Kurt H. Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 On 7/30/2020 at 10:59 AM, CaptainObvious said: No easy day huh? But it looks like you've got most of the hard stuff done. Press on Kurt! Thanks! I will press on, I plan to start painting the camo on the Monogram kit tonight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 2, 2020 Author Share Posted August 2, 2020 I have started painting. I decided to use the black base marble/blend technique I started on the bottom with the marble coat Then filled it in with a blend coat: And I have done the same with the tan and light green. I will finish with the dark green later It is a lot of work to do it this way, but the tonal variation is interesting What a mess ... well see ya next time.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 14, 2020 Author Share Posted August 14, 2020 Getting to the home stretch with the monogram kit Paint was completed, and I did not need much touch up The keel was painted with MRP super silver, then I used Burnt Metal metalizer for heat staining And I applied the decals directly to the paint These are old fashioned monogram decals which have milky adhesive which becomes clear as it dries. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Thadeus Posted August 15, 2020 Share Posted August 15, 2020 Camo came out very nice. Love the area around exhaust. I tried something similar on a phantom and kind of blew it. Maybe next time 😉 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted August 16, 2020 Share Posted August 16, 2020 Really nice freehand camo work. The mottle lends a nice subtle texture to the paint. The metallics on the keel turned out great! -co Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 18, 2020 Author Share Posted August 18, 2020 On 8/15/2020 at 7:49 AM, Thadeus said: Camo came out very nice. Love the area around exhaust. I tried something similar on a phantom and kind of blew it. Maybe next time 😉 On 8/16/2020 at 9:04 AM, CaptainObvious said: Really nice freehand camo work. The mottle lends a nice subtle texture to the paint. The metallics on the keel turned out great! -co Thanks, I finally got the look I wanted. The Keel came out better than I expected too, I finally got a handle on testors metalizer but now it is going away. I will update the thread again soon, but the good news is the decals dried and snuggled down very well, but one has a wrinkle, as though it got bumped and moved a little, so I am working with solvaset and a scalpel to minimize the wrinkle. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KursadA Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 (edited) Looks great so far, but why is there a white "5FF282" on the starboard nose? I don't think operational jets had anything like it. I can't prove it, but to my eyes it looks almost like an AMARC number painted on the aircraft after they are put in the boneyard in Arizona. I wonder if Monogram used an AMARC photo to design the decals. Edit: It looks like I was right - a quick search at the "amarcexperience.com" aircraft database reveals that "FF282" was the inventory number for 59-0397 when it arrived at Davis-Monthan in 1975. Edited August 24, 2020 by KursadA Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 1 hour ago, KursadA said: Looks great so far, but why is there a white "5FF282" on the starboard nose? I don't think operational jets had anything like it. I can't prove it, but to my eyes it looks almost like an AMARC number painted on the aircraft after they are put in the boneyard in Arizona. I wonder if Monogram used an AMARC photo to design the decals. Edit: It looks like I was right - a quick search at the "amarcexperience.com" aircraft database reveals that "FF282" was the inventory number for 59-0397 when it arrived at Davis-Monthan in 1975. I blindly followed the instructions and put the decal there. 🤦♂️. I seemed to remember seeing a picture of one with a similar number in black, So I figured maybe they just made a mistake and made it white. But I am glad you solved the mystery. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KursadA Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 Please don't get me wrong - the build looks great so far, and clearly it is the kit decals that are at fault here. Looking forward to see this one finished! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 24, 2020 Author Share Posted August 24, 2020 Hey Kursad, no offense taken at all! I welcome that kind of feedback. Thanks for your kind words about the build. 👍 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted August 24, 2020 Share Posted August 24, 2020 That is really nice paint! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RKic Posted September 1, 2020 Share Posted September 1, 2020 did the decals dry clear? They look pretty rough in the pictures. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted September 4, 2020 Author Share Posted September 4, 2020 On 9/1/2020 at 10:58 AM, RKic said: did the decals dry clear? They look pretty rough in the pictures. They dried clear and very smooth. They actually look pretty good. I will update this thread this weekend with more pictures. I was out of town for over a week and I am still trying to get caught up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 Here is the current status of the Monogram kit. I am just getting back to the bench after being out of town for over a week and It is hard to remember what my thinking was when I last worked on this. A clear coat has been applied over the decals, I applied black panel line wash in the control surface lines, and did some oil weathering. The Decals have snuggled as best they could Here is the underside with oils for dirt, hydraulic, and fuel schmutz And finally the Cans: I used various metal paints to try and capture the look which is seen in pictures of these Next step - Dullcote Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 (edited) I Have since Dulcoated the Monogram kit, and I went to perform final assembly but I realized I never painted the wheels. The centers were already silver, so I masked the hub with frisket paper, and primed and painted the tires. The color is Mr Color Tire black the burner cans were painted with MRP Super silver and the cans could use some more work. The KittyHawk Kit was primed then I started the marble coat I stopped for the night because I was tired, the next day I applied a wash to the tires https://media.fotki.com/2v2HS55edx9awpY.jpg I finished the underside light gray marble and blend coats I will continue with the camo in the next few days. I sure hope I can wrap these up in time! Edited September 18, 2020 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CaptainObvious Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 Great progress. Almost there! -co Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted September 23, 2020 Share Posted September 23, 2020 Looking terrific Kurt. INto the home stretch now! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted September 24, 2020 Author Share Posted September 24, 2020 Thanks guys. I am working on the top of the Kitty Hawk voodoo now, I keep forgetting to take pictures so I have nothing to show right now, but I will update this thread soon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted September 26, 2020 Author Share Posted September 26, 2020 (edited) The next step was to mask and paint the keel Lots of careful masking, resulted in this, I wrapped the whole model since metallic paints seem to creep everywhere. I used Mr Color Super Silver After the silver dried I used Model Master Metalizer "Exhaust" to try to simulate heat distressing Here is where it stands now, There are some areas of the Camo which require touch ups,so that will be the next thing I address Thanks for looking! Edited September 27, 2020 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted October 8, 2020 Author Share Posted October 8, 2020 (edited) Well .. better late than never Both models are done monogram: KittyHawk: I just finished the last fiddly bits on the KH and took pictures. I will follow up soon with more pictures and my conclusion Thanks! Edited October 8, 2020 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Geoff M Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 Those look real good. Geoff M Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted October 8, 2020 Author Share Posted October 8, 2020 5 hours ago, Geoff M said: Those look real good. Geoff M Thanks Geoff! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
phantom Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 Oh, I like those. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted October 9, 2020 Author Share Posted October 9, 2020 5 hours ago, phantom said: Oh, I like those. Thanks Phantom! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted October 9, 2020 Author Share Posted October 9, 2020 (edited) Well ... how do these models stack up? KH on the left, Monogram on the right. I reviewed this build thread, there were things I forgot about. This is a really tough call. Monogram: Advantages: Better detail on some parts, most notably the seats and the wheels simpler assembly Drawbacks: Raised panel detail difficult to pose flaps closed Kitty Hawk Advantages: Engraved surface details much better wing to fuselage joint and fit Disadvantages: multi-piece fuselage correct missile bay for RF option not included mold design issues - huge attachment points on small parts, ejector pin marks in prominent places, ejector pin towers, molding lug in a really bad place on canopy inconsistent detail - some parts have great detail but the wheels are wholly unsuitable Decal sheet is unusable for F-101B variant A tough call for sure. Neither of these kits is clearly better or worse. The Kitty Hawk kit is good, but falls short due to mold design issues detailed above. It seems like a little more attention to detail would have really benefited this kit. I was most disappointed in the canopy. The molding lug between the two attachment points is ridiculous. it is in a place which makes it difficult to remove. Then, one of the canopy attachment point snapped off while test fitting the canopy. I am not sure if was my fault or the design of the kit, but it was very irritating. Both of these kits fall short with the main landing gear attachment. The main gear legs are beautifully detailed on both kits, but there is really not a positive attachment on the monogram, and while there are small pins on the KH, the smaller rear pin is too fat to fit in the locating hole. The larger primary pin is really short. Both kits would have you put the nose gear in place during assembly. This should never happen. It is going to get broken. On both kits the nose gear does not have great attachment points. It looks like to create an accurate nose gear this is required, but I think the attachment could be improved. The kitty Hawk Kit has options for open panels to see avionics detail. And I was pleasantly surprised to see all the panels fit very well to build the nose with all the panels closed. In 2020 engraved panel detail is the expected standard. The panel detail on the KH kit took a wash very well and looks great to my eye. In 1985 it was still acceptable to have raised panel detail. It is not fair to ding monogram here. I have no idea which of these is more accurate. They both look like an RF-101B to me. I know there has been much said about the Kitty Hawk kit so I am not going to repeat it now. The Decals for the monogram kit are minimal, but not much is needed as there are not a lot of markings on the RF. I replaced the national insignia since the kit decals were slightly out of register The RF decals for the KH were fine as well. The major problem with the RF markings is the formation light decals are all the same length. Unfortunately the formation light on the tail is longer, but the decal is still short... so the decal does not stretch the length of the formation light. I ended up using aftermarket national insignia, the blue in the kit decals are too light. However, if one chose to build an F-101B .. the decals are junk. The color is too light and the fonts look like they were made with what ever font was on the artists computer, not the actual font of the markings. Both of these build into attractive replicas. The Wheels of the KittyHawk are the only really glaring part which need upgrades. There is no tread detail, and the halves of the main wheels do not fit well. If engraved panel detail is important, the KH kit is better. If raised panel detail is acceptable, the monogram kit is easier to build and does not require modification to make the RF-101B I declare this showdown a tie. Edited October 10, 2020 by Kurt H. Typo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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