A little work in progress

[zenrat]

A few yers ago at Model Expo Swap and Sell someone had a large box full of cheap Airfix carded kits including more than a few P1127s.  I wish i'd snapped up some for whiffing.

[PR19_Kit]

A few yers ago at Model Expo Swap and Sell someone had a large box full of cheap Airfix carded kits including more than a few P1127s.  I wish i'd snapped up some for whiffing.

I still have one in The Loft, still in its 'never been opened' plastic bag.

AND a Heritage Models Kestrel as well, complete with the dinky little Tri-Partite squadron decals.

[Martin H]

Time for build number 2 for this year.

Its another Phantom!. Well its been a year or so since I last did one...........


Doesnt look to whiffy from this angle does it?

Ok maybe this pair of views may help..........



Still not sure?


And some build shots to show up the main modification.



OK its an F-4EJ Kai II of 302 sqn JASDF. dated in the last ten or so years.
This one has had more of an upgrade than the real F-4EJ kai upgrade. In truth I've used elements from two proposed Phantom upgrade packages to create this hybrid upgrade. Namely the Boeing Super Phantom and the Israeli full Kurnas 2000 upgrade.

The base kit is a 2nd hand Fujimi F-4EJ kit. Paint job and decals are as per the kit. I've been itching to do the so called "Maritime" scheme for a while.
The belly pannier is the most visible aspect and is from the Boeing upgrade, which never progressed past the drawing board due in part to lack of customer interest. It was meant to act as a conformal fuel tank and avionics bay.  My one was made from lamination's of plasticard and miliput caved to shape.
The eagle eyed amount you will also have spotted the burner cans look different. You would be right, this beast has had what the Israelis intended for the Kurnas. Swapping the original J79's with F404's from the F-18 Hornet. The Kurnas 2000 prototype did test fly a single F404 to prove the concept, but the idea was dropped to reduce costs. The cans used came from an Aries resin set I acquired for this build.  In real life they are a smaller diameter than the J79 so there are gaps........but deliver more grunt for less fuel burn than the J79.

I've also robbed an idea from a previous build from one of our own. Namely FAR148.
The wing tanks are those used on the Mirage 2000D. These are resin examples from Heritage aviation that I had been holding back for just this sort of build.
The weapon load out is all local Japanese hardware from a Hasegawa weapon set.

[Old Wombat]

Nah, doesn't look right ... Not enough stencils!




Actually, Martin, it looks pretty damned good!

[PR19_Kit]

I sussed the Mirage 'bulgy' drop tanks, but missed the belly pannier entirely. 

I love the 'If you've got it, glue it on' mentality you've used there OGL. 

[TheChronicOne]

Right on!!!

[NARSES2]

Looks good Martin 

[kitnut617]

I love whiffs like this, fantastic job Martin 

[Tophe]

CAC JF-17/FMA Pulqui III of the Argentine airforce in 2018.
This one could count as a cancelled project.
You may recall from a few years ago that Argentina was talking to the Chinese about local production for the JF-17 Thunder. This was all part of the wide ranging arms deal that was being talked about. But came to nothing in the end. They are now looking at the South Korean T-50 / FA-50 to replace the old Skyhawks.
Trumpeter kit with a mix of kit and Condor decals. I started building this in 2016, it then sat gathering dust until yesterday................

Belated congratulations! I did not know this plane/model and I am happy to discover it (maybe I should come more often in this part of the forum)...

[Martin H]

now its time for 2020 builds numbers 3 & 4.



Cessna 172 Skyrocket serving with no 5 AEF Taversham airfield Cambridge circa the late 1980's.
AEF = Air Experience Flight. an RAF unit tasked with giving experience flights to Air Cadets. Around the 1980's there were 10-12 AEF's dotted around the UK. normally sharing their aircraft with the local University Air Squadron. Why did I chose 5 AEF? that's the unit I did most of my cadet flying with in the 80's. On Chipmunk's and the RAF's sole Beagle Husky.



Cessna 172 Skyrocket float plane serving as a station hack at RAF Gan in the mid 1980's.



What if the RAF didn't go for the Bulldog as a Chipmunk replacement? What else might they have gone for instead?

Both of these are old Edai Cessna kits that were picked up at the recent Halifax show.
Paint jobs are a mix of Halfords, Hataka, Vallejo and lifecolor, markings are from various Modeldecal and xtradecal sheets.

[PR19_Kit]

Cessna 172 Skyrocket float plane serving as a station hack at RAF Gan in the mid 1980's.

LOVE it! 

But was there anywhere it could fly to before it ran out of fuel? 

[63cpe]

The Cessna's are looking cute, both of them!



David aka 63cpe

[JayBee]

Cessna 172 Skyrocket float plane serving as a station hack at RAF Gan in the mid 1980's.

LOVE it! 

But was there anywhere it could fly to before it ran out of fuel? 

Of course! It just kept flying round the island.
I understand from an old friend who used to be based there that the days high-light was to go for a walk around the airfield perrimeter.

[Weaver]

The Cessnas are great Martin.

What you could do now is put the floatplane hack into a water dio with S&M's Gan Recovery Stalwart conversion...

[TheChronicOne]

Love me some good Cessna action.