[planejunky]

Here's some pictures of the Revell Phantom FGR.2 I've been building.

Nice kit overall as it's the former Hasegawa kit in a re-branded box. It goes together well with the pieces fitting well with the odd exception. The intakes are a job to get looking right as filler is needed not only to make the join good, but to give a smooth finish along the fuselage.

I've added one of two bits that were not included in the kit, such as the navigator's periscope and also the white dorsal UHF aerial which was fitted in the last year or so of Phantom operations. The periscope was fashioned from a small piece of sprue that I had in my modelling box (the kit sprue was too thick), and I thought it turned out ok.

The aircraft is XV470 "D" of No. 56 (F) Sqn circa 1992, the personal jet of the boss Wing Commander Barry Doggett, and his navigator Flt Lt Roger Garner, known universally as "Arnie" on the squadron, and this particular machine is now preserved at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. The code letter "D" has been supplemented by a small "B". Having your initials has been an RAF Wing Commanders privilage since WWII, but has been very seldom seen since the war. 56 Sqn are the only unit I've personally seen to exercise the right, as Doggetts predecessor Wg Cdr Barry Titchen, also had XV420 "T" marked with a red tail and his initials small "B" and standard code letter "T".

The aircraft has been modelled without missiles as the kit failed to provide AIM-9's, but oddly supplied Skyflash AAM's and the SUU-23A gunpod. I removed the fins from the Skyflash missiles and painted them blue to represent the two ballast rounds fitted to unarmed jets. I've modelled the aircraft in an Armament Practice Camp (APC) ferry loadout, the Su gun on the centreline, and the "Sergeant Fletcher" fuel tanks on the wings ready to deploy from RAF Wattisham to Akrotiri in Cyprus. This would be the squadron's last APC deployment before re-equipping with the Tornado F.3. Once at Akrotiri, the fletcher tanks would come off leaving just the gun, great for the short gunnery sorties flown there, but not as asthetically pleasing!

Apart from my miserable allergy to the paints, it was a joy to build, and I'm well pleased with the results. I hope you all like it too!

[flyXwire]

WOW..Great job on that FGR.2 spook, planejunky!

[planejunky]

Thanks fella, glad you like it! They were great jets, and it was a sad day when we said goodbye to them.

[Cavtanker]

Very well done! Is it a 1/72 scale?

[planejunky]

Originally Posted by Cavtanker

Very well done! Is it a 1/72 scale?

Thanks mate. Nope it's 1/48th scale, which is nice but you don't want too many or you'll chew up all your display space!

[Cavtanker]

Revell is a good choice. I prefer their 1/72 armor kits over Italieri's 1/72 armor kits. Please, do show more of your creations!

[planejunky]

Originally Posted by Cavtanker

Revell is a good choice. I prefer their 1/72 armor kits over Italieri's 1/72 armor kits. Please, do show more of your creations!

Indeed, I made their 1/72nd Warrior AFV and Leopard 2 A5 which were great little kits.

I'm planning to build a Luftwaffe F-4F ICE in the near future, just need to let my allergies settle down a bit first after all the painting! Summer isn't far away now so I'll be able to do a lot of the paintwork outside instead.

I've now posted some more of my kit making attempts, hope you like them!

[Cruver Collecter]

Beautiful work on the cockpit!

[planejunky]

Originally Posted by Cruver Collecter

Beautiful work on the cockpit!

Thanks, all hand painted. Here's what it looked like whilst still in the building phase.

[Cruver Collecter]

Originally Posted by planejunky

Thanks, all hand painted. Here's what it looked like whilst still in the building phase.

Nice close up of your work.