Jessica Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 (edited) This looks like a good place for this to live. Edited January 8, 2014 by Jessica 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Look forward to watching this one come alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Watching with interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Yes indeed! I'm pleased we have an Alpha Jet in the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 1, 2014 Author Share Posted January 1, 2014 I should have included this link to a look inside the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Will you be doing the Canadian civvy one ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlstavros Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 Looking forward to this one too, it was on my list to buy at Telford but they're quite scarce over here! Cheers, Carl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Will you be doing the Canadian civvy one ? While it's tempting, I'm going to be boring and do the overall grey Armée de L'air one. J'ai besoin de plus des avions Francaises sur mes étagères. Besides, it's the one with the blunt nose and I'm tired of knocking pitot tubes off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natter Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Quinetiq's Alpha looks OK in the overall gloss black, but it did look better in the ex-Luftwaffe wrap-around camo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex77 Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 That's a nice one Jessica. Got one on the stash here so am looking forward to your build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 I started to install ribbing on the cockpit sides as shown in this image until I noticed that this is an aircraft in maintenance and those side ribs are normally covered. Oops. Now they'll have to come out. At least I don't have to redo the bang seats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 Got a little more work done in various subassemblies. The landing gear has 90 degree bends made up of separate pieces. I decided to glue them together before painting to achieve the greatest strength glue bond. Nose and tail cones. The instructions are not clear which of the optional tail cones to use so I had to google pictures of Alpha Jet Es in order to discover that the plain tail cone without the chaff dispenser is the one I need to install. The intakes are made up from two halves. I glued them together, then ran a bead of gap filling superglue down the inside of the joins. Once it's dry I'll spray some white in there. And finally, the cockpit sidewalls are repaired after my adventures into inaccurate scratchbuilding 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 8, 2014 Author Share Posted January 8, 2014 I've got some paint in the cockpit and wheel wells 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Glad to see I'm not the only one who can't resist taping unfinished fuselage halves together Looking really nice so far Jessica. Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deacon Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Wow you're cracking on with this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 Another day, a little more progress, another test fit. I read a thread on ARC (referenced from Pappy's build) about the difficulties of fitting the wheel well in around the intakes and the lower fuselage part. Perhaps it's because I haven't glued anything yet, but I haven't run into the problem with this model. Everything fits where it ought to.The tape held long enough for me to take the picture. The moment I put the camera down the model went *plink* and fell apart. But I know it fits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 I forgot to add: Not one bit of nose weight is needed! I went out and bought a bottle of Liquid Gravity for nothing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Another day, a little more progress, another test fit. I read a thread on ARC (referenced from Pappy's build) about the difficulties of fitting the wheel well in around the intakes and the lower fuselage part. Perhaps it's because I haven't glued anything yet, but I haven't run into the problem with this model. Everything fits where it ought to. The tape held long enough for me to take the picture. The moment I put the camera down the model went *plink* and fell apart. But I know it fits. G'day Jessica, I haven't experienced any trouble either, my fit is great I think the guy in that build I placed the link to largely induced the problems himself, mainly by not aligning the intake ducts correctly (It also helps if you glue in the central divider in the correct orientation). It is good to know that there is no requirement for nose ballast, but I am intrigued - "liquid gravity" ? cheers, Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 It's a clever name for small heavy and tiny beads of metal. They're supposedly non-toxic so they can't be lead, but they're really heavy. I wonder what they are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 (edited) I forgot to add: Not one bit of nose weight is needed! I went out and bought a bottle of Liquid Gravity for nothing! Bought as an investment for future builds. :-) This is coming along great. Edited January 9, 2014 by snapper_city Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 I think the guy in that build I placed the link to largely induced the problems himself, mainly by not aligning the intake ducts correctly (It also helps if you glue in the central divider in the correct orientation). I've figured out how his problem happened because it just tried to happen to me. When you're fitting the intakes, it's very important to get the two little pins on the rear of the splitter plate to line up into their holes, and the top pin doesn't like its hole so it tries to fit behind it. This tips the end of the duct downward inside the fuselage where it ends up fouling the top of the wheel well, forcing it downward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 Some paint on the bang seats tonight. Washes and drybrushing will be called for shortly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VG 33 Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) This is a very interesting subject. If you think the overall grey is boring you can make one with the previous grey/green scheme. Patrick Edited January 12, 2014 by VG 33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 I don't have the decals for that, so grey it shall be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted January 17, 2014 Author Share Posted January 17, 2014 Back to the Alpha Jet. Reference photos kindly lent to me show that the forward portions of the instrument panel shrouds are covered by a very light coloured fabric material. I thought that pure white was a bit too strong, so I toned it down with a drop of Deck TanThe cockpit is finished apart from washes and drybrushing. The carpet monster got one of the front seat belts, so I'm just going to claim that it fell down between the seat and the side console when the front-seater got out last timeA test fit once againThe intakes didn't want to fit very well. I'll need a session or two of sanding the Mr. Surfacer I globbed onThe other fuselage inserts also need a bit of filling and sanding 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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