rafalbert

That is a great angle Al and is very helpful, thank you! I know that 43 Sqn did a gloss black F3, and I have a feeling that TTE may have done something but I am not sure. There were not many to say the least, especially considering what the Germans have done to many of theirs. I have been cracking on, using the Braz radome instead of the kit part. Annoyingly it was slightly wider than the kit so has taken a fair bit of fettling to fit flush and still needs a bit more to finish off. The rest of the fuselage/wings/tailplane went together without too many dramas

Starting to look like a Tornado now, it is amazing what a difference that massive tail makes. I had read that the tail was too squared off and confirmed it when compared to the Revell kit (I should have posted a photo). Anyway, I have reprofiled it so hopefully it looks better. As there are no wing gloves in the kit, I have attempted to try to create some with PPP; we will see how effective this is when I come to paint it.

I have attached the nose section to the main body, resulting in a gap between the two at the top (as in the photos). The rest of the joint is good, so it will require a bit of filler to sort things out. The Airwaves wings add some detail and look better than the kit ones (which are too skinny apparently). The next job will be sorting out the shape of the top of the tail.

Well, I must be insane but I feel the need to build the Revell kit alongside the Hasegawa one. I have a Braz replacement nose and the plan is to do it in the 16 Sqn 1990 black scheme as it looks pretty cool. Work starts asap...

It is only the fourth Hase kit I have built; the Jaguar and Panther went together well, the SU27 (Revell rebox) less so. The chances are that my meagre skills have not helped, but I shall soldier on. I have several in the stash, not least of which is the classic F-14 kit which I am looking forward to building in that GB next year.

There has been a delay partly due work and partly due to the fact that the Kitbits nose is rather poor and does not fit at all. I went to plan B and bought an Air Graphics nose which fits well and definitely looks the part (see below). I have to say that I am not impressed with the kit so far as everything has required a lot of fettling to get even an ok fit. I admit, a lot of that is probably due to my ham-fistedness, but my limited experience with Hasegawa kits has not endeared me to them.

Go on then, I have a Canadian one I would like to crack on with (amongst others!). Dave

Count me in, I have a few in the stash. Dave

Hi guys, I have finally made a start. The cockpit is done but I have found the fit to terrible, even with a lot of fettling (no doubt due to my poor skills). I have given up and accepted that there will be a gap that I have to fill. The front fuselage halves have just been dry fitted in the photo below and I have hacked off the nose on one side do you can see where the resin one will join. I have also decided to use the Airwaves wings I was saving for an F3 which required reshaping due to being curved like bananas!

Definitely in for this one. Dave

Well, thank you for you help guys, it made a hell of a difference! The decals settled down well (the Airfix ones not do much) with the Klear method so this is my preferred option from now on. As far as being built "from the box" is concerned, she is now completed. The rear machine gun is away for servicing (eaten by the carpet monster) so I will need to replace that at some point. There are a few issues with the kit, there are a lot of aerials missing and the vertical tails look too small to me. The contrast between the RLM70 & 71 is more marked with the flat finish which is a relief. Over

I may do that yet! I will give it a whirl Steve and see how it goes.

Well, one of Hornby's first attempts at decals has totally let me down. Every single one has totally silvered, resisting completely the onslaught of Microscale's finest products. I think I am going to have to strip them off and try with some spares (which have themselves been known to silver badly). This serves me right for thinking it was going well!

Thanks for clearing that up Steve, I had no idea! Fingers crossed re the matt coat

Hi guys, there has been a bit of a delay re progress but things are moving again. She is now fully assembled and painted (bar the propellors) and ready for decalling and the final flat coat. I have given it a coat of Klear before I place the decals and unfortunately it has dried streaky. This has never happened before so hopefully the final coat will resolve it. I have used xtracolors for the paint which have gone on fine, but the greens are very close in colour. I have no idea how accurate they are but I would have thought there would have been more of a contrast. Anyway, on we go