May 2024 Part 1
DeHavilland Vampire FB Mk.5
Link to Website Index: 
DeHavilland Vampire FB.Mk.5
502 (Ulster) Squadron, Royal Auxiliary Air Force
RAF Aldergrove, 1956
FROG 1/72
Link to Website Index:
The DH100 Vampire first flew during WW2 and was widely used by the RAF as a ground attack aircraft alongside Meteor interceptors. Powered by the DH Goblin jet , its twin tail boom configuration ensured that all of the limited power available from this early engine could be used. Adopted in large numbers by the RAF to replace piston engined fighters, the Vampire set several records, becoming he first jet aircraft type to cross the Atlantic and the first jet aircraft to land on a carrier and take off again (in its Sea Vampire form). Nearly 3.300 were built, including licence built derivatives in Switzerland, France, Australia and Italy.
The FB.5 variant was fully optimised for ground attack with over 900 built for the
RAF alone. Although 2-
Link to many more RAF aircraft on my Friends & Allies pages
Building the FROG Vampire Kit:
After last month’s completion of my P-
I have gone
for something easier and less challenging. The FROG Vampire kit is definitely an
old friend to me, with this being my 4
It’s a very simple kit, yet its overall appearance when complete still compares well with e.g. the Heller kit, which is much more sophisticated and has many more parts. The FROG has no real cockpit to speak of, and the decision not to include the rear part of the canopy in the transparency (it’s moulded into the fuselage top) does detract from the kit. The undercarriage is also very crude, with 18inch scale thick doors and very basic main wheels (that should turn if you assemble them correctly!).
The only major difficulty in assembly is aligning the two booms; for my last build in 2016, I managed this without problem, but for this one it was back as I remembered from my youth, with sagging booms, twisted tails and gluey fingers! Filler will definitely be needed, not least on the wing joins and behind the canopy. Decals are colourful, depicting a RAuxAF machine of 502 Sqn, based in Northern Ireland and a Swedish Air Force FB.50 from Soderhamn Air Base near the Swedish Coast. Unfortunately, mine started to disintegrate and crumple as I attached them, the first time I have had this happen with FROG transfers. I guess that 45 years+ after they were produced, this should come as no surprise. Spares came from various other Vampire kits.
My “coven” of previous Vampire/Sea Vampire builds:
