South African Aardvark ***FINISHED***

[TheChronicOne]

Throwing myself on a grenade with the old Airfix F-111. Mine is in the American MPC boxing. Look, it's a pretty cool looking box! 



That's about where most of the cool factor ceases, however, as the kit plastic is rough.  Flash, pin remnants both negative and positive, misalignments, etc.

I am going to try some different colors than I usually mess with and go for some sort of faded red, light grey and tan or shade of white or something. I'll have to bring out the mule and try to get this right before I commit. I have a two color green/tan as a backup. Same stuff they actually used. Either should be pretty neat! 

[NARSES2]

I like the way the box art shows off the wing sweep 

The one with swept wings certainly looks as though it's going to leave it's un-swept pal a long way behind 

[TheChronicOne]

Hey I didn't notice that! How cool... there's a whole little story going on in this...     Someone should write it.

I suddenly want to build this more than ever.

[nighthunter]

The SAAF also had a green/sand camo with a "highwater" gray with gray fin for their F.1AZ and F.1CZ fighters

[Weaver]

Or they had that lovely Dark Sea Gray over PRU Blue scheme that they used on their Buccaneers.

[Dizzyfugu]

...or the very decorative late "Diamondback" low-viz scheme (IIRC, it's mirrored from below!).







BTW, that "grey" under the green/sand aircraft is classic PRU Blue.

[TheChronicOne]

I've been mainly talking about the trials and tribulations of this in my blog instead of here for some reason but it's mainly been a lot of frustration over ill-fitting bunk kit pieces. I've worked past most of that, now, though, and this is starting to look like something. I have gone from being willing to smash the damn thing to having a good amount of fun this evening.    STILL the thing is offering up more problems as I go from bad fitting parts, though....   





It took an act of congress to get the wings to work.

[NARSES2]

It took an act of congress to get the wings to work.

Ah, but just think of the hours of fun you will have with them  Until one of them refuses to work any longer that is 

[TheChronicOne]

I already can't stop playing with the blasted things. I'm going to lose a fair chunk of productivity to this. 

[strobez]

I got caught up in an Aardvark group build over on Scalemates... there must be something going around.... 

This one is looking good so far, Brad.

[TheChronicOne]

Thank you, Greg!!!

Didn't mean to leave you hangin', but I didn't have much to say about this until now. It's been fraught with danger but has really come around and is starting to look like something I'm glad I didn't smash.



I'll do a "once over" on it in a couple days after this primer has set-up more and see if I need to do any more PSR work. Honestly, it looks miles better than I was expecting and may not need it, especially if I use dark matte colors on the paint job. Which leads to my next.....................     I'm not so sure about my previously stated plans of having a light colored camo paint scheme. I keep thinking that an F-111, in service, should be a rather dark madam. I may wind up resorting to the traditional SA two tone tan/green affair but what I COULD do is switch it up by doing a complete wrap-around instead of having the underside be a light color. We'll see.

[chrisonord]

How about  a wrap round zebra  type pattern of olive green,  and tan or golden brown?
It would certainly break up the  familiar shape of the old girl  Brad.
Chris.

[Tophe]

Your photograph makes me dream of a much more different F-111: remove the fin, remove the tailplanes and use them as 2 new fins like F-14/F-15/F-18, use the old-fin as tailplane, asymmetric as there is only one, on the starboard side for instance. Crazy? Yes indeed...

[TheChronicOne]

Do it! You could even do something weird like move the tailplanes into the swing wing mechanisms and put the long wings on the back. Sky's the limit! 

Chris, that sounds pretty decent. I guess today we'll figure it all out.



Here it is now. I've done more work on it. Painted a bunch of smaller parts and did the interior. Gluing on the canopy today then I'll be painting it.

[NARSES2]

Another one with a clean work surface/cutting mat - it just looks wrong 

You've done well with that old kit