Dutch Italeri F-35A

1
October 21, 2024
First plastic off the sprue! Two big chunks comprise most of the airframe.
2
October 21, 2024
In a departure for the norm I decide to primer the main parts before assembly so that I can spray wheel bays, weapons bays, etc. beforehand. We’ll see how this works out.
3
October 21, 2024
In a big first airbrushing session I prepared the parts for assembly. On a whim I also prepainted the tail feathers with Humbrol H140 Dark Gull Gray so that I can mask the lighter grey panels.
4
October 21, 2024
Assembly started, struggling fiercely with the inlet inserts which have a typical vague Italeri fit. These required quite a bit of filling and sanding. Overall fit is so-so with several unsightly gaps.
5
October 21, 2024
Nice to have a full engine although Italeri’s logic escapes me here… Nothing can be seen of it except the tailpipe.
6
October 21, 2024
Installing the wheel wells …
7
October 21, 2024
… followed by another exercise in clamping. Struggling to get everything to fit and failed in several locations.
8
October 21, 2024
Cleaned up the seams, installed tailplanes and temporarily fitted the weapons bay doors.
9
October 21, 2024
Masking the cockpit, inlets, etc. and getting things ready for the spray booth.
10
October 21, 2024
First sprayed the lighter grey panels with H140. This is actually the second attempt... The first one was far too grainy and I sanded it back… Also masked the ordnance.
11
October 21, 2024
Masked the lighter panels. Naturally I wimped out and chose a later F-35 paint scheme that does not have all these tapes in the lighter color.
12
October 21, 2024
I chose a 4:3 mix of Vallejo 71.280 Camouflage Grey and 77.723 Exhaust Manifold out of the bewildering options found on the Internet to replicate the Have Glass grey. No idea whether it is close to reality but looks fine to me.
13
October 21, 2024
Removed the masking, pulling off a bit of the H140 here and there. Darn. But nothing some touch-up will fix. Overall finish looks good.
14
October 21, 2024
After some touch-up and a HG51 gloss coat it’s time for decals… and dropping the model halfway through. Split open the nose and broke of a vertical fin (again…). Duh.
15
October 21, 2024
Luckily repaired without too much damage and decals finished. The decals worked fine and I reversed the last two digits of the KLu serial to match a Dutch F-35 with the later paint scheme.
16
October 21, 2024
I finished with a coat of Micro Flat. I skipped weathering because these a/c appear to be very clean. And because I am lazy…
17
October 21, 2024
Removed the remaining masks and added some color to the wheel wells. Painted the inside of the canopy frame black.
18
October 21, 2024
Preparing the final bits. Eagle-eyed viewers might note the missing ordnance. Again, I am lazy and decided to keep the weapons bay shut. I can always change my mind later…
19
October 21, 2024
And done after installing the final bits! This beast was not quite as easy and relaxing as expected and the end result is a bit sloppy. But still a nice diversion from my usual fare.
20
October 21, 2024
21
October 21, 2024

Komentáře

5 21 October, 18:24

Hans Zwetsloot
In another departure from my usual subject matter I decided to tackle a modern jet. It will accompany my recent Dutch Matchbox F-16A rebuild on my display shelf. I know next to nothing about this modern stuff so this was intended as a quick, relaxed build without the urge to build something accurate. For that I would also have been better off using a different kit as Italeri's surface detail is rather exaggerated. But hey, I have built a lot of Italeri kits and (usually…) like them. This one is a bit of a bear to build though...

21 October, 18:30

Project info

Lockheed-Martin F-35A KLu

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