Update 3: A Bit Of Colour | January 20 - January 25

Posted on January 25, 2016 by Niek Nijsen

I noticed I missed a bit in my previous update and thought I’d mention it here. I’ve had a good think about the static dischargers that are fitted to the F-16. I’ve bought the upgrade items from Model Masters, but didn’t’ really like how they attach them to the kit. After staring at photos for probably much longer than is considered healthy, I concluded that they are too small to fit directly. So instead I’ve added the original plastic bits to the wings, which will then house the new dischargers. They might be slightly oversized but I can sand them down if need be. The brass parts themselves will be fitted after painting to prevent me from snapping them off during construction.

As I mentioned in my previous update, I was waiting to get a hold of the parts lying around at my girlfriends place to finish the cockpit. Turns out that most of the gaps will be hidden from sight once the canopy is closed. Since the model will be displayed in flight, I guess that solves most of my fit issues. However, it will require a lot of repair work behind the seat where it should sit flush with the fuselage. Once I dry fitted the parts using masking tape to hold it in place, I added all the small pieces to the seat and cockpit. To be honest, I left off a few items since they’ll be hidden from sight and I think they’ll come in handy during a later project, so I put them in the spare box. The seatbelts will be fitted once the pilot is ready to go in as well. In order for me to get the pilot inside his office, I’ll have to chop off his feet. Guess he’ll become the first fighter pilot with his feet missing…

After putting the cockpit together, I shipped it all back to my place in preparation for painting. Determined to use acrylic paints for this build, I gave the Vallejo stuff another try after receiving some useful tips from you guys (thanks!). Found out that it works best for me at about 12-15 psi with 80% paint to ease the flow. First I sprayed every part with Mr. Surfacer 1200 as a primer. I then followed with Vallejo 71.055 “black grey” as a base coat. I was planning on using black, but after hearing Phil over and over again about not using pure black, I thought this would be a better option. The Dutch cockpit is painted mainly black to reduce glare for NVG use. Hence that my cockpit looks so dark. Once the black was done (no masking here, all free hand with very little overspray) I took a cocktail stick and started highlighting all the switches and buttons on the instrument panels. This was done using enamel paints, as I don’t have any acrylics besides the Vallejo Air range (which was too thin for the job). After letting this dry for a few hours, I used a small brush to add the Flory grey wash in all the panel lines to add a bit more depth to it all.

Later this week I’ll fit the cockpit to the fuselage and fill all the gaps with putty. Once that’s done I’ll upload another update to this build. After reading many of the other builds, I came to the conclusion that I would have to post regular (and shorter) updates to keep you guys interested.

Anyway, thanks for following and all your comments!

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