kvlazer22

That just made my day! Thanks!
 
-Eric

Simply amazing and congratulations on the book deal!
 
Don't hold out on us too long with the next build!

It has already begun!
 
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=72158
 
Kev

That wheel well is phenomenal, cockpit ain't to shabby either!

Glad to see you back and amazing work!

Absolutely amazing!

Absolutely amazing!

All build pictures relinked and page updated...
 

 
'The End'

I hit it with some very diluted OD and it looks much better.  The muddy boot marks are wet in the pic and will fade when dry. 
 
Thanks for the imput
 
Ron
 

 

 

Thanks,  
 
I am wondering if I am over doing the weathering.  Thoughts?
 
 

 

 

 

Great work on the metal finish.

Thanks again guys for the kind words.  I try to style my WIP threads in a form that I like to read, so hopefully others do as well.  As I mentioned before, please don't take my lack of direct feedback to every post as me ignoring you.  No offense to those who choose to do so in their WIP threads, but I find it clutters up the thread and I do enough of that myself with things like air show pics!  I do, however, try to answer every question, like the ones below.
 
 
 
Thank you Mario.
 
As beautiful as the Flightpath nozzles are, I won't be using them because I think they are just too darn much work and likely extremely fragile, which leaves me with 3 other options.  Two Mikes and GT Resin make a decent resin set, or I can cut down the kit ones to correct the length.  I have the GT set which I will likely use, but I will be adding quite of bit of Eduard PE parts from the F-15E set along with some kit parts, so it will be a bit of a mix.
 
For my photos I use a Nikon D600 which is dedicated for model photography, while I use a Nikon D810 for most of my other photography, like the air show pics I took above.  The lens I use is a Nikkor 60mm Micro (Macro), which has a super tight maximum aperture of f36, which allows me to take pics with good depth of field so that most things are is focus.  One key trick I discovered a few years ago is to use the "HDR" (High Dynamic Range) setting, which exposes the darker areas correctly with one shot, then exposes the lighter areas properly with another shot, then stitches them together into one pic.  Due to long exposure times and the HDR setting, a tripod is a must.  I do some minor post processing with Windows Live Photo Gallery which is free from Microsoft and already installed with Windows 7 and I don't fool around with RAW format because the jpg files are huge already (up to 36 Mb per pic!).  I don't think I lose any meaningful resolution going with Fine jpg's, especially when the pics are ultimately shrunk down to 1024 pixels wide by Photobucket, before you see them here.
 
As for reference photos, there is nothing better than Jake Melampy's Modern Eagle Guide, especially Volume 2 which I am using now.  I used Jake's books for my A-10C and F-4E builds, which provide detailed shots of just about every square inch of the aircraft from a modelers perspective and to me they are a must have before I start a new project.
 
You can buy Jake's books here at Reid Air Publications:
 
http://www.reidairpublishing.com/category-s/1822.htm
 
 
Now some actual modeling.  As beautiful as many builds of this kit are, there always seemed to me to be something missing until it struck me:  There's almost no rivet/fastener detail!  Checking Jake's book, the forward area of the top fuselage has many access panels that are removed during maintenance and many of the fasteners that hold them in place can be seen from 15 feet away, so they should be slightly visible at 1/32 scale.  The panel lines are, for the most part, too wide and many of them are wrong, but I'm going to live with most of them and only change what I think is obvious.  To add fastener detail I used a variety of rivet rulers, a sewing needle in a pin vise and a punch tool, that comes with many different sized punch heads.
 

 
 
Here is my interpretation of what the fastener detail should look like with the following comments:
 
1)  Rivet spacing is only approximate and in most cases, wrong, but better than nothing.
2)  Panel lines aren't very accurate either, but I only changed a few of them as required.
3)  I used a dark wash only on those areas that I changed.
4)  This rivet and panel line detail looks way too obvious and harsh, but that is due to the dark wash and high contrast I selected for my pics.  After painting, everything will tone down and I plan on using almost no weathering washes later.
5)  I have only done the port side to show the contrast of before/after.
6)  The rear of the top fuselage doesn't have many panel lines, other than those in the middle between the engines.
7)  NOTE:  The port and starboard sides are not mirror images of each other, so don't use reference pics of one side for the other.  I made that mistake and had to delete some of my work later!
8)  Most of the rivet marks were made with a 1 mm template, with about 20% of them free-hand.
9)  I placed rivets between rivets on many of the panels that already had them, since they are too far apart.
10)  I don't like using rivet wheels, because I always make a mess.
 
 
Now some "walkaround" pics.....
 
 

 
 
I don't know why Tamiya stuck that panel line on the refueling door, because I don't see it on any close-up pics of same.  They missed a thin one at the front as well.
 
 

 

 
 
I don't know why this panel line is here either.
 
 

 
 
The large panel on the side is raised a bit, but there are no panel lines on the kit part, so I added them, along with another small one along the side.
 
 

 
 
This pic really shows how devoid of detail the kit parts are on the right, other than that small line I started near where the GPS dome goes.
 
 

 
 
When I finish the right side, I'll decide on how much detail I'll add to the bottom.  Probably not all that much, since you are unlikely to see it later.
 
Unfortunately, this will be my last post for awhile, because I am having some reconstructive shoulder surgery next week, which will put my left arm in a sling for 6 weeks.  After a couple of weeks of recovery, I might be able to hold modeling parts with my left hand, but only time will tell.  Until then, I will still be posting here and on the other forums, so if you have any more questions, fire away!
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Very nice work on the engine!! You are right about Chuck Sawyer. He has forgotten more than I will ever know and is happy to share his skills. The decals for the cockpit are indeed tiny but well worth the effort! Keep up the good work.

Thank you, Harv.  My apologies for being late.
 
Thank you, Chuck.  Just another hair-brained idea.
 
Still plugging away, in no particular order.  Tail wheel and prop/spinner.
 

Primed, aluminum, Future, 50% Chromate Green/50% White, Chromate Green.  Scraped edges with a scalpel to show aluminum and 50% coating.  Futured, washed with oil paint.  I forgot the color.  Maybe Burnt Sienna.  Flat coated.
 

Other side.
 

Well well.
 

Tail wheel and strut.
 

Other side.
 

Prop/spinner.  Playing with Black chalk pastels.
 

Same here.  Looks a little thin.
 

Playing with Prismacolor pencils.  Cool Grey at exposed aluminum.  Some locations rubbed with a cotton bud, others not.  Tape is prep for yellow STAY-THE-HELL-OUT-OF-THE-WAY-OF-THE-SPINNING-PROPELLER! tip.
 
Thanks for looking in.
Sincerely,
Mark
 

Thank you, Harv!
 
The Last Of The Many.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apologies for the out of focus.
 
Thank you one and all.
Sincerely,
Mark

Tom, I am on board with your hypothesis on the interior colors.  Here are some photos I have found.  You can't dispute those Alclad stamps!
 

 

Tom, I am on board with your hypothesis on the interior colors.  Here are some photos I have found.  You can't dispute those Alclad stamps!
 

 

Yup - already seen those (and lots more besides) - I don't dispute the natural metal - just trying to confirm for this particular airframe. 
 
I don't disagree with Tom's hypothesis - but categorically applying such findings to every airframe built can be erroneous in my experience...
 
And - yes - having looked, looked and looked again I'm leaning towards natural metal for this airframe too - just been busy on a few other things last week, or two (as those I'm connected with on FB may have noticed!)
 
Iain

Thank you, Mal.
Thank you, Chuck.
Thank you, Geoff.
 
There's not much to show, but it's all CHUCK's FAULT!

I decided to make it open.  I knew the type of chain link used, measured a link in a hardware store (1/2"/12mm), bent thin wire in half, put each end in a vice and twisted to make the chain.  Then I slipped a wire thru the hole end, twisted that, punched a disc, drilled a hole in the disc, slipped the eye into the hole, glued, then trimmed.
 
Thank you one and all.
Sincerely,
Mark

Thank you everyone for your wonderful comments.  I really appreciate you good words.
 
I decided to omit the Future and flat coated everything before assembly.  There was an awful lot of clean-up.  I don't know where all of that fuzz came from.  Maybe my paper painting surface has too much rag content.  I'll have to look into that.
 
Anyway, the Gun Bays cleaned up and flat coated.
 

Starboard Green.
 

Red handle was enhanced with a coat of Future.
 

Still some clean-up to do on the panels I see.
 

Port Red.
 
I'm still plugging away at the cockpit area.  The above took quite a while to clean up.  Cockpit isn't any different in that regard.
 
Thank you for stopping by and your generous comments.
Sincerely,
Mark

thanks guys & thanks for your kind words
 
Tony great to see you back - I feel much happeier with you on my wing & thanks for the drawings
 
 
speaking of wings - todays work added the upper leading edge panels & finishing the leading edge fuel tanks..
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
..it needs matting down and a bit more work on flattening out the surface of the front panel, but getting there a panel at a time..
 
TTFN
Peter

Hey Guys,
 
No real update, other than to say I have made some significant progress recently on the windscreen and canopy, which do not fit very well at all, but I have found some unique solutions that might be helpful to future builds of this kit.  I'm off for a few weeks so I won't have any pics to show until early October.  I almost posted some pics today before things were actually ready, but as I've learned the hard way too many times, NEVER RUSH ANYTHING!  You always pay a price, so I look forward to a careful and measured update in the near future.
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Absolutely amazing!

thank you friends
 
this afternoon here I plumber ................
 

 

 

 

 
will have to make the other side ...................