Mitsubishi F-2A
- Subject:
Mitsubishi F-2A
航空自衛隊 (Japan Air Self-Defense Force 1954-now)
3 Sqn., 3 AW 03-8503- Scala:
- 1:72
- Stato:
- Completato
- Iniziato:
- August 2, 2024
- Completato:
- October 12, 2024
For Mitsubishi F-2, I've bought Hasegawa kit some time ago. Probably it was not the best choice, but it was affordable and available.
Considering the mold quality, the assembly was super easy, since only slight spots required filling and sanding. I even painted and treated the air intake section, the fin, and the nozzle separately until the final stage.
The plastic parts of the kit are quite accurate and detailed, especially for the 1:72. The ordnance is typical for this type, and I added a pair of Sparrows which this aircraft sometimes carries. Unfortunately, the missiles are not detailed and have no decals at all, and didn't find any replacement that I can buy for a reasonable price. I'm not sure what color they must have, because most of the photos I have show not live but inert missiles, so I did them in Insignia white.
The painting was challenging due to absence of correct colors from my preferrable paint vendors (I use only water-based acrylics from Europe). I mixed something from what I have found so far, and colors appear to be incorrect - the dark became too dark after drying, and the light appeared too light in contrast (although at first it was quite OK for me). Probably, from the color perspective, only for the US aircraft you can easily find correct colors straight from the bottle.