Welcome to the Jungle – RA-5C Vigilante - completed

[trickyrich]

Right in actual progress not too much has happened since the last update, work wise I’ve been very busy on her sorting out lots of small stuff, namely in the cockpit area. Pretty much all the work was on the IP cowling and cockpit divider.

 

First up the IP cowling, the Aries supplied instrument panel and cowling are far too narrow for the model (the main issue with the Trumpy model), plus there’s nothing for it to attach to the fuselage with. Using a small resin block and plastic card I manage to get the cowling at the right height and position. I then filled up the open areas with plastic strip.

 

 

It’s not really pretty or accurate but when it’s all painted black you won’t be able to tell, bit it looks ok and that’s all that matters.

 

The main resin canopies themselves I found, unsurprisingly, to be a bit warped/flat that made them too wide. To fix this I made a wee jig out of plastic set to the correct width. Then a wee bath for each in boiling water and into the jig, results perfect. I could now start adding the PE detail.

 

 

The other canopy issues were the VacFrom front section that was a bit wide or flat in shape. To reshape this I cut to shape a new frame to match the pilots canopy. This fits almost perfectly plus it gives me a frame for the front canopy.

 

 

 

The next task was the mid canopy frame. It was originally broken on one side, out of shape and appeared to be too small when the canopies were fitted. To fix this I added thin layers of plastic strip to build up the frame than cut and sanded to shape, finally some filler to tidy it up.

 

 

It looks much better and the canopies do sort of fit.

 

 

That said, the fit of the canopies is quite poor and the easiest way to sort that out is to have them open. But how to do that!!! I’ve had no real luck in finding any detailed photo’s of the lifting mechanism for the canopies so have had to come up with a workaround.

 

So I made two mounts on the fuselage, the rear one acts as a filler for a blank space at the back of the rear cockpit, and a small locating hole for the front cockpit.

 

 

The canopies have a pin set at the right angle for the open position.

 

 

…and done! Both canopies appear to have been able to be latched open at various angle from the photos I’ve seen, or the support struts sag! I have since fitted "curtains" to the rear canopy made from tin foil, they are now ready to paint. The good thing with this mounting method is that I can easily remove them for painting.

 

 

The rest of the time has just been taken up filling and tiding up all those little things I always seem to find.

 

She does look good! I’m getting closer to giving her a coat of primer…..and then finding even more to clean up!!

 

 

 

So more sanding to go, but very close to priming stage. A'm still waiting for the new landing gear to arrive but that shouldn't hold up progress.

 

......to those that have fallen but are never forgotten  P/O N.B. Fawcett 1920 - 1940

[MarkSH]

That looks like it must be a heavy old kit seeing the fairly substantial working support you're using! Great work.

If the Swordfish scares you Rich, something of this nature positively terrifies me, but most of all for the inevitable posing of the better half's question...."where the hell do you think you're going to put that!".

[trickyrich]

29 minutes ago, MarkSH said:

That looks like it must be a heavy old kit seeing the fairly substantial working support you're using! Great work.

If the Swordfish scares you Rich, something of this nature positively terrifies me, but most of all for the inevitable posing of the better half's question...."where the hell do you think you're going to put that!".

She does weigh a ton, hence the full metal gear, the extra frame work id=s to help stop my sausage fingers from knocking bis off! 

 

But despite all the work it's a thoroughly enjoyable build, I love the challenge of making things work or fit. Though going back to full plastic models is a really nice break.

 

don't worry I keep asking myself that question!!! The scary thing is I'm now very interested in building a 1/32nd A-1E, beside the fact the model and conversion set are quite expensive it's huge!! The only thing currently bigger in the stash is a1/48th MiG-31 and B-57 (both of which are resin monsters).

[Basilisk]

Inspiring work Rich Nice method to keep the canopy in the open position! What glue did you use to fit the frame into the vacform canopy?

 

Cheers, Peter

[trickyrich]

thanks, that canopy mounts had me stumped for ages, as I really didn't know how they worked, just the positions they would sit at. In the end I figured that most of the mechanism is hidden so I just needed to come up with a neat and tidy way to fit them. Cool thing in the end is I can remove and fit them easier....less chance for me to knock them off!

 

The canopy glue I use is Formula 560 by Pacer. I can't remember when or where I got it from (but was local) but it's a PVA based glue. They call it "The World's Best Canopy Glue" and I must say it's pretty good stuff and it does stick like glue as well, even on VacFrom canopy's. Dries perfectly clear and is pretty easy to clean up.

 

Pacer Formula 560 

[trickyrich]

well a little bit more done today plus I have sort of put her away for a wee bit as well so I can get a good start on the Demon.

 

First up the tailpipes were finished. They don’t quite fit right at the moment so I need to do some minor alterations, But she now looks like a proper business end!

 

 

The IP cowling was finished and painted, plus I added the small PE bit to the front canopy…what a pain that was!

 

After some more filler and re-doing more panel lines I decided to give her a coat of primer just to see how much extra work was required. I used Alclad’s Mirco-Filler Primer for this, it was the first time I’ve used this. With a #2 needle in the airbrush it actually went on quite nicely, though it really clogs the tip after a while!

 

 

 

There’s quite a bit of cleaning up and filling of small bubbles to do, but it’s not quite as bad as I thought it would be. Some Mr. Filler 500 and more of the Micro-Filler and sanding in-between should do the trick. But she does look good even in just the grey!

 

The postman delivered some goodies today, new undercarriage for this beastie.

 

 

Other than have to drill out the holes to fit the main gear they fit perfectly and is a bit more meatier than the old ones. Though the front gear is a bit on the heavy side but considering the weight of the model I can live with that, plus no additional weight is required!

 

 

She even has the right stance now, so am super happy with this.

 

 

I’ll set her aside for a wee bit just so I can sort out the cockpit in the demon (I’ll probably do some small bits in between), once I can get that to work I’ll get back to her and finish her off.

 

My main aim now is to get a really good finish for the underside as this will be gloss white, the upper surfaces and camouflaged so they don’t need to be quite as perfect as the top colours will hide a lot of the small blemishers. 

 

Oh I mentioned how I though she was so big....I had a wee look in the stash at other resin monsters and realised she's not that big!!!

 

 

(clockwise: E-2 Hawkeye, MiG-31 Foxhould, B-57G Canberra, Su-15 Flagon) 

[franky boy]

Lovely work Rich.

 

She is pretty big though isn't she.

 

James

[trickyrich]

she is, just trying to paint her was a job, sort of why for the moment I'm doing it in parts, the front section will be primed once the cockpit is done and I'm sort of finished cleaning up the other end.

[franky boy]

She'll drink an awful lot of paint to!

[Sverrir]

One thing puzzles me with regard to the CTA Jungle set:  The colour callouts (for the Viggie) call for "Tan Brown FS 34201" (otherwise known as SAC Bomber Tan) but most references and photos seem to point to the more conventional Tan FS 30219.  I understand that colours sometimes deviated from the standards, especially under experimental conditions at sea, but I wonder, was this a one-off or is it a typo?  Any thoughts? 

 

Regards, Sverrir

[trickyrich]

8 minutes ago, Sverrir said:

One thing puzzles me with regard to the CTA Jungle set:  The colour callouts (for the Viggie) call for "Tan Brown FS 34201" (otherwise known as SAC Bomber Tan) but most references and photos seem to point to the more conventional Tan FS 30219.  I understand that colours sometimes deviated from the standards, especially under experimental conditions at sea, but I wonder, was this a one-off or is it a typo?  Any thoughts? 

 

Regards, Sverrir

You know I hadn't actually noticed, I haven't gotten as far as looking closely at the colour scheme colours I need, I probably thought they were the standard SAC colours as well.

 

But knowing the USN they may have chosen a different shade of Tan. especially seeing it was a test scheme for that deployment. RVAH-6 used Grey instead of Tan for their aircraft so it may be correct that the Tan is a different shade?

 

Thanks for bringing it up, it's something I will look into further before I start the main colour scheme. I've got a new reference book on the way, so hopefully that will enlighten me????

 

EDIT: I've just check a couple of other references I have and they mention FS 30219, though other references on the web mention "various shades of Green and Tan"?? Hmm that has me a bit worried, but for simplicity sake I'll stick with FS 30219 for now.

[exdraken]

you are doing a what!?????

 

a full resin Vigilante?!

 

absolutely stunning!

 

I only happen to see her now... what a pitty

 

 

 

 

[zebra]

Fantastic work. That thing is huge - all that resin must be heavy.

 

I saw you use formula 560 for canopies - I’m a bit of a fan of this stuff. Works very well on clear parts, I also sometimes use it for PE - if you pour a bit out of the bottle and leave it for a few minutes it becomes a bit tacky, so I find it pretty useful for anything where I want a slow-setting glue that’ll work with metal or resin but doesn’t need to be structurally strong

[trickyrich]

7 hours ago, exdraken said:

you are doing a what!?????

 

a full resin Vigilante?!

 

absolutely stunning!

 

I only happen to see her now... what a pitty

mmmm and I consider my self quite mad to build one as well....plus to fit AM resin stuff as well!!

 

It's actually been coming along much better than I had ever hoped it would. At the start I was really worried I may have start something a bit too adventurous but it's actually working out!

 

I bet you haven't seen the Demon? That was to be a simple build that's become quite complex!

42 minutes ago, zebra said:

Fantastic work. That thing is huge - all that resin must be heavy.

 

I saw you use formula 560 for canopies - I’m a bit of a fan of this stuff. Works very well on clear parts, I also sometimes use it for PE - if you pour a bit out of the bottle and leave it for a few minutes it becomes a bit tacky, so I find it pretty useful for anything where I want a slow-setting glue that’ll work with metal or resin but doesn’t need to be structurally strong

 

she's quite heavy, as she is now she around 400gm, but with everything fitted and competed she'll easily be over 1/2 kilogram, thank gad for metal gear!

 

You know I've never thought of letting it go super tacky for PE bits!! I'll give that a try cause there's always dramas using CA cement!

[Arniec]

On 28 april 2018 at 1:53 AM, trickyrich said:

mmmm and I consider my self quite mad to build one as well....plus to fit AM resin stuff as well!!

 

It's actually been coming along much better than I had ever hoped it would. At the start I was really worried I may have start something a bit too adventurous but it's actually working out!

 

I bet you haven't seen the Demon? That was to be a simple build that's become quite complex!

 

she's quite heavy, as she is now she around 400gm, but with everything fitted and competed she'll easily be over 1/2 kilogram, thank gad for metal gear!

 

You know I've never thought of letting it go super tacky for PE bits!! I'll give that a try cause there's always dramas using CA cement!

Nice build sofar Rich. You must be mad to build there resin beasts. But after looking your builds it is going fine. 

I sometimes use woodglue for PE parts. Aspecialy ones in the cockpit that are flat. It is beter to controle and als can be cleaned up with a cotton swap with some spit. 

 

Cheers

[trickyrich]

thanks, my problem now is my time available for building has been slashed for a bit, back to Mon to Fri working week for a while.

 

I tried using PVA glue on the Demon cockpit and found it much easier, so will start to use that now for all/most of the PE stuff.

[trickyrich]

Gee it feels like forever since I updated this. I have to admit that the Demon and now the 262 have taken up a lot of the time, but I have still been working on her.

 

I’ve pretty well been spending all the time on her filling up odd spots or mistakes in the panel lines, sanding back, re-priming with Micro-filler, and then repeating the whole process over and over and over!

 

She’s now at a stage I’m happy with (well mostly). She’s had her final coat of primer and has been rubbed back with 6000 grip micro-fibre.

 

 

The control surfaces have been done the same, plus I’ve primed the U/c and wheels.

 

 

Because the underside is pure gloss white (it’ll probably be more like semi-gloss) I needed to do something to help remove the flatness of large surfaces being painted white. So I did the panel line for all surfaces to be white. I wasn’t too worried how grubby the finish looked as it’ll mostly disappear with the main coat. 

 

 

I’ve outlined the underside panel lines with neutral grey, the upper surfaces lines I’ve done in NATO Black. It’ll now be just a case of carefully layering really thin coats to achieve the finish/effect I’m after.

 

 

 

I’ll be doing the white underside first.

 

I’ve also fitted the windows and clear canopy to the main canopies, this wasn’t an easy job.

 

 

By chance I almost get the canopy hinge mechanism right, it is hinged at the top, though how exactly I’m not to sure.

 

I have also been fiddling around with how the main gear fits, another task that wasn’t straight forward. I didn’t think added AM part from a different model would be easy!

 

I should start painting her tomorrow, the camouflage I will try to do freehand!

[Mike]

You never take the easy way out, do ya Rich? keep up the good work

[trickyrich]

7 hours ago, Mike said:

You never take the easy way out, do ya Rich? keep up the good work

nope.....  I'm so looking forward to a full plastic model!

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

On 5/21/2018 at 5:17 PM, trickyrich said:

nope.....  I'm so looking forward to a full plastic model!

Aren't you Afraid of Resin withdrawal ? 

[spaddad]

Hi Tricky,

any chance of posting the colour schemes from the decal sheet, I've been wanting to do one of these schemes for ages but could never find enough detail to build a model,

cheers,

spad

[Sverrir]

Hi spaddad, you can use the USAF SEA camo scheme for F-100 as an indication for the green/green/tan pattern.  It´s almost identical.  A Google search will, however, reveal a number of sources you can look at.  

 

Best, Sverrir

 

 

 

[spaddad]

2 hours ago, Sverrir said:

Hi spaddad, you can use the USAF SEA camo scheme for F-100 as an indication for the green/green/tan pattern.  It´s almost identical.  A Google search will, however, reveal a number of sources you can look at.  

 

Best, Sverrir

 

 

 

cheers mate

[trickyrich]

11 hours ago, spaddad said:

Hi Tricky,

any chance of posting the colour schemes from the decal sheet, I've been wanting to do one of these schemes for ages but could never find enough detail to build a model,

cheers,

spad

yeah no worries, I should have it up tomorrow. It'll be a guide for only two aircraft as the schemes did vary from aircraft to aircraft, no two aircraft shared the same pattern. I'm not sure of the total number of RA-5C's that were camouflaged, but an RVAH squadron was made up of 6 aircraft at that time (over the years the number reduced with each embarkation). So I think 3 aircraft from each squadron was camouflaged, which sort of adds up with the photos, but I maybe wrong. RVAH-6 and 11 were the two squadrons though an RVAH 7 aircraft has been photographed in camouflage as well, probably transferred for one of the other squadrons. The RVAH-6 used a Green/Green/Grey scheme while RVAH-11 went for the more normal (for then) Green/Green/Tan one. The demarcation line type between the camo and the white undersurfaces also varied from aircraft to aircraft as well as the nose cone colours varied as well.

 

All this variation was due to the testing of the colour schemes and from what I have read they lasted for the full deployment from 65 to 66. While they worked over land they caused more issues than they were worth and all aircraft were repainted after this deployment. 

[spaddad]

Cheers Rich