GusMac

Have a great day when it comes Carl.

Thanks Martin. It was tedious at times with all the sanding, etc but it was always enjoyable with the anticipation of the final result

Wow, that's a result Carl and Martin. You can probably get the instructions off Scalemates and AM decals would probably be the preferred route anyway, so it's a win-win,

Thanks Rob. I was always a big fan of the Hagar cartoons but also felt the purple tail would add a bit of a highlight as you mention.

Thanks Carl. It turned out about as well as I could have hoped and it's now front and centre in the cabinet.

So, this was the prize donated by Ernie that I won in the Xmas Raffle 2022. I'd had it a while before I plucked up courage to start it as, having never done anything bigger than an aftermarket cockpit or some weapons in resin, I was seriously unsure that I had the skills to do this justice. However, having completed it, I have to say that most of my fears were unfounded. There were some new skills needed but mostly it's the same stuff you're doing just with a harder material. The kit is the only large scale Viggen we're ever likely to see, so that's a big mark it it's favour, but it definitely does have it's issues. Some of the castings needed quite a bit of work due to what looked like movement or misalignment of the moulds but the engineering of the joints of the main fuselage sections meant that these were relatively straightforward to fix. A bigger issue is the quality of some of the 3D printed parts where there were quite pronounced printing layers which were almost impossible to remove without destroying all the detail. When you compare with the stuff that the likes of Reskit are producing it does looks like Jetmads need to up their game a bit. The material is also very brittle which made for a few issues and curses when preparing parts, although once they are in place the combination of the engineering and the material means they are very robust. I worried about the gear legs being strong enough for what is a pretty weighty beast without metal reinforcement but once they lock in they are solid as a rock. Anyway, enough of my wittering and on with the pictures. Apologies for the quality but I'm not much of photographer. The cockpit was just sitting in place at that point so I could turn it upside down to photograph the underside. It's now glued in the open position and this is now sitting in pride of place in my cabinet. I've had a blast building this, so I definitely don't think it'll be my last resin build. Lastly, I'd like to thank Ernie for donating such a generous prize to the raffle when I'm sure he'd have made an absolute stunner out of this.

Thanks Peter. I certainly do feel a sense of accomplishment having finished my first resin kit and it being a big one to boot. I'm happy I've managed to make a reasonable job of it as I didn't want to screw it up and waste the beautiful kit that Ernie had donated.

Thanks fellas. Hoping to get some better pics tomorrow so will try and put together a proper post in the finished work section.

That's a great price Phil. Jadlam?

Okay, I'm calling this done. I'll get some better photos when I can get some outside in natural light and I'll finally attach the canopy after that. The pitots actually went on fine as I drilled a very fine guide hole before moving to the .8 for the final holes.

The seat looks brilliant, especially the lacing along the top.

Looking stunning Tom. She's certainly a big beastie!

It's on its feet! Hoping to get the rest of the final parts on over the weekend. The pitot tubes could be the killers - I've got the Master ones for the Gripen which are close but some adjustment is going to be needed.

Jeez Ernie, there's easier ways to pull a sicky than that. Seriously, I hope everything is healing well and no infection. I would ask if it was a flat head or a Phillips but once it's embedded I think that's pretty irrelevant. 😬

I had a similar issue with the Sidewinders on my Viggen build. The clear parts wide too wide to fit and too small to sand in any successful way. However, I just went path of least resistance and put the supplied covers on them! 😆

Bench time is still sporadic but I've got the main airframe flat coated and all the sundry parts painted weathered and flat coated as seen below. So, the next step is final assembly which will hopefully happen over the next week or so. I'm planning to glue the gear legs in with the 5-minute epoxy for added reassurance so that'll be a night on it's own to let everything harden up nicely.

Very convincing and remarkably simple. Kudos.

Wow, those rock outcrops look amazing. Your paintwork is stellar. 👍

Just like those big RVs that tow a little Smart car or something around as a little run-around. 😆

Don't think that ever hit the UK. Not sure what the attraction of travelling in a pear would be but who knows with advertising types.

Looks great. The concrete effect looks really spot on.

That's a bit cheeky from the country that gave us the 'deux chevaux' 😁

Not sure about the cornering on the Vantage...

Nice start. How do you carve the foam, just a craft knife or a heated wire?

Come to Scotland fellas - it's been closer to 59F here for the last week or two and no risk of heatstroke, only trench foot!