YF-23 Black Widow - FINISHED!

[DogfighterZen]

YAYAYA! Some progress has been made...

Cut off the blanking plates' support line inside the intakes so i can make the ducting...



And found the parts i needed, again as with the TVC nozzles, inside the DML YF-22 box, and this is what's going to happen...



The horizontal stabs need some work to get them to the shape of the wings for planform alignment, but now i'm really getting the groove on for this thing...

[ChernayaAkula]

^ Love that layout!

[DogfighterZen]

^ Love that layout!

Glad you like it, mate! 
I've had this in mind for so long that i had to do it on my first build of this fighter. Ever since i saw the "Web of Secrecy" documentary, i've wondered how would it look like and perform, if the design was changed to be more maneuverable. I imagine that, if it was more agile, it would've been chosen instead of the Raptor.
Ok, now i'll start working on the intakes to get this ready to close up the fuselage. 

[DogfighterZen]

After a few minutes of consideration, i decided to go for it. Obviously, this is just phase one of the intake ducting work, i'll also need to build the engine fans and only then will i be able to finish it. Still, i can see how it will be done and doesn't seem too complicated.

[DogfighterZen]

Ok, time for an update on this beast...

The work for the intakes didn't come out as well as i hoped for and it still needs work to get to the best they'll ever be.
Took a couple of wheels out the spares bag, no idea what those belonged to, glued a couple of sprue bits on the axle nut and rounded them a bit...



These are not to be the most accurate representation ever, just to give an idea of engine fans inside the intakes so i don't really care that much if it comes out a bit rough...

Chose to go with several sections instead of a single bit of sheet styrene, don't ask me why...





So, the insides will need some putty and sanding but it will be a light thing cause i know i won't be able to get them perfect, but still, i think it already looks better than just blanking plates about 1,5 cm behind the intake lip.







I'm only going to do the PSR on the intakes after the fuselage is closed but first, i need to attach the lower nozzle petals on the bottom half of it.

[PR19_Kit]

That looks complicated, but it is a very strange shaped aircraft of course, inside as well as outside.

MILES better looking than its plug-ugly competition though!

[DogfighterZen]

Thank you, kit! I'm hoping it will look a bit better after some PSR, let's see if i have the skill for that.

[sandiego89]

Great job on the intakes and "compressor" blades!  Nice. 

[TheChronicOne]

Glorious work!! I dig the ninja star. The wheels for fans... lol   Great idea!! 

[DogfighterZen]

Thanks, brothas! I'm also going to reshape the intake lips to the shape of the real ones. This is one of the shape issues with almost all YF-23 kits ever produced, but it's an easy fix, compared to building the ducting.
Gonna work on the exhaust nozzles now...

[darthspud2]

nicely progressing build there. far better scratch-building than i can usually muster.

[su27rules]

 

[DogfighterZen]

nicely progressing build there. far better scratch-building than i can usually muster.

Thanks, guys!
Slowly moving on, i've chosen to work on the nozzles after the fuselage is closed, that meant the cockpit had to be finished, so i painted the rest of the items left, applied the kit's decals on the side panels and instrument panel and glued it to the top fuse half.







So now, time to glue the fuselage halves together, to start PSR...

[TheChronicOne]

 

Them cockpit details look awesome!  Your Lil Homie looks so good....  what color(s) do you use for skin tone? I've tried a few things but yours looks so much better and closer to what I want.

I'll be bluntly honest... some of my pilots are black dudes simply because I can't seem to get my "white guy" colors right.   

[DogfighterZen]

Them cockpit details look awesome!  Your Lil Homie looks so good....  what color(s) do you use for skin tone? I've tried a few things but yours looks so much better and closer to what I want.

I'll be bluntly honest... some of my pilots are black dudes simply because I can't seem to get my "white guy" colors right.   

It's not brilliant but will do the trick with a closed canopy.

Forgot to mention, the pilot came from a Revell US/NATO pilots set, the skin tone paint is a homemade mix, i still think it's too red but it's good enough for such small bits. I used, as always, Tamiya acrylics red, yellow and white, more red and white with a drop of yellow. I think i'll add a bit more white to tone down this mix.