Airfix 1/72 Phantom FG.1 in Stock at Hornby

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

44 minutes ago, 71chally said:

Would it have worn that scheme?

 

6 minutes ago, iainpeden said:

it's likely she was never in grey/green.

On 14/02/83 I was in a Shackelton over the North Sea when G of 111 formated off our starboard wing.Beautiful sight with the setting sun beyond.

My memory must be playing tricks as I could have sworn she was in the grey and green scheme but given that grey ones were with the unit three years before I must be wrong.

 

Annoying thing about that trip was because they were testing some new piece of kit,no cameras were permitted to be carried and the crewman who used the official camera to take a pic of it made a mess of it and lost the picture. (There's also the tale of the broken zip on the immersion suit and being cross legged for 6 hours but that's for another day!)

[Irish 251]

14 minutes ago, Scimitar said:

 

On 14/02/83 I was in a Shackelton over the North Sea when G of 111 formated off our starboard wing.Beautiful sight with the setting sun beyond.

My memory must be playing tricks as I could have sworn she was in the grey and green scheme but given that grey ones were with the unit three years before I must be wrong.

 

Well, the squadron had two grey/green ones at Greenham Common that summer so you are probably correct in your recollection.  It took several years for the fleet to be repainted, I think.

XV574 Phantom FG.1 by Irish251, on Flickr

 

[Britman]

1 hour ago, Dave Fleming said:

You can clearly see the demarcation along the bottom of the intake and onto the underside here

 

If only "Black Mike" had been marked up like this!

[71chally]

21 minutes ago, Scimitar said:

 

On 14/02/83 I was in a Shackelton over the North Sea when G of 111 formated off our starboard wing.Beautiful sight with the setting sun beyond.

My memory must be playing tricks as I could have sworn she was in the grey and green scheme but given that grey ones were with the unit three years before I must be wrong.

Hopefully you are right, but unlikely unfortunately, she possibly looked like this, taken in May 1983

Peter Foster - Flickr

 

Irish251, it wouldn't make much sense to overhaul the jet, repaint it, and deliver it in the time frame when the new grey scheme was already introduced.

They would have been re-painted when they went through major servicing and work, that's why some lingered in the old camo scheme for a while.

[Jon Freeman]

9 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

OK - So, If your anything like me and cannot decide how many of these Airfix Phantoms or Xtradecal sheets you need in your stash, this Xtradecal list below may come in handy?

It's mainly broken up in Squadron order, followed by the year in service, colour schemes, types of roundel and overall sheen (to my understanding).

I've deliberately left off the Royal Navy sheet plus the three Stencil sheets for obvious reasons. 

Anyway - I hope this helps and apologies if the format is all mucked up on the device your looking at? 

 

*Note - whilst putting this list together, I did notice a few typo errors on the instructions sheets.

There not major ones, however Black Mike is listed as an FGR.2 (it's an FG.1) and some squadron numbers appear to be incorrect.

The decal sheets themselves however appear to be spot on and I'm sure will all look great when available for sale.  

 

Cheers.. Dave 

 

Sheet #	SQD	Serial	Year	Mark	Colours	Roundel	Sheen	RWR	Role
X72290	2	XT906 / T	1975	FGR.2	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	N	Recce
X72295	6	XV403 / 403	1969	FGR.2	DG/DSG	D	Gloss	N	Strike
X72290	6	XT912 / 912	1969	FGR.2	DG/DSG	D	Gloss	N	Strike
X72295	6	XV423 / R	1974	FGR.2	DG/DSG	D	Gloss	N	Strike
X72295	14	XV464 / 464	1974	FGR.2	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	N	Strike
X72293	17	XT901 / J	1973	FGR.2	DG/DSG	D	Gloss	N	Strike
X72292	17	XV498 / 498	1974	FGR.2	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	N	Strike
X72292	19	XV439 / A	1977	FGR.2	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72295	19	XV422 / J	1980	FGR.2	Grey	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72293	19	XV419 / AA	1991	FGR.2	Grey / Blue Fin	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72292	23	XV434 / J	1976	FGR.2	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	N	AD
X72294	23	XV485 / P	1981	FGR.2	Grey	Tactical	Matt	N	AD
X72293	23	XV499 / I	1993	FGR.2	Grey	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72294	29	XV399 / P	1980	FGR.2	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72293	29	XV419 / G	1981	FGR.2	Grey	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72294	31	XV491 / 491	1971	FGR.2	DG/DSG	D	Gloss	N	Strike
X72290	41	XV414 / N	1976	FGR.2	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	N	Recce
X72293	43	XV574 / B	1970	FG.1	DG/DSG	D	Gloss	N	AD
X72282	43	XV571 / A	1974	FG.1	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	N	AD
X72294	43	XV579 / R	1979	FG.1	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	N	AD
X72282	43	XV571 / A	1987	FG.1	Grey / Checks	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72282	43	XV571 / A	1989	FG.1	Grey / Checks	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72290	54	XV403 / A	1972	FGR.2	DG/DSG	D	Gloss	N	Strike
X72292	56	XV470 / C	1976	FGR.2	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	N	AD
X72295	56	XT891 / Z	1978	FGR.2	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	N	AD
X72294	56	XT903 / X	1988	FGR.2	Grey / Red Fin	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72290	56 / 74	XT914 / Z	1992	FGR.2	Grey / Black Fin	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72294	64	XV401 / B	1987	FGR.2	Grey	Tactical	Matt	Y	Training
X72295	64	XV401 / B	1988	FGR.2	Grey	Tactical	Matt	Y	Training
X72293	74	XV490 / R	1992	FGR.2	Grey	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72292	92	XV413 / Z	1977	FGR.2	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72294	92	XV418 / S	1979	FGR.2	Grey	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72295	92	XV498 / U	1989	FGR.2	Grey / Blue Fin	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72293	92	XV498 / U	1992	FGR.2	Grey	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72290	111	XV582 / B	1975	FG.1	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72295	111	XT865 / U	1980	FG.1	Grey	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72282	111	XT863 / G	1983	FG.1	Grey	D	Matt	Y	AD
X72293	111	XV582 / M	1989	FG.1	Black	Tactical	Gloss	Y	AD
X72282	111	XV574 / Z	1989	FG.1	Grey / Black Fin	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72295	?	XV474 / F	1978	FGR.2	Grey	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72290	1435 Flt	XV466 / D	1991	FGR.2	Grey / White Fin	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72290	1435 Flt	XV421 / F	1991	FGR.2	Grey	Tactical	Matt	Y	AD
X72293	228 OCU	XV393 / A	1979	FGR.2	DG/DSG	Tactical	Matt	N	Training
X72294	228 OCU	XV406 / CK	1987	FGR.2	Grey	Tactical	Matt	Y	Training
X72296	A & AEE	XT597	1983	FG.1	A & AEE / 25th	D	Gloss	N	Testing
X72282	A & AEE	XT597	1990	FG.1	A & AEE	D	Gloss	N	Testing

Here is the artwork to go with the above.

 

Jon

 

Edited January 15, 2018 by Jon Freeman

[Troffa]

The Grey Green scheme did linger around- 43 Squadron's last Green/ grey Phantom never made it to the Lo Vis scheme, as XT861 "C" was lost over the North Sea in September 1987. ( after a mid air with another Phantom during some formation flying practice- luckily no one was injured).

 

 

[Rabbit Leader]

2 hours ago, Jon Freeman said:

Here is the artwork to go with the above.

 

Jon

Jon,

Great post addition and fantastic artwork. Now I know who to blame when SWMBO asks what the hell’s going on with the dwindling Credit Card balance!!  

 

Cheers.. Dave

(So B.2 / 6 / 15 / 16 Canberra’s next??)

[rayprit]

8 hours ago, Jabba said:

29 Sqn is famous for having XXX in its badge, as one person many years ago was told to paint XX one (as in roman numerals I) X on their aircraft. So he did it XX and one more X so hence the XXX and it has stuck.

I maybe wrong and stand to be corrected, but I have read in the past that the 3 "Crosses" of 29 Sqdn stood for "The Brewers Punch"  stamped on beer barrels many, many years ago signifying "Extra Strong"

[XV571]

32 minutes ago, Jon Freeman said:

Here is the artwork to go with the above.

 

Jon

 

Hi Jon,

 

Are you the artist of the forthcoming Xtradecal sheets? In addition to the points noted above, the 43 Squadron Gamecocks on both X72293 and X72294 aren't correct for the 1970s time period. In fact they're also not right for the later '80s version!  It's the same mistake as on sheet X72282 which I didn't see until I bought the sheet last year. You can see the correct shape and colours of the original version on page 119 in Volume 1 of the Double Ugly British Phantom book. If you need any more information I would be only too happy to help. I've been waiting for a modern rendering of 43 Squadron's early FG.1 markings since I built one using Modeldecal set 23 over 30 years ago, so I'm hoping this can be caught before the sheets go to the printers! Also, on sheet X72295 (X72285), FGR2 XT891/Z is listed as 43 Sqn RAF Wattisham 1978 when it's actually 56 Sqn!

 

Here's one of my photos taken at IAT '83 of XV571 showing the later Gamecock introduced with the Air Defence scheme. In the 1980s the grey/green aircraft used the same version in a white disc before they were repainted:

 

 

For XT863 at IAT '83; on Modeldecal set 72, the late Dick Ward noted on the instructions that it was in the standard Barley/MSG/LAG scheme. He also credited our own Dennis W Robinson and 111Sqn on the sheet, so I would take that as fairly definitive information.

 

HTH,

 

Jonathan

 

PS: Can we please have the stencils in 1/48 - especially the black version! Thanks in advance.

[71chally]

RAM models also do excellent sets of decals for British Phantoms, with some unusual options.

Freightdog did a nice set aswel, hopefully they will be reissued.

[Rabbit Leader]

5 hours ago, VMA131Marine said:

Airfix notes that the radome was only hinged on the FG.1 to reduce the space needed for storage on the carrier. That being the case, it doesn't make sense to have an open radome on the FGR.2

Thanks so much for that. I suppose I would have eventually picked up on this information when I do get my grubby hands on one of these kits, so justifies Airfix’s decision not to include this feature on the up-coming FGR.2 kit. 

 

I suppose one could still build this sideways opening radome feature if building an RAF FG.1?

 

Cheers.. Dave 

[iainpeden]

So we have a bit of a timelie for XT863. Apparently delivered in grey to 111 in April '80 - presumably having had the ILS fitted (was the RWR already in place with the RN?), looks really scruffy (and with the black radome) in May '83 and freshly painted for IAT in July '83.

 

For me the next qustions are where did the repaint happen and why XT863 when XV571/A seemed to become the CO's a/c?

[Dave Fleming]

5 hours ago, VMA131Marine said:

Airfix notes that the radome was only hinged on the FG.1 to reduce the space needed for storage on the carrier. That being the case, it doesn't make sense to have an open radome on the FGR.2

 

I saw some pics posted somewhere recently (forget where) that suggested the radar unit in the kit is the FGR2 one ( AN/AWG-12 ), and the FG1 version ( AN/AWG-11) are different, both in the way the scanner is fitted (Fixed in the radome in the FG1, attached to the radar in the FGR2) and Airfix has modelled the 'radar out' option as fitted to the FGR2

 

[iainpeden]

1 minute ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Thanks so much for that. I suppose I would have eventually picked up on this information when I do get my grubby hands on one of these kits, so justifies Airfix’s decision not to include this feature on the up-coming FGR.2 kit. 

 

I suppose one could still build this sideways opening radome feature if building an RAF FG.1?

 

Cheers.. Dave 

You could even do an inflight (almost) one with the folded radome of XV589/P just before she ended up as a burning wreck just short of the Alconbury runway in June '80.

[Dave Fleming]

3 minutes ago, iainpeden said:

So we have a bit of a timelie for XT863. Apparently delivered in grey to 111 in April '80 - presumably having had the ILS fitted (was the RWR already in place with the RN?), l

 

 

 

Yes - St Athan late 78

 

 

I need to go and check if XT863 was one of the test airframes for Light grey scheme

Edited January 15, 2018 by Dave Fleming

[iainpeden]

Are those added strengthening straps under the outer wing panel which haven't been overpainted?

[71chally]

5 minutes ago, iainpeden said:

(was the RWR already in place with the RN?)

Yes it was fitted in its FAA service

[stevej60]

Picked one up at the LMS today have to say astounded at the detail and finesse Airfix have lavished on this kit beautiful decal sheet too 10/10

on the sprue we'll see how she build's.

[Dave Fleming]

3 minutes ago, iainpeden said:

Are those added strengthening straps under the outer wing panel which haven't been overpainted?

 

 

Looks like it, not sure when they were fitted, they are different from the underfuselage strengthening strips (F4 experts say they were never fitted to the FG1)

This is what the underside looked like in 1970

 

[71chally]

7 minutes ago, Dave Fleming said:

I need to go and check if XT863 was one of the test airframes for Light grey scheme

56 sqn FGR.2s pioneered the grey scheme, the first wearing it in October 1978, when XT863 was still serving on Ark Royal.

[Murph]

On ‎1‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 5:40 PM, charlie_c67 said:

How do those Sparrow missiles compare to the real thing or are they just a generic missile? Kinda hoping for possible Skyflash option with the FGR.2 as well...

Generic; they lack the external conduits that the AIM-7E had.  I'll be replacing them with either the ones from the Hasegawa weapons set #3 or the Eduard resin versions.  The AIM-9Ds look acceptable at first glance though.  The rocket pods appear to be the version used by the RAF rather than the ones the RN used.

 

Regards,

Murph

[Dave Fleming]

Just now, Murph said:

Generic; they lack the external conduits that the AIM-7E had.  I'll be replacing them with either the ones from the Hasegawa weapons set #3 or the Eduard resin versions.  The AIM-9Ds look acceptable at first glance though.  The rocket pods appear to be the version used by the RAF rather than the ones the RN used.

 

Regards,

Murph

 

Other way about Murph - they are the 3 row RN 2 inch rockets rather than the 2 row Matra/SNEB ones the RAF used

[Murph]

1 minute ago, Dave Fleming said:

 

Other way about Murph - they are the 3 row RN 2 inch rockets rather than the 2 row Matra/SNEB ones the RAF used

Ah, thanks for the correction.

 

Regards,

Murph

[VMA131Marine]

1 hour ago, Dave Fleming said:

 

I saw some pics posted somewhere recently (forget where) that suggested the radar unit in the kit is the FGR2 one ( AN/AWG-12 ), and the FG1 version ( AN/AWG-11) are different, both in the way the scanner is fitted (Fixed in the radome in the FG1, attached to the radar in the FGR2) and Airfix has modelled the 'radar out' option as fitted to the FGR2

 

I was wondering about this in the instructions and thinking that something didn't make sense. The radar out option has you fit the radar dish to the front of the extended radar unit. But the radar in, nose folded option has the dish attached to the front of a triangular frame that is attached to the radome. They clearly can't both be correct for a single aircraft type and now I know that the dish stays with the radome for an FG.1 and if you have the radar unit extended, it needs to be modified. Thanks!

[Dave Fleming]

This may or may not work! AN/AWG12 FGR2 from Facebook