This is the 1:48
Panda F-35 Joint Strike Fighter built straight from the box with a few
exceptions. I would say that this kit is about 90% excellent (especially for $28
Canadian). The fit was great and everything went together easily. The only thing
lacking was the cockpit. For the most part, I scavenged and scratch-built the
cockpit. The kit's instrument panel was replaced with a touch screen panel. I found
a screen capture from some JSF computer game and shrunk it down to proper
size. I then glued it to a sheet of clear plastic (for strength and shine) and
cut it to size. I also built the control sticks from various sizes of stretched
sprue and lots of super glue. The kit ejection sheet was rebuilt with parts
from the kit seat and an old Revell F-14 seat. I also added masking tape for the
belts and various bits of wire and stretched sprue to finish off the seat.
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After assembly, I
painted all the panel lines black for pre-shading. I then painted the underside
MM Light Gray, the front MM Aggressor Gray and the back half Gunship Gray
lighted a bit with White. After the paint was well cured, I gave the model
several coats of Future and let dry. I applied the kit decals and a couple
more coats of Future. The kit decals went on easy and settled down nicely with a
bit of Microsol. I then applied a wash of Black and Burnt Umber (about 50/50 mix and
diluted with 90% thinner) Oil paint. The final step was to seal everything up
with a couple coats of MM Flat Clear Coat.
As I said above, this is a rather
good kit and with a little bit of effort it can be a great kit. For me, the big
thing was that the fit was excellent (with no filler needed) and there were
nicely recessed panel lines.
This is my first submission to
ARC so I hope you enjoy. Now that I have a new digital camera (that takes
excellent pictures) I plan on many more articles in the future.
Joe
Click on
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