Matt_L Posted September 7, 2015 Share Posted September 7, 2015 (edited) Hello, In between bursts of enthusiasm for my ongoing 1/24 Tiffie build I've scaled right down and been gradually working on the very fine 1/72nd Academy Crusader. I've always liked this US jet, building the old Hasegawa version many many years back and trying/failing to do something decent with the Esci 48th version a while ago. In this scale I can afford to visit the aftermarket, and have added Eduard's Zoom, Quickboost slats (with Flaps to follow) and intakes. I've read that the slats set is too short - we'll see, they certainly have finer edges than the kit parts, which itself is beautifully moulded with very fine panel lines and riveting, which I'll do my best not to foul up! You'll see I started work before taking this pic - Eduard didn't send me a used fret! ll be building it wing up, flaps down, probably with one of the kit decal schemes for two US Marines users. As this has been a slow burner build, I'm presenting quite a lot in this first post, including the cockpit with the pre-coloured etch adding lots of detail that while I know others can replicate themselves, I know my limits! That ejector seat pull is lovely but fragile, it's pinged off twice know, but is now kept in a very safe place. Strangely Eduard only printed the yellow and black on the topside, so some very careful paintwork will be needed below, as it will be visible. Wheelbay and speedbrake inserts, excellent moulding here painted with Tamiya pure white spray can and some washes of grime: The closed up fuselage happens early on, with the various sub-assemblies dropping easily into place: The cockpit in place, with a little scratchbuilding for the gunsight and shroud - spare etch and kitchen foil... Very unforgiving in close up, this scale - dust issues in the black paint I think... The hollowed-out Quickboost replacement intakes - nothing wrong with the kit ones other than no openings, but very fiddly job to open them. So, that's pretty much up to date on this build. This is a very clean and crisp kit to build, so I'm hoping I can show more progress soon. Welcome all your constructive comments, Take care, Matt Edited September 7, 2015 by Matt_L 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted September 8, 2015 Share Posted September 8, 2015 Nice job so far. I'm keen to see how you get on with this, I've one tucked away so all help & inspiration appreciated. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_L Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 Hello, A little progress with this today, with some scratch detailing of the wing/engine bay, while I wait for the Quickboost dropped flap set (I've got the slats, but, as I'd heard, they're too short, and frankly less detailed than the kit parts!) Some spare etch and fuse wire to sketch in some busier detail, not that much can be seen with the raised wing in place: Tamiya Pure White sprayed from the can- I'd spent a bit of time trying to research what colour this area is, the kit instructions have it as primer green, but I decided to go with white on the basis that all the other accessible bays are that way... And a dark grey wash to bring out the detail a bit. I may rework this a bit so it is starker even when in the wing's shadow. Hopefully the flap set will arrive soon, then the main work of the build can start - cutting and replacing the kit wing flaps. time for a new blade and careful checking of references! Take care, Matt 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_L Posted September 21, 2015 Author Share Posted September 21, 2015 Flaps arrived! so, after some checking of references and which lines to cut, this evening it's gone from this... to this... Slight remedial filling to do where the scriber skidded, and in the very fiddly angles mid-way along the wing, but not too bad. The Quickboost set is very finely cast, trailing edges are thinner than the rest of the kit's wing, so will need to do some gently adzing to get a comparable edge. I'll actually attach the flap parts once the wing is in place, so as to get the droop angles right, and there's a possibility of fouling the fuselage if it's wrong. This will also help painting, as the flaps are all white, against the Light Gull Grey upper wing and fuselage That's all for this evening, but a big step taken. First time I've done dropped flaps on a model, thinking about it! Take care, Matt 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbles Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 (edited) This brings back a few memories from when I did my example of this kit, with similar alterations to yours. Nice work! It certainly makes things easier being able to work on the wing and fuselage as totally separate assemblies with no need to try and remove any gaps when they come together. Don't be surprised if the inner set of flaps hit the fuselage - they shouldn't but mine did when I reattached them and it seems to be a common issue I've noticed. I just sanded mine down a bit until they fit, meaning the shape was no longer quite right, but not in an easily noticeable way.Just for inspiration since we seem to have followed similar paths, here is my old Hasegawa Crusader (which I also dropped the flaps and droops on) at top, with my Academy Crusader in front Edited September 22, 2015 by mumbles 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_L Posted September 22, 2015 Author Share Posted September 22, 2015 Thanks Mumbles, two impressive builds there. Welcome hearing how you approached joining the curved quickboost flap surface to the flat kit part face - pics of the real thing suggest very little obvious gap and a smooth transition from wing to dropped flap. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbles Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 (edited) Thanks Mumbles, two impressive builds there. Welcome hearing how you approached joining the curved quickboost flap surface to the flat kit part face - pics of the real thing suggest very little obvious gap and a smooth transition from wing to dropped flap. Cheers I didn't use the quickboost set, I did it the daft way by sectioning the wing and reattaching the parts after clean up. I put half-round plastic strip on the hinge sections of the flaps, then bevelled out the interior of the wing trailing edge like so to get them to fit vaguely like the real thing: You need to be careful doing this lest you remove the actual final exterior trailing edge though. Edited September 23, 2015 by mumbles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancbuilder219 Posted September 23, 2015 Share Posted September 23, 2015 Major detail in the cockpit - looking great! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_L Posted September 23, 2015 Author Share Posted September 23, 2015 Cheers I didn't use the quickboost set, I did it the daft way by sectioning the wing and reattaching the parts after clean up. I put half-round plastic strip on the hinge sections of the flaps, then bevelled out the interior of the wing trailing edge like so to get them to fit vaguely like the real thing: You need to be careful doing this lest you remove the actual final exterior trailing edge though. Proper modelling there Mumbles. Flaps aside, the slats are on. Having discovered the Quickboost set are a bit small (anyone building a 1/73 scale Crusader can have them for free) I've added some plasticard to the upper half of the mating edge of the kit parts to give extra downward tilt: What an exciting photo! One of four on, one waiting. I've also filled and smoothed the joint with perfect plastic putty, and created a flattened transition with a scalpel edge (which you can't see at all but I feel good knowing it's there!) All on. They've lined up pretty much parallel, and the wing's just perching for now. I can see care will be needed to get everything aligned well when attaching wing to fuselage, the anhedral and tilt boggle the eyes a bit. Enough for today, Take care, Matt Major detail in the cockpit - looking great! Thanks Lancbuilder, credit goes to Eduard, I enjoy a scratchbuild, but not in this scale! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbles Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 (edited) Proper modelling there Mumbles. Flaps aside, the slats are on. Having discovered the Quickboost set are a bit small (anyone building a 1/73 scale Crusader can have them for free) I've added some plasticard to the upper half of the mating edge of the kit parts to give extra downward tilt: What an exciting photo! Cool. I used a couple of tiny bits of plastic sheet like that in the gap to set the angle, and another couple to bookend before swamping the gap with putty. Not quite as subtle as your approach Your assembled wing looks great. Edited September 24, 2015 by mumbles 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_L Posted September 27, 2015 Author Share Posted September 27, 2015 Hello, Some paint has gone on it. Many coats of white! Excuse the pics, the camera struggled with all that white... I masked up the cockpit and wheel bays and used a Humbrol matt white can. I like the coverage this gives after a few light coats, and it dries v fast. After a polish, this will be both underside/nose/flaps/rudder/stabilisers colour and an undercoat for the Light Gull Grey (Xtracylix). The first coat showed up a few blemishes which some plastic putty or CA spots soon dealt with. A few panel lines to reinstate too. That's all for this weekend, Take care, Matt 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Great work so far 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_L Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 Great work so far [/quoteThanks Val, currently going cross eyed and slightly mad putting the panel lines back in on a white plane on poor light... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_L Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 Hello, More painting progress. I've put back all the panel lines lost in the build so far, and some of the more obvious rivets with a pin, and used a thin panel line wash to provide some very limited pre shading for the grey. First coat of grey - Xtracrylix L Gull Grey with white added. There is some subtle shading and variation, not obvious I grant you, but I'll add a second layer of shading before putting down some lighter/darker random coats of the grey. The white diamonds on the tail are to give backing to the Red Devils badge - decals look a bit see-through to me. Take care, Matt 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mumbles Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 First coat of grey - Xtracrylix L Gull Grey with white added. Looking good. Did you have any issues getting the ventral fins on and firmly attached? It was a weak area on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashman Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Very nice! Have got one of these in the stash at the moment and am thinking of modelling it in flight with a Mig15 or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busnproplinerfan Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Looks good so far, I have two on the go. I also found the QB flaps a bit short(I also have the Wolfpack ones) Strange thing, when you drop the flaps, the shortness disappears. I know the QB droops need 1 mm added to the outer and inner droops. You used the kit parts which are very usable. I'll be doing that with the next ones I do, mostly to save on buying these parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_L Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 Looking good. Did you have any issues getting the ventral fins on and firmly attached? It was a weak area on mine. hi Mumbles, yes, a little delicate, I think they fit best at the wrong angle! At the correct angle (research needed - no helpful diagrams in the instructions!) only some of the mating surface hits the fuse. Super glue and filler... Very nice! Have got one of these in the stash at the moment and am thinking of modelling it in flight with a Mig15 or something. Thanks Flashman, it's a lovely kit to build, your plan sounds good - Crusader in flight looks great Looks good so far, I have two on the go. I also found the QB flaps a bit short(I also have the Wolfpack ones) Strange thing, when you drop the flaps, the shortness disappears. I know the QB droops need 1 mm added to the outer and inner droops. You used the kit parts which are very usable. I'll be doing that with the next ones I do, mostly to save on buying these parts. Hi busnproplinerfan, thanks, are your builds here? Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busnproplinerfan Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 hi Mumbles, yes, a little delicate, I think they fit best at the wrong angle! At the correct angle (research needed - no helpful diagrams in the instructions!) only some of the mating surface hits the fuse. Super glue and filler... Thanks Flashman, it's a lovely kit to build, your plan sounds good - Crusader in flight looks great Hi busnproplinerfan, thanks, are your builds here? Matt http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234985180-172-xf8u-1-crusader-prototype-138899/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busnproplinerfan Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 I just noticed in important screw up in the kit and the aftermarket outer main gear doors I have. The landing light is shown going on the port(left) door, it even has the notch. It is wrong, it's supposed to be on the right (starboard) side. I confirmed with the reference books I have. Hope you don't have your outer doors done yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_L Posted October 11, 2015 Author Share Posted October 11, 2015 Hello, Few little bits done - been distracted by the Tiffie... Aftermarket nose probe - will ned some fine filling to blend it back in to a point... ...and the etch cockpit coaming...(you'll see I've been testing the decals!) More soon hopefully, and thanks to busnproplinerfan for the doors/lights tip! Take care, Matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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