Bjorn Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 (edited) After twelwe old Heller builds in the Heller Classic GB it is time for something different, And if the old Heller kits were familiar to me, this one is definitely not: American aircraft are seldom seen on my workbench, and the Phantom is no exception. I built the old Revell 1/32 kit when I was about 13 years old, but since then I have left this subject to other modellers. But this is a classic aircraft, and I do like the British versions. So last summer I bought this one. And after the old Hellers, where fit wasn' always perfect, I felt like building something pretty easy. The Aires cockpit looked very tempting, so I couldn't resist it... ...but regarding my wish to have an easy, relaxing build, maybe I should have... The Aires designer did an excellent job with the cockpit, details are absolutely brilliant. Just sad that he completely forgot that the nose wheel well. Fit is not even close - on the picture above I have already sanded down the wheel well about 1 mm. (Sanding, sanding, sanding...) At last I managed to get a decent fit. However, I have to cut about 6-7 mm from the nose gear leg, since this is supposed to be a FGR.2 and not a FGR.1. Edited February 21, 2022 by Bjorn 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil23 Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 Hi, Good choice and good job with the Aires cockpit, always a chore to insert ans particularly this one. I Have the same kit (Hasegawa box) on the bench right now 90% completed. The build is trouble some expect the wing/fuselage joint on the nose underside. Phil 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 Struggling with a resin cockpit on one of my builds at the moment, so much resin material to remove just to make it fit! Feeling the pain / breathing the dust 😁 Good choice of kit, as Phil said, not the easiest build but great details and looks superb when completed 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(ex)Sgtrafman Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 Hi Bjorn I have the very same kit and Aires resin cockpit. I took the same approach as you by removing 3 mm from the undercarriage bay and thinning the tub as much as I dared, I also thinned the plastic fuselage halves to help with the fit, once you get it in it does look rather good and worth the effort IMHO. keep up the good work buddy Iain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 Nice choice Björn! I think you just convinced me to not go with Aires for this one, but try to find some nice etch and resin bang seats instead... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted March 2, 2021 Author Share Posted March 2, 2021 (edited) 45 minutes ago, Christer A said: Nice choice Björn! I think you just convinced me to not go with Aires for this one, but try to find some nice etch and resin bang seats instead... Well, I wouldn't be that sure of that if I were you. The cockpit is extremely well detailed, so believe it or not, it is actually worth the effort! I have painted it now, I'll post pictures soon. Edited March 2, 2021 by Bjorn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulaero Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 (edited) The resin is worth it, the problem is that aftermarket parts are often so accurate in dimensions they need the kit to be modified. How thick would the walls of that U/C bay be if you up scaled it to 1:1 ?? Just keep sanding.....Just keep sanding.... will be worth it in the end . And as for etch, the well known colour ones have a decidedly blue tint to the grey and need repainting. Have acquired some of the 3D printed panels, now they look interesting..... Edited March 2, 2021 by Paulaero Duplicate 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 22 hours ago, Bjorn said: Well, I wouldn't be that sure of that if I were you. The cockpit is extremely well detailed, so believe it or not, it is actually worth the effort! I have painted it now, I'll post pictures soon. Well, I wrestled both an Aires cockpit and Aires wheel well in to the nose of an Academy F-4C, which is not an experience I'd like to repeat... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 On 02/03/2021 at 06:12, Bjorn said: The Aires designer did an excellent job with the cockpit, details are absolutely brilliant. Just sad that he completely forgot that the nose wheel well. Fit is not even close If you are considering getting some resin afterburner cans then Aires went the other way with theirs, they are too small in diameter. I have just bought the ResKit ones, they look very good, as are the Eduard Brassin SUU-23 gun pods, I will be starting my British Phantom soon. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(ex)Sgtrafman Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 Hiya The Aires cockpit is a bit of a chore to fit but the extra detail that you get with it, in my opinion, makes it an almost essential upgrade for the Revell kit.. With a little work it actually fits very well. Sorry for stealing your thread but I just wanted to show that resin aftermarket, especially the Aires stuff can be a real asset when modelling. However I have the Aires afterburner cans and I didn’t realise that they are too small, I’ll have a look at that later when I nip outside. I look forward to seeing your results Bjorn. cheers and stay safe Iain 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 11 hours ago, (ex)Sgtrafman said: I just wanted to show that resin aftermarket, especially the Aires stuff can be a real asset when modelling. However I have the Aires afterburner cans and I didn’t realise that they are too small On another British Phantom build this was discovered, apparently they have used the diameter of the US J-79 engines. They can still be fitted with a bit of padding but on comparing the two makes the Aires one will fit inside the ResKit Spey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(ex)Sgtrafman Posted March 4, 2021 Share Posted March 4, 2021 1 hour ago, Retired Bob said: On another British Phantom build this was discovered, apparently they have used the diameter of the US J-79 engines. They can still be fitted with a bit of padding but on comparing the two makes the Aires one will fit inside the ResKit Spey. Hiya I’ve measured the diameter of the Aires Spey engines and they come to 22.77mm compared to 22.23mm for the stock Revell items, I’ve dry fitted them and they fit like a glove? I’ll post some pictures on my own thread very soon. Bjorn, once again sorry for hijacking your thread. Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 11 hours ago, (ex)Sgtrafman said: Hiya I’ve measured the diameter of the Aires Spey engines and they come to 22.77mm compared to 22.23mm for the stock Revell items, I’ve dry fitted them and they fit like a glove? I’ll post some pictures on my own thread very soon. Bjorn, once again sorry for hijacking your thread. Iain Aires actually has two sets: https://www.aires.cz/en/product/fgr-2-phantom-exhaust-nozzles/0-1465/ https://www.aires.cz/en/product/phantom-fgr-2-exhaust-nozzles/0-3799/ I guess the one with the higher product number is adjusted diametrically? "Björn, förlåt för trådkapningen" as we say in Swedish 😎 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(ex)Sgtrafman Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 2 hours ago, Christer A said: Aires actually has two sets: https://www.aires.cz/en/product/fgr-2-phantom-exhaust-nozzles/0-1465/ https://www.aires.cz/en/product/phantom-fgr-2-exhaust-nozzles/0-3799/ I guess the one with the higher product number is adjusted diametrically? "Björn, förlåt för trådkapningen" as we say in Swedish 😎 Hey Christer A That would explain it! I have the 4770 set and they are really nice and fit very well. I'll post some pictures later. Thanks buddy Iain 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 5 hours ago, Christer A said: I guess the one with the higher product number is adjusted diametrically? Just measured my "older ones" not sure of the product number as I have removed the pour stubs, packaging and put them in with the kit. Diameter is.....20.5mm. 5 hours ago, Christer A said: "Björn, förlåt för trådkapningen" as we say in Swedish 😎 "Bugger" as we say in English. 🙄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted May 12, 2021 Author Share Posted May 12, 2021 Back in business... Progress has been slow, since I have been renovating my mancave. And I also noticed that I obviously also have a job, house and even a family that wanted me to do other things than building plastic models. A strange opinion, I know... Well, well... Back to the Phantom: Thanks Iain for inspiring pictures! Yes, the Aires cockpit seems to be essential for this build. But hey, it demanded sooo much work to paint! But here it is: 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(ex)Sgtrafman Posted May 12, 2021 Share Posted May 12, 2021 very, very nice 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SallysDad Posted May 13, 2021 Share Posted May 13, 2021 Beautiful airplane. The cockpit is perfect. Was the Spey engine special as to why it was selected? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonH Posted May 13, 2021 Share Posted May 13, 2021 5 hours ago, SallysDad said: Beautiful airplane. The cockpit is perfect. Was the Spey engine special as to why it was selected? Agreed! Great pit. Was the Spey special? Hmmm... UK buying US plane for RAF. Political hot potato without UK getting some cut. So....UK engines (Spey), some avionics, seats, plus, plus. Hence, the creation of the most beautiful and best Phantom ever to see service. I may be biased. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted January 4, 2022 Author Share Posted January 4, 2022 After being stuck in no less than three group builds since early Summer (F-16, French Fancy and Nordic subjects), the Phantom is back on my workbench. However, I did not post pictures of the model when most parts were assembled (which they were in June): Picking it up last week, the Phantom got a layer of Tamiya primer, followed by a pre-shading session: Next step was to apply the camouflage. Once again, I used Mr Paint colours. The Dark Green is a mix of Mr Paints (very) different versions of the WWII British Dark Green making it as similar as possible to the post-war DG. 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 A little more work done, especially in the exhaust area: A close-up on the exhaust area... I also sprayed a coat of gloss varnish, so next up is decals! 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Oh WOW, that is beautiful!! Can I ask what method you used for the 'hot' area as it looks perfect to my eye...love it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted January 5, 2022 Share Posted January 5, 2022 Nice work Björn! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bjorn Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 (edited) On 05/01/2022 at 20:18, Anthony in NZ said: Oh WOW, that is beautiful!! Can I ask what method you used for the 'hot' area as it looks perfect to my eye...love it! Thanks! I sprayed white on those areas when pre-shading the model. And when I painted the camouflage, I sprayed - as I always do - lots of thin layers with a thin needle. After a couple of layers, I emphazised the light areas with more white. And this method was repeated with the next colour. I always use a very thin needle, even if areas are larger than they are meant for. In fact, it is so thin that I do not need to mask the areas that I was not painting, I simply mask the borders between the colours with blu-tack, no other masking is necessary since this method means almost no worry for overspray. This also reduces the risk that one of the camouflage colours will look much more weathered than the other, which has happened to me before. An unpleasant surprise when removing the masking... And it also makes it easier to paint "hot" areas like those. Next step was to apply (what felt like) thousands of decals and a wast. Now it is time for weathering: A challenge with the decals was the rather poor instructions where neither panel lines, the shape of the aircraft, nor the location of the decals was correct. Edited January 10, 2022 by Bjorn 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 It might have been a chore but it did come out better than perfect!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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