Fat Amy WIP

Nathan Dempsey
Ooh I'm in for this build 🙂

Daniel
Hi nathan, welcome!

So this is a fast forward in time from my last project, skipped some generations and will now try a futuristic, spotless clean, have glass V machine. So the flawless silky metallic finish will be the big challenge here....also I plan to add the chute bump featured by the norwegians, guess I will have to scratch this.
Builds like a charm so far, fit is perfect.
Still some extra work was needed: what I didnt like are the taped structures being too prominent, no comparison to the kitty hawk but still too much. Sanded those quite a bit and think its better, could be even flatter but I dont want to rescribe the whole thing...

Nathan Dempsey
Yes, I have the Kitty Hawk one. Luckily I bought it for a steal of USD $20 at a local contest. Still, the KH kit is much nicer than the Panda kit I had before. That one I sold for $5 and felt bad about it 😄

Patrick Hagelstein
Finally back behind my screen after a while and the first thing I notice is this build. Who is Fat Amy??? 😄

Daniel
The most fitting nickname for the A model really 😄
came across that on movers YouTube channel (dont know how widespread that name is among other pilots but his guests seemed to know who he is talking about)

#2 on my fitting nickname list is: the battle penguin.^^ Heard their own drivers like to call her "Panther" but I can imagine other pilots like to point out her less favourable features 😉

playtime 222
F-35B - Hole in the head?

Daniel
👍 😄

Slavo Hazucha
Joining a bit late - I saw this model in a store, looked very nice in the box. Meng seems to have most quality boxes ticked and I kinda would like to, but could not bring myself... There is gap between me and the F-35 which defies all attempts at getting bridged... 😄

You did absolutely the right thing by sanding the panels, it´s pretty much the same case as the Hasegawa F-22 - there is no justification for this level of "bocage" structure on the top... 🙂

Im very much looking forward to your paint-job and surface treatment... raptor-sheen, violet/golden-touch canopy & all that 5-th gen stuff! 👍

Patrick Hagelstein
I feel you on that gap Slavo. However, being allowed to come up close to a real one definitely bridges that gap! Never believed I would add some to my stack, but here they are! All planned for Dutch related projects. 😉

Daniel
@roland: he achieved a pretty cool result! I will also do some test-pieces to figure out my approach. Hard decision not to do an inflight display but I also like some detailed parts sticking out of the grey egg 🙂

@slavo: great to have you on board mate! I myself cannot say I have a barrier-free approach to this little fatty😉 but what I like is the completely different look compared to my other candidates and to try something else than my usual "please wash me" builds. That's how I ended up with this and while I still think it looks like a penguin I admit it has some cool angles 🙂

Just had a very interesting shopping list on ebay and my wife was a bit worried when she happened to see me browse through a list of glittering "born pretty" nail lacquer products being obviously very interested😉 Actually theres a lot of amazing stuff out there that women apply to their nails that has great potential use in modeling as well. Got some holo nail lacquer, metal powder and a selection of holo foil, all cheap as dirt. This will be fun! 😄

Michael Phillips
Well this one sure slipped under my radar somehow! Count me in! I have both the Meng and KH F-35A kits, so I am curious to see this one come together as I have not really seen a WIP of this kit yet.

I am excited to follow along here!

Jos Jansen
Like most modeler in your comments, I look forward to your build of this model. I have a preference for 4th gen fighters just like Slavo, but someday I will undoubtedly agree to build a nice clean and a little weathered 5th gen fighter ...?!

Count me in mate ...!

Patrick Hagelstein
themodellingnews.com..rips-with-mengs.html
Michael, this one sits under 'reviews', but is actually a full build divided in multiple posts.

Daniel
Cheers michael and jos, great to see you here as well!
Nearly finished with spraying the white parts, will try to keep them clean but a wash for some 3d effect is needed. I may also add some wiring to the bays if i feel motivated enough tomorrow 🙂
First beauty product arrived today -holo powder - I am quite impressed by just looking at the box. Will experiment if I can mix my own sprayable tint with this or different ways of application

Patrick Hagelstein
GLITTERZZZZZZZ!!!!! 😄

Slavo Hazucha
So next I can expect Lady Gaga to perform a vertical landing in my garden! 😄 👍

Seriously, it looks most promising - I will follow the application with great interest!

Patrick Hagelstein
😄

Thomas Espe
Interesting, taking a seat

Alexander
Count me in on the project as well. I built this kit a year ago and was very pleased as well with the overall fit - although i had trouble with fitting the upper portside wing part.
Yourt progress in the cockpit looks nice so far. 👍
Here is also a build review I found quite helpful and interesting:
scalespot.com/onthebench/f35a-meng/build.htm

Maciej Bellos
This will be nice. Joinning the crowd!

Daniel
Welcome Thomas, Alexander and Maciej!

Fat Amy, Lady Gaga its all coming together here. So seen in the pics can be different stages of holo nail powder on the canopy.
First Idea was mixing it with future and dipping it. Also spraying it. Was kind of working but did not give the look I wanted, looked too eh glitterzzzzzzzzzzz as particles accumulated.
But with the lightly sticky future I head a nice surface that these particles can adhere to. As in the usual application on nails I used the little makeup sponge and dabbed the whole canopy. Looks pretty crazy! Does not work on pure plastic, it needs something more sticky. Then some carefull buffing with a very soft tissue. After sealing it with clear lacquer the smooth shiny metallic effect was a little distorted into some more glitter effect but also became more translucent as a positive side effect.
And yes, I know this looks totally over the top compared to the original, but hey, cool looks is the most important thing in modelling😉

Nathan Dempsey
Looks very cool indeed 🙂

Alexander
Looks very interesting. I'm planning to replicate the effect on my F-22 when I'm coming to it with Pearl Ex's Intereference Gold but your's and Michael Phillip's approach look great as well! 👍

Slavo Hazucha
An unexpected merge of F-35's with Su-35's...

"I've got the one with the green-shimmering canopy, you take the gold one!"
"Wait, Gold just turned purple..! ...now green...! What are they smearing on those things these days...!?!"

😄 Looking quite glamorous, nice job & thx for sharing the tips!

Daniel
hahaa, they're smearing nail polish^^
Thank you very much mates, it is indeed interesting new stuff for me to play with!

Soooo,
I did a remake of the canopy as it was in daylight just like those mirror ray-ban shades. This time just using a soft brush for metalic powder, no dabbing. Was really happy with it then. (see pic 13) Did a metallic paint job with a custom mix - was extremely happy with it. started masking the fins and was happy with the second color. Spotted a forgotten tiny mask while brushing teeth, tried to remove it with one hand and pushed the whole thing off of the table. Fuuu&u%uu§uu...

SO the good news is: my metallic paint job is completely unscathed - because the impact was on the canopy. Which, thats the bad news, is not unscathed. 2 ~7mm cracks right at the impact point on top of it. Im pretty fed up and lost the love to continue the paint job now...so, I'll put this on hold for now and will think about how to proceed later. Darnit.

Patrick Hagelstein
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooh!!!!!!!!!!............ 😮

Alexander
I got synesthesia from reading that - oouuch.. 🙁
I guess a replacement will solve that, but yeah, I think you need to calm down first before doing anything regarding this model.

Daniel
Yeah, ouch, shit happens...yes, I will try to get a replacement - anybody experience with mengs service? I fear this wont be as easy as revell.

But for consolation I ordered the recent eduard dual kit and will join in on the messerschmitt factory line here 🙂

Patrick Hagelstein
😄 That's a good alternative. Those Bf-109s could have a ding or two and still look realistic. 😉

playtime 222
Youtube Video 🙁

Nathan Dempsey
I have to agree with Playtime 222.

Slavo Hazucha
Oh man, I can almost hear it crack... went through the experience myself on my late Super-Flanker, gladly Mr. Michael Phillips pulled me out of my mysery then with a spare piece from a limited edition one which came with 2-sets of clear parts... I would have 2 MiG-31 spare sets of canopies to share, but I´m affraid that the fit would be miserable here... Good luck on getting a spare!!!

And I´m really sorry for Fat Amy Gaga... Did not think my end-of-the-year run-up will be spent in home-office/quarantine watching 109´s buzzing all around the web...😉

Daniel
😄 exactly playtime + nathan

I could do a diorama where I pick up the topic of "how not to refuel your f-35" (which is not far fetched...) but I contacted the meng guys and hope they have some solution lying around...

Slavo, theres a lot of them! And all the guys who used to deliver cool jet pics are now building these tiny crates with 25 parts^^- only way to cope with that situation is building your own 🙂
I expect a quick build&return to the real deal, either with the fat gaga or the su-27

Patrick, I actually plan to inflict some battle damage on one of them, this time in a more controlled way. Throw it against the wall or something😉

Patrick Hagelstein
😄

Adam Gudynowski
Cockpit looks good 👍

Daniel
Thx Adam!

The update is that the customer service at meng is quite uncomplicated, shipping is much more expensive than the whole replacement sprue though - but I hope that it arrives here in the near future and hopefully intact as well.

As rumour has it theres a 5th gen group build next year, so this will be continued in january if things work out
Cheers!

Maciej Bellos
Nice to hear a canopy is on its way.

Should a 5th gen group build start, I might dig in my closet for that old Zvezda PAK-FA (as the Su-57 was previously called).

Daniel
pulling this one back on the desk before it gathers too much dust. Replacement canopy arrived before christmas and is looking super duper clear.
I feel bad for the headstart fellow groupbuilders, especially since I cant rob your ideas now😉 but i am very much looking forward to the magic bound to happen during this event 👍

Nathan Dempsey
Nice! Happy to see this one going again!

Slavo Hazucha
I am already in, but with the shift to the GB, re-confirming, I'm in!

Continue to hope to see some fabulous applications of innovative materials here!😉 And looking forward to see how you handle surfaces & panels on this one!

Michael Phillips
Same with Slavo, I am still in! Glad to see this one back to life 🙂

Daniel
glad to see you still on board mates! 🙂
some small updates, major paint work will be done shortly

Slavo Hazucha
For a moment I thought you cut out all the saw-patterns - good set & nice fit - really looks like you got it all covered!😉

I just hope the tapes will not take any souvenirs in form of paint applied under them!

Daniel
So after their short but intimate time together the masks and the paint went their seperate ways again, meaning the paint went nowhere it was not supposed to go😉 👍 The galaxy masks are really top notch, well designed, well executed. Good stuff.

The Caracal Decals are a joy to work with as well -cartograf o.c.- though I think a tad too bright maybe

Concerning a tad too bright, I did some very subtle variations for the ram tape color and then decided to get a liiiittle bit of wash into those rivets. After that the color variation was very very very subtle. Bad Idea in hindsight. But a certain difference is still there and the newer F-35s have pretty much the same uniform look as this one. So, a bit different than planned, but still quite happy

Now I have seen some F-35 pics with a quite grimy underside and I am still resisting the urge...will decide later😉

Slavo Hazucha
Whoa that canopy really looks gorgeous - exactly the tone it should be, no fogging, just wow! 👍

Nathan Dempsey
That's some slick work on the canopy 🙂

Palo M
Excellent work on the canopy.

Daniel
Thank you! In hindsight the accident was not such a bad thing at all, as this 2nd approach came out much much better.

I also just received another little beauty product shipped from China which consist of very lightly coloured metal powder in blue/green and promises to be even more translucent. Looking very much forward to employ this on future projects

Spanjaard
powder idea seems really good, would you please share details of where to get it (ebay seller, i guess)? that cockpit looks amazing!

Patrick Hagelstein
Great to see you back into this build again! And I can only agree with the others that your canopy looks splendid! 👍 Looking at the first picture, I noticed this bird has the unique Norwegian drag chute housing attached. Are you intending portraying that as well?

Maciej Bellos
Excellent canopy! It looks real. Well done!

Daniel
Thanks a bunch mates, great you like it as well!
I made a small description of my steps under #26, note that the powder does not grip on pure plastic, it needs a slightly viscous surface to adhere - like floor wax

@ Spanjaard: Its exactly this stuff, bought it on amazon as I needed it ASAP, but a lot more expensive than chinese ebayers. Hope it shows up outside of germany 🙂
amazon.de/dp/B01MV4K.._mt_dp_m7DeGb3EBXFS9

@ Patrick: Absolutely, not missing this unique feature 🙂 You can see its humble beginnings in #18, also uploaded the end result

Spanjaard
thanks a lot Daniel. thanks for the info. I have a set of colors on its way from evelbay now 🙂
not sure if the quality will be the same, but worth trying.
i can always give it to my girlfriend 😄 😄

Ali Yulianto
Fantastic canopy and Panther Daniel. Did you try airbrush a mix of the power with future? Or was the powder too big for airbrushing?
I might try a product called Jacquard Pearl Ex for my Raptor's canopy or see if I can find this holo stuff on eBay.

Daniel
@ Spanjaard: NP! (You can also wear it yourself in secret... 😄 )

@Ali: Thanks mate! That was my exact first attempt, but: If you mix the powder in liquid it results in a "normal" glitter effect. Also if you do another dip in Future after dry application or a clear lacquer coat the effect gets a bit less metallic. I guess it softened the future and ruined alignment - best is a dab with the soft brush (or sponge for heavy effect)+leave it, seems the pigments align best this way for the holo effect

Daniel
also there are a lot of colors out there, maybe some more golden for the raptor - or a good old prowler canopy should look great with the effect as well

Spanjaard
LOL

Ali Yulianto
Thanks Daniel, will try your dabbing method and see if it works with the product that I'm planning to use 👍

Daniel
Armament done, AMRAAMs from the kit + Eduard X-Winders
Think this will be the last update as this battle penguin is pretty much completed 👍

Slavo Hazucha
Lots of good reading on those Amraams & winders! 👍

Daniel
As good a read as any phone book - but it looks decorative😉

Daniel
Done! Thanks everyone for riding along this little voyage into 5th gen., silly jet-nicknames and beauty tips for shiny nails!
got pics:
Scalemates 5th Generation, UAV, and Stealth Groupbuild 2021 | Album by halohead (1:48)