It’s like 2023 all over again…
While I can’t say I’m surprised, it’s still very disappointing that it has happened to me again. I tore the retina of my left eye about three weeks ago and the worst has happened: I now need a vitrectomy procedure for it. So basically, just like last year, I’ll be going under the knife to …...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 F-15E Strike Eagle Pt.3 – Painting & Finishing
Painting begins with black for the canopy frame. The nose is a deeper shade of gray so to help make it more visually distinct I used black as a marble coat instead of white. I did both preshading of panel lines and marble coating to help with making a single solid color scheme look less …...
WIP : Academy 1/72 F/A-18E Super Hornet ‘Top Gun’ Pt.3 – Painting & Finishing
Painting begins with a preshade. Note that I fully painted the canopy frame at this point. The standard color scheme for the F/A-18E/F is a two-tone gray scheme. The topside is listed as FS36320. To slowly build up the opacity I went with very thin (3:7 paint to thinner ratio) coats of Mr Color Aqueous …...
A visit to Brookhurst Hobbies
I just got back home after spending twenty days settling my son down for his new life in college in Irvine, California and well, I had some spare time so I popped into Brookhurst Hobbies (Google map), who this year is celebrating their fifty years of establishment. That’s an amazing achievement especially considering the state...
Build : Bandai 1/72 Type-99 Cosmo Falcon
Kit InfoBrand: 1/72 Bandai 0183653Media: StyreneMarkings: Kit The SubjectThe Type-99 Cosmo Falcon (or Hayabusa in Japanese) is a trans-atmospheric space fighter aircraft used by the United Nations Cosmo Force and United Nations Ground Force in the late twenty second and third centuries. It is heavily armed with six cannons in the...
Remembering: The Testors Model Guide – My first modeling bible
Way back in the early 90s in college I got my modeling itch back but I thought to arm myself with some basic modeling skill first. I found this book at a bookstore (remember those things?) and read it before attempting my first aircraft kit, a Hasegawa 1/72 F-16A kit. As you can see, the …...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 F-15E Strike Eagle Pt.2 – Construction
Work continues as I attach the nose to the fuselage. There’s a somewhat ugly seamline here which requires getting rid off. Good thing is there’s no rescribing needed as it’s not meant to be a panel line. The gun port is a simple upper and lower join which results in an ugly seamline in a …...
Build : Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi F-2A Viper Zero
Kit InfoBrand: Hasegawa 00545Scale: 1/72Media: StyreneMarkings: DXM Decals 71-7123‘JASDF F-2A 3rd TFS 60th Anniversary’ The SubjectThe Mitsubishi F-2, nicknamed ‘Viper Zero’, is a multirole fighter manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Lockheed Martin for the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF). It is...
WIP : Academy 1/72 F/A-18E Super Hornet ‘Top Gun’ Pt.2 – Construction
So far the snapfitting has been good and Academy is commended for minimizing seamlines. There are however some prominent ones that need addressing. The first is the bottom of the LERX. There is also a seamline where the upper and lower halves of the nose join. In the film, whether the inner wing pylons were …...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 F-16C Blk 30 Pt.2 – Painting & Finishing
Time to finish this build. And I lucked out by finding a photo of the exact F-16C that I’d be modeling. The subject of this build will be serial 85-1552, an F-16C Block 30 of the 23rd TFS ‘Fighting Hawks’, 52nd TFW. She deploted to Desert Storm wearing this eye-catching sharkmouth scheme. Interestingly she has …...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/48 Hurricane Pt.1 – Construction
World War II props are always easier builds for me as I do much less research for them. Well… that came back to bite me in the ass. This was my prop build for 2023 until everything went sideways. Oh and I realized that I didn’t have the correct aftermarket markings for this version of …...
