Tiger27 Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 I recently won a Tamiya F-117 on ebay , at a very good price.. 12usd + a relativly low shipping cost and I was on. I decided to build "Vega31" the first F-117 lost in combat. I also tried to recreate the deadflat finish on the F-117, I've seen the thing on Nellis a cupple of times. But that does not make me an expert by a long shot. Anyhow this is how it turned out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mike C Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Very nice! More pics please! BTW, out of curiosity, what paint did you use? How did you achieve that really flat finish? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
daywalker Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Agreed, very nice indeed! Also looking forward to finding out how you achieved that finish. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tiger27 Posted March 24, 2014 Author Share Posted March 24, 2014 Thanks guys :) First a base coat of Tamiya primer, then preshade using german gray, after that Tamiya Nato Black, a cupple of layers of future for decal prep. After the decals was done and sealed with more future. Then 5 very thin layers of Tamiya flat coat, and for the finale, highlighting and overspray using Tamiya Rubber black. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Diamondback Six Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Nice build! Better than anything I could ever do... Just a trivia note to other F-117 builders: those hexagon blisters are radar reflectors--they came off before combat ops, and were mainly used to facilitate Air Traffic Control handling of 117s in training and ferry flights. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tiger27 Posted March 24, 2014 Author Share Posted March 24, 2014 Diamondback, thanks for the heads' up :) I checked a bunch of pics and also from what I remember to have seen live and they was always there. So I figured to add them on. obviusly you dont want radar reflectors on a combat mission ;) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Diamondback Six Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Either way, man, like I said, she's a beautiful build--I wish I had half your skill. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tiger27 Posted March 24, 2014 Author Share Posted March 24, 2014 thanks :) I've been doin this off and on for almost 30 years now. Well 25 atleast. :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sebastijan Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Nice work Tiger! I plan to do the same bird soon, but in 1:72. Nice build! Better than anything I could ever do... Just a trivia note to other F-117 builders: those hexagon blisters are radar reflectors--they came off before combat ops, and were mainly used to facilitate Air Traffic Control handling of 117s in training and ferry flights. Why would you have radar reflectors if all that you need is a transponder (Mode A(C or S) in civil or Mode 3 IIRC in military terminology). During war in Yugoslavia, our ATC radars picked up F-117s taking off from Aviano AFB, but when they turned toward the target areas, they just vanished. Are there any of these reflectors located on the bottom of the aircraft as well? Otherwise due to their location, they would be hardly useful for their mission, as they are quite hidden from radar beam at their location. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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