This is my 1/48 F-111 of the RAAF and it’s a great kit the fit was great all round the wings are designed to be swept forwards and flaps/slats deployed but I wanted to have them swept back and this meant hacking the fuselage where the wings needed to go. The wings do slot into the swept position due to internal pins but it’s as if they changed their minds half way through. Anyway it’s Tamiya and Mr Hobby colours and I used pigments to highlight the surface detail.
That turned out very nicely! F-111 builds are not common here, and the Aussie es even less so.
Nice looking Vark, and good to see an Oz one.
I remember the article in Air + Space when the RAAF retired them. IIRC the crews liked them. They replaced the F-105 and I guess will be replaced by the F-35.
The ones that were not preserved for display were simply buried in a landfill.
Very nice model, must be a big one.
Bill
Hi Bill, yeah it’s a big one alright I would say it’s about the same size in length as a 32nd F-16 at a guess it’s enormous the Su-35 I made would be around the same size. Which aircraft were buried in a landfill the Aussie F-111s? I’ve never seen the story myself but I knew they were practically considered the life and blood of the RAAF they looked like they were going to be sorely missed.
13 (EDIT: 23) of them were buried by the RAAF. Too dangerous and expensive to scrap.
In the end, 23 were buried in landfill. It was partly because of the difficulty in scrapping the fuselages (which contained bonded asbestos) but also a requirement (secure disposal) set out during the acquisition process. (IIRC, the aircraft were purchased via the US DOD rather than from the manufacturer).
One of the aircraft buried, A1-93, ex 63-9768 is notable because it was originally the third pre-production F-111A. This aircraft was not equipped with the escape capsule and instead had conventional ejection seats.
Alright Kitwrecker! Great build and I like your taste in beer. I enjoy a Guinness after a build. Also, before and during a build. Great stuff.
Cheers
Paul
Very well done! I like how you did your weathering. I have the HB D/E Vark coming from across the pond. I’m looking forward to seeing this kit in person after seeing your build! Again great job.
And . . . a couple of shots from RIMPAC back in the mid 1980’s; Aussie FB-111’s at Hickam AFB, Oahu, Hawaii.
Nice job! Very cool. My brother worked on them at mt home afb idaho
Superb build Kitwrecker. Excellent camo painting. That is a really impressive F-111. Bravo!
Hahaha Hi Paul yes a Guinness is great before and during I just find my painting skills and steady hand suffer when I do lol.
Just thinking if that soil preserves those fuselages that’ll be one hell of an archaeological find a few hundred years from.now haha.
Great build. What a shame about burying them.
I know right, seriously it’s such a waste but if asbestos was the reason then I’m not sure how else.you could have dealt with it
That’s a crime right there. 