gmctaggart

Watching with interest. Gord

Thanks Out2ghtcha. Another quick update. After more time sanding and filling I am starting to get somewhere. I also did a pass of primer to see the areas that still need some work. A little bit more work and I think these will be done. Let me know what you think. At the same time I have also continued cleaning up the AC paneling. Removing the raised panels and also adding in some panels and screws that were not part of the molding. I filled in one of the access panels which didn't seem to exist on the photos I have. I am hoping this is correct. Its also interesting that in doing these photos how much clearer things are such as the errant holes in some of the panels. Will need to correct that. As always feel free to comment or correct my assumptions. Gord

Thanks Chrish. It seems this show is like a really long 70's style movie in which one question when the movie will really get going. Anyways. Still working away and the intakes are starting to get a nice seamless quality to them. I have been using the Tamiya putty with a brush and some lacquer thinner. This seems to give a nice even blend. A few more layers and I think I will be in business. Gord

Ok so for a quick update, I have been methodically going through the various raised panels and cleaning them up. Progress is slow but steady. I have also been working on the intakes and trying to get these into better shape, excuse the pun. I feel that this will be the most time consuming part of the build but assuming I don't screw it up, I hope it will end up looking good. I figured I would outline the steps I am taking for any that may follow or to show another way of correcting this issue instead of aftermarket. The first step is to remove the outer portion of the trunk from the airframe. After carefully marking the area to be cut and then slowly running a blade several times, the piece will releases from the AC. Once removed, the area is cleaned up and then the various parts that make up the trunk are temporally assembled and held with tape. This allows for fine adjustments for alignment and squareness. Its at this stage where the longer trunk run is glued together as well as the cut portion of the trunk. Once this has set the next step is to add the outer cowl and tape this into position. once everything is lined up, I carefully add small styrene strips into the gap between the cowl and the trunk and glue these in place. I found I could only add a couple at this stage so I am careful when removing the assembly from AC not to mess up the alignment or have them separate completely. Care must be taken not to accidentally glue the entire thing to the airframe. After the assembly I remove the piece and start to add more styrene strips. The key is to avoid pressing in too much and pushing the parts out of alignment but to insert them in so they just touch. Then more glue and let it sit. I tried to make the assembly as stiff as possible to avoid potential cracking in the filler stage. To facilitate a smooth transition between the cowl and the trunk, I add a thin sheet of styrene. Now the real fun starts. Adding successive layers of filler. Then its fill and sand and repeat. I still have a ways to go and need to figure out how to deal with the gap between the parts but I can see if I do a thorough job of the filling and sanding that the result will be better than if I did nothing. I will post some more progress soon. Thanks for reading and feel free to critique as always. Gord

Thanks everyone for being patient. I have been clearing up a few other projects and also waiting for my goody bag of Aftermarket. Thankfully this has just arrived and I can start to focus more on this build. Since I would like to stage this on a catapult, I have limited the number of upgrades for the cockpit since the figures are going to obscure quite a bit. I am also happy with the look of the burner cans. There is a very fine level of detail and the petals are super thin. I am hoping these will make a great addition. Anyways more to come. Gord

Amazing job. I'll be sure to refer to this when I get the nerve to tackle the Academy kit. Gord

Thanks guys for your comments. Kev, I have adjusted the link now so that should help with other readers. This build will take a bit to get going as I clear a back log of projects and wait to get the AM for the kit. In the mean time I have continued to open up some vents (Carefully)and get rid of some of the raised panels. I have also started to modify the intakes to address the issue of the seamless intake trunks. Thanks for reading. Gord

In advance of getting the PE, I am starting to work on some of the key issues with the kit. The first issue is the raised panels that cover the fuselage and intakes. The one common theme from reviews of the kit and comparing against photos is that these panels should not be there. I have marked some of the panels and will start to scrape and sand these down. What is not clear is whether this panel below should also be sanded back or removed. It is symmetrical and seems more than a BDR. In photos of some walk arounds the panel is there appears to be proud of the surface. Insight from others would be appreciated. Beyond identifying panels to be removed, I did some work on opening the vents above the exhaust nozzles. I carefully ground out the inside and ran my knife across the blades until I broke through. I know the size and shape of the blades are wrong, I am just not sure I could do justice to getting these perfect. So this is the start and I welcome insight and comments. Gord

I am throwing my hat in the ring for this fantastic group build. There has been some amazing work done so far and I am hoping that this endeavour will be at least half as good as what I have seen. There have been some awesome Phantom builds online and I have always been fan. Even when I was a kid and started modelling, this kit and jet held my fascination but was always out of reach from a skill set and financial standpoint. Now that I am older and back in the hobby, I could finally get my hands on this beast. I picked this kit up a few years ago and now that I am getting more proficient its about time to tackle this kit. This group build has been the impetus for seeing if I can do justice for the kit. So I have the kit and will be getting the Eduard PE as well as the Hobby Decal markings for the VF-84 Jolly Rogers. Thats about all I will added to the build as i am hoping to scratch and modify anything that needs to be added. I am also looking at setting her up on a diorama ready to be launched from a carrier catapult. I also know there are some challenges with the kit and so I am using the tweak list from Thierry Laurent as well as several other build logs such as this one on ARC as part of my references. As usual please comment. If its wrong or you have suggestions please let me know. I can improve through hard work and guidance from this great community. Thanks for Reading Gord

Thanks everyone for your comments. Its been awhile since I lasted posted. In that time its been work trips, vacation and moving my model operations to a new space. I have not been idle though. To advance the build I worked on the base of the AC. This is wood board that has been stained black with a gloss finish applied. With the spitfire meant to be in a wheels up position, I realized that I need to complete the base as well as the stand and then build in the corresponding tube within the AC. This meant attaching the lower wing and the port fuselage together so that I could position the tube within the model. So far this has worked out well and I hope that I can build the rest of the AC from left to right without any fit issues. In addition I have added some more brass wire and installed the 2 other visible frames. A dash of paint and this side has come together well and thankfully the whole thing slides over the rod and into position with no issues. Following that, I began to paint the pilot. Still needs some work but its progressing. Building the plane this way means that the pilot needs to get mounted next and followed by the control stick. Seems like its going well but as always let me know if something doesn't look right. Gord

Looking good so far. Gord

Quick progress.Nice work so far. Gord

Currently building this so I will follow your progress so that I can steal (borrow) your approach Gord

That was quick. looking good. Gord

A bit more progress. I have started to build up the cockpit. I am not following the instructions in this as I am trying to run a number of wires and these travel across different assemblies which would make it difficult install later if everything was assembled as intended. Instead I am building out from the port side, layering and adding parts until I can close it all up. I know adding the wiring and pipes on the starboard side will be tricky but I am hoping it still might work. At the end of the day it is a small space and you will likely not see too much of the interior. Anyways thank for watching. Gord