DaveJL

A little more done. Firstly, the aforementioned goodies from @arnobiz arrived: Yes, the Terminator set is for a future build, not this one . Firstly, the rear countermeasures dispensers. These were fitted to the Kurnass after the withdrawal of the AIM-7 from use (with the F-4) so the most was made of the empty hard points. The image below shows these in detail: (Image for reference only) Would they have been fitted to the timeframe of my Kurnass? Possibly, possibly not, but I think they're a nice addition. The AIM-9 adaptor is also a work of art, giving you mounting options for either the left or right forward AIM-7 bay. Test fit of the rail, with the countermeasures parts fitted in place: In the words of Borat 'Very niceee' (apart from the overly white glare coming off the undercarriage and airbrake wells ). That was set aside and I finished off some more of the sub assemblies. The FOD guards first: AIM-9 and AN/ALQ-119: Decals for the latter were all from a Meng F-4G kit, the AIM-9 from this kit, and all went down beautifully. Selection of undercarriage parts next: Finally for now, from the Terminator set, I added the small vent just aft of the cockpit. From images I have seen, this appears to be open when the aircraft is on the ground and powered down. A bit of a glaring omission from Meng I must say, given that ZM provide it. Cockpit, undercarriage wells and airbrake bays all masked up, so we're just about ready for primer: Hoping to get the primer on and some of the other sub assemblies painted later in the week. More soon Dave

Was hoping for some reverse psychology Bertie C'mon voters, lets get the Asia and Double Supersonic over the line 🙃

Looking at @trickyrich's latest chart, will be a Quiet year for GBs for me too! Other than the NATO and a few STGBs

No problems George! I just find it much easier to get the fiddly bits out of the way first!

I concur

Cheers Craig; I always try to get the ordnance out of the way first as it can be quite tedious, especially all those darn yellow bands on the bombs! The Eduard handles are definitely worth the few quid!

A little more done over the weekend. Firstly the Quickboost ejection seats were painted, detailed and given a flat coat. I remembered I had a set of lovely Eduard 3D printed ejection pulls, part of a set I bought for my ZM build, so thought I'd best use them here too! I think they really add to the finished seats: The exhausts were painted in various metallics, not many of which show up on the picture below: Will liven them up with some oils later on in the build. From some reading, it appears that IAF pilots were fond of lighting the candles every now and then . Finally for the now, the bombs were painted - XF-62 for the bodies - then the bands and fuses detailed. A flat coat and some light sand/dust weathering added. Next jobs will be to paint and detail the AIM-9, ECM pod and the undercarriage. More soon. Dave

The boring old two tone grey

If this one gets the vote, it will be a 1/48 F-4EJ kai from me!

Thanks mate!

Cheers Craig! It certainly goes together quickly.

More done and, aside from a few small bits and pieces, we're just about ready for primer. Firstly, the BAM refuelling probe was added. The set conveniently has the large probe as a separate piece, to be fitted after painting. So the base was fitted, just a little PPP to blend in. Dry fit of the probe: Nicely done @arnobiz! Other than that, the cannon muzzle was added and the fit was perfect. Other than a few odds and ends, that's the airframe completed. Majority of sub assemblies are also ready for primer and paint: Exhausts also ready: Some paint, on some part or other, soon Dave

Tamiya 'Sky', XF-21, is quite close to the IAF green, maybe worth a try.

You're not wrong!

Cheers Craig! It is a nice kit, its can't decide if I prefer it or the ZM kit

Will be a Mig-29 of some description from me should this one get over the line!

Looks like it will be an F-15 Eagle or Super Hornet from me should this one get over the line!

Hello all, Rarely would I leave an F-14 aside, but with a house move earlier in the year, I had to abandon this one from 'The Salty Sea Dog' GB. Delivered to the Navy in 1975 as an F-14A, this jet served with VF-124 before being the 17th of 18 F-14As rebuilt as an F-14D in 1990/91. The jet returned to VF-124, before being moved to VF-101 and finally VF-31 in 1995. During OIF, 159618 dropped 35 JDAMs/LGBs and was inloved in a strafing run, seeing it expend 193 20mm cannon rounds. The aircraft was scrapped in late 2003. Here is where we got to: Pretty good progress actually! First job will be to prep the cockpit for the Quinta set, then it should fall together as most of the assembly is already done! A nice cruise video for your viewing pleasure! OIF involvement from 26:00 into the video. You can see the load out I'm going for at 27:32 and a shot of 110s bomb tally at 29:21 and 29:29. Dave

More done and we're rattling along rightly! Popped on the intakes, which were a great fit, along with the flaps and ailerons. Once that was set on with the nose, which needed a little sanding to get a flush fit. A few other odds and ends fitted and here we are: The cannon muzzle is made up of 4 bits - generally a good fit but a little sprue goo needed to clean up a seam on either side. A dry fit has shown that the muzzle is a great fit. Once that goes on, the main construction will be complete. I have ordered a few more goodies from @arnobiz so watch this space! Other than that, I took a look at the mask set Meng provided. Genuinely one of the nicest I've ever seen provided with a kit! My opinion of course . More soon. Dave

Thanks chaps!

Thank you all, greatly appreciated!

Thanks Craig! It is a bit odd, perhaps I’ve a bit just a tad out of alignment. Nothing that can’t be fixed but that separate panel is just annoying Thanks Alan. I know, Dark Gull Grey is a pretty popular colour but I think it’s a little closer than some of Eduard’s efforts😂

Thanks all!

A little more done. I was able to fit the cockpit and close up the fuselage, which required the wings to be fitted. I like the way Meng has designed the wings - the outer parts clip into the lower halves, pop on the inner wing portions then on with the upper fuselage. Once that was dry, I added the slats and vertical stabiliser. The fit of the rear part of the fuselage is very good indeed, simply clicks into place, but the front end wasn't the best, with some gaps appearing. Nothing major, as part is covered by the intakes and the rest can be sorted with sprue gloop. Like the ZM kit, some fictional panel lines will need seeing to as well. The front left side was made worse by the random panel (part B19) that Meng have you attach to a random interior section (part J11). Not quite sure why this was given as separate part, as the instructions just simply show you closing the panel, but I'm no model designer so I'm sure there was some reason for it. As for the vertical stab, nice detail here but I would have preferred if the fin tip was a separate piece, like ZM offer, to allow different versions to be fitted. Other than that, I added some wire from a wine bottle to the rear of the WSO's IP: Pylons assembled: From my reference books, it looks like the locating tabs for the AAM launchers are present, even with the launchers removed. The TERs required the tabs on the tops to be removed to ensure a good fit. So far then, I'm in two minds about this kit. Some lovely detail and fit, yet some omissions/simplifications. I think at this stage of my recent ZM build, I was enjoying that one a bit more. Next jobs will be to tidy the front end and fit the intakes. More soon. Dave

Cheers Craig! You must be watching James Martin's Spanish Adventure, like I am coincidentally !