F-105F Wild Weasel - Da Nang, South Vietnam, May 1970 - 1/48 Revell/Monogram

[Ray_W]

9 minutes ago, modelling minion said:

colour patches on the side of the intake trunking being in different colours so are the outer flaps.

Well spotted.

 

[Ray_W]

On 6/2/2022 at 9:22 PM, Sam said:

my guess is yes, but who knows?

Sam, 

 

Just replied in your build thread with this.

 

 

Ray

[Ray_W]

Not a lot of time at the modelling bench but, at least, I have been able to squeak out a little progress.

 

I have sanded off most of the raised panel lines keeping some of the raised detail that I think is OK. 

 

 

Removed the chunky wing strengthening plates (not required for my 'F')  and thinned all the trailing edges.

 

 

Some of the recessed detail is excessive. The bomb bay doors are quite trench like.

 

 

Ditto for the flight control surfaces. So, decision made, fill and redo. 

 

 

Stretched sprue or Evergreen rod plus Tamiya Extra Thin and away we go. 

 

 

I'll keep going with this and then let it set well before sanding and we'll see how good a surface I can prepare.

 

Ray

 

 

 

 

 

[Dansk]

Well done ray, and i'm sure you'll continue the good work on those excessive recessed panels. 

i have a lot of respect for those of you that can go all in like this. its impressive.

[Ray_W]

30 minutes ago, Dansk said:

i'm sure you'll continue the good work on those excessive recessed panels

 

Thanks Paul, the sort of work I actually enjoy. Thankfully it's not a Single Type GB. I think I'll need all the time I can get out till late September to make the gallery.

 

Ray

[modelling minion]

Serious commitment on show again here Ray.

I have do doubt that this will look superb when you have done the scribing.

 

🇺🇦

[Sam]

Ray! 
You certainly don‘t like to keep yourself out of trouble, do you?   😜

 

Pretty advanced as a project, hats off!

keep goin, i will keep looking!

Sam

 

 

[Sam]

Ray, how‘s it going?

[SoftScience]

On 7/6/2022 at 4:54 AM, Sam said:

Ray, how‘s it going?

Yeah, any more progress? This was getting interesting. 

[Ray_W]

On 7/6/2022 at 6:54 PM, Sam said:

Ray, how‘s it going?

 

13 minutes ago, SoftScience said:

Yeah, any more progress? This was getting interesting. 

 

My work outside of the hobby is extremely busy at the moment. Sadly, not a lot of time at the bench. However, this weekend there is a break in the schedule. I'll be back filling and sanding and looking forward to it. Post pics Monday.

[SoftScience]

6 hours ago, Ray_W said:

 

 

My work outside of the hobby is extremely busy at the moment. 

Being a male exotic dancer is hard

[Ray_W]

Well so much for getting some modelling in over the weekend. Preparation for a meeting scheduled today and now on a flight to Rome.

[modelling minion]

1 hour ago, Ray_W said:

Well so much for getting some modelling in over the weekend. Preparation for a meeting scheduled today and now on a flight to Rome.

Sorry to hear that Ray, hopefully you will get some time to work on your Thud soon.

 

🇺🇦

[Ray_W]

5 hours ago, modelling minion said:

Sorry to hear that Ray, hopefully you will get some time to work on your Thud soon.

 

Hi Craig,

I am really keen to get into it. I have slipped back into pre-covid business as usual in terms of work load. A double edged sword. Good for supporting acquisition, rotten for finishing.

Ray

 

 

[SoftScience]

Go to Rome vs. build a model. Sounds like you're getting the better end of the bargain here. 

What is it you do that keeps you so busy and in Rome? 

[Ray_W]

55 minutes ago, SoftScience said:

Go to Rome vs. build a model. Sounds like you're getting the better end of the bargain here. 

 

I know it seems weird to prefer to wrestle with the Thud. Over the last couple of years, I have come to really appreciate being in one spot for a while. It's been good to cross some kits off the bucket list. The Thud is front and centre, so I'll be onto it and pushing to get it done within time.  Like most, I did not really decrement the stash during COVID lockdowns because there is always that new shiny kit to add. Now I am tempted by the Tamiya P-38J, Dora Wings Vengeance and, on the LHS shelf, there is the Special Hobby Firefly, the Mk4/5, the version without the big ugly chin scoop. Nice to do in RAN markings. So tempting and it's another one that needs some extra work. It would be good to spend some quality time at the modelling bench. 

 

In terms of the day job, let's say I dabble in the solar PV value chain. 

 

Ray 

[Ray_W]

Back at the bench and getting some things done.

 

Finished filling all the flight control recesses and started sanding back those done some weeks ago. I like to leave the sprue glued with Tamiya Extra Thin a minimum of 24 hours before sanding to limit shrinkage.

 

 

 

The good thing about removing the raised panel lines, filling recesses and sanding is you can naturally thin the wings and trailing edges. I also did scrape the inside of the trailing edges back from the edge to assist in the wing halves closing up. The Thud has a lovely thin wing, nice to replicate something a little closer to the prototype.

 

I decided to leave the rudder recess detail. The representation is good enough for my purposes. 

 

 

The bomb bay is filled and sanded. You can see some gaps. I will treat these with CA/Talc and sand off. True for any areas where the filling job has some defects.

 

 

I cannot find a wing tip image of "SAM FIGHTER" to see if the Weasel aerial mod, typical of the 'G', was done.

 

 

At this stage I plan to remove it and replace with the earlier 'F' wing tip navigation light. Also a good opportunity to thin the wing tips and make them a little less chunky.

 

Someone within the BM community might have more info on this.

 

 

Ray 

[modelling minion]

I can't help you with the info you're looking for Ray but I can tell you that you are doing  a great job on the improvements to the kit.

 

🇺🇦

[Ray_W]

4 hours ago, modelling minion said:

I can't help you with the info you're looking for Ray

 

🇺🇦

 

Thanks Craig , I have pretty much made up my mind to remove the wing-tip aerials.

 

I was able to spend a little more time on it today and sand off the filled areas. Nice clean palette to work with. It is so tempting to stop. Looks nice. But no, on to scribing and rivetting.

 

 

However, let's first fix a few things. Next up - jet intakes and trunking. I think these can be improved upon.

 

 

Ray 

[Sam]

Hello Ray

a lot of work you‘re doing there!  Very nice, looking forward to more 👍🏽
Sam

[Ray_W]

 I mentioned next up would be the jet intakes.

 

You can't help but notice the full size aircraft's deliciously thin boundary layer fences.

 

 

The kit plastic is a little thick measuring 0.59 mmm or a full size 28 mm. A little refinement is in order.

 

 

 

What to do? I considered thinning the kit plastic (fairly easy by filing the back edge) or alternatively scratch building from thinned styrene card or brass sheet. I decided to cut myself a break, cheat, and promptly ordered Eduard's PE for the Hobby Boss kit. I should be able to make it work 🤞 and there are a couple of other parts I might find useful. Jet intake project stalls while I wait for the PE to arrive.

 

So what do you do when you can't get in quality bench time? Research. I purchased MMP's No.68 1/48 scale plans for the F-105 Thunderchief. I am not one for putting great trust in scale plans, considering them as additional information and handy, if accurate, for panel line re-scribing.

 

 

I also thought these plans may be useful for understanding the "nose shape is wrong - no it's not - it's only slightly wrong" debate.  Looking at heaps of photo evidence using my eye (surgically implanted with a series of positional red lines), I came to the conclusion of 🤔, "yes something is not right" but what is it? It is subtle, too pointy radome, slightly wrong position, fractionally more convex radius needed from windscreen to radome. I ain't sure ... yet.

 

Sadly the plans led me down another rat hole. I measured the kit's fuselage length (with radome and exhaust petals) and it is quite close to, if not bang on, the desired 67 ft. (1/48 425.5 mm). That's good. Next let's lay the fuselage over the plans. I know the audience was screaming "don't do it!", "don't go there!" "don't look!" The result ....

 

 

The kit is too long or, more likely, the plans are too short by 425.5 - 397 = 28.5 mm. I then spent a great deal of time trying to work out where was the error. In the end, I concluded the MMP plans for the 'F' are incorrect.

 

My initial impression was MMP reduced the size of their two-seater to fit the printed page using something like 1/51. Always possible. The publisher does not provide a printed scale rule to check measure (note to publishers please always include this). I was ready to go to the copiers and increase the size to a true 1/48 and then discovered more anomalies. I found that the fuselage length of 397 mm was also the same in the 'F' plan view. Good, I was still working with something like 1/51. I then measured the wing. Hold on, 220 mm - a correctly scaled 1/48 of 34' 9". Checking their 'D' plan it also measures a correct 1/48 220 mm. Check the 'D' fuselage length 396.5 mm. Practically the same as the 'F'.  Huh, where's the 31" fuselage extension. On closer examination the 'F' looks like a hotchpotch of dimensions with a shrunken fuselage and/or jammed back front end.

 

There is also a 'D' length anomaly and the length difference between the 'D' and 'F' is too great and does not match the required extra 31" (1/48 16.4 mm). So where does this place me? Ignore the plans even though the kit does match the 'D' plans front end shape and forward canopy position. 

 

 

So let's do something else to add joy to any build - fit an Aires cockpit. Dry fitting seemed good. Remove some sidewall detail. There is more to do but close enough.

 

 

Let's press on and assemble and paint the Aires cockpit. Black 1500 Mr Finishing Surfacer for undercoat and shadow effect. Gunze C317 Dark Gull Gray colour coat and then the same C317 lightened slightly with light gray sprayed downward for highlights. Ready for detail painting.

 

 

Those ejection seats are lovely.

 

 

My that Aires detail is good. All up to me now.

 

Ray

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

[modelling minion]

Hmmm, I know they say never to trust plans but those ones are a country mile off Ray. And if you are going to print some in a certain scale to fit them to the page (completely understandable) then you should print all the plans in the book to the same scale, and actually tell people the scale as well! Stick with your  Mk.1 eyeball  mate, it won't let you down.

The Aries cockpit does look very nice indeed, some great detail in there which I am sure your painting will highlight perfectly.

 

🇺🇦

[Ray_W]

1 hour ago, modelling minion said:

I know they say never to trust plans but those ones are a country mile off Ray

 

I think the F-105D is close. I fired off an email to MMP on their thoughts. I'll be interested in the response.

 

As for the Aires cockpit - it is a thing of beauty. When fitting it does look like it needs to come forward slightly and I will have some work on the kit fuselage halves rear bulkhead. You also need to cut out and carefully inlet the IP coaming. All this should still be possible with the completed cockpit insert. Well, here's hoping. I think I really wanted to finish something so painting up the cockpit seemed a good option. And, I have some time tomorrow morning to get into it.  

 

Ray

[Dansk]

those seats look lovely.

hope the aires cockpit doesnt cause too many issues. sometimes the fit can be really challenging.

[Ray_W]

11 hours ago, Dansk said:

hope the aires cockpit doesnt cause too many issues. sometimes the fit can be really challenging.

 

So far so good. I did need to thin the inside of the Aires console coamings and file their PE and film a little to fit the instrument panels into the opening. One of those things which you expect to be right, but it ain't. I was going to cut and move around the rear seat IP instrumentation to represent an 'F' model at some earlier stage of weasel development and then thought this would be pure speculation so I decided to stick with the supplied Aires 'G' rear seat panel and remove one scope.

 

Here's a current status pic with harnesses to be added and plenty of switches and knobs and detail painting to come, not to mention the usual targeted wash and highlights and weathering etc.etc.etc. and the inevitable tidy up.

 

 

Ray