1/32 Italeri F-104S ASA Starfighter

[doogsatx/]

Adventures in masking...Eduard's 1/48 F-4 wheel hub masks happen to be an exact match for the diameter of the roundels. For the middle green circle, I used some spare vinyl from some insignia masks and my punch-and-die set. Green was Tamiya XF-5, white was Mr. Paint Basic White.







I also went ahead and masked and sprayed the fuselage red line and the tank caps while I was mucking around.

Now...I get to wait. Punch was having problems with the larger diameter to mask off the white, so I've got an order in for Uschi's huge wheel hubs mask set and will be stealing from it to finish off the roundels. Still lots of forward fuselage decal work I can do while I wait.

[wing_nut]

I'll be in Dallas Jan 28-31 for a convention then off to New Orleans for 4 days of food and drink.

[doogsatx/]

Right. Got my set of Uschi's wheel/hub masks yesterday and they were perfect for completing the roundels.

[wbill76]

Perfect way to replace the decals Doogs, got to love it when a 'found' material/item does the job so nicely.

[doogsatx/]

Still in the hole of decal suck, but there's light at the end of the tunnel at least...



The Italeri decals are...I don't know. Between warm water and the AK decal adapter stuff, they do suck down and conform well enough. But several of the stencils are very obviously oversized. It's like they went and made half of their stencils for 1/24 scale instead. The placement guide is also pretty vague. It's manageable, but it's slow going.

[panzerjager2]

LOOKING REAL GOOD..............

[deafpanzer]

Superb work on the decals... no matter how tiny they can be they usually make builds look better.

[wing_nut]

Stay the course. Looks fine.

[doogsatx/]

Been stuck in the 80% suck on this one...so close, but so far still to go. Past few nights I've been working on the Zactomodels AIM-9s. Truly lovely pieces, even if the front fins are super flimsy.



Some Mr. Paint Light Ghost Gray really brings the details out:



Painted up and test-fitted.



The forward portions are Alclad Steel and Gunze Super Metallic Chrome Silver, with a little thinned/glossed Vallejo Deck Tan at the tip. Vallejo Semi-Matte Aluminum for the metal details on the rear fins. I know the forward fins are a bit lighter than the body, and I've got a plan for that that rhymes with "mushi chowders", but need to wait to run that option until everything else with the Sidewinders is sorted.

[afvfan]

At the rate you're going it looks like I won't have to worry about entering the MoM competition this month.

Nice work!

[adt70hk]

VERY nice doogs!

[doogsatx/]

Finally got the last of the decals placed last night on the Zacto AIM-9Ls...

[panzerjager2]

Really NICE WORK, brings back memories................. being bounced around by a German pilot in a two-seater version.

[doogsatx/]

MOAR PROGRESS! Got the topside panel line washes done last night - a mix of Ammo Dark Green Gray, Deep Gray, Medium Gray and Black Night.



Up next...panel line washes on the underside and some touch ups on areas up top. Once I get through those I'll be heading into the real home stretch.

[doogsatx/]

Final clear coat down - still plenty to do with tanks, missiles, wheels, and the cockpit sill, but the end is definitely in sight!

[Deleted]

That's incredible!

[John Everett]

Beautiful job. I'll look forward to close-ups.....She needs some wheels, though. It takes too much power to taxi otherwise.

[doogsatx/]

And after a marathon session last night - this thing is done and off the bench:













Overall - glad I built it and happy to have a 104 in the display cabinet, but the sloppiness of the Italeri kit makes the finish out maddening, and the decals, even though Cartograf printed, are rather thick. If I were doing this again, I'd strongly considering doing a West German one using Daco's huge sheet.

[wing_nut]

Saw that this made it into the MoM. Had to come check the full spread. Gotta agree with dogfish.

[deafpanzer]

She is really beautiful... its the colors that really draws my attention!

[martslay]

Great work! Great skill!