1/144 Dragon F16

[ErikT]

I haven't built much in the last little while, so this one's been going a little slowly.  I've had this kit in my stash for probably 20 years, so it's about time I got it out to play.  I actually enjoy these little ones, and improving the tiny details is an excellent challenge.

 

 

 

I ordered a couple 3D printed boarding ladders a while ago, so I should be able to make this a pretty good little static model.  I'll be 3D printing a bunch of crew and a pilot, along with some vehicles and as many details I can find for free on the internet.

 

 

A little scribing to get the flaps to relax.  You'd think after dozens and dozens of models, I'd remember to do this step BEFORE attaching the wing pylons.

 

 

Here's the start of the ground crew and some equipment, fresh out of the printer.  Still a little bit to do on the cleanup, and that ordnance lift needs some scratchbuilt lifter arms.

 

 

I'm building this sitting on the tarmac being prepped for flight, so I decided to put engine covers and flags on it.  The flags will be pretty much the last thing that go on, but the engine covers were easily made using green stuff.

 

 

 

I got the 3D printed ejection seat assembled and ready for painting, but I still have a bunch to do on the cockpit.  It's difficult to see here, but I've attached a 3D printed console, and I started getting the sides and back fitted.  Now to scratchbuild a tiny HUD and other things.

 

[Marklo]

Welcome Erik. Great progress already.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Welcome aboard to the build. 

[ErikT]

Been a little busy with work and camping the last few weeks, so it's been slow going with the hobby.  I managed to get some cleanup work done on the little tug, with some of the more prominent printing striations filled and smoothed out with 600-grit sandpaper.

 

 

The ordnance lift got some new arms, and here they are temporarily fit into the machine.

 

 

Ordnance lift almost ready for some paint, with the arms and cradle put together.

 

Edited August 14 by ErikT

[dnl42]

Nice start!

 

I built that kit a few years ago for a former pilot.

[ErikT]

Thanks!  I've always liked the little Dragon kits; they're how I got into model building in the first place.  They make decent little models, but they also have lots of room for improvement and customization, which I enjoy.

[ErikT]

Whew, it's been a busy few weeks; I've barely had any time to just sit and work on this project, so hopefully I can get it done before the deadline.  I managed to get pretty much everything primed, and the painting started.  Here's the ordinance lifter painted and then with a bit of weathering started:

 

 

 

The airfield tug got the same treatment:

 

 

 

Then the aircraft undersides:

 

 

Now for the masking.  Here's for the landing gear bays:

 

 

More masking.

 

 

MORE.  MASKING.  I'm just glad these are so small.  Masking some of my larger models took longer than the rest of the build put together.

 

 

Next up will be painting the uppers, with MORE MASKING.  Then it's just detail painting the cockpit, ground crew, and pilot, then on to the decals.

[ErikT]

Really coming along now.  Got the ejector seat all done up.  Thank goodness for magnifiers.

 

 

Cockpit is painted up with the seat installed, and the HUD glass glued on.

 

 

Now with the canopy installed.  I plan to have it open, so once everything's painted I'll be pulling up the canopy, but everything is so much easier to paint like this.  Just a bit more MASKING.

 

[dnl42]

35 minutes ago, ErikT said:

Really coming along now

Hn, I'm seeing "image not found" (404) in big blue boxen. Images above are fine... I just checked my own postinage library, and it doesn't appear to be them--this time...

[Marklo]

Me too

[ErikT]

Strange, the photos show up on my computer just fine, but they show the 'image not found' when I check it on my phone.  I'll see what I can do.  I'm still learning how to work with Postimages since Imgur doesn't want to play with everyone anymore.  In the meantime, for those who can still see the newest photos, I am in the final throes of masking and painting.

 

 

The masking is off and I just had to do a bit of touch-up here and there.

 

 

Landing gear installed.

 

 

Tonight will be the gloss coat, decals, and cleanup.  I hope to have everything finished by the weekend, but we'll see.

[Parabat]

The work on that missile loader is incredible.

[ErikT]

Thanks!  I just wish I could find the time to do my own photoetch parts.  That'd really elevate the models at this scale.

[ErikT]

Got the decals settled and I've started doing the panel lines and cleanup.  Almost finished!

 

 

The loader needs a bit more cleanup, but it looks pretty good.

 

 

A nice, well-used tug.

 

 

Here's the gang almost finished.  Just weapons and personnel left to do.

 

[ErikT]

Well, I't all pretty much done now.  Here's the last work in progress photo with just a few things left to do.  I'll post up the finished photos in the completed gallery.  Thanks for following along; this one was a lot of fun! 

 

 

 

[Grandboof]

Great result . Love the presentation. 

Martin H

[ErikT]

Thanks!  This was a fun build.