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 …...
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 : 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 …...
Completed : Fujimi 1/72 Grumman F-14A Tomcat ‘Top Gun’
Kit InfoBrand: Fujimi 28010Scale: 1/72Media: StyreneMarkings: DEF Models 72004F-14 Decal set Movie collection No.1 The SubjectThe Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft developed for the United States Navy’s Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after...
WIP : Fujimi 1/72 F-14A Tomcat ‘Top Gun’ Pt. 3 : Finishing
The edges of the gear doors were handpainted with red. This takes a bit of concentration and a steady hand of which I didn’t really have. I began with a panel wash using AK Abteilung Starship Filth. I really like the way Fujimi has done their panel lines. They are just fine enough to be …...
WIP : Fujimi 1/72 F-14A Tomcat ‘Top Gun’ Pt. 2 : Painting
Painting begins with making sure the canopy frame is in black. I then base coated the whole kit with black primer, which in this case is Mr Surfacer Black thinned with Mr Levelling Thinner, which results in a smooth and slightly glossy finish. I wanted to build up the weathered finish layer by layer so …...
WIP : Fujimi 1/72 F-14A Tomcat ‘Top Gun’ Pt. 1 : Construction
I’ve always wanted to model Maverick’s F-14A from the first Top Gun movie but I never had access to the markings. That was until I got my hands on the DEF Models JD72004 F-14A Tomcat Decal set – Movie Collection No.1 sheet. I’ve had this Fujimi kit for a long while now and had taken …...
Completed : Hobbyboss 1/48 Douglas A-4E Skyhawk ‘Navy Fighter Weapons School – TOPGUN 55’
Kit InfoBrand: Hobbyboss 81764Scale: 1/48Media: StyreneMarkings: Fightertown Decals 48-092 ExtremelyAdversarial – A-4/TA-4, F-5, F-16 The SubjectThe Douglas (later McDonnell Douglas) A-4 Skyhawk is a single seat subsonic carrier-capable attack aircraft originally developed for the US Navy and US Marine Corps. While relatively...
WIP : Hobbyboss 1/48 A-4E Skyhawk Pt.2 – Painting & Finishing
Time to sling paint on this thing by beginning with something different this time: I primered in gray and didn’t bother with mottling or preshading. The markings came from TwoBobs 48-018 Top Gun TInker Toys!! sheet and the color callouts were FS20400 (light brown), FS30117 (medium brown) and FS34079 (medium green). Going from...
WIP : Hobbyboss 1/48 A-4E Skyhawk Pt.1 – Construction
It’s time for another Aggressor build. This time it’s a Skyhawk and in the scheme of TOPGUN 55 that was made famous among modelers for appearing in the movie TOP GUN piloted by both Jester and Viper. The kit is Hobbyboss’ interpretation of this classic aircraft. Let’s see how it builds up… The cockpit is...
