ratmigs Posted April 27, 2019 Share Posted April 27, 2019 Saved from the shelf of doom, I started this kit couple of years ago under rather funny circumstances. It all started with me having a go at the rather modern Hobby Boss F-5E only to discover its biggest glaring issue - the windscreen being way too short. To remedy the problem, I bought a water damaged Italeri kit off of eBay mostly for its clear parts. Seeing that the Italeri had the right shark nose and squared off LERXs seen on most US aggressor aircraft, I wondered if the HB kit was worth proceeding with. Eventually, I used the Italeri canopy as a basis to form a new windscreen for the HB kit and decided I would do a twin Tiger build. Long story short, I ran out of steam midway and both kits were packed away after reaching primer stage. Fast forward to 2019, I was looking for something to 'finish off quickly' and came across these two again. I decided to just focus on completing the Italeri while I used decals from the HB boxing. I made some minor mods to better represent the subject aircraft, nothing crazy. Modifications made were - Seat headrest changed to improved style (using putty to build the headrest buttress), scratch built the canopy lift mechanism and fashioned an ACMI pod using styrene pipes. The canopy lift feels like an absolute must have for anyone building 1/72 F-5s and took the most time on my build to get right. This is quite characteristic of the F-5 and I have no idea why kit manufacturers decided to leave it out. This was finally finished off over the last week since so much work was already done. I was too lazy to use blu tac on the camo and ending up free-handing it at 1 bar psi. I think it turned out OK. Hope you all like it. 33 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratmigs Posted April 27, 2019 Author Share Posted April 27, 2019 @Moderators this was accidentally posted in WIP. Please help move this to the RFI section. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 27, 2019 Share Posted April 27, 2019 1 hour ago, ratmigs said: @Moderators this was accidentally posted in WIP. Please help move this to the RFI section. The report did the job and it's now in the right place. Good work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted April 27, 2019 Share Posted April 27, 2019 Lovely job - the paintwork looks excellent and I think it looks better than if it were masked! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratmigs Posted April 28, 2019 Author Share Posted April 28, 2019 1 hour ago, Mike said: The report did the job and it's now in the right place. Good work Thanks Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaddad Posted April 28, 2019 Share Posted April 28, 2019 orsum, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha Delta 210 Posted April 28, 2019 Share Posted April 28, 2019 Very handsome aggressor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill.B Posted April 28, 2019 Share Posted April 28, 2019 That’s a really nice F5, very well done sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted April 28, 2019 Share Posted April 28, 2019 12 hours ago, ratmigs said: I think it turned out OK. Hope you all like it. Yes, it turned out very OK & I do like it, rather a lot in fact. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vultures1 Posted April 28, 2019 Share Posted April 28, 2019 Very nice Adversary F-5. I went on a similar journey to you: bought the HB F-5E; discovered all its problems; gave up and built the Italeri F-5N instead. I agree with you about the canopy lift mechanism and you have done a really nice job of it. Scheme looks good too. Well done all round! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djos Posted April 28, 2019 Share Posted April 28, 2019 Beautiful Tiger. You got maximum from this old mold. This is one on my to do list and your example is real motivation Best regards Djordje Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stromness Posted April 28, 2019 Share Posted April 28, 2019 Lovely camo! You must have an excellent airbrush - and know how to put to good use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted April 28, 2019 Share Posted April 28, 2019 Very smart! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 Love it, such a classic scheme on that aircraft Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sky Keg Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 How in the heck did I miss this???? I love F-5’s and your’s look perfect. 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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