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RAAF F-111G A8-291 6 Sqn: In remembrance (1/72 Hasegawa)


TonyTiger66

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Hello all.

Well, this has been a long wait. It's maybe almost a year since I saw that an F-111 group build may take place.

 

At the time I was living, for the eighth year, in S.E. QLD, Australia, not at all far from RAAF Amberley.

 

The F-111 was a star, every year, at an event called RiverFire. 

 

I missed it. Every year, without fail :(.

 

I wasn't too well for most of those eight years, bedbound for quite a few of them. Nevertheless I got to see footage of the old Aardvark and the RiverFire events and became fond of the old bird.

 

I have two very old Revell 1/72 kits of the F-111, but decided, probably to set myself a big challenge, to go for a Hasegawa F-111 kit.

 

Its been some time since my finances have been as comfortable as I would like, so I shopped around and found a Hasegawa RAAF F-111 G kit. I think on Evilbay, from someone in the US.

 

Here it is:

 

IMG_6386.jpg

 

As I am increasingly and alarmingly finding to be the case, the seller wasn't very honest in the wording of their description. Subterfuge, bizarre use of the English language, these are now commonplace to hide straight talking facts like; there were no decals and the only instructions included were a photocopied set for an F-111A.

 

My friend here on BM, @TrojanThunder very kindly came to my rescue. I knew little about the variants, so he gave me good advice. He sent me a decal set and he and another Britmodeller pointed me to instruction sets.

 

Here is a picture of the original, supplied F-111A instruction set, the 'G' set I printed out, thanks to friends, below:

 

IMG_6388.jpg

 

Here are the decals with many thanks from TrojanThunder:

 

IMG_6389.jpg

 

I originally planned to build the lower of these, RAAF F-111G  A8-282 of 6 Sqn RAAF Base Amberley, QLD, circa 1999. This was simply due to the ease of having the profile.

 

Nevertheless, after a little research, I found a serial that I felt more worthwhile to build, from the same squadron:

 

A8-291 'Pisces 1'; tragically lost on a night exercise out of Butterworth, Malaysia, on the 18th April 1999. 

 

Details and photographs can be found here:

 

http://www.adf-gallery.com.au/gallery/F-111-A8-291

 

Note that the red header box on the  linked webpage gives the wrong date: '08/04/99', as can be seen from the plaque, the correct date of the accident is the 18th.

 

This build and model is my small act of remembrance for the two men lost that night.

 

------

 

This is a placeholder for now, as I have a Spitfire and Yak-23 nearing completion:

 

IMG_6387.jpg

 

I need to update their threads first. I have had mind boggling problems with both Flickr and Photobucket and, as you can now probably see, have given up the ghost and I'm using PostImage.

 

I also have a Matchbox Mosquito with conversion, on slow simmer for the De-Havilland Group Bulild. It may be two weeks before the old F-111G is started, but she will be.

 

This is by far the most complex Jet aircraft kit I've ever attempted, and I'm over 50 :door: !

 

Moreover, I openly admit to knowing next to nothing about the history and specifics of F-111's, I just love the way they look and sound, and the innovation that they represent. Therefore all advice, criticism and comments will be humbly and gratefully accepted. 

 

All best regards and a very

happy Easter 

TonyT

Edited by TonyTiger66
Revised aircraft serial
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Welcome aboard Tony, nice to have you along, and there can never be enough RAAF F-111's in a build!! :D I spent 5 glorious years with the F-111, in the avionics workshops and flightline in the 80's, they were fun times.

 

Mmm evilBay can be a bit hit and miss at times, I'm glad follow build members were able to help you out. 

 

Well good luck with the build, I hope it helps bring back wonderful memories of seeing this aircraft, I only got to see one River of Fire, before I left for Sydney. But I still have really fond memories of this aircraft.

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Many thanks folks!

Very kind of you to for the positive words. I'm open to all suggestions and don't mind if people tell me when I'm going wrong.
I'm going to do it 'Out of the Box' as absolutely far as possible, the only aftermarket will be the decals that I already have. Perhaps if I actually manage to finish this one, or simply get somewhere, I can think about a more ambitious build on one in years to come.

I do have three more F-111 kits; a very old Revell  RAAF F-111C, an even older Revell F-111 (it looks like a prototype) and a big 1/48th in storage that Mr's T bought me for Christmas in around 2013. That kit looked stunning, but I can't remember who it is by. Moreover it's 1300KM away (about 820 miles) in a storage container :(.
 

Well, I've just had a good look at this Hasegawa. My brow is furrowed, I've already found F-111.net and become even more worried about a film I hadn't heard of yet called: '50 Shades of RAAF F-111 Grey' and had to have a nice lie down with cucumber slices on my eyes.

It may lead to great pleasure, a nervous breakdown, or both :o. I'm used to very tiny things with one engine and a propeller, or just simply one engine. Most of what build is from the 1930's. Nearly all of it pre 1955. Now there's this, albeit 60's aircraft originally, very modern aircraft (to me) sat on my desk :door: .


My Spitfire is now camouflaged, my Yak 23 in the booth with the extractor on, trying to keep dust off of an Alclad gloss black base I just put on it.

I just had a.....10 hour modelling session :blink:. I think the Alclad and AK interactive primer fumes in the air may have contributed towards the session length :christmas:!!

So, with that under my belt, it's time to continue with  F-111. Why so soon?

Due to an engine set that Arma Hobby have just brought out for the Tamiya Mosquito, I'm putting my De-haviland build on hold. I'm considering converting a Tamiya Mossie to make it compatible with a Paragon NF-XV set originally intended for a Matchbox kit I have. Therefore, while I wait for my next spending money day, then send off to Poland for the Arma Hobby set, then wait for it to arrive, then see if it's all possible, I may as well start the F-111G. Because my modelling mojo is quite high (thanks to the Tamiya Spitfire - good therapy)

No photos yet as I'm waiting for around 3000 to upload to Flickr (most of the last couple of months from all walks of life).

I upgraded to memory on my very old (2009) iMac yesterday and, typing on it now, it is usable again. I didn't want to be doing two sort three WIP's by smartphone only, it gets to feel too claustraphobic.

I'm now going to go for a quick internet search for the completely dedicated F-111G instructions, as these are still puzzling me a bit.


I'll be back with photographs (and updating my other threads) very soon. It is, however, very likely I'll have a good read of lots of other people's threads before that - an essential part of the day :).

Happy Thursday :bye:

All best regards
TonyT

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Tony, I can commiserate with about the instructions, they are quite complicated, the last time I built a Hasegawa F-111 was al least 20 years ago, and I go and look at that model to see if I can remember anything, not very much I'm afraid.

I had to highlight the sprue letters so I can find my way, I'm struggling with them at the moment, I found I put the "C" IP on the coaming for the "G" model, and the IP for the "G" seems as if it's different to the "C" as it's a different sprue.

hang in there and take it carefully is all I can recommend, and good luck.

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wow that AK primer sounds like good stuff, it certainly has got you going, though mixing it with the "50 Shades" video you mention probably should come with health warnings!

 

Lucky you're using Flickr, PhotoBucket would have for sure spat the dummy or filed them where you didn't want them!

 

Look forward to further updates on this grand project! :D

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks chaps :)

I've got the instructions sorted out now. I'm still utterly stuck at stage one with this one and aware I'm running out of time :(

 

It may seem like a small issue, but due to the unusual nature of the instrument panel(s), it's really quite a pain in the old derrière.

 

Right at stage one in the instructions, decals are called out for, for the instrument panel(s). I know lots of models have this and most of the time many people don't use them; they paint/drybrush the instruments.

 

For this model, to me, they seem a lot more important. I'm really not very knowledgeable on F111's; I just really like them (and wish the country I lived in still had them; they were a 'good fit' for this country's defence needs).

 

Nevertheless, I tried to discover why the instrument panels are completely blank with no raised detail. I think it's because the F-111 used a 'glass' i/p?

 

Without the I/p decals I'm, as we used to say back in Blighty, 'snookered'.

 

The instructions call'out for a specific 'G' set of decals for the instrument panels (I have none), but if anyone has any F-111 instrument panel'decals at all that they could scan for me, or post (I'll cross your palm with Dubloons :)), I would be very grateful indeed. Please PM and/or scribble here.

 

Not much time left now, but I do intend to do 'OOB'. Not giving up yet( I have faith in Hasegawa being fast to construct.

 

All best regards

TonyT

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Tony,

 

I don't have an instrument panel decal (the old Airfix kit didn't come with one :) ) but I processed a picture to get rid of the perspective and tidy up the control columns. It's an upgraded "F" panel, which is similar to the "G" with the two digital screens at the bottom. It looks pretty rough at 800x600, but it will look better than nothing when scaled to less than one inch across and printed out:

Nearly3.png

 

I would open up a Word document, insert the image, right-click it and use "Size and Position" to scale it down to the right width. You can then print the document and cut out the panel and stick it in. Cockpit/white/PVA glue is good for paper.

 

Hope it works for you. If not, never mind. It was a fun diversion for half an hour, and I learned a fair bit about perspective correction in the process!

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

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8 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Tony,

 

I don't have an instrument panel decal (the old Airfix kit didn't come with one :) ) but I processed a picture to get rid of the perspective and tidy up the control columns. It's an upgraded "F" panel, which is similar to the "G" with the two digital screens at the bottom. It looks pretty rough at 800x600, but it will look better than nothing when scaled to less than one inch across and printed out:

Nearly3.png

 

I would open up a Word document, insert the image, right-click it and use "Size and Position" to scale it down to the right width. You can then print the document and cut out the panel and stick it in. Cockpit/white/PVA glue is good for paper.

 

Hope it works for you. If not, never mind. It was a fun diversion for half an hour, and I learned a fair bit about perspective correction in the process!

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

 

Thank you very much Adrian that's fantastic :):thanks: !

It's really a clear image that shows the detail really well.

 

i see I'm going to be busy this weekend :frantic: !

Beyond the call of duty Adrian and really appreciated, thanks again :).

 

8 hours ago, TrojanThunder said:

Tony,

Email sent on an idea based on Adrian's very creatively made panel :D

 

Ooo... I'm intrigued Ray, many thanks. I'm going to scamper off and check the email.

Back soon... 

 

Best regards

TonyT

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Hello folks!

 

I just wanted to say thanks for your kind comments. I've run out of 'likes' but when they refresh, I'll come back and add them in :).

 

 

Wonder of wonders I've made a start :o!

 

I realise I have less than a month left so, given that I've finished nothing since December 2006, this, for me, is a 'blitz build' :frantic: !

 

 

I had been held back by health and other issues, then the lack of an instrument panel decal. I had thought the 'G' type I/p decal no more than a rumour.

 

It is called out for in  additional instruction sheet shown in my first posting, in step one.

 

Nevertheless, it obviously does exist in some of these boxings. @gingerbob pointed me to the instruction sheets in his post above. The sheets there are from the related 'A' kit (thanks gingerbob).

 

I have them, plus the C instructions, plus an additional 'G' sheet now, thanks to lots of help from fellow Britmodeller help :).

 

One very useful thing gingerbob's link shows is the dedicated 'G' decal sheet; where the 'G' I/p decals can be seen to the low, far right! So they exist...or at least have done, at some point in time:

 

IMG_7815.jpg

 

Decal 41 for the I/p and so on.

 

I don't have this, pretty sure I never will, so I'm very grateful to @AdrianMF for the superb I/p image above, that I wil be using and to @TrojanThunder for pointing me to images I can use to create the remaining, horizontal, control/instrument panels.

 

Hasegawa would have me paint the vertical panel between the seats plain black, whereas in their instructions for the 'A' and 'C' they specify a decal that shows controls/instruments.

 

Here the 'C' instructions showing a fancy instrument panel decal at the back, between the seats (decal number 75):

 

IMG_7817.jpg

 

 

 

Does anyone ( @trickyrich :D?) know if this panel between the seats was just plain, blank, black (no longer needed in real life?) on the RAAF F-111G, as specified here on Hasegawa's additional sheet for the F-111 G?

 

IMG_7816.jpg

 

Given the brain flatulence that the instruction sheets have been giving me (I know, I'm just not used to them), @Graeme H gave me an idea.

 

My very first task on this kit was to go through the 'C' instruction sheet identifying every step where the 'G' sheet overrides it, by a large asterisk;

 

IMG_7820.jpg

 

You can see this in steps 1 and 4 above. I'd recommend this to anyone to help them with the flow of the build, and with making sure they select the right components for the 'G' from the right sprues.

 

Time to move on from the instructions and on to something practical.

 

In recent builds (I now gave around 12 on the go from the last 12 months), I have been using, in the main, Stynylrez primer.

 

Its great, good adhesion, but on two builds, a (still in progress) Roden LaGG 3 and my recent (still in progress; can you see a pattern here :whistle: ) Tamiya Spitfire Vb, when sanding it down a little, or micromeshing a top coat, the primer has given way. Everything off, right to base plastic :undecided:. Horrible. 

 

I have decided that it is related to e.g. mould release agent from the kit as it is, fresh from box, then during the build, it is a build up of horridness from my sweaty palms. I don't really like to wear rubber gloves when I'm actually building, sanding, fettling.

 

My hands get really hot and uncomfortable in the gloves and I cease to enjoy the modelling.

 

Moreover, I like to have a really good feel of my parts ( @CedB :lol:?), to enjoy the tactile experience of building something 'with my bare 'aaaaands, ooo' arrrrr' .

 

Therefore I now have a strict regime, prior to starting any build, of washing my parts in the bathroom sink. Tepid water and two or three drops Old Spice shower/bath gel. Other soapy products of your choice can be substituted;):

 

In they go, look how big my wet parts are:

 

IMG_6714.jpg

 

Giving them a good soaping up:

 

IMG_6712.jpg

 

Initial 'drip-dry:

 

IMG_6713.jpg

Then I left them to dry overnight in a kind of 'F-111G sprue and Kitchen Roll Lasagne':

 

IMG_6715.jpg

 

Far more tasty than anything you'll get from Findus :chef: :thumbsup2:!

 

When is he going to cut plastic :frantic: ????

 

In the next post.

 

In reality, he already has, but as it's the only 'G' in the Group Build, and seems a little overshadowed by other marques on builds I've seen on the net, I thought this a good place to show the sprues. This obviously includes the ones  specifically for an F-111G, like sprue K. Feel free to skip these if you're familiar with the kit:

 

IMG_6698.jpg

IMG_6701.jpg

IMG_6702.jpg

IMG_6703.jpg

IMG_6704.jpg

IMG_6705.jpg

IMG_6706.jpg

IMG_6707.jpg

IMG_6708.jpg


jpg images

 

Flickr is just not working for me at the moment. When it is, I will rotate and improve some of the images above, currently swiftly uploaded to the far more reliable postimg hosting service. I may start using the latter a lot more...

 

I'm sure there will be many, like me, astounded at how huge two jets such as the (just two seater) F-111 is in comparison with aircraft from other eras. In this sense, I mean for those of us (like me) more used to modelling e.g. single engine propeller aircraft of the 1930's and 1940's.

 

Here is my 'still in progress' Tamiya Spitfire just to give an idea of the size of the F-111.

 

IMG_6710.jpg

 

Huge :o!!

 

I don't want any individual posts to be really long, so I'll take a pause here.

 

In my next post: some logical (I hope) problem solving, use of a new (to me) app to help me ( 'iModelkit') and the knife finally will fall. A lot!

 

My apologies if the lighting and setting of my following (and some previous) WIP photos may be a little odd.

 

I'm building the kit on a tray, in bed, at least this week, due to health reasons. I can't sit or stand for long :(.

 

I hope to be back at the bench and the airbrush  by the time top coats are needed. Nevertheless, I may have to do quite a bit of hairy stick painting due to this 'bedbound' issue.

 

I'm a bit concerned about hand painting the gloss white on e.g. the undercarriage, but I'll try to pace the build as far as possible. The intention is to create 'modular' complete sections, requiring painting at the same time. In that way, I may be able to sit at the bench long enough to do them. 

 

Thanks for reading, as always all and any comments, questions and/or advice are most welcome.

 

Happy Sunday :bye:

TonyT

Edited by TonyTiger66
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with regards to the panel you're talking about, I think it was still there on the later G models. I can't remember exactly what the top one was for....lights/panel lights?? The lower one was CCB's. I think you'd be safe adding them.

 

There are some cool photos here, a mix of C's and G's.

 

F-111C & G photos

 

Don't worry about painting the U/c gloss white, it's more like semi-gloss in real life. It may have been gloss out of the factory but in service a semi to flat finish would be fine.

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Thank you very much Rich, those are superb photographs :thanks: .

 

I have decided to model an aircraft with a different serial.

 

Simply due to the proliferation of profiles of A8-282, I had decided to do that one.

 

I have since discovered that after A very successful and long spell in the USA, A8-282 spent its time as an aircraft for spares, and late in its life, display, in Australia.

 

I here therefore decided to model A8-291 instead. This aircraft, 'Pisces 1´  tragically crashed on 18th April 1999, with the loss of both crew.

 

The circumstances are on the plaque shown at the link below.

 

http://www.adf-gallery.com.au//F-111-A8-291/A8_291_Plaque

 

I would like the model to be a small token of remembrance.

 

:poppy::poppy:.

 

More to follow tomorrow.

 

Best regards

TonyT

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I agree with trickyrich about the white for the undercarriage legs: I've been using matt white on 1/72nd Phantom and Tornado (amngst others) undercarriage legs, wheels, bays and doors for a while now and the fact that it's not gloss isn't very obvious.  Good luck with your build, you deserve it after all of the effort you've put in already getting the cockpit and instrument panel sorted out.

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19 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said:

Thank you very much Rich, those are superb photographs :thanks: .

 

I have decided to model an aircraft with a different serial.

 

Simply due to the proliferation of profiles of A8-282, I had decided to do that one.

 

I have since discovered that after A very successful and long spell in the USA, A8-282 spent its time as an aircraft for spares, and late in its life, display, in Australia.

 

I here therefore decided to model A8-291 instead. This aircraft, 'Pisces 1´  tragically crashed on 18th April 1999, with the loss of both crew.

 

The circumstances are on the plaque shown at the link below.

 

http://www.adf-gallery.com.au//F-111-A8-291/A8_291_Plaque

 

I would like the model to be a small token of remembrance.

 

:poppy::poppy:.

 

More to follow tomorrow.

 

Best regards

TonyT

I will check in to see how this one goes every now and then.

 

I have always wanted to do A8-291 as a tribute build as well........ I have never got around to it, have the kit and decals in 1/48........

 

I knew Shorty. I was serving in HMAS Tobruk deployed in South East Asia  and on 26 April 1999 was winched down to the crash site on Pulau Aur and along with the RAAF Accident Investigation Team, helped erect a white wooden cross at the crash site in memory of the aircrew.

Edited by Devo
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I'm on board for this one, Mr Tiger - rather unusually for me at the moment. You may consider that as a good or a bad thing, as you wish. :spider:

 

I had the Academy 1/48 'RAAF' 'Pig' (with the box art showing it flying over the harbour towards the Opera House, with the Bridge to starboard). It was cheaper than anything that Hasegawa had to offer, and it was there. And I stupidly sold it. Oh well.

 

I had fun times watching the F111s doing their practise bombing runs at the Evans Head (Northern NSW) range in the early-mid-70s: low and fast over the sea and bush, then a sharp pull-up past the range up into the clear blue sky with a loud roar. This was in late August-early September(s) when we where on our annual holidays.

 

Looking on with interest (and envy ;)).

 

Cheers,
Alex. :sheep: <-- not a pig

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  • 4 weeks later...

Time for a quick update. 

Many thanks for the views and comments; I'll return and reply properly with the next update.

 

I'm a bit stuck as the paints I have are really geared towards airbrushing; even

my cockpit colour. I'm still stuck in the bed nearly all the time and can't use the compressor in here. I've assembled as much as is possible and taken photographs.

 

Although I mainly use Flickr the whole photo hosting thing been on ongoing issue for me. I'm glad to see that there's an extension, thank you Mr. Matrix :).

 

I don't think I'll get this one finished due to my inability to get to the bench/airbrush, but I do want to do an update with photos to show the progress.

 

Its quite frustrating, I think a few hours with an airbrush and I would have it complete.

 

Back soon

Best regards

TonyT

 

 

 

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