helios16v Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 (edited) 1/72 Dragon YF-23 Black Widow Parts are washed, impatiently awaiting the start here in just over an hour. Suppose I should go mow the lawn quick before the rain rolls in. Original decals are trash, so I'm going to model as a frontline fighter (pinching some decals from an F-15 pack) as if it had gone into service. Edited May 25, 2020 by helios16v 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted May 22, 2020 Share Posted May 22, 2020 Wow, that looks made for a blitzbuild, virtually the whole plane in 2 parts ! All the more time for a fancy paintjob Good luck Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 22, 2020 Author Share Posted May 22, 2020 (edited) Going to kick this one off in the morning. We ended up having a practice session for the iRacing 24 Hours of Lemans tonight, so rather than lose a couple crucial hours of build time, I made the command decision to delay the start until morning. Edited May 23, 2020 by helios16v Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 5 hours ago, JOCKNEY said: Wow, that looks made for a blitzbuild, virtually the whole plane in 2 parts ! All the more time for a fancy paintjob Good luck Cheers Pat Yup, that's the idea. It won't be too fancy, but it will be a pseudo-camo scheme at least. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 And we're off. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 Parts are primed. Also just encountered the first problem...then bang seat is missing. Off to raid the spares box to see if I have something I may be able to use in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 Pinched an extra seat out of a Hasegawa F-16CJ kit. The kit must've had sprues for a B/D in there. Bonus for me. Crisis averted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 4 hours in and things are way behind schedule. The seat took a bit of fiddling with as it was a little too wide. I was hoping to be ready for paint by now to allow for ample time between color, clear, decals and the final clear. Things will be.....interesting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 23, 2020 Author Share Posted May 23, 2020 Little lunch while I wait for the metallizer to dry. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 Landing gear were short shots. So a little bit of styrene rod and we can keep moving forward. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 (edited) And I just broke a stab off while masking the exhausts. I can't believe how much this "simple" kit is fighting me. I guess it is a Dragon kit, so I really shouldn't be that surprised...but still. At this point, I think I'll be shifting gears to the 2x12 option. I'm going to have to let the stab set up over night, then hopefully get some paint on in the morning. Edited May 24, 2020 by helios16v 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 Beginning stage 2. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 Basecoat of Aggressor-ish Grey. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 Mixing the accent color. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 Glosscoat drying. Hopefully I'll be ready for decals in an hour and a half or so. I'd prefer to wait a day, but timeline says no can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted May 24, 2020 Share Posted May 24, 2020 Would you recommend the Dragon kit? Sounds like not. Looks good so far though, looking forward to seeing it finished. Regards, Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 24, 2020 Author Share Posted May 24, 2020 29 minutes ago, AdrianMF said: Would you recommend the Dragon kit? Sounds like not. Looks good so far though, looking forward to seeing it finished. Regards, Adrian I wouldn't pay a premium for one. This particular kit had some one-off issues (I did pick it up second hand) like the short shot MLG and the missing pilot seat. The biggest flaw with the kit that has stood out too me is the exhaust tunnels (engine) don't really look like the real deal. The general shape is ok, but it's lacking the correct jagged edges of the bare metal, and the tile texture of the real jet. Also Dragon added diffuser looking plates in the exhaust which are not present on the jet I was viewing walkaround photos of (you could see the back of the engines). That said, it is entirely possible that Lockheed pulled certain items off the jet before turning it over to the museum...so maybe they were present on the flying prototypes then removed later? I got it for $5 at a model show (the missing seat and MLG issues are probably why it was so cheap). It's a cool looking plane, As I'm building it as a What-if, I'm not particularly concerned about 100% accuracy. Parts do need a little clean up (typical with the other Dragon kits I've dealt with), and care needs to be given when removing parts from the sprues (they don't leave you much room) but overall I'm happy with it. It's a unique plane that haven't had many kits made of them since it never got past the prototype stage. I'm actually not even sure there is another 1/72 option for the jet available. Definitely worth picking up though on a deal if you aren't too caught up on the exhaust differences. I'd probably pay $15-20 for another one second-hand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 T -03:54:00 Decals are on. I'll let the model sit for a couple hours undisturbed, then I'll get the gear and doors attached. Then with about an hour to go I'll hit it with the dullcote.....and pray the decals have dried enough. Teaser. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 Complete...with 4 minutes to spare! I'll get some pics tomorrow in the daylight for the gallery...weather permitting. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 Great build on what should have been the winner of the ATF competition. Supposedly better than the Raptor in a few areas. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted May 25, 2020 Share Posted May 25, 2020 3 minutes ago, Hockeyboy76 said: should have been the winner Looks much cooler too!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted May 25, 2020 Author Share Posted May 25, 2020 Gallery pics updated. I noticed after I took these pics that one of the MLG doors is a bit out of alignment. Will have to address that. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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