WIP : Academy 1/48 F-16A ‘TOPGUN 51’ Pt.1 – Construction
Seeing as how badly I’d done my 414th CTS F-16C and how it has fallen apart, I’ve decided to have another go at an F-16 for this year’s annual Aggressor build. Based on some research, I thought the Academy would be a simplified version of the Hasegawa kit and therefore would be a quick build. …...
WIP : Hobbyboss 1/72 F-14A Tomcat ‘VF-41’ Pt.2 – Construction
An easy detail to add is to drill out the fuel dump pipe on the beaver tail. It didn’t look right at all blanked off. This was drilled and I used an X-Acto blade to widen the hole. Hobbyboss molds the canopy correctly, in that there are prominent detonation cords for each section (if only …...
WIP : Hobbyboss 1/72 F-14A Tomcat ‘VF-41’ Pt.1 – Construction
This kit has been in the backburner for a while now, partially assembled. It’s time to get it off the Shelf of Doom. Having built a Hobbyboss F-14 before, this one went more smoothly. This kit will wear the markings of ‘Fast Eagle 107’, the F-14A from VF-41 Black Aces during the Gulf of Sidra …...
WIP : Trumpeter 1/72 Su-30MK2 TNI-AU Pt. 5 – Finishing
Time to finish this build even though I didn’t make the 17 August deadline. Finishing took more time as usual because of various unforeseen disasters that needed to be addressed. Anyway, the decals I’m using comes from Caracal Models. They were printed by Cartograf so quality looks very good. Over the usual gloss coat, the...
WIP : Trumpeter 1/72 Su-30MK2 TNI-AU Pt. 4 – Painting
To prep for the second gray color, I masked off the pattern with Tamiya Masking Tape for Curves. The TNI-AU uses solid demarcations for their camouflage so the tape would be OK. However, the tape just won’t do sharp curves so I ended up going back to using blutack for these. The second gray color …...
WIP : Trumpeter 1/72 Su-30MK2 TNI-AU Pt. 3 – Painting
Unlike my previous builds, I need to paint the exhaust area around the Su-30 first. As these will be metallic colors, I’ll need a glossy base. I begin with spraying a base layer of Tamiya X-18 Gloss Black. Reference photos show that the exhaust area is a myriad of shades of dark metal colors. I …...
WIP : Trumpeter 1/72 Su-30MK2 TNI-AU Pt. 2 – Construction
Trumpeter offers a ton of weapons to mount onto the Flanker. I went with a pair each of R-73E (AA-11 Archer), R-77 (AA-12 Adder), R-27T (AA-10B Alamo) and KH-31P (AS-17 Krypton). I couldn’t resist having the Krypton anti-radar missiles: TNI-AU SEAD! I added pins using brass rods to the rails for added mounting points for …...
WIP : Trumpeter 1/72 Su-30MK2 TNI-AU Pt. 1 – Construction
This one has been on my to-do list for a while: a Sukhoi Su-30MKK deployed by the Tentara Nasional Indonesia – Angkatan Udara (TNI-AU). The plan is to finish this by 17 August, Indonesia’s independence day. Let’s see how I deal with a fixed deadline (I’m usually not good with it). I first took a …...
WIP : Airfix 1/48 Defiant Mk.I Pt. 4 – Finishing
I was very pleasantly surprised with the quality of the Airfix decals. The carrier film is thin and they went on very easily. Color fidelity is also very good and they reacted well with Mark Setter and Softer. I went with N1572/KO-I due to the unique placement of the KO-I. Alas I found out after …...
WIP : Bandai 1/144 RGC-80 GM Cannon Pt.3 – Painting & Finishing
Painting begins with a base of black using both Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black and Gunze Surfacer Black. Surfacer gives a smoother finish especially when thinned with Mr Leveling Thinner. Unfortunately the smell is a lot stronger. For the joints and other gray parts I used Mecha Color Grey Z. The black parts were given a …...
