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Donald Dickson II
OK, so I am doing another Phantom. Almost as surprising as me doing an Eagle. 😄 LOL

So, I was asked to do one to use the landing gear and exhaust set by 3D Chute Expert out of Taiwan. My club Pres has a page that he highlights builds and products, and 3D is one of the companies he showcases. So he sent me this set, which is not in the database here yet. But to the build.

This is the Academy kit. I LOVELOVELOVE this kit. This is my 3rd one. The only drawback to the kit is the gear wells, but I think I have the best way to do them figured out now. Still the only part of the kit I detest. So, as I wait for the Eduard PE for the cockpit to get here, I moved right on to the landing gears. As I said, I was given this set to try out, and I will give my honest opinion. You all know I dont mince words. LOL That being said, these things are great! The detail is superb. They fit right into the wheel well with no hassles. I simply hit them with some gloss white, a dirt wash as this is going to be Col Olds's plane as it flew, not as the museum piece. Did a couple of the lines black and poof, thats it. No need to add any parts from the kit (aside from maybe landing lights) as they have every detail already on them. A total winner in my book.

And as to the subject matter. If you dont already know, Col Robin Olds (he eventually made Brigadier General) was one of the best pilots to grace the cockpit of an aircraft. Triple ace between WWII and Nam. Definitely should read up on him. There arent many, if any, left like him. If youre a Phantom phan and a USAF guy, this plane is a must do. 🙂

Donald Dickson II
Landing gear installed and wings together. Intakes together and done with the latex paint method. Got the PE for the pit finally, so that has commenced as well.

Neuling
Beautiful colors!

Donald Dickson II
Thank you gentlemen.

Donald Dickson II
Cortex, thank you. 🙂

So, whilst working on the 105 I have also been &*^%ing around with these damned engines. I still dont have the top near the intakes done right, but this where they are now.

Donald Dickson II
OK, got the engines mostly where I am OK with them. Attached them to the wings and puttied the gaps there. Now to sand the top side where they dont line up and get that all straight.

Man, this thing is a project. LOL

Donald Dickson II
A little something for an Easter group build. Something simple to alternate between stages with the Hustler.

Donald Dickson II
Well, got the canopy masked and on and the top side sprayed. Let it dry and do the bottom. And of course, im gonna need to do something with those intakes. *sigh*

Donald Dickson II
Silly putty masking and Aggressor gray sprayed. Used a rattle can, so there was a raised ridge around the sprayed areas. Argh. Once it dries thoroughly Ill knock that down. For a simple egg build,,,LOL

Donald Dickson II
Well, its done. Another one of those not my best, but its a totally just for fun kit anyway. The decals were starting to come apart, so some dont look that great and the TAC badge for the right tail disintegrated. But here it is. 🙂

Donald Dickson II
Thanks Nathan. 🙂

CaptGPF
Well done!

Donald Dickson II
Thank you sir. 🙂

CaptGPF
Beautiful! Quick Question for you - I noticed you black based this kit before applying the gray color - does this produce a better result for you? time savings? I black-based a kit once, and realized that I should have applied a lighter shade of gray to bring it back down to the intended color.

Jennifer Franklin
Very nice!

Sven Schönyan
Nice model Donald!

@ Nathan: yes, please join up with a lizard scheme!

Augie
Came out well Don 🙂

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Nathan and Augie. 😊

Clifford Keesler
A sharp looking "Cat" Donald, agree decals look great. Well done sir.

Donald Dickson II
Thank you Clifford. It was a bitch kitty for sure. LOL

Donald Dickson II
Making progress. We will see if I can get it done by the 6th.

Donald Dickson II
OK, so I got it done by Wed.

There is one pic of it completed before I "tarped" it. I didnt have time to do a full dio though. That may happen later. Do a better job with the ropes and such.

Notes on the kit. Do NOT waste your money on this thing. Get one of the others out there. The shape around the exhausts is wrong. The detail is completely non existent. Essentially, this is JUST that basic overall shape of the plane. And fit ended up being a lot worse than I first though. It really is only good for doing this particular plane with the tarps on it.

Donald Dickson II
Slow progress. Busy weekend last weekend. Life stuff etc.

Got some generic USAF decals as I needed to replace the ones on the Tbird F-84 I did, so that was a little side thing.

Then the Dr 1. After all the crap trying to get the finish glossy, I grabbed a can of Krylon colonial red and sprayed the parts. I figured its just paint. If it doesnt look OK Ill strip everything and try something else. While it may not be an accurate color, its got a good gloss finish now.

Started actually building the damn thing today. LOL

Donald Dickson II
All done. I really need to remember to dust the model before pics.