academy not-a-blitz phantom

Military or civil, triplanes, biplanes or monoplanes, props, jets or helicopters...models in here.
ShaunW
NOT the sheep
Posts: 26118
Joined: November 26th, 2011, 6:11 pm
Location: Pontefract West Yorkshire

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by ShaunW »

Interesting stuff and you've made good progress with this, Rob. Alas, I am an AMS sufferer and the "snap-tite" nature to this brings out my classic British scoffing nature, I just can't take manufacturer's claims as their kit being able to be assembled without the use of glue seriously. In fact I'd steer clear of a kit marked "snap-tite" or similar.
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.

Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
IPMS#12300
rob_van_riel
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 3317
Joined: November 4th, 2012, 11:28 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by rob_van_riel »

ShaunW wrote:Interesting stuff and you've made good progress with this, Rob. Alas, I am an AMS sufferer and the "snap-tite" nature to this brings out my classic British scoffing nature, I just can't take manufacturer's claims as their kit being able to be assembled without the use of glue seriously. In fact I'd steer clear of a kit marked "snap-tite" or similar.
I'm not overly AMS prone, but until rather recently, I would certainly have shared your disdain for snap-tites. And then I ran into these two:

http://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=20&t ... ng#p265976;
http://uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=355& ... ng#p295286;

Now, I treat them merely with suspicion, but I'm willing to give a specific brand the benefit of the doubt, at least for an experiment. Bandai passed the test with flying colours, Hobby Boss are more limited but will nevertheless give an excellent if basic result, Academy has now officially flunked, and until something convinces me otherwise, their snap-tites are banned, like those of pretty much every Western producer.
User avatar
Dazzled
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 9592
Joined: October 1st, 2011, 11:08 pm
Location: Mid Glamorgan, South Wales
Contact:

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by Dazzled »

My Rob, that is coming along quickly. It's interesting to get a head's up on this kind of kit. Can't really say that I've seen one built before.
COLD WAR S.I.G. LEADER

Wherever there's danger, wherever there's trouble, wherever there's important work to be done....I'll be somewhere else building a model!
rob_van_riel
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 3317
Joined: November 4th, 2012, 11:28 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by rob_van_riel »

Another bit of ugliness revealed itself: the sidewinders and associated rails are useless. The rails are too thick to fit between the wings of the missiles, and the way they are supposed to be attached to each other is just weird: parts of the rails are moulded as part of the missiles, and these bits are supposed to slot into the rest of the rails. Not happening. No winders for this bird. I hope I'll be able to attachs the MERs and bombs, but even those are optional as far as I'm concerned.
rob_van_riel
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 3317
Joined: November 4th, 2012, 11:28 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by rob_van_riel »

I've gotten it to the point where it should be heading for the paintshop, but alas, this is as far as things will go today. Masking is going to complex, and therefore time consuming. No way to get that finished before about 10pm. The airbrush doesn't work without pressure, and pressure doesn't happen without running the compressor. The VERY LOUD compressor. I'm not anti-social enough to run that bugger, most likely multiple times, after 10pm, so my unofficial blitz attempt ends here in failure.

Image

Am I the only one who thinks this doesn't even approximate a USN paint scheme?

I will, of course, continue to hammer this into a Phantom, but this won't be finished until next weekend, when I can find some longer blocks of bench time again.
User avatar
PTB11
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 2462
Joined: April 30th, 2015, 12:50 pm
Location: Belfast

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by PTB11 »

This really is some undertaking Rob! Easy build or not, it would take me at least a week.
For all its problems, it looks fantastic so far.
Regards, Paddy.

On The Bench
Fujimi 1/72 A-7E Corsair II
rob_van_riel
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 3317
Joined: November 4th, 2012, 11:28 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by rob_van_riel »

PTB11 wrote:This really is some undertaking Rob! Easy build or not, it would take me at least a week.
For all its problems, it looks fantastic so far.
Thanks.

I usually work at a much slower pace, mainly because I prefer to wait way too long for some chemical to do it's job than risk dealing with half cured materials. I would normally consider anything less than a month a rush job. Sometimes though, I like to do something just a bit nuts :-D
rob_van_riel
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 3317
Joined: November 4th, 2012, 11:28 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by rob_van_riel »

Dazzled wrote:It's interesting to get a head's up on this kind of kit. Can't really say that I've seen one built before.
I was tempted to try this one after my experiences with the Bandai kits. Judging from the parts, I already suspected it wasn't up to that standard, but I figured there was only one way to find out: try to build it, and try to build it fast. Lets say the experiment was successful in that it showed the true nature of the beasty. I won't be picking up any of Academy snap-tites for a long time.

Technical disappointment aside, as long as you don't take too close a look at the bottom of the model (where the snap-tite character will really show), it makes a nice Phantom, and it does have some very nice features, like the intakes and the single piece upper fuselage.
rob_van_riel
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 3317
Joined: November 4th, 2012, 11:28 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by rob_van_riel »

I just realised something a bit odd: this kit was the first 1/72 new tooling of a USN Phantom since 1990, and any Phantom since 1997 :shock: Everyone just keeps re-boxing toolings at least 20 years old. The new Airfix was long overdue (30 years since the Fujimi Speys came out), and really needs to be joined by the rest of the family.
ShaunW
NOT the sheep
Posts: 26118
Joined: November 26th, 2011, 6:11 pm
Location: Pontefract West Yorkshire

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by ShaunW »

That doesn't look bad at all, Rob but I have to agree that in the naked plastic it doesn't resemble any U.S. Navy scheme that I've ever seen! I'm also surprised that the kit manufacturers haven't seen fit to update their kits of this aircraft over the years - Airfix in particular should have re-tooled theirs years ago. The F-4 is after all one of the most significant post-war designs.
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.

Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
IPMS#12300
rob_van_riel
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 3317
Joined: November 4th, 2012, 11:28 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by rob_van_riel »

ShaunW wrote:That doesn't look bad at all, Rob but I have to agree that in the naked plastic it doesn't resemble any U.S. Navy scheme that I've ever seen! I'm also surprised that the kit manufacturers haven't seen fit to update their kits of this aircraft over the years - Airfix in particular should have re-tooled theirs years ago. The F-4 is after all one of the most significant post-war designs.
Well, my memory clearly wasn't running at full thrust when I made that remark about the colour scheme. In bad light, I could probably pass is of as the middle one on this picture:
https://web.ipmsusa3.org/sites/default/ ... t00037.jpg;
Then again, nobody remembers the navy F-4G, so it's a bit of a stretch, although I seem to remember some Vigilantes also using it.

As for the need for a more modern Phantom, maybe this and the Airfix will wake up someone at Fujimi/Hasegawa/Tamiya, or maybe Airfix themselves will expand the family. I certainly wouldn't mind :-D
User avatar
skypirate
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 7241
Joined: May 1st, 2011, 6:13 am
Location: Port Macquarie, Australia

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by skypirate »

rob_van_riel wrote:I can easily do without yet another Phantom
Sacrilege!
Nevertheless, very interesting review, thank you. I have seen one or two magazine builds which seem not as honest as your description.
I like your cat, too! Us cat people know that the cuddle coefficient is inversely proportional to a drop in temperature.

Cheers,

David
rob_van_riel
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 3317
Joined: November 4th, 2012, 11:28 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by rob_van_riel »

skypirate wrote:
rob_van_riel wrote:I can easily do without yet another Phantom
Sacrilege!
With over 100 unbuilt in the stash? The real sacrilege is not having built those yet :roll: I still can't resist picking up a new tool though, so a new Airfix has joined the ranks recently, next to the very old one which was produced (not designed, produced) before me. It's that particular Airfix antique that got me into designing decals, since I couldn't find AM replacements for the decals that came with it. I don't know when yet, but that particular kit will be built, if it's the last thing I do.
Building an AA gun, or heaven forbid, an SA-2 battery, now that would be fighting talk.
Nevertheless, very interesting review, thank you. I have seen one or two magazine builds which seem not as honest as your description.
Well, I can afford more honesty than most magazines; I don't need to stay friends with the producers/importers. Generally critical reviews in commercial media are rare, at best sniping at details, and I don't recall ever seeing a review that tore the model to shreds, as some rather richly deserve. Also, I find that most reviews I encounter are "in the box" affairs, which can give a very different opinion of a model than actually building it. The previous incarnation of the Revell Eurofighter comes to mind; on the sprues it looked lovely, after halfway building the first I'm tempted to just bin the second.
I like your cat, too! Us cat people know that the cuddle coefficient is inversely proportional to a drop in temperature.
This particular furball is a very advanced all-time all-weather cuddlemonster, although she is a bit more likely to actually be at home in wet/cold weather, rather than out on patrol.
User avatar
PTB11
Modelling Gent and Scholar
Posts: 2462
Joined: April 30th, 2015, 12:50 pm
Location: Belfast

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by PTB11 »

rob_van_riel wrote: Then again, nobody remembers the navy F-4G, so it's a bit of a stretch, although I seem to remember some Vigilantes also using it.
I'd certainly never heard of them. :shock:
I thought the only G designation Phantoms were the Wild Weasel variants - But a quick look on Google has now enlightened me :grin:
Every day's a school day!
Regards, Paddy.

On The Bench
Fujimi 1/72 A-7E Corsair II
ShaunW
NOT the sheep
Posts: 26118
Joined: November 26th, 2011, 6:11 pm
Location: Pontefract West Yorkshire

Re: academy not-a-blitz phantom

Post by ShaunW »

In excess of 100 unbuilt F-4 kits in your stash?!?!? Now that is what I call being an enthusiast for the type. Phantoms phorever! :grin:
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.

Work is the curse of the modelling classes!
IPMS#12300
Post Reply

Return to “Aviation Modelling”