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The T’riffic Tale has Ended.


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2 hours ago, coneheadff said:

Love it!!! Especially the hydraulic stains 

 

Thank you. There were always hydraulic leaks. I believe the F-4 had over two dozen separate hyd sub-systems, with thousands of pipes and unions. The fluid was nasty stuff too. One time in Cyprus a flight line mechanic needed to drain a little fluid from something and being too lazy to fetch a proper container, used his empty cola can, which he then left unguarded. It's hot in Cyprus and his mate pinched a swig of the 'cola'. He only swallowed a mouthful and was taken to the hospital very quickly but he still nearly died. 

 

Only nearly though, which allowed the other guy to claim "Well, he shouldn't have pinched my cola."

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Day 10, probably.

 

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Remember this? All that darker green is paint used to touch up the temporary paint camouflage when it peeled off. The pattern seems to be around panel lines and leading edges where I suppose the 'latex based' paint, which sounds like Vallejo to me, peeled off in the slipstream. There are some massive areas repainted so the peeling must have been severe. The camo was applied in theatre over gloss gull grey, which even after a good wash was probably still a bit oily, so what were they expecting?

 

 

 

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It was painful replicating the effect on the little Hasegawa. I added a bit of Gull Grey peeling as I'm sure it was a continuing problem.

 

 

 

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And after matt coating with Humbrol Clear. What a mess! :shocked:

 

Humbrol clear is amazing btw. It's cheap, ready to spray, dries fast and hard. I think it's probably Kleer but as it comes in gloss, satin and matt, I will continue to buy the stuff. 

 

So all that's left is that 'salt staining' (tonight) and final assembly (in the morning).

 

 

 

Edit: Here's that staining.

 

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Oil paint is marvellous!

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  • Bertie McBoatface changed the title to The T’riffic Tale of the Two ‘Tooms – Hasegawa Now Getting Really Dull.
55 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

 

Thank you. There were always hydraulic leaks. I believe the F-4 had over two dozen separate hyd sub-systems, with thousands of pipes and unions. The fluid was nasty stuff too. One time in Cyprus a flight line mechanic needed to drain a little fluid from something and being too lazy to fetch a proper container, used his empty cola can, which he then left unguarded. It's hot in Cyprus and his mate pinched a swig of the 'cola'. He only swallowed a mouthful and was taken to the hospital very quickly but he still nearly died. 

 

Only nearly though, which allowed the other guy to claim "Well, he shouldn't have pinched my cola."

Oh boy...I would never drink out of something I find in the hangar or on-board 🤦🏻‍♂️

One of our A320 had a clocked drain in the forward galley and instead of walking to the lav...which is 2 meters away...the wonderful flight attendant filled all the remaining coffee, tea... into a coke bottle and put it back into the trolley!!!!!!!

The next FA went to serve the guests...and guess what happened 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

 

Still not comparable to the poor guy in Malta😕

Everything around an aircraft is toxic.

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1 hour ago, coneheadff said:

Everything around an aircraft is toxic.

 

or radioactive, hot, cold, heavy, explosive, electrified, powerful, sharp, suffocating, slippery, high up, infectious, insanitary, caustic, acidic. It's a wonder any of us got out alive!

 

I think I figured out what the white stuff on the Phantom is. I noticed when applying my representation that it's only on the hot bits, the engine and tail end. I think it's sea salt that's been baked into the matt, and therefore porous surface of the paint. I've painted it on and blued the exhaust area, more or less satisfactorily. I'll put the wheels and tanks on now and then we'll have a big reveal in the morning (provided nothing falls off).

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22 minutes ago, DaveJL said:

Nice job on the weathering!

 

Thank you very much. It's my favourite part of the whole process.

 

 

Tanks and wheels are now on so apart from glue setting overnight, I've finished in ten days - four days under planned time. Yay!

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  • Bertie McBoatface changed the title to The T’riffic Tale of the Two ‘Tooms – Hasegawa Now FINISHED!

I rose early today (darned dog! I knew she shouldn’t have eaten those chips) and flipped the Phantom onto its wheels. Only one tank fell off, which I will consider a victory.

 

Pictures posted in the gallery. 

 

With luck and a following wind, my Italeri (Esci) F-4J in 1/48 should arrive in the post today.
 

 

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The Italeri kit arrived today. As we know, it's a re-pop of the Esci kit of 1980 so it's not really fair to judge it against the Tamiya or other modern mouldings. I'm therefore making the appropriate allowances. That said, I'm really pleased with it! After ten days of squinting at 1/72 parts lost in my big fingers, this one is huge and easy to handle.

 

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Of course there's flash around every part. This is the worst example I could find and by old school standards, it's not so bad. I've had kits with a web of flash from sprue to sprue. When new the moulds were probably tighter - I wonder how many timed they have cycled in over 40 years.  Blown up for examination like this you see the tooling marks left by the bloke with a file who actually carved it. It's like Van Gogh's brushstrokes, a part of the charm of an old kit.

 

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Not all of the kit is old. The Transfers, by Cartograph are state of the art, spoiled only by poor spelling. "DONOT ROLTUMBLE ORBREF"? BREF? I think that's 'DROP', guys! LOL, I'm only joking, that's a stencil for a sidewinder so it's barely visible to the naked eye. 

 

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Transfers for four versions. Italeri are brilliant on transfers, I always want to buy three more kits to use the markings up. 

 

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I will be using the 74 Sqn markings. (Does that tiger look frightened of the camera?)

 

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The patternmakers seem to have worked hard to give us thin trailing edges. This would have worked ok, I think, with ESCI plastic which was green, hard and brittle. The Italeri polystyrene is much softer and consequently, I have some warpage to deal with. Fortunately the upper wings are thicker and straighter so thay might pull the lower wingtips into line without too much trouble. (If not I'll just pass it off as an Airfix kit. 😱)

 

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I think someone with a big rough illegitimate file tried to improve the moulds at some time, possibly because of the warping issue. That made a bit of a mess but perhaps they did prevent the warp being worse, who can say? It will all clean up ok.

 

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Er.... Resin replacements are available.

 

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U/C bays are clunky and sparse by our standards but in 1980, any detail was welcome. I can improve on this fairly easily, I think.

 

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Some USAF parts are included. That fin cap might wind up on my Tamiya kit in a few months. Oh the irony of that!

 

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The cockpit is in need of some assistance.

 

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Though it's not all bad. I could make a reasonable job of painting those details. I won't though as I'll be using some aftermarket. This sort of thing was what created the aftermarket back in the day.

 

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I'm going to try to work with these cans. Just to see if it's possible. If not, there's always a resin replacement.

 

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The intake area can be made better. I like that gap aft of the moveable ramp, which is a little wide but should be there. Aft of that, it just goes to nothing so there's something else to do.

 

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Its a short intake ending in a blank wall so I'll do the fake shadow thing which I tried on the Hasegawa, once I've filled those ejector marks. I wouldn't want to step back and accidentally fall into one of them.

 

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There's sinkage all over the thing, which is one reason to do a RAF F-4J. (Matt finish, no reflections.)

 

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In some places, the panel lines have worn away after long mould use. I'm not looking forward to rescribing that curve!

 

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And finally, the canopy is a bit worn too. It ripples and the framing has gone in places. I'll just paint thickly. I'm planning an open cockpit so the fit won't be a problem.

 

So there I have it. Certainly no Tamiya, but for me and in the context of a GB where there is some (self-imposed) need to be doing something both interesting and fast, this is far better. To be honest, I am a little intimidated by my Tamiya F-4B. Again this is self-imposed, but its such a 'perfect' kit that I'm feeling I have to make it 'perfectly'. 

 

Nordic II GB starts on Saturday, I wonder if I can be finished by then?

 

 

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  • Bertie McBoatface changed the title to The T’riffic Tale of the Second ‘Toom – Fit the First - The Landing

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I forgot to say how much I like the Hasegawa F-4G. My objective was to build the Hasegawa in less than 14 days, closed canopy, three external tanks, single colour camouflage, minimal weathering (undersides and back end). It was an experiment to break my Phantom 'Jinx' and get me back into the tiny, tiny world of 1/72. I was to work at 70% capacity, taking whatever shortcuts I could. I did all of those things and more, while I also obeyed the prime directive which was to have fun.

 

Certainly, sometimes I was frustrated and fed up with it but never for long enough to walk away. That's mostly because of writing this blog and performing for an audience. The show must go on, right? I struggled with the smaller scale. Everything was too damned fiddly.

 

In quarter scale, some things are fiddly but many things fit my big fingers properly. I have to say that the result of my struggle with fiddliness was a very cute little model of which I'm rather proud. I did it! It's earned a place in the display cabinet. Painting it was easy and fast. Weathering was a little strange due to the size but I think I got used to that fairly quickly and I'll be more comfy next time I go to Planet 72. And I will be returning.

 

I have a B-17 in the smaller scale for a possible GB next year (though I'll build it whether or not the GB is a runner). When I do, I just won't worry about the impossible, for me, insides. I might even blackout the windows, the better to concentrate on the painting. My 'Goldilocks scale' for aircraft will remain 1/48 because the detailing of the build and the painting each take about half the time, which suits me. I'll keep 72 for aircraft when I'm more interested in the outside, and possibly, possibly go 32 or 24 for things where the details are more important to me than the painting (as in my 1/35 armour projects, I suppose). 

 

Thank you Hasegawa Phantom for breaking me out of my old habits a little. Thank you all who commented or reacted to the posts, you kept me going.

 

Now onto the BIG ONE!

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y4mV0zGJp_-ccyrzIaViWCo0e7gUuZKiKmfcec5j

 

One piece radome. Brilliant, no awkward seams. No little screwcap on the end either.

 

 

 

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We have the technology!

 

 

 

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A small brass tube and a hammer did the job in an instant.

 

 

 

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I also roughed up the surface of the radome a little bit. Fibre-glass is definitely more textured than alloy.

 

 

 

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Kit cans clunky! Something must be done.

 

 

 

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I undercut the petals of the exhaust nozzle, sanded off a bit of the thick lip and then re-cut those last few mm so that the ens was a little bit 'engineered' in appearance.

 

 

 

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Then I did it again but more quickly this time. The equatorial ring joint thing was a doddle. I helt the tool steady and rotated the nozzles against it. With careful painting, they will be ok. This is one kind of moddelling that I enjoy, compensating for the limitations of the moulder's art. It's ironic that in our hobby, we assemble a kit of parts into a single lump, but spend so much time and effort making each component part look like it was made from lots of smaller pieces. 

 

 

 

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Turbine and flame holder. Hmmmm? Good enough. The hole is deep, the shadows dark. 

 

 

 

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The fit is sloppy though and I don't like that. So...

 

 

 

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I cut a hole in the back so I can centre the turbine in the exhaust when the time comes. This will also make spraying the green interior easier as the spray will have an exit. I may even enlarge that hole for this reason.

 

 

 

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I'm fettling the pieces in more or less random order as I find them on the sprues. Turning to the fuselage, I don't like those probes. Way too thick. So they will be replaced with something metal. Otherwise I'll just break them off with natural clumsiness anyway.

 

 

 

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That's also too small to last but I'll do my best to keep it. Anyone care to place a bet?

 

 

 

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The titanium shingles are so important to the Phantom look. So I'm now working on this end for a day or two.

 

 

 

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The blue line is the cross section of the engraved lines as supplied. I will deepen them by half a mm or so, the red line, sloping the cut forwards. Finally I'll scrape off the plastic aft of these lines to give a stepped effect. Finally finally, I'll put some big round rivets in with a sharpened tube of some kind. 

 

Then finally finally finally I'll do something with those cooling air exhaust ducts, but I don't know what yet.

 

 

 

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No reason to post this picture except that I like it. I think the artist really captured the wet deck and the sky after the storm.

 

Well, I'd hang it on the wall If it was bigger. (I have a very small wall. Boom-boom!)

 

G'night all.

 

 

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y4mycljv7-RzvY_g7k1WhmgNiDAOVCFBtB4_G-7b

 

I don't know if that's an improvement! :rofl: I claim it as 'unfinished'. It occurred to me that I should wait until the fuselage is closed to start hacking at the segments aft of the arrester hook in order that they meet in the middle.

 

 

 

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At the other end of the fuselage I found this. It pre-dates the Hasegawa kits with their modular noses and yet we still have a joint to clean up. 😱

 

So, onto the wings. I did some rescribing, and generally tidying them up ready for assembly.

 

 

 

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Here I'm wrestling with the warped wingtips. Not entirely successfully either. They certainly moulded a thin trailing edge though. 

 

 

 

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To build this kit does require a little work but in some areas, I think it's fab. Just look at the wing/fuselage joint. It's perfect.

 

Today was Busy Wednesday in my 'real world' so that's all I've managed today. :shrug:

 

 

 

 

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The more I handle these parts, the more certain I become that I've built, ot tried to build, this kit before. Sometime in the last 40 years, it had crossed my bench on its way, I believe, to the bin. This is one of my jinxed Phantoms that has haunted me ever since. 

 

I have no choice but to complete it this time around! :drunk:

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When the clamps came off the wings they were more or less ok. There's still some warping but it's an old kit. I'm an old bloke and I'm a little asymmetrical too.

 

 

 

y4mu-lYtvVx9tdmwcTLMNzr5dTZayhYSndHBgK52

 

The main u/c bay looked a bit sparse so I added some pipes and nurnies. The real things are full of interesting looking bits and pieces and life is too short for me to try to reproduce more than a suggestion of the F-4's complexity. 'Model' means, 'a simplification' as well as a miniaturisation.

 

 

 

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I recut the panel lines on the stabilators, cutting the slot line particularly deep. The slots on the top surface are a little soft but I couldnt really see a way to tidy them up without making a mess. That big scriber is a very useful tool. It doesn't wander much and the blades are a doddle to sharpen on a piece of wet and dry.

 

 

 

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When I opened the box and saw the big tabs and slots for attaching tanks etc, I was delighted because the Hasegawa kit attachments had been so delicate. Unfortunately, they may be big but they aren't tight. the stabilators flap through about 20 degrees! I increased the contact area with some square section tubing. It's still going to be difficult to get the correct angle though.

 

 

 

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Wanting to get on with things while waiting for my alleged Quinta detail set to arrive, I assembled the fuselage aft of the cockpit, leaving the nose section floppy enough to take the cockpit from below later.

 

 

 

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The fit of the major parts was not bad, considering. I used Xylene, a strong cement, to give me a good weld and melt all the imperfections out of the spine joint. I wonder if it would work on me?

 

 

 

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The wing/fuselage joint sprang open a tad overnight. Silly me, I was overconfident and didn't leave it clamped. Filer to the rescue. In little gaps like this I use the water soluble acrylic fillers.

 

 

 

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The spine after clean up. No filler needed when you melt a quarter inch of plastic!

 

 

 

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The fit of the intakes is ... a challenge? This is the worst part of the Phantom for manufacturers to model, always. I'm looking forward to finding out how it's been done on the Tamiya kit.

 

 

 

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There's a tiny wee gap underneath. I nearly lost the dog in there. Plasticard to the rescue I think. I want to sort out the fit before fitting the intakes so that I can repeat my tromp d'oleil trick from the 1/72 model. If I have to mess about with strong glues and belt sanders during the assembly, I fear I'll mess it all up.

 

 

 

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Well on the way to being smooth and seamless!

 

This model is like my first number 2 uniform, it fits where it touches, as the 'tailors' said. Fortunately there's plenty of thickness of plastic for me to hack away at. I doubt that this will be a competition standard production but I am having a lot of fun, and that was the prime directive. And it WILL be finished!

 

 

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  • Bertie McBoatface changed the title to The T’riffic Tale of the Second ‘Toom – Fit the Second - The Glueing

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With the makings of a ready-made cockpit (for an F-4B) on hand, I switched my attention to the front end (of my F-4J). There's not a lot of anything provided in my kit so I had to fill p the vast empty spaces. This one is even worse than the Hasegawa for being empty, in 1/48 I'm just about able to find things to fill it. I'm referring to references but not attempting to replicate them exactly, as is my way. I made the RIO's right side bulkhead with the folding armrest and those single and double round thingies which populate it. The J's radar control stick is in between the RIO's legs. It doesn't look much like this but from the top it will be ok. I'm depending on the 3D decals to do the rest of the job - after painting of course.

 

 

 

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Next step was to make an imaginary bulkhead behind the pilot. I need something to stick my greebles to. There's a lot of things behind there, from radio gear to pipes, lots of wires, a map case etc etc etc. All behind the seat and almost out of sight. Almost.

 

 

 

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The black thing is the mapcase. The rest is, well, the rest!

 

 

 

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Almost disappeared. Almost. When it's painted and within the fuselage it will become a mass of half-glimpsed tech. I hope so anyway.

 

 

 

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Similar deeds were done on the sidewalls. The pilot's side is throttles and canopy related stuff, the back-seater's is a computer 'black box' of some kind.

 

 

I might get some paint on tonight. I'll prime in really dark grey and then spray cockpit grey from above leaving dark shadows under and behind the seats, sills etc. Then tomorrow I'll play with these new decals. By the next update I hope to be able to show you a reasonable cockpit.

 

 

 

One last thing. Since I started this kit last weekend, I've almost filled a page and I can't help noticing that interest seems to be falling off. Since early Monday morning, when there was a bit of a conversation about the Hasegawa kit, there's been only one reply posted, on Thursday and that was about the Hasegawa kit too. Have I offended everyone? That seems unlikely but if I have I'd like to know so that I can do something about it. Maybe it's because you are all now busy on your own Phantoms and people from outside the GB tend not to post here? Do all GBs go like this? Please feel free to give me some feedback (by PM if you'd rather). Thanks phellers!

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On 9/2/2021 at 10:18 PM, Dansk said:

The first one ended great. Love the weathering.

 

Here I am worrying about no-one chatting to me and I noticed that I'd completely ignored your compliments about the other one. Please excuse my rudeness.

 

Thank you Dansk. I'm glad you liked it.

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I am finding your Italeri build of much interest and very impressed with the new decal sheet. Have just taken a quick look at your photos and compared them with the 2005 boxing and the same issues are clearly visible there, the old ESCI mould must have taken quite a beating over the years! Am very interested in how you add detail to otherwise sparse cockpits and wheel wells, keep the photos coming 👍

 

Michael

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6 hours ago, Ghostbase said:

I am finding your Italeri build of much interest and very impressed with the new decal sheet. Have just taken a quick look at your photos and compared them with the 2005 boxing and the same issues are clearly visible there, the old ESCI mould must have taken quite a beating over the years! Am very interested in how you add detail to otherwise sparse cockpits and wheel wells, keep the photos coming 👍

 

Michael

Thanks Michael. 
 

I’m getting a kick out of the old kit, despite the little challenges. It’s never going to be a perfect model but that’s not as important as the enjoyment of the process. 
 

I’m finding it interesting how similar the Hasegawa design is to the ESCI, of ten years earlier. The parts breakdown is close enough that my recent build of the younger kit is helping a lot with this one. It’s not a copy, just the same logic applied to the same real world shapes. 

 

I think I found a simple solution to the intake fit problem last night. I’m not sure until it’s all glued together but if it works I’ll post photos later. 
 

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On 04/09/2021 at 11:48, Bertie Psmith said:

STOP PRESS: for @Retired Bob, and others who may be waiting in UK,  my Quinta 3D Decals arrived today. 

Still not received my sets of 3D decals yet and neither has Hannants, I'm interested in when they get them in stock as I need to buy some more.  :whistle:

As for the chat being quiet now the GB is on, I have noticed that it happens as people must stay in their man-cave or whatever and spend less time on Brimodeller, for me this is the first time back on the site since Friday morning.  I have ordered some more weapons to hang onto my Phantoms but until I get my cockpit decals I'm just faffing around with the intakes and exhaust cans on my Tamiya builds, If those Quinta decals do not arrive soon I'll be posting pictures of the dog to try and get some interest in my threads.

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16 minutes ago, Retired Bob said:

I have noticed that it happens as people must stay in their man-cave or whatever and spend less time on Brimodeller, for me this is the first time back on the site since Friday morning. 

 

Since I made my 'where is everyone' post, I've realised that I've been posting less too! D'oh! We posted loads when we were waiting, because there was nothing else happening. I took that to be normal for GBs. As you say, we are now all busy happy modellers with little time or energy to spare. Makes sense. Remember I'm a GB virgin, and make due allowances.

 

A regular WIP, I assume, attracts an audience who aren't necessarily working against the calendar themselves, so the interest level is steadier.

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  • Bertie McBoatface changed the title to The T’riffic Tale of the Second ‘Toom – Fit the Third - The Priming
17 minutes ago, Bertie Psmith said:

A regular WIP, I assume, attracts an audience who aren't necessarily working against the calendar themselves, so the interest level is steadier.

I just looked at your thread on the GB page, it has 2.1k views and 97 replies so that's pretty good.  Sometimes you get interest and replies and sometimes you don't.  I thought I was asking some good questions in the Vulcan builds but didn't get much response, life can be a female dog at times. :hmmm:

Edited by Retired Bob
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I have been ten minutes away from priming since ten o'clock this morning.

 

"I'll just get that little bit of putty out of that panel line and then I'll be away. Oh, and I can do the tail as well if I scrape out the shingles. Oh, and I'd better mount all the little bits on cocktail sticks. Oh, and I can do the tank bits (another project entirely) and save an airbrush cleaning. Oh, and I have to glue the other side of the intakes together. Oh, now I can check the fit of the intakes one last time. And then adjust it, of course. Oh, is it time for your walk, little dog? And then lunch. And then I had to nap. and then another walk and I'll be ready to go. On.... and.... on.... and.... on....!

 

 

 

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It turned out that this bulkhead thing was the reason for the disastrous fit of the intakes.

 

 

 

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If you remove them the intake fits like a snail in a shell. Well, more or less. 

 

 

 

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"If I drill a couple of holes in here, I'll be able to fit a wire face blind handle which will be better than the resin one." So why didn't I bother with the seat pan handle? D'oh!

 

 

 

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All ready for painting.

 

Handy hint, your block of packing foam is much more stable and less inclined to scoot off the bench if you cut some slots in the lower part and insert some lead sheet, or whatever, to hold it down. 

 

 

 

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I couldn't fit my Spitfire wheel hubs until the intake was sorted because I wasn't sure of he clearances. I want this to appear twice as far away as it is, so I must use circular things that are half the size of the compressor face. 

 

 

 

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I didn't strictly have to do this drilling before today's priming but my new drills came yesterday and I wanted to check them out.     

 

'Satis'. Ready for my metal pitot (and the other thing)

 

 

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I can't believe that is still attached!

 

 

 

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Ew! What a mess. I think it's better than the token effort made by the patternmakers four decades ago, but it's not pretty enough for a medium sized picture. Yes, I do have some shame left. Lol.

 

 

 

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Not seamless but much improved. 

 

 

 

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And about bloody time. Priming happened! It looks better already. I'd hoped to get it painted grey today but I'm learning something about patience and slow perseverance here. 

 

 

 

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That looks worse under primer, I think. I'll have fun with the painting though.

 

 

 

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This was vastly improved by a thick coat of self levelling Stynylrez primer. Almost respectable!

 

 

 

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And after all that preparation, I forgot to prime the engine face! Bgrrrrrrrr!

 

 

 

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I did prime this engine though. Its from my Mk V tank WIP and I couldn't resist showing you. That's only half a dozen parts and there are dozens more to add. No need to super-detail a Meng kit, it's all there already. Thinks - How am I going to paint that?!

 

 

 

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This will be the scheme I'll be doing. An interesting combination of greys.

 

 

 

 

 

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