Hasegawa Ace Combat ASF-X Shinden II

[Supertom]

Until I get a chance to take some pics of my Ace Combat Shinden, here's a build diary from start to finish with all the photos I managed to snap while rushing to get this done. The Shinden was for a "Trio of Shindens" mini-group build between two other members of my club. The meeting was on October 16th., and I started this on October 1st. I was pretty much gone every weekend, so I really had to push it. As I had an all-weekend event the week before, I made sure that the major components were ready the week before at the latest so I could paint and complete the smaller subassemblies.

This is the first issue of the Shinden, picked up at the IPMS Nationals 2013 in Orlando, FL:



As you can see, the fuselage is mostly two-piece, so you'd think that it's an easy build. But don't be fooled! In theory, every kit is easy to build - the question is whether it puts together like it's supposed to without having to make adjustments....



This is an interesting kit. You can tell this was more geared towards casual builders, as the cockpit isn't much (the tub is molded into the upper fuselage, and there aren't even side console decals - oddly enough the main instrument panel has four separate decals and also has a nice flightstick. Anyway cockpit was painted grey, and most of the concentration went to the over-and-under exhaust nozzle assembly with an actuating central vectored thrust petal. This entire assembly pretty much took up the first evening of the build.



You can see the previously mentioned cockpit tub in the photo below. For a casual kit, this actually is quite complex. I had to trap the exhaust nozzles and actuating tail surfaces between the two fuselage halves, all the while making sure I didn't get glue into the hinges and sanding the hinges just enough for them to move smoothly but not loosely. The top engine intake also went in, and has a nicely detailed intake fan inside. The intake does not fit very well due to the complex curves, though. The side intakes were also tricky as they were a two-piece rendition and the NSI intake bumps were a separate piece. Some PSR was required to fair them in smoothly.



After a little more PSR, the model was primed to check for flaws (important for metallic finishes), then masked. This took a whole night.



I figured that preshading would only take a moment so a quick spray of black paint and it was time for bed! (Thursday 10/8, 3am)



First layer of paint went on. Instead of the grey/grey scheme on the kit, I opted for the metallic stealth coating on modern stealth fighters, which added a layer of complexities. From my experience, rather than mixing metallics and greys together, I would use straight metallics and then layer a dullcoat. The lighter shade is Warhammer's Mithril Silver (now Runefang Steel). Two layers were sprayed over two hours. In between, I worked on the pylons and landing gear (Monday 10/12, 2am)



This is where things got bad. I started using a darker shade of metallic, only to find out it practically blended into the first color. After several tries, I ended up mixing Warhammer Boltgun Metal with Administratum Grey to create that final, darker shade. All is not lost as the previous layers helped to make surface patchy. Fortunately this stuff dries fast! (Tuesday, 10/13, 3am)



Removed the mask and placed on top of a stand to let dry/cure overnight after some touchup. (Still Tuesday, 10/12, 4am)



Decaling begins. Could have finished in a half hour, but decided it looked bland and ended up placing 150+ tiny "NO STEP" and "NO LIFT" stencils all over the bloody thing. (Wednesday, 10/13, 4am)



Sprayed Future on it the next morning. Came home in the evening and started weathering, then dinner to allow the oil paint to dry (Thursday, 10/14, 7pm)



Cockpit coaming, ejection seat, seat belts made out of tape, decals on the bloody ejection seat, pylons, landing gear done. (Thursday, 10/14, 11pm)



Realized canopy frame doesn't quite work with other parts and doesn't quite fit the canopy quite well when closed. Spent some time figuring out how to fix it then decided on removing frame from canopy, gluing frame directly on to cockpit tub, repainting, cleaning up dried glue off clear canopy, polishing, then mounting on aircraft. Realized that forgot to do the missiles, panicked, painted, masked, painted, futured and decalled missiles, then sat for half hour and started layering matte coats. Chrome paint on landing gear struts, and on formation lights. (Friday, 10/16, 4:30am). Toothpick with clear red and green on formation lights at 8am before packing up and putting it in the car to be brought straight to the club meeting after work.



Beer and fish & chips after meeting (Stiegl Radler, 9:30pm).

[Zombolt]

As a fan of this design, you did nice work! Looks like the in game come to life!

Would like to see more of these around with the other colors

[Cobra]

Superb Work, Supertom Was the Plane hard to Build? I'd like to get a Few Ace Combat Planes for myself, so Thought I'd ask. i Also would like to Say, That You did a First Rate,Top Notch Job on the Paint and Decal work! Hope to see More Superb Work from You   Dan

[Thorvic]

Looks rather tasty Tom and the use of Warhammer paints is interesting, b interesting seeing that used on some of the Starfighter kits 

[ChernayaAkula]

Good stuff! 

[Dizzyfugu]

VERY pretty.  Reminds me that I have also one of these in the stash that I want to build/finish in Luftwaffe colors... 

[Zombolt]

Wish there was a good way to scan the Art Book for the ASF-X so people can try some of the "Official" Colors, like the Royal Navy Version of the Shinden : D

[PR19_Kit]

What's the problem with scanning this Art Book you mention? Or is it not really a book?

[Dizzyfugu]

Wish there was a good way to scan the Art Book for the ASF-X so people can try some of the "Official" Colors, like the Royal Navy Version of the Shinden : D

Oh? Something similar to the VF-1 books from Soft Bank Publishing? Those are great sources (mecha p0rn), and offer a wide range of "official" liveries.
Made me curious: What's the publishing house of the ASF-X artbook?

[Zombolt]

Sorry for taking over your thread supertom

What's the problem with scanning this Art Book you mention? Or is it not really a book?

not a problem, I just don't know how to. It's likethe below

Oh? Something similar to the VF-1 books from Soft Bank Publishing? Those are great sources (mecha p0rn), and offer a wide range of "official" liveries.
Made me curious: What's the publishing house of the ASF-X artbook?

Yes it is, Made by the same people, probably because the ASF-X was designed by the same person who designed the Valkyries.

[Captain Canada]

Great build thread ST ! Love the look and finish on this one. For a part timer, you are certainly 'the man' !

[DogfighterZen]

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[Mossie]

Beautiful work Tom, the metallic shades give it more of a futuristic look.

[buzzbomb]

Wow, that is really nice 

[Spey_Phantom]

love what im seeing