Inverted

How's it goin Mike?? How'd the primer turn out?

Looking good mike! I'm another in the black and yellow camp I have the kit and was going to try the Hiroboy Black laquer paint with the clear coat on top.... but we'll see.... Quick q, how do you apply the epoxy without going over the joints etc? any cleanup tips? i usually use CA but hate the stuff so looking for a good alternative

The thread lives again!! Thanks for all the comments. I still miss not having it my collection anymore. But i cant justify paying the hase price.... Luckily the customer liked it

Hi Guys, Before everyone goes ordering.... the scheme is missing some details .... i believe there will be squadron crests of the squadrons that operated the F3 underneath the canopy... I believe they are waiting for the zaps from the printers still, hence why they are not on the real airframe yet... AdAstra... would you be able to produce a decal of these crests as well?? Chris

Looking Great Iain, Incidently my 2 kits are fine, no oleo problems. Mines coming along as well. gear is dry fitted. nice and snug. I do think the oleo joints may get troublesome in the future however. alot of weight being put through a small joint.. You mentioned the front of the canopy being "stepped" i've noticed this too. Not sure i want to start faffing with filler as i think it would destroy the line of the nose... what are you going to do?? Chris

Looking good so far Mark! Flaps are off on mine as well, i filled the end fillet with plasticard as well Bill.... My next question is how to split the solenoid fairngs to mount the surface?? i see in some pics that there is a kinda step, where in fact there are panel lines on the part. HOWEVER is there some form of screw between the 2 parts??....

Hi... strange no ones responded earlier... With regard the typhoon, its officially stated as Barley grey, same that is seen on the Nimrod R1 (Not for much longer though!). However, this grey weathers really easily, so unless your doing an out of the factory look, you'll need to fade, chip etc... With regard our only other jets left in service, such as the tonkas, choose any grey you like they are painted with whatever grey they can find!! Chris

Heres's the xtradecal stencil sheet... enough for one aircraft in EACH scheme apparently..

Thats fantastic! 2weeks???!! i thought i was quick! I've built an ASaC7 and a HAR3 now.. they are truly superb kits if a little pricey! Chris

Hi Mark.. can you elaborate on the "whole" (Hole)?? or are you referring to the surface that sits ontop of the main flap that doesn't reach the full length? Chris

Looking good Steve, also looking forward to seeing it in the flesh on Tuesday

So which company will be first with the resin bang seats???? I wont be glueing in the kit ones so they will be easy to replace.... i could make metal straps but i'm hopeless at that....

Yup will do... i have a reservation code for collection of one on Monday if you want that one??? C

Just got mine from Inverurie (Aberdeenshire)... looking very nice. Also decals from hannants on the way.... they must be loving this... Now, wrap around camo or a RWG bird?? decisions decisions.... One thing i have noticed, is that there is a different fairing in the kit for under the fin, what Mk of Hawk would this be for?.... C

Just reserved mine... was listed as reserve for collection from Monday, however confirmation email has said it will be reserved for collection from tomorrow.... lets see if its there Chris

A Couple of mine

Thank you for all the comments... its always good motivation to move onto the next project Its purely down to the types of film and processing used in the cameras on the original pics. The specially matched paints such as xtracrylix tend to be pretty accurate to the colours actually used, however, changing the tone/shade of the paint always helps "age" the paintwork, hence why you see such variation ....

Thank you for the comments everyone Its not "smoked" just painted black on the inside as was the real aircraft to remove excessive light for the observer... this was true in most cases but check your references Regards Chris

And she's RFI: Clicky

Kit manufacture: Airfix Scale: 1/48 Type: Sea Vixen FAW2 Extras used: Airwaves seats, Xtradecal decals Paints and colours used: Xtracrylix EDSG, Tamiya White, citadel for details. Promodellers Dark Dirt BUILD THREAD A truly fantastic kit, well done Airfix! Sorry About the number of pics.... she's quite photogenic XJ609 890NAS RNAS Yeovilton 1971 Chris

I went through the same process researching for my XJ609. Xtradecal in this instance got it incorrect stating a black radome. From the research I have done, it appears when the FAW1's were connverted to FAW2, they received the grey cone. With regard the hatch keep searching for pics as that will be your only definitive answer...

Well i'm back from a short course, so got onto my least favourite part of my builds... the seats! I have used the Airwaves Mk4's. In this case the set for the Hunter T7. On the little bit of research i have done, the only major differences are the raft packs (that wont be seen once in the cockpit) and the canopy splitters on the Navs seat. As Hannants no longer have the Sea Vixen seats i bought the Hunter seats and modded them as required. Althougth i didn't bother with the raft packs as they wouldn't be visible... i also added the ejection handle to the head box... then got them painted, washed... again, something i cant really do well for some reason...... And installed I then went to put the two wing pitot tubes on. This is where Airfix's large gates let the kit down. I managed to split one on the first cut.... so out came the trusty sewing needle replacements. I have to say they look much more in scale and are super strong.... now onto the flash bang bits....... Chris

Go On.... you know you want too...... Ah go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on, go on

Great work there! I must admit i'm loving building mine at the moment... the stencils are indeed a challenge arent they!? luckily they settle down really well.

Well, before i head away for a few days, heres where i've got to.... Model was given another coat of Klear, then washed with promodellers dark dirt. I wont go into this process as its been explained loads of times... I then add all the oil stains etc with Tamiya weathering packs... Something i thought i'd give a quick go, was to use post it notes to act as a hard edge to brush away from. This then gives the impression of Hydraulic fluids etc leaking from behind the panels... then i just go around with a fine brush adding various streaks etc... next was to finally get around to sorting the canopy hatches... again the fit of the clear parts etc is superb, so its great for sub assembly building and painting, and adding at the end of the build... then.... i got around to adding the flat coat. Xtracrylix flat. I think it leaves a good all round sheen. I know the vixen was quite glossy, but good ol' scale effect makes the model look very toy like if its varnished gloss. Heres a sneak peak of where she's at. I dont wanna show too much yet, just the seats and pointy breakable bits to be added now... Chris