Mountain goat

Thank you 👍! (Sadly there's a few deal breaking mistakes in the decals so here's hoping @26Decals will go for the subject). Jay

Does anyone make good decals for Singapore Airlines? Would love to build an SIA example of this kit! Or even two, one in flying mode. Jay

I want four or five IIIEs, same for the III/ 5R, and three Belgian Mirage 5s. I'd already be happy if only one of these versions came out. The last Special Hobby product I bought was the IIIC. Lovely kit. Now please for the 'mature' delta Mirages. Jay

"Hello, this is the Public Relations Department. We will be informing you about our product lineup and future production directions. This time, we will be providing the first update on the future of aircraft that have not been reproduced for a long time, so please take a look. We will continue to provide information on our general plans and prospects for other products, not just aircraft products." Goody! I love Fujimi. A-6 and A-7 are on my wish list. The xitter replies mostly contain wishlists similar to above. Jay

Now some pics of how the canopy/ windscreen look together after mods and polishing (see post). I'm quite satisfied with it. And yes, the model in these pics has a small pilot in it and is in taxiing mode. I am making a handful of these at the same time, so I'm switching between these for illustrative purposes. When they're all in primer, I'll take a family photo. Jay

Wow thank you! - Not sure if I'm that on top of things TBH: I did miss the nose leg link being too horizontal, so that's gone right onto the to do list! 🙃 Jay

Superb wotk - I've bookmarked it, especially as I've started my own build of the T4. I'm impressed by the bang seats and the overall shape of the model. Nice! Jay

Inspired by @turnerdad' s very nice build of the Hasegawa Jag from 2008, I tried my hand at shortening the main undercarriage legs, and giving them a slight bend forwards, as described in his build. He mentioned that the gear was overextended and needed cutting through the piston, but I couldn't make out clearly how badly the Hase part compared to the real thing in that regard. So I elected to cut through about halfway, and relocate the strut to sit in top of the gear leg, like the real thing, rather than how it is molded: leaning against it. Next up was trying to fit in the Pavla resin Undercarriage bay set. Alas, this set isn't available anymore. When it still was available, I managed to pick up a few. After cutting out the U/C doors, I tried to fit the resin inside, but though the fit wasn't atrocious, it wasn't good either. By the way, I used a small Revell saw in the pics because of the visual info it conveys, but I used an Olfa knife for the job. The cuts I made look rather haphazard in these pics, I realise that - as well as that, the whole installation looks rather messy, but by cleaning up and by carefully adding details in a few areas, I promise it will look better. Until next time, thanks for looking, and any feedback is much appreciated! Jay

Hi all, Diving straight in - here's a pic of Hasegawa's Jag on the old box sides. I always had a sort of nagging feeling that something was off with the shape of the nose and windscreen and canopy. I could never pinpoint it, but after laboriously studying the subject, I came to several conclusions. 1- The length of the nose is okay. 2- The area which I call the jaw bones (the area roughly under the 54 sqn shield on the pic above) are too angular, and should be rounded off slightly. 3- The top area between the forward edge of the windscreen and the aft edge of the LRMTS nose package is too flat, and needs more volume and be slightly more rounded. 4- The flat centre pane of the windscreen needs to sanded flat, as there's a noticeable longitudinal curve which shouldn't be there. 5- The whole windscreen should be shorter and the canopy longer. I fixed the windscreen by sanding away about 3 mm of the leading edge. By adding plastic and filler to the fairing forward of the windscreen, I was able to blend it into the fuselage. I simultaneously flattened the centre pane by sanding it. Because the aforementioned curve is still somewhat visible inside the windscreen, as I left the plastic there untouched, but I hope, once polished and painted, this won't be visible. Here is the nose section completed, with the jaw bones rounded, the area in front of the windscreen more rounded, and the general proportions more pleasing. Here's a comparison before and after of the area around the windscreen. Okay, that's it for now. I hope to post more soon. As ever, praise to the modelling gods and can we humbly request a new Airfix 1/72 Sepecat Jaguar please. Thanks for looking, Jay

Thanks, I have the Wolfpack set, which fits really well. For a couple of the others I've simply took to sawing out the flaps. Very doable with the right saw. I'll post some pics of that operation later this week. Arigato Gonzaimas! I'm afraid I've already chosen the cheaper route for this one. Amen! Jay

Hi all, It has been said since time immemorial, that the modelling gods will grant you the wish for a new kit of a certain type, as long as you put in the necessary effort in building existing kits. Enter the possibility of a new Airfix Sepecat Jaguar (see Rumourmonger) coming out. To humor the gods into granting us this new release in 1/72; I offereth this build. Witneesss! Slight confession: I've started this build of several Jags a year and a couple of months ago. The build has stalled -BUT I will finish them after I complete a couple of C-160s and a C-130K. Those builds are well advanced. To start off, I had a bit of fun with Photoshop: I've decided to post the building process not in chronological order, but organised by task or subject. For starters, there's the wing slats. No 1/72 Jags exist with optional flaps or slat placement. So you have to cut the flaps out, and build the slats. I used Evergreen plastic strips, bent and sanded, then coated with CA glue, and sanded again - now to a smooth finish. The kit's cockpit rear bulkhead is incorrect and featureless. It needs at least a little re-arranging and detailing. Because the interior is black and many of the rear details will be obscured by the Martin-Baker ejector seat, I have decided against maximum detail. Therefore I'll keep it fairly simple. Thanks for looking! I hope to upload the next pics soon. Jay

Yes, agreed on Hasegawa! Italeri has the typical wide recessed panel lines of its era and bit cruder details. Jay

You're welcome - yes the two-seater too, a one-piece canopy. Shape-wise it looks more than the real thing than the single-seater. Oh forgot to add: the spring-loaded auxiliary jet intake doors are molded on the open position. Which isn't correct. Jay

As for me, I've never built the kit, but I've seen the plastic etc. It's quite expensive for what you get and don't get. You get only the French versions, and a fairly misshapen canopy and windshield in one piece. You don't get open air brakes, which were always open on the ground. Hasegawa and Italeri offer at least the same quality (I'd argue better) for a better price. Jay

Great, Sepecat deserves some love from manufacturers. I'm hoping for a 1/72 kit - with separate flaps and slats! Sawing the flaps out and scratching the slats on the Hasegawa Jag wing is a bit of a chore. Jay