Tamiya 1/48 F-16C/N Aggressor/Adversary

nicholassagan

sippin on gin + juice
Joined
Dec 28, 2011
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So while I have to two 1/2256 commission builds on my desk, they are at a stage that requires using either my Dremel for routing and sanding or a small power sander to smooth down the putty. Since I use both of those tools with a shop vac running, it makes a lot of noise…and my downstairs neighbor doesn’t like noise. At least that type of noise in the evening. I’ve been getting home too late during the week to do this power tool work so I’ll have to do a bunch of it this coming Friday morning/early afternoon.

In the downtime my itch to BUILD has been strong…I find myself daydreaming of getting down and dirty with a kit. There are a few selections in my inventory that have all the aftermarket components collected and I narrowed it down to two: Eduard’s 1/48 MiG-21MF in Egyptian markings or Tamiya’s 1/48 F-16C/N Aggressor/Adversary. I presented the choices to my fiance as “Alaska” or “Egypt” and thus this build choice was made. She liked the colors better. I'll be using Eduard's cockpit and external PE set, masks and undercarriage PE set as well as Voyager's pitot and angle of attack set and Voyager's reinforcement plates.

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As with any aircraft, the starting point is the cockpit. While the detailing on the kits parts is really nice, it had to be removed to make room for the Eduard PE, which has far better detailing when taking my hand painting out of the equation! I found that Testors Acryl Haze Gray 1/2 is a 90% match to the color of the PE parts so the tub and the fuselage interior was painted with that.

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The exterior rim that the canopy will sit on is black. I also figured I’d paint up the seat and dashboard before adding the other PE bits…the unfinished bits add a nice little touch of variation for me. Being able to see the details is important at this scale!

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The pilot was also slightly modified to fit in the seat with hands actually IN USE! The armpits were sanded at angles so the hands could rest on the controls and the gaps were filled with Elmer’s. The air hose also had to be heated and bent to match the angle of the turned head.

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Oh, and I decided to do this one as a display on the tarmac so there’s a nice big wooden base! Eduard’s undercarriage PE is also en route for super detailing the gear…also pardon the lower-quality pics. I left my camera’s memory card at work so I had to use my cell phone. Better pics to come later…

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Great start Nick. Yeah those PE cockpits just make that burst out. Love that you have the pilots arms in use, that was a great mod. Looking great so far.
 
I had a nice quiet night last night hunched over my bench finishing up the details on the cockpit. The instrument panel and hood were completed and the Eduard set was utilized to it’s fullest extent.
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There was a little trouble with the panels little side “hooks” not fitting properly in the bucket so some filing was needed. Other than that it went together beautifully.
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I even added a little drop of clear green the HUD and Future coated the reflector so the green reflects!
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The ejector seat was also finished up with all the color PE bits and pieces, which were added after the main painting was done. A wash of MiG’s dark and a coat of flat were the last touches.
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I even got a little bit further on the pilot. Yes, he looks a little glossy now but he’ll get a flat coat and some wash, too. I might have to heat the legs and push them a little closer because otherwise he has a tough time being added into the cockpit once the seat is there (I want him to be removable).
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The main gear bay was a breeze to assemble and fit right into place on the lower fuselage.
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I added the cockpit parts to the upper fuselage as opposed to the instruction’s lower fuselage attachment. No big deal.
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There was a *tiny* alignment issue getting the nose section to sit flush with the wing section, but some clamps made sure the seam was nice and smooth. The less putty this fucker needs the better.
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As a final touch this morning before work I glued the top and bottom together and once again the fit was damn near perfect. There is a little need for putty towards the tail but since there isn’t riveting or paneling detail it shouldn’t be a problem.
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Onward!
 
That is very cool. I have the same kit in my stash so I am really interested in your build. ;D
 
A little more progress. I ended up ordering Eduard’s undercarriage PE set so when that gets in it’ll be smooth sailing. I added all the rest of the PE I wanted to, masked up the canopy and cockpit, got all the wings and pylons on and finished up the armaments. It’ll be a unique setup with a couple ECM pod thingies.

Cannon detail, invisible after assembly
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intake assembly was a bit fidgety and some seams had to be sanded
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had to tape it down so it didnt pop back out before the glue set.
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lower stab + details
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vert stab in place
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reinforcement PE
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custom armament array
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getting ready for primer!
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Hi, I'm new to the forums, and I'm a new model builder. I really like your details on the cockpit but I have no idea how to get that level of painting. I'm really at a loss with out someone teaching what tools and techniques to use. Maybe there is a thread on these forums that go into detail on it but I haven't found it yet. I watched all the tutorials (I think) but nothing goes into that kind of explanation. If I'm missing something, could someone point me in the right direction?

Your painting is amazing, thanks!
 
thanks guys!

with the cockpit there are a few different techniques. the main one is that i'm using eduard's color photo-etch set. that has all the dials and knobs etc pre-painted and its really a good bit of detail that i couldnt do by hand. otherwise when i need to paint detail, i use a very thin, round tip brush. masking things always helps, too.

cheers!
 
photo etch

This is something I know nothing about but have seen it on various sites while looking for model tips (how I found this place), and on these forums but haven't gotten a concise idea of what it is. Something new to me. I also seen on my last model something about photo-etching as something you can buy for the model for an option but didn't bother looking into it. Thanks for the info, I'll look into it




(on a further note, anyway to disable the verification? I'm colorblind and have to request another image about five times before I get all the letters right... rather annoying
 
Phaze said:
(on a further note, anyway to disable the verification? I'm colorblind and have to request another image about five times before I get all the letters right... rather annoying

I believe it's only for your first three posts, and then it goes away. Make another post and then it should be gone for good. ;)
 
I had to finish the assembly of the landing gear and doors, which were photo etch, then it was primed, pre-shaded and the first coat of white has been applied.

The pilot was finished up with a bunch of hand painting, 3 different washes, some decals, a flat coat and some Future on the visor.

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Holy shit I forgot how tedius MASKING can be!!! I got the gray banding done. There are a few seams that I need to touch up and I forgot to do the nose cone so a little more gray is needed. But I’m SUPER happy with my preshading on this so far! It’s all about thinning down the paint…

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