Antti_K

Thank You crobinsonh Javelins are a passion for me so it is easy (and fun) to check every detail twice ...at least BR, Antti

Thank You Ascoteer for your excellent posting I love to read these as I am an aviation instructor (CTKI) myself. I guess you can easily determine my main subject BR, Antti

Here is a caption from one the photos I used when I was planning the paint scheme. Note the difference between the colour of the bottom surfaces and the roundel and individual code (002). The bottom colour (Insignia White) is clearly more warmer in hue than Roundel White. An other interesting detail is the freshly re-painted auxiliary tank. Was it painted with British EDSG or with American paint? One source suggested that only "British" paints were carried aboard HMS Ark Royal. I chose Hu 123 (EDSG) for my tank. Note also that the radome is coffee brown not black and the rear part has some grey patches where the canvas cover was placed. BR, Antti

Thank You Baron, David and Michael I used Humbrol enamels. My model shows XT861 as She was back in 1971 still carrying the original American paintwork. I chose Hu 27 for the "US Dark Sea Grey" rather than British Extra Dark Sea Grey (Hu 123) which seems more blueish to my eye. An interesting detail is that there is a stencil in the rear fuselage specifying the external finish. It says "Dark Sea Grey". I have a photo where brand new FG. 1s and a sole FGR. 2 stand side by side; the original American grey colour is the same in both airframes. For the under surfaces I used Hu 34 (Matt White) as it gives together with Hu 35 and Hu 135 (clear and satin coats) the desired slightly off-white end result. The American Insignia White can be described as "Ivory" or "Cream" rather than a pure white. Note that the British paint gave a "pure" white surface. BR, Antti

Thank You Mark and John! Very kind of You Mark: if "Hangar Deck Space" at my place ever runs out I'll "divert" Her to you BR, Antti

Thank You John and welcome aboard! I started using bullets with some actually floating U -boat models. Because pistol bullets are covered all over with copper there are no real problem with lead (I might be wrong...wouldn't be the first time ). I have a Type VIIc U- boat in 1/72 scale on the pipe line. I wonder how much weight I need to add to get that floating properly... BR, Antti

Thank You phildagreek, bigbadbadge and russ c I have been painting with Humbrol enamels and brushes exclusively. Most of the "new Humbrol" paints are very difficult to apply by brush: they are very thick and somewhat difficult to thin properly. It may also take ages for them to dry. And the surface is still sticky. Some shades are terrible like Hu 11, 56 and 191; two greys and one tin of clear cote with some silver powder in it... Once I have used the "Good Indian Humbrols" I don't know what to do I have already bought an airbrush and some Tamiya acrylics but... All ideas are very welcome. BR, Antti

Thank You all for these compliments and kind words This project was a bit of a rough ride at times but Your comments tell me that it was well worth the effort. BR, Antti

Thank You all for Your kind words I set the fuselage aside for a while and continue working with some other items. As this will be a FAW.9R I think it is time to find out what that means. FAW.9 is basically a FAW.7 upgraded to FAW.8 standard but with British AI radar and without Sperry Autopilot. So no "new" FAW.9s ever left the production line. I guess You already knew that My model (XH766) was originally a FAW.7 that was converted to a FAW.9 standard and handed to No. 64 Squadron during November 1959. Three years later it was further converted to FAW.9R standard. All together 116 FAW.7s were converted to FAW.9s. Later 45 aircraft were converted to Mk. 9 F/R standard equipped with in-flight refueling equipment (piping, valves, probe...). The final stage was to further modify 41 Mk. 9 F/Rs to FAW.9Rs which were also capable of carrying up to four 230 Gall tanks in wing pylons. The kit provides you: - The Flight Refueling Probe - Four 230 Gall wing tanks - The two small hatches beside the navigator hood on the starboard side - Pylons for missiles but NOT for tanks Maurice Allward's book "Gloster Javelin" is the resource to use when you are checking individual aircraft for it's conversion status. You may also find this very useful: http://www.millionmonkeytheater.com/Javelin.html Here is my "Fuel System Check List" for XH766: - Flight Refueling Probe - Into the spares box - Two small "extra" hatches on top of starboard intake - Don't fill the panel lines - Ventral tanks - Use them - Wing tanks - Use only two (for inboard pylons) So let's cut some plastic again and start with the ventral tanks or "Bosom Tanks" as they were called. Let's have a look at this photo first. As you can see there is a small gap between the ventral tank and fuselage. When checking some close-up photos it seems that there is a gap which has been filled with a black rubber seal. Note also the three white bands on Bosom Tanks. Kit decal sheet provides you with tan coloured bands with red lettering. So far I have seen only white ones with black lettering. A point to remember later on. I solved the problem like this. I will paint the "sealing strip" with black and hopefully it will look convincing. In both Javelin kits I noticed that the engraved panel lines on the ventral tanks were especially "soft" so I "sharpened" the details. More work is needed with the wing tanks. I believe (I am not sure) that these tanks are actually the same that were carried by Hunters. The general shape and details are (almost) identical. The first step is to reshape the tanks as they are too blunt. The tank pylon then.Unfortunately the parts for the external stores are the worst in otherwise excellent kit. The fit is poor, panel lines don't align properly and so on. Here is what you need to do to get a better looking tank pylon. That's all for now. I hope to see you all again soon BR, Antti

Thank You basket and RMCS BR, Antti

Thank You Steve and batcode It is nice that you like my model. BR, Antti

Thank You Mac, it looks like you like my Phantom BR, Antti

Thank You Troffa and Duncan I quickly checked some photos and realized that the air brakes really are open on the ground Thank you Duncan for that info! BR, Antti

Hello Pete57, I have been flying with "old" Lear Jets (24, 25 and 35). They all have gloss white landing gear legs and working cylinders. All the bays (avionics, landing gear, "Hell Hole") are painted with yellow zinc chromate paint. On some components the colour looks more greenish than others. I'm sorry but I cant help you more with Learfan. Best Regards, Antti

Thank You Gentlemen I just might build the "Flying Can Opener" as I was very "serious" about it last time... And this time using resin intakes to save time and trouble. I also think that best results are achieved using Aires jet pipes but Hasegawa part for the rear end. It looks more like the real thing. BR, Antti

Thank You Ex-FAAWAFU For me it usually goes something like this: - Ooh, a new kit, sooo beautiful! - I glue this into that and paint it with... wait a minute... yes with interior grey green - This is sooo fun! - Oh, there is one bolt missing here. No problem, I'll fix it in no time. Where's my Pin Vise and drill bits? - Got it, got it, got it. Happy! - Oh dear it looks like the whole panel is in the wrong position. Now what do I need to get it fixed - Who made the moulds? I want to talk to him right away. There is a whole millimeter missing from the root chord. And so it goes further And I love it. I only built models of aircraft that I am really interested in. So I read the Aircrew Manuals, books, magazines... the lot. I guess at least some modellers recognize themselves as well. BR, Antti

This project started last winter as FGR.2 XV436 of No. 6 Squadron. Then I read Aircraft Artificer Lionel A. Smith's "Phantom at sea" from the book "Phantom from the cockpit". It was "hook-up" for the FG.1 and "bolter" for the FGR.2. Lionel Smith was sent ashore to NAS Roosevelt Roads (Puerto Rico) on June 1971 when XT861 was diverted to the island to make some repairs on the "Cab". His style impressed me at once and I started to build my first ever RN aircraft. I built the model using Aires seats, jet pipes, wheels and air scoops. A lot of scratch building was required because I made the keel box and engine air intakes myself. A lot of re-scribing and rivetting was also required. Finally I painted the model with a brush using Humbrol enamels 27 and 34 and when the decals were on (343 of them to be precise) two final coats of Hu 135 was applied with a "Leonard's" brush. Weathering was made with "Caran D'ache" oil baesd crayons. As this was FGR.2 boxing the decals came from Alley Cat, Extra Decal, Hasegawa, Icarus, Impact Models and Model Alliance. It's a shame that no one provides good quality stencils for the British Phantom. Let's see some photos. I hope you like them I add a couple of WIP photos also if they are allowed to show you some details I mentioned about... Here is the home made Keel Box and engines. Intakes made from styrene sheet, Milliput, a pair of surplus tanks and Compressor wheels. The air brakes were closed in parked aircraft but this was too good a detail to miss... Note also the scratch built Auxiliary Air Door. Best Regards, Antti

Thank You gentlemen I was just thinking that I can scan my harness drawings and upload them here, right? Then everyone can save the pictures, scale them down and print... Let me see how it works. I will use this technique again for this project but for a totally different detail. But more of that later. My production line is working at full steam. Here comes the fuselage. One of the most boring tasks is the intake pipe and jet pipe constructing. They are long and you have to sand down the inside seams. I found a perfect way from Youtube how to overcome this problem. Thank You very much "Mademodeller" Here you can see it yourself: watch at 14:50 and onward: After the filler had dried it took less than 30 minutes to finish all four pipes! And the result is beautiful. Fore!! I deviated from the instructions: It was also a lot easier to detail the re-heaters separately. I decided to paint them with the excellent Testors enamel Stainless Steel. The paint is extremely thin and it is recommended for air brush work only. However it can be easily painted with a brush. Some points to remember: the surface must be polished to a very smooth finish and you must use a very soft brush. I use Leonard's "Petit Gris Pur" exclusively for work like this. Here you can see the extra detailing I made using close-up photographs as a guide. The wooden rod was actually used for sanding the inner seams. The rear fuselage needs some extra detail as well. One important thing missing from the kit is the "Integral Boarding Ladder" just behind the port wing trailing edge. It is easy to make openings for two antennas at this time as well. Front fuselage then. As I mentioned earlier this kit is very accurate in details. I checked all the panel lines with walk around photos (Luckily Britmodeller's "walk around section" has great collection of first class Javelin pics) and found only few panels and fasteners missing. If you are going to build your Javelin with moving hood (like I am) then check and prepare the area around cockpit with great care; it has to be absolutely straight and level otherwise the hood won't move. And all the sudden the fuselage is complete! BR, Antti

Thank you Martin, DAG058 and Blogs On I used an inkjet (HP Office Jet Pro 8600) and normal copypaper for copying the harness. Ink doesn't like water so before cutting the belts out I covered both sides with Scotch Magic tape. It gives a nice matte finish and protects the belts. It also helps when you attach them with CA. I would also cover anything printed with a laser printer; at least paper reacts with water. This is a good technique indeed; you get exactly what you need. Of course it takes time and patience but that's modelling, right? BR, Antti

Thank You all It seems that quite many here like my Javelin project. That makes me happy. I hope that I am not boring you with too detailed explanations. BR, Antti

Hello At Sea! This will be very interesting! FG.1 is also one of my favorite aircraft. Do you use the kit's seats or some aftermarket parts? I used Aires seats; they are absolutely beautiful. I completed my FG.1 a couple of months ago and I used Milliput, Plasticard and SU-24 surplus tanks to build the intakes. Then a fellow modeller pointed out that Alley Cat provides resin intakes for the Hasegawa kit... BR, Antti

Hello all, today I am going to show you more cockpit related stuff; namely the Martin Baker Mk 3J "bang seats". The kit seats are pretty basic but they provide a good starting point for detailing. I bought the Eduard PE set for the cockpit which includes also the seat harnesses. I also considered buying resin seats but they didn't convince me at all. Let's have a look on the real thing. These pictures are from Javelin FAW.9 "Pilot's Notes". As you can see the seat is a pretty complex affair. I recommend that you read the "Strap in procedure" from Pilot's notes. Together with the photos it gives you an idea how everything works. I decided to build a "working principle model" from paper strips just to confirm I got it all correctly. For example there are two crotch belts on both sides (four per seat). When you are strapping in you must check that one goes between your legs and then pull it through a "D- ring" on the "outer" crotch belt. After that you need to pull the inner shoulder strap through a loop which is an integral part of the inner crotch belt. Finally you are ready to fasten one buckle into the central lock. Phew... confusing. And this was a very critical step because it formed the most important connection between the occupant and his parachute. To be exact: only half of the job is done as the other leg is still "free". During Cold War Javelin was criticized because the strap in took so long; several minutes at least. Far too long for QRA duty. But back to the kit! Once you find out how the seat harness works you'll realize that Eduard offering falls short. Of course I have seen beautiful models built using these extra PE parts but I decided to go a little further... At first I opened the recess in the middle of the parachute pack. The outer and inner shoulder straps go through this opening. In reality the head rest is a separate piece; not an integral part of the parachute pack so this was corrected using a knife and a small sanding stick. At this point I also added the missing drogue gun from 0,6 mm plastic rod and thin wire to seat frames. I decided to make the harness myself from scratch. Using photos of the real thing, a pocket calculator, a ruler and a set of water resistant crayons I drew these. Here are all the required seat belts for one seat. Only thing left is to scale them down to the correct size using a simple photocopier, cut them out and attach to the seat using CA. I painted the seat frames with Humbrol enamel 33 and the parachute packs with Hu 118. The seat cushion got Hu 85. The primary firing handles were striped using Hu 29 and RLM 66. The important thing is: don't use bright yellow! I also made the drogue chute cover flaps from Tamiya tape and drogue extraction and drogue lines from thin wire and tape. The seats are almost complete and look like this. BR, Antti

Hello Blogs On, I noticed that Hunter build also. Who would build a Hastings or a Belvedere helicopter of 66 Squadron You are very welcome to follow. BR, Antti

I have been a big Javelin fan for over 30 years. I guess you can easily imagine my enthusiasm when Airfix announced their new 1/48 scale kit a couple of years ago. Actually this will be my second "big" Javelin and fourth to my collection. This kit is one of the best Airfix has ever released. It's very accurate in detail. This project actually started some 20 years ago when my friend visited Hendon and brought me this. It's a post card originally painted by Dugald Cameron. It has been hanging on my wall ever since. The "Tiger Stripes" of 60 Squadron looks very good along with the black wing tanks with lightning flashes painted on them. So good that I built the Airfix 1/72 scale FAW.9 without further references. But did this paint scheme really exist? We have all heard about "artistic freedom"... Thanks for the Internet I have been able to collect a reference library about the Javelin. Couple of years ago I found a small photo on Key Publishing's aviation forum that showed eight Javelins on the ramp at RAF Tengah. Some aircraft carried these specially decorated wing tanks. Unfortunately the photo is so small that no details can be verified. I then contacted the gentleman who shared his photo but no better quality prints existed. I also contacted 60 Squadron and their archives have three more photos on the subject. It became clear that Dugald Cameron was right all the way when he stated that 60 Squadron Javelins carried these black tanks at 1967 and after. Finally this year a new book about Javelin was published by Michael Napier. There is one photo in the book where the Javelins are taxying at Tengah after a fly past. Now I had all the "evidence" I needed and it was time to choose a particular aircraft. So this build will be XH766 "E" of No. 60 Squadron some time between June 1967 and May 1968. I chose XH766 simply because I have enough good quality photos of her from every angle. This will be very much "straight forward" build as the kit is excellent. I will show you also some extra detailing that is missing from the kit. So wellcome aboard everyone I started the work with the front fuselage. There are two round holes on the nose gear well walls. Photos show that they were covered with round panels which I cut from thin styrene sheet and drilled holes around the edges (0,3 mm) to replicate the screws. Note also the two small "bumps" on the panel just forward of nose gear bay. These are the base plates for "Violet Picture" azimuth aerials and missing from the kit. I also used my Tamiya Pin Wise to drill holes around the AI bay hatch edges. The radome was filled with 9 mm pistol bullets. They are good for modelling purposes because you know their weight exactly. Mine are 10,4 grams each. Instruction booklet suggests that 25 grams is enough but I loaded the nose with some 40 grams; surely 25 wasn't enough. Eduard provides a PE set for Airfix Javelin. I used only the pilot's instrument panel. As you can see this is the last cockpit version (the extra ILS on the left corner). This goes well with kit's cockpit which has five large knobs for cockpit lightning under the starboard side wind screen panel. I decided to sand the instrument panel to bare metal and paint it with RLM 66 (a mixture of Humbrol 33 and 34) but leave the actual instruments as they are. An interesting detail is the yellow pipes running between the pedals. Something that is visible on preserved aircraft. Javelin's cockpit is a pretty black affair. Most of the knobs are either dark brown or satin black. So be careful with red and yellow... The cockpit was illuminated by UV lamps and all markings were painted with fluorescent paint. Because this is a FEAF Javelin I also removed the "Gee" indicator from the rear cockpit and replaced it with scratch build ADF set. Here are the starter "bullets". The compressor blades are pretty crude but they are only visible with a torch so I didn't replace them. However I added the starter's exhaust pipes from plastic rod. When viewed from front the starboard side pipe should point at "four o'clock" and port side at "eight o'clock". Or other words: they should point slightly down and towards the service bay below the rear cockpit. Thank You for reading so far and see You next time Antti

Hello Tony! Spitfire PR.XIX had engine oil tank filler on the port side of the nose. Oil quantity was (is) 9 gallons and air space 3 gallons. Note that many after market decals got this wrong. On the starboard side of the nose is gear box oil filler and inter-cooler coolant filler. The stencil should read "INTERCOOLANT NaMBT"; this is also missing from after market decals. On top of the nose is the main fuel filler. Tank capacity is 85 gallons; again check your stencils. Wing leading edge tank fuel filler caps are located near the tip. There are two round panels; filler is the innermost. Some aircraft had also small fuel tanks just outboard of landing gear wells. The filler caps are circular and locate just behind the main spar and are inline with aileron seam. One more thing: PR.XIX had 12 volt electrical system, not 24 volt as supposed by some decal makers. I'm sorry but I can't provide any photos for you... Best Regards, Antti