alxzinbox

Ooh nice! I like those bare-metal panels. The weathering is also just right.

Hey all! Wishing you a happy 2021. My first build of 2021. And what an absolute pleasure it was. Took around 10 hours over a week, and other than a minor issues of not following the instructions properly, it went together like LEGO. I ran into a few issues with a fogged up canopy due to fumes from the primer I'm guessing, and a matte coat that wouldn't cover a glossy part and then turned the whole paintjob white. Managed to salvage it in the end and was left quite happy with the results. I initially wasn't very excited about the overall olive drab scheme, but references online threw up a lot of interesting weathered aircraft. It was good practice for my detail airbrushing skills, and I added some additional weathering with oil paints. The hellfire missiles were painted a brighter green (to add some color to an otherwise unsaturated model) and I used chrome decal and a bead of white glue for the nose for the Laser seeker head. The tires were sanded down for the classic Apache weighted look. Highly recommended build. Plus Academy has released a AgustaWestland Apache version as well. Thanks for watching! Cheers, Alex.

Is the 1/72 a typo? You surely meant 1/32 right? That rigging is phenomenal.

Wow, look at that subtle weathering! I'd imagine the aircraft to be a lot more glossier though. Any other aircraft other than the Blue Angels could be satin, but them Blue Angel boys keep their birds immaculate. Barring that- amazing job Love the photography too. What did you use on the stanchion on the main landing gear?

So good! The landing gear especially look like they're a larger scale. The weathering is subtle, and the streaks on the upper fuselage are perfect, especially given the scale Couldn't help notice though- the streaks on the wing, shouldn't they be along the airflow as opposed to perpendicular to the panel line?

Such a sharp build! Looks great

The only reason I asked if it was masked was because there was no way decals could conform so flawlessly. I don't think you have much further to go with that. You've nailed it.

That is a valid point. I had completely overlooked that aspect. However, we need to take into consideration the scale of the colors as well. Something that is black close up, will shift towards grey as we move further away. For example the panel lines on a 1:32 and 1:44 will be colored with different shades as they are meant to represent the 1:1 aircraft seen from different distances. Lastly, the reason I personally feel the panel lines are too strong, is due to the general perception the viewer has of a Concorde- a sleek sophisticated beauty, with a smooth skin untarnished by panel lines. Of course, this discussion is not to take anything away from this build. The builder is free to decide how much or less he chooses to weather or paint his model, and in my opinion has done a pretty amazing job.

Great work on the model! Was it masked paint or decal on the tail? My only critique (since it was requested) : In my opinion a light grey wash would've been more subtle than the black/dark gray one. Almost all the photos of the Concorde have close to invisible panel lines. I can only imagine the difficulty you've surmounted in masking that cockpit in 1/144!

Wow!!! This looks so goood!!!

LOVE IT! Such a welcome break from the staple of subjects we normally build. The paint job is perfectly executed with just the right amount of weathering. It seems like such a raw almost untamed beast of power.

That's a brilliant idea for checkered canopies! Glad I stumbled upon this build. Top notch stuff all around!

Very nice The camo pattern and weathering are perfect. The fuel leakage on the center tank is lovely! Great photography too!

That's some incredible detailing! Looking forward to the rest of the build! Cheers, Alex.

Hey all, A quick post of these two lovely little models I had a lot of fun building Trumpeter's 1/144th F-14D and Revell's 1/144th F-18D. Trumpeter's 1/144th kits are an absolute blast to build- low part count, perfect fit, excellent level of detail for the scale, and stress free. The perfect antidote for taking a refreshing break from your other high maintanence builds. I used the lo-vis Tomcatters scheme from the F-14D kit on the F-18D, despite the VF-31 not having the Hornet (they currently have the F/A-18E). Also for the eagle-eyes, the wing-tip rails are not accurate on the F-18 as I broke the original off. Painted using Vallejo Model Air, and weathered with oils.

So good. Nice work. You get the weathering just right.

Nice! The burner can looks so good!

That's a great realization of a what-if! Great paint job!

Hey All, I'd like to present the 1/72nd Academy F-16C/J draped in the splinter camo of the 64th Squadron. The decals were from the Hobby-Boss boxing. I took some creative liberties in choosing the Arctic Splinter camo as opposed to the reference in the box as it looked cooler (no pun intended?) I left the aircraft unweathered (it being Airforce and all) but went to town on the fuel tanks which wouldn't receive as much love as the aircraft itself. Thanks for watching! Cheers, Alex.

Hey All, This build was a spiritual successor to my Hobby-Boss F-14D which I also hugely enjoyed building. Both builds are on different continents now. The build was mostly OOB with the exception of basic riveting (to justify the weathering) and rotating of the Nose Landing Gear (probably not technically accurate for a parked aircraft but adds a dash of dynamism). The HARM missile was borrowed from the Academy F-16CJ kit, and the pilot from the Hasegawa F-18D kit. Missiles all carry the blue ribbon of non-lethality Painted using Vallejo Model Air and Alclad II. Weathered with oil paints and a hog brush. The base was made from styrene sheet, acrylics paints and salt weathering. The aircraft was supposed to represent the more grittier F-18F seen aboard the Carl Vinson, but I destroyed the decal along with a "NAVY" decal on the starboard side, so went with the Abraham Lincon. The Pilot figure was from the Hasegawa F-18D kit. Anti corrosion paint touch-ups on the tails Some forced perspective with the excellent Trumpeter 1/144 F-14D kit. Thanks for watching and happy modeling! Cheers, Alex.

Wow!! Inspirational build! Love this little aircraft.

Hi Roger! Nice build there! I've tweaked the color balance of your photos along with a few crops. Feel free to use them, or if you're not comfortable, let me know and I'll delete the photos. I've uploaded the edits here- https://imgur.com/a/UGJ533N

Hi Markus! Thank you Sir I weathered using oil paints. The model was sealed with clear acrylic after decals. First pass was the region staining'' with lighter colors like Yellow Ochre and Burnt Sienna. Noteable areas include joints like the elevator and tail roots (where they join the fuselage) Then I worked the panel lines by brushing in a mix of burnt sienna + black and blending it out smoothly across the panel and rivet lines with a soft dry brush. I then used odorless turpentine (with a fine edge brush) to clean up edges (like around the airbrake or individual access plates) for a sharp line which helps accentuate the panels further. I further accent the joints with the same color (with much less spread than the previous color) as before. Then I mottled on and blended in some black around edges that would get a lot of hand rubs during aircraft pre-flight checks or ground maintenance (like the fins below the elevators and elevator edges). Next I mottled on some white/ off white in the larger surface areas exposed to the sun using a hog bristle brush. I should add that a little oil paint goes a long way. And by little, I mean pin-head little at a time A Matte coat seals everything up (ofcourse you mask the metallics) You can now do oil streaks using the same mix of black + burnt sienna, using the odorless turpentine to wipe off the excess from the otherside of the panel line you're working on for a sharp edge at the beginning of the streak The engine cans were also stained with the more transparent oil paints like Royal blue, purple, red, green, cyan burnt sienna and black. Again, you need to use the tiniest amount of paint to stain the metal without diminishing the metallic lustre. Hope that all makes sense Cheers and happy modeling! Alex.

That's awesome! Thanks for that

Finally completed the flapship flighter of the Indian Air Force after years of it being on the wishlist. Built mostly OOB with some custom riveting, and IAF decals from spares. A big deviation from the norm is building it wheels up- So much fun flying it around the house with my son while making jet sounds and my wife rolling her eyes in the background :D Waited for a perfect spring evening to finally click photos in the golden sunshine at the park. Natural light makes for perfect photos! Thanks for watching! :) Cheers, Alex.