XV404 74 Squadron Pharewell to the Phantom

[DonH]

This is the 1/48 Hasegawa FGR.2 kit with Syhart decals. I can't praise the decals high enough, they were/are brilliant. Looking at this in my cabinet, I can't stop grinning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bertie McBoatface]

It's certainly eye-catching! Nice work.

 

I wondered about the black paint over the titanium aft end until I realised that this was one of those non-flying special paint jobs. Paint it, photograph it and then scrap it!

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/183013265@N08/49172471968/

 

[SAT69]

Excellent build! Certainly gets your attention.

[DonH]

2 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

It's certainly eye-catching! Nice work.

 

I wondered about the black paint over the titanium aft end until I realised that this was one of those non-flying special paint jobs. Paint it, photograph it and then scrap it!

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/183013265@N08/49172471968/

 

Yes, correct. It never flew, which is sad,

1 hour ago, SAT69 said:

Excellent build! Certainly gets your attention.

Thanks! I enjoyed it a lot.

[Dr. Quack]

The.

Most.

Awesome.

Tiger.

Scheme.

EVER!

 

And so beautifully executed. 

When I see stuff of this quality I usually have to climb back into my box and whimper for a couple of days!

 

Q

[Maginot]

I'd be grinning, too. What an eye catcher.

[DonH]

54 minutes ago, Dr. Quack said:

The.

Most.

Awesome.

Tiger.

Scheme.

EVER!

 

And so beautifully executed. 

When I see stuff of this quality I usually have to climb back into my box and whimper for a couple of days!

 

Q

I totally agree! When I saw that Syhart did the decals, I jumped at it.

 

The best part is, it's a relatively easy paint job, the decals do most of the hard work.

54 minutes ago, Maginot said:

I'd be grinning, too. What an eye catcher.

Thanks, I get to look at it all day tomorrow as I am working from home 

[JohnT]

Nice.  Now I'd never seen or heard of that one before.  Reminds me of the scheme they put on the Jaguar and also on some Tiger Meet F-104's.

 

Please don't tell me they just scrapped it?  If only they'd asked I've room in the back garden for it.  Might even put it under cover to keep it in good nick - Oh well................

[cngaero]

That's absolutely stunning. You've done a superb job with this one. 

I've got Syhart 1/72 scale set waiting in the wings. If mine turns out half as good as yours, I'll be a happy bunny. 

Thank you for sharing it here. 

[DonH]

10 hours ago, JohnT said:

Nice.  Now I'd never seen or heard of that one before.  Reminds me of the scheme they put on the Jaguar and also on some Tiger Meet F-104's.

 

Please don't tell me they just scrapped it?  If only they'd asked I've room in the back garden for it.  Might even put it under cover to keep it in good nick - Oh well................

Sorry John, they scrapped it. I think there would be a long queue of people who want to look after it.

 

I have a Fiat G.91 in tiger stripes also. They certainly make very striking schemes and a nice contrast to grey on grey.

[DonH]

7 hours ago, cngaero said:

That's absolutely stunning. You've done a superb job with this one. 

I've got Syhart 1/72 scale set waiting in the wings. If mine turns out half as good as yours, I'll be a happy bunny. 

Thank you for sharing it here. 

Thanks!

 

You can't go wrong with the Syhart decals. Just be careful with the paint mix. I ignored the Syhart recommendations and mixed mine by eye.

[cngaero]

21 hours ago, DonH said:

Just be careful with the paint mix.

Thank you, that's sound advice. I've already got the two shades of Tamiya yellow that they recommend, so it'll be very careful measuring and mixing.

I've got a feeling that being partially colour blind won't help! 😁 

Edited August 18, 2021 by cngaero

[Giampiero Piva]

Phantastic Phantom !

[DonH]

3 hours ago, cngaero said:

Thank you, that's sound advice. I've already got the two shades of Tamiya yellow that they recommend, so it'll be very careful measuring and mixing.

I've got a feeling that being partially colour won't help! 😁 

I used a 1:1 mix of Tamiya XF-59 (Desert Yellow) and X-6 (Orange) - I think. 

[F-32]

I've got these decals in the stash, really looking forward to building it, hope mine turns out as well as yours!

[DonH]

5 minutes ago, F-32 said:

I've got these decals in the stash, really looking forward to building it, hope mine turns out as well as yours!

One thing I suggest doing differently: I don't see any need to paint orange on the underside of the wings - the instructions show the decals wrapping round the leading edges and showing some orange underneath. In practice, that is not the case. There is some orange required on the lower part of the intake ducts but not under the wings.

[petetasker]

Eye catching and very well done. I’d be pleased with that. Have to confess when they unveiled the real thing I was a little underwhelmed. Probably more down to me being a little sad knowing the Phantoms days in British military service were all but over. Nice model.

[DonH]

Pete, thanks and I share your sadness. I spent many a happy hour watching 56 and 74 flying around Wattisham back in the day. 

[billn53]

That’s a very cool scheme, and you executed it beautifully. 

[Everlong]

On 17/08/2021 at 13:24, DonH said:

One thing I suggest doing differently: I don't see any need to paint orange on the underside of the wings - the instructions show the decals wrapping round the leading edges and showing some orange underneath. In practice, that is not the case. There is some orange required on the lower part of the intake ducts but not under the wings.

I can 100% confirm that the orange colour wraps around and extends beneath the wings - the decal sheet instructions are accurate.  If you want the model to be accurate then you need some orange under the leading edges.  How do I know?  I have a 2 foot section of the port leading edge hanging in my man cave :D 

[DonH]

9 hours ago, Everlong said:

I can 100% confirm that the orange colour wraps around and extends beneath the wings - the decal sheet instructions are accurate.  If you want the model to be accurate then you need some orange under the leading edges.  How do I know?  I have a 2 foot section of the port leading edge hanging in my man cave

You lucky thing, I am jealous!
I agree that the instructions are accurate but the decals, as they slide off the sheet do not support this. At least when I did it!

[Everlong]

On 26/02/2022 at 02:11, DonH said:

You lucky thing, I am jealous!
I agree that the instructions are accurate but the decals, as they slide off the sheet do not support this. At least when I did it!

 

Yes - it is a fantastic piece to own.  XV404 was the first aircraft that I requested base access to photograph way back in 1992 or 1993.  I was invited to Wattisham to take pictures of her and that inspired me to take my aviation photography seriously.  This led to many images being published in various books and magazines over the years and ultimately travelling far and wide to photograph cool jets.  It also got me media passes for shows, I got to fly with the USAF on refuelling missions and have visited several Nuclear Carriers  So when I was recently offered a chance to own a piece of XV404, the jet that started it all for me, I jumped at the chance.  I also have panel 9L from XV570 which has the 111 Sqn lightning bolt on it.  The paint on the kick step is worn right down to the bare metal in places.  You can see every colour of paint she wore right back to when she served with the Royal Navy on Ark Royal as 014 of 892 NAS.  

 

The last Phantom relic I own is a panel 5L from XV496 of 56 Sqn which has the red and white checks on it along with a very small part of the phoenix emblem.

Picture below shows the underside of the wings of XV404 with the colour wrapping around.

 

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