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Hi again!

Time for something different, an old favourite of mine....the F-111!

I´ve built an "F" long ago in 1/48th scale but it´s not "alive" anymore and made room for better models.

Well I´ve decided to tackle the Academy F-111 once more and this time an "E"...I´ve grown considerably as

a modeller since that first try and this time I´ll go all in!

I decided to go with the Academy since I already had it in my stash and the HB kit rather pricey and I´d

still have to get a ton of aftermarket for it. Might just as well go with the Academy kit from the get go.

Well in the box we find a number of sprues.... namely 7

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IMG_1097_zps62ca1f1a.jpg

IMG_1098_zps8b730d15.jpg

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This rather empty sprue held some Mk82s and MERs and they can now be found under the wings of my IRIAF Phantom :P/>/>/>

IMG_1100_zpsb713208b.jpg

I´ve managed to get hold of some goodies too...

Eduard masks and seamless intakes from Dmold....

IMG_1091_zps61f4e886.jpg

Scale resin wheels and Squadron canopy...

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Master truned brass pitot tube, Detail model resin pit and the Verlinden F-111F conversion set (won´t be doing a "F" tho)

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I had some troubles with finding decals for the F-111 until recently, the problem was getting hold of stencils really...

First I got myself the cutting edge sheet.....no stencils, then the Squadron sheet.....some stencils...

IMG_1094_zps23e122a2.jpg

Then I finally struck gold with this Cartograph printed sheet from Afterburner decals! I´t everything you´d ever want for a F-111!

Get them while they´re out there!

IMG_1095_zps17f7b0a6.jpg

I´m awaitng pay day to get me some more resin for this ground pounder....need some exhausts for example....and BRUs....and bombs...

End of the presentation .... Now I´ll go foundle some plastic :D/>/>/>

Edited by Aigore
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this should be another nice build from you :) You're almost using all the same resin as I did for my F-111E build. Personaly, I would take the academy kit over hobbyboss. I trashed my Hobbyboss EF-111 without building it.

Some stencils stand out too much on that Afterburner sheet in my opinion. I don't think I bothered with any of the "no step" stuff for example.

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@Aigore

Keep in mind that the cockpit is not a F-111E cockpit. I have seen you have Verlinden office, perhaps there's parts for a E version as wellunsure.gif

Get the Vark going!

Edited by Eric2020
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this should be another nice build from you :)/> You're almost using all the same resin as I did for my F-111E build. Personaly, I would take the academy kit over hobbyboss. I trashed my Hobbyboss EF-111 without building it.

Some stencils stand out too much on that Afterburner sheet in my opinion. I don't think I bothered with any of the "no step" stuff for example.

Thanx Benner :D

You know me...just love those stencils :P

@Aigore

Keep in mind that the cockpit is not a F-111E cockpit. I have seen you have Verlinden office, perhaps there's parts for a E version as wellunsure.gif

Get the Vark going!

Thanx Eric :D

Looks like there isn´t that much difference between the IPs at least....I Think the "F" got an upgrade in the pit with some MFDs after 1991, Before that there´s Little difference in the pit... perhaps enough for eagle Eyes judges but I´m sure I´ll get away with this pit. :D

And getting the vark going...... :P

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Right...let´s get down to business!

First I noticed I had been ripped off :P Well..I should have known, really...

The Detail model resin pit is just a recast of the Verlinden pit...and a poor one at that.

OK they built up the Verlinden pit with the PE and all and then made a cast of it...since I already had the Verlinden set it kind of felt like a waste of money.

Oh well...I´ll live :P

IMG_1101_zps85f58670.jpg

On with the pit... So I went for the Verlinden pit with the neato PE sheet. I´ve been wrestling with that set before and it really looks nice when you get it on. :D

IMG_1102_zps9437ecc7.jpg

Firs PE glued into place...and I´m childishly happy about it. BTW here I noticed something from my refs...what looks like speakers above the grills I glued in actually isn´t speakers!

Think the have to do with the release of the cockpit pod...some locking cylinders or other.

IMG_1104_zps48532df3.jpg

With some stretched sprue and a bit of evergreen plastic I got them to look more like in the refs.....not entirely sure but they may well be covered by a plate until the pod is released

from the airframe.

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More stuff on...

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Then I made some curled cable from copper wire that was twirled around a piano wire..like so.

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Finally the rear bulkhead looked like this with curly cables and oxygen tubes fron the center consol...

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That´s it for tonight...next it´s the tub itself and the ceiling console that needs some PE..

Cheers!

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Hello, your off to a great start! How will you be positioning the wings? Will you drop the flaps and add any weapons?

Thanx 305swag :D

I'll have the wings fully swept and thinking of using 4 pylons with BRUs and mk82s.... not sure yet.

No flaps or slats dropped.

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Your off to a great start there! Nothing says lazy like a recast of a better brand

I have the Hobby Boss F111A in the stash that I got for uber cheap ( which is the only reason why I got it) but I won't be buying any AM stuff for it

I'll be tuning in to this one for sure

MH

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Hope it'll be entertaining.....

Now, I trust you all to keep me on the straight and narrow. Don't be strangers to pointing out glaring mistakes!

A) If you plan to use external fuel tanks you have a few options:

1) Use the provided drop tanks from the kit (Completely inaccurate).

2) Use external fuel tank from a Revell 1/48th scale A-10 (Much more accurate and classifies as 'good enough').

3) Order resin F-111 external fuel tanks from OzMods (Most accurate in tank length, width, and proper fin shape and size).

B ) Is the canopy going to be opened or closed?

If open, the kit canopy is more than good enough.

C) When the 'Vark is powered down (Off) the horizontal stabilizers are pointed up (No hydraulic power).

D) The two inboard pylons (Stations 3-4-5-6) are pivoting while the outboard pylons (Stations 2 and 7) are fixed. Stations 1 and 8 were never used operationally.

E) Canopy sealants were different colors. Most were gray but some were red as well. I have one pic of a 'Vark with a tan/cream-colored canopy sealant.

F) The 'Vark sits differently depending on the weight on the a/c. It's not uncommon to see a nose-high 'Vark, especially when loaded with full MERs.

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Good to see someone doing this project. The F-111 is my favourite aircraft and I set about kit bashing the HB and Academy kits but lost my mojo after I realised the how much actually needed changing on the HB kit in order to make an accurate model. So now it sits in the cupboard incase one day maybe some inspiration will hit again or better yet someone will actually produce a better kit. Good luck with yours. Im sure you'll do it justice.

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A) If you plan to use external fuel tanks you have a few options:

1) Use the provided drop tanks from the kit (Completely inaccurate).

2) Use external fuel tank from a Revell 1/48th scale A-10 (Much more accurate and classifies as 'good enough').

3) Order resin F-111 external fuel tanks from OzMods (Most accurate in tank length, width, and proper fin shape and size).

B ) Is the canopy going to be opened or closed?

If open, the kit canopy is more than good enough.

C) When the 'Vark is powered down (Off) the horizontal stabilizers are pointed up (No hydraulic power).

D) The two inboard pylons (Stations 3-4-5-6) are pivoting while the outboard pylons (Stations 2 and 7) are fixed. Stations 1 and 8 were never used operationally.

E) Canopy sealants were different colors. Most were gray but some were red as well. I have one pic of a 'Vark with a tan/cream-colored canopy sealant.

F) The 'Vark sits differently depending on the weight on the a/c. It's not uncommon to see a nose-high 'Vark, especially when loaded with full MERs.

Thanx for the input, six, very valuable.

No gasbags.... I understood that the vark rarely needed them when flying conventional loads.

With the two inmost pylons on each side carrying BRUs with 6 mk82 slicks each, how much would they tilt the plane?

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Good to see someone doing this project. The F-111 is my favourite aircraft and I set about kit bashing the HB and Academy kits but lost my mojo after I realised the how much actually needed changing on the HB kit in order to make an accurate model. So now it sits in the cupboard incase one day maybe some inspiration will hit again or better yet someone will actually produce a better kit. Good luck with yours. Im sure you'll do it justice.

Ouch, yeah I can understand how the joy can go out of a project like that. ...happened plenty of times when I made my Viggen.

Only way to counter really is to divide it into many small projects and take a rest in between until it's done.

I hope I'll give you some inspiration during the project :)

I could probably use a pat on the back during this build as well :P

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Thanx for the input, six, very valuable.

No gasbags.... I understood that the vark rarely needed them when flying conventional loads.

With the two inmost pylons on each side carrying BRUs with 6 mk82 slicks each, how much would they tilt the plane?

Compare this pic of a 'Vark:

http://www.dstorm.eu...1/67-0121_1.jpg

With a 'Vark nose-high:

http://www.dstorm.eu...1/67-0120_3.jpg

There's another factor involved that would influence the nose-high effect: internal fuel.

The 'Vark has fuel tanks (Among other places) that almost completely surrounds the two engines; between the engines, on top of engines, and on the lateral sides of the engines. The aft. fuselage fuel tanks alone can hold almost 3900kg of fuel (1429 gal). Add to that two or four MERs loaded with munitions and you have the MLG holding up some serious weight.

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