I
finally had time to sit down and write up this article. I finished this beauty
just days before I deployed to Iraq last summer.
I used the Aires cockpit and
wheel wells for this one. The decals are from Aeromaster.
She is armed with 2 live AIM-9 Sidewinders, 2 live AIM-7 Sparrows, 2
Inert AIM-7 Sparrows, and a TARPS pod.
The
Aires cockpit really adds a lot to the finished product. With the
combination of resin, photo-etch, and film instruments it produces a
better looking pit than BlackBox. The ejection seats have photo-etched
seat belts and ejection handles. I personally think this pit is easier to
install than the Black Box pit. I also used several pieces from the Eduard
Photo-etched set to add more detail like the canopy lever. The pit was
painted overall FS36231 dark gull gray. The instruments were painted
FS37038 flat black then dry bushed with FS36231 dark gull gray. The
instrument panel coamings, rear deck, and canopy framing was painted
FS37031 aircraft interior black and dry brushed with silver. |
Click on
image below to see larger image
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The
ejection seats were painted overall FS37031 aircraft interior black and dry
brushed silver. The survival pack was painted FS34258 green. The seat cushions
were painted khaki and the seatbelts were painted light gray. After painting was
complete I gave it a coat of Future and a wash of gloss black. Then I finished
it off with dull coat.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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The
Aires wheel wells are excellently detailed. The only thing added to them was a
piece from the Eduard set. They were painted FS17875 insignia white and
weathered with a gloss black wash. The landing gear was detailed with copper
wire and Eduard photo-etch.
She
was painted in the standard TPS paint scheme. FS35237 medium gray upper
surfaces, FS36320 dark ghost gray forward fuselage sides, and FS36375 light
ghost gray under surfaces.
The skunk stripe,
vert. stabs, and ventral fins were
painted FS37038 flat black. The after burner cans were painted flat white and
weathered with pastels. She was weathered overall with an enamel gloss black
wash.
Creighton
http://www.creightonsmodels.com/
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