JesusNut Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 Started a new project last weekend. The aircraft I am doing is as the title says. The RIO in the aircraft is a gentleman that lived down the street from me when I was still a kid. He was stationed in Pensacola as an instructor when we moved here in 1979. He pointed me towards this aircraft as one he flew in and one of the missions he remembers above all else. I am building this completely OOB and plan on sending it to him when finished. Since I could not find any decals for this aircraft, I designed masks for the tail. There are some VF-151 decals out there, and I picked up a set for real cheap, but they had the wrong Modex number in them. Here are the pics of the work as I progressed. I have also worked some on the pit, but will take pics and add them later on when I am finished with the seats. Until next time! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AlienFrogModeller Posted November 10, 2018 Share Posted November 10, 2018 Nice Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tosouthern66 Posted November 11, 2018 Share Posted November 11, 2018 Very nice start! Can't wait to the this one all finished up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JesusNut Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 Calling the pit done. I feel pretty decent about it considering I'm an old fart with tired eyes and an unsteady hand. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JesusNut Posted November 12, 2018 Author Share Posted November 12, 2018 For those who have built this kit, is there any way to install the MLG struts after assembling the wings? I would really rather do that later after all the assembly and painting if at all possible. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 3 hours ago, JesusNut said: For those who have built this kit, is there any way to install the MLG struts after assembling the wings? I would really rather do that later after all the assembly and painting if at all possible. I am working on the B now, I test fit it with the wing taped together and It seemed like I could muscle the gear leg in place so I glued the wing together. I hope I am right. If I build another academy phantom I will probably re-engineer the whole assembly with tubing and pins for a stronger assembly, so it attaches like the gear leg in other kits. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JesusNut Posted November 12, 2018 Author Share Posted November 12, 2018 15 hours ago, Kurt H. said: I am working on the B now, I test fit it with the wing taped together and It seemed like I could muscle the gear leg in place so I glued the wing together. I hope I am right. If I build another academy phantom I will probably re-engineer the whole assembly with tubing and pins for a stronger assembly, so it attaches like the gear leg in other kits. Kurt, Just wanted to throw this out there for you. I posted this on FB also and got a solution from another forum member. On the front of the strut there is a little locating pin that slides into the slot. I trimmed it back just a little bit and now it slides in nice and neat and still feels like it has plenty of glue surface to make it rock solid. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 Very nice, that tail looks bang on. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JesusNut Posted November 13, 2018 Author Share Posted November 13, 2018 On 11/10/2018 at 10:23 AM, AlienFrogModeller said: Nice Thanks AFM! On 11/10/2018 at 7:15 PM, tosouthern66 said: Very nice start! Can't wait to the this one all finished up. Thank you sir! I am looking forward to it also. 11 hours ago, phantom said: Very nice, that tail looks bang on. Thanks phantom. I was pretty happy with the way it came out. It took a couple tries while I figured it out, but the end result was worth it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JesusNut Posted November 19, 2018 Author Share Posted November 19, 2018 Small update after this weekend. Got the MLG wells, intakes and exhaust cans painted. I have to admit I did not have a full appreciation of seamless intakes until I assembled these. Since this is a build that is just going to sit on a shelf and no one will ever look down the intakes, I am going to leave them as is. If I build another one, and plan to, I will get the seamless intakes, and probably some resin exhaust cans. After experimenting, I figured out how to install the MLG struts after assemble, so I went ahead and glued the wings together. The inside of the intakes had large ejector pin marks, so filled those and the holes for the parts not being installed and sanded, then primed. Saw I had a lot more work to do, so filled them again and now have to sand again. Drat! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JesusNut Posted November 21, 2018 Author Share Posted November 21, 2018 Had the day off from work, so I worked on the exhausts. After looking at a bunch of pictures online, these are my representation of what I think they should look. They are not perfect by any means, but I am pretty happy with them. Painted with Mr. Color Burnt Iron C-61 as the base color and Vallejo Oily Steel 70.865 between the petals. Oversprayed with Tamiya NATO Black XF-69 thinned 90% with Mr Color Leveling Thinner. After applying a gloss coat with Tamiya X-22, washed with MIG Black Night PLW. Dusted with chalk pastels and then finally sprayed with Testors Dullcote. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fulcrum1 Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 Great job! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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