Ralph Posted August 12, 2022 Share Posted August 12, 2022 (edited) Evening all, Not a GB that I was following but having seen it this kit seemed to leap into my hands! Have got Belcher Bits decals, Air Graphics BL755 bombs and (when Hannants comes through) a Master pitot! I'm going to do the overall green scheme as per the attached pic-this is copyrighted and attributed so I think it's OK? I've made a start. I spent a very pleasant hour or so just cutting parts away and gluing them together in the way I would have done when I was 10. Happy days, when the idea of painting a model was totally alien! Have got all the fiddly bits(the stages which often derail a project) done, so hopefully it'll zip along! Painting sub assemblies next...hope to have this done fairly quickly. A word on the kit. This must be what, 30 years old? Easily the best 1/72 F-104 out there, it shows just how far ahead Hasegawa were...it's difficult to see how it could realistically improved upon. The more I look back at some of the 'older' Hasegawa kits, the better I think they are. I am building their EA-6B, and was amazed that this accurate and very well fitting kit complete with engraved lines was tooled in 1979! Getting back to the F-104...this is the 4th I have built, and have enjoyed each one! Edited September 13, 2022 by Ralph 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 Great choice Ralph, and I can totally relate to this 🙂 15 hours ago, Ralph said: Happy days, when the idea of painting a model was totally alien! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted August 13, 2022 Share Posted August 13, 2022 Great choice Ralph. I really like the all-green scheme - it somehow really appeals to me, it's a simple-looking scheme but the green is just right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted August 14, 2022 Author Share Posted August 14, 2022 Small update. Have been spot priming in Tamiya NATO black to check the joins on the fuselage and intakes and to prime the areas such as landing gear etc that are in natural metal. The idea is to get all of the fiddly stuff out of the way. I have also cleaned up the BL755s and pylons...to be fair there was very little to do here and the wings are all done after a quick rundown of the wing tip tanks with a little wet and dry. I have deviated from the instructions in that I have built up the two halves separately. Placing the forward and rear fuselage on a flat surface and applying Tamiya extra thin does wonders for the overall fit. Equally putting on the splitter plates without glue and then placing the intake outers over them and securing them with extra thin glue allows for a very good fit, hopefully as shown by the close up. I will polish these a little with fine wet and dry, but could probably go as is. Next up; ejection seat and cockpit. Plan to use some wine bottle foil to knock up some belts over the perfectly good kit ejector seat, and an aftermarket ejection handle. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted August 14, 2022 Author Share Posted August 14, 2022 Thinking ahead, could anyone recommend; 1) the appropriate colour for a BL755 inert or live 2) a good match for the green used on these Canadisn machines, preferably from the Tamiys or AK interactive ranges? Opinion seems mixed on the Internet...was contemplating going for FS34079 forest green but would welcome any thoughts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted August 15, 2022 Share Posted August 15, 2022 If I do an F-104 these will be the markings I go with, I have the same kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted August 17, 2022 Share Posted August 17, 2022 What's not to like Its a Starfighter !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaceAddict Posted August 20, 2022 Share Posted August 20, 2022 On 8/14/2022 at 5:07 PM, Ralph said: Thinking ahead, could anyone recommend; 1) the appropriate colour for a BL755 inert or live 2) a good match for the green used on these Canadisn machines, preferably from the Tamiys or AK interactive ranges? Opinion seems mixed on the Internet...was contemplating going for FS34079 forest green but would welcome any thoughts! For question 2: You can probably do some mixing and fading to get it looking like you want. The official color according to the 1-GP-12c specification is 503-301 (reference: https://www.ipmscanada.com/1989/01/01/ipms-canada-canadian-colours-guide-1989/) which actually looks a touch more brown than green. However, using the values stated on that IPMS Canada chart (Hue: 30 Sat: 48 Lum: 60 Red: 77 Green: 70 Blue: 51) and inputting them on http://colrd.com/create/color/ we get the hex code #4D4A33. Putting that code into the Hobby Color app and searching for matches you get the following: -AK 3rd gen AFV #11386: 99% -MRP Acrylic #026: 99% -Akan Lacquer #63013: 98% -AK Weathering Paints #3017: 98% -AK Figure Series #3074: 98% -AK AFV Series 4146: 98% -AK 3rd gen AFV #11381: 98% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted August 23, 2022 Author Share Posted August 23, 2022 On 20/08/2022 at 17:28, RaceAddict said: For question 2: You can probably do some mixing and fading to get it looking like you want. The official color according to the 1-GP-12c specification is 503-301 (reference: https://www.ipmscanada.com/1989/01/01/ipms-canada-canadian-colours-guide-1989/) which actually looks a touch more brown than green. However, using the values stated on that IPMS Canada chart (Hue: 30 Sat: 48 Lum: 60 Red: 77 Green: 70 Blue: 51) and inputting them on http://colrd.com/create/color/ we get the hex code #4D4A33. Putting that code into the Hobby Color app and searching for matches you get the following: -AK 3rd gen AFV #11386: 99% -MRP Acrylic #026: 99% -Akan Lacquer #63013: 98% -AK Weathering Paints #3017: 98% -AK Figure Series #3074: 98% -AK AFV Series 4146: 98% -AK 3rd gen AFV #11381: 98% Thanks! I'll look into this At the moment I sm favouring Tamiya xf58 as having that yellowish green apparent in photographs. I understand the paint was mixed in Prestwick and varied between batches, so a good excuse not to be overly pedantic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted August 23, 2022 Author Share Posted August 23, 2022 (edited) Update...having been offline with house repairs etc have now had the opportunity to retire to the study...some progress! I've been doing a lot of the subassemblies, but things are now coming together. Cockpit. Am v.pleased with the IP, especially the radar scope...pity you'll never see it! I have added a milliput back cushion to thd seat and I need to paint both this and the seat cushion shortly. I've also put in some winefoil seat belts. At least now I can get the cockpit bathtub in and get the fuselage joined up. Engine exhaust...again never really to be seen again! Playing around with paints...this is Tamiya xf58 which has a nice yellowish warm hue...am going to look into the suggestions above however. Completed wing with resin bomb pylon... Coming together... ...and a shot of the Airgraphics resin. The undernose RWR fairing was rather overscale and needed some judicious sanding to get it looking right. That's all for tonight! Edited August 25, 2022 by Ralph 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted August 24, 2022 Share Posted August 24, 2022 She's looking good, Ralph James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted August 31, 2022 Author Share Posted August 31, 2022 (edited) Small update...pitot tube done! Rather pleased with this...Master tube sprayed white and a v.thin strip of Tamiya tape wrapped around it. A quick spray of Tamiya red and all good. Feel I've got the candy cane look of the real thing. A bunch more to update later this evening.... Edited August 31, 2022 by Ralph 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted September 1, 2022 Share Posted September 1, 2022 Very nice striping on the pitot, well done!👏 AW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted September 4, 2022 Author Share Posted September 4, 2022 (edited) Moving forward! Finally had some time to get things finished cockpit wise. Ejection seat done; milliput back cushion, wine foil belts and an aftermarket ejection seat handle. Seat bedded into the cockpit. A point to note is that you have to file a chunk off the bottom of the seat for it to fit under the canopy. Finally, the canopy on. Tomorrow night is masking and spraying the main colour. I have been faffing around with various shades of green to try to get that elusive warm green... I've finally hit on a mix of xf81 RAF dark green and Xf67 NATO green which seems to match pretty well to the pictures I have. The real airframes showed marked signs of touch ups which vary in shade so I will do this with neat versions of each colour. More anon! I have also replaced the Airgraphics undernose RWR with the kit one. I finally found a closeup of the real thing and it turns out the kit part is rather more accurate both in size and detail! On a different note, it's just struck me thst the only Canadian aircraft I've ever built was an Airfix F-104 the best part of 40 years ago...where does the time go? Edited September 4, 2022 by Ralph 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted September 9, 2022 Author Share Posted September 9, 2022 (edited) Paint on...my custom mix xf81/xf67 was sprayed on with variations in neat xf 67 on different panels and sections in accordance with pictures. Then it was a exercise on masking for the black areas and fibreglass areas...xf69 Nato black and Xf57 buff respectively. I got the undercarriage on, and a coat of Windsor and Galleria gloss varnish followed. I've also umasked the wheels. Unusually for a starfighter the hubs aren't silver; the nose wheel was white, and the main wheel hubs seem to be gloss black. The tyres were done in xf69 Nato black. You can just about see the tonal variation in the green camo...looks stronger in realised! Decals next; need to find good pics of stencilling for the Bl755s. Edited September 9, 2022 by Ralph 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 Looking very good Ralph. The green looks great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 Small update...am working on the Bl755s. Have masked off and sprayed the yellow band...am debating whether to go decsl or psint for the characteristic 4 white stripes underneath. A lot of masking if the latter! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 Masking off the white stripes to be added to the Bl755s...both tedious and therapeutic in equal measure....oh and wheels on. Just need to add lights and final undercarriage doors on terms of plastic bits. Decals next though! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted September 10, 2022 Author Share Posted September 10, 2022 And masking off and bombs on! Not sure how successful the masking was in actuality....Close enough for jazz, but possibly doesn't stand up to scrutiny up close! Won't see them much anyway... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted September 11, 2022 Share Posted September 11, 2022 Looking very good. Did you spray the Galleria varnish? And if you did, what do you use to thin it down? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 (edited) 38 minutes ago, 81-er said: Looking very good. Did you spray the Galleria varnish? And if you did, what do you use to thin it down? James Thanks! Did indeed spray the varnish- thinned along with Tamiya thinner. Have decided that touch ups and adjustments are needed on the bomb stripes...luckily it's just 2 of them that really need the work. Edited September 11, 2022 by Ralph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted September 11, 2022 Author Share Posted September 11, 2022 Decals on! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted September 12, 2022 Share Posted September 12, 2022 Looking sharp* James *pun very much intended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Posted September 13, 2022 Author Share Posted September 13, 2022 (edited) Final stages...I used Windsor and Galleria Satin varnish because pictures showed a slight sheen to the paint. I am really pleased how the various shades of green came out with the final coat of varnish...a bit too subtle to show up in the pics though. The Hasegawa kit is nothing if not complete...it has a multitude of small clear parts which were painted with various shades of tamiya clear paints and painstakingly added. Didn't lose one... Then onto the fun bit-unmasking for the final reveal! No bleed through thankfully, and suddenly I have a completed Canadian starfighter for the display shelf. Will do more pics for the gallery when the light is better. Really pleased with this one...now to do a Japanese Eiko! Edited September 13, 2022 by Ralph 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
81-er Posted September 13, 2022 Share Posted September 13, 2022 You should be pleased with that, it's a great looking model. I'm looking forward to the gallery pics James 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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