FG.1 43 Sqn XV571 'A' +++FINISHED+++

[Ray S]

Hello all. It is great to be involved with this Group Build especially with such a fabulous aircraft.

 

I was lucky enough to live at RAF Leuchars in the early 1970s where they had EE Lightnings and these somewhat bigger, brusier and longer range Phantoms. I believe 43 Squadron were based there at the time, although the kit I am building will be done with markings from Greenham Common IAT in 1974.

 

The kit is the Airfix 1/72 FG.1/FGR.2:

 

 

This had been given to me as a Christmas gift a couple of Chistmases ago, and now hopefully I can do it justice. There is plenty of plastic to work on:

 

 

 

 

 

It has only a very small transfer sheet:

 

 

I think there are numbers up to 519 on there! Gulp! I know they will not all be used as some stencils are for light grey aircraft, others are for dark grey aircraft but still. I doff my cap to anyone thinking of building more than one Phantom in this GB.

 

I will be using this sheet for the main markings:

 

 

I was seriously tempted to attempt the Raspberry Ripple Boscombe Down scheme, but opted for the grey/green one at the top in the middle but there were so many choices (I have two more sheets with other options) but in my own mind, prompted by memories of RAF Leuchars, this is the ultimate scheme.

 

I am looking forward to this Group Build, is it too early to ask for an extension (citing quantity of markings as a reason/excuse),

 

Ray

 

PS Just asking for advice: Would a grey/green Phantom have white or black stencilling? Okay, they look black to me in images online, I'll go with that

Edited October 21 by Ray S
Edited Title

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Welcome to the build Ray, I believe Phantoms hold the record for stencils. Don't build a Japanese Phantom unless you have a strong will and a lot of time. They use every last one they can fit on a plane. 

[Jabba]

A Green/Grey aircraft should have black stencils, the white ones were on the 3 Grey aircraft. Good luck with your build.

[Ray S]

On 16/08/2025 at 23:42, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Welcome to the build Ray, I believe Phantoms hold the record for stencils. Don't build a Japanese Phantom unless you have a strong will and a lot of time. They use every last one they can fit on a plane. 

 

Okay, I won't (maybe!). I'm not fazed by stencils, I find them oddly addictive, unless they don't settle properly, of course. I have to admit I did wonder if we could build a Phantom and still have it under the 25% rule due to the quantity of stencils.

 

On 17/08/2025 at 16:35, Jabba said:

A Green/Grey aircraft should have black stencils, the white ones were on the 3 Grey aircraft. Good luck with your build.

 

Thanks for the confirmation @Jabba.

 

I've been able to get a start to this now after a short break away with my good lady wife, and I feel somewhat recharged. The cockpit went together well, but I have just done it from the box. I may look for a cockpit upgrade for my next one (not in this GB though) - I don't think that the transfer instruments really cut it these days:

 

 

After I posted my introduction above, a package arrived from Aerocraft with these goodies in:

 

 

I think it is pretty well known that Airfix forgot some louvres top and bottom of the intakes, so I thought I would try these upgrade parts, along with the exhaust nozzles. I have to admit that I don't know what those two parts are on the right hand side, they don't appear in the online instructions for the intake/splitter plate upgrade. This issue of the Phantom did have some louvre transfers to correct the problem if I hadn't plumped for the Aerocraft parts. All I had to do last night was pluck up the courage to get the saw working - should I or shouldn't I?

 

 

I did!

 

 

Once I had wrapped my brain around the written instructions and got the parts orientation correct, I tried dry-fitting the parts to help work out where gets glued to what

 

 

That was about as far as I could get without everything falling apart. Attachment points were pretty minimal, and the gap to get everything into place was small, and I didn't have enough arms and hands. I put it away for the night.

 

This morning, I sprayed the parts with Tamiya Grey followed by White primers, then glued the intake trunking together. This made it easier to re-attempt the dry-fitting. I found out where to glue the splitter plate on (there were marks which showed me which I had missed last night, oh so simple!) A drop or two of CA and I had this:

 

 

This shows very well the louvres that Aerocraft have done and which Airfix forgot. The addition of primer really brought the detail out, they didn't look anything like that in the bare resin - I am always amazed at how that happens. Now I was on a roll, and with a full, whole solid assembly I could really try the dry fit, along with the outer skin which covers this lot - It didn't fit. So, Plan B:

 

 

Having trialled this method beforehand and found that it worked, I split the splitter plate from the trunking and just CA'd the plate to the fuselage, and the trunking will then fit where it is needed, and the outer fuselage section fitted over that perfectly. I just hope it does later when I continue this.

 

I am positive that all of this trouble is down to me as I sometimes struggle to work out what is meant with written instructions and in visualising what is going on. I think these Aerocraft parts are well worth while, and with both sets (intake/splitter plates and exhaust nozzles) you get two sets of parts.

 

Hopefully there will be another update soon,

 

Ray

[Jabba]

The things that are on the right hand side of your 2nd photo go in the indents above the blast panels at the front near the exhaust. They are again louvres that Airfix forgot about, just giving plain parts in the kit.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

5 hours ago, Ray S said:

I have to admit I did wonder if we could build a Phantom and still have it under the 25% rule due to the quantity of stencils

I never thought of that but it probably could ? 

 

5 hours ago, Jabba said:

The things that are on the right hand side of your 2nd photo go in the indents above the blast panels at the front near the exhaust. They are again louvres that Airfix forgot about, just giving plain parts in the kit.

Good to know, I was trying to figure that out. 

[Ray S]

22 hours ago, Jabba said:

The things that are on the right hand side of your 2nd photo go in the indents above the blast panels at the front near the exhaust. They are again louvres that Airfix forgot about, just giving plain parts in the kit.

 

Thanks @Jabba for that. Is this what you mean please?:-

 

 

I've made progress of sorts since yesterday. I was able to fit the trunking over the splitter plate and it was much easier than trying to get it done in one piece, although time will tell if I've aligned things correctly, that is not one of my strong points

 

 

One thing I did do (okay, another) differently to the instructions was to remove a location lip which Ali at Aerocraft had suggested using:

 

 

It seemed to make the fit a little better, despite me having sanded down the outside of the trunking as suggested, again probably my lack of skill showing. Anyway, the other side was done now I had a better idea of what I was doing. I fitted the cockpit assembly and then added some Liquid Gravity to the port nose cone and embedded it with PVA and left that overnight. This morning I close up the almost open fuselage (not much attachment area on this beastie) and taped it up, then after much trial fitting added the upper fuselage spine. I could have done with some clamps for this, but what with the minimal support from the fuselage and copious curved areas, nothing would work but tape. The exhaust interiors were added, as well as the engine fan blades and here is where I'm at at the moment:

 

 

And to show the clamp-free reasoning:

 

 

There is certainly not much chance of being able to use clamps, nowt be solid!

 

Since I took this photo, I've tried a touch of forward planning and been trying to dry fit the underside plate. It turns out that the splitter plates needed some attention and sanding and fettling underneath has now made the plate fit a bit better, but there's still work to do on it. This is definitely a challenge, but that is just confirming reviews I have read about this kit. I am just hoping I can do it and 43 Sqn justice with this.

 

More soon hopefully, thanks for the feedback and views

 

Ray

Edited September 17 by Ray S
Added extra info

[Jabba]

Yes, they replace parts D6 and 7.

[Ray S]

Thanks @Jabba, you've been incredibly helpful and it was very much appreciated.

 

I've just done some test fitting and the base plate fits okay now, and the two exterior sections of the intakes fit too. Clamps were needed to get the sides of the fuselage to align with the base, but I'm a happy bunny now. Just hope it's the same when I add glue 

 

Ray 

[Ray S]

Hello all.

 

I have now been able to get the under-fuselage plate fitted. It needed just a little adjustment, especially forward. The external walls of the intakes were then fitted. I was hesitant about those, but when I added then, they literally 'clicked' into position, and the internal vertical seam which I had noticed in test fitting was no longer there. They did need some tape to hold them in place while the glues set, but that was not surprising:

 

 

The curious dark patch on the side is only where the BlueTack held the part in place on my spraying board, not a 'blanked out' roundel...

 

 

You can probably see a lip where the starboard resin part sits proud of the Airfix outer part, that was quite quickly sorted after popping some masking tape around the area and sanding down with a dampened sanding stick. I was quite pleased with the fit of these parts, well done AeroCraft. I just needed to add a bit of filler around the assemblies, but nothing much:

 

 

Like many other builders, I had to add some filler along the nose, but I put that down to not being careful enough when I added the Liquid Gravity and PVA up front. I've added the upper wing sections and various 'dangly' bits, but I did have a spot of bother with the outer angled wing panels. They sat proud of the upper surface and despite sanding away the location aids, they still sat slightly proud. I think I should have scraped the joining surfaces more than I actually did. It was only after the glue had set that I noticed. I'll be getting back to this over the next couple of days after a brief foray into building another, simpler kit.

 

I have to say that I am really impressed with the Phantom builds that are being done on this Group Build, I am trying to keep an eye on them, and they are really offering inspiration.

 

All the best, Ray

Edited September 23 by Ray S
Added extra info

[Jabba]

Coming along nicely. Yes, those outer wing panels are a right PITA.

[Ray S]

Hello all. Over the last few days I have been adding some colour to the 43 Sqn Phantom. I have been using Humbrol enamels via brush so it has taken a little longer, but it is getting there I have given it two coats of 164 Dark Sea Grey and 163 Dark Green thinned with Naphtha Thinners and applied with a wide, flat brush. It looks horrible after the first coats but quickly improves. I found that giving it a full coat of 164 then leaving it for a day followed by painting the green pattern then after a couple of hours the green was touch dry and I do do the next coat of grey and repeat the next day worked well and it speeded up the painting time. I hope I've explained it okay. Anyway, here is the Phantom after two coats:

 

 

 

It is looking a lot less patchy now. Today I will be masking it and painting Humbrol 166 Light Aircraft Grey underneath.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Ray

[dasmithers]

Looking nice. Glad to see I’m not the only wielder of the hairy stick round here. You are demonstrating nicely how good a finish can be produced with old skool painting.

 

Andy

[Ray S]

Hello all. Things have gradually progressed with this 43 Sqn Phantom. Another couple of coats of paint, followed by some awkward (for me, any rate) masking of the radome has now produced this:

 

 

I then tried to give it a suitable metallic finish aft. I gave it a coat of Humbrol 166 acrylic after masking, and then used some of my new AmmoMig metallic paints. Matt Aluminium, Gun Metal and some dry brushing of Jet Exhaust Burnt Iron and Bluish Titanium. I hope it looks okay:

 

 

 

Last night I got the major markings on from the Xtradecal sheet. They went on well and settled down very nicely. I had read that some Phantoms had their underwing serials were applied ahead of the undercarriage door cutouts, so that is what I went for as in my experience, trimming them was a step too far. I've only got about 250 more transfers to go, courtesy of Airfix. That'll keep me off the streets for a few days. Here she is at the moment unhindered by any stencils:

 

 

 

I'll fit as many of the stencils as I can but I won't promise that it will be every single one but I'll do my best. The smaller ones often vanish when I try to bed them down.

 

That's it for now, thanks for looking,

 

Ray

[Jabba]

A nice start with the decals. Last time I made one of these, it took about 5 days to apply the stencils.

[Ray S]

Hello all. Over the last week I have been adding the gazillion and a half transfers to this Phantom, slowly slowly. So far I have had only one stick to my fingers and I was able to retrieve that. There may also be one or two which have the wrong orientation, although the Airfix instructions are pretty clear in that regard. However, as I was adding them I realised that some were perilously close to the cockpit glazing, so I thought I had better add it! A slight technical hitch rapidly appeared and needed solving:

 

 

 

I tried pressing the canopy down but it would not close up the gap. I was now very happy that there was such stuff as Perfect Plastic Putty around. I added it with a dampened cocktail stick and was careful not toget it over the already added markings. A bit more of a clean up and reapplication of filler in one or two areas and things were sorted:

 

 

 

I've had trouble with markings silvering on this model. The Xtradecals main markings were fine, but the Airfix/Cartograf stencils have silvered like made. The first batch I used Micro Set and Sol but rapidly found that I could not press them down with a tissue or roll them down with a dampened cotton but as they would lift and stick to those things. Then I tried the Pledge ploy which seemed to work better by bedding them down onto a small puddle of Pledge (this is the milky 'new and improved' (ha!) stuff) but some have still silvered. I've reapplied Pledge but that does not seem to have worked very well. Ah well. I've still got quite a lot to add but it shouldn't be long now before they are done for the main airframe.

 

I also have to repaint part of the cockpit framework as the paint peeled when I lifted the masks. It was an enamel undercoat of Humbrol 140 with acrylic top colours. Another Ah, well. Acryl;ics will soon sort it out, followed by wooden cocktail stick excess paint removal.

 

That's it for now, I really must start looking at the weaponry now. This will be the first 'heavy duty' load I've done for a while.

 

Thanks for looking, Ray

[almac]

Looking super nice. I’ve got the stencil decals to do soon, can’t say I’m looking forward to it. What weapons are you going for on this one? 
 

Cheers Allan

[Ray S]

1 hour ago, almac said:

Looking super nice. I’ve got the stencil decals to do soon, can’t say I’m looking forward to it. What weapons are you going for on this one? 
 

Cheers Allan

 

Good question. I'm not really sure and it may well be an imaginary set up. I'm not really conversant about weapons fits, so it'll be what looks okay to me.

 

I do have the instructions from the alternative Airfix issue where they offered the 43 Sqn aircraft, so hopefully that'll give me a guide. 

 

Ray 

Edited October 13 by Ray S
Added extra info

[almac]

I’m a bit in the dark myself about weapons. Some pics of 43 squadron show missiles on the wing pylons with fuel tanks as well. I was thinking of using the missiles carried on the fuselage but I’m not sure that’s accurate.

 

Cheers Allan

[Jabba]

The Phantoms of 43 and 111 Sqns were only used in the Air defence role not ground attack, so Sparrows, Skyflash, Sidewinders, gun and the fuel tanks would be fine.

[Ray S]

Hello all, well this 43 Sqn Phantom is now done. I sprayed the weapons (thanks @Jabba for the advice) and fitted them, got the fuel tanks brush painted and fitted them, refitted an exhausr can which fell off and repainted the splitter plates after reading @almac and his post - I had blindly followed the Airfix guide and had a thin strip of Light Aircraft Grey along the bottom of the plate, whereas they should have been all Dark Sea Grey. Thankfully, I was able to repain around the tiny stencils that I had already added. Phew. I'll just pop a couple of photographs of the completed model here now, and I'll do Gallery photographs when the light improves.

 

 

 

I had to do a little fettling to ensure the two tailpalnes had the same anhedral, but otherwise these final bits went well, except for the transfers for the pylon mounted missiles. I could not get them to settle properly and they would not wrap around the missile bodies. Otherwise, only about 5 transfers got lost during that marathon session or six, and I transposed two underneath when I fitted them on the wrong side.

 

That's it for now, thanks for looking and for the advice, and I am very glad to finally have a Phantom in my collection,

 

Ray

 

PS I was very surprised that the two pitot tubes(?) on the fin were still intact, albeit bent

[Jabba]

Nice recovery and well done in finishing the model.

[almac]

That is super nice. I'm glad you noticed my mistake with the splitter plate and rectified yours ok. I copied the Airfix paint guide as well so we both made the same mistake.

 

Cheers Allan

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Nicely done on your phantom. 

[Ray S]

On 19/10/2025 at 16:34, Jabba said:

Nice recovery and well done in finishing the model.

 

Thanks @Jabba, and thanks for your guidance earlier on in my project

 

On 20/10/2025 at 00:08, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Nicely done on your phantom. 

 

Thank you, very much appreciated.

 

I've taken a few more photographs, some are in the Gallery, here are the rest:

 

 

 

 

 

All the best everyone,

 

Ray