The BAC Lightning was Britain’s first and last supersonic interceptor. This Mach 2 jet was in service for nearly 30 years with its retirement in 1988. The Lightning’s clean lines and unique over and under engine arrangement make it a must have for any modern jet collection.

Eduard’s new kit of the Lightning is from their Limited Edition series and contains essentially EVERYTHING the modeler needs to build a stunning replica right from the box. All that the would-be 1/48 Lightning builder needs to add is paint, glue, and time.

Striking box art adorns the sturdy and rather tight opening box, an Eduard hallmark. Cracking the lid open reveals (8) sprue trees, (1) large decal sheet, (2) photo etch frets, (1) canopy Mask, and a nice resin seat from their new Brassin line. A multi lingual instruction sheet and a fold out full color painting guide are provided, offering the modeler a choice of (4) paint schemes.

Let me start out by saying that I am a photo etch (PE) addict. Yes, that’s right - if there’s a model I’m preparing to build and there’s any type of PE available for it, I will buy it and I will use it. I just can’t seem to help it. OK, I feel better getting that off of my chest. I just love PE detail parts and what they do for the scale appearance of my models. However, I have always struggled with removal of the parts from the frets, not only in making a clean cut, but in not damaging or bending the PE part being removed. I’ve tried about every PE part removal technique known to model-building man (or woman) and have never been totally happy with any of them. So when given the opportunity to review this new PE scissor from Xuron, I jumped at the chance.

This most recent release in the Osprey "Master Class" series (designed to give the modeler the “biggest bang for the buck”) is printed with a hard cover and a spiral binder holding 192 pages loaded with easy to follow text and color shots of “how to” sequences. It also gives us beautifully completed models by Brett Green, world renowned master modeler, as well as highly talented folks such as Roy Sutherland, Mick Evans and others. It is designed to be a “workbench” book that will stay open (thanks to the spiral binding) when put down. Although this book is described as a “guide for the serious modeler”, it goes well beyond that, and should appeal to the “curious” among you that wonder (as I have so many times) “now how the hell did he do that !?” If you fall into that category, you will find this reference publication a must include for your personal library.