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Sea Vixen FAW.1x2


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I think you've nailed the weathering/panel lines, they're very convincing. However I can't believe you hand painted the stencils and kept everything looking to scale. Lovely work!

 

Ian

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A terrific catch up entry. The paint looks great with just that touch of, not weathering, just grubbyness, as befits a test Aircraft.

I'm sure we've had a discussion on here about the colour and purpose of that light on the nosegear door. A long time ago though.

The tail formation light may/should be blue? They were on Tornado, and seemed to be made from old pickle jar lids.

The pencil panel lines look just right, and your handpainted markings look great.

1 hour ago, TheBaron said:

Fade to Extra Dark Sea Grey'.

:laugh:

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2 hours ago, TheBaron said:

I think that the small teardrop light immediately in front of those two nosegear lights above is a red one  - none of the colour photos I have of '481 with that earlier nosegear door are detailed enough or taken from the correct angle to let me be sure, so I've painted it a dark red here so that:

a) it looks like a red light in unilluminated condition

and:

b)if it's not red and someone more knowledgeable corrects me then I can deny it was ever really red at all... 😁

 

b) definitely b!

 

On 6/27/2020 at 7:49 AM, 71chally said:

 

On 6/28/2020 at 5:34 PM, 71chally said:

Good choice with the door selection, as you've noted the twin taxi lamp set up was used on XJ481 in service, and was the most common fit on FAW.1s.  The centre deck approach light was amber.

43450B3A00000578-0-image-a-96_1502793494

 

However as you observe, it looks so dark anyway I'm sure it doesn't matter.

 

Superb stuff happening there!

 

 

 

 

Edited by 71chally
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Impressed to the point of admiration by the ostensibly nonchalant way you created and applied those terrific panel markings.  Similar thoughts about the masks for the pencil panel lines.

 

Innovative is a miserably inadequate word to describe your modelling Tony; inventive and ingenious start to grope towards a fairer description :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Fritag
typo
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10 hours ago, Fritag said:

Impressed to the point of admiration by the ostensibly nonchalant way you created and applied those terrific panel markings.  Similar thoughts about the masks for the pencil panel lines.

 

Innovative is a miserably inadequate word to describe your modelling Tony; inventive and ingenious start to grope towards a fairer description :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Totally agree

 

  Stay safe          Roger

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After taking the aged mater out for morning coffee and a bun earlier a mystery item arrived in the post  producing instant brainlock/wtf moment as the neurons tried and failed to connect the item to something that I might have rashly done online late at night with a 'buy' button....

51602225241_d0e5b53ef1_c.jpg

Myself and an old pal in Belfast have been independently rigging our living rooms for vinyl (after more than three decades of having albums sitting packed away in boxes) and in the process unearthing the sometimes dubious musical tastes of our younger selves, though I cannot fault him here in matters of taste and generosity. 

 

I hadn't noticed until now that the order of tracks on side one rather vividly demonstrates a set of consequences, viz.: 'Love at First Feel'/'Big Balls'/'Rocker'/'Problem Child'.....

 

Post of a different natures first however:

On 16/10/2021 at 17:27, Spookytooth said:

Nice update Tony, not over done with the markings/washes etc.

Kind of you Simon - I mentally force myself these days to spend more time looking at reference photos than the actual model whilst treating it at this stage, as I know from past experience how easy it is to get lost down that dreaded Rabbit Hole of Grime!

On 16/10/2021 at 17:42, perdu said:

If I could spell stupendous, believe me Tony I would be spelling it out loud at this beautiful model Sea Vixen.

 

I could never find any pictures of the fin-top lights with coloured lenses either...

 

Marvellous mate, blimming marvellous.

My thanks for those generous words Bill. :thumbsup2:

Those fin lights look so dark anyway in an unlit condition that at this scale some transparent medium and a bit of Payne's Grey will do the job.

On 16/10/2021 at 17:55, The Spadgent said:

Great work on that belly

:rofl:

I'm glad to see that my late night Belgian white chocolate biscuit regime is appreciated Johnny. I must suck my gut in when taking pics next time though in order to avoid it protruding into the frame...

On 16/10/2021 at 18:07, Brandy said:

I think you've nailed the weathering/panel lines, they're very convincing. However I can't believe you hand painted the stencils and kept everything looking to scale. Lovely work!

I value your opinion on such matters Ian so pleased those details pass muster; that hand painting really isn't too hard to do if your wrist is braced, so if you know anyone with a really tiny shop who needs their sign painted.... 😁

Joking aside, there's a number of Japanese modellers who regularly post their miniature/diorama work on Twitter and it's of such grace and quality that I've not seen anything even approaching that quality elsewhere.

On 16/10/2021 at 18:37, Pete in Lincs said:

A terrific catch up entry. The paint looks great with just that touch of, not weathering, just grubbyness, as befits a test Aircraft.

I'm sure we've had a discussion on here about the colour and purpose of that light on the nosegear door. A long time ago though.

The tail formation light may/should be blue? They were on Tornado, and seemed to be made from old pickle jar lids.

The pencil panel lines look just right, and your handpainted markings look great.

Thanks on all counts Pete you kind man.

On 16/10/2021 at 19:34, 71chally said:

b) definitely b!

James, how could I fail to recollect that you would have told me this already! :thanks:😁

(In defence m'lud I would ask the jury to recall that this build has gone on so long now that the National Trust have begun to show interest....)

On 16/10/2021 at 20:03, giemme said:

Tasteful weathering, lovely detailing, all in all a very pleasant Saturday night update. Thank you Tony! :clap:  :clap:

Glad you enjoyed it G, and your own paintworking has been no small inspiration in pushing me into new areas of the craft!

On 16/10/2021 at 20:49, bigbadbadge said:

Lovely work Tony on the hand painted warning text and the oil wash etc it looks very subtle and effective.

From someone with your brush skills Chris that's much appreciated indeed.

On 17/10/2021 at 14:47, hendie said:

Stunned.  Truly stunned.  That weathering is THE most realistic I have seen to date.  From anyone. Anywhere. 

17 hours ago, Fritag said:

Impressed to the point of admiration by the ostensibly nonchalant way you created and applied those terrific panel markings.  Similar thoughts about the masks for the pencil panel lines.

 

Innovative is a miserably inadequate word to describe your modelling Tony; inventive and ingenious start to grope towards a fairer description :D

I genuinely don't have words to express my gratitude for such generous remarks Alan and Steve.

Nor do I have to tell you how much they mean coming from friends with your abilities.

Thanks sincerely both of you.

7 hours ago, Hamden said:

Totally agree

That goes for you too Roger! :thanks:

 

 

To matters Vixonian then, and I've been champing at the bit for some time to start sticking the brass PE onto the bird. That time really has come round now that we're at the point that I don't need to handle the aircraft for any length of time and risk kerboinging of all the tiny bits off into the void.

 

Or rather, nearly that time, until I recollected that I'd forgotten to install the front windscreen fairing, which on an early production SV such as XJ481, is a much smaller than the later and more substantial rain shedding/demisting carapace. This version is quite frankly like trying to stick a toenail clipping to a curvature in spacetime.

 

This section was vacformed as part of an early canopy design that I rejected, but which I kept a couple of transparencies from in order to cut off and use the fairing part of for this build. Eventually I GG'd it into place and was happy:

51603293375_a63beebaea_b.jpg

Do to the decreasing size of this fairing as it wraps around the front of the windshield and continues back around the stbd side, vacforming wasn't able to capture all of that detail, so the last 25% of that run was formed by building up a rough profile with resin and laser and then carving it to shape with a small craft knife blade.

 

After Micromesh and paint I think that's about as plausible as can be produced for such a fine feature at this scale:

51602409601_83477867ef_b.jpg

(Note to self, repair that damaged decal in front of the obs window...)

 

In no particular order then, here are the remaining brass and resin bits jabbed on, starting with the arrestor gear:

51601377747_bb126bff93_b.jpg

I wasn't sure originally that the details on the hook and haft would be worth printing at 1/72 but rather glad that I did as such details would be a glaring omission:

51602859484_7f81a558d2_b.jpg

Brass bracing for the inner pylons went on quite handily in the end:

51602202811_a2952dc5db_b.jpg

The stbd one working with data relay and pylon on that side in a rather satisfactory manner when it catches the light:

51603086595_f44741c8d9_b.jpg

The venturi added below the nose roundel as well:

51603086665_a4c14a6092_b.jpg

You can see also in the above shot the blade antennae also added to the top of the port boom, partnering one of a similar nature under the nose:

51601377887_9e7ffb6dde_b.jpg

This latter one I'd originally painted black (presumably thinking in my addled mind to match the colour of the airframe) but both are white in all period photos of the aircraft in trials livery. Also to note is that this latter antennae isn't vertical but has a slight yet noticeable 'lean' to stbd when viewed from the front)

 

Final items were the pitots:

51601377812_be9d33d4a7_b.jpg

 - and fences:

51602859504_f5cda2c044_b.jpg

-on both sides:

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All the exterior brass fitted quit neatly and without too much fuss so I'm glad I spent so much time earlier in the build testing and finalizing all those designs- nothing worse than getting to the final hurdle of a build only to find frustration.

 

So this is how she sits this afternoon:

51603086740_380b0d2f16_b.jpg

I've still to add PETG glasswork to both the nose of the aircraft and Terry's Martel Fetish, plus glazing the observer's window and door with Krystal Klear, but other than a few minor touchups, we're almost there. I did if you recall have a PE part for the central windscreen divider but with it being both miniscule at this scale as well  black against black invisible to the unaided eye - and two sets having pinged-off into the void - I think I can live without it. 

 

A final brass matter to report is that I knocked up the rest of the stand in the garden shed from the arm of an old chair:

51603086760_f123cc3648_b.jpg

I've no idea why but I was messing about with a cylindrical 'stone' in the Dremel on slow and ended up patterning all that brass pipework with it:

51602859419_5ae72fd5f8_b.jpg

I can't adequately explain this except to say that I might have been unduly influenced by a Dunhill lighter at some point in the 80s without realizing it.

There's no accounting for folk &etc.

 

If I can get the beast tidied and propped up on the stand it might be time for an RFI next weekend.

 

Take care until next time all of you.

:bye:

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Absolutely fantastic, I'm really looking forward to seeing this in RFI.

Somehow the stand detailing doesn't surprise me. After all, if anyone appreciates texture and photogenic appeal on this site it must surely be your good self!

 

Ian

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57 minutes ago, Brandy said:

Absolutely fantastic, I'm really looking forward to seeing this in RFI.

Ditto! And we need more shots in vivid light, this model is a beauty to behold! :worthy:  :worthy: The various greeblies added a lot to the final appearance :clap: 

 

Ciao

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A quick public service announcement to commence with today. Finding myself too knackered in the evenings at present to do much in the manner of meaningful reading, I stumbled across Drachinifel's naval history channel and am finding it absolutely addictive. To somebody such as myself who's fascination with matters naval/maritime is engulfed by my ignorance of this vast area it makes for a fascinating set of insights: just thought I'd pass it on (though if you know your onions you'll doubtless be aware of him already).

 

Some quick responses first before today's episode:

On 18/10/2021 at 15:29, Brandy said:

Absolutely fantastic, I'm really looking forward to seeing this in RFI.

Somehow the stand detailing doesn't surprise me. After all, if anyone appreciates texture and photogenic appeal on this site it must surely be your good self!

Gracious of you Ian, especially given your bravura skills at wood effects - and now 3d printing cars! :thumbsup2:

On 18/10/2021 at 16:29, giemme said:

Ditto! And we need more shots in vivid light, this model is a beauty to behold! :worthy:  :worthy: The various greeblies added a lot to the final appearance :clap:

Thanks G. Final few parts added earlier today - possibly the most nervous part of the build as you're trying not to knock anything of at this stage! :laugh:

On 18/10/2021 at 16:40, Pete in Lincs said:

Flying in foamation!

:rofl:

On 18/10/2021 at 17:05, 71chally said:

...if Faberge' did Vixens!

Given the cost of MoD projects James aren't Fabergé already a military contractor? :laugh:

On 18/10/2021 at 17:06, bigbadbadge said:

I remember those lighters with the knurled cylindrical swipe up the side .

Quite a memorable bit of design weren't they Chris? It always seemed to be somebody's flush aunt or uncle would have one, along with a heavy onyx lighter on the coffee table that nobody ever used.....

On 18/10/2021 at 17:21, AdrianMF said:

Looking rather splendid there. Masterclass!

Too kind Adrian.

I bumble slowly around in a semi-meaningful manner until Dame Fortune fetches me a kick in the ribs with something that works!

On 19/10/2021 at 12:57, hendie said:

just read through the thesaurus and couldn't locate a term  adequate enough to describe this venture so have to resort to old home-speak... that yin's a belter, she's an absolute brammer!

Them's dem fine words sir and much appreciated by this ciotóg.

On 20/10/2021 at 19:47, Spookytooth said:

Great, fantastic, superb etc etc, words fail me too.

 

Looking forward to seeing her in RFI.

Thank you as always Simon. :thumbsup2:

 

Right. Into it then.

 

This week saw the last few jobs finally crossed off the snag list for XJ481. I decided in the end that I couldn't live without the demisting channel that sits on the centre frame of the windscreen, so having lost both of my PE versions I cranked out a one by hammering some brass rod flat on the anvil, and in fact improving on the PE by hand-shaping the curved section that runs back over the windshield and onto the canopy:

51617833633_1ddd166ebe_b.jpg

An absolute swine to fit as you're basically balancing a thin strip of brass onto a curved transparency and holding it in place until the Gator's Grip starts, well, gripping:

51618260674_e445035574_b.jpg

After a coat of Mr.Metal primer followed by some Vallejo rubber black to blend it in to the existing framework, that part is nicely invisible and you wonder why you obsess so terribly about such things in the first place.... :nerdy:

 

Other detailing completed on the other side of the nose were the dashed-line yellow maintenance markings around the observer's window (hand-painted with tempera as per previous such markings), followed by adding glasswork  to that window and the one in his door above using Kristal Klear:

51616766812_76d7ff7faf_b.jpg

Also tidied up was the damage to the white decal directly  in front of the obs. window.

 

I then carried on with remaining bits of glassware, adding both the optical flat to the front of the nose:

51618492615_8465a63656_b.jpg

 - then moving onto the stores and ('finally!' says @Terry1954) trimming the plunge mould down to fit over the nose camera in the Martel:

51617833703_62348496ea_b.jpg

Paradoxically I often find that using a big tool (here a Stanley instead of a scalpel) gives more direct control over cuts of this nature than a smaller one would. A couple of swipes with a sanding stick and then stuck on with GG:

51618471485_1ac2502237_b.jpg

Hope it was worth the wait Terry.... 😁

 

Then on to the kind of job that  - along with working with transparencies - I hate the most, sticking on the stores. If ever there was a combination of having to get a thing positioned correctly in three axes on top of another thing so thin that you're terrified of breaking it at the merest touch, this would be it. Eventually the things went on the things and Jesus held them in place whilst the glue dried and no thing was broken:

51618471545_8c4ac2f48e_b.jpg

To fix the Martel and drop tanks I used some Rocket Max on the brass locating lugs and holes drilled in the pylons, along with a liberal buttering of GG along the mating surface of the pylon surfaces themselves - the idea being that the CA would cook off quickly and hold the stores in places whilst the GG took a little longer. Once that had all dried I went wicking around the seams with some diluted GG.

 

I'll tidy up the studio tomorrow morning and do a proper RFI as - much to my consternation - I've run out of bits to stick on and colour-in.

Weirdly anti-climactic sometimes this game isn't it? :laugh:

 

A quick snapshot of Subject & Muse to finish today off:

51616787802_bd2ca868fa_b.jpg

Being a late convert to the idea of remote shooting for stills I'm looking forward to sticking the DSLR on a tripod and controlling the exposures from the laptop - having a bigger preview image of the photo that you're about to take will hopefully improve my eye for things like lighting and depth-of-field when photographing at 1/72 - we'll see.

 

Maybe it'll just make all the flaws more evident and depress me.... 🤦‍♂️😁

 

Catch you tomorrow,

:bye:

Tony

 

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, TheBaron said:

 - then moving onto the stores and ('finally!' says @Terry1954) trimming the plunge mould down to fit over the nose camera in the Martel:

 

FINALLY! 👏👏👏

 

3 hours ago, TheBaron said:

Hope it was worth the wait Terry....

 

Well worth the wait Tony, the nose looks exquisite. 

 

My fixation with Martels is a complex, psychological one going back to my younger days . I'm sure Freud could explain it, but I can't 🤩

 

The Vixen is simply stunning, as we all knew would be the case.

 

Terry

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4 hours ago, TheBaron said:

a Stanley instead of a scalpel

I actually got my Stanley knife out to do some non-model-related plywood trimming the other day (couldn't use a saw because of the angle) and I've kept it out because it's so much more stable when chopping up thick card. It will save me a fortune in broken scalpel blades!

 

2 hours ago, Space Ranger said:

At last TheBaron’s modeling secret is revealed: a Crazy Cat pillow!

Let's all hope the cat doesn't come back to reclaim his space while the Vixen is balanced on it 😬

 

Regards,

Adrian

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