scvrobeson Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 Hey guys. At the request of Kevin, I decided to start up a build thread on my next build. This is the classic Revell 1/48 F-89 Scorpion. The Scorpion has interested me for awhile, with the distinction of being the first jet all-weather interceptor. I've been looking for a kit for awhile, and at a contest a couple of months back, I found one with the Black Box cockpit in it for only 25 bucks, so I had to snap it up. I got right ahead gathering up references, and deciding what I want to do with this build. The first thing I decided was to completely re-scribe this kit, because I know with the natural metal finish, the fit will need to be perfect, and that's much easier with recessed panel lines. Now that I have the reference books though, I'm debating opening up the nose, and doing the avionics and radar.... maybe if I get enough motivation, I'll do it? Classic box top, I'll probably keep it as a D, and do the box-art scheme, but I might do it as a J, using one of the profiles from the Squadron book.... My main references, plus anything I can get off of the Internet. First step was the Black Box cockpit. After soaking it all to remove any mold release, I painted it using a mix of Tamiya XF-19 Sky Grey and XF-53 Neutral Grey to do the Dark Gull Grey. Then I used XF-1 flat black to do the consoles and instrument panels. The detail is really great, hope I don't have to destroy any of it to fit it all in the fuselage.... I then set in with Vallejo acrylics to do all of the switches and buttons. This is only the first layer, there will be some more detail painting, then some washes and chipping before all is said and done. I'm trying to do a well used bird, but not one that got wrecked in active duty combat. And the start on the rescribe job. I know it's hard to see, but the lines are now recessed. I started out by giving the entire wing a sanding using a Medium Grade sanding stick. With the silver plastic, it leaves a ghost of the original lines on the plastic, that you can scribe right over. I used a Tamiya Scribing Tool, and it was great. Just had a couple of slip-ups, but those were fixed with some putty. I hope to get the rest of it re-scribed and re-detailed, won't go for the riveting though, that seems like too much. I hope you guys enjoy this first post, I hope to get some work on this one done soon. Thanks to everyone for reading in, all comments and critiques are welcomed. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 Hey, thanks for starting this thread Matt. You're off to a great start, and I'm enjoying it already. I'll need to get hold of those two references myself before starting my builds (especially the 1.5 vac kits!). What shape is your kit in? Upon examining mine, the fit of the fuselage looks to be a challenge. Anyway, I'm probably going to foil at least one of mine. I think Tigger has a 1/32 vac kit too... Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phantom Posted November 26, 2011 Share Posted November 26, 2011 I have two that I am going to be building. I will build pretty much OOB. I will be watching this build, great work so far. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 (edited) Hey, thanks for starting this thread Matt. You're off to a great start, and I'm enjoying it already. I'll need to get hold of those two references myself before starting my builds (especially the 1.5 vac kits!). What shape is your kit in? Upon examining mine, the fit of the fuselage looks to be a challenge. Anyway, I'm probably going to foil at least one of mine. I think Tigger has a 1/32 vac kit too... Kev Hey Kevin. My kit is actually in pretty good shape. There is a small warp, and the decals were a bit yellowed, but nothing major. The decals are in the window already to bleach, and the warp should fix itself when the fuselage is glued together. Knowing the fit of these Revell/Monogram kits is the reason for the re-scribe, since it's easier to scribe a couple of new lines after the putty stage than try to re-do the raised detail. Thanks for looking in on this one, if I find any helpful hints, I'll be sure to post them on here so anyone that needs them can use them. The Walkaround is probably the better reference, unless you need the panel line guide, or some black and white photos, which the D&S has lots of. What do you mean by 1.5 vac kits? I've looked at the 1/32 one, but scratch-building is not one of my talents, so I'd probably have to skip. Plus, it would be MASSIVE. It's a big plane in 1/48. Matt Edited November 27, 2011 by scvrobeson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 I have two that I am going to be building. I will build pretty much OOB. I will be watching this build, great work so far. Mike Thanks Mike! I'm glad you like it. It's a great kit, and I think it would look OOB, I'm just one of those people who likes detailing stuff, and the kit came with the resin cockpit, so I didn't want to miss the opportunity. I hope you post your build on here when you start on it. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted November 27, 2011 Author Share Posted November 27, 2011 Hey guys. I'm back with a little update. I've spent them morning detailing the instrument panel. There are no instrument decals in my kit, so I went in with a very fine paintbrush and some toothpicks, and did it all myself. Then went in and put Future on all of the gauges, to look like the glass on the instruments. Have some more detail painting to do, but I can do that later. Also started on the seats, putting the first colors on it. This is the radar operator's panel. That big hole in the middle will be occupied by the radar scope, which I haven't added in yet. And the main instrument panel. It looks better in person, my camera isn't the best, so i can't get in to capture the fine detail of the resin part. I hope you guys like it though. That's all for now. I hope you all are enjoying this build, and I'm doing an okay job on it. Hope to be back son with some more work on the Scorpion. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 27, 2011 Share Posted November 27, 2011 What do you mean by 1.5 vac kits? A couple of years back I acquired, as part of a job lot, a Falcon vac kit of the Scorpion where one of the two sheets was broken in half, with the broken bit missing. A few months later I came across a complete version for only $5, so I picked it up. Some time after that, I got hold of the Revell kit. I intend to build both vac kits, scratch-building what's missing from the partial kit. I'll probably build all 3 together. Should be fun! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted December 2, 2011 Author Share Posted December 2, 2011 A couple of years back I acquired, as part of a job lot, a Falcon vac kit of the Scorpion where one of the two sheets was broken in half, with the broken bit missing. A few months later I came across a complete version for only $5, so I picked it up. Some time after that, I got hold of the Revell kit. I intend to build both vac kits, scratch-building what's missing from the partial kit. I'll probably build all 3 together. Should be fun! Kev That's an interesting story Kevin. Maybe, just maybe you could stick two of them together to do an F-89Z, kind of like the F-82. Well guys, I've got more progress. I was able to get the cockpit put in place, and the fuselage sealed up. Revell designed the kit so that the fuselage would be closed, and then the cockpit would be inserted from underneath. It's a good system, and allowed to get the cockpit aligned in there, which is usually a problem for me. The kit parts come together very well, the slight warp went right away once the glue hit plastic. I used superglue to join everything together, since it also closes any seams between the parts. The only place really required filler was the instrument coaming, and a little strip along the spine. That just took some Squadron green putty and Mr. Surfacer to level out, and it's on to the next steps. It's a pretty big airplane, much larger than I guess I originally expected. For nose weight, I stuck four of these big guys in the nose, it should hold it down very well now. Sorry, I can't really get many good pictures of the cockpit now that it's sealed up in there, it's dark inside the fuselage. That's all for now. I hope to get the rest of the fuselage put together so I can re-scribe all of it. I figured it would be easier to re-scribe once the fuselage was joined, we'll see if that works or not.... Thanks to everyone for checking out this build and reading in, and all comments and critiques are welcomed. Especially if someone has some scribing tips, those would be great to hear. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 I have both the D/J and C versions of this kit; I'll be interested in seeing what you do with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Nice to see some progress Matt! I'm going to use my half vac kit to make the leap between building a vac and scratch-building when the time comes. I just need to work on a few easier or simpler vac kits first! Especially if someone has some scribing tips, those would be great to hear. I can only offer you my humble tutorial on the subject in the tips forum. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Any more progress on this one Matt? Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Hey, thanks for starting this thread Matt. You're off to a great start, and I'm enjoying it already. I'll need to get hold of those two references myself before starting my builds (especially the 1.5 vac kits!). What shape is your kit in? Upon examining mine, the fit of the fuselage looks to be a challenge. Anyway, I'm probably going to foil at least one of mine. I think Tigger has a 1/32 vac kit too... Kev I'd also heartily recommend the Aerofax Datagraph on the Scorpion, if you're so inclined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 Any more progress on this one Matt? Kev Hey Kevin. I'm sorry I don't have more progress lately. I have it mostly scribed, but got burnt out on it. I really should get back to it though, thanks for reminding me that people care about this one. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Matt WOW, great idea and a super project. I remember the original Revell F-89 way back when, when the box size determined the scale. Looking forward to following along and enjoying the build. BTW, super work on the front office - looking good! :speak_cool: Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Matt WOW, great idea and a super project. I remember the original Revell F-89 way back when, when the box size determined the scale. Looking forward to following along and enjoying the build. BTW, super work on the front office - looking good! :speak_cool: Peter Thanks Peter! I was born long after those days, but I have seen some box-scale stuff built over the years. I'm glad you like how it's coming along, I should get back to this, it just got out on the back-burner for more large scale stuff, but this thing is large enough as is. Thanks for reading in, loving your Mustang. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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