Moments of Zen

[DogfighterZen]

There will always be someone who hates it... I don't think that the US armed forces like to let any secrets out, good and bad, disinformation never hurts. If your opponent underestimates you, you'll have something up your sleeve to hit him with, right? But what do i know? 

[DogfighterZen]

Well, just finished closing up the F-35's weapons bays. After some dry fit tests, i glued both doors together before gluing them in place.
Pretty happy with the fit of the doors, there are no gaps visible.
All this one needs is canopy and main gear masking for paint stages, i should get the PSR done on the YF-23 so it would go into the paint shop with the F-35...

 

[DogfighterZen]

Things have been pretty slow around my bench as lately i've had more rehearsals with the band to get ready for a gig tomorrow. Should pick up the pace again on Sunday, if i'm not too wasted from the party after the gig itself...
I have done one little thing though, started the Revell 1/72 F-22 Raptor so, with a YF-23, F-35 and the F-22 started on the bench, i can say i'm officially in a one man modern jet only GB...

[TheChronicOne]

Right on! Definitely looking forward to the details on the F-22. I have that one, as well.

[DogfighterZen]

Was supposed to go to my LHS today but got distracted with canopy tinting tests. Tried spraying thinned Tamiya X-19 smoke but, although the color was good, the finish was dull and it killed the transparency... i later remembered that some gloss varnish could help so that's what i'll be mixing it with tomorrow...
Also tested the UMP sanders for canopy polishing and i can't praise them enough, the YF-23's canopy is now as good as new, free of the scratches caused by years of unprotected storage... all done in 2/3 minutes.

[TheChronicOne]

I love it when a plan comes together!!

Regale me of these UMP sanders? What are they.. high grit polishing thingies or something?

Also... still very interested in any tinting tests you do...  Short of applying legit, actual window tint film, (which, by the way, has anyone tried?!  Seems so obvious, but uhhh... I have never seen it mentioned anywhere) I'm clueless and would love to know as some of my modern crap and even some older stuff like a Viking had and would be nice with tint.

[zenrat]

Hasegawa do tinted film for clear parts.  I've seen blue & mirror.
I've got the mirror and have been unable to get it onto a 1/25 car windscreen without trapping air or dust beneath it.
https://hlj.com/product/HSGTF928

[DogfighterZen]

Hasegawa do tinted film for clear parts.  I've seen blue & mirror.
I've got the mirror and have been unable to get it onto a 1/25 car windscreen without trapping air or dust beneath it.
https://hlj.com/product/HSGTF928

Had no clue... thanks!
But although it looks good for some parts, i'm almost certain it's hard to do a good job on 1/72 aircraft canopies... i'll try my luck with paint first.

[DogfighterZen]

I love it when a plan comes together!!

Regale me of these UMP sanders? What are they.. high grit polishing thingies or something?

Also... still very interested in any tinting tests you do...  Short of applying legit, actual window tint film, (which, by the way, has anyone tried?!  Seems so obvious, but uhhh... I have never seen it mentioned anywhere) I'm clueless and would love to know as some of my modern crap and even some older stuff like a Viking had and would be nice with tint.

UMP is Paul Bretland's and Tim Ivatts's brand of modelling products, they're the same guys from International Scale Modeller.

https://www.umpretail.com/

https://intscalemodeller.com/index.php

https://www.facebook.com/groups/InternationalScaleModellers/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqONCNvLzlU

So, i'm now in my cave, ready for work...

[DogfighterZen]

First test with a mix of Tamiya XF-19 smoke and X-26 clear orange, 50/50 ratio, all thinned with X-20A.



As it came out too yellow, wiped it clean with alcohol and tried the mix of smoke with 10% of X-27 clear red instead of the orange and it came out like this. I was happy with the tone, IMHO, it's close enough to the color of the F-35's canopy. The finish was dull and opaque at first, then i gave it a quick hand brushed clear coat to see if shine and transparency could be restored(you can still see the small bubbles left by the brush)... 



Tests went well, i took a chance with the F-35 canopy...



Didn't come out perfect but it's easy to clean and redo so, i now know i can do it so i just have to be more careful with the layers applied and dust...

Not much progress on the builds but i'm learning something new so it's positive.

[zenrat]

Looks good.

[DogfighterZen]

Looks good.

Thanks! I'm going to redo it, heavy layers left a bit of a grainy surface on the color and gloss coats so it's not as clear as could be. No worries cause i mixed more color than i needed and kept the extra.

[DogfighterZen]

Ended up painting the seat and pilot of the F-35, pilot is from a Revell F-16 with a modified helmet, still needs some details but i think it's looking good.





With the canopy on, which is still a bit dull and needs a proper tinting job ...

[TheChronicOne]

Yeah, not shab at all on the tint and even the "too much" yellow is "decent." 

Homie looks good up in his office. 

Found me an Academy F-35 that some ol' boy wants $30 for but has a "make an offer" thing on it. I'll throw a larger looking lower number at him and see what sticks. I'm getting close to having my own Lightning II.   

[DogfighterZen]

Yeah, not shab at all on the tint and even the "too much" yellow is "decent." 

Homie looks good up in his office. 

Found me an Academy F-35 that some ol' boy wants $30 for but has a "make an offer" thing on it. I'll throw a larger looking lower number at him and see what sticks. I'm getting close to having my own Lightning II.   

Did some work on the F-22...