Anthony in NZ

LOL, love you for it mate! Not that I will build another but happy to help with anything you need for it!

I am pretty sure they did, especially the Aussie ones.

Yes indeed! I have 3 of their kits (PBY, C-47 and Walrus) and was REALLY looking forward to the PV-1 in future release....here's hoping still Cheers Anthony

Here’s an email that might help if you contact them kepmodels@mail.ru cheers Anthony

Here’s their email kepmodels@mail.ru maybe @Quinta Studio might be able to help cheers Anthony

Maybe try this https://vk.com/kepmodels

Yes I got the same sheet and it is hard to figure stuff out. I found going onto their VK(?) site which seems very much like a Russian Facebook type thing then you can see all their products. I will see if I can find a link. The Avenger set looks gorgeous with a highly detailed 2600 with the carb ducting included. Designed specifically for Trumpeter kit.

I've been emailing them directly as I am after their 1/32 Trumpeter Avenger (Early) set. Shipping to NZ is not possible but to the UK is, and up to 1kg is 5300 rubles, so an engine weighs nothing. They said that up to 1kg is at least a complete kit. So if anyone is interested I am happy to contribute if anyone in the UK wants to do an order for some of us? I am curious if those floats will work on my Fairey IIIf? Anyone know? HTH Anthony

I want to say I saw that AMUR Reaver set become available again, but in 3D printed form?? KEP Models in Russia?

Love it mate!! Get stuck in and I will try to beat you for a second time

Tony, I know you will do an awesome job on your one mate! Thanks for your compliments but well within your scope my friend! I think doing a long nose will definitely help and to me they look more “correct “ out of the box. One thing I forgot to mention is that the forward Sparrow wells (at least on the short nose) are too shallow. They don’t look like it until you put the missile in. The nose at least hangs down too low, and should me more ‘tucked’ into the well. Red Pill Model seem to have made the same mistake looking at their test shots. Not a biggie but for some reason stands out to me Edit: it’s easy to fix by simply taking the top of the missile body down with a file. The front 1/3 from memory….you’ll see the difference immediately compared to photos cheers Anthony

This is a great discussion and one I have spent many hours studying whilst admittedly was in relation to a Brit airframe. However the issues mentioned have commonalities common to both. Firstly I must say that I have a lot of help, suggestions and personal findings sent to me during my build. To those people I especially thank because I have never seen a Phantom or know it in exacting details like many do. However I do feel like I’ve got a keen eye when it comes to the character/personality or “look” when it comes to comparing photos and drawings. For what it’s worth I’ll share my personal thoughts with taking into account drawings, drawing accuracy and finished results. For me the analysis by Mr Temma’s is incredibly well done (see link posted earlier)…especially the canopy analysis. so aside from the obvious Spey differences such as the rear fuse and shorter wider intakes etc. There was pointed out to me the forward fuselage is too long, some say it’s good and others too wide. I really studied drawings and overlays of the kit and something was definitely off with the forward section. One obvious telling point was the air conditioning intakes on the side need to be sanded back shorter. My measurements showed them to be correct in position and size….so for me sanding it back wasn’t a solution. I was bugged as to where the proportions were off. Looking at all the frame station drawings and comparing to my peers thoughts were that the front bulkhead where radome attaches was too short. But the overall length was correct. So if I lengthened it then the nose would be too long, but this also fixed the air conditioning intakes location. I was then made aware that (after trying again to figure out where I needed to shorten the fwd fuselage to get back to correct length)that the radome was the wrong shape and size and a resin replacement was available, which I ordered. The replacement resin nose didn’t help but made me realise the radome was too long and wrongly proportioned. Which then led to the lower profile being completely off (too flat). You will see my thought process and how I fixed it on my build thread. It’s a little complicated to describe here but go have a look. It involved as Tony said that the area in front of the NLG door is all wrong. The fix sounds complicated but very simple to do. The reworked nose drastically changed the whole look of the kit and instantly produced the Phantom character! Now, the canopy is another issue I’m working on at the moment. I’m doing a bit of a Frankenstein job with it using the beautiful Aerocraft canopy set and 3D Chutes printed interior. The beauty about the Aerocraft set is you can chisel and sand to achieve that parabolic effect that’s there. I’ve sanded and reshaped the canopy to within an inch of its life, but hopefully the finished result will be worth the extra effort. An update coming soon on my build. Yes the sides are too flat, not sure how you fix that as I was fortunate to have used the Wild Hare resin centre section and just heated and curved them myself. For some reason I cut the tail off to fix another issue raised to me…I think it was the height/angle. Either way I’m not sure it made any visible difference even though it matched drawings. I wouldn’t bother with it tbh. The Shoulder is a little high(?) along the intake which fortunately matched the Brit location which was good for me. Sure there’s other things but to me, the nose changes made a drastic change and instantly I said to myself spontaneously “Aaaaah…..there she is!!” To my eye it looks every part a Phantom with a little work and every time I look at it I often think how much of a difference the nose mods made Sorry for rambling on so long. I love this analysis of a kit almost as much as building. I’m all ears for more information Cheers team Anthony

Oooh tell me more please

Low Viz RAF Phantoms??? Love the Black Bunny set I got from you, absolutely first class product! Still need to get you a supplier over this part of the world Cheers Anthony

Painted now ready to glue and fair in when I am ready for paint On the door there was a cover that was called the "fried egg" ....you can see why LOL Cheers Anthony

I'm lost for words...which as my mates know isn't usual! I LOVE your new solution, just brilliant! I am totally in awe.... Cheers Anthony

Nah going with a 43 sqn RAF bird. I do sometimes wish I had configured her as an earlier version so I could display her on a deck section of Ark Royal

Hahaha....no sneaking past aye Parabrake housing test fitting Everything is still a bit of a mess around here as it is just placed/balanced in position with no glue I then glued the rear housing from the WH set as it is slightly different to the other versions with the position lamp moved to this fairing when the RWR fairing was added to the fin tip. So just cleaning up the edge between the hinged cap and its fairing on the door itself. Then it will be ready for gluing into the rear fuse and sorting the mess of a join I made thinning the insides to make it fit with wiggle room and that you cant see the edge of the plastic through the lightening holes in the face and so I can make sure when I come to gluing it in with epoxy I can tweak and adjust as it cures. There's still a bit of work to do on the fuse so this will be the last thing I attach before paint as I dont want to risk breaking it off during final construction. Cheers Anthony

Wow, just wow!!

My word this is looking beautiful! Looks so much better grey and not red lol Loving your work and such a beautiful little aeroplane Cheers Anthony

Absolutely gorgeous! Your craftsmanship is impeccable!

Thanks so very much! Yes they make all the difference indded....as seen in your beautiful Spitfire build.... NLG done, oleo usually kept pretty clean in service, I suspect to keep an eye on leaks or servicing issues? The FG.1 oleo is completely different to all other Phantoms due to the fact they were initially designed to have a double extension to raise the angle of attack on the short RN Carrier decks. After Ark Royal was decommissioned and they went to the RAF with 111 and 43 Squadron I understand this feature was disabled. However the leg overall is quite different being overall chunkier, slight rearward rake and extra trailing scissor links behind the two nosewheels. In 1/32 I just felt really needed doing. Thanks to Kerry for CADíng and printing again! Vari ramps need a little tweak on the bottom inner edges before painting inner faces and gluing on. Slowly but surely working my way back down the airframe making sure I am happy with whats been done and the final bits being done before I paint. 3D printed hinges to be grafted in around the belly soon Parabrake is now printed and in the mail As always gents, thanks for following along Cheers Anthony

Me too mate! Must be time for another coffee and catchup? This one is better I think And Kerry has been working his magic again...thank you mate! This is truly a collaboration build! Rear parabrake housing

This build is ridiculously beautiful! Your skills are sensational.....loving this thread!

Yes Kerry spent a lot of time designing that. It is very different to the FGR.2 and all other Phantoms I am very appreciative of his skill set and help! Yeeesh, The camera is brutal, in real life I cant see those print lines, but blown up so big hides nothing! I think this is my artificial lighting making the white wheels with a dark grey and raw umber wash appear blue. I did one darker than the other as they seemed to get new wheels often and mismatched dirt/wear Cheers Anthony