1/48 Hobby Boss FB-111

Gallery Article by Jay Vlad on June 11 2013

 

 

This is my completed 1/48th scale of the FB-111 by Hobby Boss.  Since I was younger, I was always fascinated with the "swing wing" concept of the F-111 aircraft family.  The FB-111 caught my attention because of it's role in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) during the Cold War.  I wanted to replicate an FB-111 that served in the nuclear deterrence role during this time.  I chose the Hobby Boss kit over the Academy because I read that the Academy kit requires a large amount of updating.  Since the model has a large wingspan and I have the unfortunate habit of knocking things off a model while I am building it, I opted to keep the wings, slats, flaps and elevators off until I had them painted, decaled and weathered.  

 

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After scouring the forums and other sources, I complied a list of the aftermarket parts that I needed to replicate an FB-111 since the kit lacked a few options, mainly the nuclear weapons.  I procured the wheels and correct pylons from OzMod, the exhaust cans from G-Factor, Master Model Pitot Tube, the B-61 nuclear bombs from Belcher Bits and the AGM-69 SRAMs from a fellow ARCer (many thanks Jeff).  On both the bombs and missiles, I made the fins out of plastic card. 

The aircraft was painted free hand by air brush with Model Master SAC Bomber Tan, SAC Bomber Green and Green Drab.  The bottom was painted with Camouflage Gray mixed with white.  Having difficulty in the past with acrylic and lacquer clear coats, I tried out the enamel based High Gloss Coat from Floquil to seal the paint in prep for decals and weathering.  This clear coat worked beautifully for the decals.  For the first time I had zero bubbling or silvering on the decals.  I highly recommend it.  The decals for the units were a challenge as I found many different versions of the Ready Teddy art so I went with what I thought was consistent.  For the weathering I used the Tamiya Weathering Dust and applied it with an epoxy brush.  To finish I applied Floquil Flat Finish.  While it didn't fully dull out the gloss coat, it did enough to give the final product a semi-matte finish which after all was said and done I thought looked great.  This project was my biggest challenge thus far and I discovered many new techniques, some intentional, some by accident.  Much time was spent, especially toward the end on this project, but I am beyond satisfied with the result.  Enjoy the photos.

Jay Vlad

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Photos and text © by Jay Vlad