Tony T

I think they overegged the marketing, leading to something between flatulence and disappointment.
Really lovely box art. I would buy it if 1:32, but it's in 1:24 Truckers' scale. 
 
Am hoping they'll re-release the 1:48 Buccaneer with some canned sunshine options like the WE-177 or its predecessor. With or without a coin saying "bang!"
 
Tony 

I think they overegged the marketing, leading to something between flatulence and disappointment.
Really lovely box art. I would buy it if 1:32, but it's in 1:24 Truckers' scale. 
 
Am hoping they'll re-release the 1:48 Buccaneer with some canned sunshine options like the WE-177 or its predecessor. With or without a coin saying "bang!"
 
Tony 

I think they overegged the marketing, leading to something between flatulence and disappointment.
Really lovely box art. I would buy it if 1:32, but it's in 1:24 Truckers' scale. 
 
Am hoping they'll re-release the 1:48 Buccaneer with some canned sunshine options like the WE-177 or its predecessor. With or without a coin saying "bang!"
 
Tony 

There's some logic to that especially as it would allow an A/B airframe to be done, but I imagine the extra design and printing time would double the price. It would mean doing both early and later A-7E configurations (seat, DECM). 
 
And we'd be at the point of buying the Trumpeter kit for just the wing, which would be wasteful and annoying. 
 
ResKit does need to make a Shrike set with Aero 5 launchers (the very different LAU-34 which they do was USAF/FMS). 
 
Tony 

Master do barrels, one set with integrally machined flat springs and another with what look like actual springs... 
https://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=362324&code=&product_type_id=&scale_id=953&keyword_search=Hurricane&setPerPage=25&currency_id=0
The first set comprises the outer 303s for the IIB. 
 
Tony 

Sounds like a plan: thanks for sharing this.
I haven't tackled the IIB yet. The whole wing assembly looked quite complex so I put it off until I've got a couple of old kits finished and reacquired lost techniques.
   The wife wants to sell up and move East so I'm nervous about finishing anything I really want to keep!  Selling or giving away what I'll never make (22 last year and 27 this year) and buying two of everything I want to make seems to deal with the issue, so the Sea Hurricane IIC will be the first build (after two MiGs and a Phantom).
 
Not long now. The latest appears to still indicate June, next month.
 
Tony 
 

More printing.
 
Central fuselage with main landing gear bays. Tape and magnets prevent the print from moving/dislodging during the print process. Most of these prints are between 12 and 20 hours.
 

 
Cardboard wing. Just to get a idea of the size and to help in determining where to separate the wing so it fits the printer.
 

 

 

 
All fuselage sections printed. I use an electric palm sander to knock down the layer lines and then apply putty.
 

 
First wing section. There are 3 per side.
 

 
Dan

So, here are the latest prints. Mostly cockpit stuff. This is resin printed and a bit of a fingers crossed kind of exercise. About half of what I put on the plate is an unusable print. Not sure what is going on.
 

 

 

 

 
Dan

LOL...fat chance, I dont have enough years in my life 
 
Thanks Derek!
 
Ok so Canopy time  This is one of the real shortfalls of this kit.  The way the clear parts attach to their frames.  Thankfully @Ali62 has come to our rescue and produced these lovely one piece crystal clear canopy sets which includes frames and glazing all in one piece as well as some 3D printed internal bits.  Absolutely highly recommended I must say.  One day some time back I also ordered a set of 3D Chutes Phantom canopy frames with all internal latches, seals, mirrors and framing...just beautiful! RESIN2detail also now has a GORGEOUS  looking cockpit set.  Of course I couldnt be happy with just using one or the other and decided to see if I could grind out the interior sill frames on the Aerocraft canopies.  Ugh...someone should have stopped me LOL, I created a lot more work for myself in the process.  However if I was to do it again I could do a better more efficient job-probably.
I thought I was all set to go when I remembered the Tamiya kit also had potential shape/size issues.  I studied and studied and to the best of my ability using Soyuyo's drawings and photo references (much like I did for the fwd fuse size issue).  My conclusion is that if I can correct the sill line I have sorted the biggest issue.  Now I know that apparently the cockpit is slightly too wide and potentially too short in the rear canopy (I am still unconvinced about that still) I felt I could live with that and I could wait a lifetime for a new 1/32 Brit Toom and it still wont be perfect.  I guess I had to choose my battles. To me though Tamiya have done a great job still.
 
Ok so here is the issue  and in hindsight I dont know whether or not its worth doing, but here it is.
 
Aerocraft Canopies

 
3D Chutes printed canopy frame set

 
The Phantom canopy has some unusual shapes and is best explained by the man himself who discovered the issue and analyzed everything
 
 https://soyuyo.main.jp/f4/f4e-1.html#bottom
But essentially this is the conical shapes he's talking about
 


 
First up I ground off the inner sills and shaved the sills back with a flat blade to the new slightly curved shape at about the same line as the Aerocraft outer sill line and then I masked the interior to protect it.  I then masked the new frame line on the outside to match the above photo.  I then used JB Weld and back filled it up to the tape line and sanded smooth.  When I removed the tape, there I had the revised sill lines.  Very difficult to tell unless you get at the correct angle.

 
With both inner and outers done

 

 
You get the idea, and yes I broke a latch off but have a spare off a damaged part

 
Difficult to photograph the two different curves front and rear

 

 

 
The canopies also respond well to Tamiya Finishing compound and wax
 
I was going to completely finish them before posting. But due to the discussion on the Discussion section here I thought I might post this whilst the discussion was fresh
 
Oh I also added a bit of an inner frame to the 3d parts as this will simulate the piece that should be there and where the edge of sealant will show through from the inside (as well I will have a sealant bead on the outside slightly lower so as to replicate the real canopy glazing attach.
 
Thanks for tuning in on this painfully slow build once again
 
Cheers Anthony
 
 
 
 

Master do barrels, one set with integrally machined flat springs and another with what look like actual springs... 
https://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=362324&code=&product_type_id=&scale_id=953&keyword_search=Hurricane&setPerPage=25&currency_id=0
The first set comprises the outer 303s for the IIB. 
 
Tony 

It does seem close to the point of "why not just do the whole fuselage" as a set
 

I don't know but will ask. I do know they decided to do a new cockpit entry ladder when I pointed out to them the kit one is really inaccurate. 

Yes sprue L, unique to the Tamiya E/EJ boxing, contains about 9 critical NLG parts — the clear ones from sprue D are common to all boxings. 
The L-sprue parts would need 3DP substitutes, possibly amalgamated into fewer parts that might make life easier
The early gun muzzle also needs to be done; the Tamiya part isn't quite right.
 
Putting my hybrid C/D/J —> E project on ice until something happens at LFD. 
Without the NLG door parts I'd still want a nose-only set to replace those ghastly clear parts in the Betty Lou boxing. Especially as LFD were apparently working on a system so that the Tamiya windshield quarter panels are correctly partly inset into the top of the nose barrel.
The dropped-down gun breech cover also necessitates a bit of rotary cannon inside.
 
Now in Phantom snooze mode. Have two MiGs to focus on this Summer.
 
Tony 

If I buy the ResKit MD-3 I'll put the body next to the 90% finished PWMP and Verlinden for comparison between the three. 
 
One other observation: 1960s mules seem to have used fatter tyres/wheels and went to twin rear wheels later (or that is just an illusion) à la ResKit. 
 
Lots of unanswered questions. 
 
Tony 

I'd rather like to do this wee beastie:
 









 
Sorry for the slight thread hijack Iain……normal service can be resumed!! 

Additional thoughts...
 
I've seen a few negative comments out there on the interweb - it's a short-run kit and, to be fair, anyone building this type of kit will probably have the skills/confidence to make some alterations to the kit if  they feel they're warranted.
 
If it had been a resin kit - at more than twice the price - I suspect there would have been less hyperbole - but because it's an injection-moulded kit it's 'too expensive/not accurate enough'. 
 
I'd also point out that many mainstream kits from the big names have their fair share of things that can be improved.
 
This is a limited edition kit - from a very small team - I suspect that it'll be the only injection-moulded Vampire we'll see in 1:32.
 
It deserves supporting IMHO.
 
I really don't want this thread to put people off - hopefully it'll give some ideas for possible modifications others may want to incorporate in their builds, or not.
 
If not - you'll still have a nice looking Vampire IMHO.
 
For me fettling a kit what modelling is about - and I quite enjoy it! 
 
Iain
 
 
 
 

Indeed and this is quite strange as with just a bunch of sets they could cover decades of bang seats use. It is one of those market gaps I'm failing to understand for years (another one being the total lack of detail set of wing hinges of naval jets). 

The renders do look nice - but is there any estimate on when this might be for sale?

Shaping up brilliantly. 
The left clear sprue indicates the tooling for a T.7 may have been cut already? 
Looks to be kit of the year if it makes Xmas.
 
Tony 

I think those are the same pics I am looking at. Never seen any other color pics of the GRU-5 where the belts are clear.
 
Going Quinta here - the ANYZ stuff is amazing but I do not think I could personally pull off a cockpit as complicated as the A-6 with so many knobs/switches etc. It would look AMAZING but outside of my capabilities I am afraid. I think I can pull off doing the ejection seat belts at least - I just never can get moulded-on belts to look as nice as separate.

Looks very nice but we really need an open rotary cannon breech cover for the Tamiya E/EJ: the hatch at bottom inbetween the air con scoops, as was almost universal on armed aircraft on the ground. 
 
The F-4J kit would require a different cockpit, wheel hubs, AAR receptacle, and deletion of the cat bridle hooks and DECM lumps and bumps and new correctly-sized jetcans (to replace the undersize kit ones), but as the C/D and E/EJ kits seem out of production this will be welcomed by many. Note the design shown would require cutting back the nose barrel of the Tamiya C/D or J fuse to fit.
 
Like Roy, I'd really welcome a LFD-calibre RF-4E nose, preferably hollow with a camera fit. And a cut-to-fit Spey Toom conversion for the F-4J. The latter would sell well, I'm sure, especially as the Tamiya F-4J seems to remain in production.
 
Great to see LFD getting into jets.
 
Tony

Hello,
 
Various sets were released but are OOP for long and appear on auction sites from time to time (such as the Verlinden or Reheat ones) . Currently the following links are probably showing the only available options:
https://www.renaissance-models.com/ter/index.php/avions-toutes-echelles/echelle-1-32/produits/957-boucles-de-harnais-modernes
Or
https://anyz.io/shop/product/AN056
 
Hth
 
Thierry 

Looks great, and a good compromise between big styrene parts to make up the airframe and 3DP detailed stuff. 
 
Tony

Thanks Andy. I knew where the cameras were located but couldn't get my head around how they fit within the wing. Apparently shoehorned vertically with modest 5ins focal length lenses and not much scope for stereoscopic coverage to render 3D interpretation. So very basic.
 
 
Very nice looking but like many others I don't want a ~£270 early mark as much as a ~£100 Kōtare all-styrene depiction of a slightly later version. And I'm sure they would happily co-exist. 
 
Tony 

So Camotint was very pale sage or duck egg green then, as Andy indicated. 
I have to confess that I'm going to wait for a later variant in the PR Blue finish. 
 
As for the pink PR.1G wing rondelles, what exactly were they thinking? Somebody must have been seriously pi$$ed to conjure up that arrangement. 
 
All great stuff.