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


trickyrich

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As usual something a bit different, not so much in the model, though it is resin, but in the colour scheme.

 

For the base model I’ll be using Collect-Aire’s 1/48th RA-5C Vigilante, in resin. It’s a bit old and quite hard to find, but it’s still considered the best one available in that scale. The Trumpeter one has quite a few errors and really not worth the effort to correct.

 

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It’s a typical Collect-Aire resin model, some parts are nicely moulded while others…..well they’ll need some work.

 

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To help take the weight, cast metal U/C legs are provided. One item that is a bit of a worry is the VacForm canopies, they both appear to be a bit discoloured, hopefully it’s not too bad….

 

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The only issue with the model was a broken cockpit frame on the RHS forward fuselage section, on the LHS one the fuselage was cracked.

 

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Ok now the extras….it wouldn’t be a build or mine without extras. The wheel bays are very basic, the cockpit is just as basic, and the exhaust nozzles……

 

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The only replacements are form Aires and are for the Trumpeter model, so fitting them is going to be interesting!!

 

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For the colour scheme I’m going to do something completely different to the usual Vigilante colour scheme, I’m going to be one of the camouflaged ones of RVAH-13 (RVAH-6 was also a test squadron). During RVAH-13’s deployment on the USS Kitty Hawk (Oct65 to Jun66) the navy experimented with camouflage. At the end of their tour on USS Kitty Hawk they decide not to go with camouflage as the benefit from it was far out weighed by the issues it caused.  There were 2 variations both with 3 colours; RVAH-6 went with Green/Dk Green/Grey and RVAH-13 with Green/Dk Green/Tan (USAF colour scheme).

 

CtA (Cut then Add) provide a nice set of decals covering all the USN aircraft that wore these schemes.

 

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I started looking at how these new resin bits were going to fit and a pile of resin dust later……..well they’re going to fit, eventually!

 

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Well I’m glad it’s a 4 month build as I think I may need it, anyway it’s going to be an interesting build that’s for sure!

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It's a size thing with you isn't it, typical boy ! ;)

 

Isnt the Vigilante about the biggest aircraft used on carriers anyway, and then you choose to build a 1/48 scale one !

 

The work involved upgrading this one looks epic, great chance for myself and others to learn more about the secrets of Resin. But as the GB doesn't start till the 24th, stop playing with it and be patient :nono:

 

Looking forward to this GB starting

 

cheers Pat

 

 

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Though not my scale, I will definitely be following this one. The mid sixties experimental jungle schemes for USN aircraft has always held a bit of fascination for me.

 

Good luck with the build, not something to be taken lightly I would imagine. The size alone, makes it daunting to me.

 

Peter

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Thanks, this will be one of the biggest build for me this year along with the F-14 BombCat (my original choice for this build). I really do love the scheme, plus with a resin model like this a camouflage scheme can help hide the usual faults you can get on resin models. I've spent sometime earlier just seeing how it's all going to go together, there's quite a bit of work, but it's doable.

 

The Sea Fury is a dream to build, this one will be a ...........! These ones flew clean, with our pylons so she'll be super clean. I need to get the Sea Fury out of the way first, plus I have nothing planned during this build so I can spend plenty of time on her....she'll need it.

 

As Pat said she's a bit of a monster, but like a lot of my builds she's practice for the next bigger one! In this case a resin 1/48th MiG-31!!

 

Plus resin beasts like this need to be exposed and built, and not hidden away in someone's collection!

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On 3/17/2018 at 8:28 PM, trickyrich said:

 The only replacements are form Aires and are for the Trumpeter model, so fitting them is going to be interesting!!

IMG_0450-L.jpg

That is a first - Resin detailing sets on a resin kit!

 

Will follow with interest how it all goes together - I am sure you will make a splendid job of it.

Cheers, Peter

 

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2 minutes ago, Basilisk said:

That is a first - Resin detailing sets on a resin kit!

 well I'm not known to make build something easy.......

 

The biggest issue is the thickness of the resin in the main fuselage section, I've already ground that out because I had concerns to whether the new resin bits would actually fit! and a ton of resin dust later the fit is really good. The front sections were the opposite super thin, too most for the LHS!

 

I'm really looking forward to getting my hand dusty with this one, it should be a fun build!

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31 minutes ago, trickyrich said:

 well I'm not known to make build something easy.......

 

The biggest issue is the thickness of the resin in the main fuselage section, I've already ground that out because I had concerns to whether the new resin bits would actually fit! and a ton of resin dust later the fit is really good. The front sections were the opposite super thin, too most for the LHS!

 

I'm really looking forward to getting my hand dusty with this one, it should be a fun build!

Just watch this resin dust - it isn't the best for your health:huh:

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On 19/03/2018 at 10:01 PM, Grey Beema said:

A green Viggie...  Mind if I sit over here?  

it's different, plus there's another reason why i'm going green with her.......

 

with the normal grey/white finish you need to have super smooth base, something that can be hard to achieve with resin at times, so the camo helps hide some of the sins!

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thanks, I'm hoping to get back to the Sea Fury in a week or so when I've finish up here in Malaysia. I do need to get that one out of the way before I start this one, as this will be a much more involved build for sure!!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ok I’ve sort of made a start on this one yesterday, or rather a big mess as there/s resin dust and chunks of resin all over the place!

 

Many times yesterday I thought of just putting her aside and building something much simpler….like a life size version of the Nimitz!! I’m not sure what I’ve gotten myself into but it’s going to be A LOT of work!!!! :wall:

 

Ok the cockpit, I had earlier made a wee start to this model just to see if the Aries cockpit and nose wheel bay would fit….they sort of did in a fashion. So the first half of the day was spent trying to remember what I was trying to do originally as well as trying to get it to fit, and it didn’t, they both interfere with each other. How they manage to get them to fit in the Trumpeter model is anyone’s guess (though that model has some real accuracy issues).

 

I finally remembered that the main flipper door for the nose wheel was mostly closed all the time, so problem solved, I chopped off the front section of it!!

 

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I still had to move the bay a lot further back than I though to gear the nose gear in the correct position, But at least everything will fit now. The kit U/C is not that flash so I may replace them with a set of legs from SAC. Plus some bracing to keep it in place.

 

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To get the cockpit to fit correctly I had to build up the cockpit a bit more that I normally would before painting it. It’s quite nicely detailed.

 

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Especially when compared with the original!

 

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Pretty much everything inside the fuselage pieces needed to be removed first before finally fitting some small alignment shims. This resulted in the fuselage being even thinner than it was before, hence the long strip of plastic to hold one side together. One of the canopy frames was broken when I bought the model which sort of made life easier.

 

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It all seem to fit now and actually look ok, plus it’s all in it’s correct position. There are gaps here but most of these will disappear when everything is glued in place. The remaining gaps will either be filled in with card or bits of PE for the cockpit framing. That RO’s position must have been very claustrophobic, even with the tiny windows.

 

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I can now start to paint up the cockpit.

 

The last thing I did was look at the replacement exhaust cones, they look much nicer than the originals and should look great with some careful painting.

 

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She’s going to be a big girl!!!

 

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I have no idea where I’ll put her once she’s done….and getting her done is going to be a real challenge! The intakes are a bit scary as they don’t really fit, the fuselage fit is horrible and things don’t really line up, and the two fuselage sections don’t fit nicely at all, and the rear exhaust sections fit to the fuselage……… Least I have until July….I may have the fuselage together by then!

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Great start on what is not the easiest project !

I've never had a Collectair kit in my hands, I was tempted at one point in the past by a very cheap Starfire but looking at your kit I doubt I could have built it.

Looking at the pictures it seems to me that the original exhausts were the latet type as used on the 1566xx aircrafts but the wings don't show the extension added to these aircrafts. Will you be building one of the original RA-5Cs or the later modified ones ?

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It is always a special experience having a go at a Collect Aire Model ;). You did a great job on the cockpit, but I can foresee a few additional challenges ahead.

 

12 hours ago, trickyrich said:

She’s going to be a big girl!!!

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And heavy as hell :o You may need some reinforcement on the display shelf.

 

Cheers, Peter

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1 hour ago, Basilisk said:

 but I can foresee a few additional challenges ahead.

that is the understatement of the year! :D

 

I'll need therapy if I ever finish this one! It's probably the most accurate compared to the Trumpeter model but there again a scratch built one is too. It's doable but boy it's going to take some work, if I can get the cockpit and forward section together an looking good then that'll be half the battle. The rest is just filler, blood, sweat and tears....and lots of those! 

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4 hours ago, Yeoman1942 said:

Great work Rich, out of interest how big is that ruler? Like you say its a big bird.

6 inches 

 

I just did a quick check, she's 16" long with an 11" span, length wise she's about as long as an F-111. She took up a lot deck realestate!

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33 minutes ago, trickyrich said:

6 inches 

 

I just did a quick check, she's 16" long with an 11" span, length wise she's about as long as an F-111. She took up a lot deck realestate!

 

So that will be a tad bigger than my Hornet then, which comes in at 4.75in long and 3.5in** span. :D 

 

** Span is less launch rails.

 

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Nice work so far, and good luck on the best of the build! I have the CtA sheet in 1/72nd scale, and I plan on getting an RA-5C for one of the two camouflage schemes. I'll be very interested to see how the camouflage turns out on your kit - it should look great! By the way, do you have any suggestions for a Vigilante in 1/72nd scale?

 

Regards,

 

Jason

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1 hour ago, Learstang said:

Nice work so far, and good luck on the best of the build! I have the CtA sheet in 1/72nd scale, and I plan on getting an RA-5C for one of the two camouflage schemes. I'll be very interested to see how the camouflage turns out on your kit - it should look great! By the way, do you have any suggestions for a Vigilante in 1/72nd scale?

 

Regards,

 

Jason

Will there is only one good one available in 1/72nd, the Trumpeter one if you can call it good! The others are all really old or copies of old models, as there hasn't been a new one produced since 1995 or there about (and that was just an update of the original 70's beast). All the others seem to be based on the original Airfix (I've built that one decades ago) one or the Hasegawa one. Both are pretty ancient now by todays standards, raised panel line, bare cockpits, but on the whole reasonably accurate from what I've read. 

 

The Trumpeter one is from 2014 (/), it's sort of ok. bit it has some minor issues but unless you know what to look for you wouldn't notice. So you really have to go with it. I'd read all the reviews first so you know what you're getting yourself into.

 

It's a real shame as it is a really impressive looking aircraft, with some great colour scheme, and the Camo ones are so unusual.

 

I may use the CtA decals on one of the other aircraft their.

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Thank you very much for the info, Rich! That was the one I was looking at. I don't really care if it's 100 percent accurate, as I'm no Vigilante expert. Reasonably Vigilante-ish will do it for me.

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

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