Retired Bob Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 I have been watching the build up to this GB with interest and of course some nostalgia. Not wanting to replicate any other build I put the Canberra, Buccaneer, FD.2 and TA 152 (still in its bag) back in the stash, I did think about the B-47 or the Emily, but since I have two big builds on another GB I did not want to over stretch myself and finish none. So with the lawn cut, the lupins watered (not a euphemism) I would like to put on some corduroy trousers and a big collared flowery shirt and go back to the late 60's and build this reboxing of the Hasegawa Vigilante. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 You know I wouldn't have minded if this kit was still in it's Hasegawa box, however I'm so glad you've unearthed it in a great big Frog box - that just looks superb! Welcome along to the great GB Bob, I'm envious of you in two ways, first you have this kit and secondly your 'Retired'! Cheers and best of luck with this build.. Dave 3 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 15 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said: You know I wouldn't have minded if this kit was still in it's Hasegawa box, however I'm so glad you've unearthed it in a great big Frog box - that just looks superb! I don't about superb, it's showing its age then again so am I. and yes it is a big box that must have been down to pricing strategy because this has the price at 15/- whereas the F-101 Voodoo and F-102 Delta Dagger FROG boxings are priced at 10/6, well mine are. (For those not around prior to decimalisation in June 1971...15/- shillings is 75p and 10/6 is 52 and a half pence...or should that be new pence) 26 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said: Welcome along to the great GB Bob, I'm envious of you in two ways, first you have this kit and secondly your 'Retired'! To be honest I don't retire by state standards until I'm 66, next year. but health concerns stopped me driving for 12 hour shifts around the clock and my boss told me if I could not do the job there is the door. Double edged sword, less income, more modelling. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaddad Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 7 minutes ago, Retired Bob said: 12 hour shifts around the clock and my boss told me if I could not do the job there is the door. Ah the transport industry, such a caring sector of industry. Who did you work for & where did you run out of ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 2 minutes ago, spaddad said: Ah the transport industry, such a caring sector of industry. Who did you work for & where did you run out of ? Strange enough, not really in the transport industry. I was employed by the Ministry of Defence to provide transport for the RAF at Leeming, this included moving freight, fuel and personnel by various means, so one day I could be taking a 55 seater coach full of servicemen to Brize Norton for a deployment, the next I could be driving an avtur (jet fuel) tanker refuelling aircraft or helicopters. A lot of it was estate cars with a couple of passengers or small items of freight, but my team did everything from artics to airfield equipment, sweeping the runway, de-icing it in the winter, there is nothing more bracing on a cold day than refuelling a Chinook with its rotors turning on a hot pit refuel. This was after 30 years of being in the RAF. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 Back to the FROG GB, here is the contents of the box, I have thought about some AM, there is an Airwaves set for this kit, plus there is some stuff out there for the Trumpy Vigilante, but for the moment I'm thinking OOB old school, but definitely not tube cement. Nice sepia tone plans and I still have the complaint slip. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 Great choice Bob Welcome to the GB cheers Pat 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 My information to build this kit will come from volume 19 of Wings of Fame, and as well as the FROG decal transfer sheet I have Microscale sheet 72-93 for the Vigilante, er.... when were Microscale decal sheets $2.00? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 Great choice Bob,I've been to my local show today and had this very kit in my mit's looked great but the decal's were shot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vppelt68 Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 In my eyes the Vigilante was the most Elegant(e) of all carrier borne aircraft, ever. Can´t help imagining what a sight that must have been, a Vigilante escorted by a pair of Phantoms on its port and starboard wing, penetrating deep and fast into North Vietnamese airspace to get some photographs... all those search radars buzzing to catch them! V-P 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 17 minutes ago, stevej60 said: Great choice Bob,I've been to my local show today and had this very kit in my mit's looked great but the decal's were shot. The Great North Show, I had been planning on going there with the North Riding Club, but some family problems meant that it was not to be, the big question is did you buy it? If you did you are welcome to the unused decals from my build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Retired Bob said: The Great North Show, I had been planning on going there with the North Riding Club, but some family problems meant that it was not to be, the big question is did you buy it? If you did you are welcome to the unused decals from my build. I didn't Bob it wasn't a bad price but at the time I had no idea there were AM decal's available,popped over to speak to Paul at the North Riding table which worked out fine as I was on the lookout for Revell's Gannet and one of the guy's was selling one for a tenner needles to say it's home with me now. Only the Yank's would put something as big as the Vigilante on a carrier deck! Edited June 2, 2019 by stevej60 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted June 2, 2019 Author Share Posted June 2, 2019 2 hours ago, stevej60 said: Only the Yank's would put something as big as the Vigilante on a carrier deck! Indeed, and reading the history in the Wings of Fame it was a handful to land the thing, beautiful looking plane, it looks fast even when parked. There is a story of some F8 Crusader pilots ribbing a Vigilante pilot of how big and cumbersome his aircraft was, so he challenged them to a dogfight, clean winged they could not get at him, the big cumbersome Vigilante could out turn and out climb the F8s. Designed as a mach 2 nuclear bomber that dropped its weapon out between the engine exhausts, its success was as a reconnaissance plane until the end of the Vietnam war ended the need for it. I cannot wait to build it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 5, 2019 Share Posted June 5, 2019 Hi Bob, Yes I bet it was a handful to land. Like Concorde both the pilot and the nose wheel are pretty far back behind a long nose, but Concorde could depress the nose to get a better view. Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted June 13, 2019 Author Share Posted June 13, 2019 Getting to grips with this kit, the port wing was badly warped, doing an impression of a stuka. I have it straight again but being 50 year old plastic the wing tip snapped off, the fun never ends. While the wing was being straightened and the glue hardening on the wing tip I was contemplating the cockpit, not with much to start with and the canopy frames molded as part of the fuselage I will just add side panels and instrument panel for the pilot. The intakes have been added and an intake ramp added so that you cannot see into the wing cavity, I have taped up the big bits to check for fit problems, so far looking good. If I was not building a couple of King Tigers in the Panzer VI GB it might have been ready for painting now. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Don't know how accurate this kit is but it looks better than my old Airfix one which always strikes me as being a bit "square edged" on the fuselage - yours looks more rounded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 44 minutes ago, PeterB said: Don't know how accurate this kit is but it looks better than my old Airfix one which always strikes me as being a bit "square edged" on the fuselage - yours looks more rounded. Hi Peter, I'm not sure how accurate it is, but the raised panel lines are very fine and trailing edges are really thin. The fit is good, but as it's Hasegawa that's not unusual, I don't think I ever built the Airfix one and the newer Trumpeter kits are well riveted. The intakes took a lot of sanding to achieve a scale thinness, I was going to add the underwing pylons and drop tanks but most photos show them clean winged. vppelt68's scene of them over Vietnam with an F4 escort, usually there was only one F4 to be rear lookout as the Vigilant had no vision behind and with the engines set to avoid a smoke trail the F4 had a struggle to keep up. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Hi Bob When we last heard from you, the Vigilante was making great progress, any chance of an update ? cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted August 20, 2019 Author Share Posted August 20, 2019 Apologies everyone for the delay in posting anything, not sure what causes it but I get painful hands and wrists, it's not carpal tunnel syndrome, I've had that and the scars to prove it. Anyway I lost my modelling mojo, did not finish the King Tigers for the Panzer VI GB, much to my shame, but today I got back on to the Vigilante, so to speak. I finished off the cockpit and glued the fuselage together. Those with a good memory will remember that a wing tip had broken off while straightening a warped wing, so after the repair had lost all the raised detail I set about engraving the panel detail back, so that's the wings done, I'm not sure if it's the old plastic or what but it went so well that I decided to carry on regardless and engrave the tail surfaces and will do the fuselage when it has dried. I have opened up the exhaust nozzles and added some afterburners from an old Phantom kit and bought a Master brass pitot probe. So that's where I have got to: Nothing can be seen of the rear cockpit so I just painted it. Although it appears most operational missions were clean winged I'm thinking of putting on the inboard fuel tanks just to make it different. I had thought to use the RVAH-11 markings with the chequered tail, but one of the other options on the Microscale sheet is for RVAH-1. black and yellow flash on the tail, pale blue numbers and lettering and the badge is a tiger smoking a cigar. Decisions, decisions. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jinxman Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 That looks very nice indeed - a very elegant looking aeroplane, though not if you were on the receiving end I suppose. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Great to see you back Bob and that must be so frustrating to have hand issues when modelling is your hobby. Let’s all pray for happier times in the immediate future. Now this Vigilante is looking quite nice indeed. I do like ‘things under wings’ so approve of the fuel tanks for something else to look at. That final scheme choice is a tough one without seeing photos or profiles, however I’m sure both will look great. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted August 20, 2019 Share Posted August 20, 2019 Great to see this one progress Bob,I noticed this and the Frog Intruder are molded in white plastic which is much better than the gray of Hasegawa's issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted August 20, 2019 Author Share Posted August 20, 2019 6 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said: Great to see you back Bob and that must be so frustrating to have hand issues when modelling is your hobby. Yes it is a bit of a set back, Over the years, as I collected my stash and looked forward to building all these kits in my retirement, I did not foresee my hands and wrists useless and in pain, but you have to keep smiling, I could not press down the button on the deodorant aerosol, so I had to get the wife to spray for me. Like I need redemption. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted August 20, 2019 Author Share Posted August 20, 2019 3 minutes ago, stevej60 said: Great to see this one progress Bob,I noticed this and the Frog Intruder are molded in white plastic which is much better than the gray of Hasegawa's issues. Yes, for 50 year old plastic, stored in a variety of locations it's behaving well, I might have to spray on a coat of very light grey primer to help paint the underside and control surfaces white. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 When I glued the fuselage sections together yesterday I also applied sprue goo to any gaps, the only drawback with this is it takes so long to harden, tried some wet and dry sanding today but it's still too soft. Carried on and cleaned up the fuel tanks and inboard pylons and undercarriage doors. On the Vigilante, the main gear doors opened to allow the u/c to raise or lower then shut again, so they need some work to fit properly. The arrester hook had a main cover and two small doors, these need replacing with plastic card as they are too thick and a bad fit. So thats my update for today, thanks for looking. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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