Matchbox PK-129 Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.14/NF.12/NF.11 Night Fighter — 1/72 Scale Plastic model kit damaged oleo

Manufacturer: Matchbox / Lesney

Kit reference: PK-129

Subject: Armstrong Whitworth/Gloster Meteor NF.11, NF.12 and NF.14

Scale: 1/72

Original Matchbox issue: 1986

Parts: 74

Plastic: Three colours

Kit type: Injection-moulded plastic

Status: Out of production

Later reissue: Revell 40124

Typical markings: RAF and Belgian aircraft

The specialist Matchbox catalogue records the original PK-129 as a 1986 release with 74 parts in three colours. A modelling reference also records the later Revell 40124 reissue of the same basic tooling.
Manufacturer and kit history

Matchbox's plastic model operation was originally part of Lesney Products, the British company famous for its Matchbox toy vehicles. During the 1970s and 1980s Matchbox developed a substantial range of 1/72 aircraft, often concentrating on subjects that were not necessarily covered by its competitors.

PK-129 was a relatively late Matchbox aircraft tooling. The Matchbox catalogue records it as a 1986 introduction, in the orange-series packaging, with 74 parts moulded in three colours.

The tooling subsequently passed into the wider Revell/Matchbox family and was reissued as Revell 40124. The kit is now discontinued, making an original PK-129 increasingly a vintage-kit item rather than a normally available modern kit.

The kit is unusual because it is not simply one Meteor variant. The moulds contain the components needed to build three separate night-fighter versions:

NF.11

NF.12

NF.14

A modern build article confirms that the modeller can choose between all three versions.
Kit contents

The original kit contains approximately 74 parts, moulded in three colours.

The principal contents include:

two-seat Meteor fuselage;

extended radar nose;

two Rolls-Royce Derwent engine nacelles;

wings;

tailplane and fin;

cockpit components for pilot and radar operator;

undercarriage;

wheels;

engine intakes/exhausts;

radar nose components;

optional parts for the different NF versions;

clear canopy parts;

decals;

assembly instructions.

The kit can represent NF.11, NF.12 or NF.14. A surviving kit listing specifically identifies the contents as including parts for all three versions and markings for RAF 84 Squadron NF.12, RAF 85 Squadron NF.14 and Belgian 11 Squadron NF.11.

The kit is typical of later Matchbox tooling: the panel/detail treatment is more restrained than the very deep engraved lines found on some earlier Matchbox kits. Modeller feedback describes the cockpit as rather basic and identifies the wheels and some of the nose geometry as areas where modern aftermarket parts can improve the finished model.

The model has a wingspan of approximately 182 mm, with the exact length varying slightly according to which Meteor night-fighter version is represented.
The real aircraft — Gloster Meteor

The Gloster Meteor was Britain's first operational jet fighter and one of the most important British aircraft of the early jet age.

The first Meteor prototype flew in 1943, and the aircraft entered RAF service with No. 616 Squadron on 27 July 1944. Its initial wartime role was principally interception of German V-1 flying bombs.

The early Meteor was a relatively straightforward straight-wing jet, but successive versions improved:

engine performance;

fuel capacity;

armament;

aerodynamics;

pressurisation;

cockpit arrangements;

reconnaissance equipment;

night-fighting equipment.

The type ultimately developed into a large family of fighters, trainers, reconnaissance aircraft and target tugs.
Why Armstrong Whitworth became involved

The night-fighter version came about because Britain's wartime de Havilland Mosquito night fighters were becoming obsolete.

The RAF needed an interim jet night fighter while the much more ambitious Gloster Javelin was being developed.

Gloster was already heavily occupied with Meteor production and development, so responsibility for developing the Meteor night fighter was transferred to Armstrong Whitworth, another company within the Hawker Siddeley group.

That is why the kit is often labelled Armstrong Whitworth Meteor, even though the basic aircraft family is the Gloster Meteor.

The resulting aircraft combined elements of several Meteor versions:

the basic fuselage arrangement of the T.7 two-seat trainer;

the tail of the F.8;

longer wings derived from the earlier Meteor configuration;

a new extended nose;

a two-person cockpit;

airborne-interception radar.

The result was a very distinctive aircraft with the enormous rounded radar nose seen on the Matchbox model.
Meteor NF.11

The NF.11 was the first major production night-fighter version.

Its most obvious external feature was the large nose containing the AI Mk.10 airborne-interception radar.

Because the radar occupied the nose, the Meteor's four 20 mm cannon were moved from their normal nose position to the wings, outboard of the engine nacelles.

The aircraft retained the Meteor's straight-wing configuration and was powered by two Rolls-Royce Derwent 8 turbojets.

The first true NF.11 prototype flew on 31 May 1950, and production aircraft subsequently entered RAF service.

The surviving airworthy WM167, now registered G-LOSM, was built by Armstrong Whitworth at Baginton in 1952 and is described by Classic Air Force as the only surviving airworthy night-fighter Meteor.
Meteor NF.12

The NF.12 introduced an improved radar installation.

The nose was lengthened by approximately 17 inches / 43 cm, and the aircraft received a larger fin to compensate for the aerodynamic effects of the new nose and radar equipment.

It also used the more powerful Rolls-Royce Derwent 9 engines.

The NF.12 first flew on 21 April 1953.

It entered RAF squadron service in early 1954 and equipped several RAF squadrons before being progressively replaced during the late 1950s.
Meteor NF.14

The NF.14 was the final production night-fighter version.

It was based on the NF.12 but incorporated a further extended nose and, most noticeably, a large blown canopy replacing the heavily framed earlier canopy.

That gives the NF.14 a substantially cleaner cockpit appearance and is one of the visual differences that the Matchbox kit allows the modeller to reproduce.

The NF.14 first flew on 23 October 1953.

Only approximately 100 NF.14s were produced. They entered RAF service from February 1954 and began being replaced by the much newer Gloster Javelin from the middle of the 1950s. Some continued in overseas service considerably longer.
Armament

The night-fighter Meteors retained four 20 mm Hispano cannon.

Unlike the single-seat fighter Meteors, however, the cannon were moved into the wings because the large radar installation occupied the nose.

The two-person crew consisted of:

pilot

radar operator/navigator

This arrangement allowed the pilot to concentrate on flying and weapons while the second crew member operated the airborne-interception radar.
Radar

The radar was central to the entire NF conversion.

The NF.11 used the AI Mk.10, based on the American SCR-720 radar system.

The radar allowed the aircraft to detect and intercept enemy aircraft at night and in poor visibility.

Later NF versions received progressively improved radar systems, which explains much of the external difference between the variants.

The 600 Squadron Association's historical study illustrates an NF.11 with the radar installation and the characteristic cannon mounted outboard of the engine nacelles.
Performance

Representative NF.11 specifications include approximately:

Crew: 2

Engines: 2 × Rolls-Royce Derwent 8

Thrust: approximately 3,500–3,700 lbf each

Wingspan: approximately 13.1 m

Length: approximately 14.78 m

Maximum speed: approximately 560 mph / 901 km/h

Service ceiling: approximately 43,000 ft

Armament: 4 × 20 mm Hispano cannon.

The NF.12 and NF.14 were progressively longer and more powerful, with the NF.14 reaching approximately 15.65 m in length.
Operational history

The Meteor night fighters served with the RAF throughout the 1950s as an interim defence against the possibility of Soviet bomber attack.

They were eventually replaced by more capable swept-wing aircraft, particularly the Gloster Javelin.

RAF records identify the NF.11–NF.14 family as an Armstrong Whitworth night-fighter series serving from the early 1950s into the 1960s.

The aircraft was also used outside Britain.

Night-fighter Meteors served with air forces including:

Belgium

Denmark

France

Australia

The NF.11 was particularly important internationally, with Belgium operating 24 and Denmark 20 aircraft, while France operated a larger fleet of night-fighter Meteors.

Some aircraft were subsequently converted into TT.20 target tugs, allowing them to continue flying after their front-line night-fighter careers had ended.
Production

The entire Meteor family was produced in substantial numbers.

One museum source gives a total of approximately 3,545 Meteors produced between 1942 and 1955, including approximately 575 night fighters.

The NF.14 was the smallest of the three principal night-fighter production variants, with approximately 100 aircraft built.

Armstrong Whitworth manufactured the night-fighter Meteors at its Baginton facilities near Coventry.
Surviving aircraft

A number of Meteors survive in museums around the world.

The particularly significant example for the PK-129 subject is WM167 / G-LOSM, an Armstrong Whitworth-built NF.11.

It entered RAF service in 1952, later became a target tug, was withdrawn and subsequently restored to NF.11 configuration. It is described as the only surviving airworthy Meteor night fighter.

The survival of this aircraft is especially useful for modellers because it provides a real full-size reference for the unusual radar nose, two-seat cockpit and night-fighter configuration represented by PK-129.