The Lightning was one of the most distinctive — and brutally capable — fighters ever built. Designed to intercept Soviet bombers at high altitude, it was powered by two Rolls-Royce Avon engines stacked vertically on top of each other, which gave the fuselage its characteristic deep but narrow cross-section. The small delta wings were almost an afterthought on what was essentially a guided missile with a cockpit attached. It remains the only all-British supersonic fighter to have entered service, and its climb rate was legendary — pilots spoke of pointing it at the sky and disappearing.

This one was a fun build, if nothing else for the sheer brutish look of the thing. Airfix's F.1 tooling dates from 1997 but holds up reasonably well — this is a straight out-of-the-box build with no aftermarket additions or modifications. I've learned a fair bit since this one was finished, and it shows, but I'm still fairly happy with the result.