Hunting in the East China Sea - Kinetic F-16B & Hasegawa F-2A - 1/48

[exdraken]

All the possibly best  whatever this exactly means!

Strength to your whole family and mother !!

[81-er]

That's incredibly sad news, Bosse, my sympathies to all of your family at this difficult time.

 

James

[desert falcon]

Very sorry to hear such sad news about your mother Bosse, may you and your family find the strenght to do what ever is best for her! 

[Marlin]

Hi All, and thank you for your support.  
I think that I've now has come to terms with the situation with my mother, and she has expressed her wishes that I and my brothers are not to morn something that has happened yet.

So now I'm back at the worktable and this weekend I started with the decals on my Taiwanese F-16.
096 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I choose to start with the fin.
097 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
The grey sun is split in several parts that wraparound the top of the fin, så I thought that it was best to get one side done first and let it fully set before doing the other side.

098 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
Kinetic decals are useable and they set fine with the help of Micro Sol/Set.

A Taiwanese roundel and Tony the Tiger.
099 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And a sharkmouth.  
100 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And that was all I had time for. 
I guess that I'll be doing decals all week on this one, there are rather a lot of them on this one. 

/Bosse

[Col.]

The decals certainly add a lot of colour to this one  

[stevehnz]

Stunning decals on both those aircraft Bosse, they've come along really well.

Sorry to hear of your mothers illness, it is a horrible thing to go through as I know from experience. She sounds like a brave woman, not wishing to be a burden to you & your brother. My thoughts are with you & your family on this.

Steve.

[Marlin]

Thank a lot Gents. 

@stevehnz   My mother is very brave and she has decided that she will make the most of the time that's left. 

All things are to continue as normal as we can do it. 

/Bosse

 

 

 

 

[81-er]

I think your mother sounds like a very wise lady, as well as one with an enormous amount of strength.

 

Nice progress with the decals as well Bosse.

 

James

[Marlin]

Hi, and thanks James.  

I've continued to work with the decals on my Taiwanese F-16, and have now got the other side almost done. 
101 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And during this I've discovered that the Taiwanese F-16's don't have the characteristic walk lines on the airframe. 
They only have small "No Step - Walk line" stencils. 
20220316_211836 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

When I saw the decal sheets in the box, 2 almost A-4 in size, and one smaller I thought that I would spend weeks putting on stencils on this one, but that's not going to happen. It's quite the reverse, there are very few stencils. 
But the decal sheets give you the option to build three complete aircrafts (minus the Taiwanese roundels). 
So I guess I'll do an A2A loaded Taiwanese F-16A some day in the future.  

To be continued
/Bosse
 

[Marlin]

Hi  

This weekend was I think the first weekend for the Cottage season 2022. 
Last Friday we drove up to the cottage. 

And we've had some uninvited Gardeners visit us since the last time we were here.
A flock of wild boars has munched their way through a small groove of trees that separate my lot from the neighbours.
103 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
104 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
Thankfully they hadn't made any big mess, but I got some hour of gardening to do during the upcoming Easter Holiday.

And during one of the storms this winter the top of a sprue tree has fallen on the roof.
105 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
106 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
Thankfully the damage is minimal, only a gable board will have to be replaced, so it could have been worse.

The sunsets are very  beautiful this time of the year.
107 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Friday dinner was all kind of finger foods we could think of. 
108 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

On Saturday we had the most lovely weather. 
109 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And after we've set the patio furniture in place and brushed all old leaves and pine needles from the patio we sat down and celebrated the return of Spring with a glass of Prosecco.
110 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
And it was rather nice to be able to enjoy the Spring sun from the patio. 

On Saturday we feasted on some smoked duck brest with a potato gratin and a small green sallad. 
111 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
It went down with no problems.  

 

And the warm Spring weather woke up the common blue anemons/hepatica from their winter sleep.  
112 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
So with that I guess it's finally Spring in my neck of the world. 🌞

When we got home again I finished off some stencils on my Taiwanese F-16
113 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
114 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
115 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
116 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
I still have a few to place on the canopy, flaps, slats, stabilators and the ejection seats. 

And the Japanese F-2 has got it's main undercarriage in place. 
117 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

To be continued
/Bosse
 

[Wings unlevel]

Spring bring the sprouting of flowers…and undercarriage legs…!

[Marlin]

Hi.  

I've done some more work on my Taiwanese F-16
The ALQ-184 ECM pod has gotten some stencils. 
118 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
Unfortunately didn't Kinetic provide any stencils, so I've used some un-readable left over stencil just to busy it up.  

And since it's spring the cottage season have already started.
Our Lavender bed got a new solar cell lamp.
119 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
It looked so great there that I'll buy a second one later this week. 

And since we didn't have any kids with us we could sin a bit. 
120 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Saturday offered a lovely spring weather. 
121 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And when the sun shines, the house rules says it's time for a BBQ.
122 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

We hadn't planned to BBQ, but Anne found some rib-eye burgers in the freezer.
123 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And half a bag of fries and burger buns as well.
124 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
So we got a burger plate for dinner on Saturday.

And speaking of BBQ's
I've upgraded my equipment. 
I got a Weber 57cm at a to good to miss price at my local supermarket. 
Sometimes my current Weber 47cm is a bit too small, so now I'll use both BBQ's depending on what to grill and for how many.
125 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

The 57cm variant has so many more nice accessories than the 47cm. 
I got the rotisserie for this one right away.
126 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
127 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
I'll try the rotisserie out on Good Friday with a whole chicken.  

And speaking of meat on a rotisserie, some roe deers visitied us.
A roe deer steak on the rotisserie would be nice.  

And yesterday when I celebrated my birthday, I got some nice presents from the family. 
A new tin of Danish cookies.  
129 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And a new tin of; Svenskdjävlar (=Swedish Devils), which is the world saltiest Salt Licorice.
130 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
Eat two at once and I promise you you'll feel your heart race.  
And three your on your way to the Emergency.

 

I didn't get any plastic this year, but the largest present will I get the coming week. 
I've deceided after more than 40 years of brush painting to finally get that air brush. 
So when I receive my tax return later this week I'll buy myself a Grex pistol grip airbrush and a compressor.  

And since it was my birthday I treated the family on Döners (Kebabs)
131 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
Our local pizzeria do them in grown up sizes.

Okay, I've also did some modelling yesterday. 
I've started to detail paint the F-16, first black around the cockpit. 
132 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And some walkways, in for of decals, on all flying surfaces. 
133 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I've also had some strips on the fin to do. 
134 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

To be continued.....
/Bosse 

[Wings unlevel]

4 hours ago, Marlin said:

And a new tin of; Svenskdjävlar (=Swedish Devils), which is the world saltiest Salt Licorice

These I have to try!

 

Your F-16 is looking pretty tasty too!

[Marlin]

39 minutes ago, Wings unlevel said:

These I have to try!

 

Your F-16 is looking pretty tasty too!

Thanks

Swedish Devil/sweethearts are available from here.  https://www.lakrits.com/product/svenskjavlar/

Last year they did a special version seasoned with strawberries and  25% Caroline Reaper Chili, I still got 75% left of that tin. 

Talk about pain eating them. 

 

They are available in a small bag; https://www.lakrits.com/product/bottom-blazter/ 

The name says it all.

 

Enjoy. 

 

/Bosse

[Marlin]

Hi again.  

I had some stencils left to do on the Taiwanese F-16. 
A bunch of "No Push" stencils on the exhaust petals. 
135 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Two minute black & red on each petal.
url=https://www.flickr.com/gp/156426495@N05/9e0WQw][/url]136 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And that took two evenings to do. 
137 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
138 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

Time consuming, and not very funny to do, but I'm pleased with the result. 
And with this done I think I've now done 99% of all stencils. 

And as can be seen I've got some touch-up painting to do, before I get to the final assembly. 
And speaking of that I found some new paint brushes from Da Vinci for this work. 
139 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
140 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
They're available in 5/0, 10/0, 15/0 and 20/0. 
I bought a few 15/0.

 

I bought mine at a Swedish Art Store: https://kreatima.com/sv-se/produkter/da-vinci-retusch-micro-n-15-0-596334

But they can also be found on Amazon, such as this set with one in each size. https://www.amazon.com/Vinci-Watercolor-4270-Brush-Black/dp/B07KVK87W3

 

To be continued.....
/Bosse

[Col.]

Good progress again Bosse. Those are some fine brushes you've found as well  

[Marlin]

Thanks Col.  

I tried out the brush on the F-16 yesterday and painting the bird slicer antennas free handed was very easy. 

They will help me alot when it comes to painting canopies and instrument panels. 

/Bosse

[desert falcon]

Grattis på födelsedagen Bosse, even if it’s a bit late 🇸🇪 

 

You are making good progress 👍
 

I’m using Da Vinci brushes as well, good value for the money I think. It’s like with any other brushes, treat them well and they will last longer. Mine are a couple of years old now and still doing a good job. If you come to Germany in the future, they are widely available in most stores selling artistic stuff and stationery  

[Marlin]

Vielen Dank Desert Falcon.  

We're actually planning on returning to Otterndorf on the Elbe near Cuxhaven next summer. 🇩🇪 
We've been there two time before and we like the place.
So I'll keep an eye open for arts and crafts stores then. 
I think I saw one in the Waterfront Mall in Bremen. 

This weekend winter hit the Stockholm area with a vengeance, and I've just shifted to summer tires on the car so we decided that it wasn't safe to drive to the cottage this weekend. 

And when I stay at home I could more or less build my kits all weekend. 
I've put the 15/0 paint brush to good use this weekend. 

I've painted the brake disc black on both the F-16 and the F-2. 
20220410_124142 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
This is the first time I've managed to do this. 

Another first is the black canopy seal on the F-16 that I managed to do freehanded with the 15/0 brush. 
20220410_151348 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
All done (as can be seen) without masks. 

The F-2 has gotten it's exhaust.
20220410_152346 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And the front gear and some hydraulic arms as well. 
20220410_171107 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
20220410_171113 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

And I've done the same for the F-16.
20220410_140721 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr 
I also painted the hydraulics arms with a chrome pen, so they are nice and shiny. 

But I discovered that I'd totally forgot the battery box and the pressure tank in the wheel well on the F-16. 
So it'll take a day or two to fix that before I can proceed with the F-16.
But I think I can see the finishing line at the horizon now. 

To be continued.....
/Bosse
 

[Marlin]

Hi Guys,  

Not so much of a real update, but I thought I'd share some information with you. 

I've now after more than 40 years of brush painting finally taken the decision of upgrading to an airbrush. 
I've been pondering this question for more than 10 years, and come to the conclusion that it's now or never.

So I bought a Grex Tritium TG3 with a 0,3mm needle, a conversion kit to 0,2mm needle, a quick release coupling and a Sparmax compressor with a 2,5 liter air tank.
245 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
246 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr
244 by Bosse Persson, on Flickr

I received it yesterday so I haven't tested it yet, and I'm still waiting for some cleaning accessories to arrive.
But after the Easter holiday I'll give it a try. 
It will not be used on my current Taiwanese F-16 and Japanese F-2.
But after we've had our flat renovated I'll try it out on something new.
And the down time I'll have the rest of this year will be spent practicing thinning paint and learn how to use this new tool.

To be continued.....
/Bosse 

[Col.]

With the new airbrush set-up I can see some silver and natural metal finished aircraft in your future Bosse  

[Marlin]

Thanks @Col., perhaps in the future.   

I got a rough road map planned how to getting started with the airbrush. 

Next year Sweden celebrates 500 year as an independent nation; my youngest son and I are going to have an Group Build of our own and only build Swedish Aircraft for a full year. 

The first one will be a Spitfire PR Mk XIX  (S31) in RAF PRU Blue,  (= 1 colour)

the second one a two tone grey J35 Draken, (= 2 colours)

and then perhaps a CASA of the Swedish Coast Guard as the third one. (= 3 colours)

And for the second half of 2023 I got a build planned consisting of Two Viggen's in the famous slinter camouflage, one AJ37 and one JA37 which in 1987 escorted a damaged SR-71 Blackbird out of Swedish Territory. I'll build the Blackbird as well. 

/Bosse

[81-er]

I'm liking your plan, Bosse, and particularly the Spitfire in Swedish markings.

 

James

[Marlin]

Thanks James.  

I'm really looking forward to start using the airbrush, and who don't like a Spitfire.

 

/Bosse

 

[exdraken]

nice update here! (in respect to equipment upgrade!)

 

I do not know anything about the exact stuff you bought, but definitely grat to see you wanna learn new techiques!

 

regarding the Blackbird intercepting Viggens: I newer new it was a JA and an AJ doing the escort! looks like that simply was what was available on the flight line...   (I guess the SK.60s were not considered )