John the Yank Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 Finished installing and smoothing the intakes. Nasty steps and gaps need to be smoothed and filled, but CA and MS 500 was all that was needed. Typical modeling problems with older kits, nothing difficult. The kit intakes are easily modified, but if you have the CE or D-Mold intakes much time can be saved. My recommendation is: use the front half of the CE or D-Mold intakes and the Scaledown wheel well/intake. This is do-able, I only have to figure out where to make the cut on the intake. I'll try this on a F-111F in the future, in the meantime quite a way to go on this one. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John the Yank Posted June 3, 2009 Author Share Posted June 3, 2009 Not an update but some useful information to those who are considering building the Vark. My D-Mold intakes arrived today, (they take awhile to source) so a comparison is in order. They are on the left side and are a single piece with seperate fan faces. The CE intakes are on the right and some assembly is required. I highly recommend either, CE is defunct so the D-Mold should be available but you have to find a source. NA Hobbies on this side of the pond distributes D-Mold but production is in Russia so availability is spotty. The D-Mold intakes are beautiful and my hat is off to the gentleman who patterned them. Not a lot of modeling at the moment, I have the clan from Bucks and London in for my daughters wedding so progress is at a stand still at least for another fortnight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angels49 Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 This is gonna be as good as the last one if not better.....ya know ya ain't makin it easy for me to keep my 'vark in the closet, don't ya. So for the time being I'll just enjoy watchin you build and pretending its mine... j/k...I'm taking notes so make the updates as good as your modellling skills . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John the Yank Posted July 20, 2009 Author Share Posted July 20, 2009 Back on the bench.....finally, after my daughters marriage, a 1850 mile road haul (22 ft Penske with full car trailer) to Emeryville CA, and all the honeydoo's that Summer brings. Damn I love modeling. Well, plan B has unfolded, the Scaledown long wings, flaps and slats did not work out to well. The wings are really nice, but the slats and flaps were less than desireable. No matter what I did, I could not remove the warpage from them, and to top that off they were too long for the wing. Needless to say after hot water dunks and cuts here and there, and reassembly, there was no way they were going on this build. I used the kit wings and chose an intermediate sweep. It was common to see the Vark on the ramp with wings in various swept positions. I had less problems with Paragons slat & flap set on the E. Oh well, don't forget the re-inforcing strip behind the crew module, it will eliminate the step, and a sprue cross brace to firm up the fuselage. Going to close her up and press on. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John the Yank Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 Fuselage complete, no putty, just CA, rescribed. Wing sweep seals traced from P.E. originals onto sheet stock and finished with surgical tape If you decide to use this technique, remember to use a fresh #11 blade and coat the tape with clear acrylic (It will keep the tape from fraying during fine tuning) Installed, trimmed, and looking the part. Scaledown wingroot gloves re-installed in the closed position John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 Excellent idea with the tape, John. Your progress continues to be impressive; looking forward to more! Cheers, Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John the Yank Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 The best part of modeling has arrived, ready for primer and paint, damn I wish it could always start from here. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John the Yank Posted August 29, 2009 Author Share Posted August 29, 2009 Finished the scheme and taking advantage of the great weather to let the paint cure. I'm satisified with the camo and the outside light shows the pattern to full effect. Testors 34086 Green Drab and 36081 Euro I Gray topside, 36081 and 36118 Gunship Gray underside, pattern is from the Hasegawa 1/72 FB-111A. This scheme varied widely and weathered fast but it was real purdy when fresh. Next step Gloss Acrylic Laquer from the spray can after curing. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousDFB1 Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 Great looking camo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 ..... I'm satisified with the camo and the outside light shows the pattern to full effect ..... I can see why you're satisfied; excellent result! Your photos illustrate the pattern better than many I've seen in books/on the web and constitute better reference than the Hasegawa instructions - I've struggled to make sense of their shading, but here it is in glorious colour! I was obviously just waiting for someone to go to the effort of building it in 48th, do a top-notch job and take pics in lovely sunshine for the light bulb to go on...... Many thanks and looking forward to more. Andrew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 Very nice camo job, nailed it! Excellent work so far, Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John the Yank Posted September 7, 2009 Author Share Posted September 7, 2009 The Aires F-14A Exhaust afterburner sections fit the Paragon Cans perfectly and really add the depth to the nozzles plus it has the PE flameholders. The Scaledown mainwheels still lack the rim but Verlindens PE rim fits these wheels perfect too. Lots of detail up stuff left to do, but she is coming together. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John the Yank Posted September 19, 2009 Author Share Posted September 19, 2009 Light at the end of a long tunnel! Sneak peak of my 2nd Academy Vark. JTY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatchet Posted September 20, 2009 Share Posted September 20, 2009 Fantastic John, the camo looks marvellous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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