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Mexican 1/144 F-5F Freedom Fighter - **FINISHED**


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Well here is my build for the new year for this GB. I was originally going to do the P-47 that you see on the War Thunder loading screen. However I am still waiting for the decals for that. So here I am, with this set. Pictures to follow.

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What do you think of my bed sheets?! ;) I have decided to build the F-5E and F at the same time, however only the F will be part of the GB. Saves me messing around with the paints at a later date for a second time.

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I think this is a really attractive scheme for the popular F-5, can't let the MiG's have it all their own way eh?!

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The lovely kit I will be using, I did have the decals for this... God knows where they have gone to. Just as well I am not going to use them huh? Not too sure if I am going to bomb it up or not, need to find some proper pictures of this wee beastie before I make that decesion.

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Not expecting the build of this model to take too long at all... it must have about 20 parts total...

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Gotta love those classic Dragon "Melted Robots"... I believe in protecting them for future generations to laugh... I mean wonder at. For this reason I will be ordering a Retrowings cockpit resin replacement for this kit. Not sure if I want the cockpit to be piloted or empty. I will make that decision when it comes to painting and depending how lazy I am at the time :P

Well thats build number 1 written up, hope you all enjoy my cockups that will happen aplenty. I welcome any advise or comments.

Kind Regards,

Dazz

Edited by Dazzio
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Excellent. Always felt the Mexican scheme suited the F-5E/F. Indeed if there was decals available for the 32nd scale Hasegawa kit I'd have built it by now rather than let it languish in the stash for over 20 years. :lol:

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Thank you, Giorogio N, hgbn, and Col. Like you guys, I have always had a thing for the F-5, such a beautiful aircraft. It's also the only aircraft I own in 1/144, 1/72 and 1/48. The Mexicans do have a flair (is that the correct term??) for colourful schemes, hope I can do this justice :) really looking forward to starting this one :D

Kind regards,

Dazz

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank you Mark and CliffB, I have been stalled on this project for a while as I am waiting for the Royal Mail to deliver some resin goodies. Once they are here I can start working again. All I have got for you guys is a picture of the rear fuselage.

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Thats it... the vertical stabilizer didn't want to go on straight so I had to bodge it. Got to sort out that gap.

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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Thank you Mark and CliffB, I have been stalled on this project for a while as I am waiting for the Royal Mail to deliver some resin goodies. Once they are here I can start working again. All I have got for you guys is a picture of the rear fuselage.

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Thats it... the vertical stabilizer didn't want to go on straight so I had to bodge it. Got to sort out that gap.

Kind Regards,

Dazz

No biggie. A bit of filler will sort that no trouble. Nice to know someone else is building something with "issues".

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Ouch! That's not a good fit on the tail. Hope the other parts are better.

Well... I had a quick lookie, I am not hopeful Col. Least you do not need to use a lot of filler in 1/144! :D

How does the Dragon kit compare to the Revell version?, nice work so far dazz looking forward to seeing the resin cockpit

In short Mark... it's horrible. Basic shape, barely fits, horrible cockpit, least the rails are the right way around! :P

No biggie. A bit of filler will sort that no trouble. Nice to know someone else is building something with "issues".

I didn't like the fit of the tail so I refitted it and have pratically lost the gap. Which is a result really.

So I got my delivery from Retrokit (I love those resin bits!), got lots of goodies for lots of planes, hopefully I actually get some time in my man-cave soon... famous last words... onto the pictures...

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Here are the bits before I slapped some paint on them. Nice and clean after their wash in warm soapy water. These parts are cleaner than I am! ;)

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Slapped on paint on in the cockpits. the painting is very rough at this time. The actual tub is okay, painted wise, but there is only so much you can do in this scale. I might try with the other tub as I got two of these cockpits. Incase you was wondering the extra seat is for the single seater I am doing at the same time. I can document that in this build as well if anyone is interested??

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Couldn't resist a fit in the tub, on second thoughts I will have a lookie at a proper F-5F and see what I can add/take out. Should be interesting.

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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Great stuff dazzling, looking good, have some retro bits one the way for some of my other builds, in general do they need much clean up?

Generally, no the bits are very well cast. I've only ever had problems with the F-16 CFT tanks. But I would've expected it from that one, you have to do the usual washing but other than that, no real problems. What parts did you buy Mark?

That cockpit is a big improvement on the original kit part, and looks very good with a coat of paint on it.

The F-5 does look very good in the Mexican colour scheme, but you are a braver man than I to attempt it in 1/144 scale.

Thank you modelling minion, the cockpit is a vast improvement over the "melted robots" isn't it? I'm still painting these up, they look a little better now. Not by much mind ;)

Well I will be attempting the Mexican scheme, doesn't mean I will be able to pull it off! :P Well see soon.

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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Generally, no the bits are very well cast. I've only ever had problems with the F-16 CFT tanks. But I would've expected it from that one, you have to do the usual washing but other than that, no real problems. What parts did you buy Mark?

Dazz

I have the cockpit for the F-15 single seat (LS/Revell) and F-117 and two pairs of the F-16 cft Edited by mark73
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I have the cockpit for the F-15 single seat (LS/Revell) and F-117 and two pairs of the F-16 cft

Oh sweet, the F-15 cockpit is a very nice bit of kit. Didn't you get the cans as well?? The F-117 cockpit I haven't seen, but would be interested to find out. The F-16 CFTs are really nice, just need to plan how to get them off the casting block. I cut into the resin from behind with a scribe until it finally broke off and then cutted bits off until it fit. I assume that these are going on the Revell F-16??

Kind Regards

Dazz

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Hello everyone,

Had some time over the weekend to do some work on this little one. I had to split my time between this and the F-14D I am also currently building as well. Onto the pictures...

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First, let me apologise for the crappy pictures, camera phone at 11pm. But now you can see the cockpit and the bang seats have been fitted. The rear cockpit didn't want to accept the stick, there wasn't enough room for it. So in true British fashion, I made it fit! :D

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And that is the cockpit done finally, threw some weight in the nose just incase and I have tried to fill the gaps in with vallejo filler and cleaning it up with a cotton bud. Seemes to have worked...

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This is the Ace 1/144 F-5E that I will be painting the same time as the F-5F. Gotta love that detail. Thought I would document this the same time as the F-5F, but not have it as my entry. If anyone is interested and/or if that is okay?

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well I am sitting here at work with nothing to do (I'm an IT Technician at a school) on Parents Evening. So I brought a little tool box with my modelling stuff in it. I decided to "busy" up the wheel bays of the E and F just to add some interest. These are in no way accurate.

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Do not like the engine nozzles on the F so I might try to fix that somehow. More to come.

Kind Regards,

Dazz

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  • 1 month later...

Finally an update!

Well in the last month I have managed to lose not one, but two canopies for the F-5F! They will probably turn up after the GB has finished. Anyhow to sort that issue out, I have managed to track down two more kits... in Austraila. They where sent last week so hopefully they will turn up soon. Until then I have decided to start painting the model. After the failures I have had with the new Hakata paints I have decided to use the closest match that Tamiya have (they haven't let me down yet). Below is where I have gotten so far.

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Kind Regards,

Dazz

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