a4s4eva Posted June 9, 2016 Author Share Posted June 9, 2016 Engine covers. I'd heard these could be problematic but mine fitted OK. And when I say fitted OK I mean I only spent 10 mins standing various surfaces to get a decent fit. I glued the underside panel to fuselage first, then I glued the 2 side panels to the underside panels. (This photo was taken later and shows the CDS and underside strakes ). Then I tackled gluing the side panels to the fuselage. I needed some serious clamping. I used Mr Cement S - why ? Well I watched Spencer Pollard's video on glues (Initially I thought - really.... what can I learn about glue, I've been building models for years) But ... I did learn something (actually I learn't quite a bit) . The relevant bit here being that being Mr Cement S bonds very quickly and is very strong (I didn't know that, I thought it was just like normal glue. I'm not that happy about the massive panel lines on this side though This side is better Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted June 18, 2016 Author Share Posted June 18, 2016 Intakes - as usual these don't fit well. but forewarned is forearmed. The intakes are made of 2 L shaped pieces with the joins along the lower outer and upper inner corners. I was advised to not follow the instructions, which call for you to glue the intakes together then attach this assembly to the aircraft. if you do this the box formed by the intakes is slightly wider than the fuselage and you'll end up with a step. The advice was to attach (temporarily or permanently) the inner piece to the fuselage and then sand the pieces so you end up with no steps. This works pretty well and you end up with a good join. One thing I never noticed in any of the reviews is that he kit doesn't have any intake trunking at all - just the intakes which go into the cavernous fuselage. its pretty dark in there but the front of the engine faces can be seen sitting in there.... I think I'll go with some intake blanks Onto the vertical stabiliser. This is made up of multiple parts which are Butt jointed (really????) And the rudder is about 2mm to short (the red line shows the original rudder line and butt joint between the upper and lower parts. I also think the panel near the top of the rudder is only on the left side, and not, as the the kit has, on the right side. I filled the line formed by the kit rudder and cut another line higher up which is closer to being correct. Because the butt joint re-scribing as resulted in the filled butt joins resurfacing. Eventually I figured out I needed to be really careful :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crazy Snap Captain Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Nice work mate. Coming along great guns. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted June 24, 2016 Author Share Posted June 24, 2016 (edited) I usually leave weapons until last on a build, which means I rush them, or give up and never use them. This time I've decided to do them along the way. I've found enough images online of camouflaged GR'1's with overwing rails to satisfy me that they could have been used in a major post gulf war conflict. But I wasn't really happy with Kittyhawk's representation of what looks like a LAU-7, so I robbed some from the junk box. I think these came from a Hasegawa Phantom or Tomcat kit. Next was the pylons and the kit ones are totally wrong for an RAF Jag. I did consider trying to shape the Kittyhawk pylons (you cna see my quick go on the outer pylon on the image below). Getting the shape right from the side view wouldn't be that difficult but the Kittyhawk pylons are twice as thick as the Airfix ones. So I decided that I'd bought that $15 Airfix Jag as donor kit for this build , so I may as well use it. Another bonus was that the Airfix kit has the tandom bomb adaptors whereas the Kittyhawk doesn't. The Airfix kits aren't perfect but they're close enough. I added some rows of fasteners with the Trumpeter riveting tool to add interest. Here are all the weapons prior to paint. The BL 755 CBU's are from Wingman. The AIM-9L's are from Eduard are form Eduard and are nicely detail but a bit of pain to remove from the casting block. I wrecked on in the process as I rushed things. I'm using the Kittyhawk Phimat Chaff/Flare pod on the Airfix Pylon which has the ballast weight (the kit doesn't have the ballast weight) I've ordered a Flightpath ALQ-101 ECM pod from Hannants for the other outboard station as it looked nicer than the Airfix one (again Kittyhawk doesn't have it in the kit). Just waiting for it to show up Edited June 25, 2016 by a4s4eva Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted June 25, 2016 Author Share Posted June 25, 2016 Wing time There's a nasty gap on the wing join and there's not much you can do to make it better. I'm up for filling and sanding but I'm used to it now. Apart from the gap between the fuselage and wing, I did have to adjust the fit to ensure the top of the wing is level with the fuselage. I checked this before I glued the fuselage halves together placing a shim on one side. The gap on the underside is quite large however. I used pieces of 0.005" card to fill it then CA. This side was better , I only used card in a few places. Thick CA was used elsewhere. You can see the approximation of the fuelling bay as well. Returning to the top wing. I'm using the Aeroguide Jaguar Book as my main reference. It's images and line drawings show where filling is needed. In the image below the area between the black lines needs filling. The blue lines need extending and the red lines need filling as they don't appear to exist on the aircraft. I filled the gap with CA and then sanded it smooth. I didn't quite get the wings level with the fuselage so I used some Mr Surfacer 1000 and 1200 to level every thing else. The blue is whiteboard marker I'm using to see where any scratches recessed detail is. A bit of card was needed at the gap between the flaps and fuselage Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted June 26, 2016 Author Share Posted June 26, 2016 Weapons and wheels Weapons are done. BL 755 from Flightpath. Nice, but my set only had one decal sheet. However that wasn't really an issue because all the decals in the set are for exercise weapons :( (Why?). The only decals I needed were the white horizontal stripes (which I painted anyway)and the white stripes on the bottom (I cut some decal strips from a leftover decal sheet for the 4 extra I needed). The AIM-9L's from Eduard. Decals from Afterburner (not sure why Edaurd didn't include decals ...) These are the paragon wheels and I don't really like how flat they are. Â From looking at images I can see the Jaguar wheels were pretty low pressure and hence flat on the bottom but these look a little over done to me. .... Not convinced I'll use them. Might get the Royale resin ones Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crazy Snap Captain Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Bloody hell! Those wheels look like they need a bit of inflating! Way over done. What are the kit ones like? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted June 29, 2016 Author Share Posted June 29, 2016 Bloody hell! Those wheels look like they need a bit of inflating! Way over done. What are the kit ones like? The thing is , they're not that overdone... but it just doesn't look right https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEPECAT_Jaguar#/media/File:Jaguar.sideon.arp.jpg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted July 1, 2016 Author Share Posted July 1, 2016 (edited) As pointed out by a mate at Kiwi Modeller the kit incorrectly has a recess at the rear of the speedbrake that shouldn't be there... So I decided to to fix it. I made 2 rectangles out of 0.0015" card and glued it in The painted with Mr Surfacer 1000 and 1200 and sanded to shape. next was the forward gear bays. These were a little to little to small so needed filling with CA and re-scribing Onto the tail. The bit in white was supposed to be int he kit, but the bit on the sprue looked nothing like the reference area. I used some evergreen sprue. The black is Mr Surfacer 1500 sprayed through my airbrush. On good kits I don't bother with priming ... This one has so much work on it priming is required. The Mr Surfacer 1500 shrinks down really nicely and hasn't filled the surface detail. Plus I can try the latest fad - black basing (Actually I'm not probably going to bother, I just needed some good primer) Edited July 1, 2016 by a4s4eva Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Silenoz Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 nice build so far (at least for us who are merely following). Have the kit also in my stash, bummer, but I will eventually give it a try. I've thought my last finished kit was a bad fit for a recent one, but this one seems worse... keep up the good work... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted July 2, 2016 Author Share Posted July 2, 2016 I rejigged the instruments/panels on the instrument panel combing to better reflect the images I had. I also added the RWS indicator (rectangle on the right side). The HUD isn't accurate but it's close enough. The clear part is a piece of a screen protector form a mobile phone. Next was the front windscreen. It appears to a fraction to wide and a fraction to high where it meets the front fuselage. Some sanding and Perfect Plastic Putty and it's looking acceptable Maybe, just maybe I might get to paint this thing Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted July 3, 2016 Author Share Posted July 3, 2016 (edited) Painting time at long last. Firstly primer, black Mr Surfacer 1500. This goes down really nice and smooth. Doesn't even need rubbing back with micromesh..... Next I painted the entire aircraft dark green using Mr Color Lacquers. I was going to mask the camo pattern but many of the images showed a softer edge to the camo, so I decided on some airbrushing practice with my new Iwata 0.2mm airbrush. The dark grey is also a Mr Color Lacquer. I love these paints as they go down really nice, even when thinned right down. Plus they dry pretty much straight away so you can handle the model within minutes. I loaded my 0.2mm Iwata with the grey and my 0.3mm Sparmax with the green, That way I could touch up any bits of overspray, or correct the pattern instantly. All done.... but the grey is a bit to dark for my taste... That black undercoat is likely the cause... I think I will have to look at redoing the grey at least... Edited July 3, 2016 by a4s4eva Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted July 4, 2016 Author Share Posted July 4, 2016 As I didn't like how dark the grey was I added a little white and redid the grey. I then painted all the parts to match Once I was happy I added some darker and lighter splotches to break up the up the uniformity of the finish. Then I painted the anti glare shield NATO black and gun fairings Tamiya Red brown . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AndrewPerren Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 Oh boy - starting to come together now. Loving this so far. Don't give up now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dragan_mig31 Posted July 5, 2016 Share Posted July 5, 2016 I like the shading.Great job. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K5054NZ Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 I'm very, very happy for you Calum! Just reading your initial progress made my jaw drop in sympathy and total shock. What an awful-looking kit. Fit etc seems to be improving as you go, but I'm guessing that's more down to your skill. Bravo and thanks for sharing your progress. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 Thanks guys. Getting there slowly Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Janissary Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 What an amazing build. I understand the kit has tons of problems but you have done such a nice job overcoming them. On top of that the camo looks perfect. I am tempted to get one of these, but will not because I don't have the patience or the skills to make it this good. Can't wait to see more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted July 9, 2016 Author Share Posted July 9, 2016 (edited) Stores pylons on. remember these are the Airifx ones and they fit well after you drill and pin them. I did run bead of water based filler to fill some gaps between the LAU 7's and the over wing racks I've done some detail painting on the RWR receiver (now you know what Sqn I'll be doing), the leading edge of the fins and lower strakes I also applied an oil wash of AK interactive Oil paint AK 502 – Shadows for Grey Ships thinned with Mig thinners and then wiped off with a paper towel. The Mr Color Lacquers dry smooth and with a semi gloss sheen so there's no need for a gloss coat prior to a wash The wash is just dark enough to highlight some of the recessed detail without being to stark. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Edited July 9, 2016 by a4s4eva Quote Link to post Share on other sites
my favs are F`s Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Gorgeous! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jgrease Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Great build! John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
coneheadff Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Beauty!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
a4s4eva Posted July 15, 2016 Author Share Posted July 15, 2016 (edited) Decided to scratch build a ladder using the helpful plans posted at Britmodeller (here) It's not quite right, I didn't get the angle of the inner verticals right, but it's good enough. Appliced a gloss coate of model master gloss. 3 days later some bits are still tacky.... Guess that's the last time I use that stuff. Once it appeared to have dried I started to apply the Model Alliance decals. After getting a couple on I wasn't happy with how things were going , lots of silvering but some registration issues. Plus the fin flash angles didn't match the rudder angles, I guess they are sized for the Airfix kits. Rather than try the kit decals I figured I'd make some masks for the rundels and fin flash using the silhouette portrait cutter Masks on Red On first. Red was Gunze red with a couple of drops of Tamiya red brown. Then blue. Blue was Tamiya Royal blue wit a drop of black I also decided to give it a another gloss coat, this time using Tamiya X22 and Mr Color thinners. Now I've got a decent gloss coat The Masks did pull the paint of the PE lift spoiler though, so that needs to be fixed. Thankfully I could pop the whole part off Edited July 15, 2016 by a4s4eva Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jgrease Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Looks great - you've managed this kit well! John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JEN722 Posted July 16, 2016 Share Posted July 16, 2016 Very nice Calum! What kind of cutter do you have? Jens Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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