WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 F-104J Starfighter ‘JASDF’ Pt.2 – Painting & Finishing
I’ll be painting this Starfighter in its initial bare metal finish scheme from the 1970s. Hasegawa’s instruction doesn’t include this scheme so I based the color callouts on the Fine Molds F-104J instructions instead. Painting begins with a base of black. The wings were painted white for the top side with RC222 Real...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 F-104J Starfighter ‘JASDF’ Pt.1 – Construction
Continuing my JASDF collection, the F-104J is up next. There is now a more modern offering of the F-104J by Fine Molds but I believe this kit from Hasegawa is still up there in the details. Work begins in the cockpit which have raised details for the instruments and oddly, a clear piece for the …...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 F-35A Lightning II Pt.4 – Finishing
Next we come to the decals and the whole reason for buying this particular release: the special anniversary tail markings. Gone are the days when Hasegawa prints white markings as cream colored ones. The whites here are white and very opaque. So I was happily putting on the decals until I noticed that the painted …...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 F-35A Lightning II Pt.3 – Painting
Despite the relatively low number of parts this kit hasn’t been the smoothest build. But I’m ready to sling paint. F-35s are an overall FS36170 with the RAM panels in FS36231. I used the ones from Real Color RC245 and RC247 for them. I first masked and painted the tailfin and compared the lighter gray …...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 F-35 Lightning II Pt.2 – Construction
There’s a general lack of detail in the wheel wells. The nose gear well is better but not by much. To be honest though, I’m not sure how accurate this is. The 1-piece upper fuselage clamshells over the bottom but leaves some unsightly join lines at the back. I’m not sure why Hasegawa designed it …...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 F-35 Lightning II Pt.1 – Construction
My next build is another JASDF special marking bird. This time it’s the 50th Anniversary markings for the 301 Tactical Fighter Squadron’s F-35A Lightning II, which to be honest, has a very boring standard color scheme. Hasegawa’s F-35 kit was one of the earlier releases of the production variant. Details are very good...
Build : Hasegawa 1/72 Mitsubishi F-2A Viper Zero
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 based on the F-16 Agile Falcon, General Dynamics’ low-cost alternative for the Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) competition....
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. …...
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...
