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Well, I said earlier that I was switching to the Mono 1/48 version of this bird, but that would have proven to be just as much, if not more work than my original project. I'm still gonna build it... someday.

I took the featureless Hasegawa cockpit and scratchbuilt the instruments, consoles, and sidewalls. I'm keeping the kit's original canopy hinge, which is more like the F-5's than that of the F-20. The seat looks like a crude hybrid of the F-5 and F-20 seats though, so I'm also modifying that into an Tiger II-style seat.

I only have one picture to share, since I'm still getting used to my digicam and the others don't turn out very well. I turned off the flash and used external lighting with the zoom turned way up and I got pretty good results compared to what I used to shoot. I still get kinda shakey though, and that shows. I wish I had a tripod, but I'll have to find a fixed surface to use.

Anyway, here it is:

Edited by Khan
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Khan

Pic may be out of focus but it shows what you have done, all of it good!

I have just painted the base colours of my F-20 cockpit, using Aeromaster neutral grey. Detailing wise, I will just do the basics.

I thought about using an Pavla F-5 seat but will tiz up the kit seat with masking tape belts and a few bits of wire.

:thumbsup:

MikeJ

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You need a flash, dude. No way you'll get a steady shot with zoom, available light, and no tripod.

My flash whites out everything pretty badly. In this shot I had a lamp shining directly onto the area I wanted to photograph, and that helped. I'll give it another try with the flash AND the lamp and see what happens.

I remember that you gave me some advice in my first thread for this project, but I can't get any topics to come up that aren't on the first page of the forum so I can't go back and check. Care to help me out again? :thumbsup::cheers:

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You were right, Habu. I added the flash and it made a world of difference. It was pretty stupid of me not to be using it in the first place.

I appreciate the praise, Mike. Sounds like your project is gonna be great with the seatbelt mods. From what I've seen in other builds, that's about all these kits really need to look great.

Edited by Khan
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Khan, check the option at the bottom of he page for "show topics from", it is probly defaulted to 30 days, so if your topic is older than that it will cut it off.

Huh. I tried that before and it didn't work. I guess I didn't click "enter" or something like that. Thanks.

By the way, when you attached your canopy mechanism to the seat and added the "bow" that the canopy attaches to, how did you keep everything square? I always have trouble with things lining up when I do this.

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Crikey, I can't remember! I probly held it in place till the glue set :cheers: I sometimes use a bit of blue-tac to support bits when they're drying, I might have done that. Doing the canopy closed (as on my 2nd one) is proving a real bear with that canopy mechanism...

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I was contemplating using an F-5 seat to tizz up the cockpit, but the F-20 seat is different from the older F-5 PLUS the hinge mechanism nightmare....

:cheers:

MikeJ

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If you build up the areas between the shoulder area and the headrest and then file it to shape, you can get a good approximation of an F-5 seat. The headrest is the only part of the kit seat that looks like the second and third prototypes. The rest is pretty much a Stencel III, and from the pictures I've seen of the first prototype, its entire canopy and seat assembly is identical to that of an F-5E.

Then again, since this is a what-if one could just as well use the "hybrid" seat they give you. The headrests on some Brazilian F-5s I've seen are pretty different from what American aggressors have, so there's precedent.

Listen to me, I sound like some kind of rivet counter. :woo:

In the meantime, I've put together the hinge mechanism on mine. It holds together pretty squarely if you haven't tried to screw with it like I did the first time. :cheers:

Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing your project, Mike. And Nev, how did those F-18 wings work out on your second one?

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