definitely post-war, but they were all 1/48 & had props at the front.  Here I am now with a post WW2 “blow-torch”….why?  Well I like CA kits, I was attracted by the wealth of colourful marking options, I was getting in a bit of a rut & a change is as good as a rest…There! 

After marks 1 & 3, the Mk 4 introduced extended engine nacelles & wings of greatly reduced span.  Both of these mods resulted in a marked improvement in speed with the cropped wings also increasing roll rate at the expense of the rate of climb.  The Mk 8 was the first operational mark to introduce any major fuselage modifications with an extended nose & redesigned tail unit. It was also the first to incorporate an ejector seat (long time since I built a model with one of THOSE!). 

Following the instructions, basic assembly was quite simple.  Plastic is the usual CA type, i.e., quite soft.  The resin parts are a very similar colour.  

The resin components include a nose wheel mounting frame that attaches to the front of the cockpit assembly.  It is a miracle how CA managed to cast this in a single piece & probably more so that it reaches the modeller in the same state!  It needs a bit of cleaning up & rather than risk breakage & loss of any of the members, I removed the two diagonal struts, re-applying them after clean up.  No guidance as to where to mount the assembled cockpit in the opening but logic prevailed. 

Without a considerable amount of weight forward of the main undercarriage, there is no way of avoiding a tail sitter with this model.  Mine was provided by the metal weight that Tamiya thoughtfully provide in their Meteors, my example of which took a final flight during a recent “rationalisation” of my model collection!  I simply superglued it in position behind the cockpit.  Even this is barely sufficient to do the job! 

Click on images below to see larger images

Other reviews have commented on poorly fitting intake mouths; mine went on fine requiring a little filler & sanding to hide the joints. However, there are massive internal seams that require some awkward filling & sanding.  Resin engine fronts are positioned just behind the “splitters” & jet pipes are installed with a couple of mm exposed at the rear; I used sprue “props” to install them straight & level. 

The worst fitting aspects of the kit are the outer wings.  Put simply, they are appalling!  I wedged more scrap sprue into their open ends (where they join the nacelles) but was still left with major gaps that required much in the way of filling & sanding. With hindsight, I may see on a future build whether it is possible to attach the top & bottom components to the respective inner components before cementing them together. 

As the undercarriage, wheel bays & doors are the same colour as the rest of the undersides, I attached them prior to painting, reinforcing the joints with a bit of brass wire on each leg.  I did not attach the nose gear as I was worried about breaking either the leg itself or it’s delicate mounting frame up in the nose gear bay.  Arriving too late for inclusion in this build was a pair of Airwaves white metal main wheels.  These demonstrate a different hub design to those supplied by CA.  I’m not sure which are correct but as you can see so little of the undercarriage due to the Meteor’s low slung “sit” & the blanking effect of the doors it’s probably no big deal which you use. 

The Meteor is often seen with external tanks, the centre line tank more so (at least in my references) than the wing tanks so I used this tank only. 

The undersides were then sprayed with Xtracolour X142 FS17178 “Aluminium” which seems a reasonable match for “High Speed Silver” on the real thing.  Uppers received a dark green & dark sea grey disruptive pattern – Xtracolour again.  All decals are from the kit & went on very well.  Options are two RAuxAF machines (501  & 609 squadrons), plus a single Israeli example (more choices are provided on the Xtradecal sheet which was unavailable at the time of this build).  I then sprayed the entire model with Humbrol gloss varnish – another refreshing change from matt WW2 finishes!  Maybe a bit too “factory fresh” to some eyes but these RAuxAF machines were well maintained.

 

Pitot tube is fine brass tube & rod with rod used again for the rear fuselage aerial & stretched sprue for the forward aerial. 

The only real additions I made were the prominent canopy rails either side of the cockpit.  These are easily fabricated from a bit of card & stretched sprue.  Unlike their recent Hornet, the canopies in this kit are injected.  They are quite thick & looked a little cloudy out of the box but a quick polish & a dip in Future resulted in a decent finish. 

Apart from the nightmare of the wing joints, I genuinely enjoyed this model & am very pleased with the result.  I have a couple more Mk 8’s along with a couple of Mk 4’s in the “to do” pile.  The sheer number of units that operated these machines & resultant choice of markings is to me sufficient justification. 

This kit is one of a very welcome series that Classic Airframes are releasing over a period with the FMk4 already available.  The FR9 (basically the same as the FMk8 but with a camera nose) is due for release in February & the TMk7 is I believe due for release fairly shortly but I really await the NF11/NF13 Nightfighter although an NF14 with it’s “blown” hood would be the icing on the cake for me. 

Now, onto my 1/32 Hunter!!! (Anyone want to but a closet full of 1/48 WW2 models?)

Graham

Click on images below to see larger images

Photos and text © by Graham Tarran