1/48 Tamiya F16C Blk50 '347Mira' Hellenic AF ** FINISHED **

[scotthldr]

Steady progress is being made, with the majority of the building finshed. Despite the overall excellent fit of this kit it still requires it's share of the Green stuff to rid it of the seams. Like the Kinetic kit the biggest problem area was the area in front of the cockpit down to the radome, where seven parts meet up, due to these parts being attached at different times it is impossible to get then all lined up and spot on, but nothing the Green stuff and 350 Grit can't sort out.

As it stands, all seams have been filled, sanded then smoothed off and the whole kit has been washed in preparation for the base coat along with all the attachments, pylons, tanks, AAM's and LANTRIN pods. The exhaust has been detailed up and assembled and awaits fitting at the end.







Scott

[TomTwin]

Looking good Scott!
Suprised at the amount of filler needed for a moulding and comppany of this calibre!

[scotthldr]

Thanks Tom, if you built this kit OOB it wouldn't require much filler as the areas that I've had to pay attention to are around the wheelbays and intake cover were I've replaced the kit parts with resin and I think the Aires cockpit might be pushing the the front areas of out of line slightly as well.

[Craig]

Well it looks as though as expected the difficulties have been mere trivialities for you! Looking superb! Can't wait to see the paintwork magic begin once more!

[Tug 747]

Looking very nice cant wait for the painting to begin.

Doug

[scotthldr]

Not much has happened to this build over the last 2 weeks, with the computer being away for repair and all my reference photos being on it, then ultimately lost when the HD was replaced. However I've managed to get the basic scheme down before the computer goes away again on Monday for further repairs and coupled with a split tip on the Badger AB, not much more is going to happen for the next week or so then I'm away for 2 weeks holiday.

All paints are Xtracolor thinned with Revell Colormix

[Deacon]

I like this stage as it is the canvas for you to work your magic with weathering etc.

Alan

[Fumbles]

Looking great as usuall Scott.. As Alan said. Now the majic kicks in with the weathering and decals. One of these days I would love to see one of your kits in person. Hope you get the computer problems fixed up soon. You got a group build starting soon.

[scotthldr]

Now that the holiday is behind me , I will try and get stuck into this during the week. The main painting along with post shaded weathering has been completed, with the smaller detailing to be finished before decaling.

[Jamesv9820]

Good to see you finally back on here Scott - hope all is well!

[Craig]

Well it's looking cracking! Nice work!

[ArabJazzie]

Now that the holiday is behind me ,

Oh dear! Bad holiday then or sad to be back?
Arabest,
Geoff.

[scotthldr]

Sad to be back, holiday was fantastic

[scotthldr]

Some updated photos showing the current status of this build. Unfortunately the flash coupled with the Gloss surface has resulted in very little of the post shading/weathering being visible in the shots, but this is one very weathered bird. For some reason the paintwork on the Blk 50's seems to weather and stain unusually heavy compared to the other variants and I've tried to duplicate this effect on this build. Once the Matt coat is on all will become clear











and the box full of the pylons, tanks, weapons and other additions






Thanks for looking

[TomTwin]

I can see small signs of it, and I'm getting rather excited about the thought of it all finished! Great work as usual Scott, looking forward to the next update.

[Deacon]

Great to have you back mate and this is looking very tasty.

Alan

[mattlaker]

Stunning, as usual!

[Prime77]

Mmm, tasty

[scotthldr]

Thanks guys.

Will hopefully get this back on track over the weekend, had to get some supplies in and most of the paint jars had dried out while I was away so I cleaned them all out and will start with fresh paint.

[scotthldr]

Sorry for the lack of updates on this, struggling to rekindle the mojo at the moment. However I've spent an hour here and there and have got it to the decaling stage which I will start on tomorrow. After which I'll get some pics up.

[Craig]

Great stuff mate it does look superb and looking forward to seeing the finished article! When an artist like yourself has drops in interest though waht hope is there for us mere mortals?

[scotthldr]

Have completed the majority of the decaling on the main airframe and drop tanks with just some of the smaller stencils to go on just before the flat coat. Still have the weapons and targeting pods to do, which should get done tomorrow night.











Scott

[Screechy]

I love the way you go about your modelling fella. I always find that you're kits just look weirdly coloured, peculiarly mottled and sometimes plain bizarre until at the final stage when you flat everything down they just pop out and wowza! Really looking forward to seeing the final stages here and congrats on finding a style that lets you pull off consistently superb results.

[Craig]

Superb as ever! Nice work!

[scotthldr]

I always find that you're kits just look weirdly coloured, peculiarly mottled and sometimes plain bizarre until at the final stage when you flat everything down they just pop out and wowza!

Because I always paint in Gloss the flash on the camera over exposes on certain areas depending on the angle and spray pattern. Luckily it looks totally different in the flesh and as you say once the flat coat is on all the post shading will appear.... "hopefully".