Trapani Triple - F-104S, F-16A, Eurofighter Typhoon

[Cookenbacher]

It's definitely time for Cookie to get back to the bench, and I'd like to thank Giorgio @giemme for encouraging me to do so. He has also provided inspiration for this project with his excellent Italian Typhoon from last year, along with @CedB with his very cool Battle of Britain tribute schemed Typhoon from 2016, and @cathasatail and the beautiful surface detail on his two seat Typhoon. I encourage you to check these out if you haven't seen them, you won't regret it - although I might, with this build being compared to those outstanding efforts.

 

I will be using the 1/72 Hasegawa kit to attempt to replicate this Italian Eurofighter Typhoon as it appeared in the US at Red Flag last year - note that it is pretty well weathered with mismatched panels and the fasteners showing through on the tail.

 

I managed to get a hold of these transfers from Model Maker:

It comes with pretty much everything you need to make any AMI Typhoon.

 

I also have kits and decals for a Trapani based 37 Stormo F-104 and F-16 and I hope to add them too.

 

 

[Cookenbacher]

The Hasegawa kit comes with a pretty strange looking seat, so I grabbed one out of the parts box - I have no idea of its origins, but it was already painted and apparently had an occupant at one time judging by the dried glue on the seat bottom. I added tiny bit of detail..

 

... and am calling it good.

 

Added to the cockpit:

 

The Hasegawa kit also comes with closed exhaust nozzles only appropriate for an in-flight model ( the nozzles seem to be open in every reference pic I've seen of the jet on the ground). To my great fortune, the nozzles from the old Revell kit fit just fine. I gave them a brushed/buffed coat of Modelmaster stainless steel.

 

Then used Vallejo Metal Colors to brush on the other colors.

 

I tried to add some squiggles to suggest that the dark gunmetal underneath part of the nozzle has many facets, but it kind of just looks like squiggles, so I may paint them over.

 

I decided that I would assemble and paint the tail on its own, as it would be easier to add the fastener detail with it separate from the fuselage. It comes in two halves, and it was quite a bit of work to get rid of the resulting seam on the leading edge, and to thin down the trailing edge.

 

Black primer on.

 

It's Mission Models black primer. It's the first time I've used it for real and its finish is incredibly smooth, glossy even.

 

And a little much needed riveting practice.

 

 

[CedB]

Annnnnnnddd he's back!

Great start Cookie and good to see you back at the bench  

 

Following, of course.

[HOUSTON]

Cookie,

 

SUPER start  to your build.

Following your build with interest. 

[giemme]

4 hours ago, CedB said:

Annnnnnnddd he's back!

 Great to see you back at the bench, Cookie  

 

I'm absolutely in for this    

 

Ciao

[rob85]

This is great! Nice to see you back at the beach and I’m looking forward to how this goes.

 

Rob

[Terry1954]

Great choice of subject Cookie. I'm in early for a change!

 

Terry

[Cookenbacher]

Please forgive the lack of updates on this one folks. I ran into a snag with the Hasegawa fuselage; it was a little warped. I thought I could deal with it, but when it came time to attach the tail, it left a big gap underneath. I tried some judicious sanding and shimming, but the result just wasn't good. I built this kit when I first returned to the hobby several years a ago and it was a delight, so this must have been a one off.

 

Anyway here's a look at the tail before I tried attaching it:

 

Oh well, a little riveting and weathering practice never hurt anyone and I think I can do better in matching the reference pic.

 

I've ordered a new tool Revell kit and it should arrive next week, and I'll give it another go.

[CedB]

Nice fin Cookie. I hope the new kit sorts out the problems  

[giemme]

Sorry to hear about the mishap - being let down by Hasegawa is quite odd...

 

Are you getting the latest tooling from Revell or the one I did? Either way, you may want to keep that HASE fin handy, because on my version there was no tail sensor and I had to scratch build it - not sure about the newest one

 

Ciao

[AdrianMF]

Nice effect on the tail, and it's a shame that the kit seems to have problems. Looking forward to the Revell incarnation!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[steh2o]

Hello Cookenbacher,

is Hasegawa the best 1/72 Typhoon in terms of shape? Great start!

[Cookenbacher]

18 hours ago, CedB said:

Nice fin Cookie. I hope the new kit sorts out the problems  

Thank you Ced!

 

10 hours ago, giemme said:

Sorry to hear about the mishap - being let down by Hasegawa is quite odd...

 

Are you getting the latest tooling from Revell or the one I did? Either way, you may want to keep that HASE fin handy, because on my version there was no tail sensor and I had to scratch build it - not sure about the newest one

Yes, very odd - as I said, I built the exact same Hasegawa kit a few years ago when I was just returning to the hobby and it was such an easy build. The warp in the fuselage was very subtle and I really only noticed it when I had a terrible time mating the halves; closing the gaps on one end opened gaps on the other. I forced it together, but then the fin wouldn't mate up at all. Again, I think this was just a a bad copy, as everything fit well on my previous build.

I've ordered the new tool Revell kit and hopefully I can get something built!

Thanks for the heads up about the tail sensor.

 

9 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Nice effect on the tail, and it's a shame that the kit seems to have problems. Looking forward to the Revell incarnation!

Thanks Adrian, I'm debating using a 1/48 sized riveting tool on the next kit instead of the 1/72 sized one I used on this. I'll have to do a test to see which matches the reference pic best.

 

9 hours ago, steh2o said:

Hello Cookenbacher,

is Hasegawa the best 1/72 Typhoon in terms of shape? Great start!

I'm definitely not particularly knowledgeable on the Eurofighter, but I think that the Hasegawa is the most accurate kit, particularly for the canopy/cockpit and it seems to capture the complicated slightly 'gull' wing shape very well. Here is a thread where more knowledgeable folks discuss the subject:

The Hasegawa kit is usually much more expensive than either Revell kit, which is why I've chosen the new tool Revell as a replacement - I couldn't see plunking down the price for a new Hasegawa.

[dimaADA]

Hallo everyone!

Very interesting bulding.

Good luck in progress!

 

 

[Cookenbacher]

Thank you @dimaADA!

 

The Revell kit has arrived and it looks very nice. Seeing as I like triple builds, I went ahead and started the F-16 and F-104 alongside.

 

I've got the Zotz set that includes many options for Italian F-16's, and an Xtradecal set for the F-104.

 

Some handy references:

 

Once again, here is my primary reference pic for the Typhoon:

 

MM7301 Right side

 

MM7301 Left side

 

Italian F-16's had the first generation of Have Glass radar absorbing paint which weathered very quickly to a dirty silver. Here is what I'm going for with the F-16:

 

MM7255 Right side

 

MM7255 Left side

 

And I really like the look of this F-104 with the older camo scheme tip tank:

 

MM6914 Left side

 

We'll see what I can do.

 

Here's a bit of (un)controlled chaos at my makeshift patio spray booth:

 

And here's my view from the 'spray booth':

 

It's basically Spring all year round here, except for a couple months of sweltering summer.

 

I've started in on the resin F-16 nozzle, still a ways to go with it.

 

Thanks for looking!

 

 

[CedB]

Nice nozzles Cookie and I love the view from the patio  

[giemme]

8 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

It's basically Spring all year round here, except for a couple months of sweltering summer.

I'm quite envious of your weather, Cookie  And I'd better not show that pic to my wife, or she'll start again about moving to Southern California...  

 

Great to see you have the other two on the go, BTW!  

 

As for the reference pics you linked, they seem quite odd to me, especially the Typhoon ones: that lighter area between the radome and the back part of the fuselage, right below the cockpit, shouldn't really be like that. It's supposed to be all the same color, except for the radome. The F16 too seems a bit exaggerated to me, although they did get very worn out: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/61/2010-08-08_F-16_Italian_Airforce_01.jpg/1920px-2010-08-08_F-16_Italian_Airforce_01.jpg

HTH

 

Ciao

[Terry1954]

Now this thread got even better by including an F-16 and then an F-104! Three superb Italian Air Force fast jets. It's like Christmas all over again!

 

Terry

[Cookenbacher]

16 hours ago, CedB said:

Nice nozzles Cookie and I love the view from the patio  

Thanks Ced!

 

3 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Now this thread got even better by including an F-16 and then an F-104! Three superb Italian Air Force fast jets. It's like Christmas all over again!

Ha! Hopefully I can get something done with them. Thanks Terry (and Ced) for the thinning advice on Mission Models paint. I used my usual Future/water/Flow Improver thinner and it worked even better than the proprietary stuff.

 

9 hours ago, giemme said:

I'm quite envious of your weather, Cookie  And I'd better not show that pic to my wife, or she'll start again about moving to Southern California...  

Just remind her that it was 47 deg C and on fire last September!

 

9 hours ago, giemme said:

As for the reference pics you linked, they seem quite odd to me, especially the Typhoon ones: that lighter area between the radome and the back part of the fuselage, right below the cockpit, shouldn't really be like that. It's supposed to be all the same color, except for the radome.

Yes, it is odd, that's why I chose this airframe - as you know, I love mismatched panels, and there is a lot of photographic evidence for this jet because it flew to Red Flag last year. It seems fairly common for those forward panels to not match the rest of the aircraft, I've noticed it on RAF Typhoons as well. I guess those panels must get replaced more often than others for some reason and the fresher paint contrasts with the faded paint of the 'older' panels (this can be seen on MM7301 with the canopy rail - it's fresh FS36280, darker and browner than the overall faded scheme of the same color). What's very odd about MM7301 is that those forward panels seem to be a different color entirely! My best guess is FS36492, but I'm not certain. Anyway, I'm looking forward to trying replicate the mismatched panels!

 

9 hours ago, giemme said:

The F16 too seems a bit exaggerated to me, although they did get very worn out

For the F-16, I'm pretty much stuck with doing MM7255, because it's one of the only jets to have the chequered tail. Like all Have Glass F-16's, it faded to a dirty silver over time. Here it is in 2007. And here it is in 2010, almost completely silver and on the way back to Pima for storage with its tail freshly painted over to get rid of the unit markings. I'm looking to represent it somewhere in between. Apparently, the Have Glass finish worked very well, and the AMI had to invest in AMA pods to make the F-16's more visible to radar for safer day to day operations.

[giemme]

18 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

Yes, it is odd, that's why I chose this airframe - as you know, I love mismatched panels, and there is a lot of photographic evidence for this jet because it flew to Red Flag last year. It seems fairly common for those forward panels to not match the rest of the aircraft, I've noticed it on RAF Typhoons as well. I guess those panels must get replaced more often than others for some reason and the fresher paint contrasts with the faded paint of the 'older' panels (this can be seen on MM7301 with the canopy rail - it's fresh FS36280, darker and browner than the overall faded scheme of the same color). What's very odd about MM7301 is that those forward panels seem to be a different color entirely! My best guess is FS36492, but I'm not certain. Anyway, I'm looking forward to trying replicate the mismatched panels!

 

From your link, it is quite evident that the code numbers (37-11) have been re-painted on that aircraft after deleting the original ones, which were different; here she is as of 2015, with her original numbers (4-53) and no checkers fin

https://www.aviaspotter.it/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2015-Decimomannu-EF-2000-Typhoon-015.jpg

 

I guess the front part of the fuselage is different because of fresh paint, while all the rest is just weathered. FWIW, I would try to replicate the effect using Tamiya Sky Grey as is for the repainted part, and mixing it with white for the worn out surfaces. I think you'll obtain that hue variation without having to completely change color - you'll need to experiment on some scrape parts before, but I know you like experimenting

 

Well, this is shaping up to be a very interesting thread, Cookie - great!

 

Ciao

[Cookenbacher]

Thanks for the info Giorgio, this will be an interesting one for sure.

 

I got started on the Revell cockpit; the Revell seat is in the middle there, and it looks much better than my cobbled together seat from before.

 

 

Fuselage together:

 

There is no intake trunking on the Revell kit, so I trimmed some plasticard to fit inside the fuselage, and stippled some 'shadows' on it.

 

It looked pretty pretty good with my eyes, but the camera shows how blotchy it is. I'll work more on blending it together, but I'm happy with the overall effect.

 

The intake is just being dry fit for now, but there looks to be some pretty nasty seams to deal with along with my trunking 'backdrop.

 

Well, it does feel good to be back at the bench.

 

Edit: Giorgio @giemme scratched actual intake trunking in his build and I found the link:

 

[CedB]

Nice 'pit Cookie and interesting effect for the intakes - great stuff!  

[Hook]

On 2/23/2021 at 1:25 AM, Cookenbacher said:

and an Xtradecal set for the F-104.

 

Nice progress!

 

How are you planning to deal with the utter lack of lo-viz stencilling on the Xtradecal sheet? 

 

(I must confess feeling rather let down by the latest Xtradecal F-104 sheets - not only is a lot of specific stencilling absent (and, like the lo viz Italian Starfighter markings, not easily sourced from standard kit decals), the last few sheets were rather out of register as well.) 

 

Cheers,

 

Andre 

 

 

[giemme]

Nice job on the cockpit and seat, Cookie

 

I  see the latest Revell rendition of the kit shows some improvements over the version I built - the fin coming as a separate piece being the most notable. There still is that annoying gap on the spine, though, and the intakes are exactly the same as in the older version.

 

If you decide to go down the vacforming route for them, I suggest you extend it up to the front of the intakes, replacing also the kit parts; I didn't,  and I had to do a lot of filling and sanding to blend them in.

 

However,  if you don't feel like scratch building them, once you take care of the side seams, there's not much that can be seen from outside, unless you tilt the model nose up and shove a micro-camera inside the intakes....

 

Keep on the great work

 

Ciao 

 

 

 

[Cookenbacher]

On 2/28/2021 at 1:34 AM, CedB said:

Nice 'pit Cookie and interesting effect for the intakes - great stuff!  

Thanks Ced, slowly but surely!

 

On 2/28/2021 at 1:56 AM, Hook said:

 

Nice progress!

 

How are you planning to deal with the utter lack of lo-viz stencilling on the Xtradecal sheet? 

 

(I must confess feeling rather let down by the latest Xtradecal F-104 sheets - not only is a lot of specific stencilling absent (and, like the lo viz Italian Starfighter markings, not easily sourced from standard kit decals), the last few sheets were rather out of register as well.) 

 

Oh man, that's a great point Andre. Not only is the Xtradecal sheet missing stencils, but the colours aren't right for the markings of my chosen subject, being dark grey rather than black. Luckily, I managed to dig out a Sky Models decal sheet that has everything I need, including stencils. I've never used their decals before, but I have no choice now.

 

On 2/28/2021 at 3:08 AM, giemme said:

Nice job on the cockpit and seat, Cookie

 

I  see the latest Revell rendition of the kit shows some improvements over the version I built - the fin coming as a separate piece being the most notable. There still is that annoying gap on the spine, though, and the intakes are exactly the same as in the older version.

 

If you decide to go down the vacforming route for them, I suggest you extend it up to the front of the intakes, replacing also the kit parts; I didn't,  and I had to do a lot of filling and sanding to blend them in.

 

However,  if you don't feel like scratch building them, once you take care of the side seams, there's not much that can be seen from outside, unless you tilt the model nose up and shove a micro-camera inside the intakes....

 

Keep on the great work

 

Thanks Giorgio, I'll be sure that no micro-cameras go anywhere near the intakes!

 

I feel like I've done a lot of work on these with little to show for it.

Here's the resin seat for the F-16 all painted up:

 

And I've got the Typhoon fuselage together:

 

Hopefully more progress this week!