Ha that's cool, but not any stranger than the F-15 that landed with one wing missing.

I'd like to add another build to this one, if that works.

I got talked into a 1/72 MiG-15 by Eduard (their limited edition dual combo with Czech markings).

I've heard great things about this kit, and so far all I can say is, wow - they're warranted.

The cockpit built up nicely, and I used Lawdog's method described in the aircraft forum post he made. It was my first time using PE in 1/72. Fiddly, but Eduard designed it well.

I painted it Neutral Gray, and the PE wasn't a great match, but I figured weathering would take care of that.

And it did.

But man is this thing little!

I should close up the fuselage at lunch today and get on with it.

-BD-

I'll get it added, BD. THis one looks really go so far.

BK

BrandonD

Bish - that looks great! I always loved that aircraft, and you served it well.

Modelcrazy - Nice job so far on that Crusader. Have you seen the pic of one flying with the wings folded? 

I'm not sure how you oops that, but apparently the A-7 and F-4 could both fly with wings folded.

-BD-

 

modelcrazy

Ha that's cool, but not any stranger than the F-15 that landed with one wing missing.

 

modelcrazy

Ha that's cool, but not any stranger than the F-15 that landed with one wing missing.

 

I remember seeing an interview with the pilot and basically he said the only thing that kept him in the air was the fact that he was shoved the throttle to full power.  Speed and what little was left of the wing generated enough lift to allow him to get back to base.

Bish, the Sparkvark looks great!

The Mig and the Crusader look good as well.

Some pics of where the Prowler is:

Proof of life shot, this was to be a practice run for the Weekend GB.  Didn't make it.

About an hour into the build.

Time for bed.

About 25 hours into the build, finally it looks like an airplane.  This is where it's at right now.  Got the gear, the stores, landing gear doors painted gloss white.  Sunday basically sucked and didn't get much done.  Will get some more done tonight. Two weeks to go if anyone is interested in the Weekend GB.

WOW, Steve, what an extraordinary job! That kit looks simply stunning. Congrats on such a fantastic build. I'll update the front page.

BK

Steve, thats one stunning looking aircraft, really nice work.

Thanks lewbud.

Thats some progress on the EA-6. How you finding the kit. I have the Hase A-6 in the stash but would like to add an EA-6 and was considering their kit.

Modelcrazy - wow, I hadn't seen that one before.

Also, I misread the plane you were building. Sorry about that. Your finished model looks fantastic, though.

As for sludge washes, which did you use? I use Flory on all of mine for panel lines, and sometimes for filters. With a nice gloss coat, it comes off really clean. But if it's semigloss or flat, it will stain.

I spray mine with Tamiya X-22 clear, then mist it with thinner to relax it and get a really nice sheen. Since I'll spray thinner through it to clean it anyway, it's not even wasting product!

-BD-

BD, thanks, I used a pastel mix of my own. I like the idea of going over the clear coat with thinner. I'll have to try that.

Bish

Thanks lewbud.

Thats some progress on the EA-6. How you finding the kit. I have the Hase A-6 in the stash but would like to add an EA-6 and was considering their kit.

 

Bish

Thanks lewbud.

Thats some progress on the EA-6. How you finding the kit. I have the Hase A-6 in the stash but would like to add an EA-6 and was considering their kit.

 

Thanks for the heads up Johnny, i will look into that.

Steve

 Awesome job on that Crusader.

Bish

If you are looking for a SUPER A-6E in 1/48 then go with HB 81709. I was blown away with the level of detail in that kit. In 1/72, Hasegawa 02729 is an older kit, details are ok exteriorwise but it needs a resin pit. 

Thanks PJ, i definatly won't begoing 48th. I already have the hase A-6, the 1990's boxing with new parts,i think i just have a basic PE set,could not find any resin for it. Its more the EA-6 i am looking to add to the stash.

Bish, 

If memory serves, the Hasegawa kit is the only EA-6B out there in 1:72.  I think I've seen a Chinese knockoff, but Hasegawa is the only game in town as far as I know.  It's a modern kit in the sense that it has engraved panel lines, but that's about it.  The pit is very basic, but Aires has that taken care of.  There is no detail in the landing gear bays.  The fit isn't bad, but it's no shake and bake.  My kit comes with a multi piece smoked canopy, which is dark enough to hide the kit's pit. When I finally get there, she'll wear the markings of VCMJ-2, The Playboys.  I have Fujimi's EA-6A in similar markings, and will see if I can find a Growler marked like that as well.  If the A-6 is a favorite, the Fujimi kits are the way to go if you can find them.  It's a shame they never made a B model Prowler.

Steve: Sharp work! Great job on her.

Well after some cutting, gluing and sanding this is where I am on the Super Hornet. It's not much picture wise but there isn't a lot to show. The cockpit basically consist of a few decals which work ok in this scale. If I do another one of these I'll go for the aftermarket cockpits which look pretty good. Other then that the fit on this kit is pretty good. A little filling and sanding here and there but nothing too horrible. I'm happy with how it's looking so far.

Bish

Thanks lewbud.

Thats some progress on the EA-6. How you finding the kit. I have the Hase A-6 in the stash but would like to add an EA-6 and was considering their kit.

 

rooster513

Well after some cutting, gluing and sanding this is where I am on the Super Hornet. It's not much picture wise but there isn't a lot to show. The cockpit basically consist of a few decals which work ok in this scale. If I do another one of these I'll go for the aftermarket cockpits which look pretty good. Other then that the fit on this kit is pretty good. A little filling and sanding here and there but nothing too horrible. I'm happy with how it's looking so far.

 

 

 

BK

Nice job so far on the Super Hornet Rooster. I never thought I wanted to build one, but your build has me wanting to give one a shot now.

-BD-

Ok, I got a lot of work done on the 1/72 Eduard MiG-15 over the weekend and finished it up last night. After filling the wing root seams with Gunze Mr. Dissolved Putty and just wiping them with a paper towel with Mr. Leveling Thinner on it, I sprayed Mr. Surfacer 1500 Black and then masked the wing walk areas before coating it with Tamiya Gloss Black.

Next up was the Alclad, and I used Polished Aluminum as a base coat, with Airframe Aluminum on the speed brakes.

I did some random shadows and highlights with Magnesium and White Aluminum, but kept it all pretty subtle, as my references show these Czech MiGs were kept pretty clean.

Then I went to shoot Tamiya Clear on it and accidentally dropped it. Instead of letting it fall 2 inches, I caught it and this happened.

I was just going to leave it since a roundel went there, but I decided to be an adult about it and really quickly re-shot it with Polished Aluminum.

Once I put the legs on it, I ran into another issue - not enough nose weight. I tried several things, mostly around crushing lead pellets and dropping them in behind the cockpit, but too many went farther back past the landing gear and didn't help. I got it close by super gluing them in place behind the cockpit, but it was still a tail-sitter.

Finally, I decided to try something else. So I cut up a bunch of pellets after I flattened them with pliers.

Then I pulled the ejection seat and took a drill to the cockpit so I could access the space in the weapons bay. You can see in the photo below I had some more cleanup to do around the cockpit area due to some super glue (this was just not my build in a few ways).

But that worked, and at the end, it sat firmly on the nose wheel, so I did the finishing touches and took it into the photo booth today at lunch.

This one was flown in 1953 by the Czechoslovakian Air Force, and actually downed a US F-84 that the directions say "probably" flew into their airspace. The American pilot bailed out.

Thanks for looking, and for hosting this group build. It's been a lot of fun, and I will hopefully finish that Mirage soon.

The first pic of the finished plane is fine for the gallery, Brandon.

-BD-

Rooster: Some new work there!

BD: Beautiful work there! And great save on the fingerprint and the nose weight.

Yes nice save Brandon! To have problems pop up that late in the build is tough but it came out looking really good. I like the light touch you had with the weathering, looks just right.

BD, very well done. I really like what you did with the tones of Alclad over the airframe; very realistic look. I'll have to give that a try on my next BMF. Super good looking Mig. I'll update the front page.

BK

Well, I finally have the bulk of the paint work completed. I still have some minor touch ups detail painting to do, then clear and decals will begin. After reviewing the photos of this plane and its siblings I mottled the grey up with a 50/50 mix with a lighter grey and then over shot the whole thing with a very thin mix of a very light grey. The planes were grey over white but in the photos you can see that they appear almost white with fading and sun effect. So, to my eye this is closer to the real deal than the call outs. Other than that I haven't deviated from the instructions.

BK

BK: She looks pretty darn good to me!