Smudge Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) Ok, time to make some kind of a start. I plan to build an 'A, one of the very first in service, and one of the first detachment of six to deploy to South East Asia, Thailand, on the F-111's combat debut over the hostile skies of Vietnam as part of operation 'Combat Lancer' in 1968. I'll be using the Italeri boxing of the ESCI '111. This has the detachment fin flash on the decal sheet. Not sure which a/c to build just yet, but probably one of the survivors. Some were later converted to Sparkvarks and served in Gulf War One, so they will be on the shortlist. Cheers. (ignore the Bf-109G-10 lurking on the bench. I have a few WWII fighters to finish off, but I can make a start on some small Aardvark bits ) Edited April 3, 2017 by Smudge pictures added 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 Were off. A start on the cockpit tub, which seems quite adequate. Although I will be interested to see how it compares to the Hasegawa kits and some of the resin and etch builds. Also, the nose wheel gear bay and leg. The leg was a bit 'flashy' and had a lot of seams which needed a bit of a clean up. That all went quite well, so I thought I would have a fiddle with the swing wings. I was worried about the fit, but it all seems nice and rigid, no flapping. Just needs a bit of care to get it all lined up. The only thing I have found so far, that I am not all that happy with is the rendition of the upper fuselage vents, which to my eye don't quite capture the detail of the original. Should look a bit more like this. Might have to break out some plastic card strips. I wonder what the Hasegawa ones look like? Thanks for looking, Aardvark fans :-) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 I can't help but notice that the nicely done panel lines actually match the real thing Result. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 welcome aboard and nice to see an early operational version as well. She's not a bad looking model by the looks of it as well, the panel lines are not that heavy. Those vent could be sorted out by knocking some sheet plastic card with grills scribed into it. Well good luck with your , again it's nice to see one of the early F-111 schemes, look forward to seeing her in the gallery. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theplasticsurgeon Posted April 16, 2017 Share Posted April 16, 2017 Following this thread to see how it works out. Here's my build of this kit http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?/topic/151917-tims-f-111a/& Hope you find it helpful. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SallysDad Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 Looks nice. The vents are poor, as you point out. I had not noticed this before, and I have this kit also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted June 20, 2017 Author Share Posted June 20, 2017 Well, sorry to report not much progress on the -111. I have tried to have a bit of a push, and here are some of the results. Keeping it simple in the cockpit. Just a bit of painting and the kit decals. I'm not a fan of decal seat belts, but I thought I'd give it a go. Hmmmm.......... As discussed elsewhere, the fit of parts at the rear end does leave a little to be desired. The main problem with the rear fuselage tail section is the profile across the top. It is flat, but the rear fuselage is curved. Some filler will probably help blend it all together. The fit of the 'cans' is also slightly disappointing. The fuselage extensions on the outside of the cans will need to be fettled and filed to accept them comfortably. ESCI have put a small cutout on the can, but this doesn't fully solve the problem. Not insurmountable issues, just a bit of a niggle. The other parts look good so far. That's it for now. Thank's for looking. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 your progress may be slow but you are getting there, keep it up. One thing you may need to check though is the main gear, something doesn't quite look right there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted June 27, 2017 Author Share Posted June 27, 2017 Hi Rich, ...eeeer, ah yes. I think you have a point re the main gear. In my defence, I couldn't really work out from the instructions what it was supposed to look like. Now I know, it seems obvious! Unfortunately I did a really good job of sticking all the bits together in the wrong place, which made it rather difficult to get them apart again. So the re assembly is not quite as neat as I would have liked. But at least all the bits are now round the right way,......I hope Sadly, this has put me even further behind. What with one thing and another I just haven't been able to give this one much time, or any other modeling to be honest. Still, it's all good fun 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 thats ok, you would be the first person to glue something around the way! Been there done that and I agree the instruction can be very vague in a lot of cases. AS long as it has some strength to it that all that matters as it is reasonably hidden. Don't worry about it too much if you can't make the finish deadline, a lot of other builds are struggling to make it as well, It will be hit or miss for me I know! But glad to here you're still enjoying the build, that's really all that matters. You'll get there in the end, I'm enjoying your build, so press on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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