Jabba Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 It is about time that I threw my hat into the ring of this GB. I am using the Academy 1/72 kit (For the first time) to build an aircraft from VF-84 about the time of the ill fated raid on the U.S.Embassy in Iran. I think that the kit has the identity bands that were painted onto the aircraft, but the instructions show them on the lower wing only, and I am not sure of the correctness of this. Hopefully someone will be able to point me in the right direction. Anyway some pictures to start with. The kit box. What is inside. The instructions. The aircraft I am looking at doing, plus the decal sheet Some extras. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted April 13, 2014 Share Posted April 13, 2014 (edited) Interesting choice! I'm sure I have a few pics of these aircrafts, I'll check if the upper wings are visible to confirm the location of the bands edited: at least one picture shows the bands on both top and bottom of the wing Edited April 13, 2014 by Giorgio N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Interesting choice! I'm sure I have a few pics of these aircrafts, I'll check if the upper wings are visible to confirm the location of the bands edited: at least one picture shows the bands on both top and bottom of the wing I have also found a photo which shows an aircraft from both VF-84 and Vf-41 and the colour of the middle strip is red with a gap between this and the outer black ones. If you could point me in the right directions of the photos that you have I will be very grateful. I tried the web yesterday but could only find the one that i already knew about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 The stripes differed from squadron to squadron according to the traditional colour assigned to the unit within the air wing: the first squadron in the wing has red trim and the second has yellow trim, for this reason VF-41 (modex 1xx) had the mid strip in red while VF-84 (modex 2xx) had a yellow strip. The yellow used is the same yellow used for the trim on the squadron marking, so it's a rich orange yellow. Some pictures are in this thread on ARC: http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=164402 I'll post any other pictures when I found them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 Thanks for that, I must get some better eyes/glasses as they do clear up a lot of things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 A few photos of what (little) progress I have made so far. To be honest I am not liking this kit compared to the usual Hasegawa kit that I normally use, but I shall keep on plodding on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted April 30, 2014 Author Share Posted April 30, 2014 I have made some more progress with this kit in that I have gotten the Fwd fuselage together. The only problem has been when I offered this the the rear fuselage as unlike the Hasegawa Tomcat kits there is no positive location between the two sections. So I added some strips of plasti-card to the rear section and have now glued the two sections together, with a not too bad join. Further progress will carry on this week, although I do have another interest with a MiG-21 to be finished by the weekend. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 That looks very nice, Jabba. Well done to achieve a good join between the two sections and I hope that the rest falls together for you. Cheers, Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Coming together well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 That looks very nice, Jabba. Well done to achieve a good join between the two sections and I hope that the rest falls together for you. Cheers, Andrew. Thanks, I do hope that the rest of the kit fall together as I am really not liking this kit compared to the usual Hasegawa one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Jabba, If memory serves, I gave up on finishing my sole Academy example years ago due to fit issues. I didn't get as far as you though, so I think that you've succeeded where I failed (dismally). You've chosen an interesting historical scheme, the decals look great (as do those Phoenix missiles) and I look forward to seeing some paint on it soon. Cheers, Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 (edited) Going by memory, you've sorted the most difficult parts of the assembly by now, should be easier from now on... The Academy kit looks nice in the box but the fit is not great. The one I built was also full of ejection marks on the landing gear legs, wheels, wheel wells and other areas, a nightmare to clean up. Edited May 2, 2014 by Giorgio N Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted May 2, 2014 Author Share Posted May 2, 2014 Jabba, If memory serves, I gave up on finishing my sole Academy example years ago due to fit issues. I didn't get as far as you though, so I think that you've succeeded where I failed (dismally). You've chosen an interesting historical scheme, the decals look great (as do those Phoenix missiles) and I look forward to seeing some paint on it soon. Cheers, Andrew. Going by memory, you've sorted the most difficult parts of the assembly by now, should be easier from now one... The Academy kit looks nice in the box but the fit is not great. The one I built was also full of ejection marks on the landing gear legs, wheels, wheel wells and other areas, a nightmare to clean up. Thanks for letting me know that the worst may be over. The decal sheet does look good and is printed by Cartograf, but there is one flaw with it in that the striping on the wing is for the underside of the left wing when most pictures I have seen show it at least on the upper wing and I cannot see a way to place it on there. Also most picture I have seen show a gap between the black and yellow where on the sheet there is none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Thanks for letting me know that the worst may be over. The decal sheet does look good and is printed by Cartograf, but there is one flaw with it in that the striping on the wing is for the underside of the left wing when most pictures I have seen show it at least on the upper wing and I cannot see a way to place it on there. Also most picture I have seen show a gap between the black and yellow where on the sheet there is none. I'm sure the worst is over. You've made it much further than I did with an Academy Tomcat, which is a pity, as it could have been the kit that lazy sods like me turned to when they wanted to avoid the Hasegawa offering. HobbyBoss have also failed to achieve that status with their kit (but not because of fit issues), so it's Hasegawa for me when I next attempt more Tomcats. I see from Giorgio's link to the ARC thread what you're talking about with the wing bands. I'd not use the decals (given they can't be easily adapted to go above the wing) and just paint my own, incorporating the gap between colours if you see fit. From the two photos of VF-84 jets in that thread though, I think you'd be safe with or without gaps - it's not very clear. Cheers, Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted May 4, 2014 Author Share Posted May 4, 2014 A quick question or two. Am I correct in my thinking that the ECM bump of the beaver tail seen below, plus the ECM blisters under the fwd part of the wing glove should be removed for a Tomcat in the time period that I am building in? Also what armament would an aircraft had carried on this mission? I am hoping to use 2 x sidewinders and Sparrows on the wing gloves and either 4 or 2 x Phoenix under the fuselage. The reason I ask is because in one of the photos that I have seen of two Tomcat marked up for this mission, they are carrying 4 x Sidewinders under the wing gloves and Sparrows under the fuselage. The beaver tail ECM bump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 Nice work so far mate. Yes, I believe the ECM bumps would be absent from your jet. As for the armament the standard 2 AIM-9, 2 AIM-7 and 4 AIM-54 would be fine. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted May 4, 2014 Author Share Posted May 4, 2014 Nice work so far mate. Yes, I believe the ECM bumps would be absent from your jet. As for the armament the standard 2 AIM-9, 2 AIM-7 and 4 AIM-54 would be fine. Dave Thanks Dave, I will get them removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 The weapon fit is something for which I am not sure at all.... Going by memory, in general, aircrafts based on carriers in peacetime had 1 or 2 sidewinders, 1 sparrow and 1 phoenix. If things were hot around, a typical load was a 2-2-2, with 2 missiles of each type. The use of BVR missiles like the Phoenix however was however sometimes restricted, I wonder if the presence of a 4 sidewinder and 4 sparrow load on the aircrafts in the picture is a consequence of similar restrictions in place for this operation ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted May 7, 2014 Author Share Posted May 7, 2014 A few more parts added to this model, and I am still not wholly impressed with the fit of things. Yes I know that a bad workman should not blame his tools, but to be honest although the Hasegawa kit usually gets a slating for its fit I still prefer it. Also although I am not normally what you call a "rivet counter", I am not too sure about the shape of the top of the left fin, or the bulbous front edge of it as I hope these next pictures show. I will re-shape these before I go much further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted May 7, 2014 Author Share Posted May 7, 2014 The weapon fit is something for which I am not sure at all.... Going by memory, in general, aircrafts based on carriers in peacetime had 1 or 2 sidewinders, 1 sparrow and 1 phoenix. If things were hot around, a typical load was a 2-2-2, with 2 missiles of each type. The use of BVR missiles like the Phoenix however was however sometimes restricted, I wonder if the presence of a 4 sidewinder and 4 sparrow load on the aircrafts in the picture is a consequence of similar restrictions in place for this operation ? Thanks for the info, I think that I will go with the 2x2x2 as I now have the Phoenix missiles saving the other two for an aircraft loaded with 6 at future date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Some progress has been made, mainly sanding the thing. I have also started to paint the instrument panel shroud so that I can fit the glass to aid painting. One bad thing though, when I picked up the model by the nose to take these pics there was a bit of a crack and a split has appeared. Hopefully a spot of glue will fix this. One thing that is missing is the engines as I have forgotten about them, but they will be fitted tonight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted May 19, 2014 Author Share Posted May 19, 2014 Just a very quick update to say that painting has been started with the application of some yellow to the right wing and fin tops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted May 19, 2014 Share Posted May 19, 2014 So will you be painting the stripes ? Guess it's the best solution ! While this kit is really not one of the best in terms of fit, at least your box should have some good decals since they are Cartograf. I built the original kit coming with VF-51 markings and some of the decals were terrible, the reds and whites did not cover at all ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted May 20, 2014 Author Share Posted May 20, 2014 So will you be painting the stripes ? Guess it's the best solution ! While this kit is really not one of the best in terms of fit, at least your box should have some good decals since they are Cartograf. I built the original kit coming with VF-51 markings and some of the decals were terrible, the reds and whites did not cover at all ! I figured that this was the only way to go. So I photocopied the decal sheet, cut out the stripe dcal and to find the rough position on the wing I just reversed the decal. I will not be placing the stripe on the uinderneath of the wing as I figured that the wings would be swept on deck when the painting was carried out and so it would be difficult to get between the tailplane and the wing to do the painting. Unless anyone knows otherwise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted May 22, 2014 Share Posted May 22, 2014 NIce work so far mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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