RAAF F-111C Completed.

Modeling Subjects Aircraft
1

Hi Guys and Girls.

I’ve finally finished my Dad’s (late) Christmas present that I was building as part of the Military Vetrans group build.
This is a model of the F-111C he and his Navigator won the 1982 S.A.C Bombing Comp in
and then participated in ‘Red Flag’ immediately after.

The model is the Academy 1/48 F-111C.

I’ve used the
Verlinden Resin and PE cockpit upgrades.
Scaledown afterburner cans, FB-111/F-111c/g wheel and tyre set and MK82 Snakeye and BRU bomb racks.
The decals are from Aussie decals.

On this model I’ve tried my hand at scratch building and am pretty happy with the results.
I scratch built the flaps, slats and wing gloves, the canvas bags that seal the slots that the wings sweep into, the landing lights, intake trunking, intake vorticie generators and static discharges. The canopy was cut to pose it in the open position and I added gas pistons to hold them open and made the external canopy handles.
The afterburner cans have had the nozzle actuators made from very fine wire and the two nozzles are in different positions as they are when the aircraft is shut down and the nose gear oleo has been extended as the kit is modeled with it fully collapsed.
The walkway lines are all painted as the decals supplied were so brittle that it’d take a close relative of some divine entity to get them to work.

I really enjoyed all the research that went into this model and the challenge of building this for someone who has such an intimate knowledge of the aircraft, really pushed me to make it as realistic as possible. I dare say if I were to have built this for myself then I don’t think I would have gone that extra mile.

I’m really happy with the finished product, and my Dad was over the moon with it too.

The glass for the display case was made for me by a mate of mine and I built the wooden base from some MDF board and picture frame.

Enough rambling, here’s some pics.

















This is a photo of the Mirage that Dad had his name painted on whilst serving in 3 Squadron in the mid 70’s.
Dad’s two fast movers together again.


Thanks for taking the time to check this out.
All comments and crticisms are welcome as this is how we improve.
Cheers
Mark

2

Nice work Mark.

I look forward to tackling the same kit. Am told it needs some work in areas to go together well. I built the Hasegawa F-111C for a work colleague. We both worked on the AUP program. It was probably the best thing I’ve built ever and happily gave it away. Gotta build one for me now.

3

PIG!!!
Mark, she’s a beauty. Looks lovely under that glass case - I’ll bet your dad’s chuffed, mate.
I would be.
Thanks for posting the pics!

4

Gorgeous Pig!

That’s quite a size differential between the Pig and the Mirage.

5

That’s really beautiful work Mark, the extra effort you have gone too really shows nice one [tup][tup][tup][tup]

By the way did you hear that the govt has decided to lease/buy some 24 F/A-18Fs as an interim replacement for the F-111 until the F-35 comes into service.

Cheers

6

That is one nice looking Vark. You did a great job on the engines. Only one thing is missing. Where is all the leaking hydraulic fluid all over the ramp? [:D]

7

Outstanding, Mark. That shot under the glass case is perfect. What a tremendoues effort put into such a personalized gift. Absolutely magnificent work.

8

Very nice build Matk. Excellent work & presentation [tup]. Thanks for sharing.

Regards, Rick

9

Mark,

I am in awe of your work - given the right backdrop, I would SWEAR that this is the real thing! It is magnificent! You are one of the top 5 modelers on the forum, IMHO. Your photography skills are outstanding, too! You should be justifiably proud of this one!

Brian [C):-)]

10

Execellent build and display. I can see why your Dad loves it.

11

Wow - [expletive censored] - amazing!

What paint line(s) did you use? The paint job is as good-looking as any I’ve seen. Great job!

Mitch

12

[#ditto]

13

First time scratch building details? What do you think we were born yesterday???[;)]

Really beautiful. Your dad is a lucky guy.

14

Very impressive. Beautiful work.

Mark

15

well done mark that is the best f-111i have ever seen i have that kit but it didnot come out that good well done

16

That’s a great looking Vark. Stunning detail and the paint looks superb. Thanks for giving us a look.

17

Absolutely awesome work on the one-eleven. Your photography is just as good.

Darwin, O.F. [alien]

18

Outstanding Roo Pig!! [bow] Did you get the Mirage markings from Aussie Decals also??

19

Slick!!![bow]

20

WOW!

I’m flattered!

I didn’t expect such a response. Considering I use half your models as my benchmark you guys sure know how to make a bloke blush![:I]

PC9

The kit does need a little more work to go together right but nothing that a little patience, test fitting and putty can’t solve. If you want to turn out a purler then you’ll need deep pockets and a trip to the Scaledown website http://www.f-111.net/scaledown/index.htm

If it’s a little too pricey then the Academy kit does build up to an ok level.

Upnorth

Untill I put the two next to each other, I never realised how much smaller the mirage is. It must be tiny in real life!

An interesting bit of trivia. Each horizontal stabilizer on the F-111 is larger than the main wing on a Mig 21.

Darson

I was talking to Dad about the F-18F rumor on the weekend and he thinks it’ll be a pretty good proposition. He thinks the F-15E would be better suited as it’s range far exceeds that of the f-18 and this is a BIG country. Dad thinks the F-18 is better suited to the role than the aircraft it will be replaced by.

Berny

Thanks mate.

The hydraulic fluid leaked all over the kitchen bench so she was empty by the time she made it to the display case. Dad told me once that they leak so much so the pilots know that the ground crews are doing their job properley. They can only leak if they’ve got oil. You get worried when they stop.

MA Cooke

Mitch, I used Gunze Hobby Color acrylics thinned 50/50 with Isocol. I maked using rolled up Blu-Tac to give the softer edges on the colours. I also post shaded with the base colours lightened with some light grey.

Wiccan Warrior

Thanks mate. The mirage decals were from High Planes. You can find a link to their site via the AMI website. http://www.aussiemodeller.com/

To everyone else that I haven’t listed above,

Thanks.

Have a good day all.

Mark