shawty82 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 (edited) Hi everyone, I'm Tim and a newcomer to this excellent forum! Received my latest addition to the stash this week and wanted to share my progress building this large anhd beautiful modern(ish) aircraft. Not my usual cup of tea (I'm mostly into Cold War British and Russian jets) but I think you'll agree, this is one good looking aircraft even in boring low-vis colours. The kit will be built OOB, except for a replacement ejector seat (Aces II correct me if I'm wrong) by Aires or Pavla. Am also hunting for the excellent Caracal decals sheet, so if anybody can help, please please PM me! I'll be trying some new airbrushing techniques - mainly pre-shading panels as the panel lines on this kit aren't as numerous as other kits, so any pointers and constructive criticism will be most welcome. Will be starting this evening and pics will follow! http://s160.photobucket.com/user/espritenthusiast/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20140304_172049_zps8710b34a.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0 Tim Edited March 8, 2014 by shawty82 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomjw Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Welcome Tim. Looking forward to seeing how you get on. Cheers, Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave A Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billybookcase Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Welcome Tim. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookytooth Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Welcome to the forum mate. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBranco Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jckspratt1 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 G'day mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev67 Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 Welcome, lookforward to the build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(ex)Sgtrafman Posted March 8, 2014 Share Posted March 8, 2014 How do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawty82 Posted March 9, 2014 Author Share Posted March 9, 2014 Thanks for the welcome peeps, not much done tonight as got into Season 1 of Breaking Bad. Have removed the main components of the wheel wells from the sprues and had a session with a scalpel and file. The wheel wells are quite detailed and there are several small parts. Gonna put an undercoat on tomorrow morning and get painting some detail! 2 pics to show, one of the main well parts and another to show the size comparison between this kit and a 1/48 Phantom that I've almost completed. Gonna need some shelf space for this one! http://s160.photobucket.com/user/espritenthusiast/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20140309_000457_zpsc67b8055.jpg.html?filters[user]=139530383&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=1 http://s160.photobucket.com/user/espritenthusiast/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20140309_000614_zpsa30063b4.jpg.html?filters[user]=139530383&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0 PS How do you embed pictures in your post? Tried a couple of methods in the How To section and they don't seem to work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panoz Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawty82 Posted March 9, 2014 Author Share Posted March 9, 2014 Thanks Panoz, the problem seems to be that I'm using a mobile to post so can't seem to bring up a "complex" text interface. Should stop being lazy and use the desktop computer, sure it'll appear then! Bye for now all 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canberra kid Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 Welcome Tim! A good choice for your build, if the original contest to choose the new fighter was done on looks the YF.23 would have won hands down! Looking forward to the build. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawty82 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 As you can see after reading about how s**t Internet Exploder is, i downloaded Google Chrome and so far have never looked back! Didn't do much over the weekend, but as you can see from the piccy I completed the main parts of the wheel bays. Reminded me how much I dislike spraying pure white! Didn't help that i was spraying the undercoat in a very hot kitchen with the roast dinner cooking. Got there in the end though. The colours were loosely based on what i'd seen in pictures but with a few additions to create a little more interest in an otherwise boring white area. I'll be Klear-ing the parts, adding a light wash then tidying up and Matt coating the lot, which I shall probably do today. i'll also probably make a start on the cockpit.too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skids Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Welcome to the nuthouse I mean Magical Information Station that is Britmodeller Watching this with interest as I am about to start this kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winenut Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Good on you Tim. Welcome aboard....check your sanity at the door.....we all did Cant wait to see more of your build.....cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skids Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 HI Tim Was going to say order the direct from Caracel (as I did), their service is fantastic but they are sold out. Which version are you intending on doing? Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawty82 Posted March 11, 2014 Author Share Posted March 11, 2014 (edited) Hi Simon look forward to seeing a build log from yourself! I'm not too fussed on which version I do but would prefer the black version (PAV1?) but if I can't source some decals it'll have to be kit standard......although I'm thinking of dumping the oversized "No Step" stencils in favour of some leftovers of the same stencil from an RAF low vis scheme Phantom. Simon do you have the Caracal sheet? If so, do they provide you with full markings for both versions, and if so, what could tempt you to part with half of them? Or perhaps a "What If" RAF scheme.......hmmm if the YF23 beat the Raptor and the Eurofighter never came off.......now I'm thinking! Have undercoated the cockpit tub and sprayed the base colour, which was Vallejo Air Light Grey. Scale-wise in comparison with the suggested "Dark Gull Grey", I think the lighter colour I've used looks more realistic. I'll be painting the side consoles and avionics (?) equipment later, and will post more pics when completed. Edited March 11, 2014 by shawty82 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trot5ky Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 welcome. Good luck with the build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skids Posted March 11, 2014 Share Posted March 11, 2014 Hi Tim Sent you a pm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawty82 Posted March 12, 2014 Author Share Posted March 12, 2014 Cockpit tub completed! Pictures a bit blurry but hey... Gouged the mount for the kit ejector seat before painting, will make some shims out of plasticard if an aftermarket one needs a lift. Test fit the cockpit in the fuselage and have encountered no fit issues, so looking good! Not going to do any more for a few days as I'm having a small procedure perfformed in hospital today that may mean I'm temporarily blind in one eye. I'll certainly try and do some more though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SleeperService Posted March 15, 2014 Share Posted March 15, 2014 Looking good there and Welcome from me as well. I like the RAF idea for a scheme, I think the RAF would have been a logical customer if the Typhoon hadn't made it. All you have to decide is what squadron. Hope all goes well at the hospital Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawty82 Posted March 15, 2014 Author Share Posted March 15, 2014 Greetings once again! Thanks SleeperService, I'm out from hospital looking like the elephant man having just gone a few rounds with Mike Tyson in his prime! Little bit hard modelling with only one fully functioning eye, and my depth perception is pretty hopeless, but I've been beavering away....... so here goes! The nose wheel bay left/right pics. Colour scheme is ok here according to reference pics from yf23.net. A pic of the main wheel bays. Not 100% accurate on the colour scheme, there are meant to be carbon fibre/graphite bonded pieces at the top and on some of the side, and a couple of the load-bearing pieces are natural metal. i thought all over white with a light grey wash would be better and show up more of the detail. In service, looking at the Raptors weapons and wheel bays, they seem to be pretty much all over white. What do you think? The main gear wells mounted in the fuselage, just to emphasise how un-complicated this kit is and the low part count! Fit was top notch. Moving on, I undercoated and sprayed the intake trunking. There's no inlet detail at the end of it, probably as you can barely see up that far anyway! The parts were undercoated using a Halfords White rattle can, then sprayed with Vallejo Air White, then given a coat of Vallejo Satin. These went together with no issues, and fit to the fuselage was very good, the join between the upper and lower pieces of the trunking is barely noticeable. A shot of the intake trunking as it looks in the fuselage, and a view from the front to show how they don't really go anywhere. I moved on to painting the cockpit components. Here's a pic of the main panel. The surround is Vallejo Air Light Gray (same as the cockpit tub and sidewalls). The panels are brush-painted using Vallejo Model Color "Panzer Aces" German Tank Crew uniform (black) for the most part, the yellow colour being Vallejo Model Colour Lemon Yellow. The red of the switches is (you guessed it) Vallejo Model Colour Red. Most other switches picked out in Vallejo Air Light Grey (used on a brush) or Vallejo Air Barley Grey. The MFD screens themselves are painted with Vallejo Air Nato Black, then clear used to make them nice and glossy, as with the other display units and backup dials in the cockpit. Despite deciding not to use the complete cockpit decal provided, I trimmed a part to provide buttons to the panel that sits in between the main 2 MFD's as brush painting these is beyond my eyesight at the moment! The panel was finished off then added to the cockpit tub, along with the control column pedastal. You can see the decal with the array of buttons in between the 2 main MFD's (the ones above where the pilots legs would go). Looking pretty smart, methinks! Rudder pedals added too. I then decided it was time to paint the cockpit surround and coaming. The surround was brush painted with a Tamiya paint that I can't for the life of me remember the name of......its basically Tamiyas zinc chromate yellow. The coaming itself (not shown in this pic) was brush painted with Vallejo Panzer Aces German uniform black....I think for scale, its more effective than using Black itself. Thats where I am for now! gonna do the throttle quadrant tonight, and the control stick too, and then move on to the engine exhausts tomorrow, so hopefully will have the fuselage together by the end of the weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawty82 Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 Back again with an update! Have ordered my ACES II seats from my friend Mike at Clifton Curios Models in between ogling sprues and general chat. He's certainly the guy who can get things, and is the only person around here who stocks Vallejo paints which are my weapon of choice, for those who have been reading Anyway, done a few bits........ Firstly the cockpit is fully assembled, apart from the ejector seat of course! Here's a snap.....added the throttle quadrant and control stick I also painted the HUD projector (?) and attached it, first time in using Tamiya clear green and I must say that I kind of like the effect. Also painted the HUD frame but put this back in the box as I don't fancy it'd make it through the build intact. I painted the (fairly plain and boring ) engine exhausts, just a generic shade of Silver. Kinda glad in a way that these are going to be barely visible, Hobby Boss could have spent a bit more time here! Undercoated (Halfords grey rattle can) the engine exhaust boxes, and sprayed overall with Alclad Magnesium. Again, another area that Hobby Boss could have put a little more into! The Exhaust boxes assembled and then fitted into the fuselage. The fit was, once again, flawless A view from the rear of the fuselage showing the exhaust "petals". I considered that it may be difficult to spray the rest of the exhaust trough, but with some sponge, trusty Tamiya masking tape and a little perseverance it should be fine. The layout and size of the ablative tiles is incorrect if anybody has seen pictures of this area of the YF23, but I'm not gonna split hairs on this as I think it'll look fine without complicating matters. When I come to finishing this area, I'll mask some random tiles off and use a different metallic shade, perhaps Dark Aluminium. Finally tonight before I put myself to bed, I packed the nose with the required 20g of weight that Hobby Boss suggest to keep the nose down - well it was probably more like 25g. Need to be wary, so I've read, not to overload the nose weight as the nose gear is a little bit flimsy, even in the way it looks. Just used some fishing weights packed in plasticine and secured in with some superglue. Did a quick test fit to make sure I didn't cause any fit issues, but all was well. I also took the oppurtunity to glue the cockpit tub into the fuselage.....looks like I'll be securing it all together tomorrow! Quite looking forward to it I must say! That's it for today! Hopefully have more for you tomorrow 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