Kingoalie Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 (edited) Hey Everyone, I started my 1/144th Blue Angels project. I'll be building two Revell of Germany F/A-18s utilizing Jasmine Models decals. I plan on posing the two opposing solos in the "Knife Edge" pass. Something like this: (photo courtesy of the USN Blue Angels site) So far I've filled in the pylon holes, removed the ailerons, glued the landing gear doors shut, back-dated the vertical stabs, and worked on the cockpit. The pilots are from OzMods and I still need to finish painting them. Until next time John Edited June 28, 2009 by John King Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Julien (UK) Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 Looking forward to seeing this one done. Julien Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted June 29, 2009 Author Share Posted June 29, 2009 Small update today. I finished painting the pilots and the cockpits. I added seat harnesses from masking tape; I'm not 100% happy w/the width of them, but I think they'll do. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChristopherC Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 These are going to look great, looking forward to seeing more! Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 I made some progress tonight. I had hoped to make more, but then I realized that the pylons on the sides of the intake/gear wells are not really shown on actual Blue Angels jets. So, out w/the sanding sticks and a few minutes later , they were no more. I still need to do a little touch up. Fuselages together. Cockpit shot. By chance does anyone know roughly how far apart the two jets are when they perform the knife edge pass? John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor Supporter Posted July 1, 2009 Share Posted July 1, 2009 This is going to be good if the pilots are any indication! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted July 3, 2009 Author Share Posted July 3, 2009 Starting to look more like F/A-18s. The canopies have been dipped in Future and need some time to cure. There is still some work to be done around the radome-fuselage join. I hope I can get a primer on it this weekend and see what flaws await me! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian P: Fightertown Decals Posted July 3, 2009 Share Posted July 3, 2009 Super cool!! Great idea and the Blues look like they're gonna be hot. 1 thing if it's still possible to change is the visors. The Blues fly with specially made gold visors. The silver visor is on the blue helmet for VIP riders. Can't wait to see more! -brian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted July 4, 2009 Author Share Posted July 4, 2009 Good call Brian. This photo clearly shows it too: (courtesy of USN Blue Angels site) Thankfully the canopies aren't on so I can still fix it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CW4 Erick Swanberg Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Is it me or does she fill out those pants might nicely Good call Brian. This photo clearly shows it too: (courtesy of USN Blue Angels site) Thankfully the canopies aren't on so I can still fix it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted July 4, 2009 Author Share Posted July 4, 2009 Is it me or does she fill out those pants might nicely It's a recruiting tactic...right? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted July 4, 2009 Author Share Posted July 4, 2009 This will be my first ever in-flight display. So, tonight I played around with some clear acrylic rod. Here's kind of the general idea: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Julien (UK) Posted July 4, 2009 Share Posted July 4, 2009 Now thats looking good. Julien Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GreyGhost Posted July 5, 2009 Share Posted July 5, 2009 Looking really good John ... Great idea for a dio ! The Blues use the general rule of the width of a runway for opposing pass separation ... Some times it looks closer to me though, especially when they perform over water ... Gregg Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted July 5, 2009 Author Share Posted July 5, 2009 Thanks for the comments guys! Gregg, thanks for that info about the space between the jets. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mildenhall rules Posted August 1, 2009 Share Posted August 1, 2009 Dude, they look awesome, and a great idea for display. Looking forward to seeing this one done! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted August 1, 2009 Author Share Posted August 1, 2009 Thanks! Everything is filled and sanded. All I need to do is add the canopies and paint! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted August 19, 2009 Author Share Posted August 19, 2009 Don't worry guys; this one hasn't been put on the back burner, I just haven't had a lot of time to model lately. I did get all the filling and sanding done and I glued the canopies on...after which I noticed a problem: the instrument cover started to fog up from the glue! Thankfully I was able to pop the front windscreen off and repaint it. Maybe this weekend I'll get some paint on them! John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted September 15, 2009 Author Share Posted September 15, 2009 (edited) Well I managed to finish my new spray booth (well, finished enough to paint my Blues). I still need to add a filter on the spray booth and paint the whole thing, but that can wait. So, all was going well with the painting... until I spilled some of the paint on this one. Thankfully, I'm using Model Master Acrylics, so I was able to quickly wash away the mess. I'll let it dry and be able to touch it up tomorrow, and add another coat to the first one, I hope. Till then, John Edited September 15, 2009 by John King Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted September 17, 2009 Author Share Posted September 17, 2009 Both jets now painted! I'm hoping the yellow decals work well; I really don't want to try and paint the spine yellow...Tomorrow, I'll throw the Future on it! Possibly Decals on Saturday! John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted September 24, 2009 Author Share Posted September 24, 2009 (edited) Decals went on amazingly! I could not believe how well these worked! The only issue I had with the decals is that the Blue Angels badge on the front fuselage is too big. Other than that, awesome decals! I only have a few things left to do: -touch up some of the decals -paint the wing tip rails (don't know why I didn't do that first...) -sand down the tips of the vertical stabs (I didn't notice they were so misshapen until after decaling) -add the exhaust -add the "smoke tube thing" I can't believe it's been a 3 month project, but the models will be done by the deadline! Still don't know how I'm going to paint the base. Any suggestions? Thanks, John Edited September 24, 2009 by John King Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Man, those DO look great! Good to see the colours of the decals are that nice and, judging from the photos, cover the blue very well. Regarding the base: How about a water base? Like the display they fly during Fleet Week in SF. Your spray-booth looks pretty cool, too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted September 25, 2009 Author Share Posted September 25, 2009 Thanks Moritz! A water base would be cool, but I think I'm leaning more towards maybe a blue base with the Blue Angels shield logo on it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Julien (UK) Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 Looking good! Julien Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted October 1, 2009 Author Share Posted October 1, 2009 I'm calling this one done. I might reform the acrylic rod or maybe add something to the base, but the models are done. This was a fun project. I have a feeling I'll be building some more in-flight 1/144th models. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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