Moments of Zen

[TheChronicOne]

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and you government when it deserves it.
Mark Twain

The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.
Thomas Paine

Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
Samuel Johnson

Bump to not bury this, but what I have to say is about colors:

Can't win either way..... it's either "boring" or "looks like cat vomit."     I think some of what makes some schemes boring are that we are used to them that way. I'm pretty happy with my boring P-51D in Air Superiority two tone grey because that's the whole point.     Hell, colors can be boring sometimes, too, if it's just one or two and not many markings. Some builds have boring paint but exciting markings and stuff... U.S. Navy for instance back in the 60's therebouts.. two tone grey but they had so much STUFF they threw on there with it, esp. CAG birds that it made them stand out. 

PoAF F-14 should be coming up soon.

[zenrat]

Grey is under-rated.
When I use grey on a model car, usually with another colour like primrose yellow or pink people say things like "ooh that looks nice.  I don't think of using grey but its not actually that boring is it?"

But boring is what is normal and everyday.  The Red Arrows probably go to work, look at all the red planes and think "wish I had a grey one to fly today".
I have long maintained that even a seemingly exciting job like racing steam locomotives, piloting mobile suits or oiling underwear models would get boring and there would be days when you didn't want to go to work.  Those days would be fewer and further between than if you were an accountant or postman but they would come.
I taken part in motorcycle (OK, moped) racing and there was an awful lot of standing around doing nothing and very little actual racing.
Mind you, there is a school of thought that cultivating boredom makes the days go by slower and so extends your life (possibly from a Terry Pratchett book?).

I'm rambling.  Must be time for bed.

[Captain Canada]

Nice looking build. She sure is foxy with that new intake.

[DogfighterZen]

Patriotism is a GOOD thing!

Most of my builds are Royal Australian Marines, & that service doesn't even exist!

What colour you paint your builds is the same as how you build your builds; entirely up to you!

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and you government when it deserves it.
Mark Twain

The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.
Thomas Paine

Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel.
Samuel Johnson

Indeed, i think that patriotism is a good thing as long as one remembers that this is one world for all... Only after that should come national and cultural pride.
And i agree with all 3 quotes. Unfortunately, we do have to defend our countries from governments, which is where you find the kind of patriots Samuel Johnson was referring to.

Wombat, ideas like your RAM and Fred's Zenrat industries and PDRV(saying that really fast sounds like PJ Harvey... ), are what i find beautiful in the freedom of whiffing. I didn't create a service branch but i've given the Portuguese Marines something they never thought of having in reality, an air corps and Harriers! And the Portuguese Navy has already been given Hornets, Bearcats... They'd need aircraft carriers but i haven't built or even bought one yet... but i'd like to...

Can't win either way..... it's either "boring" or "looks like cat vomit."     I think some of what makes some schemes boring are that we are used to them that way. I'm pretty happy with my boring P-51D in Air Superiority two tone grey because that's the whole point.     Hell, colors can be boring sometimes, too, if it's just one or two and not many markings. Some builds have boring paint but exciting markings and stuff... U.S. Navy for instance back in the 60's therebouts.. two tone grey but they had so much STUFF they threw on there with it, esp. CAG birds that it made them stand out. 

PoAF F-14 should be coming up soon.

There's an Hasegawa Tomcat in the stash which was bought with the Portuguese in mind but not the AF, it's for the Navy and it's carriers...
I've always said i'm more into darker tonalities but i also think everything has a time, place and a reason so i like a good bright/light color mix once in a while...
And i agree with what you say about markings, some simple color schemes simply look good on something that's busy with data stenciling, numbers, emblems and insignias. The US navy birds of the 60s are a very good example of that, indeed.
There's also the fact that both the Raptor and Viper are modern jets and you know how the fighter camo scheme trends have been going with most recent birds. Besides, i like these schemes and colors so that's how i should do it... and i sometimes forget that i've got 120 kits in the stash so, why no need to stress about these issues, plenty to try on.

I love the look of the recent Vipers, the stealth birds like the F-22/35, J-20/31... I've been thinking of schemes for a show bird with a black/dark blue/dark gray/yellow, black/red/gray/white Viper... A military bird would be matte black but a show bird should be glossy...

Grey is under-rated.
When I use grey on a model car, usually with another colour like primrose yellow or pink people say things like "ooh that looks nice.  I don't think of using grey but its not actually that boring is it?"

But boring is what is normal and everyday.  The Red Arrows probably go to work, look at all the red planes and think "wish I had a grey one to fly today".
I have long maintained that even a seemingly exciting job like racing steam locomotives, piloting mobile suits or oiling underwear models would get boring and there would be days when you didn't want to go to work.  Those days would be fewer and further between than if you were an accountant or postman but they would come.
I taken part in motorcycle (OK, moped) racing and there was an awful lot of standing around doing nothing and very little actual racing.
Mind you, there is a school of thought that cultivating boredom makes the days go by slower and so extends your life (possibly from a Terry Pratchett book?).

I'm rambling.  Must be time for bed.

Rest up, mate. Sounds like you could use it... 
But you have a point there, it's boring cause it's seen often but i can't deny what i prefer, i'm the kind of guy who doesn't mind wearing black jeans and shirt everyday...

And to show that not everyday is a gray day, today i finally decided what i wanna build next and dug it out of the stash.



Obviously, i'm not going to use the kit's decal sheet, after the Raptor and F-16, this will be the next in my PoAF's whif inventory...
So, after i've made up my mind regarding the aircraft schemes and patriotism issues, i've also mixed up some paint to see if it won't be such a normal scheme... The compressor tank is filled so i'm taking the Raptor into the paint shop right now. Later, y'all...

[DogfighterZen]

Decided to go with something a bit different from the Gunship gray...



The tails still need another coat to get full coverage but i'd already cleaned everything up when i noticed it so i'll  let everything dry up overnight and spray it tomorrow morning.
If all goes well, i should be able to start masking to paint the rest of the details.

[DogfighterZen]

I've been reading a bit about Phantoms and the kit i have needs some modifications to do what i want but, i think it'll be easy to do.
The Revell kit helps a bit cause it already has the slatted wingtips but it only has unslatted horizontal stabs.
I think i can do the conversion, the tails seem simple enough to do with some thin styrene strips, and there are only a few simple bumps and antennas to add so, it's a go for the PoAF's Phantom.
I will have to spend some money and buy a data stencil decal sheet, already spotted one that fits the bill perfectly so i'll have everything i need to finish this one.

[DogfighterZen]

F-22's tails had a second coat of the color mix, which was done with a ratio of 30 % X-10 gun metal, 60% X-3 royal blue and 10%of XF-24 gunship gray.
This mix came out very much how i imagined, i'm very happy with the result, which was attempted in my previous PoAF F-16s, on which i didn't use the right base color for what i wanted.
I was happy with the result but not exactly what i wanted but now i used the X-3 royal blue as base color for the mix and it's a much better start point.
It's funny that when i first looked at the pics, it looked a lot like the previous attempt but, when i compare the two side by side, it's totally different. I'll get pics of them side by side for comparison when it's finished.





Today i'll try to mask the rest of the details and try to start spraying the nozzles.

[TheChronicOne]

That's what I'm talking about!! I like it. You get to have your cake and eat it too this way!  The side by sides will be awesome, I really loved the shade you have going on the Vipers... first time I'd ever seen anything quite like it.            ..... I really ought to start trying stuff like this. I'm lazy and just use the paint right out of the bottle. I've only recently started experimenting with mixing them. That said, a strange though crept into my mind a couple weeks ago concerning mixing up my silver metallic acrylic paint (which does a surprisingly good job of looking metal-ey!) with some color to see what kind of end result I could get.

It's starting to look like, even with your break time, you're going to be done before I am. That's good!!  You get to hop on all the grenades. 

^^^
I might have to snag them "Phantom Pharewell" transfers from you some day, I'm a sucker for them type of things. 

[DogfighterZen]

That's what I'm talking about!! I like it. You get to have your cake and eat it too this way!  The side by sides will be awesome, I really loved the shade you have going on the Vipers... first time I'd ever seen anything quite like it.            ..... I really ought to start trying stuff like this. I'm lazy and just use the paint right out of the bottle. I've only recently started experimenting with mixing them. That said, a strange though crept into my mind a couple weeks ago concerning mixing up my silver metallic acrylic paint (which does a surprisingly good job of looking metal-ey!) with some color to see what kind of end result I could get.

It's starting to look like, even with your break time, you're going to be done before I am. That's good!!  You get to hop on all the grenades. 

^^^
I might have to snag them "Phantom Pharewell" transfers from you some day, I'm a sucker for them type of things. 

A quick tip, use an empty paint bottle or something similar for the mix so you can keep some after you're done and label it so you know what went into it.
Go for it, i guess that sometimes mixing is the only way to get what you want, it's just a matter of trial and error.

You can have the decals, i don't have any plans for them.

Re the F-22, didn't get to mask it up as there was a change of the plans i'd made for the day, as per usual... 
Will try to do something tonight...

[DogfighterZen]

Well, i still haven't masked the Raptor but i did do something, finished rescribing the last panel lines and rivets erased during the sanding process on the F-16's wing transplant area!
I'm now able to proceed with the rest of the build, got a bunch of small bits and the CFTs to glue on so this won't take very long.

Besides having next Tuesday off work, i still have to finish last year's vacation days so i'll probably be taking the whole week off. If so, i'll have enough time to finish both the F-16 and the F-22...

[TheChronicOne]

That's what I'm talking about!! I like it. You get to have your cake and eat it too this way!  The side by sides will be awesome, I really loved the shade you have going on the Vipers... first time I'd ever seen anything quite like it.            ..... I really ought to start trying stuff like this. I'm lazy and just use the paint right out of the bottle. I've only recently started experimenting with mixing them. That said, a strange though crept into my mind a couple weeks ago concerning mixing up my silver metallic acrylic paint (which does a surprisingly good job of looking metal-ey!) with some color to see what kind of end result I could get.

It's starting to look like, even with your break time, you're going to be done before I am. That's good!!  You get to hop on all the grenades. 

^^^
I might have to snag them "Phantom Pharewell" transfers from you some day, I'm a sucker for them type of things. 

A quick tip, use an empty paint bottle or something similar for the mix so you can keep some after you're done and label it so you know what went into it.
Go for it, i guess that sometimes mixing is the only way to get what you want, it's just a matter of trial and error.

You can have the decals, i don't have any plans for them.

Re the F-22, didn't get to mask it up as there was a change of the plans i'd made for the day, as per usual... 
Will try to do something tonight...

Wilco on all accounts!    

I mixed up some paint once in an old prescription bottle and still have it. Problem is, I couldn't replicate it if I needed to.... and can't for the life of me remember what plane I used it on! Seems so obvious now that a bit of notes.. right on the bottle label would have been helpful. I'll be sure to do that next time.

Vacation days?!  Hop on that.    Time for shenanigans and building some models. 

[DogfighterZen]

Wilco on all accounts!    

I mixed up some paint once in an old prescription bottle and still have it. Problem is, I couldn't replicate it if I needed to.... and can't for the life of me remember what plane I used it on! Seems so obvious now that a bit of notes.. right on the bottle label would have been helpful. I'll be sure to do that next time.

Vacation days?!  Hop on that.    Time for shenanigans and building some models. 

I've had the problem of having done a mix that i later wanted to replicate and couldn't be sure of what colors i'd used before so from then on, i started mixing more than i need so that there's some paint left to touch up any spots i may scrape or chip before the model is finished.
Labeling the bottles saves time cause instead of having to look up what colors and mix ratio i used, it's right there on the bottle so it's just a matter of having the colors in stock and mixing more.

Nice looking build. She sure is foxy with that new intake.

Somehow missed your comment, Captain... Thank you, Captain! That intake really looks good on the Viper, doesn't it? I've bought a total of 6 of them and this is the second one i've used so far so, 4 to go on modern Viper builds to come. 

Speaking of Vipers, i haven't finished this one but i'm already thinking of the next one, which will be a new version of the air superiority F-16W. Will be a bit different from the first one i've built but the layout will be the same.
Wings will have the same trapezoidal design but will be a bit smaller in total area(Sorry, Kit! ), the twin tails won't be as tall and will be put in the same place as i did on the twin seat F/A-16W, and the horizontal stabs will also be a bit different in shape.
Unlike the F/A, this one will be the same as the first F-16W, an air defense/superiority fighter. Going with the old motto again... "Not a pound for air to ground!" 
For comparison of the Twin Viper family built so far...





And i'm glad to say, i'm taking the week off work! Yes, time for shenanigans for sure as i plan on riding my bike a bit during this week...
Besides that, i have to do a bunch of other real life tasks but, i will have plenty of time for myself and modelling, i'm working on the Viper right now, adding all the sensors, scoops, vents and antennas to the fuselage, should be able to finish construction today.

[NARSES2]

I do like those twin Vipers 

[DogfighterZen]

I do like those twin Vipers 

Can't wait to build another one!

The Viper i've got on the bench is very near the painting stages, glued the CFT's, nozzle and tail in place, then i got all the small bits glued on the fuselage and intake. Had to go steal a pair of intake position lights from a Revell kit, didn't like Hasegawa's representation of these bits.
Now, the only area that needs attention now is the nose so that will be done next and then i'll mask the canopy, gear bays and intake. The intake should've been masked before assembly, now it'll be a real PITA to mask properly... i only have myself to blame for that but it'll get done.



More tomorrow.

[TheChronicOne]

Talkin' bout!!!

It looks like F-16 HULKAMANIA and stuff...  it's like it's the beefiest, most "solid" badass Viper variant. 


All the giblets you glued on this round help, too. Lookin like the business.