F-111E Aardvark
One of my hobbies as a kid was to build Revell scale model airplanes. First, I just assembled the models. When I got some Revell paints later, I tried to paint a few of them. Not happy about the results! It seemed way too difficult to do the painting job after assembly. Also, using regular oil paint brushes was clumsy and they did not produce proper surface texture.
Sometime in the 2010s my brother-in-law was cleaning up some storages of his and brought me an old airplane scale model. He’d got that as a kid and started a little, just a few pieces, but never finished it. I guess it wasn’t his kind of thing. So he brought this kit to me.
It laid on my shelf a few years, but finally in 2018 I decided to assemble and paint it. This time, the process was different: I had an airbrush, paints, and could paint the parts before assembly when needed.
The plane
According to Wikipedia, General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is “a retired American supersonic, medium-range interdictor and tactical attack aircraft that also filled the roles of strategic nuclear bomber, aerial reconnaissance, and electronic-warfare aircraft in its various versions. Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics, it first entered service in 1967 with the United States Air Force.”
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This kit is based on the E model. Wikipedia has further information:
A simplified, interim variant ordered after the F-111D was delayed. … The E-model was first ordered in 1968 and delivered from 1969–71. It achieved initial operational capability in 1969. The variant’s first flight occurred on 20 August 1969. 94 F-111Es were built. Many F-111Es were assigned to the 20th TFW at Upper Heyford, UK until 1991. The avionics were upgraded on some E-models as part of an Avionics Modernization Program. The variant served in 1990-91 during the Gulf War. Some F-111Es received improved TF30-P-109 engines in the early 1990s. All F-111Es were retired to AMARC by 1995.
I guess this airplane model was not that popular or at least not as famous as some others like F-16. In fact, I had never heard about F-111 before I got this scale model.
The scale model
The kit is not from a well-known manufacturer such as Revell or Italeri, but a product by a company called Zhengdefu. I guess it was a cheaper Chinese model; the quality of the parts was not as good as in Revell products. I should probably say the same thing about the instructions.
Nevertheless, I had lots of fun assembling (and painting) the parts during a couple of warm days during my summer holidays.
The kit is fairly big, has movable wings, and a selection of bombs. I decided to go with the blue practice bombs.
The completed model
I used mostly an airbrush and enamel paints. I did not have a lot of experience yet on the airbrush. Some of the surfaces got too much paint, which is always a nasty problem with scale models.
Postscript
Building this model during my long-term railroad project was a fun little exercise. Also, it sparked my interest again in airplane scale models. It would be nice to build a few more of them!
Painting the model changes everything. It is the most difficult part, but definitely worth it. Yet, I clearly need more practice with it, especially with the small details.
One thing that I don’t like about building scale models is that you have to distribute the work in short stints and over many days. If you’re in the mood, it is still not possible to work more than an hour or two at a time because you have to give time for glued and painted parts to dry before you can continue assembly. I am a guy who likes to focus on something and spend working with it the whole day and the next one, too, if possible. Maybe I should try building two models at the same time, ha ha.