Ronan71 Posted March 29, 2015 Posted March 29, 2015 I'm calling this one finished for now. I got this kit back in the late 80s and out of the kits I made back then I thought it was one worth attempting to rebuild and try to finish it to a higher standard. The fit of the kit is poor and I had made a pretty awful job of blending in the upper and lower fuselage halves originally, plus the rear tailcone is a terrible fit. Without completely breaking the model down I could not do much about those problems, so I instead tried to apply a better finish with an airbrush, plus I got a nice new set of decals, and I got resin wheels and metal undercarriage for it. I also tried to rescribe it which went ok in places, but I suspect it would have been easier to do with an unassembled model, plus no paint on it. Finally I got a set of crew members for the SR-71 from plus model in resin and had a go at figure painting. I guess I'm happy enough with it for a first finished model after being out of the hobby for nearly 30 years and I'm hoping the next model (a Mirage F1) will be much better. The model is pretty big! My portable studio box wasn't quite up to the job! The canopies have a thick rough layer of paint on them from when I first build the kit, so I'm not that happy with them, I didn't want to sand them too much though as I felt they might break. Nice to have something in the display cabinet again, and looking forward to getting stuck into the next project! 16
Finnthedude Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 Looks fantastic. This is a model I want to have in my collection and I'd be happy if mine turns out even half as good as yours. Finnthedude. 1
Ronan71 Posted March 30, 2015 Author Posted March 30, 2015 Thanks guys! Really appreciate the comments! For all it's shortcomings as a model it does not lack visual impact! I saw a detailed build of the same model elsewhere with scratch built undercarriage bays, much neater rescribing and so on, but that was from scratch starting with an unassembled model, so I don't think that level of built was ever on for me. However I do have the YF-12 from Italeri (basically the same model) in the stash, so when I get around to it I'll hopefully have learnt some good lessons from this build!
Ronan71 Posted March 30, 2015 Author Posted March 30, 2015 Thank you! It was an awkward kit to work on at times due to its length, so I think I'll stick to fighter sized aircraft for a while now!
spruecutter96 Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 Looks very cool, indeed. Thanks for sharing with us. Chris. 1
Can TARI Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 Such a fantastic aircraft, literally out of this world... And such a lovely rebuild, looks so sharp... 1
Ronan71 Posted March 30, 2015 Author Posted March 30, 2015 Thanks guys! Amazing to think it's nearly 50 years since it first flew.
Bordfunker Posted March 30, 2015 Posted March 30, 2015 Nice resurrection of an old kit. Always nice to see one brought back from the brink. Karl 1
jonf45 Posted March 31, 2015 Posted March 31, 2015 Not sure how i missed this one earlier! Absolutely stunning 1
kira666 Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 About 75 cm long and 33 cm wingspan, Very big kit. Many details added for landing gear. Nice job. 1
Ronan71 Posted April 28, 2015 Author Posted April 28, 2015 Thank you! It's a big kit, but it looks good in the display cabinet! I used the undercarriage set from Scale Aircraft Conversions, and I used a set of resin wheels, glad you like the end result!
Simon Cornes Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 Well you certainly haven't lost your knack after a 30 year break!! Quite a machine and the figures look great! Simon 1
Darwinism Posted April 28, 2015 Posted April 28, 2015 Great rebuild and the tail art made me smile. 1
Ronan71 Posted April 28, 2015 Author Posted April 28, 2015 Well you certainly haven't lost your knack after a 30 year break!! Quite a machine and the figures look great! Simon Thank you! The figures came out pretty well, and really add to the aircraft I think. I'm certainly enjoying getting back to modelling again! Great rebuild and the tail art made me smile. Thanks! Yeah, I love the tail art, it came from a Cutting Edge decal set and it was my favourite! Poor old Charlie Brown!
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