CliffB Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Almost exactly 100 years ago (on the 14th/15th June 1919 to be precise), Alcock and Brown became the first humans to fly non-stop across the Atlantic ocean. In May 1969, the Daily Mail newspaper sponsored a transatlantic air race to celebrate the 50th anniversary of that first crossing. In the race, the fastest transatlantic crossing was made by Phantom XT859 of 892 Squadron, Royal Navy. I remember the race very clearly (I was 12 at the time), and in particular the Phantom's distinctive 'omega' fin flash. Chosing a subject for this GB was therefore very easy for me - considerably easier in fact than getting hold of a 1/100 scale kit with which to build it! It took me over a year, but eventually I did manage to get hold of this secondhand one from Germany, via eBay . It includes decals for XT859. It will be August before I start the build, but I'm sure that will come round quickly enough! Cheers Cliff 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 24, 2019 Share Posted June 24, 2019 Great choice Cliff,never knew this kit existed,my LMS has started stocking a few 1/100 Tamiya kits I sneaked a look in the Lightning box and was very impressed at the contents. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share Posted June 25, 2019 10 hours ago, stevej60 said: Great choice Cliff,never knew this kit existed,my LMS has started stocking a few 1/100 Tamiya kits I sneaked a look in the Lightning box and was very impressed at the contents. Yes they're nice little kits Steve. The series dates from the late 60s/early 70s and around half the range (including the Lightning), were re-released in the 2000s and so are still readily available. Many were also been re-popped by Revell and Ben Hobby in the 80s. In fact, it was a chance encounter with a Tamiya Starfighter that first sparked my 1/100 habit ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootneck Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 18 hours ago, CliffB said: Chosing a subject for this GB was therefore very easy for me - considerably easier in fact than getting hold of a 1/100 scale kit with which to build it! It took me over a year, but eventually I did manage to get hold of this secondhand one from Germany, via eBay . It includes decals for XT859. I am also a fan of Tamiya 1:100 scale and have a few now. I am currently building their H.S. Buccaneer S.2 however, the F-4K/M Phantom kit has still eluded me so far. Mike 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomBigStu Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 Unusual scale, welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted June 25, 2019 Author Share Posted June 25, 2019 2 hours ago, bootneck said: I am also a fan of Tamiya 1:100 scale and have a few now. I am currently building their H.S. Buccaneer S.2 however, the F-4K/M Phantom kit has still eluded me so far. Mike Hi Mike. I've yet to build their Buccaneer but will be rectifying that in the upcoming STGB 1 hour ago, PhantomBigStu said: Unusual scale, welcome Thanks Stu. I'm particularly looking forward to this Cheers Cliff 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Any progress Cliff,I've just base painted the cockpit part's which is at least a start after three week's of the GB it's all those Frog kits I tell you! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim R-T-C Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 Interested to see how this looks. I've got several of the Soviet themed 1/100 models and working on the Me163s at the moment too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted July 30, 2019 Author Share Posted July 30, 2019 On 7/26/2019 at 11:11 AM, stevej60 said: Any progress Cliff,I've just base painted the cockpit part's which is at least a start after three week's of the GB it's all those Frog kits I tell you! Hi Steve. Unfortunately I've done absolutely no modelling for the last three weeks, so I'm falling well behind . I suspect that I'm going to have to ditch one or two planned builds. I'm not sure which ones yet, but it certainly won't be the Phantom! On 7/26/2019 at 12:14 PM, Tim R-T-C said: Interested to see how this looks. I've got several of the Soviet themed 1/100 models and working on the Me163s at the moment too. Hi Tim. I'm glad to hear that you're a 1/100 fan too . This will be my first Tamiya Phantom and I'm particularly looking forward to it! Cheers Cliff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 A little later than I'd hoped, but I'm ready now to make a start on my Phantom . Here are the sprues - note the highly appropriate EDSG coloured plastic. For the most part, the panel lines are finely engraved although some are probably too delicate to survive even a couple of coats of paint. Never mind. One nasty surprise was that I'm missing one tailplane (to be honest, it might have said that in the German eBay description ), but no big deal to make a new one from card. Alternatively, I might pinch one from another kit in my stash. The decals are quite badly yellowed. I'll try sun-bleaching them over the next few days, but I suspect it will be a spares box/ re-print job. Cheers Cliff 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted September 15, 2019 Author Share Posted September 15, 2019 Some progress to report. I painted the cockpit and mixture of greys, black and green but there's not much to see (there will be even less when the canopy is on). Overall, the fit of the parts was OK, with just a few bits of filler required in the usual places. As you can see, I've taken the easy way out on this build and robbed a tailplane from another kit. I've left the tailplanes loose at the moment, to make painting easier. All the race-related photos that I've seen of XT859 show her carrying only an under-belly tank, so I've filled the wing pylon slots. The random bits of white card in the wheel bays are there to disguise unsightly seams and ejector pin marks. They're a cosmetic fix only - not added detail! Cheers Cliff 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted September 22, 2019 Author Share Posted September 22, 2019 A quick update folks. Hopefully EDSG on tomorrow! Cheers Cliff 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 Nice Progress Cliff,my LMS although a Tamiya stockist has just got their I/I00 Lightning in had a look and surprising for it's age what a great little kit it is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 4 hours ago, stevej60 said: Nice Progress Cliff,my LMS although a Tamiya stockist has just got their I/I00 Lightning in had a look and surprising for it's age what a great little kit it is. Thanks Steve. I sense that it's only a matter of time until you come over to the Dark Side! Here's where things are at the moment. I'm just about to start decaling. With air fair wind, everything might be finished tonight Cheers Cliff 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted October 2, 2019 Author Share Posted October 2, 2019 I didn't quite make it last night, but I'm pleased to say that my Phantom is now finished . It's nice and shiny, as befits a racer. I decided to use the yellowed kit decals after all and they turned out just fine - at least over the EDSG. Underneath, the carrier around the large serials is quite noticeable over the white. Luckily, I'm OK with 'out of sight, out of mind'! As you'll recall, this build is all about commemorating the centenary of Alcock and Brown's first flight across the Atlantic. I find it quite interesting that this Phantom sits exactly half way along the timeline between Alcock & Brown's Vimy and the present day F-35. To me, the Phantom seems much closer to the F-35 (technology wise), but maybe that's not the case? Either way, I've enjoyed building this elusive kit and am now looking forward to the forthcoming Buccaneer STGB, in order to provide some company in the display case. Thanks as always to everyone who has supported this build and to Stu and Enzo for organising things. Cheers Cliff 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcin Wojciechowski Posted November 1, 2023 Share Posted November 1, 2023 Very nice little british Phantom :). I like Phantoms :). Good work :). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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