YF-23 Black Widow - FINISHED!

[TheChronicOne]

Ah hell, that turned out REALLY nice! 

Looks sexy!    The extra touches like the nozzle work and the verbotten hour glass are great and the black makes it all come together.. I mean..... BLACK on a BLACK widow. Who woulda thought?!?!?!?! 

I imagine this will be but the first of many but having said that, congrats!! Building a first of a type is always pretty exciting especially when it's a subject you really like. 

YF-24 Brown Recluse next? 

[nighthunter]

That thing is 1/72!?!? Now I know I'll need to get the 1/144 version

[Captain Canada]

Nice job ! She is a big old bird eh ? In that last pic, with you holding her, she looks like a Hornet on stealthy steroids !

[jalles]

WOW!  That's brilliant   

I love how the TVC nozzles turned out.  So many great ideas here, really inspirational work.  I'm off to ebay to look for a 1/72 YF-23.

[seadude]

Excellent model. I like it a lot! 

I remember reading long ago about how the Air Force wanted that hourglass symbol removed from the bottom of the aircraft........and FAST! They made a big ruckuss about it.    At the time, it kinda made me think that maybe there was another secret aircraft named the Black Widow and Northrop accidentally used the name without realising it.

[Old Wombat]

That's the duck's nuts, mate!

[DogfighterZen]

Ah hell, that turned out REALLY nice! 

Looks sexy!    The extra touches like the nozzle work and the verbotten hour glass are great and the black makes it all come together.. I mean..... BLACK on a BLACK widow. Who woulda thought?!?!?!?! 

I imagine this will be but the first of many but having said that, congrats!! Building a first of a type is always pretty exciting especially when it's a subject you really like. 

YF-24 Brown Recluse next? 

I was thinking more of Tarantula... 
Glad you like the arachnid, my friend!  Yes, it is pretty cool to have one of my favorite birds finished and especially when i'm happy with the result. This was the first of 4 kits i was lucky to have the chance to buy. Still have 2 of the Italeri mold and the DML/Dragon kit, which is horrendously inaccurate but because of that, it's a perfect base for a whif.

That thing is 1/72!?!? Now I know I'll need to get the 1/144 version

It is a big beast for a 1/72 model, twice the size of a Folland Gnat.

Nice job ! She is a big old bird eh ? In that last pic, with you holding her, she looks like a Hornet on stealthy steroids !

Thank you, Captain!
She sure is a big one... i can see where you get the Hornet similarity, it is a Northrop product so it does seem logical that they'd keep some of their designs' traits, and i think the scheme is also contributing for that.

[PR19_Kit]

It is a big beast for a 1/72 model, twice the size of a Folland Gnat.

Almost everything is twice the size od a Gnat. 

What's inaccurate about the Dragon kit?

I've got an Italeri F-23 but I don't think I've ever opened the box, and I think I should do now I've seen what you made of yours. It's a wonderful shape, SO much better than the Lockheed thing!

[DogfighterZen]

WOW!  That's brilliant   

I love how the TVC nozzles turned out.  So many great ideas here, really inspirational work.  I'm off to ebay to look for a 1/72 YF-23.

Thank you, my friend, glad you like it!
That's a hard kit to find at a good price but they do come up once in a while on ebay, it took me a while to find the ones i bought but i had to take a look almost everyday. Still, i wish you the best of luck, it's a nice model of a beautiful aircraft.

Excellent model. I like it a lot! 

I remember reading long ago about how the Air Force wanted that hourglass symbol removed from the bottom of the aircraft........and FAST! They made a big ruckuss about it.    At the time, it kinda made me think that maybe there was another secret aircraft named the Black Widow and Northrop accidentally used the name without realising it.

Glad you like it, mate, thank you!
Check out the documentary, whole story told by the folks who designed, built and flew it. But you do have point there, they don't explain why it had to be removed, they just say that air force generals wanted it removed as soon as they saw it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYLiMYGBE2Q

That's the duck's nuts, mate!

Guess that's a good thing, right? Thanks, mate, glad you like it.

[seadude]

I also have a YF-23 in the stash. It's the newer Hobbyboss 1/48 scale aircraft. I'll probably paint mine in some sort of Ace Combat scheme whenever I get around to it. Only thing I don't like about the kit is no open weapons bay. 

[DogfighterZen]

It is a big beast for a 1/72 model, twice the size of a Folland Gnat.

Almost everything is twice the size od a Gnat. 

What's inaccurate about the Dragon kit?

I've got an Italeri F-23 but I don't think I've ever opened the box, and I think I should do now I've seen what you made of yours. It's a wonderful shape, SO much better than the Lockheed thing!

The kit is badly misshapen, intakes are too shallow and wrong shape, fuselage hump behind the canopy has a different shape, the engine area is very crude as is most of the detail... the canopy has a wrong shape, there's a slight raised area behind the canopy that does not exist on the real thing... it's considered a toy by the folks at YF-23.net.
I think it can be turned into something very interesting, if you don't plan on building the real one, that is.
And yes, i think you should build it, too. Can't say it enough, it's such a beautiful thing!

[DogfighterZen]

I also have a YF-23 in the stash. It's the newer Hobbyboss 1/48 scale aircraft. I'll probably paint mine in some sort of Ace Combat scheme whenever I get around to it. Only thing I don't like about the kit is no open weapons bay. 

That kit also has inaccurate intake shape but it does look like a nice kit. I'd like to build one with open weapons bay,(which would have to be scratchbuilt) but i still have to buy the kit first...

[Old Wombat]

No-one does an aftermarket upgrade set for the weapons bay?

[DogfighterZen]

No-one does an aftermarket upgrade set for the weapons bay?

AFAIK, the only aftermarket product you can get for a YF-23 in any scale, are probably only some resin ejection seats and wheels and white metal landing gear.
Other than that, i'm not aware of any weapons bay or other replacement parts... would be nice in 1/48 cause there's no 1/72 kit currently in production.

[Snowtrooper]

The black spine and fins suit her really well - not the least because they invoke images of the hi-viz scheme of VF-84 Jolly Rogers

Good thing that I already have two Italeri Black Widows in the stash, I can see that they will become rather scarce and expensive in the near future due to this build...