Gary Brantley Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 (edited) This model is the one that was built concurrent with my Iraqi MiG-21MF. Both were popular "export fighters' in third world countries and I wanted both shown in client state livery. The kit is the ancient Testors (ex-Hawk) 1/48 F5-A. According to the timeline posted on scalemates.com, this kit started life in 1966 as a Hawk kit! We can get a good look at what scale modeling offered back then, and see how much the hobby has evolved since. I have always loved the lines of the Northrop F-5A. Sleek and elegant with that great area-ruled fuselage, it is a real classic. I can well remember having a toy, white F5 as a kid, zooming it around my room. This model was built back about 1992 (back when I was working a kit almost everyday). I’d love to build at that pace again; perhaps the muse will strike again soon. Heaven knows I have a huge backlog to work with! I was trying different paints for NMF, or silver-painted aircraft and this one was done in Floquil Bright Silver and the decals came with the kit. This model represents a plane in the Philippines Air Force. I used the pilot figure to take up space in the oh-so sparse cockpit. It’s another model that had never been photographed until I hauled it, along with five others, over to Rockdale, another nearby small town, a few years ago. I had heard that the municipal airport there might provide a nice setting for some pics. It was a beautiful day, although the wind did get a bit gusty but that wasn’t a problem with the amount of ballast stuck in the nose of this one! 😀 One of the nice pilots I met at the Rockdale airport told me he had trained in the T-38 variant and said how much he had enjoyed it…he said, “Hey, they’re still using it today so something must be right!” The airport there is pretty cool, complete with a very old hangar visible in some pics. Oh, you might note that it is missing one of its 20mm nose cannons. Oh well. Que sera sera! Thanks for popping in and taking a look; comments are always welcome… but y'all knew that. 😉 Gary Edited June 28, 2019 by Gary Brantley linguistics accuracy 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reini78 Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 Nice job with that kit oldie and good to see a rarely built scheme! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted June 23, 2019 Author Share Posted June 23, 2019 3 minutes ago, Reini78 said: Nice job with that kit oldie and good to see a rarely built scheme! Thank you Reini! It's an oldie for sure! As soon as I saw those decals for the Phil. Air Force bird, I knew that was the one I wanted to build. 😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 Lovley 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Law Posted June 23, 2019 Share Posted June 23, 2019 Another excellent build. Your metal finish is spot on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted June 23, 2019 Author Share Posted June 23, 2019 12 minutes ago, RMCS said: Lovley Thank you sir. Tip o' the hat to you! 🥃 10 minutes ago, Greg Law said: Another excellent build. Your metal finish is spot on. Thanks Greg! That Floquil lacquer is some good stuff. Easy to work with and tough as nails. 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted June 26, 2019 Author Share Posted June 26, 2019 Well, before this one shuffles off into oblivion, I would really like to thank all of you who commented on or reacted to this thread. Thanks for your support and encouragement everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-32 Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 I like it, very retro! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted June 28, 2019 Author Share Posted June 28, 2019 2 minutes ago, F-32 said: I like it, very retro! Oh cool! Thanks for noticing the old girl F-32. That is a retro build in so many ways for sure. Great call! 🍻 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Des Posted June 28, 2019 Share Posted June 28, 2019 Nice build of a fondly remembered kit. My grandmother brought me the Hawk example back from holiday in Canada in the mid-60s when it was a newly released kit and very exotic compared to the usual Airfix and FROG kits that were more easily available here in the UK. A few years back I acquired another Hawk example to convert to an RF-5A and what a difference it was to work with their hard shiny green plastic again after decades of the softer plastics that have become the norm across the industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Brantley Posted June 28, 2019 Author Share Posted June 28, 2019 38 minutes ago, Des said: Nice build of a fondly remembered kit. My grandmother brought me the Hawk example back from holiday in Canada in the mid-60s when it was a newly released kit and very exotic compared to the usual Airfix and FROG kits that were more easily available here in the UK. A few years back I acquired another Hawk example to convert to an RF-5A and what a difference it was to work with their hard shiny green plastic again after decades of the softer plastics that have become the norm across the industry. Great modeling story Des! We must be close to the same vintage, lol. Thanks for the kind words and the trip down memory lane! 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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