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Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk - Tamiya 1/48


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Afternoon all,

 

Well after some very long builds I wanted to do something quite simple, and what could be simpler than Lockheed's hopeless diamond simple triangle! This is the 1998 Tamiya kit which showed it's age in places in terms of fit & detail but still had some impressive moulding and engineering so it went together very quickly - all in all this was a 2 week build, which for me is very impressive - the one before this took 6 months!

 

For those interested, there is a very short WIP thread here:

 

And now the finished build

S39z52N.jpg

 

In hindsight I should've applied more contrast during shading as it's hardly visible now apart from in some areas like the tails. Oh well, something to consider if I build another all black plane...like Revell's upcoming 1/48 SR-71?

 

jlLtiyU.jpg

 

I kept weathering to a minimum as most photos showed the Nighthawks (and this one in particular) were kept quite clean with only minimal staining/fading and some fuel stains

 

bajEa6y.jpg

 

The pronounced edges were highlighted with watercolour pencils as the references showed paint fade in these places

 

46lHWef.jpg

 

The weathering was done with watercolour pencils, pastels and enamel washes.

 

azncU9i.jpg

 

The one bit of colour on the model is hardly visible due to the angle of the tails, but they can still be moved which is good!

 

ptTkt0X.jpg

 

A view I have always loved!

 

x7xhwWT.jpg

 

The underside received some stronger weathering, panel variation and more prominent streaking as seen on the real planes

 

rJbKPTy.jpg

 

Here you can see the colour variation on the exhaust due to heat, and some subtle streaking on the more vertical panels - as on the real thing these aren't very visible head one but can be seen from an angle.

 

jQYhpYT.jpg

 

And here it is in it's place with my other 1/48 builds....now what next?

 

Thanks for looking!

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5 hours ago, exdraken said:

Very nice result!

 

There is some space left... :)

 

Thanks! There is indeed some space left, and a few kits waiting to fill it: Tamiya's 1/48 P-38F/G or 1/32 P-51D, Zoukei-Mura's 1/48 F-4EJ Kai Phantom & Kitty Hawk's 1/35 HH-60 Pave Hawk (which I don't think actually fits in the cabinet). I think I will start the P-38 next because I've seen/read so many good reviews on it, I'm very excited about it!

4 hours ago, Gary Brantley said:

I agree with the above ^^^!  Impressive modeling!  :clap2:

Thanks Gary, glad you like it!

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7 hours ago, 2lefthands said:

Beautiful model!

 

There`s something wrong with your shelf; the Tomcat is supposed to be on the top shelf... ;)

:D As much as I love the Tomcat. it's not my best model so until I build a better one, it stays below your eyeline.

6 hours ago, F-32 said:

Lovely build, great collection

Thanks mate!

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On 14/07/2021 at 16:27, theaa2000 said:

I kept weathering to a minimum as most photos showed the Nighthawks (and this one in particular) were kept quite clean with only minimal staining/fading and some fuel stains

 Wasn't it the case that any dirt inhabited the special coating applied which absorbed Radar transmissions and degraded the aircrafts 'Stealth' capabilities?

i seem to remember President George Bush touching one on a morale boosting tour , maybe First Gulf War ? and the USAF guys having a fit as it then had to be cleaned again by a team of overworked ground crew! 

 

Your model looks lovely ! Menacing and stealthy! I do like the greyish panel lines. Excellent work indeed!  Wish I was allowed to have a pair of display cases lol SWMBOd would have a fit if I did this lol

 

reagrds, Andy

Edited by Col Walter E Kurtz
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1 hour ago, mustang1989 said:

I hear what you're saying about the contrast and all but it doesn't really show in the photos like it would in person. You put this thing together and painted 'er up very well Anirudh.

Thanks mate! The only one I've seen in real life was the very dusty example at the USAF Museum in Ohio, which was also in very low light so it basically looked completely flat black :D I'm happy to have one in the cabinet finally as it's an iconic shape!

35 minutes ago, Col Walter E Kurtz said:

 Wasn't it the case that any dirt inhabited the special coating applied which absorbed Radar transmissions and degraded the aircrafts 'Stealth' capabilities?

i seem to remember President George Bush touching one on a morale boosting tour , maybe First Gulf War ? and the USAF guys having a fit as it then had to be cleaned again by a team of overworked ground crew! 

 

Your model looks lovely ! Menacing and stealthy! I do like the greyish panel lines. Excellent work indeed!  Wish I was allowed to have a pair of display cases lol SWMBOd would have a fit if I did this lol

 

reagrds, Andy

Cheers Andy! I hadn't heard that Bush anecdote, but given what I've heard about F-22/F-35 operating costs I can imagine the coatings are pretty damn fragile! Glad you like the model as well!

 

Well, I'm single so that could be why I actually have 3 cabinets :D - the third one is to the right and is for armour (it has my JP diorama, the Abrams and a PzH 2000). And space for a 4th if I'm particularly productive!

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