Anthony in NZ

Awww thanks mate, it's just my OCD pushing me to do the best I can LOL, I will try not to laze around anymore sir....having fun and relaxation is for sissy's anyway Thanks, I dont know how I maintain motivation at times either. I guess I just LOVE Brit Tooms! Thanks Chris, I really appreciate your encouragement mate! Yes I keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end too! Small update tonight Undercoat of silver done before a little more tidy up on stuff you just wont probably see On with some colour, sheesh that red is bright! Now toned down with an oil wash and flat coat. This area got quite oily and sooty, considering how filthy the belly of the Phantom got it probably should be worse, but I didnt go too overboard On to something else now, running out of things to do before paint! Cheers team, appreciate your feedback and likes Anthony

Yes I totally agree, that is a gorgeous Brit Phantom build...love all the extra details you have added. Beautiful finish etc Cheers Anthony

Absolutely gorgeous! My goodness I’m enjoying what you are creating here! Top shelf modelling and scratchbuilding I’m in awe cheers Anthony

Thanks Chris, getting there mate! Thanks buddy, I sometimes wonder when that will be lol LOL trust you! Yup stay tuned Colin! Wow Pete, that was awesome!! I wish I could have seen one fly....actually, just to see one would even be great! That was a great inspiration, thank you! Well I have actually been steady with progress, but with such things I didnt really have much to show until today A package arrived in the mail from Kerry! Somewhere in here is an FG.1 leg test print! I know that because I have seen this..... So I set about trimming and found this inside Now for those who cant remember, the reason for the completely new leg is because it is very different to a std Phantom NLG. Aside from the double extension with extra scissor link, the actual oleo itself is of a bigger dia and rakes rearward. He nailed it, a perfect fit! An overall shot showing the rearward rake, only done by eye, not actually glued in properly of course. I have started testing all the dimensions and so far so good! Also an area that needed attention was the aux air doors top and lower. Both sets needed scratchbuilding. First up are the lower ones, just basically layer upon layer of plasticard and raised rivet decals, followed by a layer of Mr Surfacer Raised rivets and extra details on the other side..... And a comparison on the other side with the kit ones. The kit ones are smaller and further back. Apologies for the lack of updates, had a bit going on. But still not stopped on this...she is still alive! Cheers guys and thanks for stopping by Anthony

James, that’s absolutely sensational mate! Beautiful work/creation Can’t wait to see your new fuselage You have my full attention and respect cheers Anthony

Thanks very much, I appreciate you sharing your vast knowledge. Very helpful and really interesting at the same time cheers Anthony

Brilliant information! We’re the “sim plugs “ very big or noticeable if the station was empty? Thanks again Anthony

Sorry to drag this old thread up again, but there is so much interesting info here. Looking at my 1/32 FG.1 loadout at the moment and was originally just going to put the 2 'blue ballast'units in the front wells and then I realised the detail in the rear wells is pretty poor and thought about fitting eith 4 AIM7/Skyflash drill rounds or another pic I saw was the 2 ballast units in the front and 2 Skyflash drill rounds on the back. Nothing on c/l But the more I look it seems it wasnt a very common fit, as I only found 3 photo's Thoughts? Cheers Anthony

Nicely done and a big improvement!! Glad you spotted those other details too. Cheers Anthony

Ok I might be able to help here Whilst researching these for my 32nd conversion I found myself asking all the same questions. Basically these plates got bigger and bigger through their service life. But essentially they finished up how your kit depicts them in a 'late mod'state. This is how I did mine This was done with a lot of help from @Gene K and he cut the plates on his Silhouette Cutter for me. But essentially this is how they should look at the end of their service life. So any variations on this usually means earlier mods. Even then, there seems to be slight variations. Hope this helps, Lovin your work! Anthony

Absolutely loving your progress! You’re doing an amazing job. One thing I just noticed is doing forget about the big bulge on the front left skins in the cockpit for fairing the gun. But seeing your work I’m sure that’s all sorted keep up the great work Anthony

Thanks Chris, yes I am really looking forward to the test print of the nose leg. In the meantime I am back at the hot end.... Thanks Colin, yes the wear is the tricky part. Too easy to make it look overdone in my opinion So the rod insert thing seems to do the trick, painfully slow but working. Here is a couple of pics of where I have got to. As you can see there are still a few 'rogue' washers and some with dodgy screw holes in the centre, but I will fix those. The aim here is to get close and then let everything cure and sink for a few days then hopefully I can do all the fine tuning and finish this side Then of course there is the other side Note above also here there are extra washers/fasteners down the side panels too Placed a reheat can in also just to see how it looks overall Yikes these huge pictures really show up all the imperfections etc! Still obviously a bit to go here to make it look better, but time to breathe, step back and look at the big picture again Might look at the Vari ramps while this area all cures Cheers Anthony

Thanks Keith! Win some lose some, but I think I have sorted the left side hot section now Hahaha, ..........ahhh you make me laugh mate! Thanks Chris! Yup it motivated me again, I think I have the left hot side sorted. will know more after a little primer later on, but looking hopeful Not too much to add except Kerry's exceptional work on the nose leg continues....almost finished now, I think he said there is a little plumbing to still do. During Kerry's study of the leg he noticed it was slightly assymetric (or very slightly off centre) You can see that in the top of the leg where the triangular flanges are bigger on one side compared to the other. So aside from being thicker the FG.1 leg was very slightly offset. Oh and the side u/c door opens up past 90deg Cheers guys! Anthony

Hahahah, ok ok I will promise to finish it. I have visions of an angry mob standing outside my front door with flaming torches hammers and nails Thanks Chris, just got to pull off a good paintjob to finish her off soon!

Thanks buddy, nice to hear as I have struggled these past few weeks Thanks Trev, I will look for your build with interest, goodness knows I am needing inspiration at the minute! LOL....suffering lots sometimes Awwwwww thank you...just what the Doctor ordered, thank you! Thanks, yes I am going to have to be careful not to overdo it either. Thanks again! Seriously, this 'Hot section'has challenged me more than anything else I think! I am at 'Plan R' and we know what is after R? S and S= SOD! However I just couldn't put her on the shelf as I feel like I would be letting too many people down after so much amazing help and encouragement. I ended up drilling holes and them reaming them out to take a piece of Evergreen rod number 221 3/64" or 0.047 dia. Because there is so much resin, CA, plastic card and other crap in there I had to slowly ream out otherwise the edges were crumbling and I got a few cracks between hols, Ugh. Finally I have a method that seems to work. Anyhow I decided to take a break from that section as it has been really intense for me to get consistent results. But I think I can get a nice accurate representation eventually Not flash but I can make this work, still a lot of work to go on in here I realised So, time to clear my head and do something else @xvtonker here has done some gorgeous 1/32 RAF Phantom boarding ladders, thanks so much to you they are awesome and really look great fitted to the model. Highly recommended!! I have decided to only use the rear one as often you see the built in front step down for pilot access and a rear ladder fitted only. So I gave it a light sand/buff down to remove some very light print lines, I lost a few bolt heads and so added Archer ones to replace. Then primered Mr Surfacer 1200, sprayed Mr Color silver and then a clearcoat Then I made a mix of Dk green/olive drab and sprayed the ladder. I left 24hrs and then used micromesh, fine sanding sponges and a piece of worn smooth emerypaper. to very carefully wear through to the silver, the clearcoat was there as an added barrier in case I went too deep and hit grey primer. Added some stencils matching a few photos and a '43'as sometimes the sqdn marked their own stuff. These ladders got really rough, but I didnt want to go too overboard. Then a flat coat and a gloss on the silver to make it shine a little. Oh I also lightened and darkened the green to look like oily rags and handprints had tarnished the paintfinish. This is what I ended up with Someone got something right between Tonka and myself as it fits perfectly! So I am feeling better now and can face doing more washers at the back.... Thanks for tuning in team Cheers Anthony