ernestf Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 (edited) Started another Airfix small kit 1/72 A-4B or Q Trial build shows that the fitting of fuselage is not bad. Only option part is the resin ejection seat. Applied a mixture of german grey + Gaia 072 on cockpit area, GSI c156 on the inner wall / structure of air intake and nose wheel well, Modo MX-02 on the inner surface of exhaust, and Modo T-024 on the fans. The resin seat has been filed to fit the height of the cockpit and not exceeding the height of the wall behind the seat. Will have to test fit with the canopy in close position after fuselage combined. For time being, applied german grey as back color and Gaia 072 as highlight. Applied decals on cockpit. Installed both air intake before fuselage combined, and installed the exhaust and air intake inner structure on to the left side of fuselage. Control stick is hand brush with grey, black and white. Installed it into position and ensure it will not block the ejection seat installation in future. Installed some weight (about 5-6g) inside the nose as this kit sure will sit on its tail otherwise. The main landing gear wells have some details while the nose gear well is relatively "empty", added some 0.2mm wire inside. It is time to close the fuselage and the drop tank. Putty and sanding time. Adding the rest of wings and fuselage parts to make it look like a A-4 Overall the seams are manageable. The wings are almost perfectly fitted without filler, however, there is a gap in front of and after cockpit, and another one in front of nose gear well and around the gun holders on both wing roots. Applied some green stuff putty and clean the excessive putty with cotton stick with water. Wait for next steps. Edited July 1, 2023 by ernestf 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 After a few rounds of filling and sanding, re-scribed the panel lines which are missing. Ready for next steps. Filled the air intake and rear exhaust with foam and started paint job from the drop tank and bottom of fuselage, also applied a thin layer of black #1500 primer around seams of fuselage to check. Bottom surface and drop tank / top surface white area is painted in this way in order : - #1500 black primer - Finishers Super Shell White mottling - light yellow mottling - thin layer of Mr Color c308 - thin layer of Gaia 071 light grey Gear wells are covered by c156 There is a thin gap not filled on the IP cover, applied small amount of Finishers green putty and hope to close it soon. Cleaned up the seam on the cockpit cover, repainted and installed windshield. Fit is not bad. Masked the windshield and glued on Masked the rest of the fuselage for the main color add the refueling probe, re-create the temperature probe with 0.3mm cooper wire, and the small fin behind canopy with 0.2mm plastic card. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 Black primer, and pre shading with c156 white and yellow (any yellow) Covered with a thin layer of c315 grey unmasking 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cpoud117 Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 Hi mate, You're in the armor section, you should ask a mod to move you to aircraft 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandsaw Steve Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 Looks great! I always love a Skyhawk but must agree that if you politely ask the mods to move this to the aircraft section it will get much more attention! 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 Noted sorry for my mistake !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted July 1, 2023 Share Posted July 1, 2023 After such a polite Report to ask for it to be moved, how could we not? Keep up the good work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted July 1, 2023 Author Share Posted July 1, 2023 45 minutes ago, Mike said: After such a polite Report to ask for it to be moved, how could we not? Keep up the good work Thank you Mike ! it is fast !!!!! have a good weekend 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted July 8, 2023 Author Share Posted July 8, 2023 masked and add more color on the fuselage - Blue on the vertical wing tip (mr color c375) - Black (actually used German Grey) in front of windshield (Gaia German Grey) - Red on leading edge (mr color UG 12) - Gun metal on exhaust (modo MX-02) Let the paints dry for 48 hours, with 1000 sand paper, clean up some of the paint leak among the masking tape. And decals time starts 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 Progress has been slow for this build in last few months. Preparing the airbrakes, after spraying inner color and external surface color, highlight the edge with red with a water color pen bought from Daiso. Installed the airbrake cover and applied decals, after dry, cut the decals to allow the airbrake to pose in open position Continued with decals Also applied a wash on land gear wells and airbrake well 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted October 22, 2023 Author Share Posted October 22, 2023 Installed airbrake and main landing gear While preparing small parts for paint shop And there was an accident (possibly 2nd time for this kit) when I cut off long and thin part which has two gates connecting to the tree - tailhook in this case, the part was broken into half when I cut the first gate off. It could be due to the material, or the tension somehow being built into the tree / parts during injection process. I am not expert here, just blame guess. Technically, there is a solution for it, and I have tried and it work well : first, cut off the portion of the tree holding the part, and then use two nippers to hold the two gates, finally, cut them off at same time ! Anyway, for the tailhook, I decide not to glue the broken pieces together. I use 0.3mm copper wire to create it. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lloyd Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 Airfix kits can be very prone to parts breaking when cutting from the sprue, I think a combination of thick gates and the strange plastic they use. May I ask how you got the wing decal to settle over the upper wing? Always a challenging part of a Skyhawk build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 1 hour ago, Peter Lloyd said: Airfix kits can be very prone to parts breaking when cutting from the sprue, I think a combination of thick gates and the strange plastic they use. May I ask how you got the wing decal to settle over the upper wing? Always a challenging part of a Skyhawk build. Peter, credit for Airfix on this decals - it is thin and elastic. I just put it on the upper wing surface, position it to the right place. Wait for a while and let it settle, then slowly remove excessive water carefully with cotton stick. Applied a layer of Tamiya Mark Fit Strong and wait for 1/2 day. Then another round. That's it. The "teeth" shape is being well cover by the logo and fit pretty well. I was preparing to use hair dryer to heat up the surface and pen knife to cut some area around the "teeth" to make it fit and prepared to paint somewhere where it crack or damage. It was not necessary in this case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bandsaw Steve Posted October 30, 2023 Share Posted October 30, 2023 Looking like the bee’s knees to me! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted November 7, 2023 Author Share Posted November 7, 2023 Prepared a few more small parts for the paint shop and installed them on the fuselage, it does look nicer with the leading edges ! 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandros Posted November 9, 2023 Share Posted November 9, 2023 Very very nice. Everything came together nicely. Well Done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted November 14, 2023 Author Share Posted November 14, 2023 Gents, thanks for your kind words. Learning and making a bit progress over time. I am getting there - installed all parts of the bottom face of the fuselage including all the landing gear well doors, its support rod, and the missiles. Pending last few parts - injection seat, exhaust port, machine gun x2, and the most important canopy. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted November 26, 2023 Author Share Posted November 26, 2023 Got the resin ejection seat painted and installed 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted January 4 Author Share Posted January 4 Happy new year everyone ! First time I got covid and been sick for a while, back to the work bench after months and did a light wash and weathering 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted January 28 Author Share Posted January 28 Singapore has been on wet weather since mid Dec. And hot day with sun in last couple of days only, canopy has been soak with floor cleaner and let dry for weeks - quickly masked and spray the canopy : Spray with Modo R3 airbrush at 22PSI, primed with Gaia grey primer, outer surface c315 and inner surface matte black. Getting closer to the finish line. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted February 3 Author Share Posted February 3 Installed canopy I need to learn what is the best way to glue it on the right position, right direction, firm, and without glue split on my hand and on the transparent screen !!! One minor step to finish this project. Need to look for a small light for the right gear well cover. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernestf Posted February 4 Author Share Posted February 4 Hi all, thanks for reading and encouragement, here is the last bit of addition to the build. The last step is to make the light on the right landing gear well cover. Found an injection pin associated with the Bandai 1/72 A-Wing, which seems to be a good fit in size. The build is completed. You can find the pictures of the kit here : 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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