1/48 Kinetic Alpha Jet

[ALF18]

Hi all.

In my continuing quest to publicly make mistakes and show "how not to do things", here is another first-time build of a kit. This kit is quite new, so I suspect very few people on ARC have built it yet. I will attempt to describe much of my thought process and the things I observed (and screwed up, of course) as I make the kit.

The kit will be a commission build for one of my students. I teach groundschool for budding Commercial Pilots at Quebec's Provincial Aviation College, the CQFA (Centre Québecois de Formation Aéronautique). Two of my students work for Discovery Air Defence Services, formerly known as Top ACES. To gain experience in aviation, and to help pay for their costs while studying away from home, they work as ground crew with the company. DADS operates several Alpha Jets (more than a dozen; I believe it's 16 or so) as contracted adversaries for Canada's RCAF, RCN, and Army. They are flown by retired military pilots, and their role is to be Red Air for CF-18 pilot training, attack Naval vessels so they can exercise their air defence systems, and do CAS (Close Air Support) missions for the training of Army FACs (Forward Air Controllers), among other tasks.

The Alpha Jets from DADS operate under the iCATS (interim Contracted Aerial Target Services) contract, and replace the old workhorse T-33 that used to do this job. Civilian contractors replacing military units, and sometimes with military Electronic Warfare Officers flying in the back seats operating chaff and jammers.

Here is the kit:

Given Kinetic's connections to Canada (witness the CF-5A, the 1/32 Hawk, and other subjects), they have provided decals for one of DADS' aircraft, number 040, which has a beautiful blue/grey/white camouflage scheme. When I talked to my two students about this model, they both immediately asked if I could build them one each. The first one is for L; she is in her third year of the 3-year course, and will be graduating with her Commercial Pilot's licence in about 8 months. She recently got to fly in the back seat of an Alpha Jet that was undergoing a maintenance test flight; she came back beaming and floating on air for weeks afterward. L has promised to provide me with some advice on posing of doors, etc, and some reference shots that I may or may not be able to share; there are some restrictions imposed by the company on displaying some images.

These are the decals:

In the next post, I will show initial steps, and talk about the origins of this company.

ALF

[ALF18]

First, a bit about the kit. It can be built as one of 4 main versions. The A-model, the A (Canadian), the B, and the E. Look at the top of this fuzzy pic of the instructions; you'll see the four options listed for the vertical tail. More about the tail in the lessons learned category soon.

The plastic is very reminiscent of the 1/48 F-5A and the 1/32 Hawk. Slightly soft, but pretty good inscribed panel lines and surface detail. Here are some shots of the fuselage, chopped off the sprue but not trimmed yet.

Now for some promised background on Top Aces, or Discovery Air Defence Services (DADS). When I was a supervisor on 425 Squadron, flying CF-18s, there were three young Captains on Squadron at the same time. These 3 guys ended up founding Top ACES.

It started out as Top Aerospace Consulting & Engineering Services (ACES), but the ACES eventually became lower case as people forgot what the acronym meant. One of the guys was working in the Directorate of Air Requirements, and he saw a need for companies to understand the ins and outs of the Canadian military procurement system. So he retired early from the military, and started up a consulting business. He was involved with various successful bids, and when I worked for CAE (a major simulator manufacturer in Montreal), we hired Top ACES (the guy I mentioned, with his two friends) to consult and assist with a bid we were making to the Canadian Department of National Defence (DND). It was a pleasure to work with these guys; they had retained their "can-do" fighter pilot attitudes, tempered with some business savvy and maturity. In short, I believe (my personal opinion) that they formed Top ACES from the early going as a company that was responsive to customer needs, and truly aimed to provide excellent services at a fair price.

Fast forward several years, and they have grown by merging with other leaders in the Canadian Aviation field, and my three friends are the President and Vice Presidents of a going concern that is now called DADS. Their flight crew are all ex-military, and many are still flying CF-18s as active Air Reservists, so they are very well placed to participate safely and effectively in very complex military training missions. They have been there and done that; no need to fuel their egos, so they fly their Alpha Jets (and also small business jets when required) to fit whatever requirements the military pilots have, without allowing their egos to get in the way. A bunch of pros, and very easy-going.

That's why I want to build one of these for myself after these two commission builds. Top ACES (or DADS) is a great example of a terrific services company that just happens to be run by some good friends of mine.

ALF

[11bee]

Looking forward to your build, always thought the Alpha was a pretty aircraft.

My favorite version is the Luftwaffe light attach variant, with the cannon pod and the green and black camo.

[ALF18]

Looking forward to your build, always thought the Alpha was a pretty aircraft.

My favorite version is the Luftwaffe light attach variant, with the cannon pod and the green and black camo.

Nice to have you along. Definitely, the Luftwaffe camo is nice. I like it on the F-4.

ALF

[gregair]

.

Great background info Alf and nice to hear about people taking a chance on a business venture and succeeding.

I am looking forward to your build.

[AX 365]

...and some reference shots that I may or may not be able to share; there are some restrictions imposed by the company on displaying some images.

True...I was with ALF at the Bagotville airshow in June and we were checking out one of these neat little aircraft when one of the 'handlers' informed him that picture taking of certain parts of the aircraft was not allowed.

As a matter of fact, I saw a couple of these guys retuning to YOW while I was at work Friday past. They're in and out of the TC hangar (where 412 Sqn is located) quite often.

Good luck with the builds, ALF. Look forward to seeing your in progress and final results photos.

Mike

[Emvar]

True...I was with ALF at the Bagotville airshow in June and we were checking out one of these neat little aircraft when one of the 'handlers' informed him that picture taking of certain parts of the aircraft was not allowed.

Mike

Betya wish you had your Taser Eh!!!!

Emil

[ian_maw]

Don't be so hard on yourself Alf!

Yes you did manage to upset one of the modelling gods somewhere, but in spite of finding the pitfalls with the kits you build, you also manage to persevere where many would give up, always presenting us with a well documented recovery. So I for one am looking forward to the fight between you and these kits.

[AX 365]

Betya wish you had your Taser Eh!!!!

Emil

ALF wishes I did...

[ALF18]

.

Great background info Alf and nice to hear about people taking a chance on a business venture and succeeding.

I am looking forward to your build.

Glad you appreciate the background story, and nice to have you along. I am very impressed with my friends' entrepreneurial spirit, but I must admit I don't have the same stomach for the risk involved. Luckily, they had the right combination of skills, contacts, and knowledge of the business. I can't say much more about their business, because it's not really my story to tell; I don't want to reveal any insider information or even their names. Anyone with good Google skills can probably figure out who the guys are, and more about the company.

True...I was with ALF at the Bagotville airshow in June and we were checking out one of these neat little aircraft when one of the 'handlers' informed him that picture taking of certain parts of the aircraft was not allowed.

Good luck with the builds, ALF. Look forward to seeing your in progress and final results photos.

Mike

Mike - nice to have you along, as usual. As Emil said, I think a little Taser diversion might have permitted me to get some shots... But then, we would have had all the paperwork to fill in, and might have missed the great meal afterward. Today I spoke with "L" after class, and she confirmed a few things I was wondering about panels, etc, and she promised to give me a copy of her in-cockpit GoPro video so I can see the colours.

Don't be so hard on yourself Alf!

Yes you did manage to upset one of the modelling gods somewhere, but in spite of finding the pitfalls with the kits you build, you also manage to persevere where many would give up, always presenting us with a well documented recovery. So I for one am looking forward to the fight between you and these kits.

Thanks! I think the modelling gods have a love/hate relationship with me. They like to keep me humble, but they don't always discourage me - with the notable exception of the natural metal Alclad finish on my first big CF-104. Still frustrated with that debacle.

I'm finding out lots of little things with this kit as it comes along, so I'm sure you'll like the info in this thread.

ALF

[ALF18]

The cockpit goes together fairly easily. I built up the seats; they are pretty decent for non-resin AM parts. When you install them, make sure you have a look at the parachute box (top) portions. The front seat (right side in this photo) comes with the two spikes to destroy the canopy on ejection; the back seat doesn't have them. There are PE seat belts to come later, included in the kit.

This part is to be assembled at this stage. One thing to watch for is the angle of the vertical part in the middle; it should be square with the wheel wells. I'm not too worried about the interior detail of the wheel wells; L tells me that the doors are usually closed when parked, so any detail is hidden from view.

The vertical tail is the next thing to be assembled. I happily clipped parts off the sprue without checking to see what they were; I simply had a quick look and chopped off the two that looked to me like the two halves of the vertical tail. I then walked away and did something else. Here are the two parts I clipped off:

It was only after I came back to the bench several hours later that I realized the two parts were actually both of the same side of the tail; one is much shorter than the other in the pic above. Looking at the instructions, there are 4 options for the tail; the question was which one was the right one, the tall or short version? The other half of the tail was a small insert to fill in the other portion (as you can see in the instructions, part B27 is the little insert, while part C74 is the correct larger part for the Top Aces version). The only problem is I had no idea which of the two tails (tall or short one) was part C74. By scrutinising the drawings of the 4 versions repeatedly, I came to the conclusion that the part I wanted was the short one. So pleased with my self for figuring this out, I stuck the two parts B27 and C74 together. Then I remembered that in the instructions they told us to chop out the locating slots for the two antennae that go lower down on the Canadian version's tail... so I had to pry the almost-dry tails apart, chop out the slots, and reglue. So much for self-congratulations!

[ALF18]

It took me a while to figure out what this little drawing meant (Type A with a bizarre pictogram). After a while, I figured out that they meant to chop off the little nub on the forward glare shield on the left side of the fuselage. In this pic, you see the instructions, with the part not yet chopped off.

Here are the engine intakes and compressor fan faces. I splashed some white on the intakes (I'll spray white primer into the intakes after they're assembled to do a better job, but deep into the intakes it just doesn't show), and painted the compressors black. I used a Sharpie to highlight some silver blades and the centre bullet nose before gluing the compressor face into place.

Holding them together tightly, the fit is good. Very little of the seam will show.

When I did this part of the build, it was early morning, before an open house at the College where I teach. Here are a couple shots of the aircraft, and the beautiful fall weather that has slowed me down for the last several days. Sunshine, light winds, and 23 C weather are so rare around here in late September that I just had to drop everything for a few days and do things like bike rides and car washing. The blue and white aircraft are from Air Medic (helo) and Exact Air (King Air 100, local air charter and private flight school); the yellow ones are from the CQFA where I teach.

The house across the street. This far North, the trees change colour early.

ALF

[falcon20driver]

I'm really excited to see how this one progresses, if all goes well I might snag one for myself. It is looking good so far! Also, that picture of the Chieftan gives me chills, too many nights spent hauling freight in that monster .

[ALF18]

I'm really excited to see how this one progresses, if all goes well I might snag one for myself. It is looking good so far! Also, that picture of the Chieftan gives me chills, too many nights spent hauling freight in that monster :OMG-OMG:/> .

Nice to have you along. I like this kit just as much as the F-5A from Kinetic so far. In fact, I find it goes together more easily than the F-5 does (the fuselage assembly is only two big pieces instead of 4). I have a weak spot for the F-5; that's why I like it too.

The school's twins are basic Navajos; nothing as fancy as a Chieftain version! I have yet to fly it. Some day soon, I will take advantage of a job benefit and get qualified on it and the little Sundowners. I have about 38 total flying hours on aircraft with props (25 on the military Musketeer, 9 on the Seminole when I did my ATPL/multi for Transport Canada, and 4 in the Harvard II prototype in Wichita, KS). I actually find little bug-smashers more challenging than jets, given their feeble performance. The Seminole weighed less than a CF-18's external tank full of fuel, and single-engine performance was even worse than the CF-5. Glad I didn't have to fly those aircraft for a living.

ALF

[ALF18]

Quick update for this evening. I installed the two intake trunks, and did some fuselage dry-fitting. The intakes have some locator pins to get the angle right, but somehow they were a bit tough to feel. I was very concerned about the angle, because there is a part that goes over the outside between the fuselage side and the air intake front. Here is one side glued in place; I did some fitting of the cover part while the intake was drying, and saw the problem.

So I pried the intake off, and glued the side part in place onto the intake FIRST, then installed the intake into the fuselage, thus ensuring a proper fit.

Here the outside panel is glued to the intake first.

Hard to see well here, but the intakes are now in place, at the proper angles, while dry-fitting the fuselage halves together. The halves fit relatively nicely, and with a bit of clamping will make for nice seams.

Very minor warping of the fuselage halves, which will go away when glued.

I installed some of the side panel parts on the right fuselage half first. The complex part C14 (part of the speed brake inside and fuselage side) needed a tiny bit of trimming to fit into the recess.

This panel has a little vent on it; on part C55 for the Top Aces version. The vent goes on the lower half of the panel; the instructions were absolutely no help here, because they only show the back of the panel.

There is a tiny air scoop above the aft part of the wing root. The fit was not good, and needed some trimming of the sprue attachment points to get it to sit properly.

Part C29 is another scoop; install it with the scoop forward-facing.

ALF

[ALF18]

Here are the nose and vertical tail sections.

Cockpit is coming along. I am looking at references to see where the red and yellow handles and switch guards go, to get the little splashes of colour in the right places. Very standard lightish gray background and black panel with silver or grey switches.

It's amazing how many little panels go on the side of the fuselage halves. The two parts D5 are transparencies; I'll leave them off until the end. Here you see the little side panels by the intakes that I installed in the step above. You can see how the fit of the intakes is pretty good.

The instructions show two possible tail cone structures. The Top Aces one is the smoother version of the two. The instructions give absolutely no clue which is which, so check reference pics to see what your version has.

SWMBO want to watch TV; thanks for stopping by!

ALF

[Neo]

Looking good

i see you have a kinetic rush these days !!

Oh and dont worry our leafs are starting to change colors too

Edited October 4, 2013 by Neo

[coneheadff]

Hi Alf,

great build so far! I will be following your build...still awaiting my Wingman kit with the German specific seats.

I went to the Luftwaffenmuseum here in Berlin and took some cockpit pics. Haven't loaded them up yet...are you interested?

Cheers,

Alex

[ALF18]

Looking good

i see you have a kinetic rush these days !!

Oh and dont worry our leafs are starting to change colors too

Neo

I have so many recent Kinetic kits to build, it's not funny! They've come out with so many subjects I like that I have had no choice:

1/32 Hawk

1/48 F-5A (and soon the F-5B)

1/48 EA-6B

1/48 Kfir

1/48 Mirage III

and others I have forgotten at the moment.

You should come and visit before the snow... like in the next few weeks. Unless you'll be busy with a new baby or something.

Stay tuned; this one is exhibiting some little tricks that I didn't see coming (like the speed brakes).

ALF

[ALF18]

Hi Alf,

great build so far! I will be following your build...still awaiting my Wingman kit with the German specific seats.

I went to the Luftwaffenmuseum here in Berlin and took some cockpit pics. Haven't loaded them up yet...are you interested?

Cheers,

Alex

Danke!

The Wingman seats will certainly give yours a little extra cachet.

I would love to have some cockpit pics. I have found so many on the net that I'm not sure what's what. "L" showed me a GoPro video of her flight in a Top Aces aircraft, but it doesn't show much except view forward and backward at shoulder height and above, so I haven't seen the instrument panel very clearly. I can't post anything from the video either, so anything you can send me would be great.

You can e-mail me at dan mcw AT videotron DOT ca.

(remove the spaces and replace the AT and DOT with the symbols).

Thanks for the offer.

ALF

[ALF18]

One thing that's been bugging me is what paint to use for the blue, grey, and white camo scheme. Here are the FS numbers:

Gloss white is easy.

I have access to Tamiya acrylics (I'm looking at XF-23 blue as a possibility for the FS35180), and to Modelmaster Acryl. The Tamiya I can buy right off the rack at my LHS. Modelmaster is more difficult (have to either special order, or call upon the modelling mafia to supply me). Any suggestions?

I suspect I have a grey I can use, but would like any ideas for them. Here are two pics of the real thing, supplied by L (and no, that's not her in the pic). Notice how the grey looks super light in the sun, and darker in the hangar.

ALF

[ALF18]

Time to end the suspense about the speed brakes... I'm sure it's been driving you nuts wondering what I meant - or not.

On an early step, the instructions tell us to glue the speed brake area together, like this, so I dutifully installed part C15 and its opposite number:

Now, when I got to the next page, I saw that there are two parts options: speed brakes open, and speed brakes closed. According to L, Top Aces always parks their aircraft with speed brakes closed, and they are in fact very rarely open any time. The instructions say that you should use parts A6 and A7 for closed speed brakes (see A6 on the sprue next to the drawing). The only problem is that if you want to use A6 you should NOT install C15! No mention of that anywhere in the instructions.

Before I started ripping out C15 (which had been glued in place days prior), I tried the fit of the open speed brake part, to see how it would go.

Not so great, given the thick arms at the front of the speed brake that did not fit well into the narrow plastic channels at the front of C15 (already in place underneath). My first approach was to try trimming the soft Kinetic plastic along the arms. Of course, I managed to snap off the arms. Here is what it all looked like, pressed into place. The back part looked good, but the arms looked terrible.

So out came the elbow grease, and I hacked out the two parts for open speed brakes (C15 and its opposite).

After a bit of trimming and smoothing, here is the closed speed brake in place on each side.

Now what was that wise man saying about angering the modelling gods?

ALF

[coneheadff]

Hi Alf,

great save on the speed brakes!

Here is the link to my Photobucket album Alpha Jet walk around

Pictures were taken with my S3 as I didn't expect the museum ladies would let me get close to the aircraft. So some are not of the best quality, but good enough to help building that gem.

Cheers,

Alex

Edited October 6, 2013 by coneheadff

[AX 365]

Nice save pal. It's reasons like this that I always really go over the instructions first and examine assembly sequences and parts applications. Of course it would be nice if manufacturers and their lackeys who create the instructions put a bit of thought into, or made it clearer with separate instructions or pictographs, showing what parts to use or steps to add or eliminate when assembling parts or steps that allow for different options. That would make sense. On many occasions the instructions are as clear as mud.

Case in point...when looking at the paint call outs in the instructions, the gloss colour call out FS numbers start with 2 or 3; FS2XXXX = semi gloss and FS3XXXX = flat.

Keep at her, ALF. You'll end up with a great result I'm sure

Mike

[Neo]

Nice save

btw what kind of glue do u use ? that result loook like testor of something. On reason i switch to Tamiya extra thin is that it makes it easier to rip it appart in some cases!