Dr. Quack Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Sooooooooo Not heard much from Quack for a bit Wonder what he's been up to Oh Lordy! It looks like he's been mashing a perfectly good Kinetic 1/48 Alpha Jet........poor thing...... Hope he's got a VERY good explanation for this...... Errrr, well, it's like this, y'see .......... I'd finished the 74 Sqn Phantom FGR.2 which I was quite pleased with - then looked around for summat else t'build. I've got a Revell 1/48 Tornado GR.4 which I want to finish as a Granby GR.1, but frankly it scares me a bit and it's likely to be a bit of a long slog (the way I do things!) I'd looked around for another (quicker) 1/48 Brit jet of the cold war era but nothing really took my fancy - unable to find an Airfix 1/48 Lightning F.6 or Canberra PR.9, which were on my "ooooh-I-do-fancy-one-of-those" list - couldn't even track down a Kinetic Sea Harrier. Eventually I decided to have a go at the Kinetic 1/48 Alpha Jet - and stick RAF roundels on it - just for a giggle. Chose this boxing as it even comes with QinetiQ markings.......... boxtop by Niall Robertson, on Flickr And look! It shows an under-fuselage gun pod thingy that fires little jet or rocket propelled bullets!!!! boxtop (2) by Niall Robertson, on Flickr I even thought I might have a bit of fun with a WIP thread.......... Started on the cockpit - IPs are quite well detailed but rather softly moulded, and I totally @rsed the painting. Not to worry thinks Quack, I'll drill out the instruments and fill the nice circular voids with paint, how neat! After burning out my dremel-oid drill (it was just tired, old and useless - like Quack) I tried the old pin vice. Unfortunately the panel ended up with some rather odd perforations - reasonably IP-like, but nothing remotely resembling an Alpha Jet IP! OK - bash on, but NO WIP, and Cockpit closed for once. Fabric cover on the cockpit coaming was done with a layer of tissue stuck down and wrinkled with PVA, then painted tan. So far so Good-ish. Fit was basically ok, but wait.....why are those huge deep panels lines so prominent? The ground crew could drop a sandwich in there, and lose it forever, unless they salvage a toastie at the end of the sortie. Losing some interest now - worse when realising that the Destructions are rather vague.........sometimes........often............a bit.........maybe........yeah, er.............better look at more pictures of the real thing.......again.......and again........ Losing even more interest now - just wanting to get on with it and switch to something I'm really captivated by - maybe I should've started the Tornado after all??? Oh look - there are predrilled holes under the wings that need filled since the SpaghettiQ aircraft were always too shy to allow themselves to be seen with underwing tanks or ordnance - no biggie - just wedge a bit of stretched sprue in there then shave it off and sand it down. Painting next! Yummy! Black! My Favourite! Actually - after a past disaster with an RAF Black Hawk ( I mean a Hawk ............ that's black!) I was reasonably happy with the finish with MRP paint on this. Decals went on nicely - Cartograph beauties kindly provided in the Kinetic box. A few overcoats with W&N Galeria Gloss to seal in the decals. Clever Quack ( ................. ) then decides to represent the anti glare panel on the nose with a neat patch of matt varnish-over-black. Masked and hand painted with thinned Vallejo matt) - truly horrible lines when the masking came off - really dreadful raised ridges that needed completely re-sanded, repainted, and re-glossed - then masked off again and sprayed with a little Alclad II Matt - Finally! a good finish! Except when the masking tape came off this time so did a chunk of the QinetiQ Q!!!!!! Dammit....they....were....sealed.....! Resisting the urge to dig a very deep hole in the garden - I (sort of) managed a decal repair using part of a Belgian roundel ........ not great, but ok from 6 foot viewing distance, without my glasses. Ever had one of those draining builds which seem ok initially but then you realise you're not as interested as you thought, and you just plod on making more and more silly errors as your interest wanes ever further?????? Anyway. It got finished! And it looks like this................ 20210404_095444 by Niall Robertson, on Flickr 20210404_095355 by Niall Robertson, on Flickr 20210404_095336 by Niall Robertson, on Flickr 20210404_095326 by Niall Robertson, on Flickr 20210404_095153 by Niall Robertson, on Flickr 20210404_095116 by Niall Robertson, on Flickr 20210404_095054 by Niall Robertson, on Flickr 20210404_095039 by Niall Robertson, on Flickr 20210404_095021 by Niall Robertson, on Flickr Now, anybody got any suggestions for the next build - at the moment it looks like the Tornado with Granby relish. Stay safe y'all. Keep calm and mangle plastic! Q 53 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmerboy Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Might l see this flying in and out of Boscombe Down in the near future? Nice job and great story! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Quack Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 Thanks mate. Unfortunately they are no longer flying in QinetiQ private militia colours - I think they got sold on to Top Aces in Canada a couple of years ago. Q Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 looks great and actually a bit sinister in black! I am greatful that Kinetic did this model , although it is one of their earlier one! but this way you CAN build a decently looking Alpha Jet! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Quack Posted April 5, 2021 Author Share Posted April 5, 2021 57 minutes ago, exdraken said: looks great and actually a bit sinister in black! I am greatful that Kinetic did this mode, although it is one of their earlier one! but this way you CAN build a decently looking Alpha Jet! Thanks. Good kit to be honest, just didn't hold my attention the way I thought it would. Still, it's not in the bin which is a good outcome here at Quack Towers. Q Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 Fantastic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted April 5, 2021 Share Posted April 5, 2021 I confess to not being a big fan of the Alpha Jet but your model is definitely excellent. Congratulations on a very successful completion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feifeitim Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 I think this looks fab! The perseverance paid off and you have a different AJ in the cabinet. Having seen how well yours turned out, I’m tempted to do one myself! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AliGauld Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 Despite the trials and tribulations you've produced another stunning kit. Looks gorgeous from here and I'm glad you posted it. Cheers, Alistair 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcNewitt Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 Always loved the QinetiQ Alphas, both in the camo and in black. Shame they were sold off. Brilliant build and you would never know you had replaced a piece of the Q, honestly well done! Marc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Quack Posted April 6, 2021 Author Share Posted April 6, 2021 20 hours ago, SAT69 said: I confess to not being a big fan of the Alpha Jet but your model is definitely excellent. Congratulations on a very successful completion. Thanks for the kind comment. Appreciated. 15 hours ago, feifeitim said: I think this looks fab! The perseverance paid off and you have a different AJ in the cabinet. Having seen how well yours turned out, I’m tempted to do one myself! Thanks - it's a fairly quick build. For most modeller. Probably. Let us see it if you succumb to your temptation. 5 hours ago, AliGauld said: Despite the trials and tribulations you've produced another stunning kit. Looks gorgeous from here and I'm glad you posted it. Thanks Ali. Appreciate your kind comments, as always. 3 hours ago, MarcNewitt said: Brilliant build and you would never know you had replaced a piece of the Q, honestly well done! Thanks, Marc. You may have noticed a lack of close-up shots!! Thanks for the Likes and comments, folks. Q 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever219 Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 @Dr. Quack that’s a loverly model you’ve turned out there, I’d love to have it on my display shelf, but I suppose I’m going to have to go out and buy my own. Is there a “from the box” option for one of the QinetiQ jets n camouflage? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Quack Posted April 6, 2021 Author Share Posted April 6, 2021 Thanks for the generous comment @stever219. The box contains markings and stencils for the black jet with white wingtips, as here.......I'd really need to research whether the markings would be appropriate for the camo era - though I vaguely remember that they had low vis roundels etc. Q Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever219 Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 My pleasure, you’ve got a really eye-catching model there, disasters notwithstanding. Somewhere I have a 1/72th Airfix Alpha Jet which came with a camouflage/lo-vis option but I thought no 1/48th better suits smaller jets like this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted April 6, 2021 Share Posted April 6, 2021 On 4/6/2021 at 4:10 AM, Dr. Quack said: It shows an under-fuselage gun pod thingy that fires little jet or rocket propelled bullets!!!! They be tracer bullets I reckon. You've made a really nice job on this in its eye catching scheme. 👍 Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 Very nice work, looks great in that scheme 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Quack Posted April 7, 2021 Author Share Posted April 7, 2021 15 hours ago, stevehnz said: They be tracer bullets I reckon. Yup........forgive my so-called sense of humour - sometimes it embarrasses even me. 35 minutes ago, F-32 said: Very nice work, looks great in that scheme Thanks. I must admit the scheme was one of the reasons I built it. Q 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 21 minutes ago, Dr. Quack said: Yup........forgive my so-called sense of humour - sometimes it embarrasses even me. I'll forgive your sense of humour if you'll forgive me for not spotting it & being so damn literal. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiotRolo Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 Your representation really captures the look of these jets, and the colour scheme looks great 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar side Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 That is very nice. I seriously thought about doing the grey green Qinetiq one with RAF roundels, but the black looks very cool. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Neat build and a great looking scheme. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Very nice, I’m glad I’m not the only one who found the instructions a little vague. You beat me to it in the RFI. I still have a final coat of Kleer to apply, most of my painting lately has been of new fence panels and posts with linseed oil! John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amos brierley Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 Can’t help you with your next choice of kit, but I’m thinking it won’t be all black and white. 😃 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 Beautiful! The black finish and "corporate" lettering really look the business! Well done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Quack Posted April 9, 2021 Author Share Posted April 9, 2021 16 hours ago, amos brierley said: Can’t help you with your next choice of kit, but I’m thinking it won’t be all black and white. 😃 Thanks - I've probably got enough black stuff for now. May need to bite the bullet and try mangling the Revell Tornado........... 😬 7 hours ago, kapam said: Beautiful! The black finish and "corporate" lettering really look the business! Well done! Thanks. Now, thanks to word-association, I've got this irresistible urge to convert it into some weird, mad, sinister business jet!!! Q Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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