1/32 Italeri F-104S ASA Starfighter

[doogsatx/]

So. I was going to spin up the PBJ next, but the warm weather is lingering and, well, I've gotten a bit of a bug to do a lawn dart for some reason.

After a lot of confused staring, and looking at tons of pictures on the internet, I've decided to do a late Italian F-104S ASA. Many of the later ones have some interesting but not over-the-top battering of the classic green and gray over bare metal scheme. It should be fun.



Not much to report yet, as I'm still wrapping up the Leopard C2, but I did get the Eduard seat freed from its various pour blocks last night. One thing I really like about this seat is how it pays attention to the ejection rails with a separate frame that installs right onto the bulkhead. Much appreciate, Eduard, much appreciated.

[mrt51]

Oh boy I like that!

[dierk]

Love the shape of Starfighters! Got a 'G' version in the aircraft museum around the corner - the German ones had a habit of falling out of the sky unexpectedly - the joke at the time was: Q: how do you get a Starfighter? A: Buy a field.

[JimD]

There's a lot of interesting yet subtle wear to that paint. Should be a looker. On board as usual.

Are there fabric belts for this thing or you going to have to go with the PE?

[wbill76]

Pulling up a chair, hope the weather lasts long enough for your neck of Texas!

[doogsatx/]

Played with some #%*#!(!%@$^ resin last night. Love the detail, HATE Eduard's habit of putting the pour blocks behind the wheel hubs. It makes for a very frustrating removal and cleanup process.

But...all the resin is prepped now. Wheels, exhaust, seat, and a pretty slick Quickboost flight stick + boot.

[Rick]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Another great start Doogs.

Rick

[TRM]

Oooo...missed this one coming off the "blocks"!! Worst part with the resin! Looking pretty good already Doogs!!

[wbill76]

Got to love the detail on those wheels. I always wonder just how they decide when/where to locate the pour stubs. They only have so many options to choose from...maybe they use a 12-sided die?

[doogsatx/]

So here's a video looking at a "less awful" method for removing those stupid wheel hub pour blocks...

[wbill76]

Any method that doesn't result in bleeding has to be considered a success!

[M1Carbine]

Doog - tuned in

Bob

[doogsatx/]

So...I found out today that "f*** Eduard" is in my phone's autocorrect list. And it's apropos, because that's exactly what I've decided with the cockpit PE. I'll use a few bits, but for the most part I'm going to charge ahead with the kit plastic.

The IP isn't bad.



The side consoles are passable, too, though I did add a bit of extra detail to the starboard side with stretched sprue glued and snipped.



Primer!



In several reference pics, I've noticed that the ejection seat frame has several scuffs in it, revealing a chromate-looking primer. So we're going to do some chipping. Laid the foundations tonight.

[doogsatx/]

Last night's work - setting up the chipping on the ejection frame, aft bulkhead and (not seen) starboard cockpit sill.



All done with AK chipping fluid topped by Tamiya black, then by lightened Tamiya XF-54, which is pretty close to the FS 36231 used in pretty much every US aircraft cockpit.

Tonight I get to move on to picking out the consoles and IP details in black. Oh, that will be so much fun.

[wbill76]

I can't help but laugh at the auto-fill option you now have on your phone! Ah the curse of modern technology. I still have to proof-read everything I submit via Mobile before clicking reply/post/share whatever. It's done some pretty bizarre stuff even though I KNOW I typed it correctly before it changed it to something it thought I meant.

[doogsatx/]

Oct 13, 2015 12:56:23 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

I can't help but laugh at the auto-fill option you now have on your phone! Ah the curse of modern technology. I still have to proof-read everything I submit via Mobile before clicking reply/post/share whatever. It's done some pretty bizarre stuff even though I KNOW I typed it correctly before it changed it to something it thought I meant.

The beauty of Android and Swiftkey - my phone never thinks I mean to say "ducking"

[doogsatx/]

Detail work last night...isolating the black on the side consoles and IP.

I also painted a kind of tan-yellow to represent the foam padding that's rather visible in the walkaround shots I've got of the seat. Not sure I'm entirely happy with the demarcation I managed with the seat cover, but this is going to be stuffed down in the cockpit, in the fuselage, obscured by all kinds of belts and weathering yet to come.





Also got my Zactomodels AIM-9Ls yesterday. Not sure if I'll be using one or two for this sucker yet, but definitely some gorgeous work.

[doogsatx/]

More progress on the cockpit - some drybrushing, some detail work, slowly but surely getting the seat together. It's going to suck having to outfit this beauty with #%^#$#@!@ photo etch belts.

[deafpanzer]

Looking real good! dig the highlighted details.

[JimD]

Oct 15, 2015 15:36:46 GMT -5 doogsatx/ said:

More progress on the cockpit - some drybrushing, some detail work, slowly but surely getting the seat together. It's going to suck having to outfit this beauty with #%^#$#@!@ photo etch belts.

Oh c'mon man! That blows. I guess they haven't done a fabric set. I'm confident in your abilities to make the PE at least look decent though.

[doogsatx/]

Oct 16, 2015 16:01:46 GMT -5 JimD said:

Oct 15, 2015 15:36:46 GMT -5 doogsatx/ said:

More progress on the cockpit - some drybrushing, some detail work, slowly but surely getting the seat together. It's going to suck having to outfit this beauty with #%^#$#@!@ photo etch belts.

Oh c'mon man! That blows. I guess they haven't done a fabric set. I'm confident in your abilities to make the PE at least look decent though.

Best part? They make a fabric set for the C2 seat. SMFH.

[doogsatx/]

Had to work tonight, which, ugh. BUT, I did manage to screw around with a general airframe test-fit. Fit was generally good - the butt section will fit better once I do some cleanup. And dang, this thing has presence in 1/32!

[JimD]

Oct 17, 2015 0:55:55 GMT -5 doogsatx/ said:

Oct 16, 2015 16:01:46 GMT -5 JimD said:

Oh c'mon man! That blows. I guess they haven't done a fabric set. I'm confident in your abilities to make the PE at least look decent though.

Best part? They make a fabric set for the C2 seat. SMFH.

Naturally.


Test fit looks promising. Presence is what 1/32 is all about

[doogsatx/]

I needed a bit of a break from the cockpit tonight, so I moved on to the second in-the-fuselage subassembly, the main gear bay. This is a fairly involved affair and will include installing the main gear legs waaaaay early in the process. Good thing they're aluminum like the undersides.



The instructions call for painting the aft-of-the-bay intake runs, which I laughed at. They're so far back that there is absolutely no way they will be visible.

Before assembling everything, I'm painting it up. First step in that is priming for Alclad. In this case using Gunze C2 gloss black. Since it's supposed to be a matte/semi-matte aluminum, I'm not getting too worked up about getting it to a super glossy shine. Especially considering that the forward bay doors are almost always shown up on the S models.

[doogsatx/]

On to some metal. Nothing fancy here - most of the gear bay will be invisible so it just needs a little something.

[JimD]

Now you just have to manage not to break any of that while building. Maybe I'm the only one who does such dumb things? At least they look sturdy.

[doogsatx/]

Oct 19, 2015 10:04:24 GMT -5 JimD said:

Now you just have to manage not to break any of that while building. Maybe I'm the only one who does such dumb things? At least they look sturdy.

Yeah, it terrifies the crap out of me.

On the other hand, I won't have to worry about precariously balancing this absurd pencil on any kind of stand since it'll be able to use its own legs...

[wbill76]

Having it able to stand on its own legs should help a lot with the handling moving forward. It's so long/skinny, you don't have a whole lot of options to begin with. I can only imagine how much this thing will weigh when it's all put together.

[doogsatx/]

Rain scooted on out yesterday, helped on its way by a brisk north wind, and that meant one thing - PAINT.

Got a good start on the F-104's burn tunnel last night - using a mix of RLM 83 and Gunze Gray Green for the weird green color of the exhaust chamber, then some pigments that may have been premature. A dash of some Alclad pale burnt metal is helping things along, but will need to be dulled down after further weathering.





Also got to spend a bit more time detailing out the cockpit and IP. Hoping to start adding the gauge decals soon, and the center scope will have a clear piece on top painted clear orange/red (color shifts depending on the reference pic, so I'll be winging it).

[406 Silverado]

Looking pretty damn good.