Upcoming : Kittyhawk 1/48 AH-1W “Whiskey Cobra”
Kittyhawk is finally releasing the AH-1W variant of the AH-1 Cobra. I’ve been holding off getting the AH-1Z because I prefer the sleeker look of the AH-1W. No release details yet but their AH-1Z has gotten good reviews so I expect the same with this one....
WIP : Fujimi 1/72 RF-4C Phantom II Pt.2 – Construction
So I’ll be building a Desert Storm era RF-4C. The kit will require donor parts to get it to be configured correctly. USAF F-4s use straight-edged styled pylons. The kit is supposed to include them but alas, these were missing (I bought this kit used). I got a spare pair with the sway braces from …...
WIP : Fujimi 1/72 RF-4C Phantom II Pt.1 – Construction
Next build up is an oldie but goodie (famous last words). Having built one in the mid 1990s in college I remember this kit to fit well in general and with fewer parts than the Hasegawa counterpart, would be a quicker build. I was planning for this kit to be part of a groupbuild with …...
Completed : Airfix 1/72 BAE Systems Hawk 109 ‘TNI-AU’
Kit Info Brand: Airfix A03073 Scale: 1/72 Media: Styrene Markings: Scale Nutz A72019 1/72 TNI-AU Hawk 109/209 ‘Unity Guardian’ The Subject The British Aerospace Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, twin seat advanced trainer aircraft. It is used in a trainer capacity and as a low-cost combat aircraft. First flown in 1974,...
WIP : Airfix 1/72 Hawk 109 Pt. 3 – Finishing
Time to finish this thing. The markings come from Scale Nutz, a defunct decal company based in Singapore. The sheet comes with full stencils for 1 aircraft but enough unit numbers to build any of the Hawk 109 and 209s in TNI-AU service in either squadron. I went with TT-1203 from Skadron 12 for this …...
WIP : Airfix 1/72 Hawk 109 Pt. 2 – Painting
I used a gray color on the parts to check for gaps and thankfully, they weren’t too bad. Painting begins with Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black. First on was freehanded AK Interactive Dark Tan. Based on photos, the camouflage demarcations are solid so I used Tamiya Tape for Curves for these. To prevent overspray, I backfilled …...
WIP : Airfix 1/72 Hawk 109 Pt. 1 – Construction
Next up is another aircraft flown by the TNI-AU and my first modern Airfix kit. As usual, I begin with the ejection seats. The kit comes with seated pilots so no seatbelt details are provided. I made these from 1mm masking tape. Cockpit details are decals and are the same for both cockpits. Oddly, the …...
Completed : Kinetic 1/48 Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet A ‘Top Aces’
Kit Info Brand and Kit Number: Kinetic K48043 Media: Injection Plastic and Photoetch Markings: Kit The Subject The Alpha Jet is a light attack jet and advanced jet trainer jointly manufactured by France’s Dassault Aviation and Germany’s Dornier Flugzeugwerke from a collaboration initiated in 1967. Under the terms of this agreement,...
WIP : Kinetic 1/48 Alpha Jet Pt. 7 – Finishing
On to the finishing stage! First up are the decals after a gloss coat. The decals are designed by Canuck Models and printed by Cartograph. While generally printed nicely, the red bands that go around the bottom fuselage were slightly out of register. Pity. These went on beautifully and are really easy to use although …...
WIP : Kinetic 1/48 Alpha Jet Pt. 6 – Painting
Painting begins as is usual now with a base color of Tamiya XF-1 Black thinned with lacquer thinner. Reference photos show that the Top Aces Alpha Jets are maintained very well with very smooth paint jobs. I decided to take some artistic license by adding some subtle variation to the colors for visual interest. So …...
