Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 This Well I know that this isn't news as there have been several posts regards this kit already, but I've just started mine, and here are my thoughts.On first inspection the parts are in the older softer plastic, but are well executed with restrained panel lines. The cockpit detail looks nice, but there is no intake trunking and the jet pipe isn't blanked off, this may need seeing to later. Also, due to moulding limitations there are several intakes missing from the fuselage top decking behind the cockpit.For inspiration I visited my local museum again (Manston History Museum), where they have a JP T4 on display./media/tinymce_upload/36449e19f5f49f1c5adf872a9061f336.jpgThis is what comes in the box/media/tinymce_upload/7b5db5fb119f13acc2a0e40ecbbae20e.jpgThere are two decal options, the one most people seem to go for, light grey with all the day-glow striping in decal, and the 70's-80's training scheme in red, white and light aircraft grey. The day glow scheme is tempting, but all my memories of the JP are from the 80's so red, white and grey for me./media/tinymce_upload/c89f92e0236375cd39597c6c13d1e147.jpgThe box top. Very nice, but notice how the missing detail on top of the fuselage has been masked with the shadow from the wing? Construction gets off to a standard start with the cockpit. /media/tinymce_upload/18024185a284906b2cd7bac33399f00b.jpgThe eight parts that go together to make up the two ejection seats. Detail may not be up to aftermarket resin items, but they are nicely formed none the less, and went together well. The separate seat cushion insert has moulded on straps which will repay careful painting. If the supplied pilot figures are employed then this insert is left out./media/tinymce_upload/78446d8557651e2686b0fa49bcfff8df.jpgThere is also the representation of the ejection handle on the head box. The cockpit tube went together well consists of the main tube, two control columns, a central throttle console instrument panel and forward bulkhead. Detail is more than adequate for this scale./media/tinymce_upload/8eb59dbf47ed9a31cba2218882460711.jpgNext I shall paint the internals, which shouldn't take to long as it is mostly black, but as the aircraft I will be modelling had over 20 years service under its belt a fair bit of weathering will be needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rael Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Looking forward to seeing the follow on of this build PMM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 It didn't take to long to paint up the cockpit and seats, I used some images found on the internet to get more or less the correct colours./media/tinymce_upload/c3c9397e9fc81ff935991b0ccbf46209.jpgAs can be seen the basic colour is black, with a dry brush of light grey. The dry brush isn't as heavy as it looks, it's just the flash brought it out. You can't really see here but the instrument panel has a pretty accurate decal. Next was putting the fuselage together. A dry fit with the cockpit in place showed that the fit was very tight around the nose, so I used my craft knife to scrape down the edges of the cockpit tub and then the fit was fine. A case of 30 seconds work now saving a lot of effort later filling and sanding./media/tinymce_upload/208130a0fcdc44e31590cd618a9975be.jpgClamps were used to make sure everything set in place. I'll leave this overnight now, and next time it's onto the wings and tail feathers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rael Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 The cockpit detail is very neat, well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 Thanks Rael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 7, 2017 Author Share Posted April 7, 2017 I've now assembled the rest of the airframe, and to be honest it went together in no time, with hardly any issues. The one piece tailplane slots into the backend without fuss followed by the rudder, which I slightly offset for a bit of animation. This is all followed by the jet exhaust, this just clicked into place but unfortunately does not have a jet pipe, just a see through effect to the cockpit back. To overcome this I used a length of plastic tube glued onto the back of the exhaust. The wings were next, starting with the one piece bottom wing part, which clicked into place nicely, along panel lines and only needed a quick swipe with the wet and dry to make the joint invisible. The wing upper surfaces are then put into place and the join along the wing root is more or less perfect. The final airframe parts to be assembled were the air-intakes, these fitted well, but will probably need just a smear of filler to blend them in./media/tinymce_upload/10e22ce82cd2f616d75a6bd6cadd73a1.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/c8d7d6ede0ac21f5487b55ce1b6fd235.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/f200e4e3468b034548e4222015f304bb.jpgNext I will be attempting to replicate the missing intakes and vents from the top of the fuselage.Oh yes, and I nearly forgot, the instructions tell you to insert nose weight, which I still managed to miss, but luckily I should be able to slip some metal bits and pieces into the nose through the nose-wheel opening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth ONeill Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 Following with interest, not least because I've just bought the new JP4 starter kit (the "red one", because it'll be different to the rest of the trainer fleet (no Arrows here)). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 10, 2017 Author Share Posted April 10, 2017 Be aware Paws4thot, that if you intend to add the missing intakes on top of the fuselage, the ones on the T4 are about twice the size of those on the T3. I would also say not to bother blanking off the engine intakes as the opening is so small you can't see anything anyway, but the jetpipe does need to be blanked off somehow, as there is a nasty see-through effect. You could even use a section of drinking straw closed off at the end and painted black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth ONeill Posted April 10, 2017 Share Posted April 10, 2017 Cheers for that; the kit is literally "still in the post" but that's a good time to start research. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 Just a quick update.I've cleaned up all joints, which didn't take long. The only place that filler was needed was around the air intakes, but I've since discovered that the intake joins on a fairly prominent panel line on the real aircraft, so I could have left that.I've also added the missing detail to the fuselage top using scrap plastic card, this took about half an hour all told, with about another 30 minutes doing some research on the web beforehand./media/tinymce_upload/27168e56e366866befc677fdc4378674.jpgSome of the filler on the intake can be seen as well.As I had the undercarriage painted up I installed this as it won't effect any masking. This is simple but effective, with each main leg in one piece, with a separate, flattened main wheel, and the nose leg also one piece, apart from the wheel which is half moulded onto the leg and half separate, so that the groove down the middle is reproduced./media/tinymce_upload/dd99c9382b5a42686ae724e3838219ef.jpgAgain some of the intake filler can be seen.As I had forgotten to add nose weight, and the nose wheel bay opening was very small, I squeezed as much blu tack as I could into the opening. This wasn't quite enough, so a little more went under the instrument panel, and now it just about sits on its main wheels if the canopy is also on!Next up will be painting, oh good more white to hand paint after the Victor and a Vietnam USN A-7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth ONeill Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Thanks again; I just re-read the AMW "review" of the T4 (different decals to the kit, and lots of time talking about the Eduard photo-etched). No mention of the missing secondary intakes though, despite them being very obvious in the accompanying real aircraft photos (and hence by their absense on the completed kit). And other than seat belts and arguably the intake blanks, how relevant is extra cockpit detail to a "coal hole black" cockpit?Also, on the subject of tail sitters, do you flatten main wheels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 13, 2017 Author Share Posted April 13, 2017 Hi Paws, Yes, you're correct about the AMW article missing the intakes, but strangely the first review of the kit spotted them and added them too. On the subject of wheels, I do like a flattened wheel. If the tyre does not have a flat moulded onto it like the more recent Airfix kits I will file a flat onto the bottom. Mostly on older subjects, as more modern types have higher pressure tyres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth ONeill Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Cheers; chunks of progress myself over the holiday weekend!I've got the cockpit painted, and since it's basically coal hole except for the seat cushions and belts, and instrument board I don't regret the lack of brass!The fuselage halves went together perfectly although I did use them as a jig for seating the front bulkhead before cementing. If anything they're a touch tight, since I had to trim the front of the centre section a shade in width to make it fit!Also important note for anyone else buying the T4 boxing; my entire B runner was warped, so the underside wing has a mild gull wing effect, although dry assembly suggests this will correct when I add the upper wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 Hi paws, Yes I had to shave some off the cockpit tub as well to make it fit properly. didn't have any trouble with warpage though. At the moment I'm painting my JP white, but progress is slow due to visiting relatives at Easter. Why not post us a picture of your progress so far? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth ONeill Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Ah, the T4 is in a "small starter kit" box, which is "small" to the extent that I couldn't figure out how to arrange the sprues to re-box it after the sprue check! I think the warped B sprue was due to that, and the kit being boxed before the plastic had cooled properly. It's the same tool though, so anything I say is entirely relevant.I don't own a digital camera, not even a cheap one. 😢 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 I've now painted my JP white, red and grey. It took 4 coats of white, 3 of red and 2 grey. The biggest headache was masking, especially the line between the fuselage white uppers and red lower. This starts off straight at the tail end, then curves up over the air intakes, the finishes up slopping down to the nose. Not to bad getting one side done, but more difficult getting both sides to match up, got there in the end though./media/tinymce_upload/20e4b9371a919a62d4a87304c8b92047.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/87f1c831124a09adf6f387bd544605fe.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/5c2460f9de566b565bd367eb17b79cbd.jpgOnly a little touching up was needed when the masking was removed.Next up decalling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty Mediocre Modeller Posted April 22, 2017 Author Share Posted April 22, 2017 I've now decalled my JP, and actually finished it as well. The decals by Cartograf were, as usual, first class, the only problem being that there are so many stencils, and they are so small. This isn't really a criticism, as you don't have to use them all if you don't want to, and it's great to have them all there, but I do think that I've given myself eyestrain!All went on without any silvering and conformed well. One of my large underwing serials ripped and folded in on its self, but luckily this was the letter part ( the 'XM' of 'XM461), and it was simply a matter of taking the 'XM' from the serial of the other decal option to replace it./media/tinymce_upload/64a3d486a23d901960b06b7fefa7ed2e.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/8648f6393eddedb9d22e68a4a37ac98d.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/30b130512fd2fc2272ee80766e5ab3f2.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/681cbfe0d46dcbf0b41d82bf51280203.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/f0b4732f786441433b3eba55df6d61a9.jpgAll in all another great kit from Airfix, which was enjoyable to put together, and filled a gap in my British trainer collection. Just three issues stopped this from getting 10 out of 10. 1. The missing intakes on the fuselage top. 2. No jet pipe, leading to a see through effect, and 3. The cockpit tub needing a little material scraped from the side to allow the fuselage sides to close fully. However these are only minor points, and the first 2 can be ignored if you want, but all 3 have easy fixes. If trainers, or Cold War jets are your thing then this kit is highly recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenneth ONeill Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 I went slightly different with the tailpiece; the tailcone should have a jetpipe inside it, so I established that the inner edge of the cone is 4mm diameter, 4*Pi gave 13mm circumference, so I cut a rectangular piece of 5 thou plastic sheet that length along opposite sides, rolled it on a paint brush handle, then fitted and secured with liquid poly. The "see through" down the intakes isn't that much once you've got them fitted.Meantime, I started brush painting mine with a new tin of Humbrol 19 (bright red Red Pelicans finish) which is beautifully glossy but so thin the kit is still greyish, and took over a day to dry properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ratch Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 Good job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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