1/48 Mitsubishi F-2B, by Hasegawasan

[Mick Drover]

Hi all.

 

Our club theme this year for the annual QMHE show here in Queensland is two seaters and trainers. We're not limiting subjects to only aviation subjects but considering that we mostly build aircraft I've decided on a another jet subject for the display anyway! The more the merrier right???

 

This is the 1/48 Hasegawa Mitsubishi F-2B. I'm a big fan of the of the F-16 and seeing the F-2 is a close cousin, it was an easy decision to crack on with this build. Additional extras lined up for the build are Afterburner and DXM decals, Finemolds seat belts and pitot/static, Hasegawa weapons and Royale resin wheels. Montex masks will be used on the clear bits.

 

And after seeing the U-125A recently built by @_alfisti_ I just couldn't go past the lovely two tone blue that the modern Japanese jets are famous for.

 

The subject of interest.

 

Some clean up and priming of parts. The full length intake and gear door interiors have some pin marks that I've filled with Vallejo plastic putty. It's good stuff and dries quickly in the stinking heat that we've had recently.

 

 

The cockpit features nicely raised detail and the Afterburner interior decals registered well with the detail when applied. Below is the pit before any kind of wash or flatcoat.

 

 

The seats are nicely done though if you don't like black then leave them alone. I tried to dress them up by using black and then varying shades of grey. The stencils near the headbox are from Afterburner and they'll eventually get some Finemolds belts. Again, this is before they've been hit with a flat coat.

 

 

The intake is full length right back to the face of the engine. Not quite why Hasegawa didn't opt for this construction with their F-16 kits. Tamiya putty thinned with liquid glues has bene used on the interior seams followed by sanding with a long piece of rolled 400 grit sanding paper. Paint is Tamiya flat white acrylic applied with a larger than normal needle/nozzle (0.4mm) through a H&S airbrush. The paint goes a LOT better than with the 0.15mm smaller nozzle I normally use, perfect for applications in a confined space like this.

 

 

 

There was a bit of faffing around with the next part to get the top and bottom fuselage halves to fit. I trimmed a variety of spots on the cockpit tub, instrument panel and cockpit interior and I still had to apply a bit more pressure to get the upper and lower fuselage halves to meet around the tub. Not a big issue but annoying nontheless. I left the parts clamped for most of the week to ensure the glue had gone off completely.

 

 

 

You can see in this image where the problem was when gluing the upper and lower halves. 

 

Wings, fin and others to go on over the weekend.

 

Apart from the above, it's been an easy build so far.

 

Cheers,

Mick

Edited February 15, 2019 by Mick Drover

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Mind if have a seat Mick ? The F-2 is one of my favorites especially in the SEA Scheme two tone blue camouflage.  

Edited February 15, 2019 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[Mick Drover]

3 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Mind if have a seat Mick ? The F-2 is one of my favorites especially in the SEA Scheme two tone blue camouflage.  

Sure thing!

 

Fully agree with the SEA scheme. F-4 anyone? 

[Christer A]

This I got to watch! one F-2A in the stash, a set of JASDF blue paints from MrPaint and I'm just itching to have a go.

Brutal clamping action in those pictures!

Most impressive finish in the air intake, from what I can see. Great Work!

[SAT69]

Painting of the consoles is just wonderful! Looking forward to seeing the instrument panels!