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1/72 Meng F-102 PA ANG


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I originally intended to finish this last Christmas, but with a change of the kit and a few other builds, I managed to finish this only now. Overall, I have to say Meng's kit is a really good one: quite simple, but satisfying. A.C. Acikgoz was so kind to send me these PA ANG decals, which I loved. I built this model for my father in law as a gift, and plan to give it to him sometime this fall or winter. He was a crew chief in Iceland working on F-102's in the late '60s.

As usual, the model is open to all your critiques.

In progress pictures: WIP

Final pictures: Final pics

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Edited by Janissary
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Thank you very much everybody, I very much appreciate your feedback. I would like to say the kit goes together quite nicely and it is a relatively straightforward build (at least with the weapon's door closed). I made it difficult for me by getting fixated on deepening all panel lines, which is the case for pretty much any model I build. However, I think the details are already good enough that you could skip this step and still get a consistent wash.

W-Wolf, you are absolutely correct about the canopy cord. Since the build was getting infinitely monotonous for me, I ended up not doing that. But I concur it is a very distinct feature of this plane and would have been great to replicate it.

Now I want to move onto a new model! These are the two I am considering:

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Not sure which one I will end up choosing... F-4 will be a TuAF SEA with aftermarket cockpit and exhausts. The Tomcat will be Lo-viz VF-31 Sunset straight OOB. I bought this as a practice for my Hasegawa 1/48 Tomcat, but I know it is a project in itself with so many parts. Both really excite me. I might end up flipping a coin.

Edited by Janissary
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Hi Janissary, it looks great! I think it's missing the yellow explosive cord that goes around the main canopy......

......W-Wolf, you are absolutely correct about the canopy cord......

Actually the line around the canopy is not explosive cord. The canopy panels are stretched acrylic and the edges are reinforced with a glass fiber composite which gives it extra strength for attaching to the the canopy frame with screws. This is why it's a different color.

As for the kit, it looks wonderful. I only have two observations. The arrestor hook should be ADC grey like the rest of the aircraft and the red stripe on the pitot tube is a little inconsistent. Other than that I like the overall finish you achieved.

Cheers,

John

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That Dagger looks sensational! Something you don't see on the forums everyday... As for your next build, I say skip the 72nd Tomcat and go str8 for the 48th :coolio:/>/>/>/> You can do it!

/Jesse

Thank you Jesse. You seem to have moved up to 32nd, and I am going down to 72nd! I have not made my final decision yet but the cat looks more and more tempting in my stash.

Great build and spectacular colour scheme :thumbsup:/>/>/>

Thank you, I appreciate it. Being from Western PA, I too like the black/gray with hints of gold :)/>/>

Actually the line around the canopy is not explosive cord. The canopy panels are stretched acrylic and the edges are reinforced with a glass fiber composite which gives it extra strength for attaching to the the canopy frame with screws. This is why it's a different color.

As for the kit, it looks wonderful. I only have two observations. The arrestor hook should be ADC grey like the rest of the aircraft and the red stripe on the pitot tube is a little inconsistent. Other than that I like the overall finish you achieved.

Cheers,

John

Thank you John for the info and the great observations. You are right about the pitot tube. I thought about decaling it, but then thought it would not conform so went with masking. I would still recommend masking to others, but need to use a tape that is not as stiff as regular masking tape. I used a double-sided clear tape, which is much more bendy, albeit with less than optimal results.

Edited by Janissary
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  • 2 weeks later...

I really like how this turned out. I have one of these kits - but haven't looked at it too close. One thing that did stand out (to me) is that the IR sensor on the nose seems to stand too tall. I'm not sure if that's just the way they have it molded. I found this picture on the 'net for comparison.

Well done model though :)

F-102A146FIS112FIGIshamRIS_zpsceb8faec.jpg

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Thank you very much everybody. I very much appreciate it. I also want to thank A.C. Acikgoz once again for his decals. They were fantastic.

I really like how this turned out. I have one of these kits - but haven't looked at it too close. One thing that did stand out (to me) is that the IR sensor on the nose seems to stand too tall. I'm not sure if that's just the way they have it molded. I found this picture on the 'net for comparison.

Well done model though :)/>

Hi, you may very well be correct. I have not altered the kit piece, and used the positioning pin attached to its bottom platform. Unfortunately, I don't have a close-up of this sensor, so trusted the kit. But it sure looks a little weird to me as well.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

That is sweet. As a Pennsylvanian I really want to build one now with those markings!

Thank you sir. I am now developing an interest in PA ANG aircrafts and they all look really attractive.

Nice Job, very nice Markings !

...but the Paneelines are to strong, to dark.. - thats no realistic...

Thanks Arne. I think you are right. Both the line thickness/depth and the wash color are too strong. At some point I contemplated not applying a wash but it looked a little lifeless without it. A lighter shade would have been better though.

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