The canopy mask thing is why I’m waiting for the Eduard set to be released. The F-35 has the masks in the kit, but you have to cut them yourself. Doing that for the canopy is one thing, but the F-35 has all kinds of intricately-shaped sensor windows which they have masks for…but I can’t imagine being able to cut those exactly right. The width of the line drawn on the masking sheet is enough to throw things off by enough when you cut it that it will leave noticeable underlap or overlap when the paint goes on. Weird how inconsistent they are about that. The Tamiya F-14A I built in 2016 had pre-cut masks included with it, and they worked beautifully. From what I understand, when Tamiya re-released the same kit a year or two later, along with their F-14D…both suddenly had masks you had to cut yourself. I used the Eduard masks on my F-16CJ and on the F-4B, and they were absolutely flawless…especially the ones for the F-4B, since they now have that T-Face series that has masks for the inside and outside of the canopy. It will definitely be worth the wait for that kind of quality and ease of use.
And we have a winner!
Did a little more experimentation with getting a good, smooth, metallic appearance to the Have Glass grey. I have settled on these steps, just in case anybody else wants to try it.
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MRP280 Have Glass Grey
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Rub with powdered graphite
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MRP125 Semi-Gloss Clear to seal the graphite onto the paint
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Decals, MicroSet, and MicroSol
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MRP126 Semi-Matt Clear to lock it all down
Nice metallic sheen with no little sparklies. Looks pretty close to photos taken of USAF F-35As in the last couple of years.
Got a little more work done on some of the pieces of the main aircraft assembly. I’ll be building it with the boarding ladder deployed.
Got the weapons bay mostly done…just a couple of tiny pieces left to put on that go on from the opposite side.
It builds up from 22 separate parts, and Tamiya’s painting instructions for everything are excellent. A little daunting at first, because each step is FLOODED with paint numbers and arrows pointing at various parts of the weapons bay, but its very easy to follow.
Wow that looks busy. Keep it coming. Excellent build!
Coming along nicely, great detail work.
BK
Thanks guys!
Doing test fits and primer/paint shots here and there around the bottom half of the aircraft and weapons bay to get everything painted that needs to be painted…along with figuring out the best sequence to paint things in to minimize masking headaches. Also got the Tamiya LP-1 base coat on for the final coat of Alclad Chrome that will go into the bottom sensor bay.
I’ll take those paint tips and run with them, though I am trying very hard to not buy this gem.
I definitely understand that. Heh…I really don’t even like the F-35, but it was a new Tamiya kit, and I had to buy one (well…two) just for the experience of building it.
Last night, I was reviewing the instructions to make sure I haven’t missed anything in what I have done so far…and, technically, I haven’t. Then I went further in the instructions to start planning for what other subassemblies I was going to be able to get built while I wait for the pending Eduard and Quinta upgrades I want to add. I ended up finding out that Tamiya DID include a lens for the landing light (actually, its the whole landing light in clear plastic, they just have you mask the lens before painting). What I thought was the “landing light” earlier was actually the recess the landing light goes into. Anybody ever tried to drill cured Bondic? LOL. Can’t be done…even my brand new Titanium drills don’t do much more than scratch it when being turned by hand. So, I have to replace the nose gear strut. That is where the second kit comes in…bought it when I screwed up with drilling holes in the upper half of the aircraft. Looking at how previous builds have gone sometimes, paying for replacement sprues and shipping, it just made more financial sense to buy another kit. Hopefully I’ll be left with enough untouched sprues in it that I can part those out on Ebay and maybe make the money back. Luckily, the sides of the gear well are thin and flexible enough that I was able to extract the strut and will be able to install the new one.
When I was looking for the landing light lens, I looked through the manual, over and over, and never saw it…until last night. Here’s the step its in. Its part B5…plain as day…but I just repeatedly missed it when I was looking for it. So, I guess its the printed version of losing a part to the carpet monster…the only way to find it is if you stop looking for it. [bnghead]
Jumped back over to my F-4B project for a bit, since I finally got my MER mounting issues on that squared away. Ended up finding an on-line specialty part maker in Germany that already has pre-cut paper masks for the Tamiya F-35A, as well as a weighted resin wheel set, so I placed an order with them. Never used them before, but I have seen lots of good reviews of their stuff on YouTube, and I’m always willing to try new manufacturers. Ordered yesterday, and today its on its way. Sent by DHL too, so I’ll probably have it by next weekend (DHL is crazy fast for international shipping).
Here is their link if anybody wants to take a look at what they’ve got.
Got my stuff from Germany, and I’m very impressed with the quality. The wheel set is especially nice, with the smallest details crisply replicated…even brake lines and safety wire are molded in. Here are some pics…only took about a week to get here.
Eagle, I’m really going to school with your build here. Seeing how you are accomplishing this build is giving me the confidence to attempt this kit later this year. A few years ago I attempted to build the Meng F-35 kit and what a nightmare. As expensive as the kit was, I eventually consigned it all to the recycle bin.
Keep the hits coming.
weighted wheels… is this a tail sitter?
Thanks for stopping by, Frank. I’m definitely deviating from the instructions on this one, because the order they have you do things in doesn’t necessarily always make sense. One more gotcha I found out about is the side panels for the weapons bays. They fit very nicely, but they are also kind of a flimsy part that is very easy to get slightly out of alignment when cementing them in place. They also lend to the rigidity of the whole fuselage, so until the cemented plastic re-hardens, that can ALSO throw things out of whack. Heh…maybe if I hadn’t deviated from the instructions for ease of masking/painting that part, it would have gone a little more smoothly. I guess I can’t fault Tamiya on that one.
Mr. Rabbit, thanks for stopping by. I’m not sure I understand what you’re asking.
A tail sitter = A model that is too heavy in the back so to get it to sit on its landing gear you have to weight the nose
I understand that, but how does that relate to the other part of your post about weighted wheels?
one of the pics you posted of aftermark stuff shows “weighted wheels” Ive never seen those before. Are they weighted to act as a counter weight for a tail sitter?
Oh!! Nope. Weighted wheels are made to have the slightly flattened bottom section that the tires on real aircraft do. They’re made to look like there is weight on them, rather than the magical zero gravity wheels and tires that come in most model kits. [H]
got it. Thankyou for the clarification 
Got the main gear wells detailed this past weekend, so I did another mockup with that assembly and the weapons bay.
Also started working on all the parts for the exhaust nozzle. The test fit on that went well like I was expecting it to. Got the Flory washes done on the ceramic white interior pieces, and gave those parts a final coat of MRP Super Clear Matt.
