RF-5E TigerEye of the Royal Moroccan Air Force -FINISHED- Pics on Pag. 4

[DogfighterZen]

And so, after a good weekend of rest and modelling, this is where the TigerEye stands...



Painted the afterburner section with some Tamiya Nato black and Buff, drybrushed them with some XF-66 and the interior of the nozzles was painted with dark sea gray.
Then i smudged everything with some AK burnt jet engine and Humbrol dark earth pigments to get the look i saw in pics on google. May not be perfect but it's close enough for me.




Also painted the LG bays and the NMF area and nozzles...




Next is clear parts masking and attachment and it should be ready for the camo scheme soon.

I have to say that i'm really enjoying this kit and that although the molds show a bit of wear, most of the detail is gorgeous and the only real thing that i think is missing in this kit are the air intake ducts, and the full depth engine afterburner section.
Both of these details wouldn't really be very visible anyway so, this doesn't really bother me but i am considering buying some aftermarket goodies for at least one of the other 3 AFV Club F-5s i have in the stash.
These things and the cockpit are, IMHO, the weakest areas of this kit, the rest is very good in my book.

[DogfighterZen]

So, life's been busy but i finally got this painted...

[Old Wombat]

 

[Dizzyfugu]

Pretty, classsic scheme. Subtle. 

[DogfighterZen]

Pretty, classsic scheme. Subtle. 

Indeed it is, Thomas. 
I don't have many recce birds in my stash and i wasn't planning on building this kit at this stage but, when i looked at my options for the GB, the fact that i have the decals for the Moroccan F-5E in another kit made me take a closer look and the scheme was the thing that made me choose this as my build.
It was my best option although i knew it would be hard for me to finish it before the Gb's deadline (which proved to be true ), but i certainly wouldn't have time for a conversion of another kit into a recce bird.

Well, bench time tonight will be dedicated to painting small details and, if i have the time, give it a good gloss coat to protect the paint job.

[DogfighterZen]

Ok... i was having a hard time finding this one and didn't think it'd been that long since the last update but anyway...
Seems like i don't have that much to show after all this time but i'm finally getting my modelling groove back on so here's what's been done since last year... 

Obvious in the pics is that the decals are on. These were taken from the other AFV F-5E kit that had the Moroccan option for normal F-5Es.
Also not very obvious in the crappy pics is that i finally gave oil paints a go. I wanted to fade the colors down a bit, so i've given the model a few dots of a few different colors and tried to cut the homogenous look of the underlying camo colors. Can't say it came out exactly like i imagined but i didn't want to push it and, in the end, i think it didn't come out too bad. All i know is that i had more fun than i ever thought i would with this process. I feel like i'll be using these techniques more in the future.
After that, the AK panel line wash for brown and green camo. I'm not a fan of heavy panel line shade or wash and i'm always scared that a wash will not work as i want it to, but this wash seems to be of a very light shade so it doesn't make the lines overly pronounced, which is just how i like them.




I had a bit of fun with the centre line drop tank cause i'm really starting to enjoy doing this type of stuff...





It's obviously not perfect but i think it's good enough for me, maybe next time it comes out better.
Now, moving on to the landing gear, most of it is still on the sprue so painting and assembly are next.
The two AIM-9P for the wingtip stations also have to be finished.



P.S.: Just realized that i forgot the underside pic...

[Wardukw]

Looking pretty damn good from this side of the planet mate 
Once ya get used to oils its a entirely new ball game and if your not happy with it..just wipe it off and start again..thats bloody hard with enamel washes as they dry quite quickly compared to oils.
Ammo has a great slection of oils now and dude i love em 

[DogfighterZen]

Looking pretty damn good from this side of the planet mate 
Once ya get used to oils its a entirely new ball game and if your not happy with it..just wipe it off and start again..thats bloody hard with enamel washes as they dry quite quickly compared to oils.
Ammo has a great slection of oils now and dude i love em 

Thanks, mate! 
Yes, it's a very forgiving technique and it seems like it's a matter of getting used to how the materials work together and practicing the control you can exert on them to get what you want. I enjoy the way that it changes the look of the model and i think it helps to make it a bit more interesting to look at.
Regarding the Ammo stuff, i have to try those, i only have a free sample of their oilbrushers that they threw in the box of an order i've made a few months ago. and it's a color i haven't really needed so far(red tile) but, it does look like good stuff.
Guess i'll have to make another order from them soon...

[Wardukw]

Oh matey your in for a treat..the Oilbrushers are sweet to use and ya dont have to puth the oil on card or paper to dry them out ..just use it.
Ive scored the holder for them and it was cheap even here which surprised me and it holds 21 tubes..ive only got 3 spaces left 
The great thing with oils is you can just usr for fine detailing..or as a thinned out wash and Ammo have just released a new line of weathering tubes but i dont remember what their called but youve seen the results ..its well worth the effort as my planes have never looked better and now ive got 2 more to build..they gonna get used again 

[Old Wombat]

Weathering is both my greatest fear & greatest joy in modelling!

Greatest fear because, if you get it wrong, it stuffs up the whole build.

Greatest joy because, if you get it right, it brings the model to life in a way you don't get with pristine builds.


It's one of the reasons I prefer to build armour, you can just go to town & have a ball throwing weathering on AFV's!


The F-5 looks pretty damned good to me!

[Wardukw]

Totally agree with you Guy..its dead easy to build a tank which looks brand new ..totally different story to make it look used and abused..i still cant weather aircraft for crap ..glad im better with armour  and ive got plenty of it on my dio build 

[DogfighterZen]

Weathering is both my greatest fear & greatest joy in modelling!

Greatest fear because, if you get it wrong, it stuffs up the whole build.

Greatest joy because, if you get it right, it brings the model to life in a way you don't get with pristine builds.


It's one of the reasons I prefer to build armour, you can just go to town & have a ball throwing weathering on AFV's!


The F-5 looks pretty damned good to me!

Thanks! 
Those are the exact same reasons why most of my builds don't have any weathering at all but i really wanted to learn some stuff and i have to admit that i'm becoming a fan.

[NARSES2]

The F-5 looks pretty damned good to me!

It certainly is 

[DogfighterZen]

The F-5 looks pretty damned good to me!

It certainly is 

Thanks, Chris! 
Nothing done today, maybe during the weekend, if nothing family-related comes up, that is...

[DogfighterZen]

Ok, we're getting somewhere...
Finished decals on the missiles, painted the landing gear and wheels and cleared everything to prepare for a wash.



Hope to be able to do more tomorrow...