June 2025 - BAC Lightning F.6

June 2025 Part 1

BAC Lightning F.6

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English Electric / BAC Lightning F.6

11 Squadron RAF

RAF Leuchars, Kingdom of Fife, Scotland, 1967

FROG 1/72

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The English Electric Lightning was one of the few RAF aircraft developments to survive the infamous 1957 Defence Review that insisted that missiles were the future and cancelled everything else.

And what a fortunate thing that survival was, as it evolved into a truly awesome aircraft, whose phenomenal performance in many respects still exceeds that of the USAF's F-15 fighters. It is on record as the only aircraft capable of intercepting a U-2 spy plane from above, reaching a maximum height record of 88,000 feet. It served the RAF from 1960 until 1988, working eventually alongside the RAF’s F-4 Phantoms and finally being replaced when the Panavia Tornado F.3 was fully in service.

Initial variants were badly short of endurance, but later F.6s (plus updated F.2As and F.3As) received a larger ventral fuel tank that extended their range or loiter time to a more acceptable (although still limited) figure. Armed at first with the Firestreak Infra Red air to air missile, later aircraft carried the Red Top, a more advanced missile that was at least the equivalent (with a frontal attack capability and longer range) than early Sidewinders. Early variants carried twin 30mm Aden cannon and whilst these were removed for the F.3 variant, they were eventually restored as an add-on pack for the F.6’s ventral fuel tank.

The FROG kit represents aircraft XS934, an F.6 that first flew in 1967 and remained with 11 Sqn until 1971. Initially based at the very busy front-line station RAF Leuchars, in the Kingdom of Fife (Scotland), it participated in regular Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) interceptions of Soviet aircraft probing the very busy UK Northern Air Defence Region, with QRA launches from Leuchars often several times a day.

After 11 Sqn reformed with F-4M Phantoms in 1972, the airframe was transferred to 5 sqn and then 56 Sqn. It crashed off the coast of Cyprus in 1973 after an engine fire, but fortunately the pilot was able to eject uninjured into the sea, from where he was picked up by an RAF SAR helicopter.

Building the FROG Lightning F.6 Kit

The FROG kit (F266) of the BAC / English Electric Lightning F.6 comes from the era when FROG & Hasegawa shared some moulds. As with all these arrangements, the decal options on the FROG issues were different from Hasegawa.

FROG's Lightning kit started off as their own design (with catalogue number F201), but this was dropped in 1967 to avoid duplication with the mould that Hasegawa were already working on. That mould first appeared in FROG boxes (F266) in 1968, with 165,000 kits produced (probably in Japan). After this, a duplicate mould was created for FROG's own use, with a further 35,000 produced in the UK from this mould after 1975 (also F266), which had some subtle small detail differences and smaller sprue frames to fit in FROG boxes.

Although FROG stopped producing Lightning kits in 1977, the

Hasegawa and FROG moulds continued to be used, including several issues by Revell (most probably from the FROG mould) and by the Donetsk Toy Factory in Ukraine (available under several brands), up until 2012.

The kit is typical of its time, chunky but sharply moulded in detail, with raised surface lines (I sanded these down slightly) and no cockpit to speak of (I added an instrument panel and tidied up the ejector seat considerably). It fits together well enough, although sprue attachment points need to be removed from key positions, but I did not need any filler. There was a little flash, but it was easily removed. As with all Lightning kits, its undercarriage is spindly and weak, and it will be a tail sitter if you don't add weight to the nose (for once I remembered but added far too much, so my model is very heavy !). I guess that its main failings compared with modern kits are lack of detail e.g. in undercarriage wells, the see through/blanked tail pipes and the blanked intake. Nevertheless, FROG got the aircraft's shape right, which is more than can be said for some more modern Lightning kits.

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Background Image - a Lightning F.6 at the Elvington Yorkshire Aviation Museum

Link to other RAF models on my “Friends and Allies” pages

Link to Part 2 - Hawker Sea Fury X

Link to June Part 2 - Hawker Sea Fury

Mine is, I believe, one of the early Japanese made issue (although its box says made in Great Britain!), in a nice silver plastic which is very hard (and thus a bit brittle). Decals cover an F.6 of RAF 11 Sqn, based at RAF Leuchars, the main UK interceptor base which covered the busy Northern Air Defence Region (ADR) and an option for an export F.53 of the Royal Saudi Air Force. Both aircraft are in an silver paint finish (some of which is natural metal and some "high speed silver" paint). Although the finish is relatively constant, you do need you to paint some tonal changes around it e.g. the control surfaces, wing leading edges and around key maintenance panels. Paint is mostly Humbrol Metalcote (matt aluminium), mixed with black where required and applied by hand brushing (not easy for metal finishes, multiple coats are needed for even coverage). The decals are very well printed and as is normal for FROG, they are fully in register.

The very distinctive overwing transit fuel tanks are included; these were not used operationally other than for long transits, although this was something that the UK-based Lightning squadrons practiced regularly, with rapid redeployment exercise detachments to Malta, Cyprus and as far away as Singapore. Unfortunately, the fixing holes for the overwing tanks are pre-moulded in the wing, so if you want to do one without them, you will need to fill these. Two reasonable (maybe a little skinny) Red Top air to air missiles are provided. If you do the Saudi version, then you might want to find some outer wing pylons for bombs or rockets (The Saudi and Kuwaiti F-53s were the only Lightnings equipped for ground attack, in which role the Saudi aircraft saw quite a lot of action against Yemeni rebels).

I enjoyed this kit, which took me back to a simpler era of modelling, with less parts, less complications and less detail, but plenty of satisfaction. Despite its age, the kit can still stand on its own and is a relatively easy and satisfying kit for anyone to build. Revell actually included an apology sheet in their boxes when they issued this kit, saying it was not up to modern standards, but unless the moulds had badly deteriorated, I don't think it deserved it.

One of the mysteries of this kit is the pilot figure. In my kit (early Hasegawa produced, but the box says made in Great Britain?), he is very clearly an Airfix pilot, with exactly the same moulded details and pose. Later kits have a typical FROG "blob" pilot and it may be that this changed because it was a little too much like the Airfix pilots? Who knows!