Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Hi all!

I've been anxiously awaiting the start of this GB. There is a huge pile of Timmy's cups on the floor in my office, consumed as I waited for today.

I know I promised to start this GB with the big 1/32 T-33 kit. As I fondled the plastic and resin, I started thinking that I want to do a good job on it. So, I dug through the stash and found this 1/48 Testors kit. I figured that by doing it first, it would start the brain thinking a bit about the ins and outs of the T-bird, and by making the inevitable mistakes on the little kit I will avoid some on the big kit.

Here is the subject I have chosen - a late scheme grey camo 439 Squadron Bagotville jet.

P1080381.jpg

The aircraft pictured is on display in the outdoor park of the Bagotville Air Defence Museum. It is tail number 133333, which I have flown in the back seat. Here's the tail with the Tiger logo:

P1080388.jpg

The one I will be doing from the Leading Edge set 48.19 is tail number 133393. There is an interesting tie-in between this build and my coming 1/32 scale build - they will both be 393. In a way, this particular aircraft kind of book-ends my military flying career. The very first ejection-seat equipped aircraft I flew in was 133393, when it was in Baden Germany in 1973. I was a young Air Cadet, and I was chosen with 5 other cadets to fly in the back seat of this silver jet for 20 minutes each. I flew with my father, who was a CF-104 (and part-time T-33) pilot at the time. More on that in that build thread.

Late in my career, I was stationed here in Bagotville Quebec, where 439 was reformed from the Base Flight organisation, with the CH-118 Huey and CT-133 aircraft. They did rescue with the helos, and utility (i.e. taxi and minor parts transfer) flying. It was in 1996 that I flew my last T-33 flight, in 393 again! This time it was painted overall grey, and I was again in the back seat. The flight was from Bagotville to Goose Bay Labrador, where I was going to man the CF-18 NORAD alert for a week. Later in this thread I will tell the story of that memorable flight. This of course is a blatant tactic designed to get you, dear reader, to check back regularly to see when I tell the story.

I will be posting many more pics of the museum aircraft in the ref area of ARC, and will put a link into a post in this thread soon, after I've created that other thread.

ALF

Edited by ALF18
Link to post
Share on other sites

Some background on the unit - the proud Tiger squadron. Their mascot is called Fang. He is a stuffed tiger presented to the squadron when they flew Sabres in Europe in the 50s. Fang now lives in the Air Defence Museum in Bagotville.

In this picture, Fang is having a 'discussion' with another squadron's mascot... this was taken in Baden during the CF-18 era. I think the bird is a Nighthawk (409 squadron).

Fanghawk.jpg

Here is Fang in the museum, inside his display case.

Fang.jpg

ALF

Edited by ALF18
Link to post
Share on other sites

Great photos Alf...I got my reference photos of a grey machine at an Airshow at Red Deer some time ago and have about 10 good shots sitting on my desk (Dave Koss of Leading Edge was there with me and took more like 50 shots) for quick reference. Wish I was more computer literate and could scan and post them....Does the 48th kit have separate flaps (they are always down in pictures)? I'm starting the 1/72 Sword for this build and will be separating the flaps tonight as they just have to be down as far as I am concerned so some scratch building for me....I will be using Leading Edge decals too but probably not the grey scheme....Good luck on your build..

Cheers

Bruce

Edited by RCAFFAN
Link to post
Share on other sites
Great photos Alf...I got my reference photos of a grey machine at an Airshow at Red Deer some time ago and have about 10 good shots sitting on my desk (Dave Koss of Leading Edge was there with me and took more like 50 shots) for quick reference. Wish I was more computer literate and could scan and post them....Does the 48th kit have separate flaps (they are always down in pictures)? I'm starting the 1/72 Sword for this build and will be separating the flaps tonight as they just have to be down as far as I am concerned so some scratch building for me....I will be using Leading Edge decals too but probably not the grey scheme....Good luck on your build..

Cheers

Bruce

Bruce

Welcome to the GB and this thread. This kit is very basic (Testors) - I think the flaps are part of the wing underside. I will probably leave them up, and pretend that the pilot raised them after landing and left them up when he shut down. Same with the speed brakes.

As Charlie confirmed above, the Academy kit is better - it has flaps that can be extended, and the cockpit is also better than the Testors kit. I'll probably close the canopy on this one, given the poor cockpit detail. This build will be fairly quick - no detailing, no scratchbuilding, just put it together and warm up for the big Czech Models kit.

When it comes to scanning pictures, sometimes I cheat - I take photos of the prints with a digital camera, and post those digital versions. Not the greatest quality, but it takes a lot less time, and doesn't demand any manipulation of files, etc.

ALF

Link to post
Share on other sites
neat project - looking forward to it ALF

Ken - nice to see you stopping by - not that I'm at all surprised!

A note about the flaps on this Testors kit. I read ahead in the instructions, and was surprised to see that "for advanced modelers only" there was detail moulded into the lower wing part, on the inside of the flaps. They said it was intentionally designed to allow flaps to be trimmed away and extended.

I don't have picture uploaded yet, but I have actually managed to cut the flaps out without botching them (that advanced modeler warning kinda spooked me...). They are now suitably drooped. The detail inside is not very good, but at least it is there, and good enough for this little warm-up build.

ALF

Now officially a "Testors Advanced Modeler", and proud of it, eh!

Link to post
Share on other sites
Congrats, is there a certificate to go with that. :woot.gif: Good luck with the build.

Wayne

Wayne

Of course it comes with a certificate! I've filed it along with every military course-end certificate I ever got - at the bottom of the trunk in my car... There is no longer any room for suitcases! <_<

ALF

Link to post
Share on other sites
Wayne

Of course it comes with a certificate! I've filed it along with every military course-end certificate I ever got - at the bottom of the trunk in my car... There is no longer any room for suitcases! :whistle:

ALF

Time to upgrade to a.....

chevrolet-impala-1976-1.jpg

That should hold a few more certificates (and a small hobby room in the back seat area). :whistle:

Link to post
Share on other sites
Time to upgrade to a.....

chevrolet-impala-1976-1.jpg

That should hold a few more certificates (and a small hobby room in the back seat area). :rofl:

Hey Tilt

Definitely an Alberta car! No rust, and designed for the wide roads and huge parking spots out there. Looks a little like my very first car - a 1965 Dodge Polara, 4 door, with a 318 V8.

ALF

Link to post
Share on other sites

So I guess it's time for some progress, eh? Gather round, hosers...

Here is the box and the decal sheet - latest offering from Leading Edge. I picked up this one from e-Bay. At first I thought it was the chrome-plated plastic version; I built one like that from Testors in the 70s. The chrome plating looked really cool, but of course you couldn't fix any seams without rubbing off the finish...

P1090387.jpg

First things that go together are the tip tanks. Detail isn't that bad, but the fins have horrible sink holes on one side each. Hopefully I managed to get them on the bottom side, and will not confuse that when they get glued on to the wings.

P1090389.jpg

The kit comes with a J-33 engine and stand. It's the wrong engine for the Canadian T-bird, but I thought the front part would be visible inside the intakes. Only after I painted it black did I realize that I had wasted my time. Oh well...

P1090390.jpg

Here are the flaps scribed out and bent down to extend them.

P1090388.jpg

ALF

Link to post
Share on other sites

Good start there Alf

im jealous my academy t-33 didn't have an engine to build

Of course i did mine as a Blue angels ... its my addiction

p1010745f.jpg

cant wait to see more progress

Cheers

Neo

Link to post
Share on other sites
Good start there Alf

im jealous my academy t-33 didn't have an engine to build

Of course i did mine as a Blue angels ... its my addiction

p1010745f.jpg

cant wait to see more progress

Cheers

Neo

Neo

Was that a what-if Blue Angel, or did they really fly T-birds at some point? Looks cool, anyway!

More progress tomorrow or Sunday.

ALF

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yeah its the real deal they started using this as #0 in 1953 when the team was flying F9F Phanters

Oh and dont forget the nose weight .. I did and filled the hole under my mamma hates me[it section with pelets and its still tail heavy

Edited by Neo
Link to post
Share on other sites
ALF- good start

Here are some shots as I built mine a few years back. You want to blank-off the wheel wells, and you can see how the wheels were not molded correctly

http://kenmiddleton.net/scale_models/otis_...t/T-33/t-33.htm

Ken

Thanks for the link. Yours turned out nicely, especially considering the major gaps you had to fill. Looks like I got lucky with my wheels - they seem to be moulded correctly.

ALF

Link to post
Share on other sites
Yeah its the real deal they started using this as #0 in 1953 when the team was flying F9F Phanters

Oh and dont forget the nose weight .. I did and filled the hole under my mamma hates me[it section with pelets and its still tail heavy

Neo

Ah so - the Blue Angels used the T-bird as a coordinator's aircraft. Makes sense, when you don't want to overuse the super-hot Panther... :-)

Here is the weight I'm putting in the nose.

P1090392.jpg

Hopefully it's enough!

ALF

Link to post
Share on other sites

Cockpit is very rudimentary, but I will not spend too much time on it. Decals put on for instrument panels - used Future to hold them in place. Waiting for them to dry, then I'll paint some yellow and red on the seats and install everything in the cockpit.

This is going to be a fast build!

P1090391.jpg

ALF

Link to post
Share on other sites
Ken

Thanks for the link. Yours turned out nicely, especially considering the major gaps you had to fill. Looks like I got lucky with my wheels - they seem to be moulded correctly.

ALF

ALF - thanks!

good to hear on your wheels, though mine were not hard to fix. And I should have said you may want to blank off the wheel wells

the nose weight you have should be enough, and that's the type I use as well

Edited by Ken Middleton
Link to post
Share on other sites

Got the cockpit and fuselage together. Seats aren't installed yet - I will add some silver weathering marks to them before glueing in place.

Here is the fuselage done:

P1090393.jpg

There were some gaps at the wing/fuselage joint that I decided to minimize by accentuating the dihedral - a little bit of tape did the trick.

P1090394.jpg

For comparison, here is the real thing - dihedral is definitely obvious, although my model might be a bit exaggerated. Another thing to look at closely here is the fact that one of the main gear oleos has collapsed on this aircraft. It happened quite regularly when operating, and surprisingly enough a little bit of rocking and pressure on the other oleo would often fix it up.

Time for a small anecdote about oleos:

I flew into Navy North Island air base near San Diego with a CT-133 one weekend. At the time, I was between two fighter courses (the CF-5 and CF-18 courses in Cold Lake), and flying with Base Flight on the T-bird. The best part about that was all the away trips - I never liked Cold Lake as a place to live, especially being single at the time.

I was with a brand new Lieutenant - he had just gotten his wings and done the T-33 course a couple months after I did. I was a senior Captain, and had 2,000 more flying hours than the Lt, so when we got to the servicing area, he was designated to take care of the aircraft while I did the paperwork in the line servicing shack.

We were a bit surprised to hear that the transient servicing (transient alert in American parlance) techs were not allowed to refuel visiting aircraft. Turns out that not too long before our visit, they had managed to blow up (or badly burn - not sure which version of that story to trust) a visiting E-2 aircraft. They now wanted visiting aircrew to do the actual refuelling. So good old Gary the Lt got nominated by me to refuel, while I did the easy job of filling in the papers.

The T-33 was a classic aircraft in all respects. One major point where it differed from modern jets was that refuelling was not done single-point with a high-pressure hose. There were 7 total fuel tanks, each with their own filler cap. One, in the fuselage, held about 80 Imperial Gallons, and was the last fuel burned. It never got used, so didn't need to be refilled. In the wing, there are two filler caps on each side - the outboard ones are for the Leading Edge tanks, which are heavily baffled to prevent fuel sloshing left and right. They are a bit tough to refuel, given their propensity to 'burp' or 'spit up' like a baby if refuelled too fast. Some Canadian techs put pressure on the pilots not to use the Leading Edge tanks at all, to make the refuelling job easier. The wings also had main wing tanks, slightly inboard and aft of the leading edge fillers. Finally, the tip tanks each had a filler cap.

In Canada, fuel trucks (bowsers) that refuelled T-birds were equipped with dual hoses, designed to fill the tip tanks simultaneously. This took two techs to do so, one on each tip tank. In San Diego that warm afternoon, Gary only had a single-hose bowser. I forgot to check on him, and didn't think it necessary to warn him (somehow I thought common sense would prevail). Too late, I looked out from the servicing shack and saw disaster about to happen.

Gary was sitting on the end of the wing, just inside the tip tank, filling up the left tip tank. He had already filled the Wing and Leading Edge tanks partially, but was waiting for the fuel in the Leading Edge to settle before filling it entirely. For that reason, he had left the fuel caps off the Wing and LE tanks. I yelled at him to stop filling the tip tank, and go do the opposite tip tank partially before finishing the left tank, when the oleo on the left main gear collapsed due to the fuel imbalance, and fuel from both the wing and LE tanks sloshed out all over Gary's legs.

He had quite a fright as the aircraft went 'clunk' and almost tilted over, fuel flying everywhere. I went out and helped him finish the job, and fix the collapsed oleo problem. The USN techs thought this was quite amusing. And all weekend, Lt Gary had a bit of a tough time picking up chicks, seeing as how he reeked of jet fuel even after multiple showers!

P1080409.jpg

Here is where Gary was sitting, just between the tip tank and Leading Edge filler cap.

P1080411.jpg

P1080408.jpg

ALF

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ken is right about the wheel wells needing filling - these are definitely not pretty. I will take the lazy way out though, and leave them as-is.

P1090395.jpg

Anyone who has built this kit will realize that I made quite a blunder here - I forgot to install the main gear struts before glueing the wings together. Luckily, I was able to force them into place without breaking anything, using tweezers.

I had a hard time getting the engine to fit into the forward fuselage (was too fat to fit), so I decided to chop off the tail pipe and leave out the bulk of the engine. For simplicity and ease of assembly, I didn't do what would have been ideal - scratch-build a flat bulkhead at the forward end of the tail pipe, thus blocking it off and allowing it to sit horizontally inside the aft fuselage. Instead, I simply glued the tail pipe at the back and at the forward bottom. If I see the pipe sticking out looks too slanted, I will just trim it a bit. Welcome to the ALF school of modelling - cut corners where possible, and don't sweat the small stuff. That's how I remain sane in this hobby, and why I will never match some of the perfectionists on ARC who are truly awesome detailers.

P1090396.jpg

Tail pipe doesn't look too bad here. May not need trimming.

P1090397.jpg

Fuselage is together. Look at those huge gaps at the front/rear fuselage join!

P1090411.jpg

This is when you realize how spoiled you've been building Tamigawa kits for so long...

P1090413.jpg

ALF

Link to post
Share on other sites

The tail pipe looks OK here.

P1090414.jpg

Now on to the tip tanks. Remember how I noticed there were sink marks on the tank fins? And how I cleverly ensured they would be on the bottom? Well... not so fast! :touche:

The tip tanks are cleverly moulded with the tabs from the wingtips offset toward the bottom of the wings, and the gap where the wing seats into the tank is also offset - and guess what? I managed to end up with the fins showing the sink holes on the top! 50% chance of screwing it up...

P1090415.jpg

Now it's starting to look like a T-bird.

P1090416.jpg

Gap filling with putty is the next step.

ALF

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...