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Kitty Hawk 1/32 F-5E Tiger II


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This was our second Wonderfest, and we've signed up for next year as well. This year, the special guest was Sybil Danning, the Queen of the B-movies, and she popped into a reception we attended Saturday night. She and her husband were supposed to be there only 30 minutes but hung out with us for 3 hours instead. She's even more beautiful in person!

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  • 2 weeks later...

So I let this almost-finished F-5E sit on the bench while I contemplated that Tamiya Flat Aluminum finish. After fiddling with the PCM 1/32 Fw 190A-4 a bit, I am back on the F-5E and adding the yellow fuselage and tail bands of the 425th TFTS. I've never used the larger decals from Kitty Hawk before and I am pleasantly surprised! For such large decals, they're strong enough to be manipulated, but thin enough to conform to complex surfaces without any decal setting solution. I haven't seen aftermarket decals conform like these. While the yellow color looked off to me on the decal sheet, it looks just right over the silver (aluminum) paint. Photos soon.

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That tail sure looks like they laid down well. Can't believe how well it went over all those curves. Just a little paint inside that cavity and you're all set! How translucent is that yellow without all the light/flash for the picture, can you see the black behind it? 

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That tail sure looks like they laid down well. Can't believe how well it went over all those curves. Just a little paint inside that cavity and you're all set! How translucent is that yellow without all the light/flash for the picture, can you see the black behind it? 

There's silver paint behind the decals. They are a little translucent though - if you look at the last photo of the dorsal spine, you can see where the black from the side bands is showing through the saddleback decal. But you're right, I am very impressed with how these go down.

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So now the F-5E is sitting properly on its landing gear now that the main wheels are complete. I was a bit surprised that the tires had no tread on the nose and main wheels, but I'm not waiting for aftermarket on this build. The aircraft is powered-up, so the gear doors and speed boards are all closed. The main gear doors have the piano hinge detail on them, both at fuselage hinges and the outer hinges for the small doors. They don't fit. At all. After filing the inside of the all of the hinges with a microfile, the hinges were finally able to interleave together. Don't forget to remove the fairing off the starboard main gear door for the chaff/flare dispenser if you're backdating your aircraft.

Here we are test-fitting the externals. The external wing tanks are ready for paint, the LAU-3 rocket pods are dry-fitted to the outboard pylons, and the SUU-20 going on the centerline is painted and waiting on the bomblets to dry. Just a little more work to do before we can declare this project finished!

kh_32018_56.jpgkh_32018_57.jpg

Edited by HobbyZoneUSA
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Very purdy scheme.

 

A quick question, if I may. Do you intend to do anything about the mismatch at the rear end of the yellow decals ?

 

Hubert

I didn't think so initially, but I went back and did a little work to align the black bands as best as they'll get. This build was really a test of the buildability of the model and to try out a few techniques before I build the other two I have waiting. So far, this has been a great build and backdating was a non-issue, but next time I do a 425th aircraft, I'm painting those bands.

Edited by HobbyZoneUSA
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I didn't think so initially, but I went back and did a little work to align the black bands as best as they'll get. This build was really a test of the buildability of the model and to try out a few techniques before I build the other two I have waiting. So far, this has been a great build and backdating was a non-issue, but next time I do a 425th aircraft, I'm painting those bands.

 

Makes a lot of sense for your stated purpose, Michael.

With this great build, you have demonstrated two things : 1) that the kit decals conform pretty well to these complex curves, and 2) that expecting a faultless fit with decals is still probably asking a bit too much.

 

Keep it coming :popcorn:

 

Hubert

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Almost there. Looks good with the pilot in there....

 

Interesting to note the rocket pods ? We're they given in the box ?

 

Rgds

No, the kit comes with 2 x AIM-9B or AIM-9L (though this bird mostly flew with AIM-9J), 2 x AIM-7 (never carried), 2 x Mk.82, and 2 x Rockeye. Since I am doing a training bird, I used the LAU-3 rocket pods and SUU-20 bomblet dispenser from videoaviation.com.

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No, the kit comes with 2 x AIM-9B or AIM-9L (though this bird mostly flew with AIM-9J), 2 x AIM-7 (never carried), 2 x Mk.82, and 2 x Rockeye. Since I am doing a training bird, I used the LAU-3 rocket pods and SUU-20 bomblet dispenser from videoaviation.com.

Thanks for the clarification. Nice load out planned ....rgds

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