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1/48 AFV Club F-5E "Old Blue" Aggressor


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I have been wanting to do this build for a long long time. AFV Club to the rescue. I know it's been said before but the AFV F-5 is a stunning kit. The fit is better than Tamiya. Pure joy from start to finish.

I drilled out the Hydraulic resevoir sight guages on the sides of the fuselage. Filled them with clear sprue from the kit and painted from the back side. Has depth now instead of a red dot. Looks real.

AMS resin ejection seat. Fine Molds Pitot tube (adapted an F-86 tube.

Model Master paint. The bluish color FS36190 is a mix of Humbrol HU89 with a little MM FS36109 and some grey.

Hand airbrushed with Iwata HP-C+. Promodeller "Dark Dirt" was on all upper surface lines except the spine. The spine panel lines ar much deeper and wider than the rest of the kit so an enamel wash was used here to tone tham down. Enamel "panzer grey" wash was used on the belly as this was less harsh than the promodeller wash.

Metalizer "Stainless Steel" with "Magnesium" and "Burnt Metal" mottled on. No sealant.

Twobobs decals. Worked great as usual.

This was a lot of fun. I will build more of these. "Snake" scheme is next.

Darren McTee

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Edited by jettdude
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Man I was hoping you'd post pics of this guy when you got done. Couldn't wait to see it Darren. Amazing as usual.

Every time I look at your pics, I think that you have a heat-seeking, laser-guided CSI Miami looking model room. Your models come out looking THAT good. You still building on that microwave cart dude?

Freakin' amazing Darren.....

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Man I was hoping you'd post pics of this guy when you got done. Couldn't wait to see it Darren. Amazing as usual.

Every time I look at your pics, I think that you have a heat-seeking, laser-guided CSI Miami looking model room. Your models come out looking THAT good. You still building on that microwave cart dude?

Freakin' amazing Darren.....

Thanks for the comments Bob...and thanks for putting out all these F-5 Aggressor sheets.

LOL..as far as my build space. Well we finished off the that room as my hobby room!...All new cabinets. Storage space for my 200 Twobobs sheets and $$$ in resin, etch and crap. The microwave cart table is gone!! I now have over 6 feet of counter top to work on!

One thing has not changed...with all that space available...I am so messy that my workable space has shrunk to my standard 4 x 4 inch square. By the end of this F-5 build I was actually working with it on top of multiple paint bottles, old sand paper, tools...etc. It's ridiculous...but it works I guess.

Now I'm gonna need some "Snake" refs soon.....hmmm

Darren

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Wow...absolutely stunning.

I have been on a Tomcat kick as of late and have had the Navy Agressor F-5 in my sights for sometime now. I think your build just sealed the deal for me.

One of the nicest looking builds I have seen. Excellent job.

Thanks. If you have been on a Hasegawa Tomcat kick...this AFV kit will be a breath of fresh air as far as easy of construction. The only fit issue I had were the gun doors on the nose but its an easy fix. The main gear door linkages are almost to scale. There are three per outer door...I nearly pulled my hair out fiddling with these to get the doors to me symetric left and right.

I recommend Tamiya Extra Thin for this build. If you test fit, trim and run the thin glue in the seams, there is little if any need for filler anywhere on this kit.

Darren

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Outstanding job Darren! What a beauty!

Sold off over half my collection now. Mainly have 1/32 scale aircraft. In 1/48 scale, have Phantoms, Mig Jets, Saber jets, TA-4J's, A-4's and an F5F. Also have one of these AFV kits of F-5 in Sundowner markings! It really is all you say that it is.

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NICE - always thought that scheme was wrap-around, but plesantly surprised it is not

Old Blue was not wrap around..."New Blue" is wrap around and has a different pattern and one of the blues is a darker color. Also, New Blue usually covers the radome too, not black.

Darren

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Outstanding job Darren! What a beauty!

Sold off over half my collection now. Mainly have 1/32 scale aircraft. In 1/48 scale, have Phantoms, Mig Jets, Saber jets, TA-4J's, A-4's and an F5F. Also have one of these AFV kits of F-5 in Sundowner markings! It really is all you say that it is.

Hi Tommy,

Thanks for the props...

Have you built a Hasegawa A-4 yet? Another great kit with cool aggressor schemes.

Darren

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Hi Jettdude

This is a fantastic build! Must be the best i've seen!!!

I'm currently working on an F-5E in the Old Lizard scheme but doubt it wll end up as good as your build.

Can i ask a couple of questions? I'm new to using ModelMaster enamels that have just become available in the UK. What do you thin your paints with and what ration of paint to thinner do you use?

Best regards and look forward to more F-5E Aggressors!

Rob

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Darren....>SERIOUSLY? What a freaking awesome job, as usual. I have to say that the colors and the whole presentation are just spot on. Here I thought your A-4 Aggressor was awesome and now you roll in with this? Very inspirational man.

Cheers

Mike

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Hi Jettdude

This is a fantastic build! Must be the best i've seen!!!

I'm currently working on an F-5E in the Old Lizard scheme but doubt it wll end up as good as your build.

Can i ask a couple of questions? I'm new to using ModelMaster enamels that have just become available in the UK. What do you thin your paints with and what ration of paint to thinner do you use?

Best regards and look forward to more F-5E Aggressors!

Rob

Thanks, glad you like it.

As for MM paints I have the best luck thinning them with Model Master Thinner. Exact ratio is difficult to say. I start at about 50/50 but what I am looking for is something that looks like thin skim milk. After I stir I use my Tamiya stir stick and drag the paint up the side of the jar and watch how it flows back down the side of the jar. When I am happy I spray on an old "hack" A/C I have to see how it sprays and how it covers. I can tell how "wet" it is and will adjust to thin it or sometimes thicken it up before I spray on the model.

I lay down the basic pattern, not being too concerned with overspray. I then thin the paint just a little more and go back and tighten up the demarcation lines by always spraying at an angle into the color area I am working on. I switch colors multiple times to keep tightening and eliminating over spray. How many times you need to do this will depend on your airbrush skill and how tight you can make your brush spray. I spent about 15 hours on the F-5 pattern.

Regards,

Darren

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Darren....>SERIOUSLY? What a freaking awesome job, as usual. I have to say that the colors and the whole presentation are just spot on. Here I thought your A-4 Aggressor was awesome and now you roll in with this? Very inspirational man.

Cheers

Mike

Thanks dude. You pop some intakes out for this kit and you will see a "Snake" or "Ghost" rapidly thereafter!! :banana:

Darren

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Did you see my website update man? Get one out of the stash and start perp work! :banana:

Dude,

You make my day!! While I'm there I guess I'll order some T-2 intakes and a pit!

Darren

Edited by jettdude
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Man I was hoping you'd post pics of this guy when you got done. Couldn't wait to see it Darren. Amazing as usual.

Every time I look at your pics, I think that you have a heat-seeking, laser-guided CSI Miami looking model room. Your models come out looking THAT good. You still building on that microwave cart dude?

Freakin' amazing Darren.....

Hey man did you ever hook up your basement?

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