Honey Badger

Final form. Aftermarket parts can be seen here: L-39 pitot tubes, AIM-9 missile, ACMI pod, and MiG-29 seat belts. 

This is the kit after extracting the parts. It's the Tigger 1/32 scale L-39. Not shown here is the clear part. 

I first tried thickening up the rudder so I can sand it down later, then I decided to instead 3D print new control surfaces all the way around. Also, the nose is cut off here - awaiting a new 3D printed extended nose. 

The real Honey Badger when based at Nellis AFB. As far as I know only one of their L-159Es is painted like this. They have some others with a white/grey/black scheme in the same pattern. 

Rear end of the real Honey Badger. Mote that the very rear of the L-159 is shaped a little differently than on the L-39. I carved the new shape with Milliput. 

Getting the fuselage mostly done before attaching wings. The dorsal hump on the fuselage is scratch built, as is the vertical tail extended cap, the intake splitters, cockpit rough-in. I 3D printed the nose, seat, canopy bow, fuel tanks, inner intakes, elevators, rudder, cockpit panels, stick, rudder pedals, combing with HUD. 

Shimming the tip tanks to make them parallel. 

Final cockpit. I 3D printed the electronics bay, based on photos I got from a Draken insider. Note that the sun shade for the electronics bay is attached to the rear canopy. I vacuformed the windscreen on a 3D printed form. The canopies are built up from the kit-provided clear part. 

Final: view from left rear. Decals are all home made. 

Cockpit decals ready for printing. 

The flaps droop a little after shutdown, but I made them flush. 

One of the benefits of building this airplane is that you don't need to make wheel wells 🙂