Subject: Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star

Manufacturer: Airfix

Constructed in 1987

The kit was issued in 1974 and had very fine raised panel lines, typical of the decade, which you lose when a joint is sanded and the engine air intakes were a poor fit compared with the best Japanese offerings twenty-something years later. Airfix always did seem to have a problem with wing-root intakes. However, the undercarriage bays do have some detail, the shape of the aircraft is captured well and the decals were superb.

The slight yellowing of the decal carrier film as seen in the photograph below is not as bad as it looks but I might seal them all in with a coat of Humbrol Matt Cote before they deteriorate any further. I should have done so at the time of construction but the film just wasn't visible so a transparent 'overcoat' didn't seem necessary and I had yet to learn that the stuff yellows with age if not protected.