F-5E - Hasegawa 1/32

[pigsty]

The latest to limp from the Pigsty Productions line: Hasegawa’s classic old 1/32 F-5E, in the markings of the 1^o/1^o Grupo Aviação de Caça, Força Aérea Brasileira.

This is a pretty decent old kit - it must date from the mid-70s - and I thoroughly enjoyed the build. I started by rescribing everything but the rivets around the tail section. I’d read some horror stories about poor fit, but there were very few problems. You’ll want to watch for gaps at the wing roots and, possibly, where the top and bottom of the fuselage meet aft of that. I packed the wing root joints with plastic card in preference to filler, but overdid it and managed to introduce a whit of dihedral on what should be a dead flat wing.

The kit represents a basic F-5E, so for the Brazilian fit I added the ILS aerial on the spine and the fin-root extension. But a refuelling probe was beyond me so this is a very early F-5E (and certainly no F-5EM). The cockpit is good - for its age, very good. I pondered upgrades since it does lack mirrors, latches etc around the canopy, but I balked at paying more for that than the kit’s worth and settled for lead foil seat-belts and leaving the lid shut. The last addition was intake guards. These are necessary because you can see into the intakes and get a lovely view of how the backs of various parts come together. I suppose an alternative is full-length trunking, though I suspect you’d have to make your own. And that’s a terrible long intake.

The centreline tank comes with the kit. Things that fall off were robbed from a Trumpeter F-105 - you get masses of redundant weapons in them. The AIM-9Bs in the kit were poor, so I grafted their noses onto old Tamiya AIM-9Gs, then grafted little-lenses onto them for seeker heads.

The FAB decals were by FCM. Hmm, yes, FCM decals. One of the other horror stories doing the rounds is that these fall to bits on contact with water. I tested one and found it was nice and robust so, nice, I thought, no problems there. Colour density and register were excellent and, so far as I can tell, they’re accurate. But in the end they were too robust - it was like working with cellophane. Four coats of Microsol, two of Mr Mark Softer, and two of Klear, is what it takes to leave them silvered all over. But they are stuck down, even if they wouldn’t settle into the panel lines, and you can draw your lines in on top of them without tearing them. Stencils and such came from the kit - English rather than Portuguese, but barely legible - and only just behaved better.

The camouflage is Humbrol enamel, all done with brushes as usual. The metallic bits are Gunze Mr Metal. Believe it or not, the napalm tanks and the rear fuselage started the same colour - just shows what a difference priming and polishing can make to that stuff. The final finish is Klear, Vallejo matt varnish, and chalk pastels.

'Scuse the Lego!

Hmm ... must pick up a new backcloth.

[Collin]

Beautiful build....how to you get such a nice feathered edge to your camo pattern with brushes.

Cheers

Collin

[HL-10]

That is impressive!

[pigsty]

how to you get such a nice feathered edge to your camo pattern with brushes.

Well ... it's like this.

First, always work from light to dark.

Lay down a patch of each colour, with the boundary slightly too far into the darker one.

When both are thoroughly dry, dry-brush the darker colour along the boundary, so that the thinner strip of it that you're applying goes up to where the boundary ought to be.

Repeat when dry.

You can repeat ad nauseam, but after a while it can become fruitless, as no amount of dry-brushing seems able to completely hide the hard edge of the darker patch. So instead what I do is apply a line of tiny pecks of that colour along the boundary. This doesn't exactly break it up, but it does mask it.

The result - with care and practice - is an impression of feathering that won't win any competitions, but it can fool the eye at a few paces.

[thorfinn]

Really beautiful job on a fine old kit. Your brushwork is amazing!

[HartDeco]

Very nice F-5E (too!)

Indeed an incredible job on your paintwork. You could have fooled me if you told it was airbrushed.

René

[Synopsis]

Lovely looking Tiger, really nice result. Great looking build, you seem to have got round the issues and produce a great looking aircraft even with the decals proving difficult.

[Simon Cornes]

I like that Sean. I have one in the stash with a set of aggressors camouflage patterns blagged from Alconbury from the days of the 527th TFTAS. That's still the idea and I bet there are markings now- or maybe there were! After all that work with decal setting stuff - what a pain. To be honest I'd be inclined to mask the letters and numbers and touch the camouflage in. But I know, if you've decided its 'done' then that's that! Great jet though.

Simon

[Snitok1983]

Ther is a an exotic tigers fest here!!! Fantastic result!!!

Edited August 10, 2015 by Snitok1983

[mcdonnell]

Hello,pigsty - Full compliments on a superb looking F5E build!The paint finish and markings make for a special model indeed.All the best,Paul.

[LuizCarlos]

Very nice!

Luiz

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Wow!

[batcode]

fantastic work , looks great. nice job on the paint and finish.........

[Troffa]

Great looking Tiger, and a fantastic finish- I would never have guessed that it was hand painted!

[luis pacheco]

Great looking bird.

I believe the FCM decals were from the old times. Today they are printed by Microscale.

[F4u]

Nice looking F-5 and some nice hand brushing skills to boot.

Guy

[Reini78]

looks good, very nice model!

[jjlain]

Very admirable brushwork, like so many have pointed out already

[thepureness]

Great build you have there!]

but away from the lego the F-5E you have there is amazing, nice work,