Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Though it may be an American holiday, it was actually in England that had what is considered the first Thanksgiving feasts. Anyway on to the final installment of the Typhoon. This will be the most extensive portion of the entire build. So a lot to to get to. 1st was to attach the drop tank in it's location on the center line under the wing.
Next the AIM-120 missiles are then attached into the missile wells located on 4 points on the fuselage.
Now next up is to work on the landing gear, starting with the nose gear assy.
This will entail the nose gear strut and retraction strut.
Assembled and attached into the nose gear bay.
Next to assemble the nose gear door and actuator. And then attach that to the nose gear bay. The fit is solid here. Positive locating pins for the strut and acuator as well as for the door and actuator.
Now to start work on the main gear assy's and doors.
Now reading several reviews on this kit and there a few, but only a couple of builders have reported a minor issue when attaching the outer gear door. The strut is very close to the far edge of the gear bay, thus making the the outer gear door impossible to attach as the strut will be in the way. After a quick test fit to see if this is the case with this kit. And it is.
As I figure out a solution to this, first I will go ahead and continue on. So the inner gear bay doors are cleaned up and attached to the inner edge of the main gear bays.
Next to assemble the main gear strut assy's. 3 pieces make up each strut, strut, oleo scissors and retraction actuator assy. The details on are well done, the actuator is nice and well done. Despite looking fragile, it is quite sturdy, still be careful removing it from the sprue.
Then the assy is attached to main gear bay. Here the RH strut has been installed. Notice how close the strut is against the outer gear bay. There should be a narrow slot there to allow to attach the outer door. So I widened a bit with a blade as well as trimming the gear door to allow it to fit.
Next to assemble the outer gear doors which also includes the landing lights that pop out when the doors are deployed.
I put those aside for now and next is to paint and assemble the nose and main wheels.
I use Tamiya Tire Black and a brush to paint each tire. Using the capillary method around the rims to carefully paint each one. Not the greatest, but it will work for me.
Vallejo Steel is used to paint the hub on the main wheels and nose wheel.
The nose wheel is attached to the front strut.
Next up is attaching the main wheels to main struts.
Then the outer gear bay doors are attached, and they fit perfect with the minor mod that was needed to get them to fit properly.
Next while the landing gear sets. Time to work on the exhaust nozzles. Made up of 4 parts, the nozzles and exhaust pipes are assembled.
Then attached to the rear of the air frame. The fit here again is good, the sit as they should in each exhaust bay. They are handed and have a locating slot for a positive fit.
The final bit to install is the blade antenna next to the nose wheel. Which completes the bit under the Typhoon.
Now to work on the detail parts on the upper part of the air frame. Starting with the dive brake.
This is a one piece unit similar to an F-15, located on the center spine right behind the cockpit. There are 3 parts to assemble, the door, reinforcement panel and door actuator.
Once assemble, the dive brake is attached to the spine.
Next is to attach the canopy in the open position.
First I assemble the canopy by installing the rear shelf panel and attach the lift actuator to the rear cockpit avionics shelf.
Here how the Typhoon looks with the canopy and dive brake attached.
Finally to attach the inflight refueling nozzle assy.
Made up of 3 pieces, the probe, door cover and actuator.
The probe is painted Vallejo Steel, Aluminum and Gun Metal. With Tamiya white. The cover is Dark Green.
Once assemble the probe is attached to the nose, the fit here again is excellent.
And thats it. she is done, now one minor mishap. I have somehow lost one of the canard winglets, the RH one in fact. So I may have to use the LH one to fabricate a replacement. Other than that this completes my contribution to the RAF GB. And now await the final reveal. Cheers!
