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Mitsubishi F-2A 3rd TFS 60th Ann. Digital Scheme - minor update 03/10


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I have really no idea why I’m starting this one, other than it gives me an excuse to start another series of future projects……. and I blame @helios16v  for this!!  :D

 

I have a few JASDF aircraft in the stash and have recently found some amazing digital schemes for the F-15J an F-4EJ Kai (both I have in the stash…sort of for the F-4EJ), so digital decals sets have been ordered for both.

 

I have never thought of building a F-2A but  @helios16v as always has led me astray and I’m off down the rabbit hole..... not that that is hard to do!  :whistle:   The model was from Japan and actually really cheap as well….. the crumpled box was a free extra!!

 

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Luckily everything was all ok inside.

 

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The decal I found on the DXM site….along with plenty of others….they’re on the way too!!

 

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I would have loved to have had these in mask form, but looking at them I might have been a bit much for even my sanity, so decals it is.

 

I may need to raid the spares box for weapons, as usual Hasegawa don’t supply anything other than tanks and AAM’s.

 

There is no guarantee this will be completed in this build, but it will be for sure over the coming months.

 

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I'll humbly accept blame for this one, sorry not sorry.....though @Col. is partially responsible as well for stoking the JASDF fires resulting in a influx of kits in the recent months for me too.  :wicked:

Looking forward to this.  

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10 hours ago, helios16v said:

I'll humbly accept blame for this one, sorry not sorry.....though @Col. is partially responsible as well for stoking the JASDF fires resulting in a influx of kits in the recent months for me too.  :wicked:

Looking forward to this.  

 

I should have figured  @Col. had something to do with it..... he loves to lead people astray!!! :bleh:

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On 7/14/2021 at 1:15 AM, trickyrich said:

I should have figured  @Col. had something to do with it..... he loves to lead people astray!!! :bleh:

You both love it really :wicked:

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On 7/13/2021 at 9:08 AM, trickyrich said:

I have really no idea why I’m starting this one...

Come on then, get on with it, been seven days now :whip: Some of us are awaiting updates you know!

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2 hours ago, Col. said:

Come on then, get on with it, been seven days now :whip: Some of us are awaiting updates you know!

 you again.... haven't you got a model to build... or a GB to sign up too? :fight:

 

Actually I have been quite busy on her, made up lots of sub-assemblies, applied tons of filler to try and sort out the intake joins!!!  I have got photos just haven't gotten around to updating....will do it tomorrow...promise!  :whistle:

 

Plus I got a mail call on some JASDF stores for her...and other builds! :thumbsup:

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Ok I’d better do an update on this one as some members (no names mentioned…  :bleh:   )  have been giving more grief than usual!

 

Right all the work has been spent building up smaller assemblies ready for painting…. All the odd jobs.

 

Basic wings and tail are assembled.

 

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Main wheel well and intake assembly. I spent a bit of time trying to get a nice even fit on the intake trunk, but it still required quite a bit of filler. Hopefully I’ll end up with something smooth.

 

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The hole is so I can fit that heater unit in after everything has been painted white.

 

Seats and cockpit, detail is a bit sparce here, not sure what I’m going to do about seat belts yet…..worry about that later.

 

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Tanks and pylons done, joins on the tanks weren’t the greatest, not helped by the raised lines on the tanks.

 

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Plus some AM extra stores for her, other than the kit supplied tanks and AAM-3’s.

 

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Finally and interesting or not comparison between the F-2 and an F-16 (I only had a D in the stash….. shocking I know!)…..

 

…. she is bigger, not as much as I thought…

 

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…. it’s in the wing area that she is substantially larger, while I’ve lined them up here, but they actually sit even further out thank to the wider fuselage.

 

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In between clear coats and decaling the Sufa, I’ll start painting all the interior bits on the weekend, hopefully being close to closing her up at the end.

 

Plus I have the paint I need for her from MRP!!! :yahoo:

 

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  • trickyrich changed the title to Mitsubishi F-2A 3rd TFS 60th Ann. Digital Scheme - started

Great work Rich :thumbsup:

But I blame you for making me order this kit this morning.  :D 

24105_rd.jpg

I manage to get the last example from an online store in Poland. :yahoo:

Something for next years Japanese GB....., and yes I have a thing for aircrafts with big missiles under the wings. 

 

/Bosse

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Progress! :yahoo:

 

2 hours ago, trickyrich said:

Ok I’d better do an update on this one as some members (no names mentioned…  :bleh:   )  have been giving more grief than usual!

Oh shoosh, you love the attention really :D 

 

2 hours ago, Marlin said:

Great work Rich :thumbsup:

But I blame you for making me order this kit this morning.  :D 

24105_rd.jpg

I manage to get the last example from an online store in Poland. :yahoo:

Something for next years Japanese GB....., and yes I have a thing for aircrafts with big missiles under the wings. 

 

/Bosse

See! See! It's not always me who's at fault :lol:

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I bet if I dig hard enough I could find some dirt showing you were involved some how!!  :D

 

5 hours ago, Marlin said:

Great work Rich :thumbsup:

But I blame you for making me order this kit this morning.  :D 

24105_rd.jpg

I manage to get the last example from an online store in Poland. :yahoo:

Something for next years Japanese GB....., and yes I have a thing for aircrafts with big missiles under the wings. 

 

/Bosse

 

good to see Bosse!  :D I would have gotten that one too, but I couldn't find any cheap enough...... but at least I can add 4 big rocket thingy's to mine! :thumbsup:

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8 hours ago, Marlin said:

Great work Rich :thumbsup:

But I blame you for making me order this kit this morning.  :D 

24105_rd.jpg

I manage to get the last example from an online store in Poland. :yahoo:

Something for next years Japanese GB....., and yes I have a thing for aircrafts with big missiles under the wings. 

 

/Bosse

 

More lovely F-2s to the show.  :wub:

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2 hours ago, Miko said:

It all looks kinda familiar but 'huge' my eye sight is suggesting I should move to 1/48, your build is convincing me maybe I should!

 

That's one of the reasons why I moved on up to 1/48th and bigger, easier to work on......... plus way more space to add AM stuff to!  :D

 

Though for some strange reason all the AM stuff also becomes smaller! :blink:

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ok I guess I’d better update this build before I finish it!! :D

 

I have been slow to update as I’ve been doing small bits at night, no more long building days/weeks for me!!

 

Right lots done, the intake was a wee bit of a pain fit wise, the inside trunk and the outer fuselage didn’t want to play together so I ended up with a noticeable lip when I fitted the intake lip!  The rest of the inside joins weren’t too bad.

 

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I also fitted the 2 bits of the intake trunk together before fitting it to the fuselage… not the way the instructions wanted you to do. This was to help with the join between the two sections.

 

The main wheel well needed some persuasion to fit/sit nicely…. nothing a bit of good old fashion bondage wouldn’t fix!  :analintruder:   :whip:

 

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There are no decals for the cockpit panels, so painting was the go here, came out ok too. The bang seat is very plain and there are no seatbelts o I plan to use the pilot (say hi to Hiro :pilot:  ) and have the canopy closed….. a first for me for quite sometime!

 

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It actually looks quite nice with Hiro and the canopy closed…. and quite different to a F-16!

 

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I’m playing it safe too, Just one wee weight and set back a bit…..test fits showed there is no worries about her being a tail-sitter.

 

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Right closing up the fuselage was fun!!! It took a bit of work, especially at the tail where the two rubber gromets for the elevators go, it just didn’t want to close up without some serious bondage happening!! Can’t post photos of that as this is a family website!!! :yikes:

 

Once that was done the wings and rudder were fitted.

 

A wee bit of filler was required here and there, but I’m pretty happy with all the joins, so nicely done Hasegawa and “Betty the Bondage Mistress”.

 

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Looks nice and busy with all those pylons fitted.

 

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…and with her “little”? brother….. it’s a little bit hard to see, but she is slightly longer, it’s in the wings and elevator that the size difference is most noticeable.

 

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Just some tiding up to do and finishing off and closing up the cockpit and she’s ready for painting, that should occur on Sunday with luck.

 

It’s a nice model, just a few wee bits to make you work but still fun to build.

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  • trickyrich changed the title to Mitsubishi F-2A 3rd TFS 60th Ann. Digital Scheme - 10/08 update

nah, I've made that mistake too many times, I normally get that excited that I glue them on then realize what a mistake that was!! :wall:

 

I'm learning to resist the urge! :D

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well I haven’t completely forgotten about this one, just been a bit busy with other builds (Phantom) and work!

 

So not may photos, but quite a bit done.

 

I finished off all the tiding up and completed the cockpit and closed that up. Give he a quick coat of grey (Tamiya XF-20) to check all the joins, which were good, spent quite a bit of time making sure they were.

 

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Even with the grey roughly sprayed on she looks good……the F-16 design was such a good-looking aircraft!!

 

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The usual grey panel/squiggly lines were painted on (no pic is boring) before giving her a coat of MRP’s JSDAF Intermediate Blue MRP-295.

 

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....... pretty blue!

 

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As usual it went on like a dream. I would normally have left her with this one continuous coat (with this paint you can spray the equivalent of multiple coats in one continuous session), but the pre-shaded panel lines are a bit too noticeable in spots. Plus because the rest of the scheme is just decals then it might look odd.

 

  I will also mask off and spray some other parts before the decals go on just to be safe. With luck I should be close to finishing her this weekend!  :thumbsup:

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  • trickyrich changed the title to Mitsubishi F-2A 3rd TFS 60th Ann. Digital Scheme - painting

ok I'm on fire today..... more work done!  :jump_fire:

 

Did the final other bits of colour to the main aircraft itself and she's now finished painting wise!

 

I just need to give her a clear gloss coat and I can start decaling her.

 

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But there is still quite a bit to do, all the extra bit need painting, which is alway the time consuming bit. 

 

I may push the F-4EJ to one side for the moment, have plenty of time for that build and concentrate on this one and see if I can complete her on time. No huge drama if I can't but I will finish her before I start on any other builds or the F-4B build.

 

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  • trickyrich changed the title to Mitsubishi F-2A 3rd TFS 60th Ann. Digital Scheme - main painting completed

Well mixed results is all I can say here………

 

I finished off all the minor bits of painting before giving her a clear coat……. and this is where everything turned to crap sort of!!!

 

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The best clear out there is the MRP stuff, but I’m nearly out of what I have and our only supplier in Australia is hopeless, they’re always out of stock of the popular colours (hint place an order for more!!!). I am trying all the different types trying to find something that works as well. So I had to resort to some of the SMS lacquer clear I have, this stuff is soooo hit an miss! Sometimes it goes on nice, others….. well this was one of those others times…..

 

The base colour had been down for 3 days, so it was fine, but no matter what I tried the clear just wouldn’t go down nice a smooth, it just decided to give a slight “orange peel” finish!!  I had thought of stripping her back again and redoing…….. but I lost interest in that and decided to just press on and just get it done and out of he way.

 

So the DXM decals, after the fun of the clear coat I didn’t have high hopes for this at all!!

 

Gee I was wrong.  These decals, and some were massive actually went on really well. They appeared to be quote thick but actually hunkered down really nicely.

 

I initially used decal softener on them (I had to for the top of the tail, those curves were complex) but as it turned out, it wasn't unnecessary and was actually too hot for the decals.

 

All that was actually needed was some setting solution…. though I reckon you could almost get away without using any of that either.

 

So the test ones…

 

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… they didn’t break (not once for the entire job), they didn’t fold onto themselves and die (unlike others I’ve used), you just needed to take care in smoothing them out and drying them.

 

Plus the all lined you perfectly to each other, the main tail spine pattern is made up of 14 decals, other than a small spot in the centre (they give you extra bits for that) all lined up.

 

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That horrible finish is quite noticeable here!

 

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There are a couple of small spots on the RH wing I need to patch, that’s when I realized the softening solutions was too hot, the decals started to melt!

 

The only annoying thing is that they didn’t supply decals for the canopy, so I’m going to have to try and buy the paint that matches, Gunze Mr Color.

 

Next up all the stencilling and the rest of the markings. I’m sort of hope the final gloss and flat clear coats may hide the current finish, will be using a different lot of clears for that! Actually a flat coat should help blend in the decals and make them look less decal like.

 

She might be finished next weekend….. we’ll see, I won’t be too worried if she doesn’t make it in time.

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  • trickyrich changed the title to Mitsubishi F-2A 3rd TFS 60th Ann. Digital Scheme - main decals on

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