Bell209 Posted October 30, 2018 Author Share Posted October 30, 2018 Despite closely following the General's guide to assembling this, the fit is rubbish: Not impressed at all. There are gaps everywhere around the intakes and they'll need considerable filling and smoothing. Some of it is my own fault because I obviously slightly misaligned some of the fuselage components early in the piece but it's almost impossible to know that when you're at that stage. I used the GR.4 spine in lieu of the IDS version but, to be honest, I can't see any difference. The wings were adjusted with a protractor as per the General's suggestion but I'm not so sure the droop needs adjusting, particularly with the 2250 l tanks and pods to go on, I think they'll droop enough naturally. Exhausts next but I'll also mod the forward windscreen area, as per the General's guide. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 30, 2018 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Your doing a very nice job there, pity about the fit issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feifeitim Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 Feeling your pain Bell, but you’ve done so well so far that I’m sure you can battle through to the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
propforward Posted November 24, 2018 Share Posted November 24, 2018 Stick with it - you've done a super job of the cockpit, and I'm sure the finished model will be well worth it. It's looking really great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted November 28, 2018 Author Share Posted November 28, 2018 Thanks for the comments. I'll be back into it later this week and I'll post some more recent photos up, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrislowe Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 I have a WIP up at the moment for my GR1A build from the same basic kit. I've not been the best at regular updates, but I had the same issues with the forward fuselage. There are some great parts to the kit though. Overall, so far, I've really enjoyed it so keep pushing on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted November 28, 2018 Share Posted November 28, 2018 Stay with it, it's too easy just to bin it, if nothing else, use it as a practice job for finishing skills or decaling or weathering etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted November 29, 2018 Author Share Posted November 29, 2018 20 hours ago, phildagreek said: Stay with it, it's too easy just to bin it, if nothing else, use it as a practice job for finishing skills or decaling or weathering etc. No chance of binning it but it is a little frustrating! One of the fine modelers at Aussie Modeller just sent me the arts I need for the British Tornado pylons, so I can move on with those, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted November 30, 2018 Author Share Posted November 30, 2018 Back again! Now that the tail and wings are assembled, I'll leave the elevons off until after painting, along with the exhausts - less masking that way! I've also been working on the pylons and stores. One of the fellow-modellers at Aussie Modeller kindly donated the fuselage pylons I needed (thanks again, Ash!) and I'm utilising the outer pylons Shaun casts. I've raided the Airfix kit I first bought for the Hindenberg tanks and BOL missile launchers, too. The BOL rails haven't come up too badly with the etched metal rails fitted. I'll probably need to do a bit to the aft section, though. Flap assemblies will be painted separately before fitting to the wings. The whole lot will be getting a coat of paint before too long now. I'll be using the Sky Shadow pods from the Revell kit for the outer pylons. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted November 30, 2018 Author Share Posted November 30, 2018 On 8/21/2018 at 3:29 AM, lowlevelraf said: Would it be a TIALD pod? Anyone have any idea what colour these are supposed to be? I know they're green - an indication of the shade would be nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowlevelraf Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 I've seen them in grey and in green. Green when they first came in service, I think would of changed to grey by period your doing Colours to use, I'm not 100% sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted December 23, 2018 Author Share Posted December 23, 2018 Thanks. I've gone with RAF Dark Camouflage Grey - it looks about right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted January 26, 2019 Author Share Posted January 26, 2019 Finally got this into the paint shop. It's unveiled a few areas that were missed when I was sanding. It's also revealed my black-basing attempt was unsuccessful and I'll need to work on some of the heavily-soiled areas. I'll add some white to the next coat and might try a couple of other ideas, too. I should have masked the leading edge flap locations as I'll need to repaint them in the interior colour now. Least of my problems! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiskey Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 Failure is the best teacher of all. Keep trying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Witness Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 In the grave scheme, those don't seem like the worst problems on what looks like a stonking build so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Riot Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 Looking good! This kit looks so much better than the Airfix one as it's got flaps and slats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted January 26, 2019 Author Share Posted January 26, 2019 Yes, I have that one, too (I used the 2250 l tanks and BOL launcher from it with some mods to both). They're chalk and cheese next to each other - the old Airfix is nowhere near the standard of their current stuff. That said, it probably goes together better than this one! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichG Posted January 26, 2019 Share Posted January 26, 2019 (edited) On 10/30/2018 at 9:05 AM, Bell209 said: Despite closely following the General's guide to assembling this, the fit is rubbish It's looking good. Personally I think the issue with this kit is not bad fit as such - certainly not in the normal understanding of poor fitting kits. Rather it has a precise and very complex design that makes achieving correct alignment of mating surfaces, all on a number of planes, really challenging. Failure to align any one part to almost the micron risks misalignment / fit issues elsewhere. Aftermarket parts almost certainly present a risk to achieving precision fit. This is compounded by the kit not giving the modeller positive assistance with use of alignment aids like pins and holes we might have had in the past; instead it relies on ledges and butting edges/surfaces. Probably a consequence of the precision of CAD design - similar to new Airfix kits - where even a coat of paint can throw out alignment. Not withstanding the inexplicable wing-sweep error and poor repesentation of the Nav's console it is the best 1/48 Tornado by a long way; but is probably the most complex aircraft kit I have ever made. Lots of test / dry fitting required - oh and ideally another pair of hands! 🙂 Rich Edited January 26, 2019 by RichG 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 (edited) 13 hours ago, RichG said: Failure to align any one part to almost the micron risks misalignment / fit issues elsewhere. Yep, that's the issue! Fixed the wing alignment issue with the aid of General Melchett's guide and a protractor. It's still a great kit - just needs tweaking to allow a bit of movement for alignment! Edited January 27, 2019 by Bell209 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 I've spent the last few weeks painting, filling, painting, masking, painting but I think it's finally ready for further assembly before a Future coat for decalling. I've deliberately painted spots around the aircraft different colours as ZD844 was starting to show some of its old RAF Dark Sea Grey colours on the sides where the maintainers were constantly opening the panels and rubbing the old paint off. I can only assume the repaint was just a rough back and recoat as normally they'd have been stripped back to bare metal on a repaint. Various areas were randomly painted with RAF Medium Sea Grey lightened with a drop of white to emphasise the sun-lightening of some of the paint areas. I'll further work on this with too much flat Tamiya in the Future matt coat. I'll add the flaps (leading and trailing edge) before the Future gloss coat to aid in decal placement. I'll be using the Airfix decals for the stencilling but the Model Alliance set for the aircraft-specific markings and roundels/fin flashes. Looking at the photos I think I need to do some more filling around the windscreen. Back to the airbrush. Sigh. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bowcat Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 That's coming together nicely now Rob. I built the ADV version a while ago, and you're right, its a pig of a kit for fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimReaper09 Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 It's looking great so far. I can't wait to see the finished aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted February 16, 2019 Author Share Posted February 16, 2019 (edited) I have a few days at home (might even do a bit more to my Scout!) but when I get back I should be able to apply the Future gloss coat, I reckon. Just the left trailing edge flaps to affix first. I case you're wondering, the nose is off until I can verify I have enough weight added. There's still room in the forward fuselage if it's still a tail-sitter. Edited February 16, 2019 by Bell209 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feifeitim Posted February 26, 2019 Share Posted February 26, 2019 Really looking good now Rob, you are doing a grand job replicating one of my trusty steeds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bell209 Posted February 27, 2019 Author Share Posted February 27, 2019 Thanks; hope I can do it justice. Working on decaling now. Mostly from the Airfix kit but a few Model Alliance Op TELIC Pt1 set. Disappointingly, the 'AJ-A' markings on the tail seem too light for my paint colour but I'll see how it comes out after the matt coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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