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. …...
Upcoming : Academy Gatchaman New God Phoenix
Now this is unexpected. From the Korean (?!) manufacturer Academy comes the New God Phoenix from the anime Gathcaman II. The only details so far are that the kit will come in multi colored parts and will include the Gatchaman team and their individual vehicles which can be stored inside New God Phoenix. No other …...
Completed : Academy 1/72 North American F-86F Sabre
Kit Info Brand: Academy Scale: 1/72 Media: Injection Plastic The Subject The North American F-86 Sabre is a single-seat swept wing transonic jet fighter aircraft. First entering service with the USAF in 1949, the F-86 was one of the best and most important fighter aircraft during the Korean War. Armed with 6 x 0.50 caliber …...
WIP : Academy 1/72 F-86F Sabre Pt. 2
Finally onto decaling stage and the Academy decals are… crap. They take a long time to detach from the backing, are quite fragile, and doesn’t really react to Mark Softer. Since I don’t have Mark Setter I resorted to Future to stick some errant decals onto the surface. There were quite a few tearings so …...
WIP : Academy 1/72 F-86F Sabre Pt. 1
While I struggle with bad fits on other builds, this particular bad fitting kit is finally up for painting. This 1/72 Academy F-86F will be my first ever BMF build. First up is base coating with gloss black. And since there’s no easy way to add a handle for easy er… handling, I decided to …...
Completed : Academy 1/72 Vought F-8E Crusader
Kit Info Manufacturer: Academy Scale: 1/72 Media: Injection Plastic The Subject The Vought F-8E Crusader was a single-engined, carrier-based air superiority jet aircraft which replaced the Vought F7U Cutlass in the US Navy and Marine Corps fleets. Known for its distinctive variable-incidence wing which pivoted by 7° out of the fuselage...
WIP : 1/72 Academy F-8E Crusader Pt. 6
I spent some time fiddling with the canopy to get it to fit flush with the fuselage but it seems like the tolerance is very tight and the Future coat actually made the canopy thicker. I ended up resorting to some sanding and leaving out the back section of the canopy. And then it was …...
WIP : 1/72 Academy F-8E Crusader Pt. 5
I decided to give Lifecolor UA035 Flat Light Gull Gray a go and it turned out to be a more ‘correct’ shade of FS36440. Layering over the previous warmer shade of gray probably changed the color somewhat but it’s OK as long it looks more ‘right’ to my eyeball 1.0. Since the Crusader marking I’m …...
WIP : 1/72 Academy F-8E Crusader Pt. 4
After another round of fixing the seams and rescribing, I called it done and did a final primer coat to prep for painting. For this kit I used Vallejo White Primer instead of the usual Tamiya rattle can primer. It required multiple thin coats but at least it doesn’t smell as bad. As is the …...
WIP : 1/72 Academy F-8E Crusader Pt. 3
Work continues on this kit with fixing seamlines. This kit has a lot of panel lines and rivets that get obliterated due to sanding. I rescribed with a needle + pin vise combo using a strip of dymo tape as a guide. I choose to not redo the rivets just because :). It was also …...
