F35A Lightning II (Italeri) | Build Log
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January 20, 2024Ejection seat parts2
January 20, 2024Ejection seat assembled3
January 20, 2024Assembled and painted, with a wash4
January 20, 20245
January 20, 2024F18 pilot (the only figure I had remotely close to the jet age)6
January 20, 2024Painted figure7
January 20, 2024With a wash8
January 22, 2024Photoetch seatbelts9
January 22, 2024Adding PE foot pedals10
January 22, 202411
January 22, 2024Finished dashboard12
January 22, 2024Pilot in the seat. The seatbelts are loose since they didn't quite fit13
January 22, 2024Cockpit before assembly14
January 22, 2024Cockpit with dashboard installed15
January 22, 202416
January 22, 2024The pilot had to go under reconstructive leg surgery because his legs were too long. I had to cut each leg off and then shorten it at the knee, then reattach it.17
January 22, 202418
January 22, 2024Cockpit mated into the fuselage19
January 22, 202420
January 25, 2024Weapons bay parts21
January 25, 2024Weapons bay assembled22
January 25, 2024Pre shading weapons bay23
January 25, 2024Weapons bay painted and with a wash24
January 25, 2024Weapons bay installed into fuselage25
January 27, 2024Air intake parts26
January 27, 2024Assembled air intake27
January 27, 2024Turbofan parts28
January 27, 2024Assembled F135 engine29
January 27, 202430
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January 27, 202437
January 31, 2024Landing gear bay parts38
January 31, 2024Landing gear parts39
January 31, 2024Assembled and painted landing gears40
January 31, 2024Landing gears mated to the fuselage41
January 31, 2024Nose gear bay and parts42
January 31, 2024Assembled nose gear43
January 31, 2024Nose gear mated to fuselage44
January 31, 2024Top and bottom of fuselage mated45
January 31, 2024Nose added to fuselage46
February 1, 2024Control surface parts47
February 1, 2024Control surfaces assembled48
February 1, 2024Ailerons added to wings49
February 1, 2024Wings and elevons mated to fuselage50
February 1, 202451
February 4, 202452
February 4, 2024Some gap filling for the wings53
February 4, 202454
February 4, 2024Ladder access hatch closed55
February 4, 202456
February 4, 202457
February 4, 202458
February 4, 202459
February 4, 202460
February 4, 2024Vertical stabilizer parts61
February 4, 2024Vertical stabilizers assembled62
February 4, 2024Vertical stabilizers attached to fuselage63
February 4, 202464
February 4, 202465
February 4, 202466
February 4, 202467
February 4, 2024Ready for main body paint job (other subassemblies will be painted and attached separately to make things cleaner in the end)68
February 9, 2024Masking off pre-painted areas69
February 9, 202470
February 9, 2024Coated with Vallejo black primer. Ready for some pre-shading71
February 12, 2024Pre-shading done! Ready to move on to the real paint job72
February 12, 202473
February 12, 2024Started painting with the light grey tone that is used for the radar tape and nose. Next to mask that off and go over the whole aircraft with it's darker grey fuselage color74
February 12, 202475
February 22, 2024I wish I was exaggerating when I say that it took me 18 hours to mask off all the light grey areas. The kit comes with some sticker masks but those account for less than 25% of what needed to be masked for this kit. You can see the sticker masks that came with the kit in white, whereas the rest of my tape here is green and yellow76
February 22, 202477
February 23, 2024It's finally starting to take shape after the main coat! Peeling off all that tape was very satisfying. The contrast between the 2 greys is a bit too stark for my liking, so after cleaning up a few small areas, I'll apply a thin coat of grey over the whole thing to help blend the colors together a bit78
February 23, 202479
February 23, 202480
February 26, 2024Softened up the contrast a great deal by adding a few thin coats of a different grey shade.81
February 26, 202482
February 26, 202483
February 27, 2024Disaster struck today as I tried to darken the whole plane today. I tried to add a thin layer of a black-ish color to darken the whole thing. It ended up being patchy and I kept adding layers to try to even put the coat. I'm really unhappy with how it looks now, so I'll be promptly stripping all the paint off the fuselage and starting over. I've ordered some new paint which matches the exact colors of the F35, so no more guesswork trying to mix paints. Not looking forward to another 18 hours of masking, but you love and you learn.84
February 27, 202485
March 4, 2024Spent a few hours stripping all the paint off, then re-primed the whole thing with a light ghost grey. This is, according to the US Navy, the exact color these are painted (in the trim sections). It looks a bit light to me but we'll see how it looks once the main fuselage color is on.86
March 4, 202487
April 5, 2024Finally repainted after that catastrophe! Took another 30 hours to get back to this point. I'm ready to move on with the build.88
April 5, 202489
April 5, 202490
April 19, 2024Starting on weapon bay and landing gear doors91
April 19, 202492
April 19, 202493
April 19, 202494
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April 19, 2024103
April 19, 2024All doors painted and ready to attach to the airframe. I'll probably save this for the last step because it looks like a rather fragile addition and I don't want to risk snapping one of the doors off while I paint up the rest of the plane104
April 20, 2024Exhaust can and cover parts105
April 20, 2024Exhaust cover painted106
April 20, 2024Exhaust can painted107
April 20, 2024Installed the bottom of the exhaust cover108
April 20, 2024Installed the exhaust can and the top of the exhaust cover109
April 28, 2024Decals applied to the main airframe, just need to attach wheels, canopy, and armaments next110
April 28, 2024111
May 2, 2024Wing pylon part112
May 2, 2024More wing pylon parts113
May 2, 2024Assembled pylons114
May 2, 2024Assembled and painted pylons115
May 2, 2024Sidewinder mount parts116
May 2, 2024Assembled sidewinder mounts117
May 2, 2024Painted sidewinder mounts118
May 2, 2024AIM-120 parts119
May 2, 2024Assembled AIM-120s120
May 2, 2024Painted AIM-120, ready to be mounted into the airframe121
May 2, 2024JDAM parts122
May 2, 2024Assembled JDAMs123
May 2, 2024Painted JDAM, ready to be mounted to the wing pylon124
May 2, 2024Sidewinder parts125
May 2, 2024Assembled sidewinders126
May 2, 2024Landing light parts127
May 2, 2024Assembled and painted landing lights128
May 2, 2024Painted gear bay supports and AIM-120 gear bay mount129
May 2, 2024Added the gear bay supports to the bay door130
May 2, 2024Added all the armaments to the wings! We're almost done with the build now. Just need to add the canopy, wheels, and some other small parts131
May 6, 2024Nose radar section parts132
May 6, 2024Radar assembled and attached133
May 6, 2024Wheel parts134
May 6, 2024Wheels assembled135
May 6, 2024Wheels painted136
May 6, 2024Wheels attached!137
May 6, 2024138
May 6, 2024Added a tiny bit of weathering over the top of the airframe, in a copper-ish burnt umber tone to simulate heat rash that I've seen on some F35s139
May 6, 2024140
May 8, 2024Beacon light parts141
May 8, 2024Painted the underside of the clear parts with acrylic ink to preserve some transparency. Came out pretty good I think142
May 8, 2024Installed the beacon lights143
May 10, 2024Got the canopy and the pilot tubes installed. It was a struggle getting the canopy on there, the fit is absolutely terrible. You can see that it didn't fit perfectly but fixing that is above my current skill level as a modeler144
May 10, 2024She's finally done! This aircraft was an absolute tape queen. I am pretty happy with how it came out, it's not perfect but I think it's my best work so far. Now to make the base before calling this project done.145
May 10, 2024146
May 10, 2024I found this wood plaque at Michaels that looks like it'll be the perfect size for the base.147
May 10, 2024Going to use cork as the actual material that gets painted up to look like concrete. Cut the cork to size here148
May 12, 2024Painted up the base to look like a parking spot. Added some tire streaking too149
May 12, 2024The plane on the base. More pics to come!150
May 12, 2024151
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May 12, 2024
Kommentarer
47 20 January, 04:10
![](/profiles/img/132875-803-s.jpg)
How'd I miss this build so far!? Looks awesome..we can tell you have put the hours in to making it as good as it is! 👍
24 February, 00:51
![](/profiles/img/127872-122-s.jpg)
This is looking very good. That masking must have been painful to do.
24 February, 14:57
![](/profiles/img/137139-966-s.jpg)
Thanks Jennifer! Yeah it was quite a pain. I wish the sticker masks that came with the kit lined up better with the actual panel lines in some areas, as now I have to go and touch those areas up before moving on
25 February, 06:50
Project info
163 bilder