mkimages Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Here's the Shooting Star I'm building for the 181st FW history project. Pretty much OOB save for the Hobbycraft T-33 tanks on the wingtips (kindly donated by scorvi) and a .30-06 rifle shell for a tailpipe. I finished getting the airframe put together today, so it's about ready for a coat of primer. Nothing special yet, I just thought the F-80 looked pretty spiffy with the T-33 tanks mounted; much sleeker looking than the ones that hang under the wingtips. and the rifle shell tailpipe Quote Link to post Share on other sites
illithid00 Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Very nice! And great use of an old rifle shell for the tailpipe! I would never have thought of that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor Supporter Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 and a .30-06 rifle shell for a tailpipe. Now that's ingenuity! Looking forward to seeing more of it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mkimages Posted July 14, 2008 Author Share Posted July 14, 2008 Shot a primer coat, fixed a few seam problems (bleedin' wing roots ), and shot a coat of Tamiya AS-12 silver out of the rattle can. I'm trying a new technique for picking out different panels in the NMF, masking off the panels and rubbing charcoal from an artist's pencil in with a cotton swab, then burnishing with a napkin and finger. So far I'm very happy with the results, the hard part now is turning out to be picking which panels to shade, trying to keep it realistic without giving it that "patchwork" appearance. I also used a white pencil's rubbings on the top panel directly behind the cockpit. It's a very subtle difference but it doesn't really show in the pic. Carpet Monster snatched one of the fuel-tank fins, so I'll probably have to scratchbuild a new one to get him to return it :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jack-Swiss Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Nice lookin F-80!!! that's a veeeery nice NMF from you! cant wait to see more! Cheers :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
El Camino Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 Those panels look good. That new method of yours appears to work great. Will be watching for more progress :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ThePhantomTwo Posted July 14, 2008 Share Posted July 14, 2008 How the heck did I miss this thread!I guess I'll blame it on the heat Looks great so far,can't wait to see it up close and personal!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ThePhantomTwo Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 (edited) A couple of pics for inspiration of 113th TFS F-80C's for you. Edited July 15, 2008 by ThePhantomTwo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mkimages Posted July 20, 2008 Author Share Posted July 20, 2008 Thanks for all the kind comments you guys, and Dave for posting the reference pics. Those helped a ton. Here's another Sunday's progress on the build. The painting is pretty much done. I may shoot the chin panel around the gun muzzles with Alclad, but that'll be it other than a few minor touch-ups. Next up is a brushed coat of Future. I printed decals on the laser printer at work for the ANG markings & serial, but made the IND ANG for the fuselage sides a bit too small so I'll need to reprint those. So far so good. Thankfully this has been a surprisingly pain-free build. Knock wood that it stays that way . More news as events warrant. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor Supporter Posted July 22, 2008 Share Posted July 22, 2008 Liking that scheme you got going on it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mkimages Posted July 26, 2008 Author Share Posted July 26, 2008 A bit more painting today. I did the chin/nose panels using Alclad Pale Burnt Metal and Dark Aluminum to try and keep it busy-looking up front. I also started the markings by painting the IND ANG lettering on the fuselage sides. I printed decals, but made these letters too small and since I ran out of decal paper, decided to make masks on the vinyl cutter and paint them on. I was worried about the tiny bit in the center of the A but thankfully, all went well and now she's starting to get some identity. Kind of funny how I keep finding uses for rifle shells in this build. That's a .35 Remington sticking out the back end. It happened to fit perfectly around the .30-06 that is the tailpipe not only giving a nice handhold for painting, but protecting the metal exhaust from overspray as well. Next shot is just a view from the other side along with the decals I printed on the laser printer at work. The printer didn't exactly like the paper too much, especially on the small markings, but I think I have enough to do the job. So at this point, she's about ready for a clearcoat. If anyone sees any mistakes or accuracy issues, now's the time to point them out. Thanks for looking! B) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mkimages Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 First coat of Future is brushed on. Now to *yawn* wait until it's *Zzzzzz* dry so I can start with the decals. Maybe I'll play with the camera… Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Jack-Swiss Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 That is a tough job but very well done!!!!!!! great job indeed!!! Cheers mate Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dahut Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 Super smashing job. I like the panel shading with charcoal/pastels. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mkimages Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 And, with a single afternoon-long decaling session, all the markings are applied. I used Future as decal solution, brushing some on before and after applying each decal. It's kind of hairy, because the decals get tougher to slide around as the Future sets up, but it cocoons them in clear acrylic quite well. Silvering is completely eliminated and the crappy, ancient kit decals were held down securely even though they wanted to curl up into tight little tubes. The custom decals went down perfectly, even without having overcoated after printing. I liked the shot in front of the monitor, so I did it again. Now I'll let the Future set up for a day or two, then airbrush a mist of glass cleaner over the whole thing to allow it to resettle and smooth out. Then some oil wash, maybe some minor weathering and a final coat of Future flattened with Tamiya X-21. Thanks again for the kind comments . :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Looks really nice so far! How does this vinyl cutting work? The IND ANG lettering came out great! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gambler Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Beautiful job Mark! That is super smooth work there. Cheers, Jeff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
madmike Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 A great looking F-80 so far. AS-12 does look great and the use of graphite to darken various panels in a great idea. MikeJ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mkimages Posted July 28, 2008 Author Share Posted July 28, 2008 Looks really nice so far! How does this vinyl cutting work? The IND ANG lettering came out great! showing the cutting process. It's self-adhesive, thin vinyl sheet. Most sign shops will have these machines and can cut masks inexpensively as long as you do the layout work. It's the same stuff that the Steel Beach intake covers and Dave Roof's F-16 scab plates are made of.;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 Thanks for the heads-up! ;) Certainly looks like an excellent way of doing roundels and things for more exotic air forces. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor Supporter Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 That is looking very sharp! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
HERC164 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 That is excellent work there. getting ready to do that kit for my squadron, 164th OHANG, like the decals, will you be making more? thanks Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mkimages Posted July 31, 2008 Author Share Posted July 31, 2008 Thanks for the encouragement, guys. It's appreciated. I probably won't run any more decals like I did for this one, the laser printer at work didn't do a very good job with the printing and I'm concerned I'd wind up messing up the drum/cartridge ($115 for a new one) if I tried it again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ThePhantomTwo Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 I'm speechless!That is going to look great in the history room!Very inventive working with viynl Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mkimages Posted August 8, 2008 Author Share Posted August 8, 2008 So close to being finished. This is the nerve-wracking part for me :) so I'm moving. very. very. sloooowly. I've applied an oil-paint/turpenoid wash in the wells and around the control surfaces and attached all of the fiddly bits (can you tell which of the tank fins I carved out of sheet plastic?). This weekend will be the final clearcoat and canopy attachment and she'll be ready for a photoshoot then off to her new home. Packing her up securely is going to be a project all by itself since I've never mailed a model before. More wracking of nerves… Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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