Well I've started....
The box are, the best part of the kit.

These sprues have raised panel lines

And these have engraved lines

The decal set

Well this lit is a joke, Airfix should hang their heads in shame, it is little more than a toy. A mix of recessed and raised panel lines. A cockpit with no detail. And detailing on the rest is an approximation.
I'm not going to waste too much effort on this, build it OOTB and then give it away to Bex and Lou (Bexwh773 and xxLouisexx) lad. In fact I'm going to let him Decide what scheme its to be painted in and whether it is wings forward of swept.
The little start too me 20 minutes such is it's simplicity!

Hi Mish,

disappointing to read your comments about this kit as I have two in the stash to build

It will be interesting to compare the Italieri F3 I have just bought with this kit!

cheers Bob

Sorry to disillusion you Bob. So far I have discovered, the IPs are blank all detail coming from decals. No other detail in the pit at all. The seats are an approximation. Pilots should you fit them are passable. The tailplanes have some treanches at the joins of the halves. The wings are not too bad a little detail but all raised.
I'm pinning my hopes on the Italeri IDS/GR1 I have coming.

Postie has just delivered the Italeri and at first glance it 100% better kit.

How about this for detail

Bang seats are getting there, going to add some Tamiya tape belts.

me thinks you are Forthwith Extracting The Michelle

And you wonder why I dislike Tonkas Sis......... Theyre cr@p

Bex von DoinARunnerSharpish

Hmmm - i'm thinking may be you should sit this GB out Bex!

(Or face the consequences : )

Karl did an outstanding job on his Airfix F3, it is worth persevering with it.

peebeep

Why do u think I still havent repaired that ECR of mine yet Al

Bex

Bex von BetterBeDoinARunnerSharpish!
You're banned from the Phantom GB for making unkind remarks about my fave jet...

Merv

Thanks peebeep - it was a bit fraught in places, but it is well worth the extra effort in the end.

Keep going Mish, it will work out fine.

Karl

Just been told elsewhere that the upper fuselage half is wider than the lower so I will have to spread the lower half!
Great......

Meoooooow One day I'll finish my ECR, oh empty your PM box too

Bexy



Lolly sticks Sis
Bex

It's empty!
Man,Women!!! Cant kill em ......

HELP
There is two tail fins with this pox ridden kit and no clue in the instructions of which one to use. The differences seem to be what I take to be the RWR ox on the fin? On one it protrudes both to the rear and front of the fin on the other just to the rear.
From what I can see from reference pics I need the later fro the F.3?
If this is not a simple problem I'll post pics later of the two fins.

I've got this kit in the loft Mish, and after a cursory glance at the parts I carefully stacked it as far behind the rest of the stash as possible!

According to the kit instructions, the exploded diagrams show the fin with the rearward fairing only, as do the paint and decals guides, so I should go with that one if I were you...

I await correction by experts on the Fin's fin.

Keep at it,
Dean

Mish,
Use the one without the front RHWR.I think that the other one is from either the old F2? or their GR4.
Merv

The master has spoke.Thanks Merv, that was my feeling as well. BTW I painted the bang seats from memory and just checked ur references and am now repainting, Grrrr

agreed it is a terible kit but can be made nice think yourself lucky it's not the buccaneer that did have issues to joining the fuselage but with time and care was also good

rearward only for f3 strange how airfix put most parts to make gr's and f's appart from fuselage in the same box on most kits even an earlyish gr 1 airfix kit had the f3 fins and extra parts in

Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.p...=brick+building

italeri are widely known in both versions to be the better kit but the f3 is getting rarer even on ebay compared to say last year ( getting compareable to the 1/48 airfix lightning ) when they do turn up expect a bidding war

Thanks for the link Jonathan, I'll need it in the new year.

Mish, Airfix definitely missed an opportunity when they issued this kit. Fit is an optional extra but the end product does look like how it should, panel linw isues not withstanding.

Tony

bloody hell someone got a good one to start with mine took more filler tha an alpha sud practicaly everything needed re-scribing bomb bay door was warped mind you thaught myself lucky as it wasnt as bad as the rest

thaught it had been left in front of a fire but was re assured that was how they came ......

On with the horror story....
The lower fuselage complete with lollystick spreaders.

Fuselage halves together, and no I haven't forgotten the elevators. the join was so weak I've decided to add them later.

Now we have the tour of the gaps




I've tarted up the seats a bit

OMG Youve got yaself a filler Queen there Sis Seats look alot better now though

Bex

the technique on the tornado fuselage as with the bucc do not try to glue all at once they respond better to a staged glueing working around the fuselage holding till area is dry then onto next section

Exactly what I did tornado, its a p**s poor fit.

Those are some SERIOUS gaps, aren't they? Mine went up in the loft of the workshop last week, for the time when I might need some donor weapons for my Italeri kits. Anyone that moans about the corrections needed on the Italeri Tornados needs to be given one of these & forced to build it at gun point! It makes Karl's build all the more impressive, when you think of the tat that he had to work with.

Don't give up Mish... just use the experience as seam filling practice

I'm getting a bit good at picking kits that need filler. And I seem to getting a bit good a filling and sanding

yep they arn't good the gr's are better my airfix f3 was a better fit but neer the jet intakes area it looked like the yts lad had used a 4 inch grinder to dress it with a big grind hole looks nice finished though ( honest ) as with all tonkas carefull with them fragile main landing gears

never mind once you try the italieri kit you'l be spoilt .......

Plastic being ejected from the moulds before it had properly cooled. There were a batch that came out of Trun like that, one even resembled a banana it was that bad.

Yep

Have you noticed those panel lines yet as well mish. ie the bottom of the kit is raised, the top engraved. (Major Airfix corner cut) and the fit on this so poor it is beyond believe that they still have the front to sell the damned thing. At one time these kits sold for as little as £7.00 on evil bay.

I started one many moons ago, never finished it, and finally binned it. Purely awful kit, and with that sort of performance, it's little wonder Airfix went to the wall again.

hopefully third time luck we seem to have a businessman in charge, with a team producing what people want.

Good luck with it Mish,

Dave

It's from the new tooled parts for the GR4 - included in this kit to enable an EF3 to be made with the Alarms.

The lack of fit between upper and lower parts shows what happens when you tool the parts 20 years apart! Upper fuselage was re-tooled to correct a couple of minor problems (mainly too long airbrakes IIRC)

You have to remember it's mainly a 1983 Palitoy kit. The original had a better fit between the halves!

Thanks for the info guys.
I have today given a good bashing with a sanding stick and smothered it in filler.
A lot of detail has been sanded out already

There's where you're going wrong Mish! You're supposed to rub the stick backwards & forwards, not just hit the model with it!

Damn this could be why the hammer hasn't been working

Dont worry about it Mish,Mikes been acting funny all day!
(Must've OD'd on M&M's & Haribo again...)

one went for 3.20 on ebay today i had 3 quid on it

I just dug my started attempt at the Airfix F3 outta the attic & I'm going to crack on with it.
Noticed I'd replaced the cockpit with an old Italeri GR? one & modded the Navs pit as well as replacing the main gear bays with old Italeri ones as well.
Merv

Go for it Merv and good luck.

Thanks Mish,
I've stocked up on whisky,plasters & anti-depressents!

I'm nearly out of Whiskey, send a bottle or two of Bushmills single malt please

Oof! i remember this from the Airfix GR.4 i did for one of Osher's group builds on FineScale.

It is possible to do it Mish, takes a bit of TLC and elbow grease. No problem for a builder of your caliber!

Bushmills very good. Bushmills Black Lable even better.



peebeep

innis and gunn now that is a real ale .......or little green men's chilli beer gorgeous should be able to order a crate off his site little green men chillies .......

Sort of progress.
Filler on


Sanded off


And then onto round two, more filler

I'll get there.

iv'e got my airfix f3 off fleabay so looks like i'm doing a nice firebirds version scratchbuild some scratch in panel lines and additions for other bits may build landing with brakes out eeeeeeee this gb has given me the incentive for a long planned build

mines on the way .......pass me a straight jacket !!!!!!!!!!

Should have been one in your cell when you checked in