Completed : Academy 1/72 Grumman F-14B Tomcat ‘VF-103 Jolly Rogers’
Kit InfoBrand: Academy 12563Scale: 1/72Media: StyreneMarkings: Fightertown Decals 72004 + Kit stencils The SubjectIn 1987, the Grumman F-14A received its first major upgrade in the form of the F-14A+. The original TF30 engines were replaced with the F110, which provided a significant increase in performance, range...
WIP : Academy 1/72 F-14B Tomcat Pt.2 – Painting & Finishing
Painting a weathered F-14 is always challenging but fun. The key I think is to build up the effects layer by layer. I began with a base coat of black with the marble coating using white and brown. Note I avoided the panel lines and have kept them black except for areas in the rear …...
WIP : Academy 1/72 F-14B Tomcat Pt.1 – Construction
Another year, another Tomcat. This time it’s the much talked about new mold F-14 from Academy. It’s been getting raves around the community. Hopefully it lives ups to the hype and I can retire my old Hasegawa kits. First impressions though is somewhat disappointing as Academy has chosen to simply re-use the boxart from the...
Completed : Academy 1/72 Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian ‘TNI-AD’
Number 09 of 2021...
WIP : Academy 1/72 AH-64E ‘TNI-AD’ Pt.3 – Painting & Finishing
Time to paint and finish this build. I started with my usual black base and white marble coating. As we shall see later, it wasn’t that effective. The AH-64E fielded by the TNI-AD comes in a 2-tone camouflage of olive drab and green. The CJM decal sheet states that the olive drab is FS34031. I …...
WIP : Academy 1/72 AH-64E ‘TNI-AD’ Pt.2 – Construction
The rotor is next. The base kit is an AH-64D so I need to modify it to the one that equips the AH-64E. My reference for this comes from the Hasegawa AH-64D and E instruction sheets. I made sure they were the same size and then superimposed them together to get a better idea of …...
WIP : Academy 1/72 AH-64E ‘TNI-AD’ Pt.1 – Construction
For this year’s annual TNI aircraft build, I decided to combine it with my annual helicopter build and decided on getting the TNI-AD’s AH-64E Apache Guardian done. What was originally thought to be a straightforward build wasn’t to be. Unsurprisingly really… In any case, this is the base kit… As usual I...
Completed : Academy 1/48 Lockheed Martin F-16A Fighting Falcon ‘TOPGUN 51’
Kit Info Brand: Academy 1688 Scale: 1/48 Media: Styrene Markings: TwoBobs ‘F-16 NSAWC Vipers’ 48-069 The Subject The Lockheed Martin (originally General Dynamics) F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter. It currently serves in at least 25 nations, with over 4,400 aircraft built. Commonly known as the ‘Viper’, it...
WIP : Academy 1/48 F-16A ‘TOPGUN 51’ Pt.6 – Painting & Finishing
So we finally come to the meat and potato parts of the build: painting and finishing. I begin with a base coat of Mr Hobby Black Surfacer 1500 thinned with Mr Leveling Thinner which results in a smooth and semi-gloss surface. This is now my go-to base coat when I can spray outdoors. For the …...
WIP : Academy 1/48 F-16A ‘TOPGUN 51’ Pt.5 – Construction
It’s been a long WIP but it’s finally the last post for this one. The kit only comes with decals for the console details although it comes with detailed foot pedals. Very odd choice by Academy. There’s no open canopy option although I’ve always intended to keep this one closed anyway so I’ll live with...
