discussion Meng 1/48 F-35A Lightning II

[stillp]

Told mu daughter what I'd been doing today, and she feigned horror, and said "Meeting people you've only known from a forum? I hope you told someone where you were going, who you were meeting, and what time you'd be back." She has two kids...
Pete

Edit - I don't know what this post is doing here, I posted it in the MAFVA thread!

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers guys.

 

[papa 695]

Nice work on the pilot Bob.

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Ian.

 

[Steve Brodie]

Looking good, quick comment if i may, you might want to paint his arms 'flesh' and not leave them green ?, I take it the bit between the rolled up shirt and his gloves is his 'arm' . I know the MB US16E Ejection Seat is large but as you say the pilot figure does seem rather small.

Keep it coming, looking forward to the rest of the build.

There is a great build article on this kit here - https://www.themodellingnews.com/2018/01/garys-construction-guide-lockheed.html

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Steve.

Yes, I did think that myself about the exposed bit of arm, it just seems strange they would roll the sleeves up on a pressure suit?? I'm going to have a test fit with the canopy (which will be tinted) and see how obvious it is, then make a decision.

And thanks for the link, that is the guide I've been using.

 

[Steve Brodie]

Cheers Steve. :smiling3:

Yes, I did think that myself about the exposed bit of arm, it just seems strange they would roll the sleeves up on a pressure suit?? I'm going to have a test fit with the canopy (which will be tinted) and see how obvious it is, then make a decision.

And thanks for the link, that is the guide I've been using. :smiling3:

Yep i did think that as well, exposed skin would not be good if you had to bang out , and yep if you cant see it dont need to fix it ! ;-)

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Hi guys.

I've been playing with the canopy. The exterior was sprayed with a mix of clear yellow and smoke. The tint looks right but it's got a bit if a strange finish so a dip in Klear might be in order.

I also masked up the interior and sprayed the detonation cord.

View attachment 346566View attachment 346567View attachment 346568

 

[flyjoe180]

Nice work so far Bob. Your pilot has turned out well.

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Joe.

 

[Jim R]

Hi Bob
That canopy tint looks good. I have seen a few attempts at tinting clear parts with very mixed results.
Jim

 

[Si Benson]

Hi Bob,
The pilot came out nicely, glad his arm surgery worked out. Canopy tint look good but I see what you about the odd finish. Hope a dip in Klear sorts it.

I vaguely recall someone adding colour to klear to achieve tint but can’t for the life of me remember where:thinking:

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers guys.

I decided to strip the tint off the canopy and try again. It's in a Tupperware drying, I'll have a look tomorrow and see how it looks.

I used X20A to thin it this time rather than MLT, hopefully that will produce a better result?

 

[Guest]

That canopy looked ok to me:disappointed2:, just shows .

 

[Mr Bowcat]

John, if you zoom in on the picture it's got an eggshell finish rather than perfectly clear. I had a look at attempt number 2 before I left for work this morning and although better it' still not perfect so I think it will still need a dip

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Hi guys.

I got engrossed in building this and forgot to take many photos.

I may have mentioned I wanted to pose this in flight (my first try at this) so I sanwiched some strips of plasticard together and glued them into the bottom of the airframe, then drilled a hole through. I wanted to be able remove the plane from the stand if I wanted, so tapped an M3 hole and cut the corresponding thread on some steel rod. this still needs to be tidied up and painted.

View attachment 347043View attachment 347044View attachment 347046

After that I glued the top and bottom together, added the various doors and the canopy.

View attachment 347051View attachment 347052View attachment 347053

 

[flyjoe180]

Coming together well Bob, looking like a F-35 now

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Joe, yep the shape is starting to look right. I'm going to go round and check all the seams to make sure they are OK before I add any more bits. Sprayed some back primer around yesterday to help me find problems.

Incidentally, I saw that the RAF F-35B's took part in their first operational sorties yesterday. I believe they are based in Cyprus, where I am off to in August. I will be sure to keep my eyes open as I float around the pool.

 

[papa 695]

Nice work Bob

 

[Mr Bowcat]

Cheers Ian,

I sloshed some Mr Surfacer 500 around the seams yesterday and will clean of the excess tonight. From the looks of things there are very few gaps, and those that are there are small.