YF-23 BlackWidow

[Green KreationZ]

Hey! I am new to the site and decided to post my build logs and completed builds. Starting with the YF-23 BlackWidow in 1:48 by HobbyBoss.

The YF-23 was designed by Northrop/McDonnell Douglas when the USAF began looking for a replacement for its fighter aircraft.

The USAF chose proposals from two companies Northrop and Lockheed. Northrop teamed with McDonnell Douglas to develop the YF-23, while Lockheed, Boeing, and General Dynamics developed the YF-22.

Ultimately the YF-22 was announced the winner and entered production as the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.

Northrop developed two test planes known as the PAV1 and PAV2. This model depicts the PAV1 which was later referred to by the Northrop development team as the Black Widow due to it's spider like appearance when seen on radar.
































Overall I enjoyed building this kit, but it did offer a hefty amount of obstacles.

First off, HobbyBoss includes theoretical decals which do not depict markings of either the PAV1 or PAV2. To remedy this, I purchased a decal set from Caracal models. This set has the correct markings for both the PAV1/PAV2.





The exhaust area of this kit is semi-accurate. There are heat-ablating tiles which are used to shield a heat signature from infrared detection. Both PAV1 and PAV2 had square shaped tiles, where HobbyBoss chose to use rectangular tiles. I could have fixed this issue, but was a bit lazy and didn't realize it until I had already done multiple layers of paint/varnish.





Lastly one major issue of this kit is the landing gear. They are very fragile. Fragile to the point to where I had to install metal pints in both the wheel connection, and one other area. Even after the metal pins, the right set of gear still kept breaking under the weight of the model. The only way to remedy this without ordering an aftermarket set of gear was to cut 2 pieces of sprue from the runners and add more structural support.

[armornutii]

   I have always like the look of the YF-23, bummer it didn't win against the F-22, looks way more sinister.

[stikpusher]

Very sharp looking build!

I was always under the impression that Northrop called this the Black Widow as homage to their WWII era P-61 Black Widow, just as Lockheed named the F-35 Lightning after their WWII P-38.

[406 Silverado]

I'll be checking this out for sure when I get home to where I can see the photos of this Green KreationZ.

[Green KreationZ]

Nov 20, 2023 15:05:01 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Very sharp looking build!

I was always under the impression that Northrop called this the Black Widow as homage to their WWII era P-61 Black Widow, just as Lockheed named the F-35 Lightning after their WWII P-38.

It would make sense that it was also called the Black Widow to pay homage to the P-61. One of the members on the Northrup team had an ancestor that also worked on the P-61.

This documentary on the Western Museum of Flight YouTube channel has some pretty interesting information about the YF-23 - www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYLiMYGBE2Q if you're interested. The Western Museum of Flight is where the PAV2 is located.

[406 Silverado]

Ok.....I'm back at home now and can see this modern art masterpiece in all its glory. You really did a bang-up job on the color modulation with this paint job. LOTS of interest added with just that alone and then the Caracal decals look like they "behaved" quite well on that semi-gloss paint. I couldn't really see the cockpit but if it turned out even half as good as the landing gear bays did then it outta be very well detailed out.

All in all this is one utiful build pal. 

[deafpanzer]

Beautiful build! Welcome aboard by the way!

[handiabled]

Wonderful detail! This has a perfect finish on it!

[stikpusher]

Thanks for the heads up on the Western Museum of Flight. I need to check that place out when I get to California again and have some free time. I do remember seeing the Flying Wing on display at Torrance airport when they had an airshow there about 20+ years ago.

[chromdome35]

I'm not an airplane builder, but I know a good build when I see one. Bravo.

The finish on the plane looks great, very convincing radar absorbing material look.

[Leon]

Really nice work on this!

[brandonk]

That's a sick looking bird. Hopefully we will see it come into its own in the future in the US. Well done.!!

[dupes]

That's quite a gap on the underside! 😬

I had never seen this in the black scheme before...I like it even more this way.

[Green KreationZ]

Nov 21, 2023 12:57:20 GMT -5 stikpusher said:

Thanks for the heads up on the Western Museum of Flight. I need to check that place out when I get to California again and have some free time. I do remember seeing the Flying Wing on display at Torrance airport when they had an airshow there about 20+ years ago.

The PAV1 which this model depicts is located at the USAF museum in Ohio if that’s any closer. I’ve seen the PAV1 in person twice and it is truly mesmerizing.

[Green KreationZ]

Nov 21, 2023 17:54:06 GMT -5 brandonk said:

That's a sick looking bird. Hopefully we will see it come into its own in the future in the US. Well done.!!

There is a rumor that Northrop is developing a 6th gen tactical fighter for Japan at the moment. I wouldn’t be surprised if it had some similarities to the YF-23. 

[TJ]

This looks really awesome. Bummer about the landing gear

[Whiterook]

Ooooooh, that is just a sexy assed bird!!! Love it…Great work!

[Medicman71]

That looks great!! I've always wanted to do one in "what if" markings.