After seeing this AC at both an airshow and as a feature AC for
an aviation calendar, I just had to try and recreate it. I built it mostly
OOB but did modify a few parts including using a MV lens on
the landing gear, scratch built HUD, GBU-12's from the Hasegawa aircraft
weapons: D set, hydraulic lines for the landing gear, sheet lead for seat
harness, wire oxygen hose for the pilot, TwoBobs Hard Corps Harriers decals, and
some other bits an pieces here and there. This was my first Hasegawa kit
and I thought it went together well and made a convincing looking model. There
are some well documented fit problems with the wings that I also encountered
with this kit.
Tamiya acrylics were used for the AC. Apparently the upper
fuselage color indicated by the instructions is incorrect, so instead I used the
color recommended by the TwoBobs decal sheet (FS36118). Fortunately, this
color turns out to be essentially Tamiya XF-24. This color (plus 10% white for
scale effect) turned out to match the color on my reference photographs well.
Click on
images below to see larger images
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This AC was very fun to weather since it is so dirty. You can
add grease, grime, stains, and blotches to your heart's content and still not
make it too dirty. I used oil washes to help create the illusion of overall
grunge and to help unify the colors. I smiled for the better part of a day after
a friend, who use to work on these AC in the Marines, told me I got the finish
just right!
The diorama base is made using
600 grit wet/dry sand paper attached to a hardboard base. The tie-downs are from
Tom's Modelworks. Again, the flight deck is very grungy so I literally just
sprayed or splattered everything and anything on the surface to make it appear
dirty. I even cleaned my airbrush out by spraying the residue out on the flight
deck! The AC handler is a Verlinden figure and painted with Tamiya acrylics and
oils. He has a few modifications such as a scratch built headset, walkie talkie
cord, white dry transfer decals for reflectors on his vest, and epoxy lenses for
his goggles.
This is my first submission to
ARC and I hope you enjoy the images. Photograph credits actually go to my
brother Don and his new Canon digital camera.
Tim
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