Hi
everybody, this is the first article I have submitted to ARC, I hope you like
it. I bought it as a gift for someone I respect a lot. I
did it OOB, weathering is still black magic for me, except for some little
flaws on the paint job that I can say is weathering
yeah!! . Building was a process full of "opportunities to
improve", but fun after all. I have built a F-15E and a F-16D before,
those you have a lot everywhere, and many are pieces of art, but not mine.
I
used Model Master Enamels and Acrylics, first time with acrylics.
Even though I prefer enamels, I'm considering to use acrylics everytime,
because it's cleaner, there is no need for thinner, and most importantly, they
can be shipped outside the US. (I believe so...)
For
the interior, I drybrushed silver over the control panel, I realized it was
harder than it appeared, lots of patience needed.
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I
chose the standard green camouflage scheme, this version fought in Greece, so
the traditional RLM 65/70/71 or their equivalents in Federal System: 35352,
34079 and 34052. Dark Green (FS 34079) was not a problem, I already
had it, but FS 34052... Because I live in Costa Rica, it isn't easy to get the
color I need in the shortest time possible, so I chose FS 34031, thinking it
would be darker than FS 34079 and would be acceptable, but... how mistaken
I was! my model seemed to be a parrot, really... I felt no pity but laughed.
Then... the hard way: I tried different mixes, 33% Black and 67% Dark
Green was the proper one and... voilá, luckily not a big deal.
To
paint the canopy was another story. Everything was going ok, according
to Richard J. Tucker article, (thanks by the way!) but I
rushed in applying Krylon Matte Finish, and the canopy went stained badly.
I was considering to buy another model and very disappointed.
To fix this mess, I used Brasso polish metal paste, 600 grit sandpaper
(I couldn't find 1500 or 2000 grit), and Future, you can see the
results. Maybe this is the most evident flaw in the model, but believe
me, some canopy parts were real crap before fixing it.
Then
I covered the model with several coats of Future, allowed three days drying, a
couple of prays, and Krylon Matte Finish again, this time was great, the satin
finish the model has is what you get.
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I
added a shot from the best AAA I´ve ever known, my cat, Silvester.
Birds, bugs and some models can confirm this!
(no
bird went hurt, but scared )
Alfredo
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