Kfir C7, AMK 1/48 - That's a wrap!

[wing_nut]

New month, new project. 1/48 AMK Kfir that will be done as the C7 version. I’ve been test fitting a bunch of parts and so far, it been great. Fuselage almost snaps together and bottom wing section just dropped in place.



Stated on the cockpit as usual with Bondic for the instrument faces. So far, the Eduard interior PE set has been a perfect fit for IP, consoles, tub floor and sides and some nice behind the seat stuff… pics of that later. If you ever need a mirrored surface for a truck side view mirror etc., or in his case, the lens for the HUD, look inside you next can of coffee. Peel off, clean the sticky glue and punch to the size you need. A drop of thinned Tamiya clear yellow makes the lens coating and sill have all the dazzle.

[deafpanzer]

You are going to finish this in 45 days?!?! I think you can! Good luck!

[wing_nut]

Gonna need more luck than you think. Only got 30 days left.

[Leon]

Off to a nice start Marc!

[Tojo72]

Pretty nice job on the office.

[wing_nut]

Leon, Anthony.... thanks fellas.

The kit seat actually had a lot of nice details. I added the Eduard PE set and a few cables and cylinders. The khaki parts are seat cushions made from plastic card. Now all I have to do is sand away the sides ;( to fit in the cockpit tub. The fit was so good before I added the PE sides in the cockpit./ Now it won't fit.

[Leon]

Great work on the seats Marc! Looking really good.

[deafpanzer]

Outstanding!!!

[wing_nut]

Leon, Andy... thanks boys

The slot that’s the hollow up into the tail extended beyond the jet nozzle so I filled that. A thin piece was cut off a sanding stick to fit between the feathers to separate them a little and the rear edge of the fuselage was thinned to a sharp edge. Intakes painted white before fitting in place.

The fit has been pretty damn good. Barely any flash, although where it did pop up seemed a weird place. This is my 2nd AMK kit and I love ’em.

[Leon]

Looking really sharp Marc! Nice work on the gap filling.

[fhvn4d]

I have this kit in the stash and now I cant wait to crack it!!! AFTER I watch you do yours and enjoy the tips of course LOL

[sturmbird]

take a peek at the build on the AMK Face Book page. Hell of a paint job
gary

[tigrazor]

Mar 7, 2017 20:35:21 GMT -5 fhvn4d said:

I have this kit in the stash and now I cant wait to crack it!!! AFTER I watch you do yours and enjoy the tips of course LOL

Copy that. Same here! Great work so far.

[wing_nut]

Thanks guys... for putting the pressure on. I'll take a stroll over there Gary.

[bbrowniii]

Looking great Marc.


This thing looks pretty big on your cutting mat. What're the dimensions?

[wing_nut]

Thanks Boyd. Its not too big, about 12" long with a 7" wingspan it looks tiny next to the MiG 31

[wing_nut]

Ok, so you’ve just tweezerpulted 1 of the 2 lights for the nose gear. You hear it click off of something and you freakin’ amazed at how far it went… and gone forever. Bondic to the rescue. Here’s an SBS…
1 Find a punch or drill bit that’s the same diameter of the light. Make a mark on the shiny side of a shipping label backing. This is your guide for the next step.
2 Put a little puddle of Bondic and hold a piece of thin wire in the center and harden it with the UV light.
3 This pops off the paper really easy and you a little disk on the end of the wire.
4 Fill the wire side of the disk with more Bondic and harden once again. To make the slight curve of the lens use a smaller amount, get it to the edges. Add more if you need to or if you put too much and it’s too round, just touch it lightly with your finger to draw a bit off. Harden with the UV and paint the back silver
5 Bob’s your uncle…a landing light. Super clear and sparkly and you can see the wire that now looks like a bulb











The last sessions were spent wiring up the landing gear… pics to follow soon… and working on the Pave Penny laser designator. The clear dome of the front wasn’t exceptionally clear more due to the thickness of the piece. I once again thought of the UV glue since it’s so freaking clear. I added a couple of littles details… and brotha I mean little… and used the thickens of the glue to build up a nice round bubble over the details and the clarity of the glue reveals all the tiny details.

[Leon]

WOW...Great work those lenses Mark!

[deafpanzer]

Brilliant work Marc!!! DAMN... great update!

[wing_nut]

Thanks Andy

Build is basically done. Canopy not glued on yet. Seam in front of wind screen will be fixed one the clear part is in place. There is a step that to be taken care and figured on killing 2 birds with 1 blob of putty. I had to dip he canopy in Future which I don’t like doing anymore. Real canopies do not look like a sapphire watch crystal. There was a line through the canopy, not sure what it’s called in plastic but it’s like a cold pour in concrete when a load from a different truck is poured into the form making a line.

[deafpanzer]

I swear I smell paint fume... was that you?!?!?

[wing_nut]

Ah, if I could only get "them' to smell like paint

[wing_nut]

Painted and peeled. There were a few touch ups that needed to be done. And still 1 more major touch up. Dunno what made me thing of adding “555” to the end of my search but found 2 pics of this aircraft. While the break in the brown on the aft right of the fuselage is by far the more common configuration, it is clear that 555 differs from that with it continuing as a solid band. Easy fix. I am not going to redo the bottom but it's clearly a darker shade of gray than the paint set I used and also of most finished builds I've seen.

The parked shot is the same bird in different unit markings.

( Photos for jibbajabba only. Ain’t nobody makin’ a dime. So keep your hands in your pockets)

[Leon]

Paint looks really good Marc!

[Tojo72]

Nice work on the camo

[wing_nut]

Thanks fellas

[wing_nut]

Ok done. Well nearly done. The last shot I took was of the bottom and it wasn’t until I looked at the pics on the PC that I decided it needs to streaking and dirt commensurate with a desert bird. I fixed the camo on the right side connecting the brown and running the middlestone up the fuselage a bit more.

Also… I give myself a major flip off. During one of the paint session I started to lose my grip in the Jimhole stick and I caught it as it went down but there was a thumb on the edge of the spray booth. A careful inspection and I felt I dodged a huge bullet. Nope. If you look close to the right side of the windscreen that plastic had majors crackage.

And boy howdy this is a great kit.

[tigrazor]

Well done! Did you use any dull cote after the decals?

So if I begin my kit soon its all your fault - what a great reference!

[sturmbird]

They (AMK) are going to make a major revision to that kit in the near future. The 1/72 kit has the correct fuselage shape, although it's not noticeable on the current kit. They also plan on doing the Marine F21 Hotrod off this kit. I'll be good for both kits.

Your build is outstanding!
gary

[wing_nut]

Happy to take the blame Lucas. And thanks.

Thanks Gary. Are saying they are gong to make this kit BETTER? As if that were possible. I definitely want to do an F-21 version.