1/48 Kinetic UAE F16-F Block 60

[IanG]

On with my next build, Kinetic's 1/48 F-16F Block 60 Desert Falcon, of the UAE Air Force.
The aftermarket I'm using is a Wolfpack Resin cockpit and seats, plus MasterModels angle of attack probes, Eduard canopy mask, Aires Resin exhaust, and a set of PlusModel crew ladders.
Having made a start, I'm well on the way with the Resin cockpit. Detail on this is very good. Here are all the parts primed.
On the nosecone, I've fitted the AofA probes, which look much better than the original moulded ones.

IMG_6118 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

IMG_6118 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0734 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0734 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0734 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0734 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0734 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0734 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0734 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Cockpits main tub is finished.
Main colour is Hataka Red Line acrylic Light Ghost Grey, panels and instrument panels are Hataka Blue Line NATO Black.
The main switches were picked out with Blue Line White, with the odd switch in red, yellow and orange.
The MFD screens were painted with Tamiya clear green.
After a clear coat, a wash was applied, followed by a matt coat, then a final drybrush of Insignia White.
The main seat frames are the same LG Grey, with Blue Line Dark Green seat pads, Ocean Grey head restraint pads, and the top of the seats, NATO Black.

Ian G-2 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Ian G-2 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Ian G-2 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Ian G-2 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Ian G-2 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

Ian G-2 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Fridgy]

I love watching your builds come together mate, gives me something to aspire to building wise

[digger303]

awesome !

[IanG]

I love watching your builds come together mate, gives me something to aspire to building wise

Thanks Mick, appreciate it.

[IanG]

Detail painting on the seats is finished, and a gloss coat applied, ready a light wash.
The intake trunking is together, and the inside is finished in Hataka Red Line Traffic White. Once dry, the intake opening was masked, and the tape trimmed to the edge. A small piece of foam was also inserted, to keep the main colour out later on.
Also got the cockpit tub is now installed. The fit was very good, with only a small amount of sanding needed to the back of the pilots side panels.

DSC_0758 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0758 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0758 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0758 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0758 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Sorry, it's a lengthy one.
The seats are finished. I used a Ultimate wash, then cleaned off the excess. Sealed it with a matt coat, and dry brushed them.
The canopy had a big seam on the top. I gently scraped the seam off, with a seam scrapper, and followed that with using progressively finer grades of micro-mesh.
Lastly I dipped the canopy in Klear. To get the tints, I mixed some black wash in some Klear. The other tint is a mixture of yellow, orange, and brown, also diluted in Klear. I think I've managed to get a close approximation of the different tints in the real canopies.
The Aires resin exhaust is lovely, with nice crisp detail. The fit, into the rear of the fuselage, was none existent. There's a flange inside the fuselage, what is for the kits exhaust. This flange was trimmed out, and a bit of sanding left the opening just right for the resin exhaust.
There's also progress on the main airframe. Top and bottom fuselage halves fit together pretty well. Some weight was added to the inside of the nosecone, and this was then attached. The intake opening was also fitted, and the wings and tail fin attached too.
There are a lot of small intakes, ducts and scoops, on this aircraft, but they're on!

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0771 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

Managed to get a little time at the bench this weekend.
I assembled the weapons, fuel tanks, pylons, and the AN/AAQ-32 Internal FLIR Targeting System (IFTS) pod.
Detail on all of these is very good, AIM-9x and AIM-120 missiles in particular. 
The fuel tanks were a bit tricky, as the plastic on these is very soft, so care was needed when taping them while the cement dried.
The window, on the IFTS pod, was the biggest disappointment. It had a very ugly raised seam. I sanded it back, and then polished with successively finer grades of micro-mesh cloths. It was coloured on the inside with Tamiya clear paints. Front sections are yellow, lower window green. After they dried, I painted a thin layer of smoke. All this was finished off with a dip in Klear.

DSC_0804 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0804 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0804 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

I've been doing a fair bit of masking. The canopy is masked, both outside, and inside. The canopy frame is dry fitted for now, as it will be primed separately, along with the canopy itself.
The cockpit and wheel bays have also been masked.
On the wing tips, the top and bottom strobe lights were masked with Maskol.
I have also made a start on the boarding ladders. The PlusModel ladders will make a great addition to the finished kit. Made of plastic, the construction is simple, and the first ladder looks great, I think.

DSC_0878 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0878 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0878 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0878 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0878 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0878 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0878 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0878 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

I have now done the pre-shading. I use Hataka Orange Line lacquer Traffic White. This was thinned 50:50, and it sprayed beautifully.
It's the first time I've used the Orange Line for pre-shading, and it won't be the last. Much better for this sort of work.
The Aires resin exhaust is also completed.
Sprayed with Vallejo Metal Colour acrylics, Exhaust Manifold and Steel, with a light coat of OL Traffic White on the inside of the exhaust itself. When the painted had dried, the parts were given an Aqua gloss coat.
The exhaust was weathered using Ultimate Dark Dirt wash, on the inside of the exhaust, and Vallejo Black ink wash on the outer elements. When they were dry, the excess was wiped away.
Finally a couple of light matt coats sealed the wash.

DSC_0903 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0903 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0903 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0903 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0903 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0903 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0903 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[schweinhund227]

Nice work... I really like the pre-shading you have done! looking forward to more updates.

[IanG]

Nice work... I really like the pre-shading you have done! looking forward to more updates.

Thank you.

[IanG]

Managed to get the first colour of the camouflage sprayed. Hataka Orange Line Air Defence Grey.


DSC_0917 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0917 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0917 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0917 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0917 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0917 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Stokesy44]

Cracking work mate. Been watching this from the get go and that sweet cockpit! External paintwork seems to be coming in nicely now too.

A real tour de force!

[IanG]

Cracking work mate. Been watching this from the get go and that sweet cockpit! External paintwork seems to be coming in nicely now too.

A real tour de force!

Thank you. Just about to go and make a start on the second colour. With me luck!

[IanG]

The second colour of the camouflage has been applied. This is Hataka's Orange Line Light Ghost Grey, which was airbrushed freehand.
The GBU-31's are OLine Olive Drab, which was airbrushed first. Then some masking was done, and LG Grey applied.
AIM-120's LG Grey, and White. AIM-9X's, and fuel tanks are all LG Grey.
To finish off, the pylons were also painted.
With the painting now done, everything has been given an Aqua gloss coat.

DSC_0928 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0928 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0928 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0928 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0928 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0928 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0928 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0928 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0928 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0928 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Panzergrau]

Hi, Ian!
Catching up with your work just now!
Superbly done from the beginning to this point. I'm really impressed!

Oh! And one more thing: you have to tell me how you do those pictures or else! (please-please-please)

Waiting for your future posts
Cheers!
Gabriel

[IanG]

Hi, Ian!
Catching up with your work just now!
Superbly done from the beginning to this point. I'm really impressed!

Oh! And one more thing: you have to tell me how you do those pictures or else! (please-please-please)

Waiting for your future posts
Cheers!
Gabriel

Thank you Gabriel.
As for my photos, ok, as you've twisted my arm.
Here's a photo of my set-up, in the man-cave. The softboxes, stands, and daylight bulbs, all come as a set from Amazon. And with the overhead strip light, I have 3 light sources. I don't use a flash.
The bench is just a fold up table. There are 3 backgrounds, a black, "duck-egg" blue, and white (which I use the most for magazine work). The black and blue backgrounds are plain roller blinds, mounted on the wall. So I can pull down, or pull which ever one I want. The white background is a roll of 130gsm plotting paper, off eBay. I cut just a 6-7 foot length, to hang up. When it gets dirty, I turn it over. When that side gets dirty, I throw it way, and cut off another piece. There's 100 foot of paper on the roll, so it will last a while.
Most importantly, a good tripod, for the 1/2 to 1 second exposures.
Hope that helps.

image by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

With the Aqua gloss coat dried, the decals were applied. 
The detail on the weapons, and fuel tanks, is really nice.

DSC_0978 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0978 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0978 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0978 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0978 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0978 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0978 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0978 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0978 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Panzergrau]

Thank you Gabriel.
As for my photos, ok, as you've twisted my arm.
Here's a photo of my set-up, in the man-cave. The softboxes, stands, and daylight bulbs, all come as a set from Amazon. And with the overhead strip light, I have 3 light sources. I don't use a flash.
The bench is just a fold up table. There are 3 backgrounds, a black, "duck-egg" blue, and white (which I use the most for magazine work). The black and blue backgrounds are plain roller blinds, mounted on the wall. So I can pull down, or pull which ever one I want. The white background is a roll of 130gsm plotting paper, off eBay. I cut just a 6-7 foot length, to hang up. When it gets dirty, I turn it over. When that side gets dirty, I throw it way, and cut off another piece. There's 100 foot of paper on the roll, so it will last a while.
Most importantly, a good tripod, for the 1/2 to 1 second exposures.
Hope that helps.

Profesional setup, professional results. Yes. Definitely it helps and I thank you very much for the in-depth explanation. The reason I asked is because I am just in the middle of updating my photo apparatus right now. The deflectors are too cumbersome for my space, I bought instead LED dimmable lights (5000K white + filters), just to realize that I'm building the roof before the foundation. I reached the technology limits with my 12MP Samsung phone camera and my video camera so I just ordered a Panasonic FZ-80. For light box I intend to use painting canvases which I can paint (or let them white). I was anticipating the dirtying problem and bought a reserve of eggshell ultra bright paint too . I didn't paint any canvas yet but I was thinking to green (as green screen), light blue (for yellow-orange-red models) and black as general purpose back screens. I have also a tripod but I find it very incomode when taking video shots for my yt channel and I use articulated booms for camera and lights. I know, I'm full of theory but my results don't come nowhere next to yours . TIme to practice!

I like the subtle shadows you achieve with light colors: I am a ardent supporter of subtlety in modelling (although my DM600 builds screams the opposite) and I'm not generally impressed by heavy weathering (exceptions allowed)

Great progress and waiting for the next update.

Cheers!
Gabriel

[IanG]

Thank you Gabriel.
As for my photos, ok, as you've twisted my arm.
Here's a photo of my set-up, in the man-cave. The softboxes, stands, and daylight bulbs, all come as a set from Amazon. And with the overhead strip light, I have 3 light sources. I don't use a flash.
The bench is just a fold up table. There are 3 backgrounds, a black, "duck-egg" blue, and white (which I use the most for magazine work). The black and blue backgrounds are plain roller blinds, mounted on the wall. So I can pull down, or pull which ever one I want. The white background is a roll of 130gsm plotting paper, off eBay. I cut just a 6-7 foot length, to hang up. When it gets dirty, I turn it over. When that side gets dirty, I throw it way, and cut off another piece. There's 100 foot of paper on the roll, so it will last a while.
Most importantly, a good tripod, for the 1/2 to 1 second exposures.
Hope that helps.

Profesional setup, professional results. Yes. Definitely it helps and I thank you very much for the in-depth explanation. The reason I asked is because I am just in the middle of updating my photo apparatus right now. The deflectors are too cumbersome for my space, I bought instead LED dimmable lights (5000K white + filters), just to realize that I'm building the roof before the foundation. I reached the technology limits with my 12MP Samsung phone camera and my video camera so I just ordered a Panasonic FZ-80. For light box I intend to use painting canvases which I can paint (or let them white). I was anticipating the dirtying problem and bought a reserve of eggshell ultra bright paint too . I didn't paint any canvas yet but I was thinking to green (as green screen), light blue (for yellow-orange-red models) and black as general purpose back screens. I have also a tripod but I find it very incomode when taking video shots for my yt channel and I use articulated booms for camera and lights. I know, I'm full of theory but my results don't come nowhere next to yours . TIme to practice!

I like the subtle shadows you achieve with light colors: I am a ardent supporter of subtlety in modelling (although my DM600 builds screams the opposite) and I'm not generally impressed by heavy weathering (exceptions allowed)

Great progress and waiting for the next update.

Cheers!
Gabriel

Sounds like you have a grand plan there Gabriel.

[IanG]

Filthy Falcon!
Ultimate dark dirt wash applied.
The weapons, tanks and pylons have been cleaned off.

DSC_0995 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0995 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_0995 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[IanG]

With the wash cleaned off, I've given everything a couple of coats of matt varnish (Hataka lacquer) to seal it.
I then moved onto to the weathering. Here, a combination of different shades of AK Interactive pigments were used. This was also sealed with matt varnish.
Bombs and fuel tanks have also been glued to their respective pylons.

DSC_1000 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_1000 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_1000 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

DSC_1000 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Twokidsnosleep]

Wow, fantastic work and photography
Impressive details and paintwork

[Panzergrau]

Wow, fantastic work and photography
Impressive details and paintwork

In perfect agreement!

Gabriel

[IanG]

Wow, fantastic work and photography
Impressive details and paintwork

Thanks Scott.
I'll be making a start on my B-2A Spirit, for the Bomber Group Build tomorrow.

[IanG]

Wow, fantastic work and photography
Impressive details and paintwork

In perfect agreement!

Gabriel

Thanks Gabriel

[IanG]

Job done!

viewtopic.php?f=45&t=24989

Ian G-20 by ian gaskell, on Flickr

[Panzergrau]

I am speechless... aw... I found one word: SUPERLATIVE work!

Well done! (and a good photo lesson for me - thanks!)

Gabriel

[IanG]

I am speechless... aw... I found one word: SUPERLATIVE work!

Well done! (and a good photo lesson for me - thanks!)

Gabriel

Thanks Gabriel.