phantom Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Starting Canada day (tomorrow) I can start this nasty old kit. Before Hasegawa came out with a TA-4J which I have yet to build. After Monogram made a Two seat A-4 which required huge mods to make into a TA-4J. THere was Classic Airframes. I am in fear of this one. If past experience with the F-5A is anything I am worried. But we shall build it, get it done and paint it, decal it and finish it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Boy, a lot of putty required, and that little area in front of the tail fell into the fuselage every time I touched the kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
plasticWerks_JL Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Great progress so far, phantom, despite the quality of the kit. Looking forward to the next update Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Scott VMFA (AW)242 Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Note to self....buy lots of putty for the TA-4 in the stash. I will be following your build and fixes to any issues on that kit. I passed on building it for the GB not wanting to bother trying to mix and match decals to make it a VC-12 bird. Something I will attempt down the road. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted July 2, 2015 Author Share Posted July 2, 2015 Did some work this morning before work. Holy CRAP this thing does not want to fit!!!!! Also, the stupid part that starts the tail fin on the spine fell into the fuselage again!!!! The wings seem not to fit to the body at all, Will try that area again when I get home from work. Mind you the resin parts are just beautiful. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spejic Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 I also have this kit, and I've put together the fuel tanks a while back. The plastic seems resistant to regular plastic glues - it took quite a bit to have an effect. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tom G Posted July 2, 2015 Share Posted July 2, 2015 Kudos to you Phantom, for tackling such a challengine kit. Those limited run kits can test your patience. I have persevered in some and others I've tossed in the trash. LOL. I noticed a tube of glue in one of your pictures and was wondering if that is your normal glue or are you just using it on this build? Tom Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 Yep, I use old school tube glue just like the junkie drug kids did back in the 70s. This model is a challenge. I swear I must have positioned and removed the wings 5 times before I could get them close to fitting. Had to chop away part of the bottom to get the sucker to fit. Also the stupid front of the fin fell into the fuselage AFTER the wings were in position so once AGAIN the wings had to come off, replace the fin and then the wings!!!! Needless to say this model came oh so close to being tossed. So massive globs of putty later it dries.As I wipe the tears off my cheeks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I do seem to recall, the last kit that annoyed me that much fell on the floor. With a little help from me. Multiple times. Ok, with a lot of help. It just didn't seem fair to simply throw it out. I just wanted it to suffer ;) Still, I'm hoping You'll have enough patience to finish this one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 Oh, I WILL finish it. If I can make a Hobby Craft Otter look somewhat like a airplane I will finish THIS. The do hickies that support the slates sure are interesting. Blobs that need to be thinned down that have no real place to glue them in. So I cut out slots to glue them in. I gave a base coat to see how much sanding I missed. Lucky its not too bad. Have some more work on the spine of course. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 Right the landing gear was fun. Have to drill out the mounting holes again and "sharpen" the tops of the landing gear to get them to fit. THe front gear is very wobbly and required "super" glue to et to fit. Seems all right after an hour of drying. There was just something that did not look right with the re-fueling probe. I don't know what it was but I replaced the probe with a bent one from a Hasegawa kit. It looks better and also took care of the decision of which decal choice I would do. Left the base coat as the main colour and added some slightly lighter paint on any areas that needed it. Once the decals are on and its dull coated it will not be as obvious. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 Oh, the two big fuel tanks were tossed. No ejector pins and ill fitting, they left too much to be desired. The centre tank turned out ok so it was used. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 THERE!!!!!! The Classic Airframes is much thinner all around then this old Monogram OA-4M I modified around 15 years ago. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spejic Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 It must have been a terrible kit to take you 3 days to finish! Congratulations on finishing the model. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Better then Hobby Craft but sure is no Hasegawa, Have not found a model that beat me totally yet. Though the Hobby Craft Otter and Dash 8 came close. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
masterqq Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 what , you finished alredy..super fast and very good result..like it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
pollie Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Good result for such a bad kit! I have one in the stash together with some Hase TA-4's...I don't mind a challenge but will try to find a new home for that CA kit :-) . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted July 11, 2015 Author Share Posted July 11, 2015 Thanks guys! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tobiK Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 Nice result! Now I am in fear of this kit, too. It is in my stash but I got them for a bargain at german model masters (show) in Nuremberg a few years ago. Just doing an overal grey paintjob gives you a small shortcut, hehe. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 True, but do not worry, I have one more of these to do in cam before I move on to a Hasegawa version. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SERNAK Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Very nice work Phantom!!!! Didn't know that the CA kit had so many fitting issues. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 Oh, it does. One more left in the stash to build after I finish my 1/48 Herc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 Time for number 2. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joel_W Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 Phantom, Just a fantastic build of a killer limited edition kit. Tube glue, work, and you still got it done in what 5-6 days. That's insane. It would take me that long just to decal it. Joel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted August 13, 2015 Author Share Posted August 13, 2015 Thanks Joel, as you know I just no longer worry about the small stuff. Just overall. saves a lot of hassles and my eye-sight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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