CF-104 Tiger Bird 1976

[ALF18]

I tried to install just the kit shroud, and found it would not sit right either. Looks to me like the resin instrument panel sits too high; it is causing the kit part to sit at an angle (raised at the rear where it sits on the instrument panel), and forces the back of the windscreen up.

Here is how it looks - hard to tell, but it definitely sits higher at the back, even after I chopped off the locating pins from the front and sides of the kit part to make it sit lower.

So I trimmed a curved slice from the top of the instrument panel, and it still sits too high. I will try to thin the kit and/or resin shroud, to see if one will sit OK without losing the top row of instruments from the panel. I can't believe how poorly this fits!

I started trimming from the thick underside of the resin shroud, and managed to snap off part of it.

Running out of patience, I put it aside and consoled myself looking at Neo's Iron Maiden build among others... Later today I will reattack.

ALF

[Sean Bratton]

It's coming along nicely, Dan!

I had the same problem with the shroud from the Black Box kit and had to sand the bottom down so much to fit that there was almost nothing left of it. If I had to use the BB set again (which I won't) I'd use the kit part like you did.

Cheers,

Sean

[ALF18]

Sean

I will definitely not be using this resin cockpit again. The seat is the only part of it that seems worthwhile, and the fit problems with the rest are not worth the trouble.

Here is how I managed to recover from the fit problem for the shroud. I trimmed off a considerable amount of the main instrument panel top, making it fit the curve of the resin shroud and allowing the shroud to sit lower.

I chopped quite a bit off the shroud to make it smaller, especially in the front where most of the resin got shaved off.

Here it is next to the kit part; you can see the resin is nicer, but I just wish it would fit!!!

Some paint added here:

And finally some dry brushing and addition of silver pen to bring out the detail.

ALF

[Flyboyf18]

Lookin' good.

Does anybody do a vac canopy for the 48th 104? Not my scale so ???? Maybe the instrument shroud was designed to fit under one of those??

[ALF18]

Now an overall photo to see how things look so far. I used silver pen to colour in the navigation and anticollision lights, and then added some red and green magic marker to make the lights.

Working on the landing gear now. Brush painted the wheel wells with Tamiya acrylic silver, and glued in the struts.

For me, this wonderful Hasegawa kit has lots of great landing gear detail. I see now the folly of my ways, painting the black before knowing where the demarcation would go on the gear doors. Needs some touching up.

Got the front main gear doors in place (more touchups...)

And here it is sitting on its feet for the first time.

ALF

[Neo]

Wow shes looking mighty good Alf

Finish line is almost there!

Cheers

Neo

Btw sorry about the bad ling i pm you multitasking does have some drawbacks

[ALF18]

Wow shes looking mighty good Alf

Finish line is almost there!

Cheers

Neo

Btw sorry about the bad ling i pm you multitasking does have some drawbacks :P

Thanks Neo!

Don't worry - when you get older (like me), you'll either give up multitasking, our you will be really bad at it...

:lol:

ALF

[ALF18]

Progress is becoming less dramatic now, but each little touch has added some finesse and realism. I painted the black on the canopy (centre) and windscreen, and have test fit it here. Also have glued on the little resin explosive charges (vertical tubes) on the canopy sills.

A closer view of the cockpit area. The windscreen sits up a bit; when glued it will be properly seated.

I have also corrected the black paint shapes on the nose gear doors, have painted the nosewheel and touched up the black on the tires everywhere. Will soon be ready for Future coat and decals - that's when it will start to look real!

A little bonus for the history fans. This nametag was made in the early 70s in Germany. My father had it made for me when he ordered a bunch for himself. It is an authentic 439 squadron pilot's name tag, which I never wore on a flying suit. As an Officer Cadet, I felt it would have been presumptious to wear it, and when I was attached to other flying units it was not appropriate. I still like it more than any other name tag I have - a gift from dear old departed Dad.

ALF

[Charlie Cheetah]

Looking sharp Dan, thats a nice add on too.

[AX 365]

Some great work there Dan and a wonderful recovery on the painting mishaps. She's going to turn out quite nicely. As I had mentioned earlier in the thread, I have the same resin cockpit you used in this build and it sounds like it fought you all the way. I might just take your cue, along with Sean's endorsement, and probably use selected resin pieces and use mostly kit pieces. I'm kinda kicking myself in the derriere for not doing that with my build; mixing kit and resin pieces. Oh well... I can hardly wait to see the finished product. She's gonna be a beaut. By the way, that's a great keepsake your dad had made for you.

Keep up the great work.

Take care.

Mike

[ALF18]

Thanks to Mike for the encouragement on the painting. I had one final disaster to recover from. Not sure the pictures really show it... On the real aircraft, the nose cone and forward top of the fuselage in front of the canopy are a duller black; anti-glare. In an attempt to capture this look, I sprayed some dull coat (Testors spray can) on the nose area, and after it dried I was horrified to see some of the black paint had run slightly underneath, leaving some traces of yellow peeking through under the nose.

So I touched up the entire dull nose area with a brush, using Matt Black instead of Semi-Gloss Black.

That should teach me to leave well enough alone! This was a subtle little detail that I thought might add another little touch of realism, but instead it ended up biting me. That's the last time I spray dull coat on a double-layer acrylic job.

Hard to see in this pic, but the dull portion is here on the top and under the radome.

Now on to the decaling, which always lifts my spirits. I used the Belcher Bits set, which comes with enough to do any Tiger Bird. As I used them, I marveled at how cleverly Mr Belcher has designed the various backgrounds (some natural metal, some white, etc) to be so flexible and yet efficient at the same time.

First step was to apply the white backgrounds and let them dry.

What I found really clever was the wing roundels. On the Tiger Bird, they have white backgrounds and a white interior fill between the blue and the maple leaves. The roundel came with a transparent centre, which became white when applied on the white circle underneath. This very same roundel also can be used on the late variagated camo scheme used in the 80s; it had a transparent centre. Brilliantly done, Mike!

Same can be said for the black CANADA markings. The Tiger Bird used a white background to the letters, but the black letters can also be used for the overall green and the variaged camo schemes.

This is really starting to look like the real thing!

You can see here that I made the yellow section here a tad narrow. Sigh.

These tiny tail numbers are no fun. The 104 was all together, but the 7, 5, and 6 are all separate.

ALF

[Tilt]

Really coming together there Alf. :D

[AX 365]

ALF,

I understand what you mean about the bleeding. The coat of duller black has solved the problem though. Nice work with Mike Belcher's decals. I have a couple of sets in my pile to use on a couple of my Starfighters. I've never looked carefully at the sheets though until I saw your post above. I went and looked at a set. You're correct. The way the sheets are designed are quite ingenious.

Keep it up buddy. The finish line is in sight. What's next on ALF's plate?

Mike

As an aside, I hope I answered your question?

[Neo]

Go Alf Go if you cant do it nobody can

Finish line is in sight and i like what i see

Cheers

Neo

[ALF18]

ALF,

Keep it up buddy. The finish line is in sight. What's next on ALF's plate?

Mike

Mike

The next build will be a 1/32 T-33, in the Trainers GB. I plan to add lots of pics and info about this classic old beast, so stay tuned!

ALF

[ALF18]

As an aside, I hope I answered your question?

Definitely, my friend. Digesting... will get back to you soon with another related query.

Dan

[ALF18]

Go Alf Go if you cant do it nobody can

Finish line is in sight and i like what i see

Cheers

Neo

Neo

Thanks for the usual encouragement, dude! And now for the finish line...

Absolutely loved those decals. I had to use a couple from the spares box (Leading Edge CF-104 metal/green scheme) to make up for some I had used on a previous build. Belcher's decals have enough to do a few different schemes from the same sheet, but things like the turbine red line need to be taken from another kit or sheet.

Still in progress:

And final photo session outside.

Maybe not perfect, but good enough for me. I'm very happy to have this piece of memorabilia on my desk, where it will join its cousins in 1:48:

And the biggie in 1:32:

ALF

Edited August 15, 2010 by ALF18

[Tilt]

Looks great Alf. I bet every time you look at it now, you'll be reminded of your Dad having the honor of flying the real Tiger Jet. Those are memories that I'm envious of.

I look forward to following your next build. Only because it's never just following a series of construction steps with you - it's like following along on a journey.

[ALF18]

Looks great Alf. I bet every time you look at it now, you'll be reminded of your Dad having the honor of flying the real Tiger Jet. Those are memories that I'm envious of.

I look forward to following your next build. Only because it's never just following a series of construction steps with you - it's like following along on a journey.

Tilt

Thanks dude. You said it well about how this kit will remind me of Dad. Glad to have brought you along on this journey - look for the T-Bird coming soon (need a short creative pause, and my wife wants me to clean up the model desk first...)

ALF

[Sean Bratton]

If I can steal the line of another famous tiger - that turned out ggrrrreeeeaaaatttt!

Nice job!

Cheers,

Sean

[Charlie Cheetah]

That looks real nice Dan, a fitting tribute to your father.

[ALF18]

If I can steal the line of another famous tiger - that turned out ggrrrreeeeaaaatttt!

Nice job!

Cheers,

Sean

Thanks Tony... er... Sean!

That looks real nice Dan, a fitting tribute to your father.

And to you as well, Charlie!

[HOLMES]

ALF./Dan

what a maginificent tribute to your Father,and the Tiger looks AWESOME.. :wub:

All your hard work has paid off and I am glad that you persevered and finished it.

The striking colorful paintwork is FLAWLESS and LOVED following your thread.

it is BEAUTIFUL ,STUNNING TIGER BIRD and I am sure your Father would have been so proud to see it displayed for all to see and

admire as I admire it ...

ALF ...erm are you not supposed hit a white ball with that Driver...For a minute I thought you thought it was a Plumb line ...cheking if it was dead straight !!

HOLMES

[AX 365]

Tilt

Thanks dude. You said it well about how this kit will remind me of Dad. Glad to have brought you along on this journey - look for the T-Bird coming soon (need a short creative pause, and my wife wants me to clean up the model desk first...)

ALF

Nicely done mister! And as Tilt observed, the personal touches and anecdotes you include in your threads really bring the thread to life. Keep it up.

As for the cleaning of the desk, you tell Mrs. ALF that it's your work area and it'll be in any state of disrepair that you choose. If that doesn't fly, I have a spare room you can have.

Good luck with the T-33 buddy.

[faab104]

Thanks again for this great Topic ALF !

Your model makes me wonder to do it in my scale...

I think you have time to make another Starfighter !? ! the T33 can wait