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XX163


Col.

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Time I made a start to this one!

Using the new Airfix 72nd scale kit;

Mixed030.jpg

and a modified set of Modeldecals to represent XX163 as she appeared circa 1981 with 4FTS.

Air Britain photo link

Had a quick test-fit of the cockpit components but need to modify the seats to represent the earlier style headbox first of all. Glued on some thick plastic sheet to either side and will get that reshaped to suit once dry.

Mixed002.jpg

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I'm gonna crack out the popcorn for this one. Having a bit of fun doing some scratch building on one of these myself as you've seen, until the missus flogged the camera!

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Hope it's a big tub of popcorn Harry as this may take a while due to a lack of modelling time. Was enjoying your progress so hope you get a camera sorted soon.

Got the bang seats detailed as much as I feel will be necessary under a closed canopy. Also made a couple changes to the 'pit based on the walkaround photos in various threads here.

Mixed002-1.jpg

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Don't worry, I like my popcorn! And my WIP thread will be up and running again when I get paid in the next couple of weeks.

Nice work on backdating the seats, once you add the straps and paint them up, they'll look pretty convincing under the canopy. In fact, I'm wishing I'd done some of the mods you've done, especially the floor detailing as the kit floor is too flat.

I'll be watching this one until you've finished it, no matter how long it takes.

Regards,

Mark.

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Cheers Harry but was planning to use the kit pilots and therefore avoided adding the seatbelts. Having tried them in position, however, they are a little on the small side and I'm now in two minds. Plan was to display this one in-flight so as to speed the build along a little.

Are you too far along to make any changes on your one now? Sure most of what I'm doing will be un-noticable once the canopy is on anyway :lol:

Edit - This photo was partly responsible for me wanting to do the model in-flight. Is it just me or is the back seater hanging on pretty tight!?! :D

5554314132_e92d179591.jpg

Edited by Col.
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Aye, it is a bit too far along now. The cockpit tub is installed, fuselage assembled, wings are attached and the seats installed. As is the front HUD and the front canopy. Although I'll be displaying my current build with a closed canopy, after a couple of dips in Klear it is very, well, clear! So I'll be sprucing up the canopy frame detail as well as the blast screen over the next wee while (life and work permitting of course).

However, I am starting to develop an unhealthy obsession with all things Hawk related at the mo and I think I may well have to do a camo one with the old style seats and a CBLS/SNEB rocket launcher/gun pod load out and an open canopy. So I shall be keeping a close eye on your work here since you seem to be doing the mods I'd need to be doing.

Incidentally, I made XX163 in its later guise as the 1992 Display Hawk using the Modedecal sheet and the first incarnation of this kit.

Regards,

Mark.

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Know what you mean about a Hawk obsession, keep thinking a 32nd scale Revell kit would look grand on the shelf (okay, in the stash) with everything open, the green/gray tactical camouflage is current favourite for that idea as well.

Got a little more done today so that's me ready for splashing some paint at it. Thought I'd fire up a photo to give you an idea of what's been added so far. A few more items still to go in but they are all different colours so will be easier to paint separately.

Mixed003.jpg

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Some nice looking work there.

Looking over the Lysander thread and given your location, you a member of AMS? I only went to my first meeting this month, but it's safe to say I'll be along to the next one. If you are and you are going along next month, I'll bring the Hawk along and swap notes with you.

Regards

Mark.

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Some nice looking work there.

Looking over the Lysander thread and given your location, you a member of AMS? I only went to my first meeting this month, but it's safe to say I'll be along to the next one. If you are and you are going along next month, I'll bring the Hawk along and swap notes with you.

Regards

Mark.

Been to a few meetings but missed the last couple due to other commitments. Hoping to get in to the next one, will take this along if I make it, be good to compare notes on the Hawk. Thanks for letting me know about the canopy - no cutting corners in there then.

hawks will take over the world!

Yes they will Mark and it's all your fault! :D

Had a rummage through the 'crew lounge' and found a couple ex-Matchbox pilots who will do as a basis with a bit of reworking to replace the two pigmys Airfix provide. Also glued the undercarriage doors to the lower wing section and set the assembly to one side. Once cured I'll get them smoothed down as the fit is not quite perfect.

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Nice one, I'll keep an eye out for you there. And in typical fashion, after I've started work on the airbrake and just about finished the flaps, CMK release the first 2 of their 4 resin upgrade sets for this little puppy. Can you guess which 2? That's right, the control surfaces set, which includes the flaps/actuators/etc and the exterior set which includes the jet pipe and the airbrake. The modelling gods are having a laugh....

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Ain't that always the way! Never mind, think of the money you saved ;)

Minor tinkering continues but alas no photos due to flat batteries in the camera. Front seat pilot ready for paint and then fitting using a Matchbox body and the kit arms with a few modifications. He will need to go in before I can fit the 'pit to the fuselage then the back-seater needs to go in afterwards to ensure his arms fit where I want them. Used the kit decals for the instrument panels but had to Future/Klear the panels otherwise they were not going to stick :( The pilot's panel and shroud is the wrong shape, being too curved rather than made of flater panels, so cut off the latter and will replace it once the former is reshaped top look more accurate. Also started fitting the intake parts as I'd like to represent the trunking rather than the flat backplate provided.

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Not much to report due to being away racing last night and the camera still awaiting batteries. On a plus note I won some cash so can aford a pack of AAs and have made a start to the intake trunking as I woke early this morning and everyone else in the house had a long-lie :D So far I've trimed down the rear face of the outer intake parts (A15 & 17) and packed in some Green Stuff filler to start the curve of the trunking. Next part of the plan is to drill through the flat panel of the intake on the fuselage halves then try to continue the curve with a needle file and perhaps more thick plastic sheet to increase the depth.

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Here's what the modified pilots looked like before paint.

Mixed001.jpg

Airfix pigmy on the left, then modified Matchbox student with Airfix arms, modified Matchbox instructor without arms, finally the original Matchbox pilot unmodified.

The student has now been painted and installed in his seat then fitted to the 'pit along with the control columns.

Mixed056.jpg

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Got the 'pit installed and the fuselage halves together then fitted the wing last night.

Mixed002-2.jpg

The first two tasks were straight-forward. The wing, on the other hand, was a nightmare to get in place without a massive step between it and the under fuselage contours. After much scraping and cutting it was better but still needed plenty filler this morning.

Mixed004.jpg

The nose wheel bay doors were a good fit but the airbrake needed some plastic card cuttings packed into it as it would otherwise have sat too low in its bay.

The upper fuselage decking has been left off as I want to fit an internal brace for the drinking straw jetpipe that will also take the stand and therefore all the models weight.

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Yes, the wing seems to be a big problem ! On mine I tried scraping the inner side, but so doing would have brought it too high relative to the roots moulded on the fuselage. Adding a gun pod helped to hide some of the sanding on the wing bottom part....

Nice job til now, the pilot looks very good, your solution got me thinking about doing something similar and maybe prepare a mould for some resin casting.

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<br />Cheers Harry but was planning to use the kit pilots and therefore avoided adding the seatbelts. Having tried them in position, however, they are a little on the small side and I'm now in two minds. Plan was to display this one in-flight so as to speed the build along a little.<br />Are you too far along to make any changes on your one now? Sure most of what I'm doing will be un-noticable once the canopy is on anyway <img src="style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":lol:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /><br /><br />Edit - This photo was partly responsible for me wanting to do the model in-flight. Is it just me or is the back seater hanging on pretty tight!?! <img src="style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /> <br /><br /><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5132/5554314132_e92d179591.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /><br /><br />
<br /><br /><br />

If you were an Instructor at Valley, you would hold on tight too!

The Instructor has to hang-on in there while Bloggs in the front seat tries to fly a sortie - and only intervenes when it all begins to go wrong.

Cheers, Brian

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  • 2 weeks later...

Cheers Giorgio and Brian.

Hope you don't mind me asking Brian but I take it you have some experience there?

Been tinkering with this one on and off over the last few days but not got a photo to show yet. The jet pipe is in and the fuselage upper deck on, as is the tailplanes and underwing flap actuators, all these parts being a good fit. The rear fuselage strakes that fit either side of the airbrake, on the other hand, are a pretty vague fit into slots that are far too large for the locating tabs and needed filling. Also thinned and reshaped the rear instrument panel shroud while the front one was cut off and replaced by one made from plastic card. The intructor pilot has been installed without his arms until I'm finished the blast screen and it's support struts as I want to model him holding on to the latter parts in the same manner as seen in the photo I posted earlier. Also added a few small parts missed around the airframe and cut or drilled some ofthe small intakes and vents. Was thinking about how to represent the dome-head rivets that festoon the rear fuselage but not sure how best to do that without it looking overdone or even if the work will be worth the effort.

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Was thinking about how to represent the dome-head rivets that festoon the rear fuselage but not sure how best to do that without it looking overdone or even if the work will be worth the effort.

Morning Min!

I thought about doing this too, but I decided against it purely because I couldn't think of a way to do it without it taking a very long time. The solution I decided against was to draw out the rivet lines on the airframe and use a cocktail stick to add drops of superglue along them to represent the rivets.

Mark.

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Morning Min!

I thought about doing this too, but I decided against it purely because I couldn't think of a way to do it without it taking a very long time. The solution I decided against was to draw out the rivet lines on the airframe and use a cocktail stick to add drops of superglue along them to represent the rivets.

Mark.

Aye aye min!

Considering using a sharp point to gentleman&#39;s parts the surface and raise a little bit of plastic. Not strictly the perfect representation of a dome head rivet but perhaps enough to look the part. Only issue is having to do it several thousand times in a series of straight lines :wacko:

Had a minor disaster with the internal screen last night but hopefully saved it. Will need a bit of work to ensure the canopy fits but at least I'm one step closer to getting the 'pit finished.

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Evening,

Sounds like a good idea, certainly might be a little easier than using superglue. Either way, it'll need a few hours spare to pull it off!

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Think the cockpits and pilots are as good as I can get them mindfull that I need to crack on and get finished within the time-limit;

Mixed011.jpg

Mixed010.jpg

Much fun is being had blending the windscreen in;

Mixed012.jpg

and the MDC is done using watercolour white;

Mixed009.jpg

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