Global Scale Modeller

Hey Guys!

After looking at all those beautiful F-16 build on the forum I'm eager to start building one myself

20161223_111456 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20161223_111532 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I have a pitot-tube from Master on backorder, but I don't need that until later so it's not a problem right now...



Okay.... I kind of bought the Eduard Big Sin detail-up kit for the Tamiya #608786 I have in my stash and I was planning to start buidling earlier this week, but I soon came to the conclusion taht I didn't want to build a Block 50 without full loadout - so I had to choose betwen buying more AM for +40€ or put the kit back in the stash and buy a #60788 instead and get the aircraft with all the equipment for less than 30€




First; since Tamiya is Tamiya we start by removing all of those small pesky staples from the polybags (Tamiya should really stop doing this)
20161223_112042 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Crystal clear
20161223_113415 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Sprues looks awesome (I will take better pictures when I start bulding)
20161223_113438 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20161223_120825 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20161223_120912 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Instruction manual, referece leaflet and paint/decal callout
20161223_121119 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Decals
20161223_121221 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Eduard Big Sin detail-up kit
20161223_123023 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20161223_122355 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20161223_122407 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20161223_122556 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr]

20161223_122714 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20161223_122841 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I'm very eager to start building this now


Tommy

Hi !

Today I finally had some time to put the spruecutter into the first piece of styrene

This kit is amazing, fit and details are just crazy good It's definitely on par with the Tamiya 1/72 A6M2b Zero I built a year ago.

20161225_160239 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

All those nice details on the side panels will be sanded off to make place for the adhesive photoetch panels. It's the first time I use adhesive PE, so this will be interesting. I assume that I have to make surfaces very even and flat, otherwise it won't stick

20161225_160717 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I have decided not to go totally bonkers in detailing, but I will ofcourse use the PE parts that I think will look good. The battery holder is one example of such a detail.

20161225_175413 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

The bangseat have been cleaned up and I will put some PE details on it too...

20161225_201523 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

So this is ~3 hours of concentrated work sofar - this build will take som time to complete (but all my builds are quite slow)

20161225_220019 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Main wheel bay and battery holder have been painted XF-2 White, IP and IP-cover XF-1 Black and the seat and tub XF-20 Medium Gray.


Tommy

Hey Guys!

I have spent most of todays benchtime to detail up the cockpit. There are plenty of small mm-sized PE that needs to be trimmed and fitted onto the plastic. I'm not sure that I fancy the adhesive PE, it's not working for these small parts - I had prefered to glue it myself since I have to do that anyway to make it stick to the surface properly

20161226_200443 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr]

20161226_200629 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Instructions says that the battery should be greenyellow (XF-4) but all reference photos I have seen seems to show a red or a blue battery So I painted it red

20161226_200750 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Dryfitting the cockpit, I'm considering to put a wash on the bangseat, to make the details show better.

20161226_211312 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20161226_211341 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Cheers

Tommy

Looks really good, makes me want to get stuck into my F-16

Very nice work

Wow ! Such detail at that size ! Superb Tommy.
I didnt even know you covld get self adhesive PE !

ElCapitan wrote:Looks really good, makes me want to get stuck into my F-16

Thanks Rob!

The F16 it's a great looking aircraft

AdamLuscombe wrote:Very nice work

Thanks Adam!

Johnj wrote:Wow ! Such detail at that size ! Superb Tommy.
I didnt even know you covld get self adhesive PE !

Thanks John!
I think that Eduard sometimes offers two versions; one with adhesive and one without.


Tommy

What a great looking build. Great topic and you are LOADED with aftermarket goodies!!!
I like the 1/72nd scale for aircraft as they display well, but a bugger to detail
Definitely grabbing some and taking a seat to watch this unfold

Twokidsnosleep wrote:What a great looking build. Great topic and you are LOADED with aftermarket goodies!!!
I like the 1/72nd scale for aircraft as they display well, but a bugger to detail
Definitely grabbing some and taking a seat to watch this unfold

Cheers, buddy

I prefer the size of 1/72 in my display also... I guess that I could cram a 1/48 F16 into it, but larger birds wont fit.



Okay... I have continued with the fuselage and cockpit area today.

Some painting of sides of the main wheel compartment and the cockpit - I added som more PE details as well.
20161227_164138 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20161227_164157 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Airconditioning vents ?
20161227_164415 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Masking and paint of all black areas around the cockpit tub
20161227_174817 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

There are a couple of "gils" just below the backpanel on the starboard side that needs to be filled, so I did that today using CA-glue. There will be a small PE airscoop facing backwards, that I will fit tomorrow.
20161227_181245 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Lets try out the cockpit again...
20161227_183800 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20161227_183850 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I have wiped off all overspray on the fuselage between each paint, so the surfaces will be really smooth...

...and look - suddenly we have mated the fuselage halves togehther; the build is progressing


Tommy

Wow awsome build so far, i got this one in my stash aswell except for the brassin set. if i see you building it i can't wait to get mine started.

Great cockpit!!

Elve1984 wrote:Wow awsome build so far, i got this one in my stash aswell except for the brassin set. if i see you building it i can't wait to get mine started.

Thanks Elve1984

It's a great kit really, you have a wonderful build to look forward too... The Big Sin set in not needed and if you want to add some details (and not dig so deep into the wallet), Masking set, PE set and maybe the resin Engine will get you quite a bit forward.

The PE set contains lots of details for the Ejection seat, so that resin part is not really needed.
Air brakes and the wheels from the Big Sin set are just "cherry on top".
The "remove before flight" is questionable unless you want to make a fre-flight diorama. I will probably not use those in my build.

Twokidsnosleep wrote:Great cockpit!!

Thanks Scott !


Tommy

I am making a 1/72 Phantom at the moment..more like destroying a 1/72 Phantom
The level of detail and realism you are adding at this scale is INCREDIBLY impressive.
PE isn't easy to do this well

Twokidsnosleep wrote:I am making a 1/72 Phantom at the moment..more like destroying a 1/72 Phantom
The level of detail and realism you are adding at this scale is INCREDIBLY impressive.
PE isn't easy to do this well

Thank you Scott, I'm almost blushing

I'm comfortable working with small parts; as a R&D engineer I have spent many hours in the lab working with microelectronics under microscope, and I basically use the same tools (pliars, pincette, dental probes, scalpel etc) for modelling. I use a magnifying lamp at home, but I would love to have a good stereo-microscope with zoom optics


Tommy

Great work so far

TommyKillander wrote:

Twokidsnosleep wrote:I am making a 1/72 Phantom at the moment..more like destroying a 1/72 Phantom
The level of detail and realism you are adding at this scale is INCREDIBLY impressive.
PE isn't easy to do this well

Thank you Scott, I'm almost blushing

I'm comfortable working with small parts; as a R&D engineer I have spent many hours in the lab working with microelectronics under microscope, and I basically use the same tools (pliars, pincette, dental probes, scalpel etc) for modelling. I use a magnifying lamp at home, but I would love to have a good stereo-microscope with zoom optics


Tommy

Ahhhh, We are kindred spirits then...dental 2.5x loops with mounted halogen lighting
Still would like to strike out and build something bigger
Good luck on your build

Twokidsnosleep wrote:

TommyKillander wrote:

Twokidsnosleep wrote:I am making a 1/72 Phantom at the moment..more like destroying a 1/72 Phantom
The level of detail and realism you are adding at this scale is INCREDIBLY impressive.
PE isn't easy to do this well

Thank you Scott, I'm almost blushing

I'm comfortable working with small parts; as a R&D engineer I have spent many hours in the lab working with microelectronics under microscope, and I basically use the same tools (pliars, pincette, dental probes, scalpel etc) for modelling. I use a magnifying lamp at home, but I would love to have a good stereo-microscope with zoom optics


Tommy

Ahhhh, We are kindred spirits then...dental 2.5x loops with mounted halogen lighting
Still would like to strike out and build something bigger
Good luck on your build

Yeah, I guess we are

Happy New Year!
/Tommy

Great work so far!!!

Filmman586 wrote:Great work so far!!!

Thanks Lou!


Tommy

TommyKillander wrote:

Filmman586 wrote:Great work so far!!!

Thanks Lou!


Tommy

Looks incredible, I wish I could be 10% that good

Quax wrote:Looks incredible, I wish I could be 10% that good

Thanks Paul!



I have started to work on the main landing gear. It's possible to build up it as a separate part, which makes the assembly easier.
20170102_200102 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I has been primed with White Ultimate Primer and I have brushpainted some areas with X-11 that I will mask before I paint everything with XF-2.

Wings have been attached as well.
20170102_200219 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Everything fitted like a glove and there are no seams at all. No surprise....


Tommy

Hey guys!

The build is progressing with babysteps right now - The new Swedish tech-tree in World of Tanks consumes most of my free time right now

I have masked the bare metal parts of the main landing-gear and painted it with Tamyia XF-2 White. I see now that I should have airbrushed the X-11 spots instead using a brushpainting it, but I will not strip the paint and correct a small mistake like that. The errors are barely visible for the naked eye and I think that after a couple of coats of Aqua gloss and some washes, it will look decent

20170104_185822 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Time for some more PE...
20170104_191416 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170104_194242 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Eduard have supplied some cable-trunks in PE, that I probably will not use. I tried one at the rear wall of the nose wheel bay, just for fun, but I don't think that they look convincing in this scale...


Tommy

You're doing a great job, great to watch!

Very nice progress. Great looking cockpit

Grtz Arjan

ElCapitan wrote:You're doing a great job, great to watch!

Timmie wrote:Very nice progress. Great looking cockpit

Grtz Arjan

Thanks Rob and Timmie!


Tommy

TommyKillander wrote: Decals

The 79th Fighter Squadron is based in my home town of Sumter, SC!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/79th_Fighter_Squadron

I grew up listening to F-16s and A-10s flying over my house and we lived about 10 miles from a bombing range where the roar of the Gatlin gun of the A-10s could be heard for miles!

Great build!

chops1sc wrote:
The 79th Fighter Squadron is based in my home town of Sumter, SC!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/79th_Fighter_Squadron

I grew up listening to F-16s and A-10s flying over my house and we lived about 10 miles from a bombing range where the roar of the Gatlin gun of the A-10s could be heard for miles!

Great build!

Wow! That's awesome

- "I love the sound of BRRRT in the morning..."


Tommy

TommyKillander wrote:

chops1sc wrote:
The 79th Fighter Squadron is based in my home town of Sumter, SC!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/79th_Fighter_Squadron

I grew up listening to F-16s and A-10s flying over my house and we lived about 10 miles from a bombing range where the roar of the Gatlin gun of the A-10s could be heard for miles!

Great build!

Wow! That's awesome

- "I love the sound of BRRRT in the morning..."


Tommy

I am severely restraining myself from the obvious one line gag I could make about that comment...it is taking all my will

Twokidsnosleep wrote:

TommyKillander wrote:

chops1sc wrote:
The 79th Fighter Squadron is based in my home town of Sumter, SC!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/79th_Fighter_Squadron

I grew up listening to F-16s and A-10s flying over my house and we lived about 10 miles from a bombing range where the roar of the Gatlin gun of the A-10s could be heard for miles!

Great build!

Wow! That's awesome

- "I love the sound of BRRRT in the morning..."


Tommy

I am severely restraining myself from the obvious one line gag I could make about that comment...it is taking all my will

Haha... yeah, my mind went in that direction too after I wrote it....


Tommy

Hey Guys,

Time to bring the thread back on track, after I derailed it....

Did some work to the nosewheel gear and hatch, I was quite surprise to find the hatch actuator to be a clear part, but after reading the instructions manual more in detail I saw that it incorporates the landing lights.
20170106_141227 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170106_141250 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

More white stuff that are prepped for some White Ultimate Primer. The AGM-88 HARM missiles look really badass!
20170106_141324 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Air scoop have been painted with XF-2 and the vertical strut with Vallejo Duraluminium.

20170106_163309 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

So this is the result sofar:
20170106_163920 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

One thing that have been bothering me is how to paint the black rim of the scoop inside and get rid of the seams. The parts are too small to build, fill, sand, mask and paint, so I tried to use another approach..
20170106_163050 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170106_164659 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170106_164749 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

There are some visible seams to take care of, but I'm happy with how it turned out sofar

Cheers!

Tommy

That is fantastic. The internal seams look like metal work to form the scoop
You are a master with the white spray....I have trouble getting good coverage no matter what I use

Twokidsnosleep wrote:That is fantastic. The internal seams look like metal work to form the scoop
You are a master with the white spray....I have trouble getting good coverage no matter what I use

Thanks buddy

The combination of White Ultimate Primer and XF-2 works really well for me. I thin the paint 70% IPA (isopropyl alcohol) and apply it with thin coats - I think I sprayed on ~15 layers on those parts. You have to be very easy on the AB trigger and almost mist on the paint and it's a bit timeconsuming as well.

IPA gives fantastic results for flat paints but for semigloss and gloss paints I use Ultimate Thinner. It's ofcourse possible to mix IPA and a couple of drops of retarder and use that for gloss coats, but I think it's more convenient to use UT.

Well.. that's me waffling about stuff you already know probably


Okey... The build is now entering a phase where I work with a lot of small stuff in a random way.

FIrst of all, I have a seam that I need to fill and take care of using CA-glue.
20170106_224807 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Time for some glosscoat - I'm preparing the landing gear and battery for decals.
20170107_174902 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Nav lights. I will mask them before I start painting the fuselage.
20170107_191411 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

This is the air intake after closs-coat. I'm happy with that.
20170107_203438 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr
If I was building this aircraft in 1/48 or 1/32 I would considered to use a method called "pour-n-dump"; The airscoop is plugged at one end and filled with white paint with self-levelling properties and the paint is immediately poured back into the jar. After the paint have cured fully the process is repeated again until all seams are gone. The paint works as a filler and paint at the same time.
One IPMS buddy used that method for his 1/32 scale F16.

Time to do some more PE again. I build the PE part before I remove the plastic detail. Just to be on the safe side
20170107_194916 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

That looks OK, lets bring out the tools
20170107_204936 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170107_212115 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

A final check of how it looks before it's time to hit the bunk for tonight
20170107_212221 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr


Tommy

Looking great so far....
I wish I could do half as well with pe

Ahh yeah 15 layers, there is the difference.....gheeze I am a lot more heavy handed than that
I shall resolve to change my ways

Fantastic work with the airscoop Tommy, looks superb!!

Fridgy wrote:Looking great so far....
I wish I could do half as well with pe

Thanks Fridgy
PE is a bit fiddly, but not very difficult if you have the right tools.

Twokidsnosleep wrote:Ahh yeah 15 layers, there is the difference.....gheeze I am a lot more heavy handed than that
I shall resolve to change my ways

I'm not saying that is the right way to do it, but it works for me

demarcation wrote:Fantastic work with the airscoop Tommy, looks superb!!

Thanks Anders!




Not much done today, went to see Rouge One with my kids

I had some "homework" left to do on the seams of the airscoop; the CA-glue have fully cured now and I have sanded and polished it. So it is finished now.
20170108_211801 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I have also started to build and polish up some of the equipment.
20170108_210813 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr


Tommy

Quick update; time for some weapons, AIM-120 samt AIM-9X...

20170109_212315 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170109_213256 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I started fixing the vent port below the canopy. I decided to use the PE part, though it think it looks a bit too big for this scale.

20170109_214630 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170109_214810 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I have filled the seam against the fuselage with CA-glue, I will sand and polishing that after the glue has fully cured.


Tommy

Youre intake came out very very nice indeed.
Like scot i also like the way youre white turned out. I think i'm not that patienced to apply 15 layers but on the other hand it looks great.

Grtz Arjan

Great progress Tommy, she's comming along nicely!

Great detailing on the office.

Timmie wrote:Youre intake came out very very nice indeed.
Like scot i also like the way youre white turned out. I think i'm not that patienced to apply 15 layers but on the other hand it looks great.

Grtz Arjan

Elve1984 wrote:Great progress Tommy, she's comming along nicely!

Bissyboat wrote:Great detailing on the office.

Thanks guys!


Tommy

Hey guys, short update today

I got some pitot-tubes, AoA-probes and some paints today.
20170112_212452 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr
I have not made up my mind if I should use these paints or try to mix myself... I guess that I have to paint some spoons first to see what they look like.

I have also started to clean up the resin details and prepare them for painting. The details are just fantastic.
20170112_212227 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

The painting and weathering can be quite cool - I love the combination of metal tones, buff, black and blue...

...don't know it this is possible to do in 1/72 though...


Tommy

Het Guys,

It's time to assemble and paint that nice resin afterburner and exhaust that is part of the Big Sin kit.

But first we hit google to get some inspiration:



Eduard suggests all kinds of Gunze colours from the Mr Metal Color and Mr Color Super Metallic range

MC214, Dark Iron (which I actually have!)
SM03, Super Iron
SM04, Super Stainless
SM05, Stainless

We need to improvise a bit here ... but first we start by priming everything with Black UP and X-1 Gloss Black.

The PE details around the compressor spinner is painted with MC214 and the compressor blades with MC213 Stainless. I have also added som Burnt Red pigemnts I think....
20170114_162652 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Exhaust was painted with MC213 and I sprayed higly diluted (1:3 I think) CF-55 Deck Tan and I added some Tamiya Burnt Blue pigments as well.
20170114_162728 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Last stage of the engine (the compressor) is finished.
20170114_163653 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Tried to take a picture of the burner can with my mobile camera flash - not so successful
20170114_185026 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I added some Black Tamiya Panel Line Wash between the exhaust blades.
20170114_185328 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

All products used. The fuselage part have been prepainted so I can mask that before I start to paint the cammo.
20170114_193825 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr


Tommy

Hey Guys!

Time to get started on the airbrakes, a set of beautiful resin parts that will model the brakes in open position.

20170115_201034 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Cleared from the stem and cleaned up.
20170115_205846 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Time to put the man-pants on and use the saw on the fuselage
20170115_211217 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Did some dryfitting using just a bit of tape to hold it in place. It will look even better when it's aligned and glued in.
20170115_213315 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr


Tommy

It is all looking great, really solid especially at this scale
I love the wide assortment of products used for painting up those afterburner cans....a bit of everything but the kitchen sink

Also if you aren't already wearing man pants and need to put them on to cut, then pray what are you wear....hand on, I might not want to ask that question

Twokidsnosleep wrote:It is all looking great, really solid especially at this scale
I love the wide assortment of products used for painting up those afterburner cans....a bit of everything but the kitchen sink

Yeah, it's a bit tedious to mix 2 ml of paint, spray something that is at the size of a thumb, clean the airbrush and repeat 5 times
It could probably been done more efficiently .

Also if you aren't already wearing man pants and need to put them on to cut, then pray what are you wear....hand on, I might not want to ask that question

You never know...


Tommy

Coming along nicely.

Bissyboat wrote:Coming along nicely.

Tack Bissyboat!


Ok... Quick update, build have been a bit slow this week, been busy with lots of other stuff....

I tried to mask the metal flange on the back of the fuselage (that meets the exhaust) and though that I could trace the edge with a knife....

This failed horribly

The metal paint peeled off, despite the fact that I "de-tacked" the adhesive side carefully
20170120_210840 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

Ok... so I had to strip the paint. I will use ModelMaster Metallizer instead (like I nomally do for small shiny stuff).

...and I found out that it was easier to draw a line with a pen and user that as a guide instead.
20170120_205943 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170120_213930 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170120_214235 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr


Tommy

Hey Guys!

It's been a "dry" week at the bench, but I finally got some time yesterday to do some stuff.

Started to work on the radome, those AoA probes are really tiny.. like the tip of an airbrush needle
20170120_202207 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

I remembered to add some weight to the nosecode, yay !
20170121_110406 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170121_195750 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170121_195821 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr
I'm happy with that. I will paint the radome separetly, since will have a slightly darker colour than the gunship grey.

Vertstabiliser in place. I spilled some glue on the tail, but it was possible to sand and polish it afterwards close call....
20170121_110649 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr
Looks like a case for the Accident Investigation Bureau right now

Added som decals as plates on the main landing gear struts
20170121_132546 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

... and a sign on the battery
20170121_132606 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170121_140736 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

It's alive !
20170121_140714 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

20170121_195901 by Tommy Killander, on Flickr

It starts to look like a Fighting Falcon now


Tommy