31 Sqn RAF RF-4 Phantom

[Eddie M.]

Good looking work Bex! Glad to see you working on a Phantom, one of my all time favorite aircraft. Keep up the good work.
    Eddie

[bexwh773]

Thanks Eddie, got another 10 Phantoms in the stash, all will be built, but all will be in RAF or FAA markings 

Jet Pipes now fitted, and as you can see she aint got J79's    Now then, I know the Aux Intakes are missing from the rear & underside, but, Im not quite ready to start scratch building things like that just yet. You can also see yet more wood added to fill gaps, these Lolly Sticks are great    and a bit of homemade Gloop added which by tonight will be nicely sanded down 

Thanks for looking

Bex

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Wow!  Shoe horning the Spey parts into the back end of the Italeri kit caught me by surprise.  Had no idea you were going to that and now I understand why there was a need for some lolly sticks in the work up to this point.  You are certainly taking on a difficult task and so far it is looking pretty darn good. 

Looking forward to your next installment of work in progress images.

[bexwh773]

Thanks Jeffry,

I was keeping the Speys as a surprise, I had them left over from my last FGR2 which I used Resin Jet Pipes. Getting them was not easy, had to glue the fuselage together, then force the Speys in until she cracked at the seam, took them out, painted them, put them back, then cut the lolly sticks to shape and fitted them in. Plasticard or filler just wasnt an option as they wouldnt have been strong enough to hold it all. For a complete pig of a kit its coming along nicely 

Bex

[Captain Canada]

Nice one ! Spey Phantoms are just so sexy......

Is that Italeri kit the same one that was released in the Testors box ? All flimsy, especially the landing gear ?

[bexwh773]

Nice one ! Spey Phantoms are just so sexy......

Is that Italeri kit the same one that was released in the Testors box ? All flimsy, especially the landing gear ?

Oh yes, Spey Phantoms are very sexy    Yes this kit is the Testors Mold and its ruddy awful    And Ive got another one in the stash too, talk about Bex The Muppet

Bex

[Brian da Basher]

I'm really impressed with your work, Bex! Your detailing on the 'pit is very impressive. Even more interesting to me is your use of such diverse materials as popcicle and lollipop sticks. While I've used toothpicks as struts on biplanes, I never considered anything but styrene when modifying structural components of a project. Your technique has opened up a lot of new possibilities for me.

Brian da Basher

[bexwh773]

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the kind words    With the size of the gaps in this thing I wanted to use something that would be strong enough to hold it all together and easy to work into shape, so far thats gone to plan. I aquired these sticks from a coffee shop and have a few   I'll be interested so how you use them yourself 

Bex

[spike7451]

Going good so far Bex!You'll be using Chopsticks next!

Merv

[Muddyboots]

This is lookin good, Bex

I like the stuctural use of wood, and the selection of the loadout, especially the EMI pod, should look good

Ian

[bexwh773]

Ian, Merv,

Nice to see you both here guys     Thanks for the kind words    Chopsticks eh?  Now theres a thought, me mom has a Bamboo plant in her garden 

Bex

[bexwh773]

A bit before bed then, no photos Im afraid. FGR2 Intakes built, painted and sanded down to fit the fuselage. Nowt on Saturday as Im out with my Vintage Fire Engine all day but hopefully more done on Sunday. Legs will be down on this Old Girl and possibly some scratch built bits in the bays.

Bex

[Jeffry Fontaine]

I was keeping the Speys as a surprise, I had them left over from my last FGR2 which I used Resin Jet Pipes. Getting them was not easy, had to glue the fuselage together, then force the Speys in until she cracked at the seam, took them out, painted them, put them back, then cut the lolly sticks to shape and fitted them in. Plasticard or filler just wasnt an option as they wouldnt have been strong enough to hold it all. For a complete pig of a kit its coming along nicely

What brand of resin provided you with a set of Spey cans?  I have been looking for some extra Spey parts for an F-8 Crusader.  Wanted to see how the Spey would look stuffed inside of the F-8.  Most of my searching here has come up with nothing other than the option to purchase a Hasegawa Spey powered Phantom kit which I was really trying to avoid.   Of course some of those resin companies charge as much for the parts as it would cost for a complete model kit so it is a viscous circle. 

I aquired these sticks from a coffee shop and have a few   I'll be interested so how you use them yourself

I went so far as to purchase a couple of boxes from the local coffee barista for the purpose of passing the sticks off as lumber in the back of a 1/35th scale cargo truck.  The better finished sticks look very much like construction grade lumber such as what you would see being used for military style construction projects.  You know, things like Bailey Bridge bearing surfaces, bunkers, etc.  The box of sticks provides you with a lot of lumber in 1/35th scale   I also liberated by five-finger discount from another source a poorer quality stick that is very rough in finish and very coarse in appearance, almost like unfinished lumber that has been warped by moisture if left to the elements.  This of course gives you many other choices on how to use this stuff in scale and using it to fill in the gaps on a Phantom with an expanding rear end is just another solution.

[bexwh773]

Jeffry, I used Airies Resin Spey Jet Pipes, I'll dig some photos out of my last Phantom for you and chuck em in here 
Right then, been a few days since the last update, heres a phew photos of me Phantastic Phantom :wicked:  The paint work still needs a bit of tweeking to get the hand slippages out but still looking good. The port side of the nose does need a rework as I put the grey in the wrong place, so Ive added a bit extra green, once thats dry I can then get the grey back where it should be.

Thanks for looking

Bex

[bexwh773]

Jeffry,

Heres a couple of links to my last Phantom, first link is the WIP & second is Completed build 

http://z11.invisionfree.com/Modelling_World/index.php?showtopic=42

http://z11.invisionfree.com/Modelling_World/index.php?showtopic=139

Bex

P.S: Ive spelt the Jet Pipes makers wrong, should be AIRES not Airies like Ive said.