Gnat 1:48 Red Arrows Airfix

[Black73Cat]

Kicking off my second model...decided to go for the 1:48 Gnat after lots of people told me what a nice kit it is.

I'm going to build it as a Red Arrow with no extras. Primed with Ultimate Grey, though i may do the main body in black...not sure if it's worth it under a Red finish?
All Humbrol colours have been substituted for the Tamiya variant apart from the Signal Yellow and Arrow Red (24 & 238) because i couldn't find a recommended alternative from Tamiya.


Plan to build wheels down. No pilot and canopy open, if possible .

Made a start on priming the cockpit parts and a few other early fit items. Finding the Ultimate Primer is working really well in my Iwata Neo.



Finished this evening by assembling the seats and spraying most of the small parts in XF-83 and XF-56...both thinned with X-20A and went on with no problems.

Being only my second build, I'm still taking my time but definitely feeling more confident with the slightly larger scale.

[Avgas]

I built this one last year, you're right you have to use the Humbrol red to get the authentic colour but I found it didn't spray very well, in fact I finished up spraying it neat. Nice kit though.

[Black73Cat]

I built this one last year, you're right you have to use the Humbrol red to get the authentic colour but I found it didn't spray very well, in fact I finished up spraying it neat. Nice kit though.

Thanks for the tip!
I may well have to try that.

Cockpit is coming along nicely...I've got some pics to post later.

[Black73Cat]

First proper attempt at a cockpit, previously just doing a very quick job on a 1:72 Harrier.

Primed in Ultimate Grey and painted with Tamiya XF-83 and substituted Humbrol Grass Green for Tamiya XF-58 Olive Green for the seats.
I was going to use the supplied decals but they are very bland and also would have needed to strip off the moulded dials etc to fit them. So I decided to have a go at detailing myself. Trouble is, I don't have any fine brushes yet...so used cocktail sticks for the lot. They work really well, even in my clumsy hands!

Pretty happy with how its turned out so far...now time for some light weathering.

[ElCapitan]

You've made a really good job of that!

[Black73Cat]

You've made a really good job of that!

Thank you!

[Black73Cat]

A couple of issues which needed sorting...

The intakes were touching and stopping the fuselage from coming together...I had to take a fair bit off them to make it fit. I couldn't see any reason why that should be, all seemed to be in the right place.
No major problem...all sorted now.

The exhaust was damaged in the sprue...snapped off on one side, taking a chunk out of the edge. So I had to send it back to get it flush, then fit it slightly further back than it should be.

[Black73Cat]

This all came together pretty quickly.
Major problem with the Humbrol acrylic Red Arrow paint...really doesn't like being airbrushed!
So the finish is very rough, sadly.

Enjoyed the build though and I'm pretty chuffed with the final result.