EricP Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 (edited) Hello everyone, I'd like to join in the fun with an OOB build of the simple Hobbyboss 1/72 F-5E kit. This kit is cheap as chips, its retail price is S$7.90 (£3.80), but discounted to S$4.75 (£2.30). It's a simple kit, hopefully a quick build ... The decals are not bad, but I'm keen to do it up as an F-5E of the Republic of Singapore Air Force. The decals are more expensive than the kit (S$8.90 or £4.30, no discount). Edited February 4, 2014 by EricP 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ancient mariner Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 This could work out really well. You certainly nailed the "under a tenner" bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricP Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 Thanks, ancient mariner! This could be one of the cheapest current-issue kits around, I checked UK prices and at Hannants it's only £4.99. However, you get what you pay for, and putting it up against an Italeri F-5A (which I'm also building), the difference is like chalk and cheese. I've started by painting the cockpit and putting some ball bearings as noseweight (secured with white glue). Headrest cushion was painted a dull red (Vallejo), and I'll paint up the troglodyte of a pilot (read that in a review somewhere!) and stick him in the seat, otherwise the cockpit is a bit bare. Intakes were thinned using files. Fit wasn't the best, but I've read online build reports and have an idea of what to expect (see the fit of the intake lips to the fuselage). Some were self inflicted wounds (e.g. the over-sanded gap just behind the intake). Overall it's not too bad at this stage. The wing-to-fuselage join was a problem ... I spent quite a bit of time getting the starboard wing to fit, and here you can compare it to the port wing which has not been given the filing treatment yet. Eric 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deacon Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 I've got one of these in the loft so will be watching with interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 Great choice and really coming along well. I love the F-5's so watching with interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 I have heard that there are no tabs or pins to locate the wings and fin. True? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricP Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 @Deacon - Alan, you should get this out of the loft and onto your production line after the 2nd Mustang! @snapper_city - Mark, thanks for hosting this GB, I think it's just the thing a lot of us needed, to do the simpler kits without a multitude of parts and different media. @Enzo - the wings do have tabs on them, but I had to cut them off so that I could sand the profile of the joining edge to minimize the gaps. You can just see it in one of the images I posted ... unfortunately I did not have the presence of mind to take a photo of the fuselage and wings before I joined them. I'll grab another one out of the loft and take a photo in a couple of days (SWMBO has my camera in the office, as it has a decent video function that she needed). The join (even without tabs) is quite positive, partly due to a little "shelf" in the design, and that coke bottle fuselage profile. Sorry no photo updates, but some more work has been done: - wings joined to fuselage, and gaps covered with filler (Tamiya putty mixed with acetone ... forms a sludge that's pretty easy to apply using a brush, and you can just wash the brush later with thinners to get the putty out) - installed the fin and stabs, I forgot to put the latter in (comes as a single piece with the anhedral built in, see sprue shots above) before closing the fuselage halves, so needed to cut it apart to install individually. - the fin doesn't come with an "endplate" (if that's what you call it), so I fabricated one out of plasticard. - using a magnifier (yes, the "old eyes" affliction that drives modelers to 1/48 scale, then 1/32, then 1/24 ...), cleaned up all the small parts with files, sandpaper, etc. Next thing to do is to shoot a coat of primer on the fuselage in preparation for the 3-tone color scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted February 5, 2014 Share Posted February 5, 2014 @snapper_city - Mark, thanks for hosting this GB, I think it's just the thing a lot of us needed, to do the simpler kits without a multitude of parts and different media. Not a problem. It's quite refreshing to do simple builds every now and then. I do it as standard these days after a couple of labour intensive, AM ridden builds it is nice to go back to basics and rediscover the joys of a pure build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricP Posted February 15, 2014 Author Share Posted February 15, 2014 Been a busy week, managed to nip in to comment on fellow modelers' threads but only did bits on mine till this weekend. Arguably _the_ definitive reference on RSAF F-5s is this decal sheet by Milliverse; Well-researched, and with "local" knowledge contributed by the decal maker and multiple enthusiasts (including some who were in the Air Force), make this a great resource for anyone keen to build any F-5 that's ever been in the RSAF inventory. The one that I'll be building is tail #823 circa late 1980s, that still retained the red/white national insignia (rather than the low-viz grey that came in later) : Airframe puttied Primed And as in every build, a bit of the ol' "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" kind of test ... in this case the Mr Surfacer 500 bottle broke and proceeded to fill gaps for me automatically ... A few minutes of sanding with the magical 3M sanding pads put things right. I tested the camo as recommended ... the difference between the 3 greys (light, medium and blue grey) are pretty subtle. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNoAF Aerobatic Team Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paganpete Posted February 15, 2014 Share Posted February 15, 2014 Looking real good, I like the camo effect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Such great shape lines on this aircraft. Superb build so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricP Posted February 24, 2014 Author Share Posted February 24, 2014 Thanks for the comments, gents! Been a bit slow the last couple of weeks, but got a bit more done (not as fast as some of the other members here though!) I darkened the blue a bit on the camo and re-did it, as well as put on the IFR probe. Next came the detail decals ... lots and lots of tiny decals that are amazingly readable (for such a cheap kit). Things like "No Step", "Press here to drain cockpit", etc. I kid you not ... under high magnification, much of the text is readable, so I needed to take care that they were aligned correctly. The only problem (not sure how accurate it is) is that the decals are black, which contrasts with the subtle camo. Hopefully a bit of weathering and filters will tone down the contrast. The decals even covered the Mk82s, Sidewinders and the stripes for the arrestor hook! Too bad there's nothing for the prominent fuel tanks, I'll cobble something up ... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted March 28, 2014 Share Posted March 28, 2014 Hi Eric Did this get finished?? It was so close at your last instalment.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricP Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 Hi Mark, sorry for the long silence, things have stalled a bit due to family and work commitments ... fair bit of drama in the latter worthy of a soap opera I'll take a few more photos as it has progressed past the decaling stage, and is nearly finished ... but the gremlins struck again and I lost the canopies! I think I'll have to raid another kit for them, and perhaps in a few years I'll find the originals again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 Sorry to hear that. I Hope things are improving on those fronts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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