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AirFix 1:72 McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR.2 - COMPLETED


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Lets have a look at this bad boy.

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While this is my 4th aircraft, all in 1:72, this thing is huge compared to the others (P-51D, Curtiss Hawk, and Red Arrows Gnat).  When I first looked through the instructions, and saw the decal sheet I questioned whether this would be a fun and relaxing build.  Thankfully, I bought this from my LHS for the blue scheme on the front, and that one requires only a fraction of the decals to be applied :phew:  I don't claim to be an aviation buff at all I just love building models, and embarrassingly I only grabbed it because there was the blue option and I don't want a display case full of grey (one or two will be OK, but if there's an option for colourful I'll take it).  But its apparently No.92 Squadron of the RAF Wildenrath, from 1992, for those interested.

 

Obligatory sprue shots...

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Now to read the instructions a few times and familiarise myself with the build.  Still to decide whether to do it wheels up or down, and if down whether to do the canopy up or down.  I'm swaying towards wheels and canopy down for this one...

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So, I might use artistic license a bit, as the No.92 Squadron scheme requires almost none of the weapons fitted according to the instructions, compared to what is available for the other two schemes...

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You will be fine with this, there is advice and experience here in spades if you run into difficulties or are unsure about anything.

 

Martian 👽

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Thanks Martian.  It shouldn't be daunting to be honest, its just the amount of either/or parts to be figured out during the build.  But I'm set now, as I've realised there are no pilots I'm going wheels down canopies up.  First open canopy build to add to my list :) 

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Slow and steady, the air intakes, fans, and exhaust inners (correct me if my terminology is wrong, I'm still learning planes) were painted yesterday and the fuselage glued and taped over night.  For some reason the nose cone didn't quite sit tight so there is a very fine gap to fill and sand, and a few bits to tidy where the two halves meet, and I didn't glue the exhausts in place yet as I'm unsure of the correct seating angle right now, so waiting for more parts around that area.

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All those with experience will have to bear with me because I'm relatively new to aircraft building, but I'm still blown away by the fact that these two jets are the same scale...

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Quick question for anyone who has built this.  Does any weight need adding towards the front when building it gear down, to stop it tipping backwards easily?  I'll have a search of the forum and on Google anyway, but sometimes its just nice to have a little chat :) 

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I also stand to be corrected, but I think Airfix are good when it comes to indicating any need for weight... So if they don't mention a need you're probably OK.

 

For added peace of mind, you could dry fit the major parts (hold them with tape etc) and then see if it balances nose down sat on the edge of a ruler or similar running along the line between the main undercarriage legs (if that makes sense).

 

Matt

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Thanks guys, the only person I could find adding weight to one was not an Airfix version, and I can't see any mention of weight in the hand book.  I'm also going a little rogue and adding more of the weapons than should be on the No.92 Squadron variant, just because.  This will add a little more weight in front of the rear wheels.  But if it still un-nerves me I could always superglue a heavy bolt or something just behind the cockpit between the air intakes.

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Done some preemptive masking to keep the white in the air intakes when spraying the fuselage.  The plan being that I can get tweezers or needle nose pliers down in the intakes and grab the tab, which is under the actual masking strip to lift it and probably pull it out...

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Got the exhausts in place now have the underside prepped to dry fit for alignment

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And after a smidge of filing here and there its a nice fit, but there are a couple of components to paint and glue to the underside plate before fitting.

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And for reference, here is where I might add the weight, depending on how the dry fit test goes (if I try it).  Still unsure yet, I'm thinking even if it doesn't need it, it can't hurt to increase stability that little bit more...

fMbhXUX.jpg

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2 hours ago, HoolioPaulio said:

And for reference, here is where I might add the weight, depending on how the dry fit test goes (if I try it).  Still unsure yet, I'm thinking even if it doesn't need it, it can't hurt to increase stability that little bit more...

 

Play it safe, better to have it and not need it like, yeah? Not that I'm an expert or anything. All the same.

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You don’t need to add weight, none of my 200+ F-4s have ever shown a tendency to tailsit. Another hint; take the “nubs” off the bottom of the intakes and those boxes off the inners of the lower wing and it fits much better.

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Not a bad colour match methinks, Vallejo Royal Blue over black primer...

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Sprayed the insides of the intakes while the bottom plate set in place...

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And then as well as correcting some of bottom plate joints, one of the air intakes required a little persuasion...

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Great start to your F4 !

 

A have this very kit in the stash from a Christmas present....I was impressed by the size of it too, especially for only a 1:72 scale.

 

Definitely pulling up a seat to watch if you don't mind?

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More work done this afternoon.  I find it odd the amount of spare large parts, like wing ends and tail fin etc, but these these little parts need tabs trimming to fit the air brakes closed when building gear down, instead of including both versions.  But hey ho, both were trimmed without disaster

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Wing assembly underway, but I removed the rear stabilisers after reviewing the colour scheme and I realised both the stabilisers and tail will be easier to mask the alu and gunmetal sections prior to assembly

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And what were Airfix thinking here?  Worst gate placement ever!  Not a bad job though removing and saving that thin raised rim.  Which looking at pictures online looks like it might actually be a seam line to remove, rather than a part of the exhaust :doh:

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Well, that's been very tedious, but I'm happy with the result.  After getting rid of the seam on the exhausts, I set about modifying the little vents on the side of the nose.  They don't fit flush to begin with anyway, but look so much better when opened up...

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Still some fine tuning to do, then try and get the second one a close enough match.  And for those not familiar with the kit, this is the piece I'm filing...

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And finally a question for experts on the Phantom FGR.2, as I'm really struggling to find images on Google with a clear view of the underside of the nose.  Is this little nubbin supposed to be there, or is it some flash that needs sanding?

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Thanks all.

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Little bit more progress today.  I painted the gear wells white, and whatever the little widget holes are on the side of the tail.  Did take pics but the phone didn't focus correctly so no point posting.  But I've cottoned on to the idea that as I'm building it gear down, like with the canopy, I can use the gear up pieces to mask the holes...

 

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Just need to sort the seam on the nose, and fill and sand those side air intakes that I've so carefully filed, then its time for black primer and see if anything needs tidying up.

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Managed to get back on this now I finished glossing all the woodwork in the living room.  Decided to test run the Vallejo liquid mask technique I saw online on this canopy I was using to protect the cockpit.  I know I didn't mask it all, as it was a test I decided the front side windows were to fiddly to mess about with when I just wanted to see how the process went

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And now she's all primed up ready for colour.  I gotta say, she looks bad-bottom in black, did anyone ever run a black one?  The shine is because the primer is still wet on top in places

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