EF-111 to F-111C

[Guy with a Beer]

G'day all,

 

I'm looking to build myself a 1/72 scale F-111 in RAAF markings.  I know there is a Hasegawa kit out there that fits the bill, however I'm finding it virtually impossible to find one anywhere. (at least not one that isn't at an over inflated price)

 

What I have been able to find is Hasegawa's EF-111 kit, and I'm wondering how easy it would be for somebody with minimal experience in modifying kits to convert it to F-111C standard.

I've never actually made any major modifications to kits, and scratch-building experience starts and ends with two 1/24 scale electric guitars I built recently to go with a car my wife built.

 

The most obvious to me mods would need to be the tail fin, lengthening the wings and the modifying the landing gear too. The latter may fit in the "near enough category" as I'm not too concerned by being 100% accurate. I imagine too, a few aerials and what not to be chopped off or added on.

I don't imagine the tail fin would be too much of a difficulty (hopefully there is 1 already in the box), however I'm more interested in how I would go about extending the wings and would be interested on hearing how others may approach this. 
 

 

 

Edited July 1, 2019 by Guy with a Beer
missed some words when typing

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

The Hasegawa EF-111 kit also comes with the standard tail, so you are set there.

 

The landing gear mods required are not noticeable in 1/72 so don't bother.

 

It is not hard to extend the wings, just cut off the end caps of the wings, add some laminated styrene sheet to the ends the length the extension is required, file and sand to shape, rescribe and your done.

 

I did similar with some C-130 wings

 

Or you could just build on of the 4 F-111A attrition replacement airframes which were flown for a short period before they went to 3AD to be modified to C standard.

 

I am building A8-113 as an A, I just need to get motivated and finish decalling it and it will be finished.

 

[Guy with a Beer]

Cheers

 

That's what I was hoping to hear.  I wasn't entirely sure if the wings were merely a continuation of the existing wing or not. 

I'll give building some extensions a go.  I have some sheets of varying thickness to play with, so I'll see how it goes.

I notice a lot of kits have the flaps and slats deployed, I assume these require extending as well?

 

F-111A is plan B should I fail.

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Flaps and slats are a personal thing, have a look at pictures of the aircraft on the ground and you will see position varies. When they are parked with wings swept everything is up.

[72modeler]

13 hours ago, Guy with a Beer said:

I know there is a Hasegawa kit out there that fits the bill

GWaB,

 

I think I read in one of the modeling magazines that Hasegawa is going to re-release some of their F-111 kits- I don't  know when or how much, but you could check a distributor, like HLJ, from time to time to get date/price.  As RAY has stated, converting your EF-111 isn't all that involved. Gotta love an Aussie Pig!

Mike

[upnorth]

14 hours ago, Guy with a Beer said:

Cheers

 

That's what I was hoping to hear.  I wasn't entirely sure if the wings were merely a continuation of the existing wing or not. 

I'll give building some extensions a go.  I have some sheets of varying thickness to play with, so I'll see how it goes.

I notice a lot of kits have the flaps and slats deployed, I assume these require extending as well?

 

F-111A is plan B should I fail.

 

The Hasegawa F-111 kits are designed to be built with the wings spread and everything hanging.  If you want the flaps and slats tucked in and the wings swept back, you'll have your work cut out for you. Unlike most other models of variable geometry aircraft out there, Hasegawa did not design movable wings into their F-111 kits.

 

That said, they build up beautifully. I built their RAAF F-111G kit a number of years ago and quite enjoyed it

 

If you try to convert to the F-111C, remember that you also have the option of putting an extra weapons pylon under each wing.

[Jabba]

1 hour ago, upnorth said:

 

The Hasegawa F-111 kits are designed to be built with the wings spread and everything hanging.  If you want the flaps and slats tucked in and the wings swept back, you'll have your work cut out for you. 

 

 

I have done this to several of Hasegawa F-111 kit and it is not as difficult as it appears to be.

[upnorth]

9 hours ago, Jabba said:

 

I have done this to several of Hasegawa F-111 kit and it is not as difficult as it appears to be.

 

No, it's not hard but it is fiddly and delicate work. Getting the actuator arms off those thin slats without breaking them takes some patience and gentle touch in my experience.

[Guy with a Beer]

On 02/07/2019 at 01:14, 72modeler said:

I think I read in one of the modeling magazines that Hasegawa is going to re-release some of their F-111 kits- I don't  know when or how much, but you could check a distributor, like HLJ, from time to time to get date/price.  As RAY has stated, converting your EF-111 isn't all that involved. Gotta love an Aussie Pig!

Mike

 

I was hoping for the same.  Hopefully something gets announced before I begin work on this kit (I've got a recently started 1/350 battleship taking up all my space that needs to be completed first!)

On 02/07/2019 at 03:39, upnorth said:

The Hasegawa F-111 kits are designed to be built with the wings spread and everything hanging.  If you want the flaps and slats tucked in and the wings swept back, you'll have your work cut out for you. Unlike most other models of variable geometry aircraft out there, Hasegawa did not design movable wings into their F-111 kits.

I like the look of the red on the slats and flaps, so I will probably have them deployed anyway, but I may have to also extend those along with the wing as they appear to go the full length.

 

[Guy with a Beer]

4 hours ago, Jordi said:

Why not just get the F-111C kit and save yourself a ton of work?  You see them quite regularly on eBay.

 

I've seen a grand total of one, double the price of the EF-111 kit, and that's before another $30 for postage. I'd rather do the extra work than line the pockets of somebody greedy.

[nickandrews7]

And on a related topic, how easy is it to convert the Hasgawa F111C to an FB111A?

[Vicarage Vee]

As an aside, the EF-111A can be obtained from (e.g.) Hobby Link Japan now.

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

2 hours ago, nickandrews7 said:

And on a related topic, how easy is it to convert the Hasegawa F111C to an FB111A?

The FB-111 or F-111G and F-111C have a different intake arrangement. The C has a splitter plate (Triple Plow I)where as the FB doesn't (Triple Plow II). The other minor differences are the FB has an astro nav dome on the nose forward of the windscreen and the tail cone between the burner cans has a slightly different arrangement.

 

Hasegawa issued a RAAF boxing that had the sprues for both the C and FB(G). The base kit is a C with the sprues for the additional FB parts included. I have the kit.

[nickandrews7]

On 7/5/2019 at 10:18 AM, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

The FB-111 or F-111G and F-111C have a different intake arrangement. The C has a splitter plate (Triple Plow I)where as the FB doesn't (Triple Plow II). The other minor differences are the FB has an astro nav dome on the nose forward of the windscreen and the tail cone between the burner cans has a slightly different arrangement.

 

Hasegawa issued a RAAF boxing that had the sprues for both the C and FB(G). The base kit is a C with the sprues for the additional FB parts included. I have the kit.

Thank you, very interesting.  Let me know if you intend to part with the kit in question

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

I just saw on the Hasegawa homepage the F-111G will be re released in September in RAAF colours, price 3600 Yen, which at the moment is AU$47.75, no doubt add another $10 or so after the importers get their hands on them.