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F-35A


Zero77

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Thanks Jim !

 

I spent hours this weekend searching for color references. The Italeri instructions call for FS36170 for the main color, and FS36375 for the stealth zig-zag panels. But 36375 is not possible as according to the Mil Spec it's the color of the markings and letterings, which are obviously way lighter.

I have the Furball decal set (and i'm going to use it !) and they call for FS36170 as the main color and FS36270 for the zig-zag. I have both colors from Mr Paint (MRP). The 36170 looks pretty good with a nice brownish hue, though i dont think it really matches what i see on the full scale pictures, but i think i'm going to use it (the color is very changing regarding the color of the sky, the light, and so on). However for the lighter grey (zigzag), the FS36270 doesn't seem to be a good match. In fact on many photographs, the main color looks rather FS36270 (more bluish-violetish) than FS36170. But i think it's because of the blue sky reflection as i also have a picture of a F-35 in a hangar and it definitely looks more brownish. That's why i think i will go for the MRP 36170.

And for the lighter grey, i will use a mix of FS36170 and 36375 to get it lighter but keep about the same tint.

 

For the metallic sheen, i have the Mr Paint "have glass" varnish, which is a mat varnish with metallic particles. I tried it yesterday and it looks pretty good.

 

I made a few tries, i can post the result if you want.

 

 

Those who say that grey is boring are wrong ! Grey is the most difficult color to catch with accuracy !

Edited by Zero77
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I agree, all over grey is very very hard to do convincingly. The less variation there is in the base colour, the less distraction from what they eye expects to see.

 

I am watching with intense interest to see how you go with the have glass finish. No need to post interim pics, but I'll be waiting with interest to see when you get some on the model.

 

Cheers

Jim

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In my opinion, the have glass 5th generation finish is not the most difficult to do as the metallic sheen is very slight, actually almost invisible.

But the first generations on the F-16s were very metallic looking and catched a lot of dirt and worn pretty fast, so you just get a heavy weathering with a heavy metallic sheen. I want to paint a F-16 this way someday, but i know it wont be easy !

Here is an example :

IMG_7172.jpg

20748377746_31236af6fa_b.jpg

 

Compared to this, the F-35 looks like it's just painted with a standard satin paint, but the color is very changing from a picture to another. I also noticed that the zig-zags look matt.

f-35a-en-vol.jpg

f35ant.jpg

Edited by Zero77
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Cockpit - Awesome! Gluing of the wings - perfect, but the surfacer coud eventually leave some deeper traces along the seamlines, although it looks mirror flash at this point. Paint finish - definitely this plane offers a wonderful game of glossy and matte shades.

Beautiful assembly so far! 

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Great seeing a WiP for the F-35!! Everything looks great, and thanks for the heads-up on potential problem areas. I've been doing research on the paint as well, difficult finding pics to nail down the colors. I have the Mission Models FS 36170 paint, will try spraying a test to see if there is any sheen to it. The zigzag colors are going to be a challenge to nail down, looking forward to how you solve that color.

 

Don

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  • 3 months later...

Hello guys !!!

 

It's been a VERY long time i've been off the forum. I've been very busy since last summer, and i had to slow down  building models. I hope i could get back to more in 2018 as 2017 has been a very poor year for me regarding models (2 or 3 builds finished).

 

So let's get back to the F-35A. I've just finished it today, but fortunately i took a few pictures in progress, so i can detail my build a bit more. I must say it was the worst and longest masking job i've ever did. 

 

Here are the first pictures of the masking. It took me hours and hours. I first sprayed a custom mix of the lighter grey (FS36170 + FS36375 from MRP), then a coat of the MRP have glass clear coat, and then a coat of flat varnish. Then masking.

ZhsTTbG.jpg
RT4WDNp.jpg
C5qasb0.jpg
RcI8Ikz.jpg
P5s0nd5.jpg
 
Just for fun, a pictures of the wheels. They are OOB and i think they look very nice. Sorry for the crappy pictures...
knhBT6f.jpg
 
During the masking process, i noticed that on the real aircraft there must be no panel line around the fuselage parts just in front of the intake. And the angled border between the lighter grey and the FS36170 should be a few millimeters forward. So i had to putty this seam and move my masks forward.
FtZJa4q.jpg
09WAEbn.jpg
vihgQCu.jpg
 
After the repainting, it was invisible : 
E7Sp1mR.jpg
aW1dxrr.jpg
 
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I then noticed that the kit was lacking some surface details. There are some raised panels on both sides that are absent, so i had to add them. On the right side those panels are supplied as a decal on the kit decals sheet, but on every pictures i've seen the panels must be painted the same color than the whole aircraft (FS36170). So i used the decal as a template : i used some frisket to transfer the pattern on a piece of masking tape and then used the masking tape as a mask to spray a thick coat of primer. Unfortunately it was a bit too thick, to i had to sand it a bit and it finished a bit uneven. Too bad, it's not very noticeable. :)


qBNcgtV.jpg

MQoDbeD.jpg

DNsu5dH.jpg

tV8BOqL.jpg

 

And on the other side : 

JiXY54Q.jpg

 

I also used the same technique to make the fuselage position lights : 

r5pvWJI.jpg



 

The result : 


o1Qqm7x.jpg

vyacqed.jpg

 

Here is the model with full masking done. I think i have used about 1km of masking tapes... :)



ny6jBbX.jpg

jIyMTnQ.jpg


 

And the final coat of FS36170. 

jW7gGKG.jpg

 


I then sprayed the have glass metallic coat and removed the masking tapes. And noticed billions of touch-ups calling. I thought this build would never end up.... 

Then i could finally start the decals, one of my favourite step. Sorry i did not take any pictures...

As i got a new car for Xmas, i chose a 34th fighter squadron scheme, as it match the car. You can also notice that it is almost the same color, too. :)

I'm just in love with that car, it's always a great pleasure to drive it.

I also had enough reference pictures of the 34FS so it helped a lot for the small details and color matching (some seem to be painted slightly differently from a squadron to another).

fJhTDqg.jpg

PwMctDk.jpg



Edited by Zero77
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