EF-111A kit bash

[Borisz]

Hello!

Some intro for my choice:

I wanted to do something easy and recreational this time so I decided to do my EF-111.
Many yaers ago I have built already an Italerikit but it crashed unfortunatly. I wated to have an other one and I saw a Revel boxed on a forum for a little money. Before buying I didnt noticed that this ex-onogram kit have raised panel lines. Anyway its a nice kit, much more detailed then the later Italeri. Back then I didnt know that somewhere exist a third, Hasegawa version of this giant. Anyway later I get in my hands an Italeri kit. One way or an other I become avare of the Hasegawa kit but that wasnt available then. In the meanwhile I got a set of aftermarket wheels and a resin cockpit some years ago from an other modellers stash, so all in all I am gathering this stock of plastick for a while and I left the idea of getting the Hasegava kit at all.

 

 

Anyway while I was viewing the two kits I decided to use some parts of the Revell-Monogram kit in the Italeri. I noteced that tha overall shape of the two kits are very much close to each other and the parts breakdown realy similar.
I started the building some weeks ago and the first stem was to fit the aftermarket cocpit (probably a Verlinden) into the Italeri nose section. Well this def. too small to just put it in, so I had to give it some extension. The dashboard of the resin upgrade doesnt match to an EF variant, but the ex-Monogram is realy nice, only a minor extra was needed.

As I was inspecting more and more I decided to keep the Italeri nose wheel well and detail it up a little, but the more I was watching the main wheel well of it, the less satisfied I was. I decided to use the Revell-Monogram wheel well but the total thing wast totaly obvius first...

 

The ex-Monogram, the Italeri and perhaps the Verlinden tubs.

 

Two different noses, but close enough, not?

 

Here is the resin tub in the Italeri nose. It needed soe support to stay in place.

 

I made that I could do:

 

Either the nose wheel well was already a subject of upgrade:

 

Some plastic sheets were built in here and there:

 

The two sides of the two wells

 

I wasnt satisfied with my first try however so I did it again:

 

Also I started to thinkgabout the main well too. This is that section of the two kits where they the most different are and I wasnt sure how to pop in the details from the donor kit.

 

My first thoughts were to use just some part, cut the walls from the Revel(-Monogram) kit and fix it to the walls of the Italeri one. But, however I realised that I will need more and more parts of the donor. It has the fan blades and intake and so on!
So I started to make some place...

 

My plan was to cut the intake parts from the other kit and glue it onto the parts if it. As I was wathcing it more and more I realised that I have to be more drastic. Also the drastic way would be much faster too and maybe either easier!
I am goint to use a bigger section of the donor kit from the fan blades forvard until the EW bay.

 

 

 

And now I have two questions to you, fellow modelers.
Could somebody give me some references to the left side of the nose wheel well and tell me if the assimetric front section of the EW bay and EW radome correct or not, please?

[Thom216]

I like the kit-bashes! Making one great model out of two 'okay' kits. 

[f111guru]

@BoriszHello, This will be photo heavy and lots of detail for your build. They are all taken from EF-111A CC 66-0016 on display at Cannon AFB New Mexico. These first batch are the nose wheel well. This has been demilitarized and parts are missing. The rocket motor for the capsule.

This should get you the information on the nose wheel well. Next up the belly radome.

 

All The Best,

Ron VanDerwarker

[f111guru]

@BoriszSecond part of the EF-111A. Overall view of the profile and some up close of the radar dome. Again photo heavy.

The left side is identical to the right so I won't bore with the left side images unless you ask for them.

Watching with interest of your kit bash build,

All The Best,

Ron VanDerwarker

[Borisz]

Thank you @f111guru these are realy useful photos!

 

If I am not to much, I would ask some more now, but it isn't urgent.
Do you have one more photo of the encircled area please? Or, if I am not mistaken the connection point of the hydraulic cylinder is covered by the support "fork" of the landing gear right?
And, I'm gone trought on your F-111 album on Flickr for the two sides of the radome. If I got it right the two pararell panel lines -marked with red- should be kept pararell as they are on the Monogram/Revel kit below and not aligned in one continous line, as on the Italeri kit, right?

 

Edited November 12, 2023 by Borisz

[f111guru]

@BoriszThe hinge point for the nose gear down lock assembly is just that a hinge or swivel point.

That's where it dead ends and I don't have any other photos of that area at this time. This next photo is of a FB-111A on the Cannon AFB transient ramp.

Hopefully I can address your other question. The EF-111A has two different nose gear doors. First is the right and has an overlap extending aft of the gear door edge.

This next is the left gear door and notice the different over hang extension of the right.

So to answer your question No they are not parallel. The front of the canoe radome should reflect the difference. I don't think any of the kits show this. I don't know when it changed or why. In the next photo is the area behind the left door and the front end of the canoe radome. Note the shape.

If you want to get real crazy with the details, these next set should help you do just that. Starting on the left.

The under side of the left door.

The arc of the left rear edge.

Rear and under side of the right door.

Back edge of the right door.

This should give you the answers you seek. I'll hut through my vark directories and see what else may help.

 

All The Best,

Ron VanDerwarker

[Borisz]

@f111guru, thank you, realy.
That will do for sure!

[f111guru]

@BoriszFound some other things in the nose gear well. This is a USAF drawing so should be accurate of the nose gear.

The last two are of the Hobby Boss 1/48th scale nose gear and wheel well. Shows the link and how it's attached. The Hasegawa 1/72nd scale F-111 series has this as well.

All The Best,
Ron VanDerwarker

[Borisz]

Good afternoon for everyone!

 

I'm more or less done with the nose gear bay  and startend to fill the random, unnecessary panel lines on the Italeri nose section. Just a question CA glue and sandpaper, not a big deal. Later I will add some missing details and than upluad a photo, but for now, there is not so much to see.

I am going on the airframe from the nose to the rear so the next station is the main landing gear's bay. Well, this is a bit confusing for me. I was going from the 'let me see -> well, okay... so delet this, extend that and... -> what the hell I am watching?' on a staright route.

 

My question for the more educated modelers is that all (E)F-111 had the same bay?

 

I stared marking the pieces. Dots to delet, continuous line to build. I dont say this is the all work to do here, but this is where I stopped to take a photo. It looks to me however that I shall delet most of the details here. At least on the walls.

 

 

[f111guru]

4 hours ago, Borisz said:

Good afternoon for everyone!

 

I'm more or less done with the nose gear bay  and startend to fill the random, unnecessary panel lines on the Italeri nose section. Just a question CA glue and sandpaper, not a big deal. Later I will add some missing details and than upluad a photo, but for now, there is not so much to see.

I am going on the airframe from the nose to the rear so the next station is the main landing gear's bay. Well, this is a bit confusing for me. I was going from the 'let me see -> well, okay... so delet this, extend that and... -> what the hell I am watching?' on a staright route.

 

My question for the more educated modelers is that all (E)F-111 had the same bay?

 

I stared marking the pieces. Dots to delet, continuous line to build. I dont say this is the all work to do here, but this is where I stopped to take a photo. It looks to me however that I shall delet most of the details here. At least on the walls.

 

 

To answer your question the main landing bays are similar from one to another. The lines you've dotted out to remove are fuel and hydraulic plumbing. Here are a few from left right and ceiling in the front of the main wheel well.

The next couple are right to left in the back of the main wheel well.

All The Best,

Ron VanDerwarker

[Borisz]

@f111guru thanks for the photos, again! The first pair helped me to find the directions of the bay.

 

23 hours ago, f111guru said:

The lines you've dotted out to remove are fuel and hydraulic plumbing

If you think about the tubes on the ceiling, I say that these looks misplaced for me.
On the following picture the black tube rises up from the plane of the front wall, doesnt?

[f111guru]

@BoriszI won't up load on your page the photos I have, instead you can go to my flickr account and in the start up page I've added the entire wheel well photos. In sort of a sequence starting with image number IMG_6237, 6263, 6242, 6248, 6243, will show you where the black tube plumbing starts at the forward wall goes up past the speed brake actuator across the ceiling through the center frame work and the transits down the back wall into the wall. Being black I can only guess it's water plumbing. The pump and guessing it's a pump wrapped in black is set above the water tank.

 

All I can say is do your best with the small area you have to work with in 1/72nd scale. My opinion your doing a fantastic job on the kit bash.

 

All The Best,

Ron VanDerwarker

[Borisz]

I have not been here for a while now, but here is a quick update:

 

I put together the nose section, the nose gear bay and the cocpit glued into. Panel lines, rivets and quick locks are done. Also I corrected a lot of lines on the back of the fusalage. I have to say Revell did it better.
Besides the panel-work I started the plumbing of the main landing gear bay. Some pipes and boxes are already glued in their final place, some are ready to build in - on a later stage.

 

On this picture I mared the deleted panel lines with red, and marked the added ones with green:

 

 

You can see some of the new lines of rivets here:

 

Back to the bay:

 

 

Any comments are welcome!

 

PS: If the photos does not load here, you can click on the links, it works for me. Let me know if it still doesn't work,

Edited February 5, 2024 by Borisz

[Borisz]

Hello!

 

I made some progress.

 

To revise the panel lines on the underside of the fusalage was realy relaxing. I can say that both Italeri and Monogram made a half-job. Both of them simplified and ignored some lines but I thing now I have angraved all of them. The vast majority at least.

 

 

Although I had a little accident. Machanis says (at least in Hungary) that all corners are a starting crack. During some gentle sanding I heard a soft crackle. As I started to inspect the workpiece I heard an ather crackle and just after that I saw a line. A nice, curved, almost 2 centimeters long line.
Obviously this was that thing that I was vainly dreaming about since I was a teeneger and Iwas realymissing that experience in my life, especially in this exact build. Alright, its not the end of the world I drilled a hole to stop it, and give it some modeling glue to fix it, and later I filled the hol with CA gel.

 

 

Anyway I was over it and I could concentrate on the wheelbay again. I studied the photos of @f111guru and grabbed a drawing compass ( or how is the circle drawing device called) and a ruler to draw this tiny robot kitten head to help my work. Here it is:
 

 

This kitten head is layout of the bracing in the middle of the wheel bay and seemed to be realy helpful.



And this is where I am now.

 

[Borisz]

Heyy!

 

I didnt have muh "time" to go on eith this bay but finally I made a last (or last but one) dry fitting with the lot of gadgets.
Some boxes from the sidewalls are still missing, they are on their little plate waiting. Also some thin wires missing, but on the porpuse to better reach everything else.
In fact a few pipe is just placed here for the sake of the photo. Now I am unsure about paint it at all. This looks awsome imo!

 

 

[f111guru]

@BoriszGreat work on the main wheel well. Makes it much more realistic. Great work and looking forward to your progress.

 

All The Best,

Ron VanDerwarker

[Chemguy3000]

That is a vast improvement over the soft kit details. Well done!

 

David

[Borisz]

Hi!

First of all thanks for all the reactions you gave me.
I was scribing panel lines and rivet rows onto the Revell vertical fin. I choose this because I found easier than filling the wrong trenches. of the Italeri.
 

 

Its might be not perfect, but I think that'll do it.

 

The next one is the case of the wings. On the underside I had some fitting problems that needed a thin sheet of plastic. Also I need to add a few oval inspection holes thats for sure and I need to double check the wingtips, there is something fishy.

 

 

 

Anyway I thinking about the droptanks. Withthose it looks more manacing I think, but I dont remember to see them on any photos from the Desert Storm. What do you think?

 

 

[f111guru]

@BoriszDuring Desert Storm none of the F-111's or EF-111's flew drop tanks. At least as far as the USAF went. I'll find my references for Desert Storm but thinking that the EF-111A's may not have flown pylons. Hope to get back with you soon.

 

All The Best,

Ron VanDerwarker

[Jabba]

As far as I know, The EF-111s did not carry anything on the wings during D Strom. Having just done a check on dstorm.eu, this also says the same.

[Borisz]

2 hours ago, f111guru said:

@BoriszDuring Desert Storm none of the F-111's or EF-111's flew drop tanks. At least as far as the USAF went. I'll find my references for Desert Storm but thinking that the EF-111A's may not have flown pylons. Hope to get back with you soon.

 

All The Best,

Ron VanDerwarker

 

2 hours ago, Jabba said:

As far as I know, The EF-111s did not carry anything on the wings during D Strom. Having just done a check on dstorm.eu, this also says the same.

Thank you, I accept your words. No load then.

[Pete1961]

Absolutely stunning wok on the detail. I have a Revell kit that I slowly building but just building out the box with no added detail. As I am at an early stage of my skills this is good enough for me. Hopefully, I will advance my skills to something approaching yours one day. Keep up the good work - it is inspiring :).

 

Thanks for sharing!

[Alex.B]

Nice job su far!

keep it going! 🤙🏼

[Borisz]

Hi!

After a summe break here I am again with my Spark Vark.
To sum up, joining the fusalage wasnt as easy as I wanted, the main landing gear well didnt fit so it needed some extra sculpting, dry fitting, and sculpting again.
All the other parts demanded some "extra care" (or how do you say that here ) to fit.

 

Untill this, it was all promising:

 

Sheets of plastic cards here and there:

 

Again, I had planty space for filling.
I gave it a try, checked with both the Italeri and the Revell/Monogram parts, and there was no combination to fit well.

 

It doesnt show on photos yet, but all the wings are riveted up. Maybe on other shots. Anyway, I decided to use the Monogram horizontal stabilizers, so I filled the gaps for the Italeri ones, and drilled holes for axises of these.

 

Some paintwork was done, when it finally wasnt to hot for painting - not finished yet tho.

 

Also I made this two pyramid shaped tiny thing that might be some antennas:


This is it now.
Comments, complains, etc. are welcome!

Edited September 3, 2024 by Borisz

[f111guru]

@BoriszYour very hard work has paid off. It's fantastic and in that scale.......Just WOW!!

 

All The Best,

Ron VanDerwarker