Kitchen Modeller Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 Looks great from here Sam - well done. It looks reasonably subtle but that suits the aircraft. You can always do some post shading again if you lose the effect later. Great work... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amblypygid Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 Looks grand, Sam, really nice effect. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglierating Posted April 29, 2019 Share Posted April 29, 2019 On 4/23/2019 at 12:47 PM, Kirk said: Off the top of my head, the small antennae above and below the nose are for the IFF, the larger for VHF. These are chaff/flare dispensers and were a later (post Falklands) addition. IIRC they *DO* sit proud of the fuselage. Certainly worth a check of photo references. Progress looks great Sam - you will of course have to build a VAAC one day to link them! Modified Panel 69 I do believe...had a pulley on it which attached to the rear equipment bay roof ....snag is pilots baggage used to get stuffed up there too(dodgy really) and if it wasn't attached you would get a faceful of panel 69 plus baggage ouch 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted May 1, 2019 Author Share Posted May 1, 2019 (edited) Quick (🤣) question which maybe people can help with? I'm looking for a plan of attack for the have glass on the F35 - from what I've ready there's loads of options and I'll do some experiments of my own over the next few days, but does anyone have a good tamiya acrylic mix they can suggest? I've seen somewhere that Xf54 DSG and x32 titanium silver might work??? Also any thoughts on the contrast tape on panels? The kit comes with decals but they look as though they will contrast too much plus photos look like these are matt while the rest has a sheen, can't see how to do that without masking... my initial thoughts were to use the decals as templates for masks, has anyone tried this? Very sharp knife required I guess? (Sorry if I'm opening a can of worms, I'll try and document my own experiments along the way) Edited May 1, 2019 by SaminCam Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 I have yet to get an F35 in the stash but I share your thoughts on those decals, too contrasty. So, I'll wait for the 'guinea pig' pathfinder to do his thing. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted May 2, 2019 Author Share Posted May 2, 2019 Experiments have begun! I've started by mixing xf54 dark sea grey with x32 titanium silver (4:1). Firstly the x32 reduces the blue tinge of xf54 and I think is moving in the right direction for the F35: I then sprayed some of this mix down on my trusty mustang mule. One wing was base coated with matt rubber black and the other with a decent alclad polished aluminium, complete with polished gloss black undercoat (sorry forgot pics of this). The shiny base coat worked quite well, the photo isn't great but you get an idea that there is some sheen there and the grey changes tone quite a lot depending the light, I think the metallic shade of the x32 is also just about noticeable: The alclad undercoat is a winner so will start to prep F35 for a coat of polished Al. The grey top coat is nearly there though I'm going to try a few more tests before committing to the model - could maybe go a shade or two darker. Hope this is useful/interesting for people, stay tuned for more! Sam 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted May 6, 2019 Author Share Posted May 6, 2019 (edited) After a bit of work over the long weekend I now have a shiny F35... First I base coated with the alclad black gloss primer. I find this goes down ok but it doesn't give a particular smooth finish so then I polish with progressively finer micromesh from 3k up to 12k. After some touching up I've laid down a few thin coats of alclad polished aluminium. It's strange stuff and really does make any surface blemish jump out. I kind of got the hang of this with my b29 but it's still not perfect. Anyway, this will provide a base coat for the grey which will go down next - more experimenting needed on this colour but will hopefully make some more progress this week. Cheers, Sam Edited May 6, 2019 by SaminCam Typo 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted May 10, 2019 Author Share Posted May 10, 2019 Evening all, the F35 has nearly caught back up with the Harrier and I've now got the main coat of paint down. I sprayed a fairly thin grey coat over the shiny Aluminium (after some experimenting on the mustang mule) and I'm really happy with the result. The mix started off with xf54 to which I added a drop of x32 titanium silver and darkened it a touch with rubber black. I'm not sure the exact quantities but was probably roughly 7:1:2 (grey:titanium:rubber) then thinned about 50-50 for spraying. I think the effect on the shiny base coat is quite interesting, the photos below aren't great but they show how the grey tone completely changes with different light and at different angles, exactly the effect I was hoping for... It'll probably look completely different again in the morning when the light is brighter. Diffuse natural light: Bright artificial light: Evening light through the window: Low-level flat light: 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 I think you may be on to something with that paint technique. Interesting idea to use the metallic undercoat as the sheen rather than a varnish or post-paint effect. Either way, it looks really effective 👍 Alan 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G Posted May 11, 2019 Share Posted May 11, 2019 Nice work Sam! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchen Modeller Posted May 14, 2019 Share Posted May 14, 2019 Nice work on the paint Sam - it really looks the part. First time I've seen this technique used on an entire air frame - I done something similar on exhausts on ww2 planes so will be stealing this idea if I ever do a F-35... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted May 19, 2019 Author Share Posted May 19, 2019 Evening all, not made much progress on these two over the last couple of weeks due to a new arrival - meet Dizzy: Needless to say an 8-week old puppy is taking a bit of looking after! He's an absolute legend though and me and the better half are making the most of him being button cute while it lasts! Back to modelling the F35 got a serious masking job and I then sprayed the lighter grey panels with a mix of xf83 and xf20 (~50:50). I think this looks about right and again there's a nice effect where in some lights they stand out and in others you can hardly see the contrast. You'll also see that I added one of the panel edge decals. This went down beautifully (almost looks painted on) but as guessed is way too light and "contrasty" so, with a heavy heart, I've decided that I'm going to have to mask the whole thing and spray on the panel edge patterns... Actually the decal experiment turned into a bit of a saga because nothing would get it off again! In the end I've re-sprayed the area so I'm now more or less back to the state before the experiment begun. I've not forgotten the Harrier either - it's had a couple of coats of gloss coat and is masked up ready for the little bit of olive drab to be sprayed on the tail. More to come soon hopefully, thanks for looking! 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor Durbon Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 The first time I see a F-35 with colour spot on. Really nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted May 20, 2019 Author Share Posted May 20, 2019 And so it begins... I found I could use the decals as a pattern to cut out tape, so they aren't completely wasted, still, going to take a while to get everything masked. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted May 23, 2019 Share Posted May 23, 2019 Just found your double build, interesting. I built Airifix's Harrier GR 7/8 a while back, (last of the Sea Harriers) what a delight. The F-35 dosen't light my fire, are the zigzag marking after market? I may just finish mine in What if 899 NAS markings! Colin PS. just answered my own question, I have the Fujimi kit! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted May 23, 2019 Author Share Posted May 23, 2019 (edited) @heloman1 thanks Colin, they're both great kits, looking forward to having them finished alongside each other. I think you worked it out but the zigzags for the f35 are decals in the hasegawa kit but they look too light for my liking so masking the whole thing with tamiya tape - it's hard work! Once that's done I'm not sure which scheme I'll finish her in, the grey roundels on the British version look rubbish so tempted to use some artistic licence and add red and blue, can't effect the stealth that much, right?!? Edited May 24, 2019 by SaminCam Typo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted May 26, 2019 Author Share Posted May 26, 2019 Slowly getting there... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 Thanks for your comments I managed to build the Fujimi kit in about three hours! I think it is meant to be a Snap-fit kit aimed at younger modellers! Well I battled with it the closing tabs wouldn't slot together, so I ended up cutting them off and gluing the kit together. I've shut the geat dooors and left the missile bay open. I'll depict it in flight with the 'Sidewinder' at launch. I too will ad red/blue low vis roundes. I like your efforts on masking, don't think I'm going to bother! Colin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 2 hours ago, heloman1 said: Thanks for your comments I managed to build the Fujimi kit in about three hours! I think it is meant to be a Snap-fit kit aimed at younger modellers! Well I battled with it the closing tabs wouldn't slot together, so I ended up cutting them off and gluing the kit together. I've shut the geat dooors and left the missile bay open. I'll depict it in flight with the 'Sidewinder' at launch. I too will ad red/blue low vis roundes. I like your efforts on masking, don't think I'm going to bother! Colin Cool, I'd love to see some photos of your kit when the painting is complete. Not sure I'd recommend the masking to my worst enemy, it's slow, laborious work which has made the build almost grind to a halt - I've got most of the upper surfaces done now and I'm hoping the underside will be a bit quicker since there are fewer zigzags... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NealParkes Posted May 29, 2019 Share Posted May 29, 2019 This a good'un!! I have built the Harrier myself and it is a lovely kit and so far yours is right on! And I have the F-35 in the stash so it is interesting to see it being built. Thanks for sharing your work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted May 31, 2019 Author Share Posted May 31, 2019 Getting there! Top done: Underside underway: 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 I really admire your patience. Great masking. AW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitchen Modeller Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 I'm sure all the pain with be worth it - it's worth taking your sweet time with these jobs - I'm sure it will look amazeballs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R159 Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 On 5/19/2019 at 8:55 PM, SaminCam said: Evening all, not made much progress on these two over the last couple of weeks due to a new arrival - meet Dizzy: Needless to say an 8-week old puppy is taking a bit of looking after! He's an absolute legend though and me and the better half are making the most of him being button cute while it lasts! Back to modelling the F35 got a serious masking job and I then sprayed the lighter grey panels with a mix of xf83 and xf20 (~50:50). I think this looks about right and again there's a nice effect where in some lights they stand out and in others you can hardly see the contrast. You'll also see that I added one of the panel edge decals. This went down beautifully (almost looks painted on) but as guessed is way too light and "contrasty" so, with a heavy heart, I've decided that I'm going to have to mask the whole thing and spray on the panel edge patterns... Actually the decal experiment turned into a bit of a saga because nothing would get it off again! In the end I've re-sprayed the area so I'm now more or less back to the state before the experiment begun. I've not forgotten the Harrier either - it's had a couple of coats of gloss coat and is masked up ready for the little bit of olive drab to be sprayed on the tail. More to come soon hopefully, thanks for looking! We had a (chocolate) button cute one, 18 months later he’s 32kg and is currently snoring his head off next to me... still a legend though! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaminCam Posted June 8, 2019 Author Share Posted June 8, 2019 I think it's done - paint to go down tomorrow hopefully, stay tuned! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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