F`s are my favs

A little update - the ''Zipper'' needs new ''panel lines''. I checked other WIP builds, several pics of the real plane, and it really needs some ''reorganizations' of the panel lines. Moreover, they are HUGE, so they need thinning. Here is a simple measurement of the thickest lines...
 

 
Half a milimeter in this scale is somewhere over 1 cm, about half an inch, in the real thing, which is impossible. Two adjacent pieces of metal foil is the right way to go (I did some trials), but the ''gap'' underneath needs to be flat beforehand. Therefore...
 

 

 
Now it's drying time, then sanding, and probably a secondary filling/sanding of the panel lines. I'll figure out the locations of the ''new'' panel lines during the gluing of the metal foil, but the advantage of this black filler is that where two foil peaces are adjacent - the tiny little gap will be enhanced by the black color underneath.
 
PS: btw this white triangular white thing underneath is the finished casing of my F-117.   

Thx ALF!
There is no easy/simple procedure that I follow when making the gear... each is different, even the ''mirrored'' MLGs include different rods/materials for the joints and hinges. Every magnet has a slightly different place... It requires a lot of thinking of course, and just a ton of trial and test fits, and small fixes. It's not easy, but I like it. Now, while waiting for the filled panel lines to dry properly on the Starfighter, I just started planning on the F-22's nose gear in 1/48, which is... tiny.
My concern is how to protect the sprayed paint (from masking instead of decals) over the polished metal foil, but I have to figure out ways with the lacquer coats... This NMF technique is a whole new ball game for me, and hontesly, I'm feeling like I'm experiementing with some things and I'm not sure about the outcome. I'm optmisitic though.
 

A little update - the ''Zipper'' needs new ''panel lines''. I checked other WIP builds, several pics of the real plane, and it really needs some ''reorganizations' of the panel lines. Moreover, they are HUGE, so they need thinning. Here is a simple measurement of the thickest lines...
 

 
Half a milimeter in this scale is somewhere over 1 cm, about half an inch, in the real thing, which is impossible. Two adjacent pieces of metal foil is the right way to go (I did some trials), but the ''gap'' underneath needs to be flat beforehand. Therefore...
 

 

 
Now it's drying time, then sanding, and probably a secondary filling/sanding of the panel lines. I'll figure out the locations of the ''new'' panel lines during the gluing of the metal foil, but the advantage of this black filler is that where two foil peaces are adjacent - the tiny little gap will be enhanced by the black color underneath.
 
PS: btw this white triangular white thing underneath is the finished casing of my F-117.   

The storage case and the bombs are aready, so I'm starting the ''parked'' sessions... firstly - just a few nighttime pics with a flashlight:
 
(btw here is the WIP topic, and the in-flight pics)
 

 

 

 

 
I'll take some ''normal'' outdoor pics soon. 

The storage case and the bombs are aready, so I'm starting the ''parked'' sessions... firstly - just a few nighttime pics with a flashlight:
 
(btw here is the WIP topic, and the in-flight pics)
 

 

 

 

 
I'll take some ''normal'' outdoor pics soon. 

nice build, I really like the paint finish

The storage case and the bombs are aready, so I'm starting the ''parked'' sessions... firstly - just a few nighttime pics with a flashlight:
 
(btw here is the WIP topic, and the in-flight pics)
 

 

 

 

 
I'll take some ''normal'' outdoor pics soon. 

A little update - the ''Zipper'' needs new ''panel lines''. I checked other WIP builds, several pics of the real plane, and it really needs some ''reorganizations' of the panel lines. Moreover, they are HUGE, so they need thinning. Here is a simple measurement of the thickest lines...
 

 
Half a milimeter in this scale is somewhere over 1 cm, about half an inch, in the real thing, which is impossible. Two adjacent pieces of metal foil is the right way to go (I did some trials), but the ''gap'' underneath needs to be flat beforehand. Therefore...
 

 

 
Now it's drying time, then sanding, and probably a secondary filling/sanding of the panel lines. I'll figure out the locations of the ''new'' panel lines during the gluing of the metal foil, but the advantage of this black filler is that where two foil peaces are adjacent - the tiny little gap will be enhanced by the black color underneath.
 
PS: btw this white triangular white thing underneath is the finished casing of my F-117.   

Cockpit - done. These are the parts other than the transparent canopy parts:
 

 
The canopy frames are painted from inside, and those ''other parts'' are added:
 

 

 
The resin pilot figure... I had to add the head and the right hand/glove after the gluing of the figure, because it barely entered the cockpit... almost unbelievable.
 

 
And with the canopy parts glued, finally. Note that I updated the seat ejection handles by using the twisting wire method... still not perfect, but times better than before.
 

 
I'm very happy with the silhouette. All the ''seat transformations'' and improvizations worked nicely.  
 

 
And in the open position:
 

 

 

A quick small update: tail activities. I thinned the trailing edge of the fuselage that surrounds the nozzle feathers - here the upper half is thinned, the bottom is not. It's quite a difference:
 

 

 
Then, I glued the two halves and added support struts to keep the afterburner can safely in place. I plan to glue the resin nozzle and afterburner parts, and add them together as a Pièce de résistance at the very end. 
 

 
Also, I added some extra supports (backings) from the inner side from the fuselage side, to hold the tail section better.
 

 

A little update - the ''Zipper'' needs new ''panel lines''. I checked other WIP builds, several pics of the real plane, and it really needs some ''reorganizations' of the panel lines. Moreover, they are HUGE, so they need thinning. Here is a simple measurement of the thickest lines...
 

 
Half a milimeter in this scale is somewhere over 1 cm, about half an inch, in the real thing, which is impossible. Two adjacent pieces of metal foil is the right way to go (I did some trials), but the ''gap'' underneath needs to be flat beforehand. Therefore...
 

 

 
Now it's drying time, then sanding, and probably a secondary filling/sanding of the panel lines. I'll figure out the locations of the ''new'' panel lines during the gluing of the metal foil, but the advantage of this black filler is that where two foil peaces are adjacent - the tiny little gap will be enhanced by the black color underneath.
 
PS: btw this white triangular white thing underneath is the finished casing of my F-117.   

A little update - the ''Zipper'' needs new ''panel lines''. I checked other WIP builds, several pics of the real plane, and it really needs some ''reorganizations' of the panel lines. Moreover, they are HUGE, so they need thinning. Here is a simple measurement of the thickest lines...
 

 
Half a milimeter in this scale is somewhere over 1 cm, about half an inch, in the real thing, which is impossible. Two adjacent pieces of metal foil is the right way to go (I did some trials), but the ''gap'' underneath needs to be flat beforehand. Therefore...
 

 

 
Now it's drying time, then sanding, and probably a secondary filling/sanding of the panel lines. I'll figure out the locations of the ''new'' panel lines during the gluing of the metal foil, but the advantage of this black filler is that where two foil peaces are adjacent - the tiny little gap will be enhanced by the black color underneath.
 
PS: btw this white triangular white thing underneath is the finished casing of my F-117.   

The storage case and the bombs are aready, so I'm starting the ''parked'' sessions... firstly - just a few nighttime pics with a flashlight:
 
(btw here is the WIP topic, and the in-flight pics)
 

 

 

 

 
I'll take some ''normal'' outdoor pics soon. 

A little update - the ''Zipper'' needs new ''panel lines''. I checked other WIP builds, several pics of the real plane, and it really needs some ''reorganizations' of the panel lines. Moreover, they are HUGE, so they need thinning. Here is a simple measurement of the thickest lines...
 

 
Half a milimeter in this scale is somewhere over 1 cm, about half an inch, in the real thing, which is impossible. Two adjacent pieces of metal foil is the right way to go (I did some trials), but the ''gap'' underneath needs to be flat beforehand. Therefore...
 

 

 
Now it's drying time, then sanding, and probably a secondary filling/sanding of the panel lines. I'll figure out the locations of the ''new'' panel lines during the gluing of the metal foil, but the advantage of this black filler is that where two foil peaces are adjacent - the tiny little gap will be enhanced by the black color underneath.
 
PS: btw this white triangular white thing underneath is the finished casing of my F-117.   

A little update - the ''Zipper'' needs new ''panel lines''. I checked other WIP builds, several pics of the real plane, and it really needs some ''reorganizations' of the panel lines. Moreover, they are HUGE, so they need thinning. Here is a simple measurement of the thickest lines...
 

 
Half a milimeter in this scale is somewhere over 1 cm, about half an inch, in the real thing, which is impossible. Two adjacent pieces of metal foil is the right way to go (I did some trials), but the ''gap'' underneath needs to be flat beforehand. Therefore...
 

 

 
Now it's drying time, then sanding, and probably a secondary filling/sanding of the panel lines. I'll figure out the locations of the ''new'' panel lines during the gluing of the metal foil, but the advantage of this black filler is that where two foil peaces are adjacent - the tiny little gap will be enhanced by the black color underneath.
 
PS: btw this white triangular white thing underneath is the finished casing of my F-117.   

Excellent work so far! The landing gears was amazing!
 
Håkan
 

A little update - the ''Zipper'' needs new ''panel lines''. I checked other WIP builds, several pics of the real plane, and it really needs some ''reorganizations' of the panel lines. Moreover, they are HUGE, so they need thinning. Here is a simple measurement of the thickest lines...
 

 
Half a milimeter in this scale is somewhere over 1 cm, about half an inch, in the real thing, which is impossible. Two adjacent pieces of metal foil is the right way to go (I did some trials), but the ''gap'' underneath needs to be flat beforehand. Therefore...
 

 

 
Now it's drying time, then sanding, and probably a secondary filling/sanding of the panel lines. I'll figure out the locations of the ''new'' panel lines during the gluing of the metal foil, but the advantage of this black filler is that where two foil peaces are adjacent - the tiny little gap will be enhanced by the black color underneath.
 
PS: btw this white triangular white thing underneath is the finished casing of my F-117.   

A little update - the ''Zipper'' needs new ''panel lines''. I checked other WIP builds, several pics of the real plane, and it really needs some ''reorganizations' of the panel lines. Moreover, they are HUGE, so they need thinning. Here is a simple measurement of the thickest lines...
 

 
Half a milimeter in this scale is somewhere over 1 cm, about half an inch, in the real thing, which is impossible. Two adjacent pieces of metal foil is the right way to go (I did some trials), but the ''gap'' underneath needs to be flat beforehand. Therefore...
 

 

 
Now it's drying time, then sanding, and probably a secondary filling/sanding of the panel lines. I'll figure out the locations of the ''new'' panel lines during the gluing of the metal foil, but the advantage of this black filler is that where two foil peaces are adjacent - the tiny little gap will be enhanced by the black color underneath.
 
PS: btw this white triangular white thing underneath is the finished casing of my F-117.   

Cockpit - done. These are the parts other than the transparent canopy parts:
 

 
The canopy frames are painted from inside, and those ''other parts'' are added:
 

 

 
The resin pilot figure... I had to add the head and the right hand/glove after the gluing of the figure, because it barely entered the cockpit... almost unbelievable.
 

 
And with the canopy parts glued, finally. Note that I updated the seat ejection handles by using the twisting wire method... still not perfect, but times better than before.
 

 
I'm very happy with the silhouette. All the ''seat transformations'' and improvizations worked nicely.  
 

 
And in the open position:
 

 

 

A quick small update: tail activities. I thinned the trailing edge of the fuselage that surrounds the nozzle feathers - here the upper half is thinned, the bottom is not. It's quite a difference:
 

 

 
Then, I glued the two halves and added support struts to keep the afterburner can safely in place. I plan to glue the resin nozzle and afterburner parts, and add them together as a Pièce de résistance at the very end. 
 

 
Also, I added some extra supports (backings) from the inner side from the fuselage side, to hold the tail section better.
 

 

Happy me - a Raptor and a Super plus some extras arrived right for my birthday, yeah.  I thought I can wait for a 32nd scale Raptor, but... I can't.  
 

 
On to the update - the NLG is ready and the two halves of the fuselage are glued. Yes! I did some mods as well, but first - here are the parts of the NLG, and how it looks assembled (open/close):
 

 

 

 

 
The motion is quite... rudimental... I simplified it even more than the MLG, so I didn't take a video. However, though, I need a joker for something.  While I was double/triple/etc.-checking the instructions upon gluing the fuselage halves, I found out these parts that I can't understand...
 

 
Is the yellow ''thing'' some kind of a cowling? ...like a forward extension of a reconnaissance pod that I assume is for the Italian S version - I didin't see it on any of my referrence pics (I think I'll choose airframe 63-13265 from 58 TFTW), so I didin'd add it, I'm asking just out of curiosity.
 
The red circle - I have no idea what it is. It does not appear on any of the pics whatsoever, and the instructions say ''for versions A/H''?!... I had no idea there was an H version... interesting... 
 
The pink circle - these two holes/provisions are like deep rectangular indentations in the plastic. They are quite deep but are covered with plastic (they are not holes) - What are they? - should there be some kind of a screen/mesh on the top, or are they some kind of intakes/vents, although not looking streamlined? They look too too small for chaff/flare dispensers. I can't find a good closeup pic of the real plane to see.
 
The blue circle - another mystery to me... Here is a pic of the C-version, where I believe I see the same part, but if it is an antenna indeed - it looks way way smaller than the the kit part - is it an ''extendable'' antenna perhaps?
 

 
Then this pic... I think it is of the G-version, where it looks like the same antenna and with the right lenght as the kit part, but... what is this huge white antenna right along the centerline?! I just wonder what is going on....  
 

 
And a pic of the interior of the fuselage right before assembly of the halves - I swaped the engine with the leftover parts from the Nighthawk's engine, cause this OOB J-79 is so much more beautiful and detailed.... and I might really be tempted at one point to make it as a separate display especially with all those cradles in the kit. I also added a few structural struts from stock sprue rods, for addition structural rigidity, as I expect there will be lots of pressing and forcing during the burnishing of the aluminum foil.
 


Next up - ''canopy parts''. Cheers and thx in advance if you can give me some clues on the questionable parts.

I continued with some initial surface preps - pls don't mind the dust and particles alike on some of the pics. The fuselage was ''assembled'' with paper tapes for several years, and there is residue after removing the paper tape... I'll wipe it off during the sanding. So, these are the formation lights on the intake sides. The holes were a bit offside, so I centralized them, and glued the provided transparent pieces, then additional filling with CA glue, and this is after sanding:
 

 

 
And from the tail side:
 

 
So far, I have no idea how I'm gonna proceed with these, regarding the aluminum foil... I guess I'll cover the entire circles, then cut the foil along the diameters... Yet, I'm feeling how I'm gonna cover these circles with clear gloss coat until they get flush with surface, if the thickness of the aluminum foild is more than the raised edges of the lights...
 
Then the gun bay doors are glued, and the little door at the junction of the rear fuselage/tail, on the bottom centerline. 
 

 

 
As far as I know, there will be need for rescribing/adding of new panels, etc., so I just glued these doors for now. Next up - on to the resin afterburner parts:
 

 
I have a small torch with just about the same diameter, so I couldn't resist to check the ''thickness'' of the nozzle feathers in the nighttime...
 

 

 

 
I did all the trials and testfits, and just left this nozzle for dessert.  But the afterburner is ready. The part with the flame holders needed a lot of extra care, while the small PE ring with the six rods was useless... while looking at the instructions, it looked like a support part for the resin flame holder rings, but they have four big pins that make the connection with the can. I kept the PE part for the fuel spray plugs of course. The only thing that can be barely visible between the turbine disk and the flame holders, in the real engine, are the thermocouple plugs, but that's mission impossible in this scale. Actually the thermocouples (PE part) and the rear engine (ball bearing) struts are barely visible, left alone the turbine blades. Another issue was the fit of the torch ignitor (resin part). It was just too long, and should be peeking between the outer and center rings. I did what I could. Not to mention that it's shape is not exactly right, but that wouldn't bother me, as I know almost none of this wil be noticeable after all. The afterburner can/liner is flawless though.
 

 

 

...almost forgot - here is a vid of the retraction  
 
 

The MLG is ready for touchdown... almost.  So, all this:
 

 

 
...transformed into that:
 

 

 

 

 
I think Ive beaten my record for for magnets - 38 for this MLG.  There are 8 on the fuselage halves that stay hidden. This is due to the piano hinges that are impossible to replicate even in this scale. Of course, the movement doesn't even get close to reality, but my point was only to make it functionable. I don't even plan to add wires and stuff in the wheel wells... maybe only the break fluid lines along the main struts... Next up - painting... 

Thx all! 
John, I just found a tutorial about this twisting wires method, and did some initial trials... and didn't like the outcome...
 

 
It just untwists and twists all along, cause the idividual pieces of wire were stored in small reels and there is a lot of ''natural tension'' in each wire... This is after a coat of lacquer. My plan is to try to secure both ends as stretched as possible, then coat them with a 2-componenet epoxy instead of just lacquer... Then I'd like to see how the original handles would look like with just thin decal stripes used as wrapping paper... kinda sounds easier than the twisting method, but right now I'm on some MLG adventures...
 

 
Realism - 0%, yet the goal is just to make them retractable/funcitonal.