Graham T

The tanks were white all over (apart from the checkered outer halves). My memory was jogged because I built this very machine a few years ago- albeit from the 1/48 CA kit - & its still in the cabinet! However it seems I missed off the black rear end, which would probably have included the small fin & sort of "complete" the pattern. Sadly the photo is taken from a low angle so it isn't clear in this regard.

Looks like a nice little kit! One thing though on which I MAY be wrong but I believe that only the outside half of each tip-tank carried the checks. The inside halves were standard colours. EDIT. Just found confirmation of this in David Watkins' book on the Venom. Page 190 shows XG723/490 from the same unit. The tip & rear end appear to be black! On the plus side, this might make applying the checks easier?!

Thanks for the responses chaps, very helpful but I couldn't see your images SouthViper!

Chop 3mm off the end of the tailplane "bullet" & reprofile. Move the horizontal tail planes 3mm forward so that their trailing edges line up with that of the rudder (best way to do this is to chop 3mm off the FRONT of the locating tab which will allow you to move the part 3mm forward). HTH.

Wow, smart work!

Building the F-4C & have forgotten to open the locating holes in the lower wing/fuselage (part C1) for the centre line fuel tank. Can anyone take a quick look at theirs in the box & simply tell me how far back along the centre line from the FRONT of part C1 (where it joins the fuselage nose underside) is the (flashed over) forward locating hole? I can then use the pins on the tank pylon to measure where the aft hole is but this would be a great help!

As you advance from "beginner" to "master modeller" status like me (*cough, cough, splutter*), you will gradually develop your own processes using your skill & judgement to know what can be assembled or attached before painting. I find undercarriages the most challenging. These look far better if painted before assembly but with a complex subject on say a larger model, you need to provide a good deal of strength & this can best be supplied by assembling before any paint gets in the way of a good strong bond. If you paint FIRST, you need to remove some pretty small areas of paint to allow the glue to do its work & this ruins all your hard work. Sometimes its possible to use CA glue but even here, if applied over paint, the bond is only as strong as that between the paint & the plastic. HTH

Cheers. I used Xtracolour ADC Grey. Great paint to use through the airbrush.

That's beautiful!!

Nice work so far. No nose weight used in mine & it sits on its nose wheel OK!

The moulds are quite old now & mine was dated 1983; perhaps some examples are better than others but it really WASN'T a bad fit! The only area to watch (on my example at least was) the top to bottom fuselage joint behind the wings & the nose cone.

Last built this kit about 20 years ago & it stands up really well against more modern offerings. There's the more recent Trumpeter kit of course which sells for at LEAST twice what you can pick up this one for & although I've never seen it in the box OR built, I doubt it's twice the kit. Raised panel lines of course which requires care during assembly to avoid loosing them while sanding joints. The undercard is a bit on the clunky side, plus I found the retraction struts a little too long but that may have just been me screwing up the assembly. I attached the windscreen about 1.5mm too far forward but as the canopy was going to be open, no great shakes! Decals from the kit. Really enjoyable build.

Salut et Bienvenu!

I'm near the finish with a build of this kit at the moment. I built it many years ago too. The parts are "stamped" 1983 & to be frank, apart from the raised panel lines it is as good a fit & provides as much (if not more) detail as certain contemporary brands. A bit like the Airfix Bucc, the large, flexible fuselage top/bottom halves are a bit tricky & it's important to get as clean a join as possible to avoid filling/sanding that the raised panel lines won't survive! I fixed little at a time & ended up with not too bad a result - the part aft of the wings seems to be the most problematic in this regard., exacerbated by being hard reach with a sander with the wings in place. I'll be watching!

I've got one of these in the to do pile. May give it a go over the summer!