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Tamiya 1:48 F-117A Grey Dragon +++ Finished +++


Jasonb13

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Very nice indeed. I know what you mean about the differences between the 2 Grey, I had a similar thing happen when I painted a F-15C, they just blended together. 

Good luck with the decaling.

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Thanks Jabba. Am telling myself that them blending together looks more subtle and realistic! :)

 

Got half the decals done last night, they went down well enough, hope to get the rest of them done tonight and I'll put up a pic then. Then I'll get the matt coat done over the weekend hopefully. And then the moment of truth when I remove all the masking tape; I haven't seen the cockpit since the end of May!

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Decals all done. They were fragile, not fall apart in the water fragile, but you had to get them where you wanted them fairly quickly, and then leave them the hell alone! :) I'm hoping their thinness will translate to looking good when dry. Here's a pic, with the Microsol still drying!

 

 

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You can see the main ones, but there are quite a few smaller stencils, including the usual No Step ones. Most of them are one shade of grey on another shade of grey!

 

So, with that done, the next step is the matt coat. Might get it done tomorrow, but probably Saturday at this stage, we'll see. Am dying to see what it's like with all the tape off, it'll really change the look to have all those black sections.

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Got the matt coat done this morning, and finally got all the masking tape off! At least I think I did, I need to double-check to make sure I haven't missed some panel... :)

 

Anyhow, here's how it's looking, the canopy first...

 

 

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I actually didn't properly paint that rear panel behind the starboard window, I think I forget that it was plastic and assumed it was masking tape so barely covered it. But that's ok, a little re-spray will fix that.

 

And here's the airframe...

 

 

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Some touch-ups are needed, but to be honest not half as many as I'd feared so I'm quite happy with it! It's funny to see the different colour in the pictures too, the first two are much more accurate in terms of the colour, the ones of the fuselage look far more blue/grey than it is. It seems taking the picture from further away (so I can fit it all in) makes my camera auto-adjust in some way!

 

Anyhow, I'm pretty happy with that I have to say. Some touch-ups to be done, and I still have to weather the exhausts and stick a lot of stuff on (undercarriage, bombs, doors, seat and canopy, tails etc.). Getting closer to the finish line! :)

 

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Last update of the weekend. Have quite a few smaller jobs to do now, and I got an hour at the bench this evening so decided to start with the fiddly one. Last bit of PE, adding detail to the cockpit/canopy:

 

 

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They're about as straight as I can get them, considering they're so bloody small! :) There are two parts for each latch on the canopy.

 

Will probably weather the exhausts next, maybe tomorrow evening or Tuesday, we'll see...

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Actually got more time on the bench this evening than expected, and got a few little jobs done. Got than panel on the canopy frame that I'd missed re-sprayed, got the undercarriage legs on (she'll be standing on her own soon) and got the bomb bay door actuators on as well. Also got the oleos for the canopy struts painted, and started painting that little red light that on the underside of the fuselage.

 

Most importantly, I got the exhausts done, a mixture of black, brown and red pastels, leaving the rear strip a lot cleaner as it appears that way in pics. Here's how the exhaust looks...

 

 

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The list of jobs left to do is definitely dwindling now, and all going well I might actually have this done in a couple of days, give or take. Have to put the wheels, bomb bay doors and bombs/cradles in, undercarriage doors, and that little red light. Then I have to put in the Seat and the HUD, the IP anti-glare covers and the struts and canopy. Last is the ladder and that's it. It feels like it could be done in an hour, but it's probably closer to 3 or 4! :) Home straight in sight though...

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Thanks a lot...

 

Almost finished now. Did lots of little jobs this evening and the underside is finished...

 

 

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Also got the cockpit finished...

 

 

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Very little left to do now, just need to get the canopy on, a ladder comes with the kit as well, and maybe one or two little touch ups. Should be officially finished the next time I get to the bench!

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Well, that one last visit to the bench did the job, and I'm calling this finished. I got the canopy on, did the ladder, and also used a bit of a yogurt carton lid to make the 'Ladder Guard' that I saw in a couple of pics.

 

Just want to say thanks to everyone for their advice and encouraging words. It's a lovely kit to build, not withstanding my own issues with seams, and it's probably the best model I've made, so I'm quite happy! Took over 3 months all in all. In the end I think the masked black sections add to it, and the two tone grey, while more subtle than I would have liked, makes a nice change.

 

I'll throw up a good few pics here, and then just some of them in the gallery.

 

Thanks!

 

 

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Thanks everyone! I do like the scheme, both because it's unusual and also I think it looks better than just black. Though I also like what the black sections bring to it, and to be honest I didn't think they'd turn out as sharp as they did! :)

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  • 1 month later...
On 7/24/2019 at 12:20 PM, Jasonb13 said:

Thanks Alan, delighted to have it done, for a while I didn't know if I'd make the deadline or not...

Glad you did, it certainly got my vote in a very impressive field. Groupbuilds are where the action happens on this site!

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