tangerine_sedge Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 (edited) All, Like the BBC, I am here to inform, educate, and entertain! Let's get the education out of the way quickly, so that we can get onto the fun stuff! I'll be building aircraft (yes plural!) from Morocco and Algeria, marked on the below map of Africa (and the North Africa Region below it) : North Africa regions map Peter Fitzgerald, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons I'll be using the Special Hobby "Exotic Air Forces" version of the Fouga Magister, and will be using the spare decals on a Heller Fouga Magister that I already had in the stash. As usual, I'll be building the aircraft "in flight" so will be using some NATO pilots and (if I can find any!) some old flight stands also from the stash. Edited February 18, 2021 by tangerine_sedge Added more images... 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Great choices, the Fouga was very popular in African air forces, and still is on here. The Special Hobby kit looks very nice and you get a nice selection of markings with it too, the old Heller kit is still a nice build too. Looking forward to this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 One thing to watch when using the SH kit is if you're doing an armed version with the machine guns in the nose, the insert is too small, @RidgeRunner found this when he did his Gabonese Magister using this kit. Luckily for him I was able to send him a spare from the Zephyr boxing of the kit but IIRC, he needed to put a vertical cut lengthways down the middle then use a shim to pack it out, Im sure he'll confirm when he comes along. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangerine_sedge Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 43 minutes ago, Wez said: One thing to watch when using the SH kit is if you're doing an armed version with the machine guns in the nose, the insert is too small, @RidgeRunner found this when he did his Gabonese Magister using this kit. Luckily for him I was able to send him a spare from the Zephyr boxing of the kit but IIRC, he needed to put a vertical cut lengthways down the middle then use a shim to pack it out, Im sure he'll confirm when he comes along. Thanks - I don't think that the versions I'm doing are armed, but I'll double check and take your advice is needed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Couple of decent pics of Algerian Fougas in this link, not a machine gun in sight. https://www.forcesdz.com/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=2459&start=15 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 (edited) Some Moroccan ones on here, you just need to scroll a bit. https://far-maroc.forumpro.fr/t12p50-fra-photos-anciens-avions-des-fra The site is well worth looking through. This page has quite a few pics, including a NMF one with camo tanks on it. https://far-maroc.forumpro.fr/t12p175-fra-photos-anciens-avions-des-fra Again, they all appear unarmed. Edited February 18, 2021 by modelling minion 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 Nice double build of the neighbours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangerine_sedge Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 On 2/18/2021 at 6:17 PM, modelling minion said: Couple of decent pics of Algerian Fougas in this link, not a machine gun in sight. https://www.forcesdz.com/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=2459&start=15 Thanks - "NT-44" is the one I'm building, so very useful 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangerine_sedge Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 On 2/18/2021 at 6:32 PM, modelling minion said: Some Moroccan ones on here, you just need to scroll a bit. https://far-maroc.forumpro.fr/t12p50-fra-photos-anciens-avions-des-fra The site is well worth looking through. This page has quite a few pics, including a NMF one with camo tanks on it. https://far-maroc.forumpro.fr/t12p175-fra-photos-anciens-avions-des-fra Again, they all appear unarmed. Again, thanks - all useful background material. I'm a little disapointed though, as I didn't realise Morocco used Sea Furies until I scrolled down your first link, a missed oportunity for me!! Edited to add - jus looking through your second link - there are some wonderfully weathered Magisters. I think the Algerian one might be lightly weathered, but the Morracon one might be very weathered 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangerine_sedge Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 Some progress on this double build.... The cockpits (SH on left and Heller on right). The SH one is more detailed and has decals for instruments. The decals didn't behave well and silvered badly on the Matt black. The Heller one has less details and the instruments are painted on. I don't think that much will be visible through the canopies, so both should be adequate. The pilots built up, not sure which will go with which. I'm going to assume that the flight suits are green (I'm colour blind and they look green to me in the pictures!) with white helmets. Although I might need to go "Douglas Bader" on them to get them to fit.... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 2 hours ago, tangerine_sedge said: The pilots built up, not sure which will go with which. I'm going to assume that the flight suits are green (I'm colour blind and they look green to me in the pictures!) with white helmets. Although I might need to go "Douglas Bader" on them to get them to fit.... I'd leave them out, in my considerable experience they'd only break things! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Great start on the cockpits, more than adequate for 1/72 scale as like you say not a lot will be visible later. 2 hours ago, tangerine_sedge said: I didn't realise Morocco used Sea Furies Yes its not a very well know fact but if I remember right Xtradecal gives a Moroccan example on one of it's sheets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxbat Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 5 hours ago, modelling minion said: Yes its not a very well know fact but if I remember right Xtradecal gives a Moroccan example on one of it's sheets. They do. I have that sheet. Morocco was gifted a few (maybe as few as 4) from Iraq as they were retired. Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 oops ... ignore this post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 17 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said: Really? I didn’t know Iraq had them. The Moroccan ones were from Germany via France. They received around 20-25 https://www.airliners.net/photo/Morocco-Air-Force/Fouga-CM-170R-Magister/1659215 Martin I think they're talking about the Sea Furies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Yes mate, my mistake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangerine_sedge Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 Work has continued on the Magisters..... The pilots have taken their boots off and have now slipped their legs into the cockpits...they've received their first coat of paint (not shown). The detail on the figures seems good at first glance, but the mouldings are poor Work has started on the fuselages, the SH magister has multiple slots and tabs, the Heller one has more traditional slots. The SH wings are multi part and include slots for the air brakes/spoilers which can be positioned open (the Heller one just has some rasied panel details. The fit on the SH one should be good once the slots have been opened a little, the Heller ones are going to need filler... As these will be posed in flight, the gear is up and the undercarriage doors glued in position. They appear a little uneven in the photos, but are quite smooth on the model, a coat of paint may help here. I've also dug out some vintage Airfix standards from a couple of blister pack Sopwith pups that I bought from a model fair 10 years ago! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 An interesting comparison between the two kit styles again but both sound to be going well for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangerine_sedge Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 Very slow progress on this pair... It's been a struggle to get both cockpits installed - both seemed to be too fat for the fuselages and took considerable amounts of sanding and test fitting to get into place. The Heller one went together more easily than the SH one, which needed much coaxing (it's still not a great fit). The slow progress is sapping my desire to continue, so I've focused on the Heller one to get it into a position to prepare for painting. The Airfix stand even needed copious sanding to get the two parts to join properly. I'm going to have to invest in more sanding sticks before my next modelling session, 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smudge Posted March 14, 2021 Share Posted March 14, 2021 Looking good. Such a nice looking little jet. I'm sure you will get the better of them 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 Hi, Looking good. Slightly off topic but I seem to remember reading that Iraq bought the landplane version of the Hawker Fury - after the RAF rejected it Hawkers converted production to the Sea Fury version for the RN, but if Morocco got Furies from Iraq they may not have been Sea Furies at all, though having said that I think Iraq also bought some 2 seat Sea Fury trainers! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangerine_sedge Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 Bleurgh! Got my Covid jab on Saturday and spent the weekend feeling sorry for myself (not as bad as the full dose of Covid I got 12 months ago!). Therefore no progress, although I did manage a bit of filling and sanding on the Heller kit. Hopefully I'll get a chance to continue next weekend, with a final push over the Easter break too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyOD Posted March 23, 2021 Share Posted March 23, 2021 16 hours ago, tangerine_sedge said: Got my Covid jab on Saturday and spent the weekend feeling sorry for myself (not as bad as the full dose of Covid I got 12 months ago!). Sorry to hear this. I had mine Saturday too and apart from a slight soreness to my arm I was right as rain. Everyone at work who's had it has been clobbered. Guess I must be lucky. That's a lovely looking jet, its lines are a little bit "space age". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangerine_sedge Posted April 4, 2021 Author Share Posted April 4, 2021 Finally, an update on progress over the last 2 weeks! Some filing and sanding later, both aircraft have progressed! Starting to look like a nice pair of jets.. The Heller canopy was a doddle to prepare for painting, a single piece of clear plastic meant that it just needed masking. It doesn't fit particularly well, but after paint it might be acceptable from a distance. Unfortunately the SH canopy is in multiple pieces and one of them was short-shot There are multiple alternative front, middle and rear canopies, but only one of these middle bits... Luckily, one of the alternative canopies was almost the right curvature, just the wrong size, so some judicious carving and sanding later, I get something nearer in shape (new carved bit at tip of blade, old short-shot piece(s) to the side). A couple of small pieces of plasticard later to add the lower frame, and some masking later, almost ready to go! I've sprayed some Tamiya rattle-can primer on (seemed to go on far too wet and thick, but when it dried it was perfect!), and intend to get some base colour on both kits today! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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