You know the score: bench, bits and large appropriate mug of beverage (other tipples may appear from time to time.
Some bits to help out the Matchbox Phantom, courtesy of a friendly BritModeller and Hannants. Fujimi canopy and better rocket pods and resin cast of Esci radome, for reasons which will become obvious. Plus a couple of vac form canopies in case the Fujimi doesn't work out.
And this is why we need the resin radome. The original Matchbox one is too short and small in diameter. The later "corrected" version adds the extra length but not the diameter and changes the shape, so looks even odder, as far as I can see...
Starting to fit big bits together. To absorb the new radome, the Phantom top seam needs to be shimmed out about 0.5mm, and to fit the Fujimi canopy, a similar amount is needed at the top behind the canopy, tapering away to nothing a few cm further back. The gap under the front of the nose is a bit wider, because I've flared the front corners with a bit of brute force to form the basis of the downward bulge ahead of the wheel well on the real thing.
Which results in this.
And this
Handily, the circumference of the circular compressor faces on the bulkhead buried in the fuselage and the length of the oval rim of the intakes is pretty much identical. So I made up a couple of tubes out of thin plastic card and glued them to the compressors, and then squidged them between the fuselage halves when I put them together, and blended them with a bit of filler. Not perfect, by any means, but a lot better than they'd look as Airfix intended.
Nose jobs. The Bucc is getting a Freightdog resin nose and tailplane: they were easy to find and not expensive, and save a deal of fiddling about!
And finally for tonight, the crew has been recruited, and are pretty much ready to board. Shame their aircraft are not ready for them, but they are going to have to wait!
Best,
M.
.
