tomprobert Posted October 18, 2015 Author Share Posted October 18, 2015 Tom, what an unbelievable, big kahuna burger of a build... you certainly are the most fearless modeller out there and seeing this 'canvas' of a kit already bending and flexing to your will is what inspires so strongly ..seeing this unfold is just one of those moments you just deliver to us, but you should know how much it is appreciated. Without seeing your Halifax, I would never have thought about trying something whacky and setting out on a journey of my own with an F7F.. Thanks for not just pushing the envelope, but for kicking the whole paper mill down and nuking every envelope ever made Peter Well Peter, you have me well and truly flattered! I must say that if this Phantom project comes out even a fraction as good as your Tigercat I'll be delighted! Tom, Thank you for starting another epic project. The Phantom is an icon and I'm sure you will do it justice. Compared to some of the Combat models I seen you do and some I have myself this doesn't look too bad...at least the fuselage sides seem to match! All the Best! Don It's certainly better than the C-17 I built previously, put it that way! Coming on nicely Tom. Is there a size mis-match between the nose halves? or is it just the floppy doppy, thin plastic. Seems like you made the right choice with the longer nose option but I have a feeling I might just go for a resin replacement. (Robvulcan gave me a huge pile of scrap resin that'll do the job). Look forward to seeing what you do with the cockpit interior.... Evening General, The fit is actually not too bad on this one; the nose issue you see was actually due to the fact that the radome halves were moulded at different lengths. Being the trusting chap that I am, I measured one half, and duly cut both fuselage fronts off in the same place, only to find the radome was too short on the other side! Nothing a bit of filler and fettling won't sort though. The more I look at the nose shape the more I still think it needs a little more done to it, but I'm away for a week now (going to North Norfolk with the folks - plus the usual trip to Hannants) and will look at it again with fresh eyes when I get back. I may well have something else to play with though, as I don't 'alf fancy the new Airfix Shackleton, so this may be slowed down for a while... but projects like these are often a 'pick 'em up when you fancy it job' to avoid the inevitable burn-out that kits like this can give you. Tom Tom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 All understandable TomTom, (new sat nav ?)...the nose issue makes sense, duly noted and filed. I agree it needs more refining, doesn't quite look right, (no criticism, you know me well enough now) just needs subtle changes. Have fun at Hannants, I did recently and decided to pick up just about Everything I've been after for some time, the wallet took a considerable hammering but what the heck !). but projects like these are often a 'pick 'em up when you fancy it job' to avoid the inevitable burn-out that kits like this can give you. That sentiment I know very well indeed !....(pm replied to) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookytooth Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Another Tom special coming up. Great work mate. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 You're not hanging around Tom, looking forwards to seeing it finished at Telford Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 I have to say Tom the nose looks rather fetching (or was it upchucking) in Hibuild primer There's no doubt it has already given up, cos you hammered it straightaway Home straight already 'xcept for the engine inclination, bulgey side areas for the Speys etcetera I had the pleasure of handling (watch out for fingerprints if you buy one from my mate's shop, I forgot to polish it afterwards) the new Airfix masterpiece (no fuselage sink marks on them either, he brought three along to show and share) and also to compare with a Revell/Frog one for luck The Frog has the rivets we all love but frankly you couldnt tell there was all that time between 'em 'xcept the Airfix bits were amazingly well detailed Frog nose profile differed because of the nose wheel undercart other wise a decent match all along So, sorry to interrupt you Tom, but just advising you it looks very very good if you are after it when the Phantom is done b 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 After spending a week away from the bench in beautiful North Norfolk I've returned with fresh eyes and am raring to continue with the Phantom. It also helped seeing one in the flesh (or at least the nose of one) at the fantastic museum at Horsham St. Faith (a former RAF and USAAF base, but now Norwich Airport) and taking a few reference shots. It also helped to solve the nose shape issue that had been bothering me - in the picture below you can see that the grafting of the new nose solved the issue with the radome droop, but it left it looking a little 'pinched' and it was certainly something that had been bugging me and it didn't quite look 'right': S1030137 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr These reference shots show that there is definitely a change in the contour of the nose, and there is also a slight pinch where the intake duct sits, but on my effort it was too pronounced: IMG_3724 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_3727 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_3717 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr IMG_3729 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr So, it was once again out with the car body filler to build up the indentation. I've also opted to slice off the radome for the time being as I feel this still needs some tweaking and re-shaping: S1030147 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr I added some plastic card to the side of the fuselage with was placed at the correct position and depth, and then simply sanded the filler until the plastic card inserts showed through - this told me I was at the correct depth and profile. It now, at least to me eye, looks a lot better: S1030149 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030138 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030145 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr It's still not perfect, but a lot better than it was. I'll no doubt do a little more in due course, but I'll work on and reattach the nose cone first, as well as add the intakes on either side which will give it more of the 'Phantom look'... Until next time, Tom 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomjw Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I do admire your attention to detail. Most impressed. Cheers, Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 I do admire your attention to detail. Most impressed. Cheers, Tom. Cheers, Tom. I'm never one to go to the nth degree regarding accuracy, but that nose didn't quite capture the essence of the real thing before surgery... I'm much happier with it now Tom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tailspin Turtle Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 FYI, the pinch was caused by the addition of a bigger radome to the forward fuselage of the original F4H. It also required a flattening of the nose between the upper aft end of the radome and the windscreen that can be seen in pictures with the radome removed or open. Also see http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2012/11/f4h-1-large-and-small-radomes.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Vader Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 (edited) Looks much better now , keep it up and resist the Shackleton tempting you. The nose section you photographed looks tasty.My lad would love that in the garage. Edited October 26, 2015 by Darth Vader Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 It comes down to the almost mythical 'eye' again doesnt it All the accurate measuring means nowt against how you 'feel' it looks when you get down to it I had that several times when I scratched the Sherpa, just a little niggle of 'notquiterightedness' No finer way of modelling in the world in my book, brilliant stuff Tom ta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I just found this thread - this is quite the project, but I can only think of a few modellers out there who can pull it off. And you're on that short list, that's for sure! Great work so far, especially since you've already demonstrated your skill at oblique thinking to solve problems. Even sordid old injection modellers like me can learn from your liberating vacuform mania! Cheers, Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 FYI, the pinch was caused by the addition of a bigger radome to the forward fuselage of the original F4H. It also required a flattening of the nose between the upper aft end of the radome and the windscreen that can be seen in pictures with the radome removed or open. Also see http://tailspintopics.blogspot.com/2012/11/f4h-1-large-and-small-radomes.html Many thanks for the link. There's a wealth of useful info within, which I'll be using a lot I'm sure. Looks much better now , keep it up and resist the Shackleton tempting you. The nose section you photographed looks tasty.My lad would love that in the garage. The Shackleton is absolutely beautiful. I'm resisting so far, but not sure that I can hold out too much longer! I'm also waiting for an AEW2 decal sheet to be released by Hannants, too. It comes down to the almost mythical 'eye' again doesnt it All the accurate measuring means nowt against how you 'feel' it looks when you get down to it I had that several times when I scratched the Sherpa, just a little niggle of 'notquiterightedness' No finer way of modelling in the world in my book, brilliant stuff Tom ta Absolutely! If it looks wrong, it probably is. Nothing better than the Mk1 eyeball... Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I'm glad you mentioned that Tom, because I was thinking exactly the same thing, a little too pinched, (had the same problem with the big Buccs nose/fuselage transition...easily dealt with using P38) It seems to have done the trick, looks a lot better now....working like this you really appreciate the Phantoms subtle curves.... I'm going to ask the Mem if I can I have one of these in the garden ......I've got the gazebo set up now, I just need to summon up the courage 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 But what is that Firestreak doing next to it? Not a Toom-era missile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 But what is that Firestreak doing next to it? Not a Toom-era missile Not entirely sure. There were a few missiles dotted about, and it looks as if it's only a temporary building so I wonder if it's a case of fitting stuff in where they could. It's a great little museum, and if you're up that way it's well worth popping in. They've a wide range of exhibits there, ranging from Horsham St Faith's pre war RAF days, to becoming a USAAF B-24 base, and then its post war uses. There's lots on 100 Group, too. Plus you can get up close and personal to a Vulcan and Nimrod. You're allowed to get very close to the exhibits too, which is great for reference pictures such as those I took of the Phantom nose. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phone Phixer Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 The Firestreak is probably just another item in the collection belonging to Mick Jennings. There is a Lightning cockpit in his care aswell. Mick was the WO in charge of air movements section at Coltishall and was the station historian. He also had a few "contacts" that obtained scrap airframes for his collection. I did the refurbishment and fitted the ejection seats in that Phantom nose when it was initially restored back in 1999. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMK Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Hopefully you were able to measure up the intakes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted October 27, 2015 Author Share Posted October 27, 2015 I did the refurbishment and fitted the ejection seats in that Phantom nose when it was initially restored back in 1999. Well it must be said you did a fantastic job on the restoration. Hopefully you were able to measure up the intakes? Yes indeed - and took plenty of pictures as well. I'm going to take the easy route and insert FOD guards into my model, so having them in place on the nose section was a real bonus. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radleigh Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Lovely work Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted October 28, 2015 Author Share Posted October 28, 2015 Afternoon all, With the shape of the nose coming on nicely, I thought it was time to have a think about the interior. The kit supplies a basic cockpit floor and side consoles, but I had a quick look at the parts and thought it would be far better to build my own. The kit part did provide a useful template for making the basic floor the correct shape however, but that's about it. With the floor cut out of think plastic card, I then used my trusty profile gauge to make the rear bulkheads, side consoles and the basic shape for the instrument panels. S1030167 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr The cockpit floor also forms the roof of the nose landing gear bay, so whilst I was at it I boxed that in, too. S1030162 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr It now sits nice and snugly in the nose section: S1030164 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr As you can see this is just the basic outline of the cockpit structure, but you've got to start somewhere... S1030160 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030158 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr S1030155 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr There are some unsightly gaps where the kit follows the contours of the splitter-plate mouldings, but these will be addressed with some cockpit sidewalls in due course: S1030152 by Thomas Probert, on Flickr So now the real fun will start - fitting it out with a mass of internal detail... Until next time, Tom 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radleigh Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 So now the real fun will start - fitting it out with a mass of internal detail... Took the words out my mouth... Can't wait 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunpowder17 Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 amazing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritag Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Tom, Those few photo's just do not do justice to the amount of work that must have gone into that interior structure. My mind is slightly boggled at the amount of research and thinking; the sheer number of decisions you had to make - and the quantity of, not to mention accuracy of, measuring and cutting. It a modelling tour de force within a modelling tour de force nonchalantly presented as bit of an update They do say that a quality of genius is to make things look easy......... Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booty003 Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Insane. Hat is certainly off to you good sir!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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