TheRealMrEd Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Does anyone have a good close-up picture of the wingtip Nav lights on a Lockheed F-35 Lightning II PRODUCTION (not X-model) aircraft. I'm building a 1/72 Hasegawa F-35A, and the instructions call for painting the color red/blue on the flat top/bottom surfaces of the wing, then gluing on the clear lens bubble. However, pics from a distance seem to show No color when the lights are not turned on, leading me to believe that they are in fact LED arrays, and that only the silver of the metal parts would be seen thru the clear lens at other times. I'm trying to find out whether any color should be shown under the light lenses (other than silver), or whether, if they are bulb lights, should a hole be drilled into the underside of the light lenses, then filled with appropriate color to properly represent them. Any and all help appreciated. TheRealMr...Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
82Whitey51 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Check out "Big Red Dog's " photos from MCAS Yuma. Nice close up of a F-35B model wing tip light...I would say it is the same as the "A". http://www.zone-five.net/showthread.php?t=28944 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheRealMrEd Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 Thanks, certainly some outstanding photos there. However the closet shot still doesn't tell me what I need to know. TheRealMr...Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
spejic Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 If you combine: and it looks like you should have an idea of what the internal structure looks like. But in most photos it just looks like highly-reflective silver. So I guess it depends on what effect you are going for. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheRealMrEd Posted April 16, 2015 Author Share Posted April 16, 2015 I definitely agree that bright silver is what is usually seen in the photos. Again, my dilemma is: Is a bulb or an LED array (or both)? TheRealMr...Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
82Whitey51 Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 Have you asked over in this thread? 300+ pages of F-35 knowledge! http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=209836 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Devilleader501 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 All of the lights on the F-35 are LED. The lens that cover the NAV lights are a very light smokey gray color that almost looks clear. There is a silver and white backing underneath the lenses that you can see in the day light. You dont see any color until the lights come on. The NAV lights are also split in half with the front half of the light being the green or red LED and the rear of the light being the bright white Strobe. I dong have a great picture but it will have to do. Sorry Im so late to the game with this info. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheRealMrEd Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 (edited) Thanks for the reply. I had not been able to find any different info than what you stated, so that's the way I built my model, basically silver and white under the glass. Guess I'll have to get a good picture if I can ever get to another good airshow. TheRealMr...Ed Edited May 19, 2015 by TheRealMrEd Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Devilleader501 Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Silver and white is sufficient enough to get by in 1/48 scale. Even at a wing tips glance in person you would never know the difference. You did great in your decision. I will be posting a whole lot of pics soon of the F-35 as soon as I can get access to the Parking lot. If you need any other pics or assistance in further builds feel free to message me. JOSH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
habu2 Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 I took this photo last week at Eglin, port wingtip of an F-35A, I think it was tail # 10-5013. I don't know the story on the black dots, they look like they were hand-drawn with a Sharpie marker. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jpjohnston Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 I could go one step further and send you pics of the molds to produce the lense itself on the left hand side. No, they are not symmetrical... JP Johnston ME CSWP JP Parametrics Woodburn, IN Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheRealMrEd Posted August 29, 2019 Author Share Posted August 29, 2019 Hi JP, As you might suspect, my F-35B has long since been finished. I do think however, that it would be good to post those pictures here for other modelers yet to come, particularly those working in larger scales than my 1.72nd effort. Thanks for offering them... Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
hemspilot Posted September 2, 2019 Share Posted September 2, 2019 (edited) Disregard the red/blue indications in the Hasegawa instructions, if anything the colors should be red(port)/green(starboard). however like Habu wrote, silver will be just fine, as those are colored led bulbs. Edited September 2, 2019 by hemspilot Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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