FreightDog Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 (edited) Flaps, slats & final mating of aircraft sub assemblies today. Trailing edge flaps look really complex but are a very simple 2-part construction and fit quite nicely, albeit with no obvious mating surfaces to aim glue at. Leading edge slats are very complicated as each screw jack & hinge must be cut out, with the screw jacks fixed individually into the slat, the actuators into the l/e, with blind faith that the holes on both side will match up. Quite fiddly, but worked ok Final test fit of the top section of the rear fuselage/wings the committed the screws into the wings and glued the top. Mated the front and fixed the fin so I could finalise the stowed reverser buckets. I found these more complex than they needed to be and ended up having to remove the outer parts of the p.e to make them flush but they’re still not as good a fit as I’d like. I’d prepared the metal parts with Alclad black gloss ready for painting before the main airframe, but on reflection I’ve decided to do them last. Will be more of a masking faff but I’ve bad experience ruining beautiful but fragile metallic Alclad by masking. Very disappointed to see I’m going to need filler here at the very least. No idea if it’s the kit or my mistake? Oh well. Will wait until intakes assembled though as I’ve heard on the grapevine I might need some there too Anyway, playing with some loosely placed other bits placed it looks like nothing bar a major disaster is going to stop it turning into a Tornado now Edited March 16, 2021 by FreightDog MikeC, LSP_Kevin, Scotsman and 13 others 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark M Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 i had to fill the same spot underneath, but non on the intakes looking good your certainly moving faster than i did FreightDog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreightDog Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 24 minutes ago, Mark M said: i had to fill the same spot underneath, but non on the intakes looking good your certainly moving faster than i did Ah maybe it’s not just me haha. Here’s hoping the intakes will be ok tomorrow. Yes it’s amazing how fast I can work with the kids back at school, no work for a couple of weeks, and a motivation to finish so I can reclaim my desk. Mark M 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeroen_R90S Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Looks good -a big beast, too! Nice to see several builds of this fairly new kit, it seems to have done well for Italeri FreightDog and Scotsman 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreightDog Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 Though nothing sexy to show you yet, I’ve done a lot of work since the last update. Everything bar a few tiny ariels/pilots etc is now attached. Stores are now assembled & cleaned up. Canopy internal frame masked & sprayed. All other parts/sub assemblies ready for painting/decalling/weathering before fixing. So a bit of masking to be done before painting can start. A bit of priming of the intakes to check for gaps/smoothness and I’m happy. box of all the other bits, ready for the paint shop and/or detailing by hand. Scotsman, MikeC, Fanes and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreightDog Posted March 20, 2021 Author Share Posted March 20, 2021 Machine gun. Instructed to drill 1mm hole. Thanks Italeri! Paul in Napier and Out2gtcha 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark M Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 looks great mate, but a word of caution the sidewinders left service before that type of lgb's came in but.... only geeks would know FreightDog and Whitey 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancman Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 Oooooo very nice FreightDog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreightDog Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, Mark M said: looks great mate, but a word of caution the sidewinders left service before that type of lgb's came in but.... only geeks would know Thanks, I suspected as much. My previous build (Harrier) had inaccurate RAF munitions too. I wonder if it’s been coincidence or kit makers seem to struggle with RAF weaponry? What missiles replaced them out of interest? I guess Eduard could probably come to the rescue, but tbh there’s something about AIM9’s that just look the part to me. I’m not a great stickler for accuracy but my son is building the Revell 1/32 GR1 in parallel with me. Even I’m biting my tongue as he’s doing it all grey with HARMs!! I really need to get over myself haha. Anyway topcoat is now on with a couple of different shades for replaced panels. I’ve been looking at lots of photos and some of these birds look like right cut & shuts towards the end. I really like it though as it breaks up the grey abs gives it some interest. Engines tomorrow hopefully. dibt know what to do about the det cord. Tried Tamiya flexible masking tape and thought it was going to be ok but didn’t match the molded one & looked awful so I removed it. Any ideas gratefully received. EDIT another question regarding the opened canopies. I see photos of them fully opened without the kit supplied strut which props it open. Presumably they had some kind of gas strut or hydraulic system? Is that strut thing an actual thing? It’s a real shame the kit doesn’t assist with canopy being poseable, looks like you have to glue it open if you don’t want to use the clothes-line stick. Edited March 21, 2021 by FreightDog Scotsman, scvrobeson, mgbooyv8 and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 It wouldn't surprise me to see the companies doing the 3D decals do det-cords for all sorts of jets. Seems like that'd be the best way Great paint job with the patchwork gray. Matt FreightDog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMcD Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 (edited) Your Tonka is looking great FreightDog, that is going to be an eye-catcher for sure. The strut is an actaul thing. The canopy can hold itself open without it, but they sometimes use it if the canopy is to remain open for a long time, in case the actuator loses hydraulic pressure or something like that. Here are some pics... The strut is ok to use, but the kit's offering is both a bit thick and short I think... https://i.ibb.co/8szSgv2/2204861.jpg https://i.ibb.co/wstg718/6478095-orig.jpg https://i.ibb.co/r690Tvh/7734828-orig.jpg https://i.ibb.co/FV6N4sn/51369-1490985730.jpg Edited March 22, 2021 by JMcD FreightDog, IvanVasili and Whitey 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreightDog Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 10 hours ago, JMcD said: Your Tonka is looking great FreightDog, that is going to be an eye-catcher for sure. The strut is an actaul thing. The canopy can hold itself open without it, but they sometimes use it if the canopy is to remain open for a long time, in case the actuator loses hydraulic pressure or something like that. Here are some pics... The strut is ok to use, but the kit's offering is both a bit thick and short I think... https://i.ibb.co/8szSgv2/2204861.jpg https://i.ibb.co/wstg718/6478095-orig.jpg https://i.ibb.co/r690Tvh/7734828-orig.jpg https://i.ibb.co/FV6N4sn/51369-1490985730.jpg Fantastic, thanks for that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreightDog Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 Did all the metals today. Combination of alclads randomly mixed until it looked right. The exhausts will tone down with some filters & washes but the reverser buckets always look quite shiny in photos. This will now need to cure then I’ll finish tidying up the stores & landing gear. Next coat the whole thing with Alclad acqua gloss hopefully before I head away on my work trip tomorrow. Renegade, Anthony in NZ, Whitey and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark M Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Looks great As for missiles you need the aim132 same as I used on mine, if it has training bombs you only need 1 but war load would carry 2, hannants / eduard FreightDog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IvanVasili Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 Progressing quite well, good work so far. FreightDog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now