AX 365 Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 Dean, modelguy2, ALF: Thanks for popping in boys. Nice story ALF. It was in Dave Bashow's book that I read that Canada's first choice as a replacement for the Sabre was the F-105. Reason given for not going with it was that it would cost too much to build the airframes and engines under license here (Canadair and Orenda). Oh well. Canadair and Orenda got the contracts for license built Starfighters and J-79's and the rest, as they say, is history. A few more photos. I've never seen the vertical stabilizer assembled in this fashion before. The instructions show you gluing part F31 on top of the rear fuselage. Wrong! You can see a 'U / V" shaped groove at the rear of the fuselage on the top left. There's a corresponding groove top right. The 'fingers' on part F31 fit into those grooves. The part does NOT get glued on top. Pardon this blurry photo but the fit was actually quite good. The rudder is glued in place and there was a very minor gap at the fuselage to stab joint and it filled nicely with Tamiya Extra Thin. As promised, photos of the exhaust area. Four individual parts make up the exhaust opening. You can see the parts that need to be snipped off and sanded smooth to make up the exhaust. The fit is quite good. Two in place and then all four. More photos in next post. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted November 23, 2015 Author Share Posted November 23, 2015 Another example of over engineering...the nose cone / radar assembly. Here is the nose cone glued to the front of the fuselage. The fit isn't too bad but there are gaps. The long rectangular holes are for the clips / clasps that hold the radome on. There are three; part F38. Note the difference in the two ends. The smaller goes towards the fuselage while the larger goes toward the front of the radome. The clips / clasps themselves fit into the slots quite well. I glued them into place and let the TETC cure. Once cured, I sanded the pour stub booger smooth. I then used very thin card stock glued in place with TETC to fill the larger gaps and then sanded smooth. That's all for now. Time to go get the winter tires installed on the Boss's Escape. Thanks for looking folks and as usual, comments and constructive criticism is always welcome. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 Wow. Very much over-engineered. I am VERY happy you are doing this one first, Mike. It will make my attempt so much easier. Thanks for being so meticulous about posting these little details that help out those (like me) who would be very likely to screw up those very things. Coming along nicely, bud! ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
airmechaja Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 It sure seems like a nice kit. The details in it look really crisp. I'll keep watching with intent to buy. Dean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin_sam_2000 Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 Looking good. Would have been interesting to see these in Canadian Gray/green camo. Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted November 27, 2015 Share Posted November 27, 2015 Mike, I'm making a start on mine. I am thinking of leaving off lots of the little bits around the front part of the engine; they will be invisible. Things like the accessory gearbox, a curved heat exchanger, and other stuff. Does that make sense to you? I think anything forward of the afterburner section (the four little parts that form the tube) will be useless. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 Mike, I'm making a start on mine. I am thinking of leaving off lots of the little bits around the front part of the engine; they will be invisible. Things like the accessory gearbox, a curved heat exchanger, and other stuff. Does that make sense to you? I think anything forward of the afterburner section (the four little parts that form the tube) will be useless. ALF You are absolutely correct sir. Even if you opt for the engine display option, you'll still only see the back half of the engine. And as I alluded to earlier in the thread, unless you are a real masochist, skip the cannon assembly. You will end up like this trying to assemble it. :wacko: That's the way my eyes felt for the 10 minutes I spent on trying to build it before I said "Feck it!!!" Any other questions or suggestions, fire away buddy. I'm all ears. Good luck. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted November 28, 2015 Author Share Posted November 28, 2015 (edited) Well I've hit my first truly moment in this build. Now I understand why some people call this company Hobby Boo Boo. And everything was going along pretty well until this: The front windshield to canopy fit is horrible. As you can see, the outer edge of the canopy glass lines up with the inner edge of the front windshield and there are no gaps. How they can over engineer the wings and radome and then screw this up so magnificently is beyond me. There is no provision for an open canopy display. Besides, the canopy glass is well and truly cemented into place. I can't sand the windshield part much as there is very little room between the gunsight glass and the inside of the windshield. I might have to remove the gunsight, shave a millimeter or so from the bottom, remount it and then sand the windshield. I'll lose lots of the frame doing that though. CRAP!!!! Time to put it away for a few days and come back to it. Mike Edited November 28, 2015 by AX 365 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sebastijan Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 One word of advice - dryfit! I guess you could avoid this problem by dryfitting first. Even though there's no option for open canopy in the kit, scratching the opening mechanism would certainly be easier than fixing this mess, HB created here. Wish you good luck working this out! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martin_sam_2000 Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 OUCH!! hopefully you can sort out a fix for that. I mean...it is even close!!! How did that ever get passed QC.... Good luck. Sean Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jfmajor60 Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 More photos in next post. Mike Great work so far, to bad you won't be able to see the engine once its all closed up there is a lot of nice detail there, bummer on the canopy not an easy fix but you could pose it with canopy open. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
modelguy2 Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Looks to me that if you can remove the canopy you could glue the windscreen, fit the canopy to match and fill the bottom edge. Seems like the forward part of the canopy would set a bit farther from the sill as molded than the rear. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HistnScale Posted November 29, 2015 Share Posted November 29, 2015 Took a look at the one I'm working on after reading your post and found the same issue. The mating surfaces on the wind screen and the fuselage need to be trued up with a sanding stick to get the right angles and flat mating surfaces. Just getting the angles right on the edge of windscreen pretty much eliminated the problem. HTH, Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted November 29, 2015 Author Share Posted November 29, 2015 Hi guys. Thanks for checking in and offering suggestions, encouragement and words of support. That's what make this my #1 modeling site. I really appreciate the camaraderie. Two things since my last post. 1 - I've searched some on line model photos as well as walk around photos for displaying my Thud with an open canopy. It looks like there is no telescoping mechanism to lift the canopy as there is on an F-15 or an F-18 or an F-101. The model in this photo shows that I should be able to glue the rounded ends of the canopy glass into the corresponding grooves in the fuselage and the canopy will be posed open in a natural configuration. https://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1376&bih=694&q=f-105d+thunderchief&oq=f-105d+thunderchief&gs_l=img.12..0.1792.9213.0.10728.21.8.1.12.13.0.96.661.8.8.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..0.21.685.og2e_hBcPdo#imgrc=V7-NFK3nRj4wcM%3A 2 - Although I had already glued the canopy in place, I was able to remove it without any damage. Ya, it took qu9ite a while to remove it but I got it off with no damage to it. I impressed myself. I'll have to do a bit of clean up to parts but I should be able to display the canopy open with little noticeable damage. Stay tuned for further developments. Thanks again for all the input boys! Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HistnScale Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Out of curiosity, what are you planning for the wingtip navigation lights? Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kurnass77 Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Very sad for the clear parts fit Mike. Maybe you can sand the fuselage under the windshield to preserve the latter's frames,but the open canopy option'll save your time and display the good job you made in the pit. Gianni Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted February 13, 2016 Author Share Posted February 13, 2016 Hi guys. Thanks for checking in and offering suggestions, encouragement and words of support. That's what make this my #1 modeling site. I really appreciate the camaraderie. Although I had already glued the canopy in place, I was able to remove it without any damage. Got ahead of myself. Ya...there's damage alright; a crack right down the middle of the canopy. Out of curiosity, what are you planning for the wingtip navigation lights? Dave Dave, Kit parts. I'm not using any aftermarket bits at all. As long as it looks like a Thud when I'm done, that's all that really matters. Very sad for the clear parts fit Mike. Maybe you can sand the fuselage under the windshield to preserve the latter's frames,but the open canopy option'll save your time and display the good job you made in the pit. Gianni Thanks Gianni. The front windshield part isn't too bad. I hope to display the canopy open, if I can salvage the one I have or get a replacement. Some small advances since my last post. I've glued the wings on and glued together the drop tanks and ordnance I'll be hanging from the wings and belly. My wife is hosting a baby shower for a girlfriend tomorrow so I might get a bit more done on this project. Time will tell. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 Well, I did get a bit more done since my last post. No new photos but I did post a note in 'The Spares Box' forum seeking assistance in obtaining a replacement main canopy. No joy though. Although it is masked for painting, I have a very strong suspicion that it is hooped. I saw evidence of a crack on the top at the back of the canopy and I'm not sure how far forward it extends. :( I just finished spraying the primer (MM 36495) and everything looks good, seam wise. I'll let that cure until later and then I'll spray the undersides grey this afternoon or this evening. The other colours (brown, greens, black, burnt metal, etc) will go on later this week. I don't think I'll be done by deadline. That's fine though. As this kit was a gift from a friend, I sort of feel an obligation to build it. It's not a kit that I would have bought myself. If I can't get a replacement canopy, I'll still display it proudly with everything else. Will post a few more photos when the camo colours have been sprayed. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 Undersides have been sprayed MM camouflage grey. There's an almost imperceptible difference between the camo grey and the light grey primer (MM 36495) with camo grey being just a touch lighter, as I see it. With Model Master discontinuing camouflage grey, I think it would be very easy to match the colour by adding a drop or two of white to the light grey. After the grey dries, I'll start masking for the tan. I'll lay that down first and then the green, dark green, black on the nose and burnt metal on the exhaust area. I won't have it done by deadline but I am making progress. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 Well, I just finished painting the beast. Photos tomorrow after the paint is dry and all masking has been removed. All Model Master enamels (SEA camo colours up top with camouflage grey on bottom and black radome) except for the Model Master Metalizer (burnt metal) sprayed on the exhaust parts. Still not sure about the canopy being cracked as it remains masked in order to spray the gloss coat for the decals. I'll hopefully get that done tomorrow or Friday. With any luck, I should have the entire project wrapped up by next weekend. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 The photos, as promised. Painted bombs, CL tank, pylons, stabs, etc... The aircraft itself... As stated previously, hopefully done by 12 March. Thanks for looking in and as usual, comments and constructive criticism is always welcome. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Two coats of gloss coat sprayed. The rest of the weekend is a write off, model building wise, so things will dry until Monday and I'll start adding stickies then. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted March 8, 2016 Author Share Posted March 8, 2016 The decals have been applied and given an application of Solvaset. Surprisingly, the kit decals aren't bad but not great. They're thin and in register. Some of the larger maintenance stencils are easy to read while others are white blobs on a red background or black blobs on a white background or just black blobs that are semi readable. There is an excess of carrier film that should be trimmed. If you're serious about building this kit, aftermarket decals are a must. The decal placement sheet (same as camouflage painting guide) is hit and miss. There are placement instructions for decals that aren't on the sheet. There are decals on the sheet that have no placement guide or reference on the instructions. For example, the inboard pylons (MER's) have reference for six decals; three per side. Decals 44, 45, 46 (outside), 50, 51 and 60 (inside) - [i think these are the numbers] should be used on one pylon. Unfortunately, there is only one of these decals each. Decals for the other pylon are number 41, 42, 43 (inside), and 52, 53 and 59 (outer). Very confusing. I used spare decals from the sheet to add a bit of spice to the outer pylons for the Bullpups and on the fuselage. I'll wait until tomorrow to ensure the Solvaset has completely dried before handling the model. I've also applied the yellow stripes and stencils and Solvaset to the Mk 82's. I'll then add the landing gear and other small pieces before spraying a coat or two of matte finish. The main canopy glass remains taped and will remain so until the matte coat is sprayed. I'll then find out if it's cracked, broken, okay, written off, etc and if I'll be or . I'll post photos here and in the DEROS thread when I'm finished. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 I just sprayed the matte coat and everything is drying under a cardboard box as we speak. Hopefully I'll get to the final assembly stage tomorrow and have everything done by Saturday or Sunday. Time will tell if the canopy is ruined. I was worried about conforming to the SEA camo paint scheme as depicted in the colour insert with the kit. Earlier this morning, I saw the Thud Paint Schemes thread started by Jari in the Jet forum. It looks like I could have just thrown paint at the kit and the results would have been acceptable. ;) Live and learn. Thanks for looking in. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pete Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Is it done yet? :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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