My PIG!!

[nimrod77]

For the uninitiated "Pig" is what the F-111 is lovingly called in Australia.
Here's where I am at...
The cockpit is in and the fuselage sides are closed.



I have reworked the spike vents too to more accurately depict them, not 100% but good enough.



Rebuilt the main and nose gear and wheel wells....




I also built a weapons bay for her as she didn't come with one...


And here is how it looks now after attaching the wings and closing the lid...


I hopefully will have this finished in the next few weeks but no promises
Thanks for looking guys!
Nimrod

 

[Junkie]

Hi Nimrod, Welcome man. Great build you have going there. Keep at it!

 

[Backbreaker]

Hi Nimrod,
Love the rebuilt gear, very cool. 8)

Joolz.

 

[elend]

Hi there! How did you do those spike vents? Is there some sort of plastic grid readily available? Or did you construct it out of thin PS stripes?

 

[Jack-Swiss]

Hey mate,nice to have ya here as well!!!!
Great build...but I already knew it LOL LOL!!!

Cheers and welcome!

 

[nimrod77]

Thanks for all the comments guys, glad you like her.

Hi there! How did you do those spike vents? Is there some sort of plastic grid readily available? Or did you construct it out of thin PS stripes?

elend, those spike vents are made from lots of little tiny pieces of thin plasticard..... sent me cross-eyed! Brass would have been better but I couldn't find any to suit at the time, so plastic it was

 

[elend]

Wow. I fiddled around with thin PS stripes as well on my Banshee. That gave me quite a hard time and they even weren't as small as yours. Incredible work!

 

[rdk2277]

looks great so far, keep it up.

 

[airrex]

I say Aussie pilots are the most lucky in the world because only they get to fly the Vark (Pig). Is that the AMT kit you are bashing with another kit?

 

[nimrod77]

Is that the AMT kit you are bashing with another kit?

Hey Airrex, she is the Academy kit with a lot of aftermarket and scratch building. Of course once I have finished this the Hobbyboss kit will be out and not need all the corrections I have made to this kit (TIC). I could only hope the hobby boss kit is better than the Academy kit anyway.
I have never actualy seen the AMT kit. Was it any good??

 

[airrex]

I misunderstood. The AMT (Italieri) kit is 1/72. Yours of course is 1/48th. Yes it is a good kit. Not a Hasegawa but a good kit. Keep posting your progress, it's looking great.

 

[nimrod77]

Another update for you guys here at the nerd heard...

A little more progress.....

I have scratch built a brass pitot probe by turning it on a dremel and using a rounded blade to cut like a lathe. I used needle files to finish it off. I think that it came out pretty well considering that it was my first attempt.


Here's what I'm trying to achieve...



I have re-profiled the sides of the speed bumps to make them rounded as there supposed to be. Academy has them moulded as being square where they meet the side of the fuselage.


Just to show what I'm trying to do ...


I've also detailed inside the tail feathers of the engines.

Rear view..


Front View..


Here's the real thing..



I will finish off the fwd side of the tail feathers and add some panel lines to it.

More to come as I get it done
Cheers guys!

 

[nimrod77]

Well here's a first for me, two posts in rapid succession!!
I have had a bit of extra time to model this week so here's what I have done...
The finished windscreen has been attached....



I have finished off the tail feathers, here they are temp fitted to the exhaust nozzles...



I tried using the Scaledown side seals, but they didn't fit over the scaledown wing roots, so I built my own...



AND I have readied the pavetack cradle, here it is test fitted....



Here it is again with the pod temp fitted...



Now on to the weapons bay doors... I've been putting them off for long enough

Cheers guys!

 

[Ialarmu]

wow, lots of work there, coming along nicely ;D

 

[Chas]

Your doing an awesome job. Very detailed.

Good old pig.

Chas

 

[Junkie]

That is awesome. Don't stop - keep it moving!

 

[Shark]

Great work. That pitot tube is sweet

 

[nimrod77]

Quick update,
I have built the weapons bay doors that I was dreading Here's how they came out...





May need a little massaging but look pretty good I think, just don't look too close! Now on to the other little bit a scratching before final assembly... the strike camera...
Cheers guys!

 

[Ferris928]

Awesome work dude!
How did you ge that detail done on the inside of the exhaust/feathers?

 

[nimrod77]

Awesome work dude!
How did you get that detail done on the inside of the exhaust/feathers?

Thanks Ferris,
I worked out the inner circumference of the kit part and measured that out onto a piece of thin card stock. Then I rolled it up and slid it inside the kit part to mark out the petal divisions, then scribed and riveted the part rolled out flat on my bench. Once all the details were on, i placed it back inside the kit part and glued it into place.

The front part of the feathers was made with milliput and sanded to shape.
I hope that clearer than mud for you
Cheers and thanks for the interest everyone!