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Posted

EDIT: this is the second of three entries I made in the Phantom STGB. I wasn't able to finish any in time but I'll finish the builds as regular WIPs. So, the threads have been moved here very promptly by Mish, Shar2 and Greg B. Thanks for that :)

--------------------

 

Hello dear Fellow Modellers,

 

This is my second entry in this GB (my first entry is here). This time I'll be building Fujimi's RAF Phantom in the colours of the Alcock & Brown commemorative flight.

 

The boxing and contents are the following:

y4mzkd0A1OFgEguaWwt86gX0bQwEl_sHeLyzHLQy

IMAG1741

 

y4mnpbM_bwyG1Df3syeMYhWWikd5U1VpmimazaEJ

IMAG1742

 

y4mhFZ-umYyYBwVSdZRzp-VVz2EJuJT9VgZEkBPS

IMAG1743

 

y4m7hVpmPkS1hSQ2V2uk8F3E-G2PCQqK4clTh9Xx

IMAG1744

 

This kit is not exactly equal to the Royal Navy (RN) one I'm also building. It's a later version of the mouldings, with corrections to some inaccuracies of the early moulds, and some added detail (e.g.: positionable flaps and air-brakes). It also comes with a PE fret, rubber tires and white metal parts for the landing gear and ejection seats:

y4mDK6VqOe7WElxYOE5ONPlqOk4rAvJL8TJJg0im

IMAG1745

 

I'll use the PE fret but I'm not convinced by the rubber and metal parts. I'll stick to the plastic parts for these.

 

Initially, I intended to use this kit to build a combat camouflaged aircraft, instead of the commemorative painting scheme. I even bought decals for that purpose. Unfortunately, I chose decals for recce squadrons and the kit doesn't come with recce pods or ground attack rockets, which I believe were used by one of those squadrons when deployed in Cyprus after the Turkish invasion (the 41st Sqn). The weapons available are for the air interception configuration (air-to-air missiles and external fuel tanks).

 

Here are the original kit decals, on the left, and the additional decals I bought but won't be using in this build:

y4mHBSSiaAVwbVOqI119B1ypxqQODN2xXph2q8FV

IMAG1746

 

I'll build this kit OOB. As with the RN version, my objective is to improve my building efficiency. Since the two kits are very similar, I hope to be able to build them in parallel and keep a high rate of progress.

 

This kit has the added objective of being my first application of PE parts.

 

So, moving on to the building process. I started the kit last Sunday's night, one day later than the RN one. I started by cutting the main parts off the sprues, like shown here:

y4merkPOfL01v6sBVfekfjY4OJu50IwsDQJrVxqp

IMAG1927

 

Then, I dry-fit the parts in order to identify areas of problematic fit:

y4mDvc01fYlxc6XXmvPoD8hdi2N0r98HWdO9rF7W

IMAG1928

 

y4mmUD5q2yM0OEyAUGlzLjfb87DpsMei9HFq4Bn3

IMAG1929

 

Everything fits very well and the fuselage halves are not warped like in the RN kit. Therefore, the problem found at the tail in the RN kit is not apparent here:

y4m7HNb7pGHPkHAYIukQqCdHq1zF10k5Mz3SqWhQ

IMAG1932

 

Anyway, its advisable to also insert a sprue rod spacer in the fuselage, in order to eliminate the wing root gaps:

y4mygi4BTL3W_LKWFzZblpfERdi6nqEd5RqocT_d

IMAG1930

 

y4mANeaFdIOxlqTLFkKraGita5hrsDkbq1s1PhPu

IMAG1931

 

After this, I cut the small parts off the sprues and glued them to the tips of toothpicks to facilitate painting. Here are the instrument panels and other cockpit parts:

y4mxZz8AZs7jcVKzyjnHsT5gqBz3Z-z0b2zYxHse

IMAG1934

 

and here are all the small parts I've already prepared for painting:

y4mbVkQ4GmpRTKvjRjOWefeSWj2BsA0XPCDhtJ1s

IMAG1938

 

I had to use putty to make some ejector and sink marks disappear. The putty was thinned with Gunze's enamel thinner and applied in thin layers with a small paintbrush, resulting in the following picture (inner surfaces of the air intakes and some parts from the cockpit's walls):

y4mUYpXeb_TSHWXACwiXFEXJYIeKBgABkZKvCSt2

IMAG1937

 

After 24 hours of drying time, I sanded the excess putty with 400-grit wet-and-dry:

y4mFvOdzUVMAsXsEHtjz1x7A4Nr0f2Y0ZYz_evs-

IMAG1940

 

The next step is applying grey primer to the small parts and checking that the marks are now invisible.

 

As you can see, this and the RN kit threads are almost equal to each other. However, since the weapons loading, paint schemes and decals are completely different, I opted for two independent threads.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Jaime

  • Like 7
Posted

So this is where all those Fujimi Phantoms are!

Only have two yet... :) But I've order a third one two weeks ago on eBay. It's an RAF version with the proper weapons loadings for air-to-air, ground attack and recce squadrons. If it arrives soon enough, I'll try to make a third entry in the GB :)

  • Like 1
Posted

Hello, here's a short update on the build.

 

I'm afraid it is really very similar to the updates on my Royal Navy (RN) Phantom. That's to be expected, as the two kits are almost twins. The builds will only differ significantly when I get to the application of PE parts and main painting stages.

 

Anyway, for the sake of completeness, here are the latest steps made on the build. I apologise to those reading my RN Phantom thread for the repetition...

I applied grey primer to all small parts already off the sprues. As grey primer, I use Tamiya's XF-19 Sky Grey. It's an acrylic matt paint and works well as a primer.

Here are the small parts primed:

y4mFRKVWL5E-yH0rOZOPzlxSoN8Sr8K6vD-59xcb

IMAG1949

 

The cockpit tube got primed as well:

y4mllv0XbjSgBA4H4fl7bbHK0HYmE7TNqPSH-uld

IMAG1952

 

I also primed the inner cockpit walls. The picture is a bit dull... Grey primer on grey plastic... Anyway, here it is for the sake of completeness:

y4mq96_KH73h1XwPTzaxw3rtdUOEbqKmL4GHEKu4

IMAG1948

 

The primed parts were left to dry for a day and then I checked the moulding marks that I tried to eliminate with putty. As should be expected, they were still visible, though not as bad as originally.

 

Here are they on the inner walls of the air intakes:

y4mdHwuQIuUGCWEnfTjNWUDEDXw2NsTRC83GwIdQ

IMAG1951

 

and on the two small parts that will be glued to the inner cockpit walls (in foreground in the following photo):

y4mDWaGDE6_TXORIQrqul56yQmZv1cWGs66PALRQ

IMAG1950

 

In this kit the auxiliary air intake doors have no ejection marks. So, two parts less to take care of.

 

Anyway, I had to apply another layer of putty, this time a bit thicker.

 

Here are the air intakes:

y4mg7E9gbTKzNazkZuLBNLm3_hsCzE0J-uqHBPXn

IMAG1956

 

and the cockpit wall parts:

y4mTsOiSQGmgO4z9dx7r5BtNpN7s7PmdATRa8ltq

IMAG1957

 

The putty is now drying and later today I'll sand the excess off. Hopefully, the markings will be gone and I'll be able to apply a new coat of primer and go on to the painting of interior colours.

 

Thanks for looking. I hope you're not too bored by these preparatory steps and, if you're also reading my RN Phantom thread, by the repetition.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

  • Like 2
Posted

Over the weekend I did some progress on the RAF Alcock & Brown Phantom.

 

After being left to dry, I sanded the excess putty applied to the parts that had moulding marks. Unfortunately, after applying another coat of grey primer, the marks were still visible in the main air intakes and in the right rear cockpit panel. I applied putty again to these parts, left them to dry, sanded the excess off and applied grey primer to check.

 

The right rear panel was ok but the marks in the main air intakes were still visible and the primer finish was uneven. So, I removed all the primer from the intakes with isopropyl alcohol and applied putty to a clean surface. I won't bother you with additional pictures which look just like some previously posted. When these parts are ok, I'll show them ready.

 

Moving on, I rescribed the detail of the left cockpit panel part, lost to the putty / sanding process. I used a magnifying glass and an x-acto blade to rescribe the detail. Here's the result, which is better than the one for the Royal Navy (RN) kit I'm doing in parallel to this one:

y4mIp2cSEg-mGnF7url3ukemEoG-h_zeeHxBaAyX

IMAG1971

 

This panel and the one for the opposite side were glued in place. I should mention that this was done with the cockpit tube dry-fitted in place, in order to ensure that, in the end, everything would fit. I found that I had to trim the right side panel part, as well as the rim of the rear seat cockpit on the same side. Since I did this previously in the RN Phantom, this time it was a quicker process.

 

The following photos show these parts glued in place:

y4m4J9UwaaCT7pSjJqHJnb9JF0DSZGmy6P8GJTTzy4mvvvWn0XWNI5S2pzbj8aLbS9XOoKW9sMjPMuk3

IMAG1977             IMAG1978

 

Then, I painted the main colours of the small parts (seat parts, cockpit parts, ...)

y4mbFZilXNXSASU_ZZnJzUercMdgerbtmrAW9e0l

IMAG1994

 

Here are the seats. The instructions show two different colours: olive drab for the head rest and khaki green for the rest of the seat. The instructions for the RN kit indicate only one colour: olive drab for the whole seat. I searched the web for pictures of these seats and found all types of colour combinations, so I stuck with the instructions.

y4mBOq-_n2Ux9ySOABkLcAuEowQrRs-Ak7JvD1DN

IMAG1993

 

Here's the cockpit tube (detail colours still need to be applied to the side panels):

y4mFlayLEbamWIzqPlaERxI8FUddwlYs5QX9RU2E

IMAG1995

 

The inner grey (FS 36231) was also applied to the cockpit sides:

y4mSjjElrIr4V-6DmBUAeycWWZo7GjSIk6UzqwpD

IMAG1996

 

The next step is applying the detail colours to seats, instrument panels and side panels.

 

Thanks for looking

 

Jaime

  • Like 2
Posted

Hello again,

 

I'm running the risk of causing a lot of boredom by repeating every step of my RN Phantom build (this will only get worse when I start my Shark Teeth Phantom... :() but I'm afraid things will only be different when I get to the main painting stages...

 

Anyway, this is a post regarding the work I did yesterday in parallel to both the RN and this Phantom. As said elsewhere, this will look to be a small update but, in fact, it represents several hours of work.

 

As explained in the similar post for the RN Phantom, I decided to take the more difficult path and masked the cockpit tube to airbrush the matte black areas.

Here's the cockpit tube already masked, waiting for being painted:

y4mVPA6SGbgJwcHTxWj9WekUqH-B0igc7Wq32tIe

IMAG2007

 

After painting and removing the masking, here's the result:

y4mmYy8q0VAHhgnfiQs9cZzakKA1NSC5bAX0DkMp

IMAG2020

 

It turned out better than the RN one but also needs a few touch ups (with a brush...)

 

I also painted the yellow handles on the ejection seat tops, which were used to initiate the ejection sequence. In this case I took pictures of one of the parts, after masking and after painting:

y4mTGHohiDUedqOBqPlQL02BSSyMnJMdUbafcvmPy4mzxP_fFPPIIwCBvrU3kyHKjdXNlrerx6V9M25B

IMAG2011                                                                 IMAG2010

 

After removing the masking, here they are, next to the other seat parts (sorry for the fuzzy focusing but my smartphone didn't manage to focus properly...):

y4mMEcIdqweAn5sA6NbFSJO-Q-XRNSsaLJNQGiut

IMAG2022

 

I still need to paint the black stripes on the handles.

 

That's all for now. Thanks for looking!

 

Jaime

 

 

  • Like 3
Posted

I like the work you are doing on this one and your Navy bird. The airbrush finish on the consoles does look a lot smoother than the finish you might have got with a brush.

  • Like 1
Posted

Thanks Rob! Your interest is much appreciated!

Posted

Looking great so far. I just wrapped up this kit not to long ago...though in different livery...and really enjoyed it despite leaning toward large scale prefrences. I look forward to seeing you get this one finished.

  • Like 1
Posted

One of my favourite UK Phantom schemes. :popcorn:

  • Like 1
Posted

Jimmy, Mark, thanks a lot for your interest. I'm now in the process of detail painting the ejection seats, instrument panels and side consoles on both birds. I have to use a magnifying glass and lots of patience but I must confess I'm really enjoying it :) I'll post the resultswhen the cockpits are finished.

Jaime

Posted

Hello again,

 

As said in my recent post on the RN Phantom, I've been quite busy working also in the Alcock & Brown Phantom in parallel since mid last week, with detailing work on the cockpit parts. This update represents several days of work.

 

With the side consoles on the cockpit tube painted black, I finished painting the remaing black items on the cockpit side walls and the cockpit edges on the fuselage. First, I masked around these areas to be painted.

 

On the inside:

y4mwvWbZYEXPxXpIMGwryp409kF9l0yKOXMgXhsu

IMAG2027

 

and on the outside:

y4m8b1D90Pkk8XyPDrqJVh92SuXUZNcefHi5X9Lw

IMAG2026

 

In the above picture you can see that I had already painted black the end of the air intakes and the area in front of the cockpit. I didn't mask at the time, so some overspray resulted.

 

After painting the black areas, the results were the following.

 

Inside:

y4m3ASet_rsizHiaF-h_AiK-OXUgn7pEkP7rlOb-

IMAG2059

 

and the edges:

y4mOH1-qXXmaAeMo8xK77zxfISIolQYWxvHRdnZh

IMAG2053

 

For convenience, I repeat here the links to pictures of the instrument panels and side consoles of British Phantoms. As can be seen, they were mainly black on grey:

 

http://www.projectoc...com/vox-07b.htm

http://www.f4phantom...hp?plane_id=253

http://www.f4phantom...hp?plane_id=254

http://www.thunder-and-lightnings.co.uk/phantom/walkaround.php

 

Taking these pictures into account, I moved on to detailing the lateral consoles of the cockpit tube.

 

First, I applied a dry-brush of Tamiya's XF-19 Sky Grey:

y4mKhQbxt6_S7m2ulrdyjPJfhyX2rxwx8G5RM3AU

IMAG2029

 

Then, another dry-brush of flat white:

y4mKPFa2xTv08Dti8zy3FcjGyVXKR-FmPHTA3pCr

IMAG2031

 

This made the buttons and dials really stand out. To finish with, I applied a final dry-brush with silver, in order to give a worn metal appearance. A coat of gloss varnish was applied in preparation for a wash:

y4mZz0j4QDt9BmseZ0uwY7-cbyUC5dQqpgQ97Hvw

IMAG2073

 

Then, I detail painted the instrument panels, which were already painted in the base grey.

 

First, using a detail brush, I painted the dials with flat black:

y4mGpqLHw1fMPR5TYNbbvBTlNeFRLjNeSlf7sv55

IMAG2057

 

Next, I painted the other few colours (a mix of Tamiya's Desert Yellow and Gunze's Clear Orange for the radar scope in the front IP, and a few red spots). I also applied a light dry-brush with a lighter grey in order to make the dials' edges stand out:

y4mOm3Vus2_iqfQCA65yda1KVlVZ-jEcUsEQLGsY

IMAG2062

 

This was followed by a flat white dry-brush to enhance the dials' edges further:

y4msGr12tcGnwO9qILa0EdXH7ooGZ8RRgEPhfBEO

IMAG2064

 

To finish the IPs, I dry-brushed with silver and applied a coat of gloss in preparation for the wash (the control column, on the right, was also dry-brushed with silver):

y4m-osW7vRB1mNWrT2jCEmoBJic6iIHaQUhBUdsf

IMAG2074

 

I also decided to detail the seats, since these are complex systems with lots of details and colours, as can be seen in the pictures in the walkaround here in BM

http://www.britmodel...aker-mk7-seats/

 

I used a detail brush and about 7 colours to detail the sides, top of the seats and harnesses. Here is the result with the parts still on toothpicks:

y4mJewX8LOihkwMJAk8dGxHL5rhGRBP0BnFhdl1M

IMAG2048

 

The ejection handles were finished by painting the black stripes:

y4mES3o_k3eMVwWe7ER6FK-kCec0D1t8cF6mLKiD

IMAG2055

 

After all paints dried, I glued the parts together. Here are the two seats:

y4msu_mN3rHnzGQqXruRqcMSRb4NFas6ezn66FRp

IMAG2068

 

y4mY1RXeDOACSIF113A0cublFsKAMTozXI_9z0cg

IMAG2069

 

y4mKStGZTbJC2msEdUJ-EPWZNzM-FCCUgoYcgnn5

IMAG2070

 

To finish these, I applied a light silver dry-brush to the metal areas of the seats (didn't manage to photograph these properly), followed by a gloss coat in preparation for a wash.

 

That's it for now. The next step is the application of a wash to the cockpit parts.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Jaime

 

 

  • Like 4
Posted

Hello again,

 

While I was finishing my Spitfire Mk XIV (RFI here, sorry for the self-publicity...), I applied a dark wash to the cockpit parts of the British Phantoms and left them drying.

 

With the Spit finished, I came back to the Phantoms and cut the canopy parts off the sprues. Here is the sprue of the RAF's Alcock & Brown Phantom:

y4m7llHa1sqD8-dldxtaPF5tTyqJcn9wUJujLJIg

IMAG2155

 

After removing and washing (water + dishwasher liquid) the transparent parts:

y4mJPDGaMx9pqHFFdlWfowRIvWHEIRVhVrqngblb

IMAG2156

 

After drying, the canopy parts were dipped in Aqua Gloss, to improve transparency and brilliance. This was done simultaneously for the canopies of the three British Phantoms I'm building. Here's the set-up:

y4mv5LZc4breirTDUSA4fg6LAI1p2_SMnlFWC0lt

IMAG2164

 

The parts were left to dry in the box on the right, which was covered to protect the parts from dust.

 

Just like with the RN Phantom, I also forgot to fill in the hole on the rear cockpit's floor, since this RAF Phantom didn't have a rear control column.

 

I filled in the hole with a piece of plastic, carved off a piece of sprue, melted in place with Tamiya's extra liquid glue. This was covered with Squadron's white putty, diluted in enamel thinner, applied with a paint brush:

y4miB56YWAMbiN_xYMOKQADVykWmUYoseK8XOpTZ

IMAG2171

 

This is now drying.

 

The next steps are:

 

- sanding the excess putty and polishing the area

- re-prime the area

- re-paint the area

- re-apply silver dry-brush

- re-apply dark wash

 

Only after this, can I install the cockpit tube in the fuselage and close the fuselage.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

  • Like 5
Posted

Thanks for the kind words, Cookenbacher :)

Posted

Jabba, thanks for your appreciation

Posted

Hello,

 

Last week I also managed to finish repairing the floor of the back cockpit of this Phantom.

 

As I said in my equivalent post for the RN Phantom, first I made a small "tool" for sanding the excess putty, using a sprue rod with a piece of sanding paper CA-glued to one of its ends. The following picture shows the tool next to the cockpit base, right after sanding the putty:

y4mCAYmCvMgIoZ-9b_4HFyhUQMQzJJtgPSx2ltKC

IMAG2178

 

In this case the damage to the previous paint job was worse because, before sanding, I tried to remove part of the putty using a cotton bud with too much nail cleaner...

 

Then, I masked the back cockpit and repainted the floor. I also didn't use primer first, though the affected area was larger in this case. This is how it looked after painting:

y4mlkO6DXiJCxLOx-H0a2qhu_r3wswy7WB1lsRfl

IMAG2182

 

After one hour of drying time, I dry-brushed the back floor with silver paint

y4mH4_N_6gKS9hYPodOkm5M1AFpcv56MmOz4kBF1

IMAG2193

 

The back floor was coated with gloss varnish and left to dry overnight. Then, I applied a dark brown wash and finished by applying a coat of matte varnish. The final result is shown in the following picture:

y4m8rAZo6UsWGUzRqg6O_ZID5e9uvYSvwnrRueZ3

IMAG2196

 

Again, also in this case, the repair is not perfect but I'll leave it as it is...

 

Thanks for looking

 

Jaime

 

 

  • Like 4
Posted

Hello again,

 

Here's an update with last week's work.

 

This Phantom was also ready to have its fuselage closed. So, I started by glueing together the cockpit parts, resulting in this:

y4mCshXwmeU-zwbuKprSqDqi2VfwG0J0eEFuEpWL

IMAG2222

 

The cockpit was glued to the starboard fuselage half:

y4maLIiQTa2umFjHkpzDWZvIHg92gRP86hpCVL3r

IMAG2228

 

y4mh9GbyvbO0jGimHkrT2w4tOFJuxPuAxxSCb_ls

IMAG2229

 

Then, I glued together the two fuselage halves. I used the same procedure as for the RN Phantom. The halves were held together with masking tape and I applied Tamiya's super thin glue from the inside, a small section at a time. This allowed me to make sure the halves were kept properly aligned as the glueing procedure progressed. I started with the aircraft's spine, then the tail fin and the area aft of the exhausts. At this point I inserted spacers, like in the RN Phantom, to ensure a proper alignment of the fuselage and wings near the exhausts and to eliminate gaps on the wing roots:

y4mr7qMu_IONa_Wy2YUYr1BNcfQQoKaqSonJe6XL

IMAG2230

 

I finished by glueing the nose and left the glue to cure for a day, like this:

y4mnT4grvJJZ46LcNVrw6_nfa-oFHMXUUW6oM3ZA

IMAG2231

 

I moved on to the wings. First I had to open the holes for the pylons. In this case, I also had to open the centre line holes, since the commemorative flight was done with the three drop tanks in place. Since the centre line ports are open in this kit, I also decided to build "walls" around them, so that the hollow inside of the fuselage could not be seen. This was done with pieces of 0.5 mm thick plastic sheet, which can be seen already cut in the following picture:

y4mI4F0BhKwpzdlf70QsscfNzEYeEOceUNv2dp5x

IMAG2232

 

The holes were opened with a pin-vice:

y4m8XXVbUTIpI9RapvNYyGwoKdNt91DddWkA1JqW

IMAG2233

 

After opening the holes and glueing the walls around the centre line ports:

y4mbbY44Mk3zzpsZZUwEkHC1wQ96wq4A9DK810x8

IMAG2234

 

Since the centre line drop tank will be installed, I had to remove the raised detail in the centre of the lower wing part:

y4mG4ROhK2_JUXg6eW3XyeP-NlG-V0ABzWPr3orS

IMAG2235

 

Now I had to paint the centre line ports. The insides and edges are red. Before painting, I masked the area around them:

y4mdRFzZzYKPlfewjOh7MVZJiDjg4Zlgpz0k73dr

IMAG2253

 

The aft fuselage auxiliary air intake are also red. So, I masked the area around them as well:

y4mAy38OeiJOV8eTi6Il8aGmDQmgfgt1Zyfsqmcn

IMAG2256

 

Since the insides of the air brakes are also red, I took these parts off the sprues and glued them to toothpicks with CA, ready for painting.

y4mc3XlPZq4KfzxpGqbk6XrOijHGaCWO9MQTWJeq

IMAG2241

 

They were primed before applying the red paint, of course.

 

After painting the centre line ports, this was the result:

y4mKVcDGIxSyMHUdzMMzxUDXHhQ7uemLjNC1jTAj

IMAG2254

 

Later, I brush painted the inner sides of the walls around the ports with flat black.

 

There was some overspray on the outer surfaces of the port doors, which was later cleaned with isopropyl alcohol.

y4mbsja11MR3y1NC454xW3pRANmXR9c_RRkFPhL6

IMAG2273

 

The fuselage aux intakes after painting:

y4mzPKZFbDn8l1Wz-A9hPOHC3VBjxd1C-BsqDXH3

IMAG2257

 

There is detail on them in this kit:

y4m46pjN-tkXTe__q8SJnASlCkuHYUEJOU2KFQTk

IMAG2258

 

The air brakes and aux intake doors after painting:

y4mL9hPJeq5W3L6b6pVTCSDp2YyCqJdSOuefpMhk

IMAG2266

 

I moved on to glueing the fuselage and wings together.

 

When test fitting the wings again, I found that, after all, there were gaps on the wing roots. Perhaps the spacer inside the fuselage was displaced while I was applying the clothes pegs to held the fuselage halves together? Anyway, I removed the spacer and installed a new one. I didn't manage to completely eliminate the gaps but they were reduced to manageable widths.

 

The wings and the nose gear well part were glued in place. The following pictures show the result:

y4m28i5FgSEiTfIlEhpfyUqYYuiTIREU93EejJEY

IMAG2276

 

y4mJAc6WN-bjO1J9LTOGNEe4JkFrXen-DRZMu1lh

IMAG2277

 

The joints near the exhausts are ok. The melted plastic coming out of the joints was done on purpose since it acts as a self-sealing material for the joints and reduces or eliminates the need for putty. Of course, it must be filed, sanded and polished:

y4m4zXsm8N_A3PWBaNXpFYxZDn76EIoJy38u77KI

IMAG2278

 

y4mBBJbAae0j6GP2PxoMUKhWf76goq2GDTwU7j0y

IMAG2279

 

The wing roots are also not too bad. The small gaps were filled with CA.

y4mBBN50_J6Fm1NrRYB2FKs-r3krBbxZVZqQ0BVA

IMAG2281

 

y4mmalTlL-nSCs-Bv1dmYloMrxROtqpooG9hheEr

IMAG2282

 

To finish with, I glued the front instrument panel cover in place. This time I used super thin glue, instead of CA (which I used in the RN Phantom). This is more tolerant of positioning errors, gives enough time to correct them, and the paint job must be repaired anyway, so there's no point in using CA here:

y4mOGxzJkK6Sx-fEL9pwmNEwnaCSQXIX0XDad6tD

IMAG2283

 

I also glued in place the two parts for the nose air intakes, which are quite poor and must be filed to shape later. In this picture there's a noticeable step on the aft joint of the nose gear well part. This will be a bit tricky to eliminate.

y4mYKQOuD0nBHsnyUnce7B7V0G-Cz_ntzog03dRh

IMAG2284

 

The next step is filing, sanding and polishing all the joints and applying putty in any remaining gaps.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

  • Like 5
Posted

Hello,

 

Last week's work update.

 

After closing the fuselage and wings, I moved on to masking the canopies. These are made up of four transparent pieces, since I'll assemble the canopies in the open position. I used the masking approach described in my post in the RN Phantom thread (here).

 

Here are the external surfaces completely masked:

y4mXye1BquxrjHiPTN53IYKZSG_mYfCgIPdhp2iA

IMAG2303

 

Since the canopies will be assembled in the open position and are relatively big pieces, I decided to mask their internal surfaces as well:

y4mW8VIXAv_9CaPkAvVMcOp4P-tX0JRBUsq_ha-m

IMAG2304

 

These parts were then bathed in Aqua Gloss, to seal the maskings. After completely dry, I mounted them on blu-tack blobs and put them on toothpicks, ready for painting:

y4myEj3qmhvtWn213gUCNDM5XHFUsH9R1ZuPBXES

IMAG2317

 

I also cut the remaining clear part from the sprue: the gun-sight. It can be seen on the top right corner of the sprue, in the following picture:

y4maMX6VPuXqSHw0QzafTPqyw3Zw5R3avSGl78GV

IMAG2314

 

To avoid damaging the part, I used a saw, followed by x-acto blades to remove the excess plastic (the same technique used for removing the canopy parts, as per a previous post in this thread). The gun-sight got an Aqua Gloss bath to improve its transparency and brilliance. The Aqua Gloss also protects the part from liquid glue vapours.

 

I masked the cockpit area again, in order to repair some damages inflicted on the black paint while glueing the fuselage and cockpit parts together:

y4mlPc_Tmr9znWopphtiZ9OL38iGIiCW2JR_s6L9

IMAG2321

 

After this, I painted the canopy parts with the interior black colour:

y4milzmK5Mz3CL6nB8pz9ZfNcqDo3zYe7L9Uh7OZ

IMAG2328

 

and repaired the paint job around the cockpit:

y4m0x7Ymt40g0PpGtiMb8ZtSAAaGtci4io6mfgtV

IMAG2329

 

Having done this, I moved on to the main air intakes. These were painted gloss white (Tamiya X-2) but the camouflage colour (Light Aircraft Grey) extended inside up to a point where, in the kit's parts, there is a step (as seen in the following pitcure).

 

I started by painting the white colour:

y4mYY8w9KuPGOFDEwlObC-84TCqbyoB-VPgtPSZN

IMAG2330

 

This was left to dry for a day.

 

Then I masked the intakes for painting the Light Aircraft Grey area. Here are the intake parts, ready for painting:

y4mKmdCLTqoZCb387xi9Jmdzik_xDzzr6_5DocQP

IMAG2345

 

After painting the Light Aircraft Grey areas and removing the masking, I got this:

y4mQWsrFuDVR0Pjkz_0Ub8i4n2ST-9_NVR9lKoNl

IMAG2348

 

Like in the RN Phantom, the gloss white area was marred by the masking tape. The same considerations done in the RN thread (link above) apply here.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Jaime

 

 

  • Like 5
Posted

Like the masking of the intakes and that the demarcation line is different from the RN FG1.

  • Like 1

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