VAQ-209 Prowler

As I was waiting for the base kit to arrive I went ahead and started experimenting with Tamiya Copper, Gold, clear yellow and orange for the gold coated canopies. 

After a dip in Future. 

The canopy has a gold sheen but is still transparent enough to look into the cockpit. 

As I had my F-16 paint mule out I used it to test the mixing ratios for my intended Mr. Paint paints. 

I also started working on the Tamiya F-16C AGM-88 HARM missiles. 

The missiles and adapters are coming along. 

Some decals on them already. 

Darth Vader is keeping a close watch.... 

The kits decals and sadly pretinted canopies... I was able to swap those for some clear ones with a club member. 

Marked with a blue dot are the parts to be used for this build. 

Some initial test fitting and having a close look at Bernhard Schrock’s build revealed some fit issues. 

Let’s get some stabilizers done! 

Using the kit decals as a guide for the walkways... 

... I taped the walkways and stippled on some Mr. Surfacers 500. 

The roughness is convincing considering the scale. 

Sadly enough I wasn’t able to get the colors right and even got some nasty drips while airbrushing... 

... Nothing a little alcohol bath can’t fix. 😉 

Off to the spray booth again! 

Project overview... 

The Pratt & Whitney calendar that prompted this build. 

And a first comparison. 

My idea of using the belly tank/pylon as a place to mount the plane on. 

The idea is valid... 

... but needs some more attention to get everything squared exactly. 

The XMM intakes arrived, so some cutting will be done this weekend.