AREA 88: "The Upside Down Bomb" (Kfir)
![Album image #1 Album image #1](/albums/img/2/9/6/601296-26441-19-720.jpg)
I like 1+1 boxes...
![Album image #2 Album image #2](/albums/img/2/9/7/601297-26441-96-720.jpg)
The sprues look quite clean and well detailed.
![Album image #3 Album image #3](/albums/img/2/9/8/601298-26441-22-720.jpg)
Let’s start at the bottom. Main pieces cut, wheel doors in place and the engine LED is wired.
![Album image #4 Album image #4](/albums/img/3/9/4/601394-26441-33-720.jpg)
A bit of “aircraft grey” for the cockpit and “dark iron” for the tail.
![Album image #5 Album image #5](/albums/img/3/9/5/601395-26441-88-720.jpg)
Luckily the electronics still fit. Feels strange drilling into the top of a plane...
![Album image #6 Album image #6](/albums/img/3/9/3/601393-26441-64-720.jpg)
Major pieces assembled, and lights work... winning!
![Album image #7 Album image #7](/albums/img/4/3/9/601439-26441-47-720.jpg)
Got the small (C2) canards on, but the holes were much too big for the slots, so a shin was required.
![Album image #8 Album image #8](/albums/img/2/2/5/604225-26441-92-720.jpg)
Welcome Shin and Mickey...
![Album image #9 Album image #9](/albums/img/2/2/6/604226-26441-83-720.jpg)
The cockpit is a bit snug, but luckily I have an extreme weight loss program... who needs legs?
![Album image #10 Album image #10](/albums/img/2/2/7/604227-26441-98-720.jpg)
The canopies both cracked during application, so I'll try to sand them smooth again. I'm glad this is an upside down build...
![Album image #11 Album image #11](/albums/img/9/0/9/607909-26441-40-720.jpg)
After a bit of putty and sanding, the underside is painted "Israeli eggshell blue" - it's a homebrew mix, so hopefully close enough.
![Album image #12 Album image #12](/albums/img/9/1/1/607911-26441-10-720.jpg)
Masking almost everything...
![Album image #13 Album image #13](/albums/img/9/1/0/607910-26441-30-720.jpg)
And the first layer of camouflage is on. FS34227... or something close enough.
![Album image #14 Album image #14](/albums/img/1/3/3/608133-26441-48-720.jpg)
Second layer of camouflage is on... starting to look like a proper Kfir now, innit?
![Album image #15 Album image #15](/albums/img/2/5/8/608258-26441-83-720.jpg)
Taping up some masks for the triangles.
![Album image #16 Album image #16](/albums/img/0/3/4/609034-26441-99-720.jpg)
And... we have black and yellow recognition triangles. Man that’s yellow!
![Album image #17 Album image #17](/albums/img/1/8/0/610180-26441-56-720.jpg)
They look fairly different with a panel wash.
![Album image #18 Album image #18](/albums/img/1/7/9/610179-26441-69-720.jpg)
Since the bottom is up this time, I took more care to get the panel wash done well... I think it works.
![Album image #19 Album image #19](/albums/img/1/7/8/610178-26441-60-720.jpg)
Dry fit the chase to get the placement right...
![Album image #20 Album image #20](/albums/img/1/7/7/611177-26441-76-720.jpg)
Decals on... and we’re done!
Comentarios
25 April 2019, 14:28
![](/profiles/img/26441-134-s.jpg)
I don't want these two upside down Kfirs to get left behind in the project, so let's get started.
25 April 2019, 14:32
![](/profiles/img/14298-181-s.png)
Yet an other adventure to watch. !
👍. Afterburner s glowing on the shelf. 🙂 👍
Mmmmmmm. This pop corn is GOOD. ! 😉
26 April 2019, 02:03
![](/profiles/img/17841-866-s.jpg)
I should think our Antipodean friend would be used to being upside down
26 April 2019, 11:48
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As always, two steps forward, one step back. I got Shin and Mickey painted up and seated in the cockpits, and then I found out that all the reviews of this kit that say the canopies can crack weren't lying. BOTH canopies cracked, under very little force since I was forewarned. I'm starting to be very glad this is an upside down presentation. I will sand and buff out the canopies as clearly as I'm able... just promise me not to look too closely. 🙂
30 April 2019, 15:41
![](/profiles/img/26441-134-s.jpg)
I'm happy now that these have got some paint on them. I did my best to match the Hasegawa 1/72 callouts for colour. So "Israeli Eggshell Blue" (FS35622) on the bottom mixed from 5ml of Tamiya XF-2 and 7 drops of X-23 and 3 drops of X-25. Then FS33531 (XF-57) on the top with FS34227 for the first layer of camouflage (XF-71:1 + XF-21:1 + XF-2:1). Seems to have worked.
9 May 2019, 16:10
![](/profiles/img/26441-134-s.jpg)
It's funny. I'm fighting my instincts and trying to remember that these two will be displayed inverted. It seems unnatural somehow. I have to remember to spend more time on the underside than I might otherwise, and let things slide on top. It's also the first time I had the wires in the way of a camouflage paint job. Normally they're on the bottom and a single coat of paint is enough. They were a bit annoying and getting in my way.
9 May 2019, 23:14
![](/profiles/img/26441-134-s.jpg)
Thanks Lode. Problem solving and pushing our own limits is all part of the enjoyment of the hobby, isn't it? I didn't have the proper decals for the black/yellow recognition triangles on these two, so I had to do some careful masking. Whenever it got tedious I just thought about you masking 1/700 PE coffee mugs and soldier onward. 🙂
12 May 2019, 23:30
![](/profiles/img/17841-866-s.jpg)
Can't find your plane at the airbase because it's painted in desert/jungle camo -then why not stick some massive yellow triangles on it because the enemy will never spot that
13 May 2019, 08:21
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Thanks Lode. I like being unpredictable in my builds. 😉
Besides the cracked canopies, I'm quite happy how these two ended up. The decals went on like a breeze and really give them the final pop.
16 May 2019, 23:50
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Greg, whatever it is you do between laying original colors down and the picture I see now really makes your colors come to life.
17 May 2019, 00:46
![](/profiles/img/26441-134-s.jpg)
Thanks Nathan. The jump between pics 16 and 17 really is the panel wash. I use Tamiya's panel washes (black, grey, brown) not just on the panels, but basically on the whole surface and then spend a lot of time wiping it back off. I'm still trying to get a handle on the process myself, but it usually drops the colour uniformly by a tone. I also use one of those microfiber cloths to give the whole models a quick rub before applying the wash. That "sands" down the paint a bit and takes out the shinier high spots. It's not a miracle cure for painting mishaps, but can even it out a bit.
17 May 2019, 01:17
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Very nice, they even have blue-tone canopies! Do you have a supersize version of Tamyia mark fit or are they really that small?😉
17 May 2019, 06:25
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Heh... I knew my novelty over-sized set of Tamiya products was going come in handy...😉
17 May 2019, 06:42