F-111C by Mick Evans (Hobby Boss 1/48)

Hobby Boss 1/48 scale
F-111C Pig

by Mick Evans

F-111C Pig

Hobby Boss' 1/48 scale F-111C is available online from Squadron.com

Construction

Here is the Hobby Boss 1/48 scale F-111C.

This new release from Hobby Boss was one of the nicest kits that I have ever built as far as construction goes.

The kit does have its issues, which I am sure that most people will already know about, the main one being the shape of the windscreen. The windscreen is too wide at the front and the centre beam curves too much front to back.

However, there is a simple $6.00 fix. The Squadron vacuum formed canopy is a great and simple option.

The replacement windscreen dropped straight in and only required some strips of 3mm plastic card to fill the void along the bottom edge. The finished result looks excellent.

The other issue in building an Aussie F-111C is the circular panel in front of the windscreen needs to be filled and eliminated totally and the strip formation lights need to be removed from the fuselage and fin.

I used a Black Box cockpit, which has a little better detail than the kit cockpit.

The afterburner nozzles were replaced with a set from Scaledown.

These represent the nozzles in the closed position.

Painting and Markings

I used Xtracolor paints for the camouflage.

The decals were sourced from Aussie Decals for better accuracy.

Finishing Touches

The aircraft I represented was pre-avionics update so I fitted the tail stingers without the chaff and flare buckets fitted.

Finally the weapons fit out was two GBU-10 and Two GBU-15 guided bombs. The kit comes with a myriad of weapons of which a lot were not carried by the F-111C. One disappointment was the inclusion of standard MERs in lieu of the unique streamlined BRUs carried by the F-111 and the inaccurate and undersized drop tanks. I was going to fit two tanks from my Academy kit but found these were also undersized.

The Hobby Boss A-10 has one accurate drop tank in each kit or you can purchase resin tanks from Scaledown/Ozmods. This manufacturer also has resin BRUs for sale.

Overall, I was very happy with the finished result.

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