Delta Beauty

1
March 25, 2022
fit was... well you guess.
2
March 25, 2022
construction is almost complete with canards and a couple of fiddly bits left to install.

tons of putty and sanding, associated rescribing too. 🙁

i'll be doing the ATAC camo per the instructions.
3
March 25, 2022
Gunze1500 black primer on.
4
March 26, 2022
gunze german gray mixed with 36118 for FS36118 as base coat. i think gunze's version is too light/blue even for 72nd scale, hence the need for german gray followed with very thin 36118 for highlighting select panels. can't recall the exact ratio but i actually added h305 into c116 until it all turned down.

next step will be masking, a lot.
5
March 26, 2022
after a tedious masking session -making tamiya even richer- that took hours the 2nd color is on, FS36320. having youtube nearby listening to several episodes of 10 Percent True the time flies... plus the occasional painkiller for the obvious eyesight going south due to age.

used gunze barley gray lightened with a bit of white followed by a heavily thinned gunze FS36320 to pick out several panels here and there.
6
March 26, 2022
Last color on, h308 + white 1:1 for FS36375.

lots of stuff to paint still: do the radome, do a bit overyspray around the dark gray per the real life photos finally blend it all...
7
March 27, 2022
Postshading.
8
March 28, 2022
decals over tamiya gloss clear, pin washes on panel lines and it can walk now.

got a couple of panels to fix which didn't hold the wash on compound curved surfaces as usual, then it's off to flat varnish.

i'll hang just the centerline. nothing available in the kit fits this particular aircraft. needs captive sidewinders, tacts and bulwinkle pods which i have none. also the available fuel tanks and their pylons are wrong for this one... so until i can source some of those, pylons except the centerline will remain empty.
9
March 28, 2022
Built OOB.

only mod i made is the fins on the centerline fuel tank - just 2 strips of plasticard shaped accordingly. i do suspect even this type of tank is wrong. AMK claims this is the subsonic wing tank and give a pair, but the real life photos show something else... dunno - as usual do NOT take this for reference.
10
March 28, 2022
11
March 28, 2022
12
March 28, 2022
silvering, in your face style!
13
March 28, 2022
it's already doing mach 1.0 standing still... it wants to fly.
14
March 28, 2022
15
March 28, 2022
16
March 28, 2022
17
March 28, 2022

Kommentit

55 25 March 2022, 09:47

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Watching 👀

25 March 2022, 14:55

Cuajete
Me 2.

25 March 2022, 19:58

Ekki
Me 3.

25 March 2022, 22:20

Murad ÖZER
Thank you all, welcome. 🙂

26 March 2022, 06:15

Erik Leijdens
Great start. Cool livery too

26 March 2022, 06:50

Robin (WhiteGlint)
👍

27 March 2022, 09:11

Michael Kohl
like your approach and the results. I am surprised that you had fit issues. I thought, that this is a great kit. It is not?

27 March 2022, 13:09

Murad ÖZER
Michael unfortunately the fit was very bad. what you mention might be AMK's 48th scale Kfir instead, dunno, didn't build that one and i'd say this will be my one and only AMK.

not worth the effort imho.

27 March 2022, 13:55

Juskifo
Nice job on the paint scheme

27 March 2022, 14:12

James C
Looking good mate. Watching 👀👍

27 March 2022, 16:47

Cuajete
Well done so far 👍

27 March 2022, 17:20

Michael Kohl
Hi Murad, thanx for elaborating. I was refering to the scale1:72 AMK kit indeed. I have seen the vergin parts of the kit in the stash of a friend and with the lovely details it has I expected it to go together nicely. In case I should go for it anyway, I am at least warned.

27 March 2022, 17:30

Vincent
Great work on the camo scheme.

27 March 2022, 17:35

Murad ÖZER
Guys thanks a lot for all your comments, much appreciated. 🙂

@Michael, not only the fit is an issue, decals are terrible as well. they go down but don't wanna move nor do they accept any decal sols... i am glad i'm doing the atac one for it has just a couple of decals. also the loadout leaves much to be desired but that's another subject altogether.

as for the kit itself, it's the recent trend of this past decade:
kits look wonderful in the box,
they have nice crisp details,
very interesting subjects,
eye candy decal options,
fancy painting schemes halfassed by certain spanish companies,
and what not also asking a premium price as usual.

reality is all those nice and crisp details go victim to stupid engineering decisions and subpar tooling resulting in fit issues.

after filling and sanding you end up with a lump of plastic with the details of a heller or pm, but for 10 times the price.
don't get me wrong, i've got nothing against heller etc. they all have a place, and most importantly they themselves DO know their place and name their price accordingly.

but these stupid companies popping left and right outta china and hk such as kh, kinetic, amk, panda, amusing, bronco... my blacklist do go on - it's not restricted to these companies entirely.

man, i stay away.

anybody who doesn't like the build stage, or values their time effort and money should too.

cheers.

27 March 2022, 19:06

James C
I can understand your frustration having had similar experiences in the past.
I'm very picky about what brands I purchase now, and even then I still look for reviews if available.

27 March 2022, 22:14

Murad ÖZER
Warts n all calling her done folks, cheers and see you at the next one.

28 March 2022, 18:06

James C
Despite the issues you encountered, that's an awesome result. Great job on the camouflage scheme as well. 👍

28 March 2022, 18:11

Cuajete
Well done. Congrats!

28 March 2022, 18:17

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Despite all your trouble the result is great. 🙂 👍

28 March 2022, 18:28

Murad ÖZER
James, Roland, Cuajete, WhiteGlint thanx a ton folks. 🙂

28 March 2022, 18:34

Ekki
Great work!