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Ark Royal's last cruise -Phantom FG1:Tractor and base close to completion


Massimo

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Good afternoon mates.

Looking at my Wessex,there was something I didn't like: the antenna cables along the fuselage were too thick.

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So I decided to remove them and replace them with some thinner metal cable, the same I used on the Gannet.

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I think they look better now.

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I'm actually working on the rotor blades' covers and cables to stop the rotor rotating when parked overnight.

Pictureswill follow.

Ciao

Massimo

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Good evening mates,

Last few touchesToday.

Afterthe antenna cable's replacement, I carried out the last intervention on the Rotor: the blades' covers and cables to stop the rotor rotating when parked overnight.

 

I started by cutting some rectangles out of alluminium foil,which were glued andshaped around the rotor blades.

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A volunteer supplied spare blades used to support them while painting.

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Black first, followed by light grey.

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Once painted,I drilled a hole at the bottom of each cover and  tied four cables through them. Each couple of cables was then tied to then tied to the main gears' legs. The cables were then painted canvas andthatwas it.I also added the pitot, the two handles at the sides of the windshield and that by the tail folding area.

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This was the end of the build, as I likethe final look of the rotor.

Before adding these covers to the rotor, the model looked a bit toyish, thus I had considered cutting the rotor blades and showing them folded, but I have to say I'm happy with the result, thus ...this is it!

 

Here below some pictures of the finished model.

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Timefor some family pictures!

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What next?:rofl:

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Good night!

Massimo

Edited by Massimo
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Thank you all for the nice comments, guys!

33 minutes ago, Kirk said:

:mental:

There are real aircraft that look more toyish than this.

I meant I didn't like the look of the rotor alone. I added the blades' covers for a bit of realism. For the same reason I like aircraft with folded wings. 

24 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

Fabulous! And a pretty quick build too. My favourite Wessex scheme too.

... at the moment , having to stay at home,I'm plenty of time!!! 

About the coloe scheme, I agree , this and the bluegrey/yellow scheme are my favourite. 

I think the five aircraft on board the Ark in the last period are avery nice combination of colors!

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Good morning,

last minute's addition.

Looking at the pictures I realized I had forgotten the red strip "remove before flight" on each cover ,so I added them.

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That's it.

Ciao

Massimo

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On 11/11/2018 at 02:39, Massimo said:

Hi mates,

asmall update.

 

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First of all the ILS antennas came off the tail!

 

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Then I concentrated on tose area which must be dealt with before closing the fuselage. I don't know what this bay is , but the kit instructions recommend to paint the inside silver, thus I painted it black and I dry-brushed with silver, to give it some sort of depth.

NOBODY WILL EVER SEE IT AGAIN!!!

 

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I glued the bays' doors, then painted them black and finally red. It was then time to glue the bay to the bottom of the fuselge.

 

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NOBODY WILL EVER SEE IT AGAIN!!!

 

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The intakes were given a black base, followed by a coat of white. They were masked with Tamiya tape and sprayed EDSG.

 

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The intakes tunnels' interior received the same treatment.

 

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Looking at some pictures of the intakes, I spotted two pitots and so I decided to make them out of some plastic rod, leaving a long support to be able to handle them. I drilled a hole on each intake and glued the pitots. Tomorrow I'll cut the supports, file and sand the intakes' outside.Then they'll be ready to be glued to the fuselage halves.

 

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The engines were painted black first then dry-brushed with silver.....

NOBODY WILL EVER SEE THEM AGAIN!!!

 

That's it for today!

Good night!!!!😴

yesterday I glued the air intakes and last night I cut the pitots supports and sanded their outside.

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Then I decided to go for a plan change.

All the pictures I've seen show the Phantoms parked on opposite side of the Buccaneers,The Gannets could be parked on either side of the deck aside both.

I've never seen any picture of a flight line like the one here below.

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To do this it might be better to use the Fujimi kit,with the Airfix folded wing tips.

For this reason I decided to remove the folded wing tips and glue the one with the slats out.

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Suggestions are welcomed

Ciao

Massimo

Good evening mates,

After finishing the Wessex, Today I took a day off , thus no modelling, to clearmy mind and get ready to proceed with the next step on y project: the Phantom.

As I had started to build it more than a year ago, to see what  I had already done, you should go back to page 36, so I decided to quote my comment , so now Ican start from there.

Tonight I got staarted with the cockpit,  but I'll update the topic sometimes Tomorrow because it's toolate.

Stay safe and good night!

Massimo

 

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Good morning you all.

Hope you're all ok.

Another week has come to an end and we're still confined at home. Following the end of the Wessex build, I needed some mental rest , even if my wife says my brains are always at rest!!!

My motivation was alsolow because I wasn't so happy to face the Airfix Phantom build. Differently from the other three kits already built in this project,this one is a new generation one and thus most of the features I like to detail from scratch... are already detailed. When I started this build, nearly two years ago, I wasn't so happy about big quantity of components of the wings, expecially the underside, which resulted in gaps to be filled and sanded ,compromising the lovely panel lines. I find this is the only fault common to many new generation's Airfix kits. On the  other hand...this is what we're here for !!!

At that time, after a lot of thinking, I had decided to represent her on the cat, ready for launch, thus I had configured her with the extended slats and flaps and with the angled insert for the stabilizers .This would have required a big base just for one model and, considering I still have the Sea King to build, I've now come to the conclusion they'll be displayed on the same base , which will save room and give me the chance to place them alongside the other models in this project.

Of course all this means my wife is right: too much thinking isn't for me !!!

 

Ok, enough talking. This is where I was.

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At this stage I had to reconfigure her for parking,which means replace flaps and slats and correct the stabilizers inerts,as the proper ones had been damaged and lost earlier in the build. But before doing this i had to get the cockpit done.This is the pre-assembled cockpit with the kit.

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Here a comparison between the Quickboost resin seats,on the left,the Airfix seats at the centre and the Fujimi ones on the right.

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Here a comparison between Airfix and Fujimi cockpits and below the cockpit decals by Fujimy (on the left)  Airfix (on the right) and the PE fret by Eduard.

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I decided to decide later  what to do with the seats and got started with the cockpit , which I painted black first ,followed by grey, black wash and lighter dry-brushing.

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I glued the dashboard's transparent front cover (what's its proper name???), filled the gaps and sanded.

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Once masked the instrument round glass to the HUD I painted it black,then dry-brushed the cockpit ,getting ready for the addition of the PE.

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PE were next.

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I tested it inside the fuselage. It fits quite tightly and once in place, I started gluing it to the fuselage halves, using Tamiya green cap in the recesses.

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With the help of adhesive tape to hold the parts in place,bit by bit  I added glue in the fuselage halves' recesses and the fuselage was slowly glued.

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I added the engines' front sections at the back of the intakes, and the exhausts' tubes at the rear of the fuselage. I had already prepainted them awhileago..

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This is what's visible from the intake... never to be seen again!!!

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Next were the wings. Here a clamp is required to narrow a little bit sides of the  fuselage by the cockpit andmatch the lower section united to the wing. The junction between fuselage and wings was perfect and the green cap went through the gap nicely not requiring any filler!

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Then it was time for surgery:I removed the angled slatsand flaps and repaced them withthe straight ones with the kit. I also added the rudder ,slightly angled, as seen on some pictures.

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I cut and filed the side auxiliary intakes toposition them nearly closed.

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I cut the wings' folded sections off the dedicated parts,which I had used in the past before changing mind again, and glued them to the wings.

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More will follow.

 

Ciao

Massimo

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Damn good job Massimo !!

SWMBO used to say that she regret that our house is not a plastic model.... :whistle:

I wonder if there is an hidden message...:rofl2:

Now, women say that a man cannot do 2 things at once...

I proved that wrong... Since I can work on my models and drink a beer...:cheers:

Sincerely.

CC

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Good afternoon mates,

hope you're well?

In the last three days I've done some work on the Phantom and I have to say as this build progresses, I'm really enjoying all of it! 

First I glued the landing gears' legs in place to support the kit during the painting process.

The main legs are quite basic and the compass are missing...

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...so I made them from thin styrene and plastic rod. Using my picturesas a reference, I added some more details on the legs and in the bays.

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Another thing to be done before painting is to add the wind shield. The kit offers both options for open and closed canopies.I cose the open one.

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Until the windshield is in place the kit looks a bit akward, but suddenly the Phantom is there !!!  

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I added the plates by the stabilizers...

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...and finally it was time for masking. To cut  the masking tape tothe correct shape, I used the unused canopy and a new cutter blade. I added somespongecovers to the intakes and exhausts and I was ready for painting!

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As usual I started by priming the kit matt black.

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Then I sprayed future on the radome and in the area which will painted metal behind the exhausts.

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Thenitwas time for EDSG by xtracrilics. I tried to shade it by playingwith the black undercoat and then with a very diluted lighter grey. Being the color very diluted over a matt base, I got a matt finish, which ,combined with the light from my phone's flash makes it look much lighterthan it is in reality.

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I sprayed a layer of Future to make it glossy and consequently darker, to have a better idea of the final color,as the final finish will have to be somewhere between gloss and satin. This time I got the pressureright and the finish is much smoother thanon the Gannet or the Wessex, but this contributes to make the color look lighter!!!

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Some more masking and I was ready for the white underside.

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Very slowly I got the finish I wanted for the underside.

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After alayer of Future, it was time of truth and I removed the masks.

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This spring is really beautiful and the sun is shining every day. May be this is contributing to show everything lighter...i don't know, anyway I decided the EDSG was too light and thus

I decided to spray a layer with very very very very diluted black. So itlooked a fraction darker.

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Some more masking and it wastime for Alclad silver, which I used as a base which I darkened with very diluted black. I masked several times to gettheeffect I wanted and finally I sprayed some more black atthe rearoftheexhausts and alsoa white shadow which I saw in some pictues.

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So this is where I am now,ready for decalling. I took some pictures with natural light andIhave to say I'm quite happy with the result!!!

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That's it for now.

Now I'llspend a week decallingand come back with an update!

Thans for watching and stay safe!!!

Ciao

Massimo

 

 

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Impressive paint job, Massimo! :worthy: Even more so considering all the hanging out bits you've already added at this point! :frantic: I would have no doubt managed to snap off some, guaranteed! :rofl:

 

Ciao

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