good!

Sh!t, diasaster struck in the form of ineffective Maskol for the canopy. The acrylic paint somehow seeped through and made contact with the clear parts, and on the canopy it is so severe that several turns of sanding and polishing haven't turned the piece clear again.    I did not give up yet, but it does not look goos, and a replacement is not at hand, even the vast spares box has not revealed an alternative.

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on April 15, 2023, 09:56:58 AMSh!t, diasaster struck in the form of ineffective Maskol for the canopy. The acrylic paint somehow seeped through and made contact with the clear parts, and on the canopy it is so severe that several turns of sanding and polishing haven't turned the piece clear again.    I did not give up yet, but it does not look goos, and a replacement is not at hand, even the vast spares box has not revealed an alternative.

This is God telling you to modify it with F-105F twin canopies.. 

I may have a T-33 canopy going spare Thomas, I'll have a look-see.

I've searched high and low can't find the darn thing.

There's a few more places to look but I'm not optimistic now I'm afraid, sorry.

That's my biggest fear when painting planes..you put all that time and effort and that happens..it's seriously disheartening for me that is.
I hope you get it sorted mate cause this so good a build.

An update - couldn't post anything yesterday due to sports commitments: mild all-clear signals from the canopy frontline. I was able to come up with a potential replacement (though I have no idea where it originally cane from), but is is a bit taller than the T-33 part. However, since the T-33 parts had been the benchmark and the separated windscreen already in place, I kept on fighting with the canopy, which is quite thick. And after three(!) turns of sanding and polishing it back to a somewhat translucent status I was able to remove ~90% of the paint clouds that had entered the material. It's still not back to where it was, but acceptable, and I will stick to it.

I also started with other painting details, like an olive drab antiglare panel and some selected airframe panels counter-shaded with different silver tones. These have been drying yesterday, and I think I will be able to apply an all-over lack ink washing to emphasize the engravend panel lines. Due to the kit mix in this build there's a wild combination of raised and recessed panel lines, half of them disappeared under PSR, though.

Drop tanks and missiles have also already been basically painted.

Concerbing markings I might end up with a fictional unit mix, currently my favorite is a machine with blue trim from a unit based in Japan - but I have to cross-check whether this makes sense with an ADC aircraft for homeland defense? Change is still an option.

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on April 16, 2023, 11:42:45 PMConcerbing markings I might end up with a fictional unit mix, currently my favorite is a machine with blue trim from a unit based in Japan - but I have to cross-check whether this makes sense with an ADC aircraft for homeland defense? Change is still an option.

Real world example - 57th FIS, the fighter squadron assigned to Iceland, was part of ADC until rolled into TAC (then ACC) in 1978.  So yeah, an ADC unit assigned to a foreign station makes sense.  And, because of that, when I was there in 92-93 with the 4557 Security Police Sqdn, we wore TAC then ACC beret flashes and not USAFE, even though our time was credited towards the USAF overseas short tour ribbon.

Some new pics from the bench - in the last picture you can see the resurrected canopy, the haze is quite visible. 
The model received the black ink washing and some tactical rubbing with graphite, which added a nice, dark metallic shine.


1:72 Republic F-96B 'Thunderguard'; USAF, late Fifties (What-if/modified Italeri kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Republic F-96B 'Thunderguard'; USAF, late Fifties (What-if/modified Italeri kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Republic F-96B 'Thunderguard'; USAF, late Fifties (What-if/modified Italeri kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

Concerning a unit and markings I am still searching thorugh my resources - finding something suitable for the time frame AND fitting onto the model is quite tricky. My idea for a Japanese unit was a dud, as it turned out to be a fighter bomber unit.  Another option, an interceptoir unit from the Fifties, had also to be cancel,led because the decals would not fit/work. Now I try to use marking from a F-102 unit, probably the 325th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. Markings will be quite dry, but the Fifties were not that flashy.

Quote from: Dizzyfugu on April 18, 2023, 02:04:34 AMConcerning a unit and markings I am still searching thorugh my resources - finding something suitable for the time frame AND fitting onto the model is quite tricky. My idea for a Japanese unit was a dud, as it turned out to be a fighter bomber unit.  Another option, an interceptoir unit from the Fifties, had also to be cancel,led because the decals would not fit/work. Now I try to use marking from a F-102 unit, probably the 325th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron. Markings will be quite dry, but the Fifties were not that flashy.

How about National Guard unit?  Again, its the 50s, so the livery won't necessarily be flashy

In case the image doesn't load: https://live.staticflickr.com/4029/4298446535_18178012f7_b.jpg

Yes, an option, but I'd like a USAF unit (to justiify the Genies).

Looking great Dizz...you can slighty see that hazing..it's not made but still bloody annoying mate .

And it's LOADS better than a Mach 2 canopy!

Another update: it's now a USAF 325th FIS aircraft - the decals and markings are a wild mix and partly puzzled together, esp. the buzz code was tough. Unit markings from an F-102, stars-and-bars and USAF tags from an F-89, and the serial number created from two F-100 codes (the FF-xxx code was originally used for the P-51 in Korea, but it might have been re-used a couple of years later for the F-96B?). Most stencils from the F-84F OOB sheet, plus a few more. Not spectacular, but looks very authentic. 


1:72 Republic F-96B 'Thunderguard'; USAF, late Fifties (What-if/modified Italeri kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr


1:72 Republic F-96B 'Thunderguard'; USAF, late Fifties (What-if/modified Italeri kit) - WiP by Dizzyfugu, on Flickr

good!