Monogram 1/48 F-117A Nighthawk Completed

Keyda81

That sounds like the 2000 Stratus I drove for a little while.  My cousin drove it over the winter with a bunch of oil coming out of the pan, it was rusted through, lol.  No fluid leaks in the old Cavalier, just a lot of little things that were wrong with it.  Someone took care of the car early on in it's life, probably the only reason it's still around.  I have a soft spot for it, my first car was a Cavalier coupe. 

The first one: 1990

The current one:1991

 

Ahhh.....taking me back to my mullet days.  I remember these when they were new. My first job out of high school was new car porter at a Chevy dealer (1990 to 1992).  My Dad had an '88 Z-24 I took my driving test in.  I loved that car  I'd love to get my hands on one today. Oh the memories.... 

That 111 is coming along nice...

Keyda81

Thanks fox and UnwaryPaladin!

 

 

roony

Thanks for wip.  I enjoyed the trip.  Did the decals scatter?  or was it a different fustration?

 

 

 

 

Thank you, the decals had a bad tendency to curl up on me horribly.  I'm really surprised I got them on there, lol.  Just trying to move them a tiny bit was difficult.  It didn't matter how I tried to move them, the edges would start curling up!

Thanks Chemteacher!

 

A little Modge Podge might hold them down. I've used it on instrument panel decals, it worked great. Never tried it on an exterior decal but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

blackdog62, thank you!  You reminded me I have one of those in the stash as well.  Guess I won't have just one black model, lol.

JOE RIX, thank you so much for the kind words! 

armornut, I did put weight in the nose, I'm pretty sure it would have been a tail sitter if I didn't.  There was a clear plastic bit that was supposed to be used as a support.  Thanks!

bvallot, The kit itself is from 1991, I was already 10 years old at that point.  I read some where the F-117 was built in 1981, so it's just as old as me.  Time flies, lol.  Thank you!

Thanks Bish!

tempestjohnny, yep 30, lol.  Technically 31 if you count the other paper model I did and gave to my daughter.  It's getting just a wee bit crowded in my living room. 

Nicely done keyda, she has turned out well.

Very nice Keyda. I've been peeking back and forth as this was going together. I hope to have one in my collection one day too. I had to think after you said the decals were nearly 30 years old...it kind of blew my mind a bit that this aircraft and technology is already that old. For the struggles it gave you, it seems you managed a pretty clean looking build. Very smooth. Thanks for sharing it here. 

Great build Keyda, did you have to weight the nose or does it naturally wanna stay on its legs? The 117 is on my list of things to build, albeit not real high, but your finished goblin just might be causing an itch. Great work ma'am.

Hi Keyda. I've been rather inactive here on the forums for the past few months and consequently I've not caught any of your builds. That is until now. I must say that your work on the 117 is quite impressive. You laid down a gorgeous coat of paint and you are to be commended on your end results with some unruly decals. I am really happy to catch your work and I will be following your others with earnest.

By the way, I have seen pics of your display of other builds and they too are quite remarkable.

Thank You very much for sharing with us.

Joe

Looks so stealthy I'm surprised it showed up in the pic.

It really looks good thank you for sharing. I have a p-61 coming up and they black is on my mind. Hoping I can pull it off.

Thanks Toshi!

1943Mike, Thank you,  I have a mix of prop and jet aircraft, and a few helicopters.  My favorite builds all consist of prop aircraft though.

Max, Thanks!  I do love airplanes.  Can't wait for the airshow next year, hoping I can get a lot of reference for future builds!

ManCityFan, thank you!  The decals were the stressful part, lol.  It is a weird looking aircraft that's for sure.  The strangest one in my collection so far. 

Great job on an interesting subject.  Glad you were able to wrestle those decals into shape.  When I look at that jet, I think that someone from the 1950's would think it is a UFO.  LOL

Thanks for the WIP!

D

Keyda, Nice job and W.I.P. I always like watching a build and showing the trials and tribulations of model building. You are quite the enthusist I must say!

Max

Keyda,

 I like what you've done with this kit.

I'm glad you post works in progress. I learn a bit from all of you who do so. Although jets after the F9F Panther or the F104 Starfighter just don't do it for me, I sure appreciate looking at the fine builds you and others post of them. Perhaps I'll end up doing more jets in the future (I've only done one - a TA-4F Scooter for a friend).

Another fantastic build! 

Toshi

Thanks fox and UnwaryPaladin!

roony

Thanks for wip.  I enjoyed the trip.  Did the decals scatter?  or was it a different fustration?

 

Thank you, the decals had a bad tendency to curl up on me horribly.  I'm really surprised I got them on there, lol.  Just trying to move them a tiny bit was difficult.  It didn't matter how I tried to move them, the edges would start curling up!

Thanks Chemteacher!

Thanks for wip.  I enjoyed the trip.  Did the decals scatter?  or was it a different fustration?

That is one freaky looking aircraft- and it looks awesome! Thanks for posting

Nice build Keyda! Keep up the good work.

Jim  

falconmod

Did you use the green frog tape or the yellow?   I've been using the yellow for a couple of years now.   it's almost a clone of the tamiya yellow tape.    I also find I get a better edge on it if I use a straight edge and cut a new edge on it with a new #11 exacto blade.

But if your using a rattle can it may not help,  I almost always use my AB.   except with Tamiya primer.

John

 

It was the green stuff.  I made sure I burnished it down real well with my fingernail too.  Oh well.  Was easy to touch up anyway.  I did use the airbrush, maybe I just went a little too heavy with it. 

Thanks Shipwreck!

Did you use the green frog tape or the yellow?   I've been using the yellow for a couple of years now.   it's almost a clone of the tamiya yellow tape.    I also find I get a better edge on it if I use a straight edge and cut a new edge on it with a new #11 exacto blade.

But if your using a rattle can it may not help,  I almost always use my AB.   except with Tamiya primer.

John

Thanks Mark!

Finished her up this morning.  Decals were the most irritating part of this build.  They were almost 30 years old, so I should be happy they worked, lol.  This is build #30.  Next up will be a B-26 Marauder.

On display with the F-86 Sabre Dog.  I'll have to find another home for it when I build the F-86 Sabre Jet.  I'd like to display both F-86's together.

This looks great Keyda... another great build. 

Cheers, Mark

Spent the rest of the evening working on the F-117.

I was displeased to find paint had bled under the tape.  I won't be spending extra money on Frog tape again.  I made sure it was burnished down really well too.  Not a big deal, touched it up.

Landing gear and doors all glued in place.

Decals all done, and flat coat applied.  The decals were such a pita!  They curled up so bad.  I used micro set, and sol with them.  Some still wrinkled a bit, and I got some air bubbles.  I'm honestly surprised I got them on there at all!

Should have this finished up tomorrow.  I just have to pull all the masking, glue the canopy and ladder into place, and do come touch ups.

Thanks Toshi!  It's not as smooth looking as it in the pictures, I think I'm going to leave it along though.  I get to a point where I'm trying to make it look better, and land up screwing it up and making it worse, lol.

Took the thunderstorms rolling through as an oppurtunity to paint the landing gear and bays.

I finished painting the underside later on the same day I did the top.

All the white bits, landing gear, doors, wheels, and the bays.

Moment of truth later, we'll see how it turns out!  Fingers crossed!

Nice job on the gloss black.  Looks like glass!

Toshi

It was Testor's, in the little rattle can.