EF-2000 Typhoon, Revell 1/32: 3(F) Squadron, Operation ELLAMY

[Marcel111]

Hi guys,

We have another relocation behind us so I have been getting back into the Typhoon. At the same time I have switched to Acrylics, so that's been a bit of a learning curve, and then some. No regrets about the switch though, it's so nice not having to deal with the fumes and solvents etc.

Here goes: I have been slaving away at the 4x Enhanced Paveways, fortunetly I did get a very large dose of help from a resin casting expert friend... more to be revealed at a later time.

These are still looking pretty ugly at this point, but I thought I'd show some pics just to prove that I really have been modelling.

The cable duct still needs to be painted, the yellow band certainly doesn't go all the way round on the duct. These need a bunch of clean-up in general.

Cleaning up 16x control fins and adding Al mounting pins is not really all that much fun:

The guidance heads are from resin and very fine, hence the addional attrition head in there. I already molded some clear lenses.

I also just invested in a half-decent camera, something I should have done a very long time ago. No doubt my pics are not Chuck'yesian in quality but they are a huge improvement on what I was doing before. Here are some nicer shots of the engine and exhaust detail (I will be taking overall shots of the build as soon as I get a hold of some appropriate white or light gray paper backing):

Thanks for looking,

Marcel

[JesniF-16]

Marcel-

I think you're new camera will really bring out the faded panels, weathering and color variations of your builds.... I would love to see some pics of your F-15, F-18C, & SU-27 taken with your new camera set-up :rolleyes:/> Looks like you've already got a handle on those acrylics as well :thumbsup:/> NICE!

/Jesse

[spike7451]

Looking good mate,although the noses on the bombs are'nt gray,they're the same color as the rear fin unit..See pic (click for larger pic);

Edited April 17, 2013 by spike7451

[Marcel111]

Marcel-

I think you're new camera will really bring out the faded panels, weathering and color variations of your builds.... I would love to see some pics of your F-15, F-18C, & SU-27 taken with your new camera set-up /> Looks like you've already got a handle on those acrylics as well /> NICE!

/Jesse

Thanks Jesse! I have started taking pics of my Flanker with the new camera, what a difference. I still need to get a nice backing to take overall shots, once I have those I'll be posting in the display case.

Looking good mate,although the noses on the bombs are'nt gray,they're the same color as the rear fin unit..See pic

Have a look at the below, note light gray nose:

That is exactly the aircraft and timeframe with same number of mission marks that I will be representing. Here's a pic showing the 4x EPW:

From what I have found, the Enhanced Paveways generally had light gray noses towards the later part of the campaign. Here are some links to some more pics with light gray nosed EPW:

1

2

3

:cheers:/>

Marcel

Edited April 18, 2013 by Marcel111

[Marcel111]

Here is some progress on the Typhoon weapons. All of the below pics are pre flat coat, so things look a little gaudy.

Aim-132. These are almost done, all I need to do is flat-coat them and add the already made clear dome for the seeker head. Note that these are painted a very light gray, the color is substantially lighter than the fuselarge gray:

The Enhanced Paveways. I am waiting on some custom decals I am having made before I can flat coat these:

Press-molded seeker heads are painted with Tamiya clear yellow:

Cheers,

Marcel

[Marcel111]

Washed, decalled and initial flat-coat on.

I struggled a little with the wash. I initially used my customary dark gray Promodeller mix, same as I used on my Flanker and Hornet. However, the effect looked something like dark snakes crawling over the aircraft--the panel lines are simply not Tamiya or Academy. Consequently, I re-washed the entire model with a light gray mix. This was still not sufficient to cover the dark panel lines, so I had to lightly spray over the panel lines with the base color. I am now satisfied with the contrast.

The 3 Squadron decals are from Mark One. They are a little thick but the colors of both the squadron insignia and roundels look good to my eye. That said, I did cover the squadron insignia with a very light coat of gray to give them a more faded and hence period-accurate look.

Stencils and data were from the excellent Two Bobs sheet. The stencils are far finer than what you get on the kit's decals sheet so in my opinion the Two Bobs sheet is a must for any 1/32 Typhoon, even if you don't do an aircraft covered by the sheet.

Some decals were also sourced from the kit's sheet, which is very extensive. Selected decals, such as the warning triangles on the pylons, were again lightly oversprayed with gray in order to tone them down a little.

I am still waiting for the custom mission marks decal I am having made, so that area of the Typhoon remains glossy.

Yep, that's a full length 1/32 Typhoon intake you see there! And it also has a performated splitter plate, as it should.

The Aires wheel wells are outstanding and fit perfectly. If you look carefully at the below pic, you'll notice that the panel lines are really nice on this part of the model. It's as if the team that did the Tornado started working on this model but then got pulled away and the entire project was passed onto a beginner.

Also notive the three round, red dots by all of the Aim-120 recesses as well as those yellow strips.

:cheers:/>

Marcel

[chuck540z3]

Those intakes are killer Marcel. Really good work on a crappy part of this kit.

[viperjoe]

magnificient building and painting!!!congrats Marcel

ciao ciao from ITALY -GIO-

[JesniF-16]

Really inspirational work Marcel :worship:/> Outstanding paintwork and a very clean build once again :thumbsup:/> I guess you've mastered those acrylic paints already!

/Jesse

[sharkey]

Awesome wheel wells!

[ghatherly]

Really nice build, especially the exterior paint!!

[Marcel111]

Those intakes are killer Marcel. Really good work on a crappy part of this kit.

Thanks Chuck! I think I could have put together a Tamiya F-16 in the time it took me to get the intake done.

magnificient building and painting!!!congrats Marcel

Thanks Viperjoe!

Really inspirational work Marcel /> Outstanding paintwork and a very clean build once again /> I guess you've mastered those acrylic paints already!

Thanks Jesse! Yeah, It’s funny, on the odd occasion that I do have to airbrush enamels now (e.g. metallic), I can’t stand it. I have switched to using a Harder & Steenbeck from my old Badger 150 and it makes a big difference, there is far less tendency for the nozzle to clog and the airbrush also inherently cleans easier. That definitely helped the transition.

Awesome wheel wells!

Thanks Sharkey… that’s really all Aires, all I had to do is keep a steady hand while painting.

Really nice build, especially the exterior paint!!

Thanks ghatherly , it took a while to get there, despite it being a one-tone gray finish, there was plenty of masking involved.

Marcel

[John Wolstenholme]

Hi Marcel, as Chuck said the intake lip and intakes look the business. Certainly like the subtle ‘weathering’, panel shading effects and added detailing.

Couldn’t help wondering why the ‘panel lines’ (?) forward of the fin LE intake are more prominent – my eyes are drawn straight to it.

Not having seen a topside of this particular acft/time period maybe it is like that, rather than this:

http://www.airfighters.com/photo_120886.details.large

Roll on the gear and mission marks. :thumbsup:/>

Regards

John

Edited June 5, 2013 by John Wolstenholme

[Marcel111]

Hi Marcel, as Chuck said the intake lip and intakes look the business. Certainly like the subtle ‘weathering’, panel shading effects and added detailing.

Couldn’t help wondering why the ‘panel lines’ (?) forward of the fin LE intake are more prominent – my eyes are drawn straight to it.

Not having seen a topside of this particular acft/time period maybe it is like that, rather than this:

http://www.airfighte...6.details.large

Roll on the gear and mission marks. />

Regards

John

John, that line is a "do not walk aft of this line" markation, it is a decal applied just forwar of a panel line. You are right to point out that it is far too prominent! I went up and looked at the pics Gary posted a page earlier on this thread showing Q-0M and you can virtually not see the markation at all. So much for blindly applying decals.

I will have to go and overspray with base color... tricky since the decal crosses various shades of gray. Just when I thought I was almost done

Marcel

[Marcel111]

John the things I do for you ;)/>/>/>

I went back and with a bit of help from Chuck's masking tips oversprayed the "no step aft of this line" decal. It looks much truer to the real thing now, so jokes aside, John, thanks a bunch for the feedback.

Notice that I have started test-fitting the starboard engine. The Aires exhausts are beautiful.

And some closer views of that "line":

Chuck, in case you are reading this, note how the "M" looks a lot better now, thx.

Now for getting those engines to fit into there smoothly...

:woo:/>/>/>

Marcel

Edited June 8, 2013 by Marcel111

[Paddington]

wow... absolutely crackin' tiffy ! I like it !

Patrick

[Darth Vader]

Very nice ! makes me want to get mine out of the stash

[John Wolstenholme]

I will have to go and overspray with base color... tricky since the decal crosses various shades of gray.

And some closer views of that "line":

Marcel, well worth the effort, you nailed it. Looking the business.

John

[Marcel111]

Thanks Patrick, thanks Vader!

John, glad you like the toned down marking.

Here are some close-ups of how the home-made exhaust updates look now that they are painted metallic:

And here for some oil streaking on the belly. I used a pic of a fairly weathered RAF Typhoon I found on airliners.net as reference.

Closer view:

And here is what the completed lenses of the AIM-132 look like:

:cheers:/>

Marcel

[JesniF-16]

Brilliant work Marcel :worship:/> That exhaust modification is pure genius.... Getting oh so close to the end now :thumbsup:/>

/Jesse

[HOKUM52]

After visiting BAE at RAF Warton and seeing the production line + then one took off, I would know you truly have done this airplane justice.

Beautiful job

Actually Marcel i have a question. What did you use to do your staining and how did you apply it?

I would like to try it on my su25 which has yet to recive this type of weathering :D ?

Edited June 14, 2013 by HOKUM52

[Marcel111]

Brilliant work Marcel /> That exhaust modification is pure genius.... Getting oh so close to the end now

Thanks Jesse! Yeah, things are getting close, phew!

After visiting BAE at RAF Warton and seeing the production line + then one took off, I would know you truly have done this airplane justice.

Beautiful job

Actually Marcel i have a question. What did you use to do your staining and how did you apply it?

I would like to try it on my su25 which has yet to recive this type of weathering

Thanks Hokum, that's a huge compliment!

For the underside, I used the Tamiya "Weathering Master D" Item 87088, specifically the Oil Stain color. I really like these, good color, goes on easy and once applied is still fairly resistent.

Here is where I am now:

I received the custom mission marks decal and applied it the same day I received it in the mail... note the 56 mission marks!

As I took the masks off the windscreen, things looked horrible and I thought I'd be taking a lengthy hiatus from the hobby: The inside of the windscreen was fogged with what looked like a mist of paint. Close to setting the model aside, I instead cut a Q-tip so that it would be more pointed, applied some Tamiya Rubbing Compound and was successfully able to clean the inside of the windscreen (fortunately, the area ahead of the HUD was clear). I'm actually still amazed that this worked, I really thought I'd have to rip off the winscreen to fix this. I will speculate and say that Future is fairly non-adhesive and hence it is easy to rub any paint mist off of it. Importantly, rubbing clear, Future-coated plastic with Tamiya Rubbing Compoind is no problem.

Some more pics. The fuselarge side exhaust stain was introduced with black pastel, while the rudder and starboard wing stain where done with ground pencil dust.

:cheers:/>

Marcel

[Anthony in NZ]

Amazing Marcel, your workmanship is faultless and is an artform...I really hope my 32nd A-4K Kahu comes out even half as good as this!

Thanks for the inspiration

Cheers

Anthony

[Kagemusha]

Wonderful work Marcel, it really is a masterclass in how to get the very best out of the kit. Have you thought about the u/c, particularly the front one, it really is in need of a brass replacement.

[karl h]

very best build of the typhoon i have seen!