Completed : Hasegawa 1/72 Lockheed Martin F-16C Block 30 Fighting Falcon
Kit InfoBrand: HasegawaScale: 1/72Media: StyreneMarkings: Xtradecals X00872 and kit The SubjectThe Lockheed Martin (originally General Dynamics) F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter. It currently serves in 25 nations, with over 4,400 aircraft built. Commonly known as the ‘Viper’, it features innovations including a...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 F-16C Blk 30 Pt.2 – Painting & Finishing
Ok time to put paint onto plastic. For this build I’ve gone back to doing pre-shading: in this case, it’s black preshade over a base primer coat of light gray. In the 1980s, F-16C was still in its original sccheme of 3 shades of gray. I used AK 3rd Gen Pale Grey for FS36375 (bottoms, …...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 F-16C Blk 30 Pt.1 – Construction
While waiting for a spare canopy for my F-100F build, I decided to start on another SEAD aircraft, this time a 480th TFS Blk 30 F-16C based in Germany and deployed as part of a Hunter-Killer team with F-4Gs in the late 1980s. At this time, the HTS Pod hadn’t been developed yet so the …...
Completed : Hasegawa 1/72 Boeing AV-8B Harrier II
Kit Info Completed : Hasegawa 1/72 Boeing AV-8B Harrier IIKit Info Brand: Hasegawa 00449 Scale: 1/72 Media: Styrene Markings: Kit The Subject The Boeing (previously McDonnell Douglas) AV-8B Harrier II, the second generation of the Harrier Jump Jet family, is a single-engine ground attack aircraft capable of vertical or short takeoff...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 AV-8B Harrier II Pt. 2 – Construction, Painting & Finishing
Gap fixing took some time as quite a few prominent joints didn’t fall on natural panel lines. There was a noticeable seamline where the LERX meets the wing which required filling and rescribing of the whole area. The bottom was relatively free of annoying seamlines. The fit of the gunpod though… The gunpod system is …...
WIP : Hasegawa 1/72 AV-8B Harrier II Pt. 1 – Construction
I started this kit in early December 2020 thinking that since it was from Hasegawa I should be able to finish it by the end of year and hit my target of a dozen kits completed. Alas, I had too much faith in Hasegawa. This kit really needed ‘some basic modeling skills’ after all. What …...
Preview : 1/72 F-4 Phantom II kit comparison (Fine Molds, Fujimi and Hasegawa)
The fine folks at Fine Molds have a reputation of superbly done kits and the latest kit in their quiver is the F-4 Phantom II, the first versions (the Japanese EJ and EJ Kai) of which were released in December 2019. With this new kit in my hands, I now have F-4 kits from four …...
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...