RichardL

That's a nice build. However, I think I will give mine a metallic bronze sheen as opposed to stainless steel since the pics that I've seen all have bronze sheen. I have some ideas in mind.

Mission Models FS36170 might look OK after a few clear gloss coats and flat coats to tone down the metallic specks. I will check to see if Mr. Color RLM75 has the same hue as Gunze's version.

And you wouldn't be encountering the catch-22 if you paint the canopy last after the base coats + clear coats to avoid masking it, as some others have suggested.

I also use Mr. Finishing Surfacer Black 1500. However, keep in mind that the black base will slightly darken the color coats, so you will need to compensate for this.

Time is not the issue here as three days should be sufficient. Your problem is the clear paint was applied to unprimed smooth bare plastic, which greatly increased the chance of the paint lifting off.

I need Hill AFB decals for 1/48 F-35A.

I usually go over the model with a tack cloth to remove any hair or dust particles before priming. I lightly sand the primer with 6000 grit and 8000 grit sandpapers afterwards.

A couple more shots taken under indirect late afternoon light:

It was not sunny this morning, so the photo below was taken outside under overcast sky: You can clearly see the distinction between Light Ghost Gray and Dark Ghost Gray.

Those are fairly new chips. The photos were taken indoor, however. I will try to snap some under natural daylight.

Here are a couple of pics I just took of the actual Federal Standard color chips: As you can see, there is a pretty big difference between Light Ghost Gray and Dark Ghost Gray.

You can certainly see the difference between LGG and DGG in real life, even on a weathered Navy jet such as this one posted by Collin in the other thread: On Air Force jets, such as the F-15A or F-15C, the difference is even more noticeable.

You want the MRP ones in this case because they will appear slightly darker after a couple of gloss coats for decalling purposes.

Unfortunately, Dark Gull Grey doesn't have any blue tint in it. If you want a slight blue tint, try Dark Ghost Gray or even FS 35237.

This kit can now be pre-ordered from Kitlinx in the states for cheap: AMK 1/48 F14D Super Tomcat