Avgas Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Hi. Just for a change of pace and the the desire to actually complete something, I've taken a break from my Cheetah build to tackle this - Rafale C-01, the black Rafale. I'm using the 1/48 Hobbyboss kit 'Rafale C Fighter' which I believe is erm.. heavily inspired by the Revell kit. I've put one of those together before and loved every minute of it, so hopefully more of the same. It'll be done straight from the box, with added tape seatbelts. *Purists can look away now* .. There'll some whiffery as I'll be hanging some fuel tanks and inert weapons off it because this aircraft looks infinitely better loaded in my opinion. The work so far.. Not terribly exciting I'm afraid, but I've reached the same stage in a couple of hours as i did in a few months on the Cheetah The kit The work I'll be updating as I go along. Andre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabat Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Look forward to seeing more of this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark73 Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Love this aircraft, just done a 1/144 revell one of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 Look forward to seeing more of this... At the moment it's looking a bit patchy. Lots of tape and filler needed so far.. I'm not liking the plastic either - it's quite hard, brittle, thin in places and doesn't bond well. I hope this isn't the norm for Hobbyboss because I have a stack of their Mirage III's to get through. Compared to the Revell kit, it's almost identical but does not have as precise a fit and is generally quite rough around the edges. I'll post more pics when it's looking a bit more presentable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangerine_sedge Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 Some inspiration for you.... IMG_1589 by tangerine_sedge, on Flickr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted October 6, 2012 Author Share Posted October 6, 2012 I see that and raise you: I'm looking forward to trying to replicate that worn paintwork.. Thanks for that Tangerine - it's a beaut, isn't it. One of the sexiest airframes around at the moment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 (edited) Work continues quite quickly due to the ease of construction. The only real trouble so far being the fit of the wings to the fuselage (wings too thick, so I had to split the join of the upper and lower fuselage in that area and try to add shims. Not 100% successful but good enough) and the intake area, which is quite a complex shape with many curves. Nothing worth tearing what's left of my hair out for though. This may sound contrary to post #4, but all in all, it's been built with a smile so far. Main body put together: The only real fault I've noticed so far is that the canards on the Hobbyboss kit are set too far back (not so on the Revell kit). Why they didn't get this right is anyones guess. Perhaps 99% similar does not constitute copyright infringement in China. Anyhow, I've drilled new holes and have to reshape the canard to fit. (The canopy is blu-tacked on, so don't worry about them gaps). That's it for now. Edited October 9, 2012 by Avgass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark73 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Nice work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted October 12, 2012 Author Share Posted October 12, 2012 Got the first dark coat on - Revell Anthracite (36109) over black preshading. I'm pretty happy happy with the colour. Next comes a layer of Klear, followed by something I've never tried before - salt weathering with very thin white, followed again by a very thin layer of dark to blend it all in. I hope it works. More soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark73 Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 Looks great, nice to see a colour scheme that makes an amazing aircraft looks so mean... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted October 12, 2012 Author Share Posted October 12, 2012 Thanks Mark. Got a layer of gloss on this evening and realised it's probably best to the decals on next, so I did. Sealed it and now to allow it to cure before I start with the weathering. This is as it stands this evening: Thanks for stopping by 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted October 13, 2012 Author Share Posted October 13, 2012 Quick update before I head off to watch movies with the wife.. Tried the salt weathering technique and am quite happy with the result. Pretty much what I had in my minds eye, which doesn't happen all that often What I was going for: What I got: Tomorrows task is to remove some of the whiteness over selected panels and panel lines with a damp earbud (turps). Thanks for looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted October 14, 2012 Author Share Posted October 14, 2012 Right.. did some panel picking which resulted in this Before I seal it and add a black wash, comments/suggestions/advice on how to do it better next time are welcome. I'm here to improve, after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulj Posted October 14, 2012 Share Posted October 14, 2012 (edited) The Rafale is a great looking aircraft, that's great weathering. The pic of the weathering you were going for, is similar to the weathering I want for a space shuttle build. In my youth I built a shuttle/747 combo and I messed up with the black I painted underneath the wings. The main problem was it that I didn't mix my enamel properly (humbrol matt black), and it dried all patchy with various degrees of flat and semi gloss. At that time, thought it looked messy and was not happy with it at all as I was aiming for a pristine finish, but did not fix it. Twenty five years later when I first viewed the real thing in person, I was surprised at just how close that looked to the real thing, and now trying to get the same finish. Edited October 14, 2012 by paulj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metallicus Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Not sure how I missed this entire build!! Looks great, you nailed that salt weathering technique! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempestjohnny Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 I'm new to the forum. The weathering is fantastic. Love this aircraft. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve27752 Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 It does look mean, we should have bought these for the RAF. Insead of spending a lot of money developing our own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark73 Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 What decals are on this? Have just picked up another 1/144 one and want to do it in this scheme... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex77 Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 Very nice and subtile weathering! Well done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 You've done a great job on that paintwork, some great ideas for weathering. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 Thanks for the comments guys. @Tempestjohnny, welcome to the forums @mark73, they're the kit decals mate. Decent too. As for the model - it's gone back into the paintshop. The more I looked at it, the more I dsliked my panel job. I'm hoping to restore it to the previous stage (salt weathering) oversprayed with thin black, then a dark panel wash. Here it is as it stands right now, sanded back: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 (edited) Nicely done with the salt. That technique usually results in far too overstated contrast, but you blended it in really well. Hope you can restore it to the same level! Al Edited October 18, 2012 by PHaTNesS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Is it sanded back ready for new paint, as I think as it stands now it looks good compared to the photos of the real thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avgas Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 Al, thanks. Colin, that pic shows it already sanded. The contrast is similar to that pic, agreed, but it's way too harsh compared to other pics I have. It's proven to be quite difficult to snap shots that look as it does on the model and it's been equally difficult to decide on the correct amount of weathering because the references I have aren't conclusive. There aren't that many pics floating around online and those that I could find are of differing quality and are from different stages in the aircrafts life (some pics have a refuelling probe, others don't). Also, I couldn't find more than 2 from the same set, so I had to try settling somewhere in the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 can see what you mean, in the pictures it almost looks like dust on there and in places like its been, for want of a better word, blown off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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