RF-23 Black Widow

[kerick]

Here's the latest pics. Nice shiny black except for the lint and scratches all over. I'm thinking of the bottom being black to match the black looking up at super high altitude and light gray to match the clouds for anyone who might be looking down at it.





I had to literally take it over to the sink and wash it with water it had so much dust on it. At least it has a place in a drawer to keep the dirt off.

[philp]

I think the bottom just needs a nice, red hourglass type marking.

[DogfighterZen]

Looking good! 

[kerick]

I think the bottom just needs a nice, red hourglass type marking.

There will be one of those!

[kerick]

I just read an article about how digital camo can be designed to confuse AI. Some shades of grey and blue grey on top to screw with any AI satellites that may be looking down on it as it flies a recon mission. It would still be black on the bottom with the red hourglass!

[DogfighterZen]

  

[kerick]

I dragged this one out the other day to look it over. One of the biggest hold ups was the weak landing gear. As it comes in the kit I don't think this gear would last five minutes on the shelf. I just finished drilling out the main strut and placing steel pins from the sewing box in place. I can barely see the little bit of pin between the wheel and strut. I colored it black with a Sharpie before assembling it to help hide it. Much stronger now. I've found a few digital camo samples so I might get around to painting some more.

[Rick Lowe]

Pins/wire/paper clips are your Friends when it comes to strengthening/replacing landing gear!

[kerick]

I've been doing a little work on this. The landing gear is done and the hourglass is drying.







I had to cut the triangles from solid red decal so the edges are a tiny bit tattered. Considering the age of the sheet its a wonder they worked at all.

This is plan B for the paint job if the digital scheme exceeds my patience! One problem you may have noticed is the amount of lint stuck in the paint. I'm hoping to get rid of some of that as I do the digital camo. IIRC the black was done in the winter so things were really dry and full of static electricity. I have an anti-static brush now so hopefully that will help. Or tie a wire around my waist and ground myself to a water pipe!

northrop_grumman_fb_23_condor_by_bagera3005_d2hlx4f-pre by , on Flickr

[Old Wombat]

 

I like the look of the Condor, too.