YF-23

[Curt B]

Hey All,

 

After waiting for years to actually order a model of the YF-23, the 'Black Widow II', I finally broke down and got one, which got here yesterday.  It's the 1/48 HobbyBoss kit.  I knew it was a big airplane in real life, but, WOW, in plastic, it's really HUGE!!  I always admired this amazing looking Northrop plane, which I ALWAYS felt was a MUCH better looking airplane than the F-22.  I guess the reason I waited so long was that I had hoped that another model manufacturer  would end up doing one in 1/48.  I've never been a fan of HobbyBoss, and the low parts count of their YF-23 pretty much guaranteed that it wasn't going to be an especially detailed plane, and neither were the age of the molds.   But I figured if I wanted a model of this plane, I might as well just get the best one I could get right now, and so that is what I did.  I'm going to try to paint it as best I can, and hope it turns out well.  Maybe some other manufacturer will decide to make one using state of the art molding and detail creation, and if that happens, I'll happily get one of those.  Until then, though, I'll have the best YF-23 that can be had!

[dustiepal]

Red Fox does a nice cockpit set, https://www.rfstudio.hu/termek/337  .

 

 

Dave

[habu2]

Recommend the Ginter book for reference 👍

 

https://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/ref/gin/book_gin_af220.shtml

 

http://www.ginterbooks.com/Northrop YF-23 stealth fighter.html

 

 

[Curt B]

Thanks for the info, gents.   I'll be looking into these things for sure.  Any additional detail, I want!  I've been spoiled with 3D cockpit details almost since i restarted the hobby, either with Eduard PE, Eduard Space, Red Fox, or the great grand daddy, Quinta!.

 

By the way, has anyone heard ANY rumblings at all about one of the big boy manufacturers even pondering a new mold YF-23?  I'm sure it wouldn't be a hugely popular subject for modelers, but I'm sure that if outfits like Meng, GWH, or even Airfix would do one, there might be significant interest.  Or am I delusional?

Edited August 27, 2023 by Curt B

[ijozic]

I didn't hear anything about YF-23, but I'd rather wager on e.g. Amusing Hobby to tackle that (supposedly they might be working on a Yak-41 in 1:48) or perhaps ModelCollect (who will release their A-12 soon in 1:48). Since I already have the HB kit, I'd prefer an F-23 (like a fictional in-service edition), though.

 

Always hated how it lost to seemingly inferior F-22 (in non-economic parameters).

Edited August 27, 2023 by ijozic

[GreyGhost]

>>> What a production F-23A may have been like. <<

 

-Gregg

[habu2]

Whatever happened to ZactoMan's YF-23 project?

[Scott Smith]

1 hour ago, habu2 said:

Whatever happened to ZactoMan's YF-23 project?

Fixed it for you. 
I love me some Zacto stuff, but it seems lately he’s been inactive on the forums, no new products and discontinued a few others. 

Edited August 27, 2023 by Scott Smith

[Curt B]

11 hours ago, ijozic said:

...Always hated how it lost to seemingly inferior F-22 (in non-economic parameters).

Me too!!!!

[paulsbrown]

You'll want to tackle the rear part of the cockpit and the intake shapes for starters. 

[arnobiz]

That's a stunning YF-23 cockpit @paulsbrown!!

 

@Curt B I developped two update/conversion sets some time ago, they might be of interest to you to either convert the HB kit to PAV-1 (especially the nozzles) or keep it as PAV-2 but improve it, especially the numerous vents: https://bam-models.com/product-category/yf-23/

Edited August 29, 2023 by arnobiz

[my favs are F`s]

On 8/27/2023 at 6:39 PM, GreyGhost said:

>>> What a production F-23A may have been like. <<

 

-Gregg

I did a conversion of this kit 🙂 :

 

[Curt B]

Thanks for the additional info, guys. @paulsbrown, your cockpit is fabulous...great job!  

 

Thus far, I've ordered the Red Fox cockpit, the Furball YF-23 decal set, and the Northrop YF-23 ATF (Air Force Legends) book to go along with my HobbyBoss YF-23 model.  While I haven't absolutely decided which one I'm going to do, I'm pretty much leaning toward PAV-1 (the overall dark grey one).  I know it's going to take some work to modify the HB plastic to get an accurate PAV-1, but the guidance I've seen from paulsbrown here, and on his other posts in ArcAir, is going to help a lot!  I am definitely more of an out-of-the-box builder than I am the kind of modeler who relishes 'plastic surgery' in order to and up with a closer to realistic end product, but if that's what it will take to get a better PAV-1, I will do it.  

 

Again, thanks for the added information, folks, and if anyone has any additional details, I'd greatly appreciate hearing it!  I guess I can continue to hope for a new mold/additional & more accurate detail kit of the YF-23 in 1/48, but it's nice to have a styrene version, rather than having only a resin version available.

[Curt B]

12 hours ago, arnobiz said:

@Curt B I developed two update/conversion sets some time ago, they might be of interest to you to either convert the HB kit to PAV-1 (especially the nozzles) or keep it as PAV-2 but improve it, especially the numerous vents: https://bam-models.com/product-category/yf-23/

@arnobiz: I took a look at your site regarding the PAV-1 corrections, and they look nice.  Are they still available?  Being honest there, how well would you say your parts fit?  Basically, I'm asking about how much work it will be to actually use your conversion parts?  If you still have the set, I'll be happy to purchase it.  I  would say that it looks like it would be a lot easier than trying to make all those changes by scratch building myself, not to mention that I'm not particularly good at doing that kind of thing....

[arnobiz]

8 hours ago, Curt B said:

@arnobiz: I took a look at your site regarding the PAV-1 corrections, and they look nice.  Are they still available?  Being honest there, how well would you say your parts fit?  Basically, I'm asking about how much work it will be to actually use your conversion parts?  If you still have the set, I'll be happy to purchase it.  I  would say that it looks like it would be a lot easier than trying to make all those changes by scratch building myself, not to mention that I'm not particularly good at doing that kind of thing....

I made every possible effort for the set to be as user-friendly as possible, and most corrections would be quite tricky to scratch (at least for my limited scratchbuilding skills), especially making flush vents. Cutting guides are provided and there is some margin between the vents themselves and the border of the insert so you don't risk to damage the detail when filling the gap.

 

On top of this side of things, the PAV-1 nozzles are quite different from what the kit offers and that would be very hard to scratchbuild in my humble opinion.

 

That being said, this is obviously my perspective and I know many talented modellers might do the same via scratchbuilding - I just tried to save a lot of time to others willing to build a decent PAV-1 using the HB kit 😉

 

No matter what your decision is I look forward to seeing your build, have fun!

 

Arnaud

[paulsbrown]

On 8/29/2023 at 9:12 PM, Curt B said:

@paulsbrown, your cockpit is fabulous...great job!  

Thanks!

 

Here's an earlier cockpit stage, the Collect-Aire had the more accurate cockpit wells so I used it as a template for the HB. I made a resin copy of the HB instrument panel for the Collect-Aire as it was a bit small and wouldn't match PAV2.

 

Sanded down the topside hump beyond the intake (the white Miliput was used just in case I sanded too deep) and lengthened intakes on HB

[Curt B]

@paulsbrown: Thank you for the ongoing posts of your YF-23 build!  I won't be starting anything on my own YF-23 at least until my YF-23 book arrives, but anything else you post, or any other links you might provide, would be greatly appreciated!

[Curt B]

On 8/29/2023 at 10:37 PM, arnobiz said:

I made every possible effort for the set to be as user-friendly as possible, and most corrections would be quite tricky to scratch (at least for my limited scratchbuilding skills), especially making flush vents. Cutting guides are provided and there is some margin between the vents themselves and the border of the insert so you don't risk to damage the detail when filling the gap.

 

On top of this side of things, the PAV-1 nozzles are quite different from what the kit offers and that would be very hard to scratchbuild in my humble opinion.

 

That being said, this is obviously my perspective and I know many talented modellers might do the same via scratchbuilding - I just tried to save a lot of time to others willing to build a decent PAV-1 using the HB kit 😉

 

No matter what your decision is I look forward to seeing your build, have fun!

 

Arnaud

Hi Arnaud,

 

I just placed an order on your site for both the PAV-1 and PAV-2 sets.  Looking forward to getting them!

 

09/21/2023:  Arnaud, I just received your PAV 1 and PAV-2 parts.  They  look great!  It's going to be awhile until I get to my YF-23, but it's nice to have   improvements available!  Thanks for the parts!

Edited September 22, 2023 by Curt B