MarioS

March 13/20
 
Well I don't know what it's like where you live, but here in Calgary the C-Virus hysteria is at a peak.  Businesses are closed and we are told to stay home and hide under our beds until further notice.     Further, the weather has turned cold again, so what's a guy to do?  How about Model?!  With every sport shut down, I can't think of a better hobby when you're stuck indoors, can you?
 
First Paint, which is my favorite part of modeling.  A first coat of paint will tell you how well you assembled and glued the plastic together, which can sometimes be disappointing.  That's why I go to the effort of using a dark wash during assembly, which reveals flaws before they are painted and are easier to fix.  Luckily, I found only a couple of new ones, which I have already repaired.
 
Before painting, it was time to glue in the extensive Eduard PE brass rear flaps, which I had left off to avoid damaging the delicate detail within.  The fit is excellent, but I still had to sand off some of the brass at the rear to ensure a clean rear edge.
 

 
If you build this kit, I highly recommend the Eduard "BIG Ed" kit, which has lots of detail missing on the kit parts.
 

 
I usually use Tamiya Gloss Black lacquer as a first coat rather than a true primer, but for this yellow bird I'm using Gloss White instead (TS-26 Pure White from a rattle can).  This should make painting the yellow easier and with less paint.  Since it's just an undercoat, I have sprayed it on relatively thin to retain detail, hence the blotchy appearance.  One great thing about this model is that both the wheel wells and flaps are painted the same yellow as the rest of the aircraft, which makes painting so much easier.  That probably wasn't the original paint scheme, but it is now, which is all that matters.
 

 
One of the flaws found after paint are the ridges along the rear of the wing, which are due to sink marks around the flap detail underneath.  These were totally invisible before, but thankfully easy to sand off and remove.
 

 
I will let this paint dry for two full days, then lightly sand off crap and other imperfections, followed by 2 coats of yellow, which will be Tamiya TS-34 Camel Yellow, which is the perfect shade of yellow with an orange tinge found on these trainers.  The "Camel" it turns out, is the same yellow as found on Camel cigarette packages.  Who knew!?
 

 
Cheers- and wash your hands!
Chuck

Yes, if you can send me one!  
 
I don’t have such a part or anything like it, so I justify what I’ve done with this:  The pic above of the real deal is taken from about 18”, while my pics of the model are taken at about 5”.  At 1/32 scale, that’s about 0.5” equivalent and my pics are taken at 160” or 13 feet, so you would wouldn’t detect the corrugated edges of the cap anyway.  
 
Cheers,
Chuck

March 8/20
 
Well I'm back from a bit of a break cruising the Caribbean in the Caribbean Princess, sister ship to the Grand Princess (California) and Diamond Princess (Japan) that have had the so-called COVID-19 virus outbreaks.  My wife and I had a great time, but the thought of being stuck in quarantine makes me shudder, because it could just as easily been us.  No more cruising for me until the world gets this bug under control.  Scary times and yes I know the mortality rate is "only" about 3%.  I just as soon not take the chance, especially at my ripe age of 65!
 
A tiny update.
 
 
 
I've also be procrastinating on just how to do this, now that the wings are assembled.  Before assembly, this would have been super easy, so I had to think of a different approach.
 
Here is what the fuel caps look like on each wing, which are perfectly flush.  While some Texan/Harvards have them that way, they have been modified and most are as shown by Max above.
 
 

 
 
First step is to cut a nice and smooth hole in the wing.  To do this, I used progressively larger drill bits, then finished off the last third with circular files to keep the hole symetrical and smooth.  I then cut some sprue rod to fit, drilling a hole in the top so that I had something to grab onto when inserted the rod in place.
 
 

 
 
The rod was carefully measured, then glued into place at the bottom and top of the rod, leaving a significant depression in the wing, just like the real deal.
 
 

 
 
I then fashioned a fuel cap out of a few bits of spare PE brass.  These are only dry fit, because I will paint them red and glue them later at the end of painting.
 
 

 
 
The other side, to show the depression in the wing.  Pretty good- and much better than before.
 
 

 
 
That's it for now, but I really must get going on this build before the weather starts to turn nice.  Once it does, my modeling Mojo goes into almost complete hibernation, which will drag this build over the summer.
 
 
Cheers,
Chuck
 

Absolutely amazing Chuck Thank U
  LOOK forward to next model !!

Wow! Your model is absolutely stunning Chuck, and your photography is just as good

October 3/19
 
 
After “only” 9 months, which is a record for me, I have finally finished this model.  For step by step details on how I did it, I have a fairly long build thread here:
 
https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/78413-132-kitty-hawk-f-5e-kicked-up-a-notch-sept-2419-final-details/
 
This kit is a real challenge if you want to make it as accurate as possible, with a random mix of highly detailed parts and parts that don’t fit at all.  There are inaccuracies all over the place which I tried to fix, with some panel lines deleted, others added, and every single panel line and rivet was rescribed and re-punched.  After market kits used were mostly made for the Hasegawa kit as follows:
 
- Black Box Resin Cockpit Set (32010) for Hasegawa
- Eduard PE Exterior Set (32426) for Kitty Hawk
- ProfiModeler Brass Pitot Tube (32266) for Hasegawa
- ProfiModeler Resin Wheel Set (320273) for Hasegawa
- Hasegawa Kit Boarding Ladder and AOA Vane (both missing in KH kit)
- Zactomodels AIM-9L/M Resin Missile
- Archer Resin Decal Rivets, which were used extensively on the rear engine area
- Airscale Instrument Brass Bezels and Decals
 
The BB cockpit fit surprisingly well with a few modifications, while the ProfiModeler wheels required spacers to fit the kit landing gear and the pitot tube had to be ground down at the rear to fit flush.
 
My goal was to create one of the gloss black Adversaries of the VFC-13 Fighting Saints that were fashioned after the “Mig-28” in the movie “Top Gun”, but nobody makes bright red decals for this subject in 1/32, so I was forced to go with a mixed bag of the following which created a bit of a “what-if” for squadrons:
 
- Kit Decals.  Not many, because they are thick and often show white film underneath.
- ProfiModeler (32286).  Red Star on tail and “01” on nose.
- Two Bobs Bad Boys Sundowners (32-040), hence the VFC-111 squadron instead of VFC-13
- Maketar Paint Masks (USAF Stars and Bars, Vol II, 32-066)
 
One big shortcoming of this kit is the engine intakes, which really don’t exist at all beyond the front openings.  Although resin intakes are apparently now available, I made seamless intakes out of ordinary PVC water pipe which turned out fairly well.
 
Now several pics of just about every angle possible.  With the super clean and shiny paint job which is typical of these jets, I didn’t see the need to dirty up and weather the landing gear wells, mostly because they will rarely be seen again anyway.
 
 
Cheers,
Chuck
 
 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

DONE!
 
I have posted pics of the finished model in the Ready For Inspection Forum here:
 
1/32 Kitty Hawk F-5E/N: "Kicked Up a Notch"
 
Thank you everyone for your continued interest in this build.   I really appreciate your comments and feedback over the past 9 months.
 
Cheers,
Chuck
 
 

 

 

 
 

September 24/19
 
 
This build is on the home stretch near completion!  Whenever I get to this stage, I’m torn between leaving the build I’ve worked so long on (8 mths. and counting) and just getting it over with.  Based upon experience, I now take my time with the ending, because that’s when mistakes are made that can deteriorate the overall project.  The final details can make or break any model, so here’s some details that I’ve been working on in the background.
 
 
The canopy and the overall canopy mechanism are by far the most complicated I have ever seen or worked on, but it’s also one of the most interesting due to its myriad of linked parts.  Here it is from the outside, which shows the characteristic sealant used on the glass to frame boundary, much like the F-4 Phantom.  To replicate this look, I used thin strips of vinyl tape on the inside.
 
 

 
 
While the kit does supply the brass frame at the front that has the rear view mirrors attached to it, there is nothing to attach it to, other than the clear plastic which is a very risky proposition that will leave glue marks.  I added a thin strip of styrene to the front which replicates the real deal, then glued the brass to it.
 
 

 
 
The side rails are from the Black Box (BB) resin cockpit set, which are more detailed than the kit parts.  However, I did use the kit vent instead on the right, since the BB vent was too small and poorly cast.  This is attached on the real deal to the forward vent housing with a rubberized vent collar that is usually red, which I created with red decal film and thin strips of self-adhesive aluminum.
 
 

 
 
The landing gear is nicely detailed and while I have traditionally added hydraulic lines and other detail to gear, I have now decided the following on all current and future models:  If you can see it without flipping the model over, detail it.  If you can’t, don’t bother!  With the landing gear doors on the outside of the gear, you can hardly see it at all, again much like the F-4, so I’m not going to waste my time.  My focus from now on is on what you can readily see, like the cockpit, and not some wiring in a gear bay I will never see again.
 
 
The wheels and tires are ProfiModeler resin which look much better than the kit wheels, but I found that the spindle hole for the axle was much wider than the kit parts, since these wheels are really made for the Hasegawa kit instead.  Thankfully I found some clear tubing that filled the hole perfectly as an axle spacer.  With the kit axle slightly shortened, it fits perfectly within this spacer.
 
 

 
 
The center line fuel tank was finished off as well, with a modified rear fin and two fuel filler caps.
 
 

 
 
The launch rails were painted, with a navigation light at the rear.  Thanks to Paulo’s (tchwrma) dual build of this kit, he has pointed out that the launch rail light is green and not blue like the rest of the navigation lights.  I checked a number of F-5’s and sure enough, he’s right.
 
 

 
 
The arresting hook appears to always be striped black and white, including my subject.
 
 

 
 
ProfiModeler also makes a nice brass pitot tube which is hollowed out at the front.
 
 

 
 
Now some improvements that I’m really happy with.  Recall that the starboard side of the fuselage has a number of errors, especially that oval panel at the bottom that should be at the top.
 
 

 
 
That oval panel houses the AOA vane, which is completely missing from this kit.  After moving the oval panel to the top and the square access door to the bottom, I used an AOA vane from the Hasegawa kit.  Note that it should be placed slightly aft of center.
 
 

 
 
Also missing from this kit is a boarding ladder, which is also in the Hasegawa kit.  While this ladder was a real pain to create due to multiple seam lines and pin marks, it is fairly accurate and fits the KH model perfectly with the sloped cockpit sill.  Note that it is beat up and worn, as they usually are.  The top of the ladder has curved rubberized tubes which are often black, but they can also be yellow, so I painted this one accordingly.
 
 

 
 
Based upon a suggestion earlier, I added some fabric seat belts to the top of the seat, which attach to the main belts along the seat back.  They are often flipped over the top of the seat as shown and were made of HGW P-51D seatbelts that I painted.  Normally the top of the seat is grey like the rest of the cockpit, but I did find a good photo of it painted black with the red Soviet star, which I sourced from Mig kill emblems on an F-4 decal sheet.
 

 
 
And last the part of this model that is the most unique, due to all the raised rivet detail I installed earlier, which goes from this:
 
 

 
 
To this.  While it pained me to do so, I knocked down the shine of the metal a bit to replicate the real deal better, since these titanium parts are usually quite dull.  In the pics above of my subject, however, they are shinier than most, so I suspect ground crew polished them now and then to match the glossy finish on the rest of the jet.
 
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
My next update will likely be the finished model, which won’t be for a week or two as I finish this project and go out of town for a few days.  Stay tuned.
 
Cheers,
Chuck
 
 

June 18/19
 
 
Finally, I’m really painting.  A first coat of paint reveals flaws and with gloss black, they are amplified at least 3 times over a flat finish.  I always start painting on the bottom, just in case I have airbrush or paint issues, but in this case, Tamiya Gloss Black lacquer (TS-14) sprayed beautifully.  This paint was decanted from the rattle can then thinned with about 40% of Tamiya lacquer thinner.
 
 

 
 
I expected a few flaws underneath, because this is where the kit parts do not fit very well, but I did not expect to still see so many seam lines and other flaws.
 
 

 
 
The rear, however, came out looking great.  With that shiny coat of X-22 over the Archer rivets, it almost looks like metal already with the smooth reflection.
 
 

 
 
Back to the drawing board…..
 
 

 
 
And another coat of paint.  Much better now.
 
 

 
 
A close up to show that those seams lines are now filled and other flaws repaired.
 
 

 
 
There are so many surfaces that from this angle, it almost looks wrinkled.
 
 

 
 
In the background, I’ve been busy cleaning up, assembling and painting other parts that will be attached later for ease of handling.
 
 

 
 
The landing gear, doors and hardware are ready for final assembly.
 
 

 
 
And here’s my first shot at painting the exhausts, which have gone from this:
 
 

 
 
To this, using Alclad Stainless Steel.  For the inside, I used Alclad Steel, followed by a dusting of rust to replicate reference pics.
 
 

 
 

 
 
Although I’m getting near the end of this build, I still have a lot to do.  Missiles, the main fuel tank and dozens of tiny bits still need to be attended to.  I’m a bit nervous about decaling, because I normally shoot a good sealing coat of X-22 over the decals to seal them in and reduce decal film edges.  On this nice gloss black finish, X-22 might make the finish look too artificial.  I guess time will tell!
 
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Congratulations Chuck your work never ceases to amaze me, and quite enjoyable to watch 

Thanks everyone!  Since there seems be some interest in a tutorial on applying Archer Rivets, here’s what I do.  First the basics as mentioned above, which are my opinion alone and not necessarily those of others, including Archer.
 
 
Archer Decal Rivet properties:
 
1)  The wider the decal film, the stronger the chain of rivets, but the higher the chance that it will show under paint, no matter how much decal softener you use.   Checking other builds using this product, you will see what I mean.
 
2)  The narrower the decal film, the more fragile the chain of rivets, which often break apart, but it will not show as easily under paint.
 
3)  Rivets applied to curved surfaces should be done in short chains, for ease of handling.
 
4)  Even single rivets can be applied successfully, so if you bump off one or two, repairs are easy.
 
5)  Like most decals, these rivets come off the backing better with very warm water.
 
6)  If you don’t like what you’ve done, the rivets can easily be removed with a finger nail and you can start over.
 
7)  Archer rivets come in many different sizes and spacing, so I like to have a variety of them on hand.
 
8)  The raised rivets are not always perfectly round, but after paint, you’ll never notice the small imperfections.
 
9)  As long as you keep the decal segment wet, you can move it around for a very long time.  Even after using Microsol decal softener, you’ve got more time to play with it than a regular decal.
 
10)  These rivets are quite expensive at ~ $22/sheet!
 
Application:
 
1) The surface should be super smooth and clean of any debris and oil from your skin.
 
2)  Cut a long and thin strip of rivets off the sheet, then into shorter chains to be applied individually.  If you’ve got a flat surface free of detail or curves, you can apply segments of an inch or more.  Curves and detail require shorter segments.
 
3)  Soak the segment in very warm water like any decal, for at least 5 seconds, then place it next to where you want to apply it for another 30 seconds or more.
 
4)  Using a soft paintbrush, push one edge of the decal film off the backing, let it attach to the surface of the plastic, then push the rest of the decal off the backing.  For longer segments, you can push one end off the backing by sliding it in one direction, then grab the backing and pull it off, leaving the entire segment behind on the plastic.  If it breaks, don’t worry about it.  You’ve got lots of time to get everything back together.
 
5)  Using Microset (or plain water), re-wet the segment so that it floats, then move it into place.  Using a paper tissue, pull the water away from the edge of the segment without touching it.
 
6)  When you’re happy with the decal placement, using another soft brush dedicated to decal softener, apply some Microsol in very small dabs to tack it down.  If the decal  moves, you’ve still got at least 30-40 seconds to move it around without fear of destroying it.
 
7)  For the next decal segment, apply it as above, but somewhere else!  If you try to apply the next segment next to the one drying with Microsol, you will likely move it and create a mess.
 
8)  When the first segment has dried a bit (~ 5 minutes), liberally apply more Microsol to it over the entire decal.  Unlike regular decals, you can’t wreck it by applying too much softener.
 
9)  In a bit of an assembly-line process, apply new decal segments while applying more Microsol to others, keeping new ones away from old ones.
 
10)  If you knock a single rivet or two off, don’t worry.  Just cut off a replacement and apply it in the gap.  The strength of the rivet to plastic bond is mostly under the rivet and not beside it.
 
11)  When you are done and everything looks pretty good, add yet another coat of Microsol to everything, all over again.  You want to nuke the decal film into oblivion as much as possible.
 
12)  When everything is clean and dry, I like to apply a good coat or two of Tamiya X-22 acrylic clear gloss to seal the rivets to the plastic, but also to smooth out the fine lines of the remaining decal film.  I like to use about 2/3’s X-22 and 1/3 Tamiya lacquer thinner, which sprays very fine.  Future/Pledge works just as well, but is softer than X-22 and harder to sand later if you have any imperfections.
 
13)  Paint as usual.
 
I use Archer Rivets on just about every one of my builds lately, because there are almost always raised rivets somewhere that are not represented on the kit plastic.  Other than the extensive rivet detail on my A-10C above, here's another application of subtle detail on my F-15C Eagle build.  Note the Archer rivets on the front of the titanium panels and also reinforcements on the tail booms, according to reference pics I have of the real deal.
 

 
After paint....
 

 
 
 
 
 
For those interested in buying Archer Rivets, they can be found here, along with a host of other modeling products:
 
Archer Fine Transfers
 
HTH,
Chuck

Quick follow up because I just sprayed X-22 on everything to smooth things out.
 
BEFORE:
 

 
 
AFTER:
 

 

 
 
 
I'll let this dry for a few days, sand out the tiny flaws, then give it another coat to create a nice smooth finish for bare metal painting.
 
Cheers,
Chuck

May 29/19
 
After 1 month, I'm finally back with an update.  It may not look like much, but this next step took me about 20 hours of picky, detailed work!
 
The engine on the F-5 has a zillion fine rivets, both on the rear nozzles and the titanium panels just forward.  This is what it looks like on a Swiss real deal....
 

 
 
There are two types of rear nozzles supplied with the kit.  One set has fine recessed rivets and comes in two halves, creating a big seam, while the kit also supplies some one piece resin replacements, which I used.  As you can see, they are cast kind of rough, the raised rivets are huge and there's an unfortunate casting block right where you don't want it, on the lip of the nozzle on the right.
 

 
 
They also seem to have been cast crooked, but I found that the shallow lip goes on the outside, while the thicker lip goes on the inside.  Of course the instructions say nothing about it!  Here I have sanded off the monster rivets on the left.
 

 
 
The rear of the nozzles should have two thin circles of metal, separated by a gap.  To improve this look, I sanded the outside thinner, while carefully sanding the gap within.  It's not perfect, but from a few inches away, it looks not bad.
 

 
 
The titanium panels just forward of the nozzles have recessed rivets, which look OK, but I can make them better.
 

 
 
As mentioned above, I have used Archer resin raised rivets many times before, so I've learned a few things about this great product as follows:
 
1)  The wider the decal film, the stronger the chain of rivets, but the higher the chance that it will show under paint, no matter how much decal softener you use.
 
2)  The narrower the decal film, the more fragile the chain of rivets, which often break apart, but it will not show as easily under paint.
 
3)  Rivets applied to curved surfaces should be done in short chains, for ease of handling.
 
4)  Even single rivets can be applied successfully, so if you bump off one or two, repairs are easy.
 
With the above in mind, I found some Archer rivets that were about the same spacing as the kit rivets, but just slightly larger, so they would still adhere without filling the recessed ones.  I found that chains of only 5 worked best, because they were easy to apply, but also compensated for the slight differences in rivet spacing.  These are found in #AR 88015, with thin strips of rivets cut as shown.
 

 
 
After many, many hours of work, they look pretty good.  Not perfect by any means, partly because the kit spacing isn't perfect either, but when these areas are painted the same color, the small imperfections should almost disappear.  Engine nozzles and V-shaped antennae on the sides are only dry fitted with masking fluid "glue".
 

 

 
 
Top
 

 
 
And don't forget the bottom, because it is covered with raised rivets as well in roughly this pattern from references.
 

 
 
I see that I've missed a 3 rivet pattern on the top and bottom of the antennae at the front, so consider that fixed.  Next step is to spray these rivets and panels with clear acrylic X-22, to seal them, toughen them and help hide the decal film.  After paint, all you should see is raised rivets and no film.
 
On to the fiddly stuff, like landing gear, gear well doors, etc.  Not my favorite part of any build, but very important nonetheless.
 
 
Cheers,
Chuck
 
 

June 8/19
 
 
A good modeling day, as you will soon see.  As I hit the backstretch of this build, there’s lots of picky small parts to deal with, so it’s time to get them out of the way.  In almost all of the pics I have of my subject, the landing gear doors and air brakes are in the closed position, so it’s very tempting to leave them that way, creating less work.  Other references, however, show these doors open when on the ground, other than the front gear door which is almost always closed.  I decided to let the kit parts tell me what to do, which turned out to be fairly easy.  Despite all the shortcoming of this kit, the landing gear, gear wells and gear doors are excellent with a lot of interesting fine detail, so I’m leaving them open.
 
 
Unfortunately, there are a lot of pin marks to deal with, which are fairly easy to fix most of the time, but when they are in a tight recessed area and raised, they can be a real paint to fix.  Case in point, the air brakes.  How the heck do you get rid of that!?  Even the outside of the brake on the right has sink marks that need to be smoothed out.
 
 

 
 
Using a Dremel tool with dental burr, I ground the raised pin mark down, then filled the recesses with putty and tried to sand them down the best I could in such a small space.  This is never smooth, so I used an old trick I’ve been using for years, by filling the recess with Future/Pledge as a micro-filler that you don’t need to sand later, to smooth things out.  The outside of the brake was sanded down to remove the sink marks, then the rivets were re-punched.
 
 

 
 
After painting, it looks much better.  The top pin mark is not as sharp due to all the commotion in that small area, but you will likely not see it on the finished model.
 
 

 
 
Now a bit of a screw-up.  Reviewing some tips given in the SIG on LSP, I was certain that my subject didn’t have chaff/flare dispensers, so I removed the panel detail on the belly earlier.  Gear door B21 has more of this same detail to accommodate the dispenser fairing B37 on the left in the pic below, so I removed it as well.  As luck would have it, my subject DOES have this chaff/flare dispenser, so I should have left everything alone!  Not a big deal I guess, but getting detailed pics of F-5’s from underneath is hard, especially for my particular jet.  In any case, we have 3 deep pin marks on the inside part of the door on the right to remove.
 
 

 
 
After.  Much better after filling and paint.
 
 

 
 
The main landing gear doors are quite nice, with not much clean-up required.  Note that I glued the arms to the landing gear now, to create a stronger bond with less chance of glue marks later.
 
 

 
 
I used the Black Box cockpit canopy rails rather than the kit parts, because they are much more detailed and they have the hinges that connect to the recesses in the cockpit sill.  They were painted on the outside first, to ensure sufficient paint on the top of each rail which can be seen through the canopy glass from above.  The rear canopy assembly that was assembled earlier is only dry fitted to make sure clearances were OK.
 
 

 
 
The front canopy frame which is brass photo-etch has nothing solid to attach to, so I glued on a thin styrene strip to the canopy, then glued the frame to the inside of the strip with CA glue, trimming the bottom of the PE to accommodate the canopy rails.  Both gluing operations are very risky to avoid ruining the clear plastic, so be careful!  Note:  The mirrors, which are not even on the kit instructions, should be folded twice in a recessed position as shown.  Many builds of this kit have them hanging down in a straight line with no bends.
 
 

 
 
There is a large vent on the port side of the canopy that bends inward, which is too small on the Black Box part, so I used the kit version instead.  Much better- and that join is real and covered by a junction cover I will add later.  Note that I'm using Eduard pre-cut paint masks (JX-221) which fit perfectly.  The remainder of the canopy glass will covered later.
 
 

 
 
All this work was done over the last few days, but today I attended the Western Canadian Regional Model Contest, where I entered my 1/32 Spitfire and F-15C Eagle Aggressor.  Over 500 models were entered in all sorts of categories, but about 35% or more were aircraft.  For some reason that I don’t understand, the Eagle came in second, with a Silver in its Advanced Jet Category, but I learned a long ago that model contests are fickle and outcomes are not always predictable.  My Spitfire fared much better among more competition in the Advanced Prop Category, winning Gold and a special award for best Canadian aircraft.  Pretty cool and my thanks to the organizers and volunteers who put on this bi-annual event.  It’s very rewarding to be recognized by your peers, who understand the challenges of our hobby.
 
 

 
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Thanks Paulo,
 
One problem with following my work is that summer is here and that's when my modeling mojo is lukewarm to nonexistent, so it could still be months before this jet is finished.  Still, I usually do peck away at this and that, so it might be sooner than that.  We'll see.
 
As shown above and one more time after a second good coat of X-22, the Archer decal rivets are the ticket to achieve a fairly realistic raised rivet look.  After paint and Alclad, this area should look terrific and maybe a focal point of the model.  These rivets are just about bullet proof now, so handling is no longer a significant risk to knocking a few of them off.  Again, the engine nozzles are only dry fit...
 

 

 

 
Cheers,
Chuck
 
 

April 17/19
 
A quick public service announcement.  Like most of you guys, I use a lot of microbrushes of every description and go through maybe a hundred per model.  Purchased from my local hobby shop, they can cost $0.20/each or more.  I've bought them in bulk from the usual modeling internet sites for about half of that, but that was when I was looking for "Modeling or Hobby Microbrushes".  I discovered by accident a few years ago that if I looked for "Makeup or Dental Microbrushes", I found the very same thing- and more selection- for only $0.02/each!
 
Here's my latest order from ebay (or Amazon).  4 X 400 = 1,600 microbrushes for $31.50, delivered free to my door from China.  At this price, I don't have to worry about keeping any of them clean.
 

 
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Yes I do!   I have a 1997 BMW 540 and 2002 M Roadster which are ancient now, but still in perfect shape.  My 22 year old 540 has only 170K km on it and the MZ only 45K, because it's really my wife's car and she only drives it on nice days in the summer.  While Z3's are not rare, this particular one is, because it has the 315 HP S54 engine that was used in the M3's during that time period.  Of the roughly 300,000 Z-3s made, only 1,565 were made with this engine, so I'm hoping it will become valuable one day due to how rare it is.
 
When the cars were new, I used to frequent BMW forums to get tips on repairs and modifications, which is where my screen name came from and I've stuck with it ever since.  Here they are on a couple of road trips through pour nearby mountains.
 

 

 
Cheers,
Chuck

April 8/19
 
 
I’ve been a bit distracted lately, but I did get a chance to work on the wings.  Like much of the kit parts, they are a bit lumpy, the surface is slightly rough and the rivet detail is shallow and bit wide.  Without adding a dark wash, it’s hard to photograph, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.
 
 

 
 
After giving the wings the same “Chuck” treatment I’ve given the rest of the model, the detail is much better and smoother.  This will be critical later for a smooth gloss black finish.  Also, rivet patterns were added according to references, top and bottom.
 
 

 
 

 
 
The bottom of the wings are a lot more complicated.
 
 

 
 
Here are the key things you should do if you follow my lead. 
1 The outer join does not exist, so it should be filled and sanded smooth, then a nose-like panel line scribed across it as shown.
2 The other join on the LEX is OK and should stay, but be re-scribed.
3 The gear bay walls should be glued securely to the top of the wing, because that’s all that’s holding on to the very weak landing gear legs.
4 If you aren’t using the inner pylons, do not open the holes as shown in the instructions in Step #19, while the outer pylon holes- which are already open- should be filled if you’re not using them.  Rather than just fill them with CA glue, I used styrene rod to create pylon anchor points or plugs with more detail, as found on the real deal.
 
 

 
 
And this is all that’s holding the gear legs in place:  Two tiny slots.  Yikes!  While fairly accurate, they are fairly weak.  All the more reason to put them on at the very end of the build, like I usually do anyway.
 
 

 
 

 
 
The wing to fuselage join isn’t horrible, but it’s not plug and play either.  While a chore to fix, this is more common in modeling than it’s not, so no big deal.  Again, a lot of those crooked ghost panel lines should disappear after a coat of paint (fingers crossed).
 
 

 
 
 
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Thanks Guys!
 
I have been asked how I use CA glue as a filler in the other forum, especially when panel lines and rivet detail is enhanced or restored.  Although I’ve written tutorials on this subject before, I can’t find them, so here’s a new updated one that I will share here as well.
 
Using CA Glue as a Filler
 
I have been using Cyanoacrylate (CA) glue as a filler for many years and more recently, about 90% of the time over traditional modeling putties. I use CA glue on every single join of my models, to make sure there are no gaps to be found later.   While putty still has its place, CA glue has the following advantages over putty:
 
 
1)  Drying time is quick to immediate, especially if you use an accelerator.
 
2)  Since it dries harder, it sands finer- but sanding must be done within an hour or two of drying.  Left to cure overnight, it will become much harder than the plastic, making sanding difficult.
 
3)  As a glue, it strengthens joins while it fills them.
 
4)  Panel lines can be created or re-scribed over CA glue with a smooth finish, which you can't do with putty.  Again, this should be done within a short time after drying.
 
5)  CA glue doesn’t shrink as it dries, so what you see is what you get after drying.
 
6)  Tell tale flaws can be detected with strong lighting, allowing immediate repair.
 
 
CA Glue Properties.  The first point I stole from the internet, which explains it better than I could.
 
1)  CA glue can only bond with a surface when there is moisture present. This means if the CA glue is placed on a perfectly dry surface, it will not stick to the surface or form a bond.  In contrast, when any amount of moisture is present, the molecules in the glue will react with the moisture to form tight chains in between the two surfaces in contact. This reaction generates heat and occurs instantly, which differs from traditional glue bonding that occurs by evaporation of the base fluid. 
 
2)  Due to the above, thinner glues dry much faster than thicker glues, because more of the surface area to volume of glue is exposed to moisture.  For the same reason, glue in moist air dries quicker than dry air.
 
3)  Over time, thin CA glues get thicker, which is why I only buy thin glues and have a variety of new and older glues on hand resulting in a variety of viscosities.
 
4)  Thin and thick CA glues can be mixed, to create a custom viscosity that you might need for a particular application.
 
5)  CA glues don’t shrink very much, if at all, so only use what you need.
 
 
CA Glue Tools of the Trade.  Although mostly obvious, this is what you need:
 
1)  The right brand and viscosity of CA glue.  I’ve found that not all CA glue works the same and some are better than others.  I’m using Mercury M5 glue right now, because I know how it works and what to expect.  To get the right viscosity, just mix some thin and thicker glues together until you get what you need.  For most applications, I use thin glue only with no mixing.
 
2)  CA glue accelerator.  You often want the glue to dry immediately, so the application of an accelerator will do that, but again, some are better than others.  I used to use an accelerator that worked very quickly, but it also made the glue shrink and shrivel leaving bubble marks and it attacked paint.  The one I use now is much milder to use and does not harm paint if it is removed quickly.
 
3)  CA glue remover, or “Debonder”.  Sometimes the glue doesn’t go where you want it and needs to be removed without sanding.  Great Planes Debonder is the very best there is and it won’t harm the plastic like some other debonders.
 
4)  Applicator Microbrush.  Depending on the application and viscosity of the glue, I use either a very small microbrush (usually white), or the tip of the microbrush with the brush removed.  Bought in bulk, these brushes cost only pennies apiece and I use and throw away dozens of them on every model.
 
5)  Glue container, that is plastic and relatively deep.  Quite by accident I discovered that the cap to a small spray bottle can hold CA glue in a liquid form up to 24 hours.  Glue left on an open flat surface will dry quickly because it is exposed to air moisture, but for some reason glue in this type of container dries very slowly and the glue remains in a liquid form for several hours of glue application.
 
6)  Sandpaper, both #400 and #1000 Tamiya equivalent grits.  I say “Tamiya equivalent” grit, because one brand of #400 sandpaper will often be quite different than another brand of #400 sandpaper, which might be too coarse.
 
Other than the glue accelerator (I’ll find the brand name later), here’s a pic of what I currently use:
 
 

 
 
The Filling Procedure
 
To fill a seam or join like I’ve done above, the first thing to do is to use Tamiya Extra Thin Cement (TETC) to join the parts together, then ooze a good layer of this cement into the join to swell the plastic and close the gap.  The goal here is to get good adhesion and natural filling without the use of CA glue.  This doesn’t have to be neat along the join at all, but avoid getting any cement in fine detail.  Let this dry for a minimum of 24 hours, or 48 hours if you used a lot of glue.  You want it dry and as hard a possible for sanding.
 
When the TETC has dried properly, sand the join smooth using #400 sandpaper until it is flush, then remove the sanding dust with whatever works the best for you.  I use compressed air, a clean microbrush and sometimes solvent on a rag to get all the dust out of the join.
 
Dipping a microbrush into the CA glue container (not the bottle) and holding the surface horizontal so that the glue won’t drip, apply a thin bead of glue along the seam.  The goal is to totally fill the seam, plus about 10%, to get the top of the glue slightly higher than the surface of the plastic.  Let this dry for a few minutes, then apply glue accelerator with another microbrush along the seam next to the glue itself, but not directly on it.  Tip the parts allowing the accelerator to contact the CA glue and wait about a minute.  The glue will begin to harden on the surface.  When this has happened, apply more accelerator to the glue itself, which should harden completely within seconds.  Wipe off all accelerator with a dry rag.
 
       Note:  Thick CA glues take longer for the accelerator to dry them and they may be dry on the surface, but not internally.  Let thick glues dry much longer before sanding.
 
Again using #400 sandpaper, sand down the seam so that it’s flush.  Ideally, you have CA glue within the seam and not on the plastic on either side.  Using a strong light, check the seam for shiny spots.  These spots are low areas or bubbles where the glue has not been sanded yet.  Depending on the application, either sand down further or using a microbrush tip (without brush), apply a tiny drop of glue to these areas, add accelerator, then sand again.
 
When you are happy that the seam has been filled properly, use #1000 grit sandpaper and smooth the entire seam and surrounding areas to create a super smooth surface.  This takes a lot of time and a lot of sandpaper to get it right.
 
You can now apply or restore panel lines with a scriber and do the same thing for rivets with a needle in a pin vice.  Do it within an hour of applying the CA glue, so that it’s not too hard.  The glue is slightly harder than the plastic, so take care to dig a little bit more within the glue than the plastic to ensure a uniform panel line or rivet.  If you screw up- and you will- apply another drop or two of CA glue and do it all over again.  I have scribed and refilled the same panel line multiple times before I got it right and after some paint, you can’t see any flaws.
 
 
HTH,
Chuck

Love you work Chuck looking very good no, sorry!... I mean It looks Great    That cockpit in that last pic is amazing (real looking)

At the front on either side of the gear well are gun vent doors that are molded open.  They should be closed and another molding flaw fixed.
 
 

 
 
To close the gun vents, I trimmed the back of the vent doors, deepened the hinge with a scriber, then bent them flat.  They also need to be shortened about 10% and the corners rounded before you install them.
 
 

 
 
Two more areas fixed and the panel lines are now straight.
 
 

 
 
There is a lot of trimming and dry fitting to get any of these pieces to fit together.  Almost every join was modified in order to do so.  Kind of a pain, but kind of fun too.
 
 

 
 
With the styrene spacer used at the front of the windscreen, the join is now fairly flush and the top center piece fits perfectly.
 
 

 
 
Before I fit and glue the gun doors closed, I need to install the guns and modify the parts so that I can install the gun barrels at the end of the build.  Here I have cut the gun breaches back to fit my modifications and used minimal gun parts.  The key is to just get an anchor point to slip the gun barrel into later.
 
 

 
 
The openings at the front of the gun compartment were widened slightly and the base of each gun barrel was narrowed, so they now just slip in from the front with minimal effort.
 
 

 
 
The gun door fit?  Not so good.  This kit is made for doors to always be opened with no parts made for closed doors.  As a result, the fasteners are molded open and the closed fit is crappy.  Time for some more “fun” I guess….
 
 

 
 
Later boys and thanks for your input.
 
 
Cheers,
Chuck
 
 

Thx guys, the encouragement is very motivating!
 
 
Thx Jaws, the flightline look is exactly what I am going for
 
Well, she is done! Here are some preliminary pics, taken under poor lighting conditions. I plan on taking some better shots and Chuck has very kindly also offered to edit them a little more professionally, once I have those shots I will post them in the Ready for Inspection section. But here goes for now:
 

 

 

 

 

 
And the double is officially complete:
 

 
Thanks for looking!
 
Marcel

Then installed Parts C9 & C14 and glued the gear well together.
 
 

 
 
Next, I cut off the rectangular tabs on the sides of the gear leg and cut a groove in it’s place that would fit a small drill bit, being careful to keep the angle of the groove the same as the tab, which is about 15-20 degrees.
 
 

 
 
I then cut one short drill bit for the bottom and a longer one for the upper pin with a Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel.
 
 

 
 
Then after opening the bottom hole slightly, I slipped the bottom pin in place.  This pin is necessarily shorter than the top pin, because it gets in the way of the bottom fuselage parts, which have a triangular tab at this very location.  By cutting off the tab slightly, everything will fit later.
 
 

 
 
Thankfully with the gun doors closed, the top pin can be any length, so I left it a bit longer for strength.
 
 
 

 
Now the front gear leg can be glued to the pins at the end of the build, just like I plan for the main landing gear, so I can set the gear leg aside until I do the other two.  Mission 2 accomplished.
 

 
Next up is final installation of the cockpit and IP.  Fingers crossed that this all goes well.
 
 
Cheers,
Chuck

Chuck nice to see you back at LSP
 
I also have jumped in for this Great Ride looking forward to this great 2019 Kitty Hawk F-5E Kicked Up A Notch... Build 

Wow! Marcie that looks great well done