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Detailing a 1:72nd RAF Phantom FG.1


alhenderson

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I recently got a Fujimi 1:72nd Phantom FG.1 kit in an attempt to re-ignite my modelling passion from some years ago.  Since it arrived, an impending house move has come into play, so it's likely going to stay into the box until the new year now :-(  However, doesn't mean I can't make plans.  I was wondering if I should invest in any of the after market detailing kits that appear to be available for the likes of cockpits, exteriors, ejection seats etc.  I really want this kit to be as good as I can make it, and seeing the quality of the builds on here had inspired me.  However, I have to be realistic - I have not done any modelling for 20 odd years so I ain't going to be winning any prizes.

 

Are any of the kits, such as the QMT exterior detailing kit, worth getting hold of?  What exactly does that kit get me? It's hard to tell just by looking at it..

 

Thanks,

Al.

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Al,

 

I haven't built the Fujimi kit yet, but I have heard good things - one is in my stash. I've also recently returned to the hobby (after about 7 years - a shorter gap, I admit), and I'd reccommend building a different kit to get yourself back in to it. Something just out of the box that will let you experiment and re-learn your techniques before you decide to go all in on something you want to be as perfect as possible - I chose the Airfix 1/48 SHAR 2, and it's certainly enabling me to relearn skills like sanding, filling, filing etc...! Once you feel back "in the groove", then I'd reccommend going back to the Phantom to nail it. Just my 2p, but welcome back and nice to have you on the forums!

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I'd concur with F111Fan about gaining experience on other builds before a Fuji Phantom.

 

Photos mostly lost to Photobluech,   but I've built this FAA Phantom FG-1

and this very similar RAF Phantom FGR-2 and just edited in completed photos.

Both are OOB, no aftermarket - unnecessary.

 

But looking forward to an Airfix Phantom!

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I was not familiara with QMT so had to check their products and found enough information on the Hannants website. I'd suggest to check there to see what you get with each set.

These are photoetched parts and this kind of parts require their own set of skills. They can improve quite a lot a model as can better reproduce bits that are hard to be made realistic in injected plastic. If you have never used them before, I'd suggest buying a cheap set and experiment on some other kit before committing to the Phantom. Eduard Zoom sets used to be very cheap, if you get one of the older sets they still are, more recent ones are much less so. Many of these sets are designed for cheap kits as well, so that trying a set on a kit can be done with little money.

If you don't mind working hard to get better details, I'd suggest looking into resin sets. Again these require some other skills, but when mastered they can give details that are impossible to get in plastic. IIRC Aires made a cockpit for the Fujimi FG.1 and I'm sure they also made the exhausts. Again, trying on some other kit may be a good way to acquire the skills needed.. and also to see if you have the patience to work with resin sets, some fit fine while others need a lot of fettling to go into the model.

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35 minutes ago, Giorgio N said:

I was not familiara with QMT so had to check their products and found enough information on the Hannants website. I'd suggest to check there to see what you get with each set.

These are photoetched parts and this kind of parts require their own set of skills. They can improve quite a lot a model as can better reproduce bits that are hard to be made realistic in injected plastic. If you have never used them before, I'd suggest buying a cheap set and experiment on some other kit before committing to the Phantom. Eduard Zoom sets used to be very cheap, if you get one of the older sets they still are, more recent ones are much less so. Many of these sets are designed for cheap kits as well, so that trying a set on a kit can be done with little money.

If you don't mind working hard to get better details, I'd suggest looking into resin sets. Again these require some other skills, but when mastered they can give details that are impossible to get in plastic. IIRC Aires made a cockpit for the Fujimi FG.1 and I'm sure they also made the exhausts. Again, trying on some other kit may be a good way to acquire the skills needed.. and also to see if you have the patience to work with resin sets, some fit fine while others need a lot of fettling to go into the model.

I echo what the other three posters have said regarding your 'coming out of retirement' modeling project! I would add one other caution, though; the Aries resin cockpit sets, while outstanding in their detailing and accuracy, are produced to scale from the real article- almost all model kits, due to the limitations of molding/assembly, are overscale; so, you have to thin fuselages, sidewalls, and the Aries cockpit tubs and sidewalls until they  are paper thin before they will fit. This is a very tedious and difficult procedure (for me, anyway!) but when done correctly, the end result is fantastic! Not sure you would want to start out with that, but thought I would just make the comment. I have found that the detailing sets from CMK usually fit without having to go through major thinning, as they seem to be engineered to fit the kit of the airplane they are listed for. Modern weenie cookers aren't my specialty, so I can't tell you who else makes cockpit sets for the Fujimi kit, but I would think seats, burner cans, and wheels would be easy to assemble, as well as a 'zoom' etched set, and would really dress up what is an older but very accurate kit. (I have three of  their Spey F-4's but have yet to put one together, but have done a lot of taping parts together and stockpiling resin  and etched details; I was going to use a zoom set and aftermarket bang seats, but was going to add the other cockpit details from sprue, card, and fine solder/wire. It's a great kit- I say go for it!

Mike

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Having made 170+ Phantoms out of the box I'd say "Why bother with the detail sets?" When it was released the kit was praised for its accuracy and overall look; it is also a very straightforward build compared to many more recent complex offerings - I'm thinking the Hasegawa Phantom familly at this point.

 

You say you want to redevelop your modelling skills so have a go at the basic kit, get back into not having visible seams etc; get a great paint job and be satisfied and raring to get on with the next one - and maybe go for more detail on the next build.

 

The Airfix FG.1 is due out next month and promises to be an even better representation.

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Thanks for all the replies everyone!  I have an Airfix Gnat in the garage which I have had for a while with the very intent of getting me back into the hobby with minimum fuss and expense.  I made a half-hearted start on it a few months ago but couldn't get into it, I then got seduced by the glamour of the Phantom.  I guess that I really ought to be patient, though, and practise on the Gnat to give myself a chance of making a half decent job of the Toom  :-)  I was planning a silver and orange Gnat, so at least its not just the bog standard Red Arrow..

 

I guess planning on doing another Phantom and thinking about detailing that one might also be a good call.  I just want to jump right in and produce something close to the quality of what I've seen on this site (however unrealistic that might be!).

 

Cheers,

Al.

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I think the Fujimi Phantom, which has few vices, is a splendid kit to get a start on, and then, armed with what you've learned from building it, you can make an Airfix Phantom once it's out.

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If you're at Telford this weekend pop over to the F-4 SIG, ask for Ted, and I can then have a chat with you. The Fujimi kit is excellent, but the main undercarriage legs are a bit fragile.

 

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1 hour ago, Rhino said:

If you're at Telford this weekend pop over to the F-4 SIG, ask for Ted, and I can then have a chat with you. The Fujimi kit is excellent, but the main undercarriage legs are a bit fragile.

 

Sadly, I won't be at Telford, but thanks for the offer!  Lots of great advice here - thanks all!  

 

Al.

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Al

If you ever need spare decals for the Phantoms let me know - I have built up quite a spares box over the years. I also have loads of books about Phantoms so if you need information about schemes, weapons loads etc just ask.

Iain

ps

I have been modelling for 55 years and still haven't got to the standard of some of the stuff on here!

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13 minutes ago, iainpeden said:

Al

If you ever need spare decals for the Phantoms let me know - I have built up quite a spares box over the years. I also have loads of books about Phantoms so if you need information about schemes, weapons loads etc just ask.

Iain

ps

I have been modelling for 55 years and still haven't got to the standard of some of the stuff on here!

Thanks Ian.  I'm going to be doing a 43 sqn camo machine.  Currently unsure whether I'm going to have the checks on the RWR - from what I can tell from pictures on t'internet XV587/G was the only machine to be so marked, and she seemed to appear at a lot of airshows so wonder if she was the display machine.  Have seen pics of her with the checks between 83 and 86 so far - if you have any pictures of other machines so marked, I'd be interested.  Haven't really thought about weapons yet - 4 x AIM-9, 4 x AIM-7 and 2 wing tanks are probably a must.  And probably a centreline tank as well, don't really like the look of the gun pod.

 

Al.

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Sounds good. As it has the RWR I assume it has the satin/matt finish with tone down markings - basically red and blue roundals. It would be worth checking if the underwing roundals are red/blue or red/white/blue and whether the underwing serials are totally inboard of the wing fold or extend onto the outer panel. The weapon load seems ready for a QRA launch.

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I have to echo most views here, the kit is great straight from the box. 

The cockpit is said to not be as representative as the aftermarket set, but darned if it's noticeable enough to me when built, and it is very nicely detailed.

Personally I'm happy with the seats, but would agree with RS2man, they are probably the only bits worth getting as aftermarket.

 

Some don't like the lack of full depth engine intakes, but this isn't particularly noticeable unless you like staring down the front of a model with strong light behind you all day!

 

I still think that this almost 30 year old kit could still have advantages over the Airfix kit - we will see.

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Hello Al ... If i may give you a piece of advice. I know you want to build to the “expert” level that you see. I feel that if you fail you might get dissapointed and walk away from what can be a rewarding hobby. My advice would be to build the kits using the idea of this. Can i still look at this tomorrow? 6 months from now? or 1 year from now and be happy with what i have done/created ?

    Also use each kit to try and learn a new technique or skill ? Do those two things and you would be surprised at what you can do and what kind of product you produce. My apologies if i come across as too preachy. Hope this helps you.

 

Dennis

 

 

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On 11/11/2017 at 14:50, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Hello Al ... If i may give you a piece of advice. I know you want to build to the “expert” level that you see. I feel that if you fail you might get dissapointed and walk away from what can be a rewarding hobby. My advice would be to build the kits using the idea of this. Can i still look at this tomorrow? 6 months from now? or 1 year from now and be happy with what i have done/created ?

    Also use each kit to try and learn a new technique or skill ? Do those two things and you would be surprised at what you can do and what kind of product you produce. My apologies if i come across as too preachy. Hope this helps you.

 

Dennis

 

 

Dennis,

 

Not too preachy at all! I think you're right, need to not try and set myself up for a fall. I used to struggle with the attention to detail but when I was younger, never bothered with the pilots and my cockpits were just left as a dark pit. I probably haven't changed in that department.

 

Al

 

 

Edited by alhenderson
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I fully agree with what others have said about honing your skills first. Most aftermarkets sets require their own set of skills but none can be easily approached without having mastered the basics first. Go for some other kits first, if you like build your Phantom like it is and then build another fully detailed one in the future when you feel you're ready to accept the challenge.

I also agree that the Fujimi British Phantom kits are very nice and it's hard to believe that they are now 30 year old... many much more recent kits pale in comparison to the quality of these Phantoms.

Where I beg to differ is in the definition of the cockpit detail in these kits as adequate... and not because they don't have good detail, they do, but because the question is "adequate for what". These kits have nice enough raised detail on instrument panels and consolles and some quite nice ejection seats. For many modellers this is sure adequate enough. However even other Fujimi kits from roughly the same era had even better cockpits, detail in their Tomcats for example is even sharper and more realistic. Speaking of Phantoms, the Monogram kit offered better detail than the Fujimi ones.

Accuracy apart, what about more realistic seat belts? Some detail on the instruments coaming ?cockpit sills ? rearview mirrors ? These are things that can be quite visible and only a PE fret can give these.

But there's more in the cockpit of a Phantom... what about the mess of cables behind the instrument panels ? The detail in the cockpit floor ? A good quality resin set will give all this.

I've focused on the cockpit only but the same can be said of the wheel wells. The Fujimi parts are not bad but there is so much more into a real Phantom wells (particularly in the nose wheel well) and only a good resin set can reproduce the amount of pipes and cables stuffed into these parts (apart of course from some good old scratchbuilding). And then there are the afterburner nozzles...

All this to say that there's no end to the amount of detailing that can be added to a model, it's then up to each of us to decide how far we want to go. Some will be happy with the Fujimi parts as they are, some others may want to add a couple of undoubtedly better resin seats and maybe a few PE parts, others may want to give the kit a full resin/PE treatment.

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