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Mighty One - the F-35I Adir in 1/32


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The most advanced fighter jet in the world - the Israeli Air Force F-35I Adir (which means Mighty One!)

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The F-35 is my favourite aircraft currently in existence - I bought this kit shortly after its appearance and have been waiting for an opportunity to crack into a decent build. The time has come!

 

You don't see many of these so here's the full box tour:

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First of all - it's very big! that's an 18" wide mat the fuse halves are sitting on.

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There's some nice surface detail around the panels but the rest of the airframe is creamy smooth!

 

Interior detail doesn't slouch either:

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Engine and full intake trunking with thinly cast guide vanes and engine detail - this will not be visible, of course :lol:

 

There are two sprues of weapons, bay details and door hinges:

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The pylons are also included for Beast Mode, which I will of course be using!

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Again some nicely moulded details with a bit of flash clean up required.

 

More interior:

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Weapons bays, doors and wheelwell interiors, no need for aftermarket here.

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While the details aren't superfine, they are interesting enough and should come up well under paint and washes.

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The stabilizers are much better engineered than the Kitty Hawk version (thank god!!) as are the tailfins below:

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Again the wings have some decent moulded details with a very smooth finish everywhere else.

 

Clear parts are tinted and the canopy is seam free:

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Some PE parts are included along with some glossy masks for the RAM panel taping:

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Won't be needing those so much for painting but the taped areas are distinctly flatter in finish than the baked-on RAM coating.

 

Instructions are clear and well-printed on an A4-sized landscape booklet:

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Decals are also nicely printed, include most stencils and knowing Italeri's recent releases, should go down very well.

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So that's what's in the box. Of course I had to get a few more bits to push the boat out a bit more...!

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Eduard Big Ed, not particularly expensive or overstuffed with details, but the cockpit looks very nice, if it was the right colour :hmmm:

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Also have a set of new resin wheels by Reskit and Eduard Brassin GBU-39 SDBs (new capability for the IAF's F-35s)

 

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Unfortunately I also spent a relative fortune (almost £30!) on these very disappointing decals - only stencils and serials for 140 Golden Eagles Sqn. I hoped it would have both squadrons included but astonishingly IsraDecal released the 116 Lions of the South Sqn set as a separate set for the same price.

 

I was hoping to do the aircraft flown by 116 Sqn's deputy CO, 'Captain S.' (the only woman currently flying the F-35I):

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but they can get stuffed if they want another £30 out of me for the 4x lion decals alone :angrysoapbox.sml:

 

Anyway...I'll be building this over a period of months, so it's a long-term project for me. While I know the aircraft isn't everyone's cup of tea, it certainly is mine and you're welcome to join in the fun!

 

Cheers :cheers:

Alan

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I’ve done one of these recently - it’s a great kit and goes together pretty well. 
 

The only criticism I had is the fact the instructions are quite vague when it comes to mounting the missile pylons on the weapons bay doors - it took numerous reference photos and test fits to get it right! 
 

Tom

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On 6/16/2021 at 8:46 PM, phildagreek said:

Stuff not stiff sorry about that

I thought you might have been getting excited by Captain S 🤣

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1 hour ago, tomprobert said:

I’ve done one of these recently - it’s a great kit and goes together pretty well. 
 

The only criticism I had is the fact the instructions are quite vague when it comes to mounting the missile pylons on the weapons bay doors - it took numerous reference photos and test fits to get it right! 
 

Tom

Thanks for the heads-up, I really liked your clean rendition of the jet, I hope to produce a similarly sleek result 👍

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That looks like a very impressive kit! I’m trying really hard to like the F-35, but it’ll never hold the same affection or interest as a Jag, Bucc or Canberra. Or a real Lightning! One day, when the only other thing the RAF has are drones maybe it’ll grow on me! 
 

I’m very interested in seeing your build though, I love to see these big detailed fast jet kits built! Can’t believe out of all those decals there are no RAF ones! Should be an interesting build …

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2 minutes ago, Lord Riot said:

Can’t believe out of all those decals there are no RAF ones!

Well, blame whoever decided to order the F-35B exclusively 😉

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  • 2 weeks later...

I said this would be slow going, so here's the very first bit of work - not actually on the model though :lol:

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My outbuilding/workshop got a major makeover - new display shelves, photo booth, dedicated spray zone and much bigger, brighter work area.

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I'm very pleased with the result, even though it still needs a good dusting.

 

So, on to the model - started in the cockpit as is traditional:

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Eduard PE in the cockpit - I need to do a bang-up job in here as it will all be on display thanks to the huge, forward-hinging canopy which will be open.

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The Italeri seat is pretty good in form, if not as crisply moulded as the Far Eastern competition, but makes a good base for detailing.

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The canopy sill is supplied in the kit as a PE frame but the Eduard one is so much nicer and comes in several parts which fit perfectly.

 

I primed it all ready for paint - will be using Eduard's PE and for the first time, 3D-printed knobs and switches custom made by ANYZ . I bought the cockpit set which includes three sets of various knobs and switches, three sets of decals for placards, button labels and rotary switch positions, stripes, and lots of other useful stuff! Beautifully printed at a fineness I can't even believe, but this should come up a treat.

 

Also still working on the Mosquito, and just joined the Hellcat STGB with the 1/24 Airfix kit, so I'm going to be busy in my new shed!

 

Cheers,

 

Alan

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An interesting build, when I was Italeri at the top, I had reservations, accuracy, fit of parts etc. I hop you don't encounter any of those.

 

Colin

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13 hours ago, heloman1 said:

An interesting build, when I was Italeri at the top, I had reservations, accuracy, fit of parts etc. I hop you don't encounter any of those.

 

Colin

The word on the street is pretty good about the kit, and so far I'm finding the same. @tomprobert built a very nice one not long ago and spoke well of the build, and if he says it, that's as good as I need to hear 😃

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  • 5 months later...

Been nice to pick this up again now the F-35 is in the news again (when is it not :hmmm:). Finding the kit/PE combination is a good balance between detail and buildability.

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Still early days but the basic parts fit well:

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Quick pause to remind you all what I said on my last build:

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The Eduard set adds a lot of much needed and missing detail from the kit - but (and this may come back to bite me one day but I don't care) I am NEVER using aftermarket photoetch belts again EVER. 

And here they are!

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Really happy with the seat cushions I did - painted the base black and then sprayed RAF Dk Camo Grey through a mesh. The overspray makes a passable carbon fibre effect on the seat frame as well :lol:

 

Anyway, we're still very early on in the build but it's got a good feeling already!

 

Alan

 

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3 minutes ago, Biggles87 said:

Any idea where the “re-boot” button is?  😜

I believe it's the yellow and black striped pull handle between the pilots knees 😂

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Nice to see that you've picked this one up again Alan. :thumbsup:

I hope to start my own F-35I Adir (1/48) next year after our flat has been renovated. 

Must get to use those Isradecal sheets I've spent a fortune on. 

 

/Bosse

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20 minutes ago, Marlin said:

Must get to use those Isradecal sheets I've spent a fortune on.

Thanks Bosse, good luck with the renovations 👍

 

I also bought the other set of Isradecal mentioned before, sucker that I am!

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  • 1 year later...
On 6/16/2021 at 1:10 PM, Alan P said:

 

Hi Alan,

Big respects to the women in the IDF. One of them has once beaten me in a fist fight at a bar. Great memories from that trip to Jerusalem.

Cheers,

 

Igna

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