graves_09 Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 (edited) Hello Everyone Just as I was starting my F-18 adversary, I learned that there was going to be an adversary GB starting next month so I decided to put the one on hold and pick up another tomcat. For whatever reason I am in an adversary mood, so I plan to do TOPGUN 30 with the blue splinter camo. See here from FTD's, photopage. I will be using the Hasegawa "black knights history" kit and the beaver tails from the "sundowners" kit to make a block 90 A/C. Decals from fighttown of course!!! No other aftermarkets on this one, just some scratch building and TLC. This will be my second 1/48 Hasegawa kitty. The other can be seen in this build thread. Hopefully I can learn from my experiences from the last time. Edited January 26, 2009 by graves_09 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graves_09 Posted January 26, 2009 Author Share Posted January 26, 2009 Weekend Update. This weekend I wanted to get the ball rolling so I started with my least favorite part, the wheel wells. After i got them ready to paint, I decided what they hey, I might as well paint everything white at once, so I assembled the landing gear. This turned out to be a bigger pain in the neck then I wanted. It took me about 5 hours of scraping, sanding and filling to get rid of all the pin marks and molding flesh (hint hint Hasegawa, time to invest a few dollars and remake the mold for your cash cow) It wasn't until late sunday night I got to paint all the white parts (gear, gear wells, etc) WAY longer than I anticipated. Now hopefully the worst is behind me... knock on wood. I will get some pics as soon as I have some progress to show. Bye for now! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TomcatFanatic123 Posted January 26, 2009 Share Posted January 26, 2009 Can't wait to see this one started !!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graves_09 Posted February 7, 2009 Author Share Posted February 7, 2009 Just a quick up date, I have mostly been doing construction, so not much to show thus far. I did however want to share a idea I had about the flap hinges. Most people know that the hasegawa kittys are missing the hings for the flaps and it requires some scratch building. I found that if you cut the pieces from the slats (if they are going to be placed up) and glue them in the gaps for the flap hinges they fit pretty much perfectly. They will be too tall, but glue them anyway. After the glue dries, use a knife or sand them level with the wing. I show it in the pic below. I have not cut the pieces from the slats yet (i borrowed them from the other wing). Note: this doesn't work if you are putting the flaps and slats down. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graves_09 Posted May 8, 2009 Author Share Posted May 8, 2009 Wow, it has been a long time since I have updated this. I have completed the cockpit and most of the construction. Right now I am working on filling and sanding. (My least favorite part) Not much to show, but here are some cockpit pics. One of the nose gear bay Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Doppel Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 I look forward to seeing your finished paint job on this one. regards Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TomcatFanatic123 Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 (edited) That paint job on the "office" is HOT!!!! :worship: Edited May 23, 2009 by TomcatFanatic123 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graves_09 Posted June 12, 2009 Author Share Posted June 12, 2009 (edited) Here is an update. I have gotten most of the non-splinter painting done. The white nose, lt. gray fuselage, and gull gray sides have all been painted. This was the first time I have tried pre-shading a model. I used an airbrush and MM Euro Gray to do the panels lines on the undersides of the wings. I was having problems getting the right mixture to avoid getting spider lines. Then I thickened the paint too much and I was getting a sputtering like effect. I eventually got frustrated and did the rest of the pre-shading by hand. IMO the jury is still out on pre-shading. I like the artistic look it gives to the jets but i don't know if it looks all that realistic to me. All the pics I have seen of this jet, the panel lines aren't really highlighted with the exception of a few heavily used panels. Next up: paint the top light blue and then start masking the splinter scheme. It might be a race to the finish to get this one done before the deadline!!! sort of hard to see the pre shading but i promise it is there! Like I said I wanted the effect to be fairly light as that is what I saw from my reference pics. wing pylons with duel LAU-7's bottoms of wings painted Lt. Ghost Gray Shortened the 'Gawa hook. It was too long! Thanks for looking! Hopefully I can get the baby blue painted on tonight and then get busy masking the splinter scheme! Edited June 12, 2009 by graves_09 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twhite80 Posted June 12, 2009 Share Posted June 12, 2009 I am really looking forward to the splinter! Can't wait. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graves_09 Posted June 13, 2009 Author Share Posted June 13, 2009 Quick update. Masked the canopy and painted the light blue. I found the best match for FS35450 was Humbrol 47. I tryed mixing Testors Flanker blue with bright blue 6:1 and it was close, but not quite. The Humbrol seemed to match the decals best plus no mixing so I went with that. I didn't have time for pics but I will post some soon. I'll give it a day to dry before starting the best part...MASKING! Only two more colors to go! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graves_09 Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 (edited) I am really looking forward to the splinter! Can't wait. You want it, YOU GOT IT! ;) I finished the Dk Ghost Gray splinter masking and painting. I started masking the horizontial stablizers so I didn't photograph them. And, my dog Sam sporting his own splinter scheme. :D Next up blue splinter! Edited June 17, 2009 by graves_09 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
speedlimit Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 groovy! keep it up. Eric Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reddog Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Reddog Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graves_09 Posted June 19, 2009 Author Share Posted June 19, 2009 (edited) Thanks to all for looking! Quick update: Splinter painting is DONE. (well mostly done) I painted the blue last night but I had a problem with seepage under the mask in some spots so I have to go over with light blue again. I was using 3M blue painters tape. I tried to paint perpendicular to the tape as much as possible and do muitiple light coats but even that didn't work. anyone got any better ideas for the future? Overall it looks good, here are the pics as promised: Edited June 19, 2009 by graves_09 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graves_09 Posted June 19, 2009 Author Share Posted June 19, 2009 Next up: Finish detailing landing gear, paint seat cushions and exhausts, decals and clear coats. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Reddog Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 Look Good!!!! Reddog :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twhite80 Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 That looks sweet! I have always loved the Flanker splinter NSAWC cat. Keep it going I can't wait to see the finished product! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Doppel Posted June 20, 2009 Share Posted June 20, 2009 Nice paint job Graves Regards Andrew Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graves_09 Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 I am 99% done with this one. Finished glossing and decaling last week. My wife was gone most of the weekend, so I was able to get the weathering done and final gloss coat. Most of the final assembly is done too. Just need to glue on a few more parts tonight and I should get this one squeeked out just before the dead line. Check back later tonight for pics... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
graves_09 Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 A few weeks ago I wasn't sure if I would get this one done, but here it is. I took a couple of quick pics last night before bed so here is a preview. I will take better pics tomorrow. (Yes, that is Steven Colbert in the background :) ) My other recently finish adversary F/A-18A for the Flight Test, Evaluation, Adversary GB. Hope you enjoy! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twhite80 Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Nation.... That is a great looking tomcat! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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