RichieB

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. 

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. 

As I dust off the bench for my next project, a 1/32 F-16C, I thought I would post a few shots of a model I just completed of the Enterprise from Star Trek. I was 10 or so when I saw Star Trek: The Motion Picture and the ship depicted in the film blew my socks off. It was dazzling to me. As I grew older, I began to appreciate even more the thought that went into the design and the craftsmanship of the filming miniature. I've wanted to build a model of the thing for as long as I can remember, and Polar Lights came out with an appropriately large 1/350 scale kit. 
 
I decided to make this my own ship, adding my own details and color palette. The vehicle is fictional and I could care less about canon. I wanted the model to reflect how I think such a huge machine might look, and it seems to me metal cladding of some sort made sense (the world of Trek modeling, I discovered, is obsessed with "what color is the Big E?"). Lighting seemed a no-brainer for this subject. The model uses 50 pico-scale LEDs from an excellent outfit called Evan Designs, all powered by an over-worked 9V battery in the belly of the vehicle. Fiber optics and so forth distribute light here and there, and a rod of light conducting acrylic is used in each engine nacelle for the faint purple glow. I wanted the portholes to be bluish and subdued, with variation from one to the other, and the spot beams a warm shade not unlike those seen on commercial aircraft. Four strobes complete the effect.
 
Anyway, it was a pleasure to build and I am pleased with the results. I also got plenty of experience working with metallics and I am now over my fear of working with these wonderful shades (the 1/32 Tamiya P-51K model I recently built also helped mitigate that fear).  
 

 

 

 
 

Hi All
 
This is the 1/32 Trumpeter F/A-18E super Hornet with a boat load of extras.
 
I used the following aftermarket sets:
Rhino complete resin Intake set Reskit: Exhaust, GBU-31, GBU-54, Fuel Tanks Flying Leathernecks @Dave Roof : Ladder, Wingtip Rails and Antennas - almost a shame to put missiles on those beautiful rails Legend Ejection Seat Phase Hangar Resin Pylons Flight line Resin 3D printed landing gear (The star of the entire model) Eduard AIM-9X, PE sets (for Revell kit) Quickboost ECS Vents DXM, Speedhunter Graphics,  and Furball decals.  
This model almost broke me - This is the closest I have ever come to throwing something against the wall!! The fit was generally so awful that I almost gave up after spending countless hours filling and sanding - only for the damn seamlines to still be visible.. Well, I still kinda like the way it turned out so I thought I would share it with you all anyway 🙂
Its a real shame because the kit is one of the better Trumpeter kits to be honest. The surface detail is nice (no mad rivetter) and pretty accurate as well. 
There are no decals for the VFA-151 Vigilantes so once again I had to ask DN Model custom mask department to help me out and they came through as always.. 
 
Here Goes:
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
The detail on the landing gear is nothing short of amazing...
 

 
Thanks for looking
 
Niels

Hello everyone. 

Here is my latest build, a 1/32 Trumpeter P-47.
This model is nice to build, there are no big mistakes, the rivet lines are present and I didn't notice any pitfalls during construction.
I decided to improve it with AMs for the 8 x .050 guns (Master Model AM-32-115), wheels (Eduard 632088), cockpit (Eduard 32943), seatbelts (Eduard 33215) and propeller (Quickboost 32243).
I chose to represent the P-47 D-22-RE “Lonesome Polecat IV” of Cpt. AHLES, in June 1944 at Raydon Air Base.
Here are the 2 reference photos that helped me, as well as this “superb” color profile...
...which is partly wrong.
I'll let you find the 5 errors, one of which is really huge...
 

 

 

 
 
This P-47 has been painted with the Mr Color Super Metallic 2 paint range, which offers very interesting NMF modulations :
 

 
All markings were made with masks (Silhouette Cameo) :
 

 

 

 

 

 
But also the yellow and black checkerboard on the cowl engine :
 

 

 

 
The "nose art" on the engine cowl was made using a laser printer (many thanks to madame!) and a blank transparent decal sheet :
 

 

 
The link to the WiP :  P-47D Thunderbolt Razorback - TRUMPETER - 1/32 - “Lonesome Polecat IV” - Works in Progress - Large Scale Planes
 
Thanks to Thunnus, alain11 and Tolga ULGUR for their builds, which helped me a lot.
 
And a big “merci” to Juggernut for the help he gave me on the P&W R-2800!
 
And here are the final photos of this Jug :
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I hope you enjoyed this build and look forward to your comments and feedback !  
Denis
 
 

Stunning builds, weathering is spot-on. Really well done!

AH-1Z Shark Mouth Academy 1:35
This helicopter model might surprise you. It’s one of those kits that you don’t expect much from, but it turns out to be a pleasant surprise. It’s quite affordable, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad model.
In Poland, we have a saying that if something is cheap, it can’t be good—but this model proves otherwise. It’s both inexpensive and well-made. The fit is excellent, so you won’t have any issues during assembly, and it’s also quite accurate in terms of details.
In short, I highly recommend it!
 

Model: F-14B Tomcat, Jolly Rogers
Scale: 1/32
Manufacturer: Tamiya
Paints: Mission Models, AMMO, Vallejo, Tamiya
Weathering: AMMO Wash, AK Wash, AMMO Oilbrusher, Flory Models
Afermarket: Red Fox Cockpit, Quickboost GRU-7 Seats, F-14B/D Exhaust Nozzles Aires, Eduard Brassin AIM-54C Phoenix, Teknics F-14B/D Conversion Set, RBF Tags Eduard, wheels from Wheeliant.
 
This is a kit I have purchased some 15 years ago as a second hand. When we met with the seller (yes people used to meet face to face back then ) we both talked about how this kit was a dream of ours during our teens as students. I still remember in the early to mid 1990's eyeing the kit at our local hobby store and hoping one day I will own and build one. Well the previous owner changed hobbies (hence the sale to me) and despite me starting pretty much at the same time, the kit took more than a decade to get done with multiple years of inactivity and moving around the shelves and closets of doom. Finally it was time this year to bite the bullet and finish the big cat. 
 
The aircraft is a generic F-14B so for those that have the names of the crews and serial numbers memorized I apologize, the crew names are from an A version of the Jolly Rogers and do not correspond to this serial number. Considering the kit is early 1980's with the kit re-released in 1990's (this was the 1994 rebox)Tamiya did the front section with recessed panel lines and the rest of the fuselage with raised so this was re-scribed and rivet/fastener detail added. All in all the fit of the kit is solid to be honest for this old of a kit. All of the markings are painted using masks and stencils (yes the no step signs are painted) with exception of some stencils and the mentioned crew names. 
 
It was really a fun build although taking me so long and taking multi-year brakes,  the F-14 is one of my favorite aircraft. Now I have some more kits that started nearly a decade back to finish. I tried to replicate the Tomcat weathering as inspired by the various masters here at the forum especially chuck540z3 whose F-14 that was kicked up a notch back in the haydays of Aircraft Resource Center was a stellar example of salt weathering that I never had the guts to try. The weathering on this one is various washes and oils and airbrushed touch ups etc.
 
Apologies for the background clutter in the photos, the finished cat is so big it does not fit my usual photo setup. 
 
Wishing everyone wonderful time enjoying our great hobby. 
 
 
 

Let's deal with each of these problems in turn:
 
Problem #1) Width of the bottom is wider than the top by about 3 mm.
My solution #1) I decided to make the bottom of the intakes narrower.  Making the top wider would make the front pointy parts of the intake wider than the matching part of the upper lip, so that's out.  I cut a V out of the bottom of the intake, about half way to where the internal duct part attaches, since I didn't want to mess up that interface.  At the base of the V, I cut a cross slot to provide relief for the plastic that pivots aft as I pinch the side walls inwards.  
 

 
Problem #2: The sides aren't parallel to the bottom
My solution #2: I just used good old fashioned brute force with some pliers to bend the side walls to be perpendicular to the bottom.  I did this gradually, checking with a square periodically, but otherwise there's nothing fancy here.  
 
Problem #3: Corners are too square.  The front face of the bottom lip is also too square.
My solution #3:  I took care of most of this with just a file.   The inner corner is trickier.  I glued in a block of sheet plastic, used a Dremel to rough in a concave curve, then went in with files to finish shaping the curve.  A generous amount of putty blends it all in, especially aft to the inner duct part.  
 
   Here's what things look like afterwards:

 

Su-25 Frogfoot, Trumpeter 1:32
This time, it’s a model in desert camouflage — an attempt to try something different from the typical gray-on-gray scheme. The model itself is quite challenging to build, requiring a lot of time and patience. In my opinion, it’s the most difficult Trumpeter kit to complete in this scale.
 

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!).

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!).

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.

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!).

Thanks Chuck, much appreciated.

My favorite paint that I use all the time is MRP, so you're good to go with that one for sure.  Again, the key is to get the clear surface wet, but not pooling.
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Looks really nice Richie.  To smooth out the X-22 a bit more, spray a coat of 100% Tamiya Lacquer Thinner (yellow cap) on top of the X-22.  You want it wet, but not pooling, then move the airbrush on to the next section.  The thinner "melts" the X-22 a bit, letting it settle down a bit more, which I do every time I spray X-22 as a "flash coat".  One caution though:  Make sure your airbrush is really clean, because the thinner will dissolve contaminants within the brush and blow them all over your model.  Don't ask me how I know!  😒  Make sure everything you spray has a coat of X-22 on it.  I notice that the exhaust nozzles are on and if they aren't sealed, I would avoid them.
 
Cheers,
Chuck

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.

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.

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!).

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!).

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!).

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!).

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!).

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.