1/72 Airfix Vampire T.11

Gallery Article by Dirk Schenk on Dec 26 2017

 

      

The Vampire was the South African Air Force's first jet fighter and entered service in 1950. The SAAF operated approximately 30 T.11s and T.55s. They were withdrawn from SAAF service by 1972 and many of the SAAF surplus stock found its way to the Rhodesian Air Force. 

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I decided to model my T.11 in the scheme used towards the end of the Vampire's life in the SAAF. I used MAV decals to depict #277, a plane which still flies occasionally at air shows and fly-days in South Africa. 

The Airfix kit is an absolute pleasure to build and went together without any hassle. I added a bit of detail to the cockpit to liven it up somewhat and allowing me to model the canopy in the open position. For painting, I used Tamiya Silver Leaf for the metallic finish and Humbrol for the Day-Glo orange, which proved quite challenging to apply.

This concludes my series on the SAAF's first jet planes, being Vampires and Canberras. I hope you enjoy the pics.

Dirk Schenk

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Photos and text © by Dirk Schenk