Zero77 Posted October 9, 2017 Author Share Posted October 9, 2017 (edited) 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 October 9, 2017 by Zero77 F`s are my favs and ClumsyDude 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 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 Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted October 9, 2017 Author Share Posted October 9, 2017 (edited) 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 : 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. Edited October 9, 2017 by Zero77 F`s are my favs, ClumsyDude, Uncarina and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantomdriver Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 MR Paint do a Have Glass coating in their range.. KiwiZac 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 Yes, yes, yes ... definitely vary the satin and matte for the zigzags. Of these things is a convincing model made. Too often people ignore the variation in gloss finish across an aircraft. Jim dmthamade 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F`s are my favs Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmthamade Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerculesPA_2 Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 What great Plane. What great job, man!!! Congratulations!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 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. Just for fun, a pictures of the wheels. They are OOB and i think they look very nice. Sorry for the crappy pictures... 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. After the repainting, it was invisible : johncrow, LSP_Kevin, DesTROYer and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 (edited) 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. And on the other side : I also used the same technique to make the fuselage position lights : The result : Here is the model with full masking done. I think i have used about 1km of masking tapes... And the final coat of FS36170. 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). Edited January 20, 2018 by Zero77 F`s are my favs, LSP_Kevin, johncrow and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 Now some pictures of the finished model. I hope the weather will be dry enough tomorrow so i could take some outdoor pictures for the RFI forum. Uncarina, blackbetty, johncrow and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted January 20, 2018 Author Share Posted January 20, 2018 johncrow, Whitey, blackbetty and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Williams Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 Great work, Nicolas! I'm not particularly a fan of this aircraft, but you've done an outstanding job on it. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 Looks wonderful Nick! Glad to see you back posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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