A-10 LOADER Posted September 26, 2013 Author Share Posted September 26, 2013 Small update but, progress none the less. Got the fins painted and sealed on the AIM-9's and AIM-7. I used Model Master metalizer paint " Titanium " and then buffed them out with a Q-Tip. After all these years of modeling this was my first time using metalizer paint, pretty cool stuff. It really is amazing how good they look once buffed out. Next up, a little more paint work to the missiles exhaust areas. Thanks for following along. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 1, 2013 Author Share Posted October 1, 2013 Today's update, got the fuel tanks gloss coated and got the Inert MK-82's weathered and flat coated. Slowly making forward progress, thanks for looking. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 2, 2013 Author Share Posted October 2, 2013 For some reason Photobucket doesn't seem to want to cooperate with me today. All these images, in my Photobucket library, were edited, cropped, etc. but, those images won't show up here !!?? Oh well, moving on ..... Today's update is all about finishing up the smaller sub-assemblies of the Big Cat, at times these seemed like small projects themselves. Here are the two forward pallets with the BDU-50's on board. The bombs are not glued on but fit snugly, so I can change the loadout from time to time. I also have the GBU-16's that need a little more work yet. It feels good to finally see all those hours of research, filling and sanding, priming, painting, etc. pay off. I am real happy with how the project is going so far and will continue to try and make SOME progress each day. Now that the NHL season is underway this will be tough. Thanks for following along and I hope you all are enjoying this as much as I am. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 Another sub-assembly almost finished but, coming along nicely. The AIM-9's and AIM-7 along with their launchers and pylons. I still have some work to do to the missiles before I can say they're 100% finished but again, nice to see things coming together. Til next time Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 Checking in today and I see that the proper images are now viewable, that's strange. Hope you enjoy them. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 Good morning everyone, While some other parts are drying I decided to tackle the LANTIRN pod. This is JSI's version, beautifully done but, the heads laser window and FLIR are all wrong. My reference photos show what they should look like. I popped off the old lenses and sanded down the face of the FLIR ( there was some glue residue that needed to be removed ). I cut a new FLIR window out of an old notebook subject divider page that was about the right color and used an MV lens for the laser eye held in place with some blue tak. Once I got the MV lens and the FLIR window at the right spot I used a little CA glue to hold them in place. On the left is the original JSI version and on the right is my updated version. Looks a lot better IMO. Now I can get ride of the seams and sink marks and make it look like it should. Thanks for checking in. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 18, 2013 Author Share Posted October 18, 2013 Today's update, look what showed up in the mailbox today !! A HUGE THANK YOU to Brian P. at FIGHTERTOWN DECALS for helping with out with these for the Big Cat project. Some of the parts are ready for decals so, I am excited to give them a try. Hopefully over the weekend I get a chance to use them. Thanks for checking in. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Rodney Posted October 19, 2013 Share Posted October 19, 2013 Way cool. Keep up the great work. Rodney Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 20, 2013 Author Share Posted October 20, 2013 Thanks Rodney for the encouragement. I'm gonna try and decal the tails and fuel tanks today, pics to follow. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 22, 2013 Author Share Posted October 22, 2013 Good afternoon everyone, Small update today to revive this thread. Decaled the tails today. It's been around 13 years since I've played with decals so it's taking a little bit to get back in the groove. It's also my first time using Fightertown decals. The decals are great, amazingly thin, more so than what I am use to, and they go down real nice. Since they are so thin you have to be very precise with your placement, which I learned very quickly. The skull and crossbones gave me a little battle but, everything work out thankfully. I will need to hit the skull sides again with more Micro Sol to get them to settle better in the seam at the rudder. Thanks for showing interest in this build and for checking in. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brian P: Fightertown Decals Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Looking excellent!!! Just remember, these aren't actually 'Fightertown Decals'. They are the Fightertown artwork but the decals are custom printed and not by a printer that we use for decal runs. Clears have to be trimmed away and greater care used when applying. Can't wait to see the final product of this amazing build! thanks, brian Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Youngtiger1 Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Steve, the big cat is coming along great. Looking at your clean work ican tell this will great once complete. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 23, 2013 Author Share Posted October 23, 2013 Brian, thanks for the clarification and setting me straight. Thanks for the kind words as well. Youngtiger1, thanks for your words of encouragement as well. Hopefully I will have some more pics of completed work soon. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted October 23, 2013 Share Posted October 23, 2013 Cool decal work, Steve! Looking great! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 24, 2013 Author Share Posted October 24, 2013 Thanks crackerjazz. Worked on the LANTIRN pod today, filling seams and wet sanding, also added some panel fastener detail and a few extra panel lines to it as well. There were ALOT of sink marks in this once you started to sand. I will post shots tomorrow, another step forward. Have a good night everyone. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 24, 2013 Author Share Posted October 24, 2013 Small update for this morning, finished up detailing the LANTIRN pod. Next I will mask off the laser window and FLIR and get some primer applied. I hope to get the 2 AIM-9's and AIM-7 weathered ( waiting on some washes to arrive in the mail ) and flat coated. Then I can attach the 2 MV lenses to the AIM-9's seeker head, apply a dab of Tamiya clear smoke to the lenses and, the missiles will finally be finished Thanks for checking in. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JMan Posted October 28, 2013 Share Posted October 28, 2013 Fantastic work, cant wait to see more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 29, 2013 Author Share Posted October 29, 2013 Thanks for the kind words JMan. I was hoping to have an update today but, things didn't go according to plan ..... as usual. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chuck540z3 Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Hey Steve, you have been very kind in your words of encouragement for my WIP builds, which I thank you for. What I REALLY am grateful for, is that your work here is fantastic!- so the praise from a great modeler like yourself is that much more appreciated. Model on Dude! We are all looking forward to the final product. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 Chuck, thanks for the kind words, I am humbled. I've been building for a long time and still consider myself a "hack" compared to the likes of yourself and others on the boards. The amount of talent on this site is incredible and hopefully by following builds such as yours I too may become a better modeler. Back to the subject at hand, I have a small amount of work to do on the AIM-9's and they will be FINISHED, finally, along with the AIM-7 !!! I will get photos up later on today, thanks for showing interest in this build. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
USMC6094 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Dude I've been off this forum too long, WOW is all I can say :jaw-dropping: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 Thanks USMC6094. Today's update, finally finished up the AIM-7 and the AIM-9's. I added the proximity fuzing to the AIM-7 using some left over brown strips of decal. The missiles were given a wash and then flat coated. I also added the Influence fuze / Target Detector windows using a few drops of Testors clear parts cement and finally the seeker heads ( MV lenses ) were glued to the tips of the AIM-9's. I just need to add a touch of Tamiya smoke to the seeker heads. Close up shot of the seeker head. Influence fuze / TD windows added. Thanks for looking. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 I added a small white disk inside the Sparrows exhaust to cover up the hole that I drilled out for inserting the brass rod while painting. Glad these are all finished up, it's nice to get another step forward on the project. Thanks for checking in. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Marcel111 Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Steve, great work on a huge project! Missiles are loking great! Marcel Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted November 1, 2013 Author Share Posted November 1, 2013 Thanks Marcel, working on the LANTIRN pod now. Got primer sprayed yesterday hopefully over the weekend color, gloss coat and, maybe even decals ..... we'll see. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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