Steve Coombs

If it's good enough for soccer hooligans, it's good enough for the vandals: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04clpd7h0b0

Being quite new to the wonderful world of Vallejo, I have just sprayed some surface primer on the Airfix Phantom FG1 I am going to do in the 25th anniversary scheme. Has my nose been abused by too many chemicals in the service of the art, or does this stuff actually smell quite nice? Compare and contrast with Tamiya Extra Thin Cement, which I am adamant shrivels nostril hairs. I am not advocating glue sniffing as a recreational activity!

Because it's a splendid hobby, you're doing something out of the ordinary, and you take justifiable pride in your work?

I cut off the pour stub with a razor saw, leaving just the ring that looks like a grommet as a plug to fit into the forward fuselage. Otherwise, the nose would be a butt join and susceptible to alignment problems. The grommet ring is a perfect fit, that is, there is no external step at all between the forward fuselage and the new nose cone - the outer dimensions match excellently. All but for where it popped a seam. Never mind. I have filled the gap and it all looks good. When the time comes, I shall check the fit of the windshield (my build will have open canopies, so there are multiple transparencies) and react accordingly. I wondered if anyone had experienced the same issue, and the answer looks like not yet!

Oh yes, definitely one to watch. I wish you well with the air data sensors that go under the nose! Cherish that 2007 boxing of the kit; later issues only offer one set of markings, and not necessarily the set that you might want.

From the front of part C1, that is, from the front edge of the small central step, the centreline holes are 3.4 cm and 9.4 cm away towards the rear of the fuselage. That's going by the accuracy of my handy 25cm steel rule. Hope this helps. Steve

So here I am, turning one of Airfix' 1:72 scale Phantom FG1s into the A&AEE beauty from 1983 celebrating 25 years of the Phantom in UK service, and have just installed the Freightdog Doppler nose. It's a beautiful casting, but it has sprung the kit fuselage ahead of the windshield by a couple of millimetres (I wick Tamiya Extra Thin along the jointline as I push parts together, which is usually a strong enough bond but evidently not so here). What I would like to know is: Is the replacement nose slightly too large? Am I too ham-fisted for the conversion? Is it a combination of the above? My immediate reaction is to fill the gap (there was a seam that definitely needed cleaning up in any case) and then carefully fair in the upper nose decking of the windshield when the time comes. Has anyone else had a similar experience, and if so, what did you do about it?

I've been reading nice things about Novus plastic polish, but haven't used it myself - yet. There's a clean and shine, which would probably be the thing to use here, plus fine and heavy scratch removers. 60ml bottles though, so you'd need to cloud a lot of canopies to get your money's worth! I may need to commune with a large South American river in the near future.

I think you'll just have to try it and see what works, if at all. It may be that the thinners didn't remove anything but simply smeared the overspray around a bit. We eagerly await a report on your results! Oh, and before I forget, don't be too vigourous in whatever you do, or you could cause some stress fractures in the clear plastic. You can fill them with the Klear/Gauzy, but won't eradicate them altogether.

If you used acrylics for the job, pinch some of your girlfriend's nail varnish remover (preferably without acetone) and swab the overspray off with cotton buds dipped in the stuff. Then tidy up as suggested above by Tony C.

Ouch! I am a firm believer in using manicure sticks. There are some with four grades of grit, and others that provide four levels of polish. I get some odd looks when I buy them by the half-dozen or so from the local equivalent of Boots, but am probably past caring.

Is this any help? https://www.fieldsofglorymodels.co.uk/product/135-scale-the-goat-biquette-la-cha¨vre/ Good hunting! Steve

Late to the party here, but I'd have done this: Ditch all subtlety and sand the side area between the rear of the canopy and the rear of the windshield flat and smooth. Overdo it a little. Reskin the area with a tongue-shaped piece of suitably thin plasticard (curved edge forward) and fair it in with a smidgeon of filler. Restore panel detail either with stretched sprue or by engraving to taste. Add the angle-of-attack probe and whatever that bevelled casing is that you see in pictures (does anyone on this forum know what that is?) This would mean no seam line running through your decal of choice and annoying you because you know it's there. I used to do this with the smaller Airfix GR1 brethren until Revell came up with something far superior about 20 years ago.

I'm glad you posted that because I was about to ask if anything was being organised for the centenary. I wonder if the RAF has any cunning plans in mind for the occasion? I saw the splendidly marked Phantom at Greenham Common for the 60th anniversary, back in 1979 (celebrating the end of O-Levels, no less).

The most recent thing to fly over the flat today was a medevac helicopter after a house exploded on the other side of town. The house owner had to jump from an upper storey window onto a fire brigade airbag, and was then airlifted to hospital.