Pappy

G'day Tom, Your Pig turned out nice. I apologise if I hi-jacked your thread a little, it wasn't my intention, that is why I posted these pics, cheers, Pappy

G'day Simon, Thanks. Apart from the prototype (TFX) and some early production F-111A's, the rear main door was smaller and close to vertical when the gear was down. There are also two vertical strengthening strakes on the outer surface. If you take a peek at the pictures that Electrosoldier has added in his reply to Takamota's F-111 showcase, there are a couple of pictures which illustrate this. Note also that when retracted, the small rear door leaves a gap at the back which is correct, exposing part of the main gear bay, cheers, Pappy

G'day people, In keeping with the F-111 theme, here are some pictures of my 1/72 Hasegawa F-111G. The F-111G's began their lives as FB-111A's, but post the SALT arms reduction talks, the nuclear capability was removed and the avionics undewent a modernisation programme (AMP). Externally, the aircraft were re-painted overall gunship grey. The aircraft was then re-designated F-111G post AMP, and undertook the conventional bomber role. The RAAF was given the opportunity to buy an additional 15 F-111G's in the late 90's to supplant their F-111C fleet. These aircraft served with 6SQN until their retirement in 2007. The kit in this build depicts 6 SQN's mascot, A8-272, "The Boneyard Wrangler". All the F-111G's were brought from storage at Davis Montham AFB, but the 'Wrangler was the only one to receive (and keep) its tail art that was applied by our American cousins. My model depicts an F-111G shortly after take-off with the undercarriage in mid retraction. I cut apart the main gear and nose gear units before re-assembling then with actuators shortened or extended as appropriate. The white practice bomb dispenser is a SUU-20A/A and this was sourced from one of the Hasegawa weapons sets. The kit decals were used, though several Australian Decal firms have sheets available with this tail art, cheers, Pappy

G'day Tom, Firstly an excellent result from a base kit that has plenty of intrinsic faults. The paint and weathering is spot on, however, there are a couple of little niggles that I would like to point out in case anyone is using your build as a reference.This is in no way intended to diminish the quality of your build, which is excellent. The niggles: F-111C's don't have the low voltage formation lights (the yellow slime lights) on the tail, upper and forward fuselage. Some aircraft have the lo-Viz lights that are located on the fuselage side panels. These are engine access doors and these panels have been 'cannibalised' from RAAF F-111G aircraft. The F-111G's were until recently (2007 operated in tandem with RF/F-111C's, and these did have the low viz lights fitted. There is no PAVETACK (an infrared and laser designation pod) on Tom's model. Apart from the four dedicated recce (RF-111C) jets, all, the remaining F-111C aircraft are permanently fitted with the pod. The pod is always extended prior to shutdown for inspection and pre-flight by ground crews. The pod is located on a rotating 'cradle' in what used to be the internal weapons bay, since modified. The pod can be fully retracted, but in that case the cradle will still stick out due to the bulged shape. The antennas are actually black, not white, and usually feature grey tape on their leading edges. The rear main gear door is incorrectly positioned. The Academy instructions erroneously depict the prototype version of the main gear door which was larger and was located behind the main gear unit in a horizontal position. The design was later revised, the door was decreased in size (which Tom has modified) and the door was mounted behind the main gear in a near vertical position. The bottom of the main gear assembly should also be painted white. The red panels at the wing trailing edge are spring loaded and spring up as the flaps extend. The spring loaded sections of the wing are also painted grey (not red) as these are visible when the flaps are retracted. Tom has cemented the stabs in a level position as this makes for a stronger bond and thus the model is less likely to suffer a breakage in transport, however, in real life, these stabs 'droop' to a trailing edge down attitude within seconds of hydraulic power being removed, ie engine shut-down. Again, this is not meant as a critique of Tom's build, which is excellent. I am using these examples to illustrate the pitfalls for the unwary should anyone be contemplating the kit, Well done Tom, cheers, Pappy

G'day people, Today's update. I have finished painting all the parts. The wings and fuselage received a very light dry brushing following a matt coat. Very light weathering was applied using pastels, this consisting of a few random streaks using pastels. I figured that these Imperial fleet would be pretty well maintained by a multitude of cleaning droids etc. Whilst all this was going on, the solar array panels were given a quick blast of Tamiya semi-gloss black straight from the rattle can. The different panels are all unique and fit quite precisely. I had taken the precaution of scribing the individual part number on the rear (unpainted) side of each panel, so each panel was readily identifiable. Once dry, the panels were fitted into their respective positions. I began with the inside wing panels first, which is the opposite of the instruction sequence. The only problem I encountered was that the small interior quarter panels don't have a positive location, and these kept popping in and out during installation. A quick couple of wipes with a sanding stick alleviated the problem. The wings were now completed. The wings were attached to the fuselage and the assembly was now complete! cheers, Pappy

G'day Smiffy, This model makes me look better than I am. The detail is beautifully and crisply rendered and The panel joins are very well engineered so as to be mostly hidden. All I did was add a dark grey wash! G'day Kevin, Thanks very much. Again, I cannot take all the credit, the kit really is a gem and pretty simple to assemble as well. The work presented so far represents about 3 sessions of about 2 hours each! If it wasn't for paint drying and curing times, the kit could probably be completed in a weekend, cheers, Pappy

G'day people, A little more progress today, I have given everything a coat of Gunze H308, Light Ghost Grey(FS36375). The instructions state that a light blue is the correct colour. I think the originals were this colour so that they would look better under studio lighting and not washed out.I went with the Ghost Grey as the empire ships look light grey on film, so that's how I like 'em! I decied to remove the kit supplied masks for the entry hatch. I noticed that there was some light overspray at the ends of each mask. The adhesive is not up to the job on the compound curved surface of the entry hatch. I used a toothpick to scrape off the overspray before making my own masking using thin strips of Tamiya tape. I then applied a dark grey water colour wash to which a drop of dishwashing liquid was added. The soap breaks the surface tension and allows the wash to flow rather than beading up into little balls. Once dry, the wash was removed using cotton buds. I then applied the decals straight onto the paint. Most Gunze paints dry semi gloss, thus eliminating the need for a gloss coat prior to decalling. Several small colour details were touched in with a brush and The fuselage 'latches' were also added. I still need to give this a matt coat and perhaps a very light dry brushing, but it is getting there. Here are the wings at a similar stage cheers, Pappy

G'day Steve, I am sure that Phil's stuff is gret, I really must buy some and try the stuff out. I actually use a mix of thinned water colours and a drop of dish washing detergent. The water colours are bought from the local K-Mart in the kid's section and are pretty cheap. I really like these kits, they are very well engineered. I have ordered the Fine Moulds TIE fighter and the Y-wing myself. I hope that they eventually make Darth's TIE prototype and the bomber version as well. X-wings don't do it for me. I reckon if I ever built one it would have to be a redneck X-wing, maybe up on bricks! cheers, Pappy

G'day! Thanks very much. Hopefully it will start to take shape in the next few days, Pappy

G'day all, I have made a little more progress. I have assembled the fuselage and attached the upper and lower hatches. I decided to leave off the front canopy as this is painted a different colour to the rest of the ship. I applied the masks supplied in the kit. The canopy opening was masked with a mask made using a compass cutter set to a 10mm radius (ie 20mm diameter) circle I mistakenly thought that the supplied masks were pre-cut, but in fact the builder has to cut them out. They consist of printed masking material. with a backing sheet. I carefully cut along the lines using a scalpel and scissors. This was a little tedious, but still quicker than doing it all yourself. Despite my best efforts, the masks didn't correspond exactly with the canopy frame. It wasn't too bad however, as all I had to do in order to correct the overspray was to scribe around the window framing with a moistened toothpick that I cut to chisel shaped point. I also left off these little latch like items as these are also a different colour. I have applied a quick wash and these will now get a dry-brushing to pop out the details. I also drilled out the end of the laser cannons and sprayed the wings in a dark grey undercoat cheers, Pappy

G'day John, The blue colour is called Deep Saxe Blue. It does not have a direct model paint equivalent, but I like Humbrol 48, Mediterranean Blue. The colour will vary in real life depending on whether the round is 'new' or old i.e. it has been loaded/unloaded few times and the storage conditions it has been exposed to. I have seen pictures of practice missiles that have fresh paint as well as some very patchy ones. Practice bombs can be even worse and I have seen pictures of inert bombs with very faded blue paint. Practice missiles tend to be kept in better conditions because they have a real GCS (Guidance control section - seeker head ), so these are looked after better. The GCS would be serviced at regular intervals, so the missile would have to be broken down into its components and the GCS sent away. When it returns, it will probably be fitted to a different body. This explains the mis-matched colour sections (i.e blue body, white GCS for example) that can be seen in many pictures cheers, Pappy

G'day Greg, Thanks very much for that. I needed a quick build to ward off a bout of AMS that was setting in with the mirage build. I see that yours is nearly done, it is looking pretty good too, cheers, Pappy

Thanks Azza

Thanks very much. G'day Mike, The rbf streamers are pretty hi-tech, I used wine bottle foil cut into thin strips. The streamers on the drop tank pylons were first draped over the jugs and glued in place before being painted in situ. I also dirtied up the bottoms of some of the streamers eg the tail hook to give a suitably grubby look that they would acquire from being in a dirty spot. The two streamers on the nose pitot probes actually make the probe attachment stronger as they provide a bracing effect. The probes themselves have only a small contact patch. cheers, Pappy

G'day, I love this little kit. Apart from the really crisp detail which is just begging for a wash and drybrush, the fit is nothing less than jewel like. The mating surfaces need careful clean up though as the sprue stub often terminate on a mating surface. If trimmed carefully, I have found the kit pieces almost click together. The "solar collector" i.e the black wing panels, are moulded as separate items, so the painting is even easier.The progress that I have posted was all completed in about an evening's work (well I pre-sprayed the black walls the previous day prior to decalling), and the fuselage ball is currently glued together and drying. The ejector pin marks are all on the inside of the mating surfaces so there are no nasty circles to fill in either. The seams are mostly hidden behind/under additional plastic items during the construction process. The kit also includes pre-cut masks forn the transparencies, I havn't used these yet but they look promising. I do have a gripe however. The instrcutions are almost entirely in Japanese. The colour call outs are for Gunze Sanyo/Tamiya/Mr Color Lacquer. I am lucky in that these paints are readily available in Oz and I also have a colour chart for Gunze/Mr Colour. I would like to be able to read the instructions though. Hasegawa et al translate their instructions into English, I wish FM did as well. cheers, Pappy

Thanks very much, cheers, Pappy Thanks very much, cheers, Pappy

G'day all, This is my progress on the 1/72 Fine Moulds TIE Interceptor kit. I am building this as an antidote to AMS which has set in on my 1/48 Twin Mirage 2000 build. The progress so far I have painted and assembled the cockpit ball. I used neutral grey for the interior. The TIE pilot was picked out in Vallejo colours. I deviated from the instructions (after I had figured out what the colour call outs were) and painted the TIE pilot's uniform dark grey rather than matt black as I thought it would look better. Incidentally, if there are any Star Wars experts out there, especially with respect to the Sienar Systems TIE fighters, please keep your advice to yourself, this is purely a fun build for me, so accuracy is not a factor (for me), all other comments welcome cheers, Pappy

G'day people, Thanks to all that have commented. I have managed to give the resin Pavla seats a lick of paint and installed them I had the sand the sides of the seat base a little in order for these to fit into the tub. They are a real improvement over the standard kit items and would recommend them to anyone contemplating the kit. I also fixed the canopies in the open position with some addition detail added in the form of the canopy actuators made from some fine copper wire. A section of map was added to the front cockpit coaming to add a little interest. cheers, Pappy

G'day, I agree with what Craig has said and will add that the coloured sections are out of proportion on the 1/72 decals. I cannot speak for the 1/48 decals as I don't have this set. If applied as is, the bands are too wide and the colour demarcations will not resemble the real thing. Could I suggest that the re-printed decals instead only include the white and blue (suitably lightened) sections of the drop tanks with separate "jaguar" legend decals. I realise that this will require the modeller to apply both the red and black portions at either end of the drop tanks, but this is a tricky spot to wrap a decal around anyway and it would be an easier way to go and a better result IMO, cheers, Pappy p.s the instructions mention that the nose door letters ('XY') were amended with the letters "S" and "Y" ('SEXY') , it would be nice if this option was also included , cheers, Pappy

Settle down you two or I shall have to come over there and make you sit at different desks!

Thanks very much

"my own paint of course!" G'day Simon I used some Tamiya yellow with a little green mixed in. I didn't follow any formula, count drops or anything, just what seemed to approximate my reference pictures, cheers, Pappy G'day Ray! Yeah I had to resist the temptation to fiddle. Of course, sometimes, when you come back, it still looks crap................ cheers, Pappy

G'day Oz, The first thing that crossed my mind was launching it at a wall, but then I thought, worst case I could salvage weapons, undercarriage etc. The damage seemed a lot more salvageable the following day. It didn't seem that bad the next day. It was probably worse as I had decided that I was going to finish the kit that afternoon just prior to 'the incident'. It just goes to show that the universe is a funny old place, cheers, Pappy

G'day Jonathan, Yeah I think that the decal style and sizes would suit The previous grey/green scheme, but Italeri got lazy with the new scheme. I have the MA retirement decals, and I was thinking about using their decals to make the two seater with the speccy tanks, but I don't think that their jug decals are sized correctly eithe, they seen too large for 1/72, cheers, Pappy Thanks Mish!

G'day people, Here is my just finished Italeri T.2, although the grey markings may actually represent a T.4 bird, I am no Jag expert. The kit flew together, despite the crappy wing fuselage join. I don't like the kit seats. They are fitted temporarily until some Pavla resin items arrive. I can live with the cockpit tubs, the sidewalls look busy enough. The instrument panels are crap but I originally intended an OOB build, but that changed halfway through. I would probably add the central MFD to each panel as a minimum for a T.4 bird if I were to do it again. The canopies are not actually glued on either. The centreline CBLS pod is one of Jen's resin items, and very nice it is too! I had a small mishap along the way. A couple of days ago whilst spraying the matt varnish (Testor's Dullcoat) I managed to spill the contents of the airbrush's colour cup onto the top of the right wing, subsequently melting the paint. I blotted up what I could then walked away (if I had stayed I would probabaly have chucked the kit into the bin!) until I had cooled down. The next day I surveyed the damage. I carefully sanded away the marred paint using some well worn 1000 grit wet'n'dry with plenty of water, and tried to get a nice 'feathered' edge to the paint edges. I then went through all my previous steps of applying the base colour, post shading, panel washing and weathering. I ended up losing some panel details, but I think it was still a good recovery. The decals were of excellent quality and didn't show any silvering and no setting solution was required. I used Gunze paints which dry semi-gloss for this reason. The only problem with the decals is that they are basically incorrectly sized. The fuselage roundels are too big as are the fuselage and nose gear door codes. The fin flash should be angled to match the rudder hinge, but it is instead angled too far rearwards. Apart from the inaccurate decals and crappy seats, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, a nice way to spend a couple of weekends cheers, Pappy