Mr T Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 My entry for this group build will be an old ESCI F5 kit, that has sat in the stash for some time. It appeared in the mid 80s and was a very nice kit on release, with very fine panel line detail and sharp trailing edges. The wheel wells are a bit shallow due to moulding constraints with the thin wing and the jet pipes are not very deep, something I may do something about. The kit has re-appeared in an Italeri box, but I do not know how well it has aged. The decals I will be using are an equally old Flying Colours sheet. I am not sure how well these will perform. I have a memory of them being a bit on the thin side and so well probably benefit from some Microscale DecalFilm. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 I keep hearing good things of the old ESCI kit, good to see it here in the old plastic. Moose Squadron? I'm thinking of building something from those guys too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 The plastic used in the was either the silver shown or a tan colour. Both were harder than a lot of stuff you see today from eg Airfix. The only problem I remember from the kit was that the main undercarriage fouled the wing tank and the main undercarriage leg was a none too secure fit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busnproplinerfan Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 I think I have this kit, shows two planes on the box art, like to see how it goes together. Miss seeing these flying even though it was rare to see one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 Yes, it has a couple of Dutch aircraft taking off. A biggish decal sheet, although the quality was not stunning. Not very flexible and didn't want to bed down on anything other than a flat surface. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 Welcome to the GB. The ESCI F-5 is still the best 1/72 kit around and goes together quite well. Looking forward to seeing what you can do with this. 🇺🇦 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted July 16, 2022 Author Share Posted July 16, 2022 Up and running (well, a fairly gentle stroll) with this one. First off, I have built up the main fuselage. The parts for this come as two halves and a bottom. One half was a little warped and needed some persuasion to fit together. The bottom was fine from a fit point of view, but is slightly oversized, something I remember from building it long ago. The engine exhaust were flush with the rear fuselage, and I have drilled those out and added some tube to make a more convincing jet exhaust. The undercarriage bay is way too shallow, but to deepen it would wreck the wings and so it will require some creative painting effects. Not my strong suit. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted July 16, 2022 Share Posted July 16, 2022 It is a start Mr T, I like your mod to the jet pipes 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 Yes, the deepened exhausts look very good indeed.👍 🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 More progress on the Freedom Fighter. The cockpit is furnished. This is pretty much out of the box as I have found it difficult to source any aftermarket, and the canopy is going to be closed anyway. The various parts of the fuselage have been added. This was not as straightforward as I would have liked, as one half the cockpit area was warped. This in turn meant that the fit of the cockpit section to the main fuselage and the first part of the nose was not a prefect fit, and it required a bit of brute force and ignorance to get everything square. Some filler has been needed, with the air intakes also causing some problems. Last night the wings went on, and today I plan on adding the canopy. The pointy bit of the nose will also be attached, now that I have established that there is sufficient weight in the nose. There are also some sinkage on various parts to be dealt with, mainly where there are locating pins. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 6 minutes ago, Mr T said: a bit of brute force and ignorance Well, that's modelling for you. Looks like good progress, and sounds like you have the measure of this kit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 Brute force and ignorance is always a good backup plan in my experience 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted July 23, 2022 Share Posted July 23, 2022 Speaking as an engineer I can honestly say that a bit of brute force and ignorance can go a long way to solving fit problems. And it looks to have worked out very well here as your F-5 is taking shape very nicely indeed. 🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted July 23, 2022 Author Share Posted July 23, 2022 My dad spent his life as a turner and fitter, he always reckoned that when all else failed, hitting something got a result. Although not always the desired one. Thanks for the comment, it is going together. The canopy has just gone on and a some filler where needed on the wing roots. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted July 24, 2022 Author Share Posted July 24, 2022 More work done, and the model is ready for a primer coat. The wing tanks and tailplanes have been left off in case there is more filling and sanding to do. This must be one of the fastest builds I have done in a long while. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 Nice work, hopefully the primer will show no more filling and sanding is required. 🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted July 24, 2022 Share Posted July 24, 2022 43 minutes ago, Mr T said: This must be one of the fastest builds I have done in a long while. Sounds like good progress 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted August 3, 2022 Author Share Posted August 3, 2022 The CF116 is now ready for painting, and in fact since the picture was taken the undersurface grey has been added. I have not added the nose and the IFR probes, as they are asking to be damaged when I mask the undersurface off. They will be added before the top surface grey goes on, as I will brush paint the green pattern. I have decided on a fairly austere stores fit. Quite a few photos show either two wing tanks or a single centre line tank. I had problems with the fit of the underwing tanks being fouled by the undercarriage in my mid-eighties build, and so I am going for the centre line tank which seemed fairly common 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 She does look very good, such a wonderful shape. I had the same issue with wing tanks when I built one years ago, definitely to do with the kit rather than the builder. You are also right that the majority of pictures show tip tanks and the fuselage tank rather than ones under the wings. 🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisj2003 Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 20 hours ago, Mr T said: The CF116 is now ready for painting, and in fact since the picture was taken the undersurface grey has been added. I have not added the nose and the IFR probes, as they are asking to be damaged when I mask the undersurface off. They will be added before the top surface grey goes on, as I will brush paint the green pattern. I have decided on a fairly austere stores fit. Quite a few photos show either two wing tanks or a single centre line tank. I had problems with the fit of the underwing tanks being fouled by the undercarriage in my mid-eighties build, and so I am going for the centre line tank which seemed fairly common I was tempted by a photo of a CF-116 with tip tanks and 4 wing pylons each with a napalm canister; looked a bleak location rather than a show load. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted August 4, 2022 Author Share Posted August 4, 2022 2 hours ago, Chrisj2003 said: I was tempted by a photo of a CF-116 with tip tanks and 4 wing pylons each with a napalm canister; looked a bleak location rather than a show load. Chris I think I might have seen the same photo. It could have been Norway as they did deploy on exercise over there. My understanding is that the Canadians would have sent CF116As amongst other things to Norway to help bolster their defences and protect the North Sea shipping routes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arie Vos Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 Same as the Dutch NF-5’s. These were deployed to Norway on a regular basis. That is why they needed the 275 gallon fuel tanks. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted August 16, 2022 Author Share Posted August 16, 2022 Painting completed on the CF116. I used the newish Humbrol acrylics in the dropper bottles with the shades that are supposed to be a match for the Canadian camouflage colours (that appeared to have changed at fairly regular intervals as standards and suppliers changed). I was pleasantly surprised how well they worked, both with a brush and being airbrushed. Certainly an improvement on the ones in tinlets. The photo shows the model glossed and ready for decalling. I have started adding some stencils from the kit sheet and remembered the one thing I really disliked about what was otherwise quite a nice kit. The decals are dreadful. They are not that thick, but have absolutely no give in them whatsoever. Even with near boiling water and extra strong decal setting solution, they are reluctant to settle on anything other than a flat surface. Next update will depend on how long the decals take to put on. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted August 16, 2022 Share Posted August 16, 2022 Well done on the painting, she looks really good. Good to see that the new Humbrol acrylics are better than the previous ones, I avoid those wherever possible. I hope that the decals give up the fight and decide to cooperate with you. 🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted August 16, 2022 Share Posted August 16, 2022 The model looks good, in what looks like two greys? I'm with Craig in hoping the decals settle down and behave properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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