vesthepes

Thanks a lot chaps, much appreciated comments and likes...

Hi chaps Well it's time for another build and it just can't be too many on the work bench. It is going to be in Syrian Arab AF livery, just haven't decided yet in which type of camo, if not in NMF. The model is a well known Italeri repack T-6 Harvard. I've decided to add some Eduard PE to achieve a bit higher level of detail. Here it is... The plastic has a lot of excessive flash, a bit more work needed to clean it up but no biggie... The PE are older in brass color but just as good as the new ones... So, so far, that much has been done...cleaning the parts, removing thingies and replacing them with etched parts.. that's about it, thanks for looking in, stay tuned... cheers

Finally finished and posted in the gallery http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234996512-148-iraqi-af-hawker-hunter-f6/

Academy Hawker Hunter F.6 in 1:48 I've used Aeroclub correction set and FM details resin, check more of the build on http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234979788-148-iraqi-hawker-hunter-f6-academy-aeroclub-fm/ The decal are Iraqi fighters by Linden Hill. It was quite a complicated build, many needed corrections; the dog tooth, the exhaust, rounding the tip edges, moving the tail planes and the airbrake, etc. I could do more on the nose and the canopy - I have trimmed the back frame, which makes a bit short, no rails done which makes it a bit off... anyway, here it is... for more info and pics, please check http://militaryaviation148.blogspot.si/2016/01/hawker-hunter-iraqi-air-force-399.html Thanks for looking in.

F-5F Tunisian AF AFV Club kit in 1:48, Aires speed brakes, Hasegawa weapons set, Carapena + other decals Painted with Gunze, Tamiya and Alclad paints. cheers

Huh, I guess this is it. The Tiger is finished and placed in the gallery Thanks to everybody helping, participating, commenting, liking and just looking. Couldn't finish it the same without you. cheers, Vasko

Your Tiger looks amazing. Excellent work Craig. From the construction to painting, decals...you pulled it off and made it look wonderful. Glad you solved your decals problems too. cheers

I liked this Trumpeter kit even if it's not the most accurate fishbed. The biggest dimensional mistake is the fin I believe... the cockpit is very simple and the rubber wheels are also bad. But anyway I believe it is a nice kit, which can be made into a great model.

Wow, so true... For a moment I had a feeling something's weird about it, just never figured it out... Thanks a lot B. Much appreciated.

Thanks Craig. Well,... Fuel tanks are boring right? So here's an idea... I believe that might be possible... I think I'm going to add some LAUs on the outer pylons and that's about it...

Thanks for your comments. I found some nice videos earlier of Tunisian F-5s in flight... https://youtu.be/W1Xtr9on-E4 and the one revealing AIM-9s on the wingtips, seems the same type as AFV offers https://youtu.be/AxxLBR-zZ1U a pic from facebook of an armed F-5F - some additional antennas on the belly visible cheers

First and foremost Happy New Year chaps. Thanks a lot for your comments, I really appreciate your words. I hope it will look good in the gallery next to your excellent builds... I've been thinking a lot about those missing RWRs and it bugged me so much I just had to do something about it. I found some nice parts that will serve for the blisters on the nose and the ones on the tail are shaped from a similar plastic part. The landing gear is attached.. The whole bottom, LGs and the wells still need some weathering... Ah, the armament. Should I go traditional with Mk.82s and LAUs or should I put on Paveways and CBUs? The latter option is tempting but I'm not sure if Tunisians use that stuff. But I doubt anybody does!? I replaced the cannon barrel on the port side with a nicer brass tube. The starboard one is a dummy so the plastic one from the box will do OK. Slowly this build is coming to an end. A few more posts... till next time cheers

A bit of progress on the Tunisian.. The problems with decals breaking up took me quite some time to find app. supplements and apply them letter by letter. The windscreen and canopy sealing is also a pain to do, masking the clear parts can become tricky. Still many more parts to apply - the undercarriage and the armament, some work on the cockpit, more weathering on certain places and so on... Thanks for looking in.

Thanks a lot for your help, I really appreciate it, but I hope I can manage this by myself. Bob you made me laugh when I read your post, and I feel the same way. Back in the day I used to worry about "silvering", now the decals just disintegrate.. Craig I used many different tones for this camo, I never follow the guides, I usually study the photos (something in between the shadowy ones and the ones taken in the sun) and try to come up with something similar...I used Gunze and Tamiya acrylics mostly. For the brown I first tried the Tamiya XF-59 desert yellow, but it was just too orangish... So I sprayed another coat over that one with a mix of XF-64 red brown + X-1 white. It is more brownish now and I am more satisfied with it. The upper grey is just a mix of many different shades of grey (many, but not 50 though). Green is the one I do not like, so it might get some more adjustments. It is made in two layers. First one is Tamiya XF61 dark green, followed by Gunze H65. The downside is a mix of Gunze H315 (light ghost grey) and H306 (FS 36270) Here's something that crossed my mind...found it among less used items. Thanks for you offer Giorgio, here's something I scrapped, F-104 & F-5 leftover serials - quite similar in stencils and some other details these two types.. I also found the appropriate letters (ID) for the front fuselage - I believe the serial will be Y 92508. Before any decals were put on, the Tiger was dipped in floor polish (EU version of the Future), nice to spray, and perfect for the decals to set in properly. Next step is making a worn out radom. Here's a little trick.. cheers

Thanks for the words and compliments lads, I appreciate it. Here's how the Tiger looks now: first some preshading... The downside pale grey and the upper camo Still this is not the final look. As I said I want it to look weathered, so all of the three colors will be toned down, specially the green and grey. I've had massive problems with the decals as I presume are pretty old. I've somehow managed to attach the roundels, but the serials went into million pieces by the touch of water. So now it's the hard way, scrap all the leftover US numerals and produce serials similar to the ones one the subject. I'll have to live with the fact that the wing roundels are too small, maybe I'll get a supplement ones from a different TuAF aircraft... I wish you all a merry Christmas and a Happy 2016. Enjoy your holiday time and thanks for looking in. cheers

Thanks chaps. Rich, you were right. This fin modification is quite simple. A few rivets and a panel line in between and that should do. As the new part is quite thin and easier to attach while the stabilizer is already glued on (because of alignment), I had to be very careful while applying putty and sanding it away not to tear it off.. I can't wait to start painting it, but I really do not want to rush into it. The kit is primed, the exhaust is painted, the next step will be some pre-shading. before I do that I must firstly make some details on the HUD and glue on the windshield... cheers

Excellent painting and weathering. And the pilots... that's the best part for me...

The vertical stabilizer should look something like this:

Thanks a lot for your comments and likes. Much appreciated. So much has been said about LERXs, RWRs, shark noses... but there's been an ultimate fail from my side. How come I haven't seen it before from the photos that TuAF (just like Kenyan and MexAf) Tigers had a different vertical stabilizer! Check the photos from the previous page to see what I mean... So the next obvious step was tearing off the tail and trying to add a piece of PS plastic to make it right. Photos will follow soon. I just hope that this procedure won't drastically complicate the situation so I can finish this build on time... cheers

Hi Craig, I haven't used my HiDecal F-5F option, so if you wish I can send you over the missing decals. It usually takes a few days for me to get stuff from UK, so you shouldn't wait too long. Let me know... Vasko

The fitter is finally in one piece! lots of adjusting, filling and sanding is needed while working with this kit. Specially around some places where two halves should align closely. Wing fences are a critical spot. Next step will be a strip of plastic along the base of the fences, some kind of a reinforcement. Besides that the wing-fuselage joints need a fat piece of plastic to fill the gap on the lower side of the plane. Huh, I've been delaying the work on the wheel well wiring and details. So far I only used the Eduard PE for the well walls.. I have the BKL version Eduard etched parts to replace wheel wells doors. But since there's a difference between BKL and BMK wheel wells and its doors, I have decided to try and scratch build something closer to the original instead of buying it. This is still in quite a rough state, some cosmetics is needed to make it look more appropriate. Thanks for looking in.

Hi chaps. Back with some work done. The last time I did the Tiger with Aires resin aftermarket I left out the air brakes. Huh, now I figured why...the fit is..a disaster. The resin part is too wide and seems like it is made for another kit. somehow, someway,... ć The kit assembly is very straightforward, with nice overall fitting of the plastic parts.

Hi guys here's a few additional pics of the belly and the bomb bay. I tried to take photos of the pit, but the canopy is obscuring the view. The canopy has a tint, which is not perfect but rather OK, and the ailerons can be put in up/down position OOB. cheers

Thanks for the input Giorgio. That means there are still some mysteries surrounding the TuAF Tigers. Anyway I haven't got many options here and haven't yet decided if I'll scratch-build those RWRs or simply do it without. Still have some time to decide.. A small update on the cockpit. The IPs and the side panes are okay OOB, but the tub and its details are weak. The space behind the seats is very simple, I've started adding some wires and such to make it more busy. Unfortunately I have only one resin seat and the ones from the box aren't that nice. Specially the ejection seat rails..I'll probably buy another resin one... cheers

Thanks a lot chaps for your comments, I'm glad you like it... I like the looks of this plane too, ever since I first saw it. I'll try to make some close up photos of the cockpit and the bomb bay and post it later on.