PeterB Posted February 5, 2021 Share Posted February 5, 2021 Hi Pappy, That is building up quite nicely. Just remembered I have a Hasegawa "Vark" (non Spark) in my stash - must dig it out and see if it might be eligible for this GB, though I doubt I will be able to build it half as well as you - at least in terms of detailing. Looks like it might go together pretty well judging by yours! Cheers Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted February 6, 2021 Author Share Posted February 6, 2021 (edited) 20 hours ago, modelling minion said: Just caught up with your build so far Pappy, and wow! I have been missing a cracking build. I love the details you have done and the detail painting in the cockpit and undercarriage areas is fantastic, I also didn't realise how nice the Hasegawa kit is. Your build looks like it could be in 1/48. I well remember the EF-111's and F-111's out of Upper Heyford, actually went on a tour of the base around 1990 and got to crawl over an E in a hangar and got shown around some quite sensitive areas. Got quite a few pictures of the aircraft from Heyford and will have to build one myself some day, though I only have the Academy E/F to work with. Keep up the great work mate, certainly up to your usual very high standard. Hiya Craig, welcome aboard. No dramas, it looks like you were head down bum up judging by the speed with which you punched out that HB Hind. I miss the sleek lady as well. The Has F-111s are great kits and still are the most accurate F-111 kits in ANY scale, I just wish the big H would release a 1/48 scale version. 19 hours ago, PeterB said: Hi Pappy, That is building up quite nicely. Just remembered I have a Hasegawa "Vark" (non Spark) in my stash - must dig it out and see if it might be eligible for this GB, though I doubt I will be able to build it half as well as you - at least in terms of detailing. Looks like it might go together pretty well judging by yours! Cheers Pete G'day Pete, I see you have joined in with a 'Pig' (How the F-111s were referred to in Oz as opposed to the 'Vark'), you are going to love the kit. The kit does not fall together like a Tamiya kit and does not tolerate ham-fistedness but if you take your time and test fit, you will find that all the parts will fit with a minimum of fuss. I usually find that a little smear of filler is needed where the rear of the back of the upper forward fuselage meets the rear fuselage, but nowhere near as bad as the 1/48 Academy kit. You can add nose weight if you want but it is not needed as the nose wheel is a fair way forward and well forward of the C of G. If you want to build it with the wings tucked back, it is possible but you will need to trim and test fit the slats as the corresponding slots in the front of the wing are a little small to accept the slats as is. The inner flap vanes (i.e. the red bits) will need to be cut from the main flap and again you will need to test fit and trim with the back of the wing to achieve an acceptable fit. Finally, on the inside of the fuselage where the wing seals are, there is a step moulded in which corresponds to the swept bay position, simply cut away the upper part down to the step and it should match the swept wing cross section G'day people, It was a very humid day today so decided against spraying and played around with washes instead. Since the underside is done I decided to start applying a wash. I did not want to use black as it would be a little too stark so leaned towards a darker brown oil wash Although the colour looks very dark in the macro shots, it is actually a lot lighter. The pic below is closer to 1:1 (on my monitor anyway - she is a big jet!) and the colour is not a dark. I unmasked the nose and main gear bays and tried a little test fit of the main gear assembly and over rotation bump stop. Once the forward main gear door/ speed brake is added not much of the main gear bay will be visible. Finally some closer shots of the topside. I have tried to get some subtle colour differences between the panels of the tail mounted 'football'. These vary greatly between jets and I didn't want too harsh a contrast but enough to be noticeable. The fin leading edge antenna will have a greater contrast and be a different shade again thanks for looking, Pappy Edited February 6, 2021 by Pappy 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 That looks great mate, the choice for the brown wash for the undersides was definitely the right one, gives just the right amount of contrast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 19 hours ago, modelling minion said: That looks great mate, the choice for the brown wash for the undersides was definitely the right one, gives just the right amount of contrast. Thanks Craig. G'day people, A little more progress today, I managed to get the masking for the fin antenna and wing seals done The wing seals are basically inflatable canvas bags and their colour varies greatly. I decided on a dark, dirty grey as I could not find pics of this area for this specific jet. Moving forwards, I painted up the rotating glove area which is red. this is a complex part of the airframe as this portion of the wing glove needs to have a section that rotates downwards and additionally has a section that opens to permit the wing slats to extend without fouling with the wings at forward sweep And just to finish, a couple of shots with the completed wing sections temp fitted just because thanks for looking, Pappy 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 That really is very smart Pappy. I think the contrast between the low vis greys and the red on the insides of the flaps and slats etc is really good. Your build is making me look into getting some of these when Hobby2000 re-release them in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Looking very good and as Craig has already said the contrasts of the Greys is very striking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 On 2/8/2021 at 6:08 AM, modelling minion said: That really is very smart Pappy. I think the contrast between the low vis greys and the red on the insides of the flaps and slats etc is really good. Your build is making me look into getting some of these when Hobby2000 re-release them in the near future. Well I have been accused of many things but smart isn't usually one of them Have not heard of Hobby2000 before, are they going to re-box the Has plastic with some value adding in the form of resin/PE/masks etc. like Eduard do? It seems to be all the rage for companies to re-box other manufacturers e.g. Revell re-popping Hasegawa and Matchbox kits and providing a cheaper way of expanding their range and good for modellers to avoid having to pay 'unobtainium' prices for 'vintage/rare/OOP' kits on the various auction sites 15 hours ago, Jabba said: Looking very good and as Craig has already said the contrasts of the Greys is very striking. Cheers Jabba Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rib Man Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 That is looking great! I am feeling myself drawn to the F-111's on this group build! RM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Hi Pappy, I am looking forward to seeing how you attach the undercarriage as I am struggling to make sense of the instuctions. I will have to browse some walkrounds to see if that helps. Looking very good so far. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 18 hours ago, Pappy said: Well I have been accused of many things but smart isn't usually one of them Oh no I didn't mean you, just the model thats smart. 😁 18 hours ago, Pappy said: Have not heard of Hobby2000 before, are they going to re-box the Has plastic with some value adding in the form of resin/PE/masks etc. like Eduard do? I believe they are a Polish company, they have been re-releasing Hasegawa kits for around a year or so, no added extras in them as far as I am aware though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisj2003 Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, modelling minion said: they have been re-releasing Hasegawa kits for around a year or so, no added extras in them as far as I am aware though. Craig my F-4D came with a full masking set and a UK price cheaper than new Hasegawa F-4, and much cheaper than second hand short nosed examples. Definitely a Polish company. Better instructions than Hasegawa, bigger and full colour which helps with all those stencils. 😀 Cartograf decals. Still no weapons. ☹️ Pappy, love your build, as always, much higher standard than mine. Chris Edited February 9, 2021 by Chrisj2003 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 8 minutes ago, Chrisj2003 said: Craig my F-4D came with a full masking set and a UK price cheaper than new Hasegawa F-4 That is good to know Chris, definitely on my radar now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 5 hours ago, modelling minion said: Oh no I didn't mean you, just the model thats smart. 😁 I believe they are a Polish company, they have been re-releasing Hasegawa kits for around a year or so, no added extras in them as far as I am aware though. Ahh, that is more like it 1 hour ago, Chrisj2003 said: Craig my F-4D came with a full masking set and a UK price cheaper than new Hasegawa F-4, and much cheaper than second hand short nosed examples. Definitely a Polish company. Better instructions than Hasegawa, bigger and full colour which helps with all those stencils. 😀 Cartograf decals. Still no weapons. ☹️ Pappy, love your build, as always, much higher standard than mine. Chris Cheers Chris, I am enjoying the build as well. These kits don't quite fall together but having built a few now I think they go together with a minimum of fuss, cheers, Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 10 hours ago, PeterB said: Hi Pappy, I am looking forward to seeing how you attach the undercarriage as I am struggling to make sense of the instuctions. I will have to browse some walkrounds to see if that helps. Looking very good so far. Pete G'day Pete, The main gear unit is a complex affair (just like the real thing) and I have deviated from the destructions by leaving the forward and aft nose wheel parts off until after all painting is done as these items are delicate and it makes the masking and painting easier. Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted February 13, 2021 Author Share Posted February 13, 2021 G'day people, I have finished spraying the main colours, hopefully there will be no more requirements to mask anything else as I am a little over it. I have added a turned brass pitot to the radome and it is a real improvement over the kit item and just adds to the sleek lines of the jet. It was a pretty simple affair to add it but it did need some minor sanding to blend the pitot and radome together Once sprayed, the radome really looked quite smart. I still need to pick out the unpainted portion of the pitot Next up, a dirty brown wash was applied to the nose and upper surfaces I have also started to apply some grime to the underside. The area under the engine access panels seemed to be the bit where most of the grime collected due to engine oil and hydraulic fluids leaking out into the airflow Thanks for looking, Pappy 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 This just gets better and better Pappy. The metal pitot really does make a difference and is much more keeping in scale than I imagine the kit part to have been. For a grey jet there are actually quite a few different colours involved aren't there, especially when you include the panels on the tail area. I like the staining that you have done on the undersides already, very nice work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 (edited) Hi Pappy, Don't know about yours but my instructions make no mention of weight. Looking at my old Revell A I suspect that there is enough plastic in front of the main wheels to make it an automatic nose sitter - as your fuselage pics were lost I did not see what you did? Looks like I have the same problem with the glove vane parts as with the main u/c - the instructions are very vague so I will watch how you fit yours with considerable interest. Cheers Pete Edited February 13, 2021 by PeterB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted February 13, 2021 Author Share Posted February 13, 2021 (edited) 5 hours ago, PeterB said: 9 hours ago, modelling minion said: This just gets better and better Pappy. The metal pitot really does make a difference and is much more keeping in scale than I imagine the kit part to have been. For a grey jet there are actually quite a few different colours involved aren't there, especially when you include the panels on the tail area. I like the staining that you have done on the undersides already, very nice work. Hi Craig, The kit pitot is okay, but the brass pitot is just another level and adding it was a doddle as long as you can drill a hole. Since the kit pitot slops into a hole that is already there, you just have to open the hole with a larger size to mathch the brass part. Hopefully I can start the decals and then the identity can be revealed. Quote Hi Pappy, Don't know about yours but my instructions make no mention of weight. Looking at my old Revell A I suspect that there is enough plastic in front of the main wheels to make it an automatic nose sitter - as your fuselage pics were lost I did not see what you did? Looks like I have the same problem with the glove vane parts as with the main u/c - the instructions are very vague so I will watch how you fit yours with considerable interest. Cheers Pete G'day Pete, I already mentioned that no nose weight is required. Not sure what your issue is with the rotating glove vanes. Step 6 shpws where these parts go and there is already alocating hole. The instructions don't show their correct angle so I normally just 'eyeball' it after looking at reference pics. The lower part of the glove assembly folds downwards (parts D2, D3 -Step 7) and the castellations on these parts correspond to the two notches in the fuselage just outboard of the intakes. They do not qite hang vertically as they foul on the fuselage but as vertical as they can without touching. The instructions show these parts but as you say, the final position is a little vague. The instructions for the main gear construction are pretty straightforward as are the assembly steps for the nose gear unit but the location of the drag brace (A6) is vague. It is attached to the notch in the nose gear unit (A14) just above the two nose wheels and the other end attaches to the forward upper left corner of the nose wheel well (NWW) although there is no positive locating point provided. The forward NWW bulkhead (A5) can be a very tight fit to add afterwards and mine needed some light sanding around to edges to reduce the dimensions slightly to allow it to drop in. The nose assembly (A14) just needed the paint to be scraped off the edges and then it sld into place. I would practice with the NWW in place and the fuselage halves taped together before committing to glue and paint. I usually also place a piece of tape to mask the spots where A5/A14 attach to the NWW assembly before spraying paint to ensure there is a good plastic/plastic bond and because gloss white tends to build up the surface thickness to achieve a satisfactoy colour density. Lastly, do not add the NWW flipper doors (A10 & A9 - Step 7) until after the nose gear coponents have been installed (in the following step) as they will only be in the way. I will try and get some pics of the u/c installation but the glue is currently drying. Not much can be seen of the Main Wheel Well (MWW) assembly once the speed brake is installed which can be good or bad depending on your painting skills! thanks for looking Pappy Edited February 13, 2021 by Pappy 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 (edited) Thanks Pappy, I suspect it will become a bit clearer once construction starts and I have since managed to find a couple of pics showing the glove vanes. I suppose something like the new style Airfix instructions with a pic of the parts in place would be clearer. Nust have missed your comment regarding weight, but the on a sales training course I was sent on 30 years or so ago they said people only remember a fifth of what you tell them so tell them five times to improve the odds! Pete Edited February 13, 2021 by PeterB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 (edited) 11 hours ago, PeterB said: Thanks Pappy, I suspect it will become a bit clearer once construction starts and I have since managed to find a couple of pics showing the glove vanes. I suppose something like the new style Airfix instructions with a pic of the parts in place would be clearer. Nust have missed your comment regarding weight, but the on a sales training course I was sent on 30 years or so ago they said people only remember a fifth of what you tell them so tell them five times to improve the odds! Pete I think the instructions are clear enough, but then again, I have built a few Has F-111s so I already have an idea where the bits need to go, although this will be the first one actually sitting on the undercarriage. G'day people, Here are some pics of how the undercarriage goes together for those that find the instructions difficult to understand. First up, the nose gear unit installed into the NWW Note the taxi li light is on the wrong side! It should be on the right side. I knocked it off installing the nose gear and hurriedly attached it - to the wrong side. I will fix it once the gloss has cured. The lower attachment point of the drag brace and the upper 'attachment' point. There is actually nothing to attach the drag brace to inside the NWW. in reality is connects to a bell crank operate rated by a hydraulic actuator Next, the MWW As you can see, once the forward door/speed brake is installed, not much can be seen inside the MWW. I have added the aft undercarriage door but it was not yet installed when I took the pics. Finally, the lower section of the rotating glove has a door that opens downwards, while the remainder of the glove rotates to about a 25 degree nose down position. I will install mine later but the lower doors have been added This is where I am at now, she is on her pins and I am waiting for the gloss coat to harden so I can add decals thanks for looking, Pappy Edited February 14, 2021 by Pappy 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 Very nice Pappy. Thanks for showing us the details on how the undercarriage sits in place, very useful. Not much point in detailing the MWW is there, looks like nothing can be seen after adding the speed brake. Looking forward to seeing the decals on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 18 minutes ago, modelling minion said: Very nice Pappy. Thanks for showing us the details on how the undercarriage sits in place, very useful. Not much point in detailing the MWW is there, looks like nothing can be seen after adding the speed brake. Looking forward to seeing the decals on. Yeah I would not go nuts in there unless you intend to have the speed brake open and the gear either dangling or retracted, both option would take a lot of effort cheers, Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 Thanks Pappy, As you say you have built few of these, so you clearly know what you are doing., unlike me. Your pics will be very helpful. The instructions are generally pretty good, but I do find them a little ambiguous in one or two cases. For example, with the seats they have the usual line pointing at the area to be painted with a note of the colour, but with the seats I cannot be entirely certain whether it is the seats which were "Khaki Green" and the belts "Mahogany" or vice versa. I see you have painted your seat cushions green, but the only colour pic I have seen shows them a brownish red, though that is on an FB-111A, so I have gone with that, together with a toned down red headrest. It's no big thing, just little niggles, and I will get there in the end. Cheers Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 7 hours ago, PeterB said: Thanks Pappy, As you say you have built few of these, so you clearly know what you are doing., unlike me. Your pics will be very helpful. The instructions are generally pretty good, but I do find them a little ambiguous in one or two cases. For example, with the seats they have the usual line pointing at the area to be painted with a note of the colour, but with the seats I cannot be entirely certain whether it is the seats which were "Khaki Green" and the belts "Mahogany" or vice versa. I see you have painted your seat cushions green, but the only colour pic I have seen shows them a brownish red, though that is on an FB-111A, so I have gone with that, together with a toned down red headrest. It's no big thing, just little niggles, and I will get there in the end. Cheers Pete I actually don't trust any instructuons colour call outs, most are wrong or at best very generic. I try and paint using reference pics whenever possible. Additionally, most will have an affiliation with a particular brand od model paint and will often quote colours from that range. There is nothing wrong with that however, that paint range may not be available or the colour description may be non-standard e.g. Revell may quote a colour as ' mouse grey' rather thanFS/BSC/RAL equivalent cheers Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Nice to see her on her U/C. Some nice shots of the work that you have done it this area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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