Starr Miniatures 1/144 BAC TSR.2

By Damien Burke

History

The TSR.2 was an extremely advanced all-British strike aircraft roughly equivalent to the F-111 and designed around the same time. TSR.2 was a designation that stood for Tactical Strike and Reconaissance and it was intended as a replacement for the versatile Canberra. In 1960 the newly formed British Aircraft Corporation absorbed many existing aircraft manufacturers in the UK and was responsible for the design of the TSR.2. Mismanagement and bureaucracy stifled the project and led to massive rises in cost, with political opposition putting up a wall of flak before the first aircraft had even flown. With the government's future looking bleak, BAC were worried the next government would cancel the programme so they went all out to get the first prototype (XR219) flying despite serious engine problems. They managed this but the early flight tests had numerous problems that reflected the hurry they were in.

The aircraft showed astonishing promise, for instance being able to outperform a Lightning without even using afterburner. The second prototype was damaged before its first flight, leading to a delay. Unfortunately for the British aircraft industry the newly elected Labour government then cancelled the project in 1965 and the second prototype never flew. The F-111 was to be purchased instead, though as that project was increasingly delayed and ran over-budget it was dropped too

The prototypes and first production batch, many nearing completion, were mostly scrapped or destroyed on shooting ranges though two survived to later be restored and put on display in museums, one being the second prototype (XR220). The single example that had flown was shot to pieces and finally scrapped in the early 1980s; ironically at the same time that the tri-national Tornado was entering RAF service. Today's Tornado is still only approaching the capabilities that the TSR.2 was expected to have in 1970 - which is some indication of what the UK lost back in 1965.

The Kit

Packed in a stout postie-proof box with the parts wrapped in bubble wrap for further protection, Starr isn't taking chances with broken parts! The smaller parts are wrapped up in a bag within the bubble wrap too, though unfortunately the canopy (and a spare) is not separate from the other small parts and therefore vulnerable to scratching.

This is a mixed media kit, with most parts in resin, vacuform canopy and white metal nose gear and main gear legs. The quality of the casting of the resin parts is pretty decent; some fine detail on the wings is evident though the fuselage is rather bare. The white metal parts need some cleaning up but look good. The picture shows the parts laid out with wing and fin already attached by your over-eager reviewer. I hadn't expected any canopy, let alone a cockpit area, never mind the tiny ejection seats to go in there.

The instructions consist of a guide on working with resin (a very nice touch and something other manufacturers could heed), a list of parts, additional references, and a history of the aircraft, along with some detail pictures and basic plans. No assembly diagram as such but there are few parts and the plans diagram make it obvious what goes where. Decals are not included but two suggested third-party sheets are suggested.

Available direct from:

Starr Miniatures
91 St. Anne's Avenue
Stanwell
Middlesex
TW19 7RL
UK

The kit is also available from The Aviation Hobby Shop in the UK (price 5 GBP) and INGO Modell in Germany.