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 …...
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-2A Pt.2 – Painting & Finishing
Since I’m attaching the pylons from the beginning, I painted them first with the area around the sway braces being handpainted. The pins were all slightly oversized so I had to make the holes larger for the pylons to fit. The F-2 color scheme is an overall FS35109 medium blue with FS35045 dark blue highlights. …...
Build : Hobbyboss 1/72 Dassault Rafale C
Kit InfoBrand: Hobbyboss 87246Scale: 1/72Media: StyreneMarkings: DXM Decals 11-7144 ‘Rafale’ The SubjectThe Dassault Rafale (meaning ‘squall’) is a French twin-engine, delta wing, multirole fighter aircraft. Intended to perform air supremacy, interception, reconnaisance and various strike...
WIP : Hobbyboss 1/72 Rafale Pt.3 – Painting & Finishing
I picked the build up again in February 2024 and while looking at what else needs to be done I reaalized that I had missed out on the a pair of lights on each wingroot. These were quickly handpainted. Based on pictures the inner one is actually a clear panel with the outer one being …...
WIP : Hobbyboss 1/72 Rafale Pt.2 – Painting & Finishing
I’m building a French Air Force Rafale so the color scheme is a uniform medium gray which can look somewhat monotonous. To add some variations to the finish I first added a mottling coat with white color over a base of black. There are usually staining on the hind quarters. To help the eventual oil …...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 F-2A Pt.1 – Construction
The first build of 2024 is Japan’s indigenous F-16 variant, the F-2 Viper Zero. Hasegawa usually makes some extra effort with Japanese subjects, let’s see how this one builds up. First impressions are mixed. This mold is from 1998 but it’s barely more detailed than the F-16 that’s from the 1980s. A plus is that...
WIP : Academy 1/72 F/A-18E Super Hornet ‘Top Gun’ Pt.1 – Construction
Like any self-professed aviation geek, I was a massive fan of Top Gun: Maverick and upon seeing that DEF Model has issued decals for the aircraft in that movie including of course, Maverick’s F/A-18E Super Hornet, I just had to build one. The kit will be the newish Academy offering that is (somewhat) snapfit. I …...
WIP : Hobbyboss 1/72 Rafale C Pt.1 – Construction
It’s strange that considering how popular the Rafale is (200 or so units in active service) that only Hobbyboss has kitted the subject. My experience with Hobbyboss has been hit or miss though so let’s see how this one goes. As we shall see, this build will heavily reference this Rafale on the Prime Portal …...
