Airfix 1/72 TSR-2MS "Stratos 4"

[haneto]

For any one if you're interested.

One new sprue of new parts for TSR-2MS from Japanese anime "Stratos 4" is included.

[haneto]

[haneto]

[haneto]

[haneto]

FYI.

Yufei

[Richard M]

Thanks for posting up those pictures, very comprehensive! Pity it's only MS1014 on the decal sheet, it would have been cool to do one of the sharkmouth aircraft from Advance.

[feanor]

Ayup...

Long Time...

But worth it ! Thanks for posting. Now I want to get one ASAP !

[stevehnz]

Awesome posting even if slightly disturbing content. I guess I've never got the anime thing, maybe you had to be there to appreciate it as it were. Nubile teenage pilots in very suspect looking pressure suits riding a TSR2 straddled like a motorbike, I mean, what am I 'sposed to make of it? I'm so pleased I've got an original in my stash, anyone want to swap? Just kidding, I don't know what I'd do with the alternate parts, thats the scarey bit. :lol:

Steve.

[Daryl J.]

It's good to see that kit back in production; I liked it much better than the 1/48th kit.

[ChernayaAkula]

Thanks for posting those pics, Yufei! :)

So, if I understand the Airfix site correctly, these will also be sold in the UK, right? That would be great, as I missed the 1/72 TSR.2 first time round.

[ElectroSoldier]

Is it me or is that a really sexual flying position for two girls to be in...

Those Japs really need to get out more...

Doing it is better than modelling it LoL

Sorry, but I think its just one big joke.

One sad male ego trip from somebody who will never see it outside of a pay per view/do arena...

And a hell of a way to rerelease a kit which was a mile stone in Airfix company history...

[gmat]

I thought that the positions of the pilots were strange too, but on reflection, it looks like hey are riding on a racing motorcycle. On BritModeler, there was talk about a prone flying position actually tested. Certainly the figures are pretty 'female,' though.

It is possible that more Airfix TSR-2s might be sold in the anime version in Japan and Asia than the the straight version. Sad, but Anime and Axis stuff in Japan helps provide the capital to release the straight historical stuff that we enjoy. And while some of the Anime stuff may sometimes seem disturbing to older people, the bulk is aimed at younger girls and well as boys. And here in Japan, it doesn't seem to hurt their development to fit into society. Not perfect here, but lots going well. I do worry about the slacker mentality and me-ism message that I see in American cartoons. Also when portraying girls, I don't think that it is healthy to show them to trying to dress up like their older sisters going to a dance club.

Hope that you are fine and well, ElectroSoldier.

Best wishes,

Grant

[Jay Chladek]

The prone piloting position was tested out in the 1950s by both the US and the British. In fact, the Meteor jet test bed that was used to test prone piloting positions is on display at RAF Cosford right next to the TSR-2. It was determined that such a laydown position resulted in higher Gee tolerance without blackouts during certain manuevers since the heart would be more in line with the head rather then underneath and could keep pumping blood without it pooling in the lower extremities. But flying in such a position was also very fatiguing, so it was never implimented for a production aircraft. The closest it got to production in the US was the Northrop XP-79 design. For how the jets in Stratos 4 are used, rocketing upwards, launching a missile at an incoming comet at the edge of space, doing a high gee break manuever and then returning to land soon after, I can see its benefits (of course in the anime, booty shots behind the female pilots are quite common too).

I'm thinking about getting two of these kits. One I would do as the jet from Stratos 4 and the second one I would rob the parts from to convert a MiG-31 Foxhound as seen in the OVA series. I've also been pondering chopping up an Italeri XB-70 Valkyrie and sizing it down to make the Stratos 4 itself (essentially a B-58 crossed with an XB-70 resulting in what essentially looks like a two engined Valkyrie with a rocket engine in the rear).

[SouthViper]

Uauuuu, did You see that "back" of the green hair Girl on the box top illustration ?

Veru exciting

SouthViper

[Jay Chladek]

I went ahead and placed an order from Starship Modeler. They got half a case in and as of my order, they had two left. They expect to get more. I'll probably wait until closer to Wonderfest before I try to order a second one and I already have one of the original Airfix TSR-2s in my stash. The Pit Road Skywave 1/144 TSR-2 styrene kit is also due out very soon. When it was first announced, it seemed like they were planning to offer Stratos 4 variant parts as well, but I can't tell if the kit will have them or not.

[gearheadrandy]

If anybody's going to buy this and not use the RAF portion of the decals, I'll pay a reasonable amount for it. Looks much nicer than the decals in the original issue.

[Richard M]

I'm thinking about getting two of these kits. One I would do as the jet from Stratos 4 and the second one I would rob the parts from to convert a MiG-31 Foxhound as seen in the OVA series. I've also been pondering chopping up an Italeri XB-70 Valkyrie and sizing it down to make the Stratos 4 itself (essentially a B-58 crossed with an XB-70 resulting in what essentially looks like a two engined Valkyrie with a rocket engine in the rear).

I'd be interested in seeing the Stratos 0 build, I'd been wondering which kits to use for that. I've got a Yak-28 kit on order to make one of the trainers to sit next to the TSR.2MS.

Link to the prone Meteor;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloster_Meteo...2Prone_Pilot%22

Edited December 19, 2010 by Richard M

[jaydeesan]

You have got to be $#!&&ing me! LOL. It's so sad that anyone would even watch that garbage, whatever the hell it is, never mind making a model of it...

[spejic]

You have got to be $#!&&ing me! LOL. It's so sad that anyone would even watch that garbage, whatever the hell it is, never mind making a model of it...

Have you actually seen it? How can you criticize it like this without having any idea what it's actually about? It isn't dirty, it's a science fiction story with a very life-positive theme.

You can get the whole series on DVD for a very reasonable price. Go watch it and loosen up a little. Do you really think grown men fitting together bits of plastic to make little airplanes are in a position to tell others if their hobby is worthwhile?

Edited December 19, 2010 by spejic

[ChernayaAkula]

<...> Do you really think grown men fitting together bits of plastic to make little airplanes are in a position to tell others if their hobby is worthwhile?

Good job adding some perspective! :P :(

[Jay Chladek]

Good job adding some perspective!

Agreed. Nice rimshot. Besides, if it gets us an OOP kit back into production, I am also all for it.

[Thorsten Wieking]

You have got to be $#!&&ing me! LOL. It's so sad that anyone would even watch that garbage, whatever the hell it is, never mind making a model of it...

Ever wondered how many scale modelers started this hobby because they wanted to have their very own [insert kit based on any TV Series here, e.g. Airwolf, Blue Thunder, Star Trek, Star Wars, Five Stars Story] on their bookshelf?

;-)

Cheers

Thorsten

[DamienB]

Shame the new canopy isn't in clear plastic, could have made a good basis for a simple trainer conversion.

[Aggressor Supporter]

Nice review on this model. Especially good to see they included pilots which are sorely lacking in many of today kits.

[J.C. Bahr]

So is this kit going to be more widely available this time instead of the "short-run" job they pulled before? If so, I'm glad that they included the stock decals with it as I missed it the first time around and am not interested in the anime thing.