WIP : Fujimi 1/72 A-4F Skyhawk Pt. 1 – Construction
I’ve been wanting to build an A-4 Skyhawk armed for an Iron Hand (air defense suppression) mission for a while now and have heard good things about the Fujimi kit. Let’s see how it goes together shall we? The ejection seat has very fine belts molded on but I replaced them with 0.7mm masking tape …...
Completed : Tamiya 1/72 Lockheed Martin F-16CM Fighting Falcon
Kit Info Brand: Tamiya 60788 Scale: 1/72 Media: Injection Markings: Kit The Subject The Lockheed Martin (originally General Dynamics) F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter. It currently serves in no less than 25 nations, with over 4,400 aircraft built. Commonly known as the ‘Viper’, it features innovations including a...
WIP : Tamiya 1/72 F-16CM Fighting Falcon Pt.4 – Finishing
While waiting for the gloss coat to cure, I decided to tackle the exhaust. After a base of black and painting the inside white, the outside is painted with Vallejo Model Color Pale Burnt Metal. I then masked off the exhaust petals with both 1mm masking tape and liquid mask. Yes each individual petal. The …...
WIP : Tamiya 1/72 F-16CM Fighting Falcon Pt.3 – Painting
After fixing the few gaps, it’s time to put some color on this kit! First, the stealth coat with Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black. Then a marble coating with Tamiya XF-12 IJN Gray. The instruction sheet made a mistake in calling out 3 gray tones for the camouflage. By 2010, this jet only has 2 gray …...
WIP : Tamiya 1/72 F-16CM Fighting Falcon Pt.2 – Construction
Work continues… Disappointingly, Tamiya left some visible ejector pin marks on the gear doors which need to be addressed. Tamiya calls for some blue and silver colored parts inside the gearbay. Not sure how accurate this is. The main undercarriage is designed to be installed from the beginning. While troublesome, the upside is a...
WIP : Tamiya 1/72 F-16CM Fighting Falcon Pt.1 – Construction
Next on the factory floor is this Tamiya kit which looks to be as shake and bake as it will ever get. This is the 2nd release where Tamiya added the pylons, underwing stores, armaments and targeting pods. Checking the parts, I realized that by adding 1 component, I can model the F-16CM, an upgraded …...
Completed : Italeri 1/72 Grumman EF-111A Raven
Kit Info Brand and Kit Number: Italeri #1235 Media: Injection Plastic Markings: Cutting Edge Modelworks CED72048 EF-111A Sparkvark Nose Art The Subject The EF-111A Raven was an electronic warfare aircraft designed to replace the USAF’s B-66 Destroyer. Grumman was contracted in 1974 to convert 42 existing General Dynamics F-111A...
WIP : Italeri 1/72 EF-111A Raven Pt. 4
Decaling begins with a gloss coat. I’ve had very good results with AK Interactive Intermediate Gauzy Agent. With a 1:1 thinning with water, it gives a very shiny and smooth gloss without as many problems as other gloss coats I’ve used. The markings comes from Cutting Edge Modelworks’ EF-111 Sparkvark sheet (CED72048)....
WIP : Italeri 1/72 EF-111A Raven Pt. 3
I’ve been a big fan of Gary Wickham of ScaleSpot and is constantly amazed at his detailed work. In his 1/32 Mosquito build, he showed a method of breaking up the monotony of a single color scheme so I thought I’d try it here but in a simpler form. The first step is to spray …...
WIP : Italeri 1/72 EF-111A Raven Pt. 2
Work continues as there’s more to fix than expected. First up is the joint between the 2 halves of the fuselage, which isn’t as smooth as I hoped. I should have added a spreader on the rear half so the transition between the halves is smoother. I tried various methods including Perfect Plastic Putty, correction …...
