Can TARI Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 (edited) Hi everyone, My new build is an F-22A Raptor of Academy in 1/48 scale. Much has been said on the kit so far, so I'll try to share my point of view with regard to pros and cons as I proceed and I hope to see this kit builds up to at least a portion of the beautiy the real aircraft proudly displays... I have some detail enhancement plans with some extraordinary ways to produce them, but we'll see... Ok, enough talk... Let's start... A very satisfactory decal sheet... Edited July 22, 2019 by Can TARI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 (edited) Dry-fit shows there's not going to be much putty work, at least on the front sides of the fuselage. The nose section is well represented, quite sharp and crisp as on the real plane... Edited July 22, 2019 by Can TARI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 (edited) However, the wing extension over to the the air intake top is not correctly moulded and is round whereas it must be sharp as almost like a knife. Some sanding work will be needed obviously... Besides, surfaces above air intake rectangles' outer tops need to be given a concave shape but are totally flat... Anyway, later on these... Edited July 22, 2019 by Can TARI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 One big detail the kit lacks is the absence of surface panels on various locations on the aircraft, where numerous comprehensive aftermarket PE sets are available to cover these areas. However, given the nature of these panels and flat materials as the detail sets are, I decided to produce these panels myself using self-sticking paper with appriopriate thickness. While the real challenging pleasure for me to build an aircraft kit is always being able to add something from my own, not having to invest as much as the kit itself on these details will be equally pleasurable, if I can achieve what I plan to do... So invoked my professional skills as an architect and have drawn some panel examples from some prominent detail sets on AutoCAD, some of which then I printed on self-sticking paper to give some test shots. Some panels do not follow the correct lines on the aircraft as these are test shots and of course will be given the proper treatment... Another advantage over the PE sets other than the cost is definitely not having to glue them, which would be a nightmare especially on rounded surfaces. I have a feeling that it will work out well, but we'll see... As the test shots prove this kind of a production is possible, I will now go ahead with the cockpit works... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charley420 Posted October 18, 2013 Share Posted October 18, 2013 A novel idea for the raised panels, i could do with a set of those for my 72 scale kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 (edited) Cockpit enhancement... Edited July 22, 2019 by Can TARI 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 (edited) Avionics reproduced... Edited July 22, 2019 by Can TARI 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNoAF Aerobatic Team Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Just.... WOW... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneheadff Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 That is just great engineering!!!! Wonderful! Will follow your build closely as one of those is waiting in my stash. Unfortunately I will have to use the PE sets :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave A Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 So... you're turning it into a paper aeroplane? Great idea, and looking good so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted October 26, 2013 Share Posted October 26, 2013 Loving this so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 (edited) Thank you all for following... Here's a bit of update... The assembly is quite well engineered, everything fits perfctly... However nozzle area needs some corrections... And the nozzles had to be further detailed as they lack some important details... CAD software help to create some raised panels on the nozzles which Academy seems not to have cared... Edited July 22, 2019 by Can TARI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 (edited) Wing extension over the air intakes are moulded with a quite rounded section, which is in reality a quite sharp profile. These had to be filed and sanded... Another false detail here on the upper-outer corner of the intakes... Corrected as much as plastic allows ... Edited July 22, 2019 by Can TARI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted November 7, 2013 Author Share Posted November 7, 2013 (edited) Before moving on with the home made raised panels, I decided to rectify another poor detail, which is about the weapon bay doors. I wanted to improve the inner faces and hinge details as I plan to build this bird with all these bays open... Side bays' doors... Main bay doors... I'll now move on to deal with those raised panel works... Edited July 22, 2019 by Can TARI 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave A Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 That's some top work! I'm looking at the F-22 in my stash, and wondering if the files you used to make the raised panels could be exported as a jpeg or a .doc for those of us without AutoCAD. Hint, hint, please? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 That's some top work! I'm looking at the F-22 in my stash, and wondering if the files you used to make the raised panels could be exported as a jpeg or a .doc for those of us without AutoCAD. Hint, hint, please? Thanks Dave... My approach to modelling is trying to improve my skills with each kit I build by experimenting new tools, or rather new for me at least... As for the raised panel issue, honestly apart from reluctance to share hours of work, I can tell last weeks efforts to print and install these panels with accuracy has proven that these files would not give proper results if they are exported to jpeg as millimetric corrections need to be made in x and y directions independently on almost every panel's border lines and width to achieve a proper match on the plane, for superposition of the real thing on AutoCAD screen does not yield precise cloning. Even with AutoCAD I had to print no less than ten different copies of these panels with very minor modifications to get a satisfactory result. So I would hardly recommend such an attempt without software capabilities... This build is experimental for me so I take the burden and if I ever build this plane the first thing I'll do will be to buy these panels as PE sets... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave A Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Fair enough. It didn't look easy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 (edited) Here's last week's works on the panels... Lots lots lots of correction and modification on the panel drawings I had to make... Do not try this at home These curls drove me crazy... Edited July 22, 2019 by Can TARI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 (edited) Another try... Edited July 22, 2019 by Can TARI 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 (edited) Time for priming Edited July 22, 2019 by Can TARI 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Can TARI Posted November 17, 2013 Author Share Posted November 17, 2013 Priming works ahead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ticketec Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Nice work so far! It will be interesting to see how they come out once primer is applied. I use a similar technique on my r/c scale models but use a vinyl cutter and so all the panels cut out for you. thickness of the completed panel is good for the R/C models, so it will be interesting to see how the 1:48 model comes out. mind you, I don't think that PE is nesessarily any thinner either! Looking forward to more progress pic's! Thanks dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coneheadff Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 This is just Please start selling those prints!!! I have a Raptor waiting Will be following your build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dock_Ru Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 Excellent work!I join the previous speakers - very much I wait result after a primer. And as idea - can originally try to impregnate laid on paper panels with superglue to increase their durability?And, of course, it would be desirable to receive files with sketches of overlays for e-mail if it is possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G Posted November 20, 2013 Share Posted November 20, 2013 (edited) This is a really nice and novel build....I wish I had your CAD skills! Like the other guys said, it will be interesting to see how your paper panels take paint. I would have thought that a thin layer of diluted PVA glue would do the trick, and/or a few light coats of Klear/Future. It will be very interesting to see what happens. Edited November 20, 2013 by James G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now