trickyrich

I really don’t know where I’ll put once finished as I don’t have anywhere big enough for her! Probably should have thought of that before I bought it…….but thoughts of all that lovely resin (actually there was none in the end) and 3D stuff took control of my wallet! 😊

Nice work so far, I'll be following with interest as I'm building their C model too, so will be interesting to see how your's comes together. Good show with the AM!!!

Ok, again this update is about a week late, and is up to last weekend, am away with work at the moment, still nearly 2 weeks before I’ll be on this build again. So did lots and lots of removing parts from their carrier (?), now have a box full of this carrier stuff. The production of these parts and the fineness/detailing is quite amazing, with careful painting the cockpit/nose position areas will look amazing. The same said for the engines. As mentioned earlier, there are 2 sets of main gear, one with and one without the addition of a metal rod inside the main struts. JetMADS did reduce the weight significantly by moving all the main structure from Resin to 3D printed, but she is still quite heavy so the metal ones are a must. So after the removing (still twice as many parts to be removed) and cleaning I started the assembly process with the easiest part, the tail assembly. Assembly requires CA cement, emphases on cement!!! Tamiya’s Super Strong CA cement does forgive that’s for sure! Parts do go together quite nicely, though there are some small gaps. The rudder is hollow prints and is a wee bit wider than the base for it on the tail unit. There is a bit of a step which I’m not 100% sure of how to remove, because of all the fine rivet detailing! I will try to disguise it as best I can and just have to live with what remains, as I don not really want to loose all that lovely detail, which will not be easy to replace/replicate. ….and that tail unit is huge! The wing repair is nearly done and will be invisible in the end. Size wise she really is a beast….have absolutely no idea where I’m go to put her once do as she’s way too big for my shelves! Look at her beside a Phantom! (that ruler is 18" long) A Spitfire is a toy……. ….even an F-111 which is a large aircraft looks on the small side! The next job on her when I get home is to start painting the cockpit/nose position, that will take some time to complete. On a different subject, sort of, JetMADS have just announced they’ll be releasing another Viggen!!! This time the JA-37D/Di……better prepare the wallet for this one!!! 😁

Ok just a tiny update of progress made last weekend….am away with work at the moment. Oh and a health warning…there may be radioactivity associated with this update as well as I’m currently working at an old Uranium mine!! So time for decaling…….though this was probably not a good idea as I’ve yet to do all the metallic paint work…..not too sure how the decals will hold up……. The Furball decals are actually really nice to use (have used them before) and settle down nicely, though I did forget to use Softener! The Furball decals didn’t have the correct aircraft numbering so had to do some mix-n-matching to get this right. Not a super colourful scheme, but still looks really nice. For all the stencilling decals I’m using the kit supplied, they are a bit on the thick side, but at least Tamiya attempts to group them all together, so there are only a few hundred to do other than the thousands of individual ones with other decal suppliers. About ½ through the decaling, once done a panel wash them another gloss clear coat before the metallic work….that may help the decals to survive!

I'm not to sure why, but this as a=far as I have heard is the only version JetMADS are going to produce. I have read (from Wiki so who knows if this is correct) that the RAF only operated the P2V-5 variant (as a stop gap until the Shackleton entered service) which is a we bit different. But someone on here is bound to know for sure.

I was wondering if anyone was going to build one of these (...and yes I have only just started looking through the threads....), so good to see. Will be good to follow. Cool conversion kit! Those weights look very familiar, think you got me onto them, I don't need extra weight on my armour as most of mine have metal AM tracks, plenty of weight (...and empty wallet to!!).

thanks, I have an update for this as I have started it, but I'm currently away with work for the next couple of weeks, but have all the photos uploaded to my storage site, so will try to post an update on this (plus my Phantoms) later in the week.

Nice choice, I have done this exact built quite a few years ago, A55-3 is the most interesting of the three. The RedRoo conversion kit is quite nice and simple to use. Not 100% but I think the new nose to fuselage fit needs a but of work to get it nice. I don't know if you know of these site, but they're super interesting for all flying things RAAF and RNZAF. http://www.adf-serials.com.au/2a55.htm For the F-4 Lightnings in RAAF service you can't go past this site, has all the info and pictures you could ever need. http://www.lockheed.adastron.com/lightning/lightning.htm

I like the wheel well plus, what a great idea! That AK Super Gloss looks interesting, what's it like to use? I may have to get some to try!

I do intend to try and complete this one as well, it's a nice simple build. so that will help. Am currently away with work but SWMBO has let me know the decals for it have shown up, plus I have found a set of resin bombs for her as well hidden amongst lots of other AM stuff. 😁

I actually need another 4 to go with them to complete my VF-31 Tomcat anthology (7 in total), it's 11 or 12 I need to build to complete that series. In total for the history (since WWII) of VF-31 aircraft it's 21 models (a model for each type and carrier they operated from, just need a F9F2 Panther to have the complete set of aircraft in the stash.

.....and that is an understatement!!!! Spent most of yesterday removing parts from their printed bases, not an easy task. Then I assembled the tail section module, it was then I got a true indication of the size of her (will post photos later). I wasn't too sure how big she'll be but just this module is about the size (length) of a 1/48th F-4 Phantom!!! There are some really nice schemes to choose from (a bit more colourful), but I can't go past an RAAF aircraft! Thanks, I'm so impressed with this model, the improvements they've made over their earlier releases is very noticeable and welcome. I have a Draken (1/32nd) heading my way from them hopefully in June. Plus they have put me on a notice list for when they finally get around to releasing their 1/32nd F-22 Raptor!

Hi Steve, I've used a few sets of those Syhart decals, they're super nice to use (I've had some dealings with the owner a super nice guy as well). That is a nice scheme too.....thou I'll forgive you for it not being a 6 Sqn aircraft!

No more AM is on the way.....can't build an AM naked model....that'd be weird!! 😆 My only worry is that it'll be as bad to build as their F-14A....which is seriously a bin contender at this point!

Being an Academy model it should go together quite nicely, was/am impressed with their F-4B Phantom, it's a nice kit to build.