Bandwagon 106 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Hobby Boss' look good, certainly if the Trumpeter 32nd ones are anything to go by, they have some fairly nice detail. Trumpy's 32nd F-110 nozzles. the "turkey feathers" fit over the inner nozzles very nicely . Hasegawas GEs, tricky to put together right and missing detail Joel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Couldn't agree more Joel with regard to the Hasegawa GE-110's. I've never tried the hobbyboss kit so can't comment. As i've said, the Dr Pepper GE-110's are the best i've used and relatively low cost. If anyone would like a set or two, let me know and we can put one order in to save postage! http://www.drpepperresins.com/48.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 6, 2012 Author Share Posted March 6, 2012 The blackbox set arrived today along with some nice fuel tanks... Working nightshift tonight so hope to crack on with this tomorrow afternoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 (edited) Cracked on with the cockpit today. This is my first experience with Black Box/Avionix cockpit sets and i have to say, it is better than the Aires example for a few reasons: 1. Resin is not as brittle 2. I think the detail is more 'crisp' 3. The fit of the tub to the kit parts is so much better. All that needs done is to remove the inside of the boarding steps and the casting block of the tub. None of the sanding and chopping as per the Aires tubs! 4. The rear panel behind the RIO's office (the bit that has the triangular frame) is cast as a separate part which is a godsend because, if like me, you constantly snap this part on the Aires examples, this is much easier to work with and saves repair jobs. Just needs to slot in! Here is the completed tub, prior to installation: Control panels: Cockpit sides: Note the resin sidewalls and kits landing gear bay are installed. The rear panel: 'pit installed. I cannot express just how much better the fit is compared to the Aires examples! The Avionix GRU-7 seats that will replace the Quickboost examples i had initially planned to use: The remaining contents of the Avionix 'deluxe bombcat set' One thing i'm not keen on is the set up of the forward pallets. One must cut a section off the rectangular pallet and add the curved part unique to the forward pallets. More to follow. 'Freezer' Edited March 9, 2012 by DaveJL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted March 9, 2012 Share Posted March 9, 2012 Looking good Dave, Good to hear your experienced views on the Blackbox pit. Wolfpack bombcat bits seem a little less prolific in number! Be interesting to see what the fit is like compared to the Wolfpack pallets. Do you think the Avionix/Blackbox seats are physically bigger than the Quickboost/Aires ones? My SJU-17's certainly seemed so, be interesting to find out. Cracking build. Rip-Cord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 9, 2012 Author Share Posted March 9, 2012 Looking good Dave,Good to hear your experienced views on the Blackbox pit. Wolfpack bombcat bits seem a little less prolific in number! Be interesting to see what the fit is like compared to the Wolfpack pallets. Do you think the Avionix/Blackbox seats are physically bigger than the Quickboost/Aires ones? My SJU-17's certainly seemed so, be interesting to find out. Cracking build. Rip-Cord Thanks Ruari. The bomb pallets seem a bit complex compared to the wolfpack examples, not mentioning the thick casting block underneath that will need to be seen to with the hacksaw, something which is missing on the wolfpack set- a blessing at that! Hopefully i don't make a meal of removing the blocks. In initial inspection, the seats seem a bit taller than the Quickboost ones i was planning to use. Just needs a bit of a heavier sanding job underneath. I'll compare them in more detail tomorrow and report back! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 Cracked on with this today. First job was to add the two fuselage halves together. Fit, again, wasn't great. Plenty of filler needed. Once this had set, i added the two coamings in the cockpit along with the rear panel. You may notice that there is a good whack of filler in front of the pilots coaming. This was needed as i shaved off too much of the resin block and left about a 1.5mm gap between the plastic and resin. Gps dome added: Rear pallets and bomb racks: I had intended to use the Avionix examples but having looked at them, and realising that i plan to make this kit and 2 others before the GB deadline, i abandoned them on the basis that they do require a good few hours of prep work, and reverted to the Steel Beach bomb racks i had initially planned to use. Call it a short cut if you will! Tail fins and a good tidy up of the rear end next: Forward bomb pallets: Avionix GRU-7's with the kit ejection handles attached: Wing glove pylons with BOL rails and LANTIRN adaptor: Avionix LANTIRN pod: The lovely Royle Resin fuel tanks (will definitely be using these again!!): Overall shot for today: Just needs a good clean up and the addition of a few bits and pieces and that will her ready for priming. Won't get any done for a week or so as i'm away this week. More to follow. 'Freezer' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Looking good Freezer, Those Avionix bits look great. Good luck for next week. Rip-Cord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 Looking good Freezer,Those Avionix bits look great. Good luck for next week. Rip-Cord Thanks mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
periklis_sale Posted March 12, 2012 Share Posted March 12, 2012 great progress so far my friend! :clap2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 12, 2012 Author Share Posted March 12, 2012 great progress so far my friend!:clap2: Thanks very much. Shouldn't be too long in coming together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Looking good again ! I see you're using a lot of resin parts from dfferent manufacturers, how would you rate the varius accessories available in 1/48 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Looking good again ! I see you're using a lot of resin parts from dfferent manufacturers, how would you rate the varius accessories available in 1/48 ? Thanks Giorgio. The steel beach resin parts are all great, would highly recommend them. The avionix cockpit is great and requires a LOT less work than Aires sets. Wolfpack designs sets are great too, apart from the GE-110 shrouds in the B/D update set. These are a very poor fit. My favourite nozzles for the B/D would be the Dr Pepper examples. If I were to suggest a selection of sets for one build I would say: Avionix cockpit Wolfpack designs bombcat set (or steel beach bombracks if you have the LANTIRN, adaptor and BOL rails) Steel Beach GE-110 exhaust shrouds (if doing a B/D) Dr Pepper GE-110 exhausts (B/D) Aires varied TF-30 exhausts (A) Steel Beach FOD covers Royle Resin fuel tanks Royle Resin wheels. The various other parts I've used over various builds are all good too, but the above would be my 'ideal' selection. Hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Just about ready for priming. Forward pallets and bombracks added and tidied up, along with the chin pod: ECM lumps 'n bumps added either side of the intakes: All rough areas sanded and smoothed over and final look before the painting commences: Kit is off for a soapy bath this evening, priming tomorrow and hopefully painting on Sunday. More to follow. 'Freezer' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Yee-hah! Looking good, be food to see the paint on her! Rip-Cord Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Yee-hah!Looking good, be food to see the paint on her! Rip-Cord Thanks mate, shouldn't be too long in coming together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 First session of painting done. Main airframe has had it's applications of the necessary greys and the areas that need painted Insignia blue have been masked off: Tails also need painted Insignia Blue, the shrouds need done black and the wing seal 'bags' need a coat of dark grey. Fuel tanks: GE-110's (insides still need weathered - the insides were originally white on the real thing as the petals were ceramic) Ordnance painted (few details bits just need to go on) Once the painting mentioned above is done, the kit shouldn't be too long in coming together. More to follow. 'Freezer' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Looking good ! Thanks for your roundup of the various bits available, I'll have to save this in my reference list ! With more and more 1/48 tomcats coming my way I'll need some of those sets... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Second session of painting done and she's starting to look a bit tidier now! Shrouds, wing seal 'bags', fins and fuselage stripe all painted. After a bit of information provided by Andy Mullen and consultation of various photos, the fins and stripe are insignia blue, despite the Two Bobs decals saying they were black. The coamings on the control panels were also painted khaki: GE-110's weathered: Lenses on the GBU-12's painted and the bombs weathered: GRU-7's ready to go: Final shot of the jet for today: Next up is to remove the masking, highlight the panel lines, add nav lights and assemble the landing gear. More to follow. 'Freezer' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Looking good ! Thanks for your roundup of the various bits available, I'll have to save this in my reference list ! With more and more 1/48 tomcats coming my way I'll need some of those sets... Thanks Giorgio. The roundup is just my personal preference on the parts. I suppose it's all down to what is the most suitable for the builder! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Removed some of the masking tape a few minutes ago and some of the paint has peeled off Bit of a tidy up needed on top of everything else now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Well on the way to completion now. First thing i did today was add all the nav lights, then paint some details, namely the ECM bumps and fuel dump valve. After that was done, i highlighted all the panel lines with a very, very sharp pencil. Takes an age, but i think the affect it gives is quite good: I then moved on and assembled the landing gear. Once complete, it was set aside to dry. Then onto my favourite part - the weathering! I came across the below image on the web and in Tony Holmes' book on the 'cat in OIF: The description in Tony Holmes' book is as follows: '...162916 drops away from a KC-135R on 11th April 2003' 3 weeks into the conflict and you can see the intense weathering on the jet. I wanted to replicate this as best as possible. The first stage was to add light grey boarders to various panels: And a few dark grey ones underneath: Then, working from the rear to the front, i weathered each individual panel as it appears in the image above. The wings and horizontal stabilisers: Like i said, i have tried to replicate the weathering on the kit as best as i can with reference to the picture. What do you think of it? I also added the GE-110's: And the Steel Beach FOD covers: After this was done the landing gear was attached. I will leave this to cure for 24 hours. Next up will be add some final detail painting to the kit, add the windscreen and antennae before adding the decals. More to follow. 'Freezer' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 That is coming along very nicely Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJL Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 That is coming along very nicely Dave. Thanks Mark. Shouldn't be too long until it's finished. Want it out of the way so i can crack on with the RAF 'cat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neal Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Very nice, good work on the weathering Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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