RichieB
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F-18E Super, War Party
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1/32 F-16C 'Flogger' - In flight and lit up
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Trumpeter 1/32 Harrier GR7
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make and paint ejection handle easily
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TA-7C Hellenic Air Force
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1/32 F-16C 'Flogger' - In flight and lit up
RichieB replied to RichieB's topic in Ready for Inspection
Many thanks Gents, this place is great for advice and inspiration. 👍🏼 -
RichieB reacted to a post in a topic:
1/32 F-16C 'Flogger' - In flight and lit up
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RichieB reacted to a post in a topic:
1/32 F-16C 'Flogger' - In flight and lit up
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RichieB reacted to a post in a topic:
1/32 F-16C 'Flogger' - In flight and lit up
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RichieB reacted to a post in a topic:
1/32 F-16C 'Flogger' - In flight and lit up
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RichieB reacted to a post in a topic:
1/32 F-16C 'Flogger' - In flight and lit up
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Many thanks Gents, this place is great for inspiration.
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More photos at the link to the Ready for Inspection section below.
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This is the the Thunderbirds version of the well-regarded Tamiya kit as it is the closest to the 'Flogger' version of the 64AGRS Aggressor Squadron F-16C that I wanted to emulate. The kit itself is excellent with good fit, detail and design, makes a really nice change from some of the other efforts out there. My aim this time was to generate a more realistic paint and weathering combo as these birds are relatively well kept, and to add some lighting of course! Anyway, on with the photos.. Some close-up detail. The ECM pods are fixed by small magnets and removable. The intake took a while to get right but looks ok now. The wingtip pylons are from Kopecky (lovely detail) and the ALQ-188 is Aires (weirdly a noticeably different size to the Wolfpack version). The weathering was kept fairly subdued using colours that closely matched the originals but provided enough difference for scale effect. The paints are MRP (love these) and the decals by Afterburner. This jet didn't seem to have a black nose but it looks so much cooler with one so artistic license prevailed! The exhaust and Winders are from ResKit and are a really nice substitute for the Tamiya parts. The static dischargers are by Master and the lovely ACMI pods by Bandit Resin. The visor cover is actually a photocopied picture then reduced to size. And yes, the lights still worked - always a nervy moment when you finally connect it all up! I'm still perfecting the afterburner effect but I think this is my best effort yet. Cockpit lighting also came out ok though as its a closed cockpit it only really works from certain angles. Many thanks to everyone who stayed the course and commented on the build - always welcome. Link below if interested. Til next time!
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And...she's done! Weathering was kept fairly light using panel line washes that were close to the original colours, oils for some colour variation and streaking, and some added grime for typically dirty areas. The fuel tanks and weapons are detachable so I'll add them in the finished section pics. I'm quite pleased with the final results which tried to adopt a 'realistic' approach rather than accentuate every panel line as these aren't really dirty aircraft. I also really liked the Tamiya kit, fits well, goes together easily (even with my additional lighting changes) and has impressive detail up front. This colour scheme is also great and I'm glad to finally have it in the (slowly growing) collection now. The lighting still works - which is always an endgame relief! I'm still working on achieving a realistic afterburner effect but this one is the best so far. If you've stayed the distance with me on this one then thank you for your patience! Hope you like the final product. More to follow in the Finished section idc.
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Thanks Chuck, much appreciated.
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That's great advice thanks Chuck, will give that a go! Does it matter if the underlying paints are MRP ie lacquer also?
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Decals As predicted, the decals (by Afterburner) went down well and were relatively few in number. I had to spend some time separating out the No Step and Walkway ones from the line decals as I'd already painted those on. I did note that the decal lines are slightly thinner than the 1mm width of the painted ones but no great issue. The only slight issue is that the Tamiya Thunderbirds kit has no decals for the tanks or stores as they aren't relevant for that version. Although Eduard provide lots of decals for the winders I'll have to source the fuel tank ones from elsewhere and add them later. Once the decaling was all done I resealed them with another Tamiya X-22 Gloss coat. I'm not entirely convinced whether the Tamiya paint is the best choice or whether my technique needs improving but I can never get a glass-like finish. Still, good enough. Next stage is weathering (without turning it into derelict disowned by its maintainers!).
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Overspray and Gloss Varnish Having added all the tonal variation I then needed to tone it down as Aggressor aircraft are usually kept in fairly good condition. The aim is to make it interesting but realistic bearing in mind the effects of scale. I used the base colour to smooth the tones then masked off and sprayed the black walkways using 1mm masking tape strips as a guide for thickness. Have to say this was my first go at this as I usually use decals, but in this scale it's probably worthwhile painting them on. I used Tamiya X22 Gloss varnish heavily thinned and it seemed to go down OK. I never seem to get the mirror finish that I've seen on other models displayed here on LSP, maybe I need more coats. The grey leading edges which were masked off previously came out ok which was a relief. The gloss tends to reflect a lot of light and makes photography of the colour variations difficult but hopefully this photo proves they are still there, only more subtle than before. Actually, you may just have to trust me on this one! You'll notice I managed to break the aerial off - something else to fix later. I've also gone for a black nosed aircraft. Not strictly in keeping with this particular airframe but I couldn't find the right decal set for that one. I just like the look of this more than the grey nosed versions. Ok,next up - its Decal time! Luckily aggressor aircraft are not festooned with them so hopefully this will be less time consuming than the F-4 I did previously.
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Post Shading I've added the green base colour in the same manner as the two browns and then used a different darker green to add some tonal variation. Using the panel lines as guides I added some more defined tonal areas where panels were often removed. The aim is to slightly 'overdo' the colouring as it will be toned down with a base coat later. At this point I'm not too worried about any particular pattern other than the specific panels I wish to highlight, variety being the name of the game. Certain areas gather more dirt than others so they got a little more treatment. You can also see the brass replacement light housing on the front of the fin that I previously managed to break off. I'm not trying to follow all panel lines religiously as this can be a little unrealistic and too 'uniform' as a method of weathering. So far I'm happy with the result which I will tone down with thinned base colour to get the desired 'used' look but hopefully with subtle tonal depth. Hopefully success at this stage means I can go easier at the weathering stage.
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Awesome!
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Thanks Madhatter, I wasn't sure until I tried but as long as the LED is directly behind then it is bright enough, Nano size (1 mm) should be sufficient. I had to add MFD decals as the Quinta ones were blank. The other instruments are lit from an LED above but its hidden in the HUD. I presume if you backlit those, the instruments would show up in a similar fashion but worth checking. I used Mig AMMO ultra to secure the fibre optics but Tamiya should work just as well.
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Camo Base Layer Quick progress report, first the 'Ooops' moment. Whilst moving the model on the workbench I hadn't realised how close it was to the edge until it barrel rolled off towards the floor. Luckily I have the reactions of a leopard and caught it before it hit the floor. Unfortunately I also have the dexterity of a Leopard and in stopping its earthly plummet I managed to smash it into the side of the desk. Luckily(!) nothing serious broke but casualties included several small items like the wing RHWR antenna, and those along the top of the spine. And there was me thinking that I'd be more careful this time when I stuck them on. Anyway, suffice to say that the fin aerial will be repaired later and the one on the spine will be replaced with some spare brass parts. Having filled the swear jar up at least I've managed to get two colours down. The tan was sprayed free hand and I used bluetack to help provide a neater line for the brown. I'm sort of doing it as I go, with the Green being fully bluetacked, it mostly works but some areas will need careful back filling. You can see where I have deliberately not fully covered the area to leave darker background from the black basing. I've also decided to add some other colour spots using a mid-tan/brown inn a pseudo random fashion using a template to break up the single colour theme. It wont stay this bold as my aim is to overspray the whole scheme with the primary colour to blend all the additions back in. The light grey highlights put on after the black basing have sort of worked okay but they are quite subtle and work better on the lighter colours. Might have to redo some of those with a lighter version of the base colour. I'll do the same with the green before adding some more defined colour shading to some panels. Time to dig out the references!
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Pre-shade Well almost. I've long debated the merits of pre-shade over post-shade. Pre-shade over black allows you to build up a darker tonal variation but you need lighter variations to add to the effect. Adding different colours can also help but the overspray of the primary colour needs sufficient coverage to be realistic and that often leads to blotting out the work already done. The other option is post-shading, where you start with a layer of the primary colour then add on top. It requires more additions to get the same effect but as its additive its easier to control. You are likely to need an overspray of primary colour to tone things down but this can be much lighter as you already have the primary colour down. In addition, all real life weathering is in effect post-shade, so can result in a more realistic finish. Being an over-optimistic skeptic I went for both. I'll try and make my mind up as we go. I used light gray (white doesn't cover that well) to show areas where the light would catch the airframe i.e. edges and tops of curves. I then added some streaks in the direction of airflow or water drops, to break up the large black areas. I also painted the leading edges grey then masked. Again, not sure if this is easier to do than painting everything, then masking and spraying grey. I'll let you know! With the pre-shade done, now its time for some real colour!
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F-104G Starfighter, USAF markings, In-flight + parked
RichieB replied to F`s are my favs's topic in Ready for Inspection
Fantastic work, love the finish you achieved. You clearly have far more patience for foiling than I ever will!