konbini

Hello! It's been a while, I have made some progress after taking the kit out of storage. I primarily worked on the cockpit. The side panels were done mostly OOB, painted first with Akan's cockpit grey blue acrylic, then the main black dials painted before slowly sliding on the kit decals. It helped for me to pre-perforate some parts of the decals as the panels were 3D and helped the decals to settle down nicely. The instrument panel and sidewall was completed using Quinta decals, and the blue areas painted over using A

Thanks rom! Of course the kit multipart mini -model of a seat helped big time. There are very fine 3d print lines but for the most part they disappeared under a layer or two of mr surfacer (i used 1500). They are more apparent on the seat "cushion" because of the lack of gradient (yes, it's strange). With the ripples and many folds the print lines disappear but with less gradient the steps do become more apparent. I got around this by spraying surfacer then sanding the steps. This took about 3 tries. After the initial surfacer coats I hand painted mr

Good day everyone, While I wait to take more pictures of my recently finished f-16 aggressor build I started on the complex Minibase su-33. So far extras include just the resin harnesses from SP model. These are 3d printed and have a very lovely fabric ripple effect. This was where I started. The harness was a good practice in painting and weathering. The stock PE from thr examples online look fantastic but of course present a different challenge. After I had finished the belt n harness I slowly built the rest of the seat. With s

Many thanks again 🙇🏻‍♂️ Finally, Likely my last in-progress update: I managed to finish off the wheels and put everything on. The gear bay doors were a bit fiddly but nothing some CA cant fix. For the final action I installed the canopy and waited a few seconds. Nothing happened; the airplane didn't explode or spring off somewhere. I will call this build finished at this point. Ill get some nicer pictures for a finished build post. Thanks for the support and I look forward to my next build. Konbini

Many thanks Steve. 🙇🏻‍♂️ Mini update: I managed to get my hands on the new Reskit sidewinders. It came with tiny PE for the locking mechanism thing for the fin rollers. Some test fitting was required especially for the fins, some material had to be shaved off but if you test fit these like you do normally, no problems. Decals were a mix of the Tamiya trainer 9m decals and some from Reskit. Things under the wings are now done. I'll finish up the wheels, then it will be just about finished. Enjoy!

Thanks! Glad you like it. 🙇🏻‍♂️

Mini update: After a two-clear coat with enamel weathering I decided to take a deep breath, and matte coat it. For me this is a scary stage because if anything goes wrong, it can get ugly. So far it's holding up. For the gear bay doors, I used Eduard's PE parts as they're very thin. Because of etched lines on the parts itself the resulting curve on the PE parts had ridges which could not be removed by bending technique alone. I got around this by spraying the back (outside facing) side with Mr. Surfacer, sanding it smooth, then repeating until I had built a smooth la

Many thanks! Very kind words 🙇🏻‍♂️ Thanks! Thanks so much! Thanks! There are so many fabulous builds here. We learn from each other. I

Mini update : More decalling, and finishing the acmi pod. Its gradually coming together. Konbini

Mainly yes, and any touchups that would be needed. The base color and grey highlights (eg wing leading edge) are finished though. Welcome to my long and slow build. Many thanks for your kind words! The ams desire rubbed off on my quite strongly from this forum.

server error again so pics in this post. My apologies.

Mini update. I finished the aim-120s. The little fins keep breaking off so note to self for extra careful boxing if I need to move house again. i also started the decaling process too. I am using Bullseye Model’s set which has the ghost scheme. First I misted on mr color’s rattlecan gloss in very light layers (to prevent the orange peeling fiasco I had before) and put down my first enamel wash layer. I used primarily mig’s dark sea blue wash, which is like a blue tinted dirty black color. I think it is a good start. After wiping off the excess I started decaling. I am abo

Many thanks Mr. Happy. Of course there is more on the way. In a sea of grey airplanes it is indeed sometimes nice to have something interesting. Thanks for the reference! The best I could do for now is to nudge/bend the throttle arm up a bit so it is incanted (not vertical) and out of the way of the seat.

Hello guys(and girls), Finally a proper update. First is a before and after of the painting debacle. I think the end result is acceptable. Next I finished the canopy. This is one area I tend to neglect and Im happy I took care of it now. Finally I started on the things under the airplane. I added some 0.5mm rods to the acmi pod as per reference photos. Enjoy! Konbini

Many thanks AFM! I hope I can benefit people here the same way I get inspired by so many greats in this forum. Konbini

Once I know the schemes for the particular birds Caracal are releasing I will make plans for painting the rest of the camo. Each f-22 is slightly different; the camo blobs vary in size and shape. Rather than paint a generic camo now then going back later to touch up, I feel it is better to get it done in one go. re: sides of cockpit do you mean the sidewalls? for the oxy bottles, the bottles were from a 1/72 oxy bottle resin set, chopped to correct length. The cradle was made from thin plastic card cut to shape, and the wires were 0.5 and 0.6mm coated wire. Unfortunately

Hi there! Thanks for your message. So far there are no updates as I am waiting for Caracal to release a set for the f-22. I have contemplated making a compromise and going with the kit decals, but I know based on my awful luck with Murphy’s Law, that the moment I seal everything up the sheets will be released. Caracal has since announced an updated march/april release so I’ll fiddle with other kits until then. I am currently juggling another f-16 along with a few wrenches COVID threw into my life just for fun. Progress has indeed been very slow. re: my f-22 build of cour

Picked up a copy last week from hobbyeasy. Chocked full of parts. The only areas where I foresee any AM dabbling is in the exhausts ( if you reallyyyy want that paper thin cross section) and static wicks. From my limited fondling its an ams modeler dream build. konbini

Quick update. I have now settled down, sort of, in my new smaller apartment. I cracked open the cardboard box holding my aggressor, and thank goodness it's still intact. The first thing I did was to clear coat the main parts that received the masked camo painting back in October. I figured to stay safe and spray the horizontal stabs first with my mr color rattlecan. It was the right call. Initially, it seemed like the Mr Color coat didnt quite like to stay in an even coverage. I remedied by spraying slower to get a heavier coverage (for the horizontal stab). This is where the Valle

Thanke Arnaud, Jobs are few and in between. I have plenty of hours but not quite enough command time for a direct entry command position. It looks like for the time being it is a sit and wait game while I find a non flying job. I hear guys in many western countries have turned to even Costco for a register position. Worst times but rock bottom means only way is up. Thanks Steve, After I move and settle down in a cheaper accomodation I do hope to make some progress on this build. The hardest paint job is over anyway. It's comforting to have brothers in support

Non build update: My job as an airline pilot was made redundent from the loss of the entire airline Cathay Dragon in Hong Kong. While I take care of the many things to do, including moving, this build will be at a snail sleep speed. I will need to figure out a way to safely move this unfinished f-16 to a new home in the meantime. Konbini

One easy way to get one is to purchase the non fogging type CA. Those typically dry slower, or if not available, most gel types are slower too.

For flat parts like instrument panels I used Tamiya clear acrylic, which is similar to white glue. After some parts dried just to be sure I tapped the joined edges hidden from view with a pinprick amount of CA to lock it in.

This time yes, it was straightforward vallejo acrylic on mr color lacquer (on mr surfacer primer) with no real issues with advanced modeling's masks. I went without testing anything with my build. Not the brightest move on my part. For your case if you have any concerns I would test a scrap part with an unused scrap corner of the masking sheet if you want to be sure.

I've had my moments of frustration 😉 and luck I used both acrylic and laquer purely based on color availability. for example I used Mr. Color's laquer air superiority blue, but topped that with Vallejo's acrylic FS35109 for the dark blue green.