Jabba Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 Some real nice work gone on with this one especially in the cockpit. It also does seem to go together a lot better than than the Kinetic one which came out about the same time. The joints on mine are filled with filler. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirageiv Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 That does look an excellent kit and you're doing it justice, joins look lovely. When seeing 1/48 kits like that with such detailed surfaces and accurate shapes, I do wonder why I insist on building mostly 1/72 with all the 'compromises' it usually brings, that being said I do have some 1/32 kits knocking about that I'll start someday! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted December 5, 2015 Author Share Posted December 5, 2015 Right then time for a little update. Whilst not building at the rate of our host Rich (amazing how fast that F-5A has come together!), I have not been totally idle. After tidying up the few areas of filler and doing a little more work to the cockpit and canopies it was time to put them all together and once again this was painless, although if you were to want to display this kit with the canopies closed I believe a bit more work would be involved, especially on the fit of the rear section. With the canopies fixed/tacked in place it was out with the airbrush and the canopies were given a coat of the same colour as used on the interior of the cockpit. As I use acrylic paints and it was put on in thin coats this dried virtually instantly so I was able to then mix up some Revell Aluminium which I use both as an undercoat and to act as the aluminium of the airframe for when the weathering is done as I have found that nothing looks more realistic than actually removing paint to reveal the aluminium underneath, exactly as it happens on the real aircraft. After this was left to dry overnight I was able to give the airframe a gentle rub down with micromesh (1200 grade) to smooth out the finish and this is the result.... Shiny isn't it! The finish is not perfect but it doesn't have to be, what it does have to be is smooth and that it surely is. If I was doing an aircraft in aluminium finish or natural metal then I would apply more coats of paint and smooth each one down until i had the desired result, the close up of the wing below gives a good idea of how the paint looks on closer inspection.... Another bonus to using aluminium is the fact that the undercarriage bays etc are also in this colour so don't need any more painting, result! What I will do is loosely fix the doors in place with bluetack and then apply the light grey for the undersides colour, hopefully I will get this done later today. Once again thanks for looking and all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
59North Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Really is a fine aluminum finish, Craig. It has a natural, unpolished look to it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirageiv Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 That looks flawless! Almost a shame paint will go on top of it! Look forward to more Craig Are you going to stick some bombs on it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted December 5, 2015 Author Share Posted December 5, 2015 Really is a fine aluminum finish, Craig. It has a natural, unpolished look to it. Thanks, much appreciated. it does look better in the photo than it does in real life though. That looks flawless! Almost a shame paint will go on top of it! Look forward to more Craig Are you going to stick some bombs on it? Thanks David, as I said above it's not that good close up. And yes I am definitely going to hang some bombs on her, I plan to arm her with an AIM-9 on each wingtip and a Mk.82 (possibly a Snakeye) and a rocket pod (or napalm) under each wing, this seems to be a regular load out for aircraft involved in the Iran/Iraq War. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Coming along nicely and the undercoat does look fine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Well done Craig, she looks beautiful even in plain aluminium and using really thin coats allows that fine detail to standout! I would have gone the same route but I just wasn't sure just how weathered the Skoshi Tigers were so erred on the side of very little. But it is to I think the best method to give that nice authentic look! I am pushing myself as I need to get mine done! I really looking forward to seeing the top coats on this baby!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Almost there.....lovely undercoat Will try and sneak sometime on my build as well - hopefully Rgds Mr b 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Thanks again for the nice comments and encouragement guys, always appreciated. Well I managed to get a little "quality time" with the airbrush yesterday and was able to spray the undersides in FS-36622 Grey using a pot of Xtracrylix and I am pleased with the results, this is how she looks at the minute.... Because I applied the paint in thin coats it has left the detail intact and has also allowed the panel lines etc to show through slightly darker which will help later with the weathering, here is a closer shot of the starboard wing undersides which shows this a bit better.... Hopefully I will be able to nab some time later today to mask the undersides and hopefully apply the first of the colours to the uppersurfaces, once I've decided which paint I have is closest to the FS-20400 Special Tan that is part of the Asia Minor scheme. I used a humbrol colour for this on my RF-4E earlier this year but I am not entirely convinced it is yellow enough so I might try a Revell "Beige" which I picked up a couple of weeks ago, we shall see. That's it for now, hopefully more later and thanks for looking in. Craig. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Very nicely done, you've managed to keep all the detail, well done!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirageiv Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Superb finish again, you're doing the excellent kit lines justice! Although I thought Xtracrylix were gloss paints, have you given it a matt coat? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Very nicely done, you've managed to keep all the detail, well done!!!! Superb finish again, you're doing the excellent kit lines justice! Although I thought Xtracrylix were gloss paints, have you given it a matt coat? Thanks again Rich and David, I'm finding that by using thin coats and building them up until I achieve the right colour I am not swamping the details and losing them under the paint. The Xtracrylix paints are indeed meant to be a sort of gloss finish David but I think that spraying them on rather than brushing them makes it more of a satin/matt finish, I haven't added any varnish yet. But I have added more paint! I have covered most of the uppersurfaces with Revell's acrylic "Beige" as I deemed this to be the best colour match for the FS 20400 of the Asia Minor scheme and I am very pleased with the results, both in terms of the colour and the finish and think I will be using this as my "go to" colour for this scheme (I might have one or two more projects to finish in this scheme ). This is how she looks at the minute.... The areas which have not been painted are where there is none of the tan colour on the finished scheme, I know that I have covered far more of the airframe than will end up "tan" but I would rather cover more now than find out later that I haven't covered enough, ask me how I know! The close up below shows the smoothness of the finish achieved with the Revell Beige, again with no polishing or varnishing. Tomorrow I shall hopefully get around to masking for and applying one of the other colours, not sure which one yet. Once again thanks for looking in and all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirageiv Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Very impressed again with the painting, I might give some of the Revell aqua paints a go. I do the same with wrap around aircraft in that I paint way larger area than what is needed, in fact usually the whole thing before I mark out the other colours, safe bet! Craig using your micro mesh painting expertise , if I micro mesh on top of my paint, will it remove some of the shading, just leaving more of the base colour? Also, will you micromesh the paint until it is glossy so no Klear coat is needed? Sorry for the paint inquisition but I'm a little curious on what I should do next. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted December 6, 2015 Author Share Posted December 6, 2015 Very impressed again with the painting, I might give some of the Revell aqua paints a go. I do the same with wrap around aircraft in that I paint way larger area than what is needed, in fact usually the whole thing before I mark out the other colours, safe bet! Craig using your micro mesh painting expertise , if I micro mesh on top of my paint, will it remove some of the shading, just leaving more of the base colour? Also, will you micromesh the paint until it is glossy so no Klear coat is needed? Sorry for the paint inquisition but I'm a little curious on what I should do next. David my experience with micro meshing paint is limited but I will try to answer your questions. If you micro mesh your paint as it is now you do stand the chance of removing the shading, go gently with it and you might get away with it. I always apply a coat of Klear before decalling, never managed to get the paint shiny enough without it. Hope this is helpful, if not feel free to ask more questions. Craig. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirageiv Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Ah thank you Craig, I'll give it a go on a subtle area and see how it goes, many thanks, David. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 the paint finish you are getting is superb. The really interesting part is the detail difference between the Club AFV model and the Kinetic/Wolfpack one! From what I've see between your photo's and mine is that the Club one looks to have better detailing. Do you know how the overall accuracy of the Club one is to the actual aircraft. I know that was the main thing with the Kinetic model, it was very accurate in shape....pity the moulding wasn't! I'm dying to see the finished paint job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 The beige looks like a good match. I might try and get it too as i got some saudi birds calling.... Never used Aqua from revell though Great progress me too awaiting the completed camo Rgds 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 the paint finish you are getting is superb. The really interesting part is the detail difference between the Club AFV model and the Kinetic/Wolfpack one! From what I've see between your photo's and mine is that the Club one looks to have better detailing. Do you know how the overall accuracy of the Club one is to the actual aircraft. I know that was the main thing with the Kinetic model, it was very accurate in shape....pity the moulding wasn't! I'm dying to see the finished paint job! Hi Rich, Yes as far as I know the AFV kit is accurate, both in terms of outline and detailing. The fit of the parts is really very good as well and as you can see I have not used much filler at all and the build has been enjoyable, I will definitely be building more! I love the job you have done on your Kinetic F-5A, you have achieved an outstanding result, especially considering the fit issues both you and others have been having with this model. I've got one in the stash myself and am not entirely looking forward to the build now. You will have to wait a bit for the finished paint job, I have done the dark green this evening but will wait until tomorrow before I mask it and apply the dark brown. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 The beige looks like a good match. I might try and get it too as i got some saudi birds calling.... Never used Aqua from revell though Great progress me too awaiting the completed camo Rgds Thanks Mr.B. I can highly recommend the Revell Aqua range for how they spray, they really are very good. The only problem with the range is that they don't really do any specific colours i.e. FS colours or British Standard, though I think some of their range are a good match for modern Luftwaffe colours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 Hi Rich, Yes as far as I know the AFV kit is accurate, both in terms of outline and detailing. The fit of the parts is really very good as well and as you can see I have not used much filler at all and the build has been enjoyable, I will definitely be building more! I love the job you have done on your Kinetic F-5A, you have achieved an outstanding result, especially considering the fit issues both you and others have been having with this model. I've got one in the stash myself and am not entirely looking forward to the build now. You will have to wait a bit for the finished paint job, I have done the dark green this evening but will wait until tomorrow before I mask it and apply the dark brown. I really didn't know about the Club AFV version when I was planning my build, almost went for the Classic Airframes version.....it too mightn't be the best model to build either, bit at least with them you know what you are up against. That said, fit issues aside the Kinetic version is a relatively simple build and it won't put me off them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Aren't we talking about two different versions of F-5 between AFV and Kinetic/CA? The main accuracy complaint I remember of the AFV 5E was something about the shape of the spine. I assume that the same carries over to the F, but I haven't compared to Monogram or photos, and I don't remember the specifics. This may be a case where I smile at the nice looking kit and don't ask difficult questions! bob p.s. But, chances are, knowing me, I'll just want to know... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Hi Gingerbob, You are quite right the AFV and Kinetic are indeed different animals in that the AFV is the E/F whilst the Kinetic kit is the A/B. It would have been good if AFV had done the A/B series as well as their detailing is a little better but the fit is much better from what I've seen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Well to correct my first statement.....I didn't actually know that Club AFV turned out a F-5 of any variant........life is simple down under! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted December 12, 2015 Author Share Posted December 12, 2015 Time for a little update. All the painting is now complete and it went with hardly a hitch at all, just a couple of minor areas where paint somehow got through what I thought was a solid layer of masking that needed touching up but other than that no problems. As it was the paint looked far too fresh, and in the case of the brown a bit too red, so I decided to correct this by spraying the centre of panels etc with a slightly lighter tone of the original colour, all without the aid of a masking safety net! I think it has worked quite well and has added more interest to the scheme. here is a picture of the aircraft as she looks now and a close up of the port wing so you can decide for yourselves.... I shall start the glossing process this evening and will hopefully be able to start decalling tomorrow. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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