Robin-42 Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 I tried building this kit 40 or so years ago. I cracked the canopy trying to blend it into the fuselage and that was the end of that. No Falcon replacements back then. Fast forward to a few years ago and I found one cheap and thought why not? A smart modeller would have reached for Trumpeters effort, but I couldn’t get past forward fuselages shape issues. I added Reskit J79 nozzles and main wheels. The J79’s didn’t actually fit and I had to increase the diameter of the rear fuselage by wrapping it in thin styrene then copious sanding and superglue gel. Took forever, and all you can see are the nozzles poking out the rear… I also hacked and detailed the main landing gear legs, then remembered too late I had the SAC replacements which are way more accurate. The vertical fin was modified to the correct shape and the second set of blow in doors added on the intakes. Finally, the whole thing was re-scribed. What crossed the finish line was not what I hoped, but the beast is in the case. 51 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted March 14 Share Posted March 14 Given all the work you had to put into it, the end result is impressive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapam Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Very nice! Glad you got it to the finish, in spite of a few dramas. To me, this looks like one of the USA’s most beautiful military jets, but it doesn’t seem to have been in service as long as other (less good looking) types. Anyway, fantastic build! 👏👏👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mycapt65 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 A beautiful build of (to my eyes) one of the most beautiful jets ever built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Beautiful upgrade of the Hasegawa kit- life is definitely better the second time around. Everything you did was worth the hard work, as you have a Vigilante of which you can be proud. A beautiful and very fast jet that did yeoman service in the SEA. Guessing maybe attaching the Hasegawa forward fuselage to the Trumpeter kit might have gotten you there, but at great expense. Wish Trumpeter did better research, as they could have given us a state of the art kit! Well done! Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy54 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I like what you did, and am glad you finished it. I still think it's incredible that they landed that jet on an aircraft carrier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Stenzenko Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 A nice clean build and looks great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John R Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Really nice work. I think that I built mine at the same time as your first attempt so, unlike your second attempt, it was built straight from the box with no worries about accuracy or aftermarket additions. Innocence is a wonderful thing! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 A lovely model of a beautiful aircraft, just a pity there isn't a decent, modern kit of it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackman Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 You did the right thing in avoiding the Trumpeter kit. It just looks too "boxy" whereas the Hasegawa kit, dated as it may be, seems to capture the elegant lines of the real thing. Nicely done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mynimal Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Good job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin-42 Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 (edited) On 3/14/2024 at 8:30 PM, kapam said: Very nice! Glad you got it to the finish, in spite of a few dramas. To me, this looks like one of the USA’s most beautiful military jets, but it doesn’t seem to have been in service as long as other (less good looking) types. Anyway, fantastic build! 👏👏👍 It was designed to carry nukes, lost its mission and got turned into a too big recon aircraft. There was also too much interference in the way it was utilized in Vietnam as well-they basically knew it was coming. On 3/14/2024 at 11:33 PM, 72modeler said: Beautiful upgrade of the Hasegawa kit- life is definitely better the second time around. Everything you did was worth the hard work, as you have a Vigilante of which you can be proud. A beautiful and very fast jet that did yeoman service in the SEA. Guessing maybe attaching the Hasegawa forward fuselage to the Trumpeter kit might have gotten you there, but at great expense. Wish Trumpeter did better research, as they could have given us a state of the art kit! Well done! Mike I kinda wanted the fun of doing it the way I did it. And not a rivet in sight! On 3/15/2024 at 9:10 AM, Jackman said: You did the right thing in avoiding the Trumpeter kit. It just looks too "boxy" whereas the Hasegawa kit, dated as it may be, seems to capture the elegant lines of the real thing. Nicely done! Trumpeter, a glaring error in every kit? Who knew!😁 Thanks for all kind comments guys. Edited March 19 by Robin-42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Nice looking model, Robin! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Very nice! I love the Vigilante - two F-104s in tight formation …. My meaning the two J79s of the A-5 for those unfamiliar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now