Bob - If I recall correctly, the F-22 has the Have Glass finish on it, and while I haven't used it myself, I have heard that Mr. Paint's Have Glass finish is a good match for it, though you'd want to decal first, since the markings have the sheen and the Have Glass finish is a bit rough.

http://www.hobbyworld-usa.com/Store/index.php?id_product=5311&controller=product

In any case, can't wait to see how it comes out. I just cored the 1/48 Hasegawa Raptor and am itching to start it when it arrives.

-BD-

Bob: Interesting, looking forward to seeing how it works. 

 we need popcorn for our emoticons so i can sit and watch! 

Bob, that is going to be a sharp paint scheme,  looking forward to seeing how it turns out for you. 

<Matt

Here is about where my F-16XL is sitting.  Waiting on a replacement part fromLuckyModels right now.  This is going to be a 'what if' operational version outfitted for a wild weasel mission (anti-radar) with the "Have Glass V" finish.  I will not be ordering the MRP stuff, although I am really tempted to, looks much simplier than the crazy mixing of tamiya paints and Alclad II.

E09E4C6C-1AF7-4A16-A55D-69F0F199019B_zpse9jfz2so by matt pohlman, on Flickr

830AF7DF-E304-4046-AB5B-960F0E287EE0_zpsbcx7oiom by matt pohlman, on Flickr

23AA8E78-A2E3-4614-89AE-878969990BE4_zpsoldl0fr7 by matt pohlman, on Flickr

6E5FB678-695B-4195-948D-2F465A9FF19C_zps6jprxslh by matt pohlman, on Flickr

Matt, the F-16XL looks stunning. I really like the look of that plane and the paint looks fantastic. I am really looking forward to seeing this decaled up. Well done, Sir!

For those of you who have not yet completed your builds, but have participated thus far in the GB, go ahead and add the badge to your signature if you haven't done so already. You all have earned the right to sport it.

BK

Matt, I'm interested in your take of the Have Glass finish.

Haven't posted lately, but I made good progress over the weekend.  I'll post some pics later.  I've done more work with Jacquard Pearl EX powders in PMF.  I tinted the canopy gold and the HUD green, so they have just the right sheen when the light hits them at the right angle.  I'm pretty happy with how they have turned out.

I've discovered that the lower fuselage half is slightly warped, but it's very thin and has large cutouts so it's pretty flexible.  It looks like the weapon bays will add structure and prop it all into shape when they are glued in, so it's probably not a problem.

I've also discovered that 1:72 scale, which used to be my standard scale for modern aircraft, no longer agrees with my eyes.   Time to move to 1:48 (my usual WWII scale) across the board, I think.

Great work everyone. I decided to finally start my Academy 1/48 F-14A Tomcat.

1 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

This will be my first 1/48 scale modern day aircraft for quite some time. This kit number 12230 is identical to kit number 12253, just a different decal sheet. The kit contains 222 parts, with only 154 being used, plenty of extra parts left over.

13 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

The past days I've cut out and cleaned up the parts, then did a dry fit, using masking tape to hold the parts together. I'm not sure what part 15 and 16 are, they can be swung in or out.

10 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

9 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

11 by Daniel Smith, on Flickr

I have a feeling this Tomcat is going to be a paint hog.

Those are glove vanes, and they were intended to balance trim in supersonic flight.  At subsonic speeds, the center of lift is generally around the quarter chord of the wing (that is, about a quarter of the way back from the leading edge).  At supersonic speeds, the center of lift moves backwards to about half chord.  This shift causes the aircraft to want to pitch down.  The glove vanes would extend at supersonic speeds and add a little bit of extra lift ahead of the center of gravity, balancing this out.

AFAIK, only the A models had glove vanes.  They were disabled on the A+ and (I believe) removed completely on the D.  Turns out that in practice, the shift was well within the ability of the aircraft to trim it out without the vanes, and removing them reduced weight and maintenance.

Thanks for the information Jet Jaguar, some pictures I've seen show them painted white, the model kit has them painted Gull Gray FS 16440.

Matt: That looks really cool. Looking forward to seeing how the finish comes out.

Dan: Looks like a really nice kit. Gee, haven't built a F-14 here since back when they were still in service.

Bob: Thanks for the information here too, interesting, I wondered about the vanes as well.

Matt,

XL looks good, happy to see the finished result.

Jet,

Sounds like an interesting treatment on the canopy, looking forward to see the finished treatment.

Did a F-22 for my son a while back, painted it in greys, then airbrushed a very dilute metallic coat over the top. I thought it looked pretty good.

Dan, The F 14 does look like a big unit all right

Back home and back to the Cobra, the majority of the decals are on, just the two yellow and black chevrons to go on the tail boom - I have to work out their sizing and cut them to size before application - or should I apply them oversize and them cut them back on the model? My head hurts...

Dan, the F-14 is gonna look steller, I can't wait. I have that kit in my stash so I am super keen to see it go together.

Jet, very useful information, thanks for sharing that. It helps me build when I understand more about what Im working with.

Lost, wowzers, that is looking very nice. I'll leave it for you to decide when and where to cut. I don't want to be responsible for any of that. LOL

BK

LA: That looks amazing!!! Two of the biggest pains to me are white and the DayGlo orange and what you've got looks perfect! Sorry, no idea about the decals. You might try photocoping them and then cutting out the copy just to see how it would fit. That's helped me in any case. 

Thanks Brandon and Cliff,

In the end I got some Tamiya tape to the chevron angle, put it in position then marked it up. I transferred that to the decals and cut to size. realised after I had cut it that I should have checked the two sides for size...

But it has turned out pretty well, this is the first one in position with the tape blanks in front. I have since installed the second which matched up a treat on the bottom, less than a millimetre off on the top.

Cliff I am happy witht the orange, but the white has got crap caught up in it and some spots that don't have great coverage - I just make sure the photos don't show them...

LA, I know I've said it before, but this helo is looking nothing short of amazing. Nice work.

BK

Lol LA, you did a good job hiding the issues with the white since it looks perfect in the photos. 

Lost,

That Cobra is amazing,  love the bright scheme and you pulled it off remarkably. 

I personally would do make a copy and trim the decals based off your measurements. Too tricky otherwise.

Thanks for the kind words guys

As you can see below, I got both chevrons on and they met beautifully down the bottom and jst a touch out on top. Happy with that!

Next is the patch of scratched up crud on the right side of the fuselage, it was annoying me and I couldn't let it go:

So I masked up the area and resprayed, but it now shows variation in the new area is whiter than the rest! So I will keep the camera away from that side...

Now I have put the gloss coat over it all and it is drying off overnight.

LA: That decaling looks great! 

And gee friggin' whiz that's a pain when you have to respray something and the colour just won't match. 

LA, she's looking great. AHHRGH !!! I also hate trying to fix things and not having the color match. But, on the birght side, it looks just fine from where I'm sitting.

BK

Guess what - more paint to fix up!

I thought I would do the gloss coat with a Tamiya rattle can. Trouble is it seems to be attacking the hi vis red, exposing the white underneath:

Fortunately I have some of the pre-mixed red to hand, so I hand painted over the white:

Hopefully not many other dramas...

Put me down for a 1/32 Revell PA-18 supercub, I will modify it to look like a full size I built some time ago.

Theuns

Theuns, I will add this to the roster. Although it doesn't exactly fit the build, it is a "modern" bird so it fits the theme which is cool, but the most important part is we all get to share in the process. I look forward to seeing this in your capable hands.

BK

cool

LA: That's weird, glad to see you were able to match the paint and take care of it. 

Theuns: Sounds cool. 

Hang on, I just re read the rules and missed the "no" piston part

Should have put my glasses on LOL

I withdraw the PA-18 form here to keep with the feeling of the GB and will see if I have anything else that is more correct.

Theuns

Theuns, don't sweat it. I too saw it was piston driven but with some thought I figured that the plane is indeed a "modern" plane in that its only been around in the modern era. I thought it through and figured the design of this plane is modern and therefore can fit the theme. I just didnt want to see a bunch of radial engine stuff like we always have in other builds. So, it works, go with it. We are all excited to see it come together.

BK

Ok ta, will post pix soon.

Theuns