F-4K/M in 1/32

[bentwaters81tfw]

I have been authorised by Alan Wilson to announce that his F-4K/M project is going ahead.

Work on the masters is progressing, and he has access to both airframe variants. I'm not saying which ones at present.

I also spoke to the Pocketbond people at Telford, and they knew nothing (so they said) about the projected F-4K/M from HKM, despite the fact that airframes have been measured and photographed in the UK some 3 years ago.

 

More to follow.

[WV908]

Hi all, a photo update from Alan on the Phantom;

 

 

 

 

Cheers,

  WV908

[colin ritchie]

Over on LSP there's a long thread re the HK and its protracted development process, one snippet that appeared recently was the fact that the projected price for the HK kit is likely to be at least  150% of the cost of the Icelandic F-4 , guess which one I'm buying!

 

Edited December 9, 2019 by colin ritchie

[TEXANTOMCAT]

That looks very much like an Avro Tudor behind it! 

 

 

TT

[71chally]

35 minutes ago, TEXANTOMCAT said:

That looks very much like an Avro Tudor behind it! 

I think that's the Hastings project.

[TEXANTOMCAT]

Ah of course! Phone screen not the best for aircraft recognition! 

[Icelandic Fine Art]

There has been much debate over the photos and it seems modellers (on other sites) are stepping up to their usual expertise, to criticise and cast doubts; that's all very good stuff in my view and why not encourage it, open discussion and critiques are always welcome but there's only one problem, I am not listening or paying any attention to any of it and its really quite simple, why hasn't anybody or a collective group of people produced one of these classic cold war Brit jets? Of course I have no answers and so far things have remained quiet on this thread, may be there are those who are holding back, waiting to see what develops, which I think, is the sensible option. A word to the wise, never judge or assess anything solely on the basis of photographs, I think we have been down this road before and it all came to nothing; lets just wait out until we see the final portrait.

There are those members who have sufficient faith in my ability to deliver and they have already added their names to the list and they will benefit from the price offered; anybody not on that list or a member of this site will pay the 'gold prices'. 

 

Alan

[colin ritchie]

😉

[Icelandic Fine Art]

General request for information on the ejector seats; I know the FAA and RAF used different marks of Martin Baker ejector seats but which one used which (Mark Types)? The periscopes were only used on the RAF Phantoms? And the ILS was only used on RAF Types?

 

Alan

[71chally]

Only the RAF fitted the ILS aerials, and had the periscope sights fitted.   I don't know how many got the sights though.

Edited December 11, 2019 by 71chally

[Dazza]

23 hours ago, Icelandic Fine Art said:

General request for information on the ejector seats; I know the FAA and RAF used different marks of Martin Baker ejector seats but which one used which (Mark Types)? The periscopes were only used on the RAF Phantoms? And the ILS was only used on RAF Types?

 

Alan

Both FAA and RAF F-4s used  the same basic MB seats, with the obvious equipment differences specific to each service, both initially used the Mk.5A/1 and 5A/2, which were not zero/zero capable. These were then replaced by the Mk.7A which was zero/zero capable.

 

-Daz

[Tomjw]

On 12/10/2019 at 10:43 AM, Icelandic Fine Art said:

There has been much debate over the photos and it seems modellers (on other sites) are stepping up to their usual expertise, to criticise and cast doubts; that's all very good stuff in my view and why not encourage it, open discussion and critiques are always welcome but there's only one problem, I am not listening or paying any attention to any of it and its really quite simple, why hasn't anybody or a collective group of people produced one of these classic cold war Brit jets? Of course I have no answers and so far things have remained quiet on this thread, may be there are those who are holding back, waiting to see what develops, which I think, is the sensible option. A word to the wise, never judge or assess anything solely on the basis of photographs, I think we have been down this road before and it all came to nothing; lets just wait out until we see the final portrait.

There are those members who have sufficient faith in my ability to deliver and they have already added their names to the list and they will benefit from the price offered; anybody not on that list or a member of this site will pay the 'gold prices'. 

 

Alan

 

Hi Alan,

 

I think this news is fantastic. How do I get my name on the list?

 

Cheers,

 

Tom

[Julien]

Alan,

 

MK7 Seat pics here 

 

 

I can get you some dimensions if you need them

 

Julien

[Icelandic Fine Art]

Thanks Julien,

I will study the photos at length and work out a plan of action, ejector seats are a whole new subject matter in themselves and it is easy to get them wrong but the differences are sometimes only small but enough to make a difference. I will be able to adjust the dimensions alright. 

 

Alan

[wavodavo]

On 12/9/2019 at 4:57 PM, 71chally said:

I think that's the Hastings project.

Oh I certainly hope so, my S&M Models one is gash and shot.

[Icelandic Fine Art]

F4K/M update,

 

Progressing at a steady pace on the Spey Phantom; the fuselage is shaping up together with the wings; the wing fold mechanism has proved to be tricky but I managed to get it in place today and will start installing details onto it. The new canopy has taken shape and requires much work; the photo recce pod is almost complete, its a big lump and the wing mounted tanks are also shaping up; the Vulcan gun is complete and the Sidewinders and Sparrows are more or less complete and the undercarriage bays have been installed in the wings, a very lengthy process, more work in that area; the wings blend into the fuselage perfectly, with no gaps and the tail units are shaping up nicely. I will probably start work on the radar unit next week; the Vickers deck tractor for the FAA version is proving difficult to master but I will get there slowly with a lot more work. The burner cans are complete; the crew ladders are also taking shape. All in all, its a long slog and together we will get there.

 

Alan

[colin ritchie]

Alan , that all sounds good, this is another model I've been lusting after for so long ,  keep up the good work!

 

[Simon Cornes]

Looking forward to reading an update in due course but it sounds great!!

[bentwaters81tfw]

Hot off the press. Alan has just sent me these photos of the F-4. This shows the stage it was at prior to lockdown. Work will hopefully recommence in the not too distant future.

Note the Jaguar as well.

To quote a Mr Python......'it ain't dead, it's just restin'

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Simon Cornes]

Tremendous stuff - Alan can be relied upon to make very accurate shapes!! I hope that he’s weathering the lockdown well?

[bentwaters81tfw]

1 hour ago, Simon Cornes said:

Tremendous stuff - Alan can be relied upon to make very accurate shapes!! I hope that he’s weathering the lockdown well?

He's holding his own. Not cleared to tell you any more at this stage.....

 

[colin ritchie]

Fingers crossed for the both the projects and Alan  himself .. 

[WV908]

I'm glad that Alan has decided to carry on with just these two projects - we've seen smaller manufacturers snow themselves under with too many projects on the go countless times now in recent years (It's even more prevalent in Model Railways)

 

I think it was a good choice for Alan to ditch the VC-10, Voyager and TriStar and he seems to have done well in selling off the Gannet moulds. I hope he keeps in good health and I look forward to seeing the Phantom and Jag progress. It woul be nice to see the Sea King and --- ------- ( ) re-emerge at some point, but only once the Toom and Jag are done and gone.

 

Cheers,

  WV908

[Simon Cornes]

I totally agree, better to focus on a couple couple of things and finish both rather than 5 or 6 projects and never finish anything! The most important thing is that Alan is fit and healthy - both physically and financially - and then we have someone in our midst who can do this kind of magic!

 

Simon

[Icelandic Fine Art]

Hello Fellow modellers'

Although I have stopped worked on both the Spey Phantom and Jag, they are the most important projects and I think there is a greater demand for these subjects than others. Whilst I am still on close down, rethinking the overall strategy has played its part; I rely on a small amount of modellers like yourselves to keep me going, so bringing forth the projects you want, is the most important. My personal view, is that 32nd modellers are far more genuine and serious in their intentions and I have relied on such patronage to develop new projects. I will still do 1/48 in some subjects. 

The Spey Phantom is a long way from complete and requires at least another 1000 hours of work, such is the nature of the project. For instance, the exhaust burner cans took me 6 weeks to design and make, with several hundred hours of work and I have made what is the most detailed burner cans possible and no IM kit will rival the detail of these exhausts and no CAD or CNC can match my level of work in this particular area. Similarly, the rear end of the Phantom swallowed up 3 months of design and trial and error to achieve a good representation of the geometry, so again, no effort spared. The cockpit is also highly detailed and requires further work. 

Its a long way to go but together we will get there.

 

Alan