Yes, it’s the Monogram kit! I
always wanted to take a plunge at an aggressor aircraft so here’s my first
example. The F-5E was the first aircraft that came into my mind since there
hasn’t been too many build ups of this sleek little aircraft. It was also a
break from my difficult F-18C project at the time. When Two Bobs released their
decal sheets for this bird, I just couldn’t resist. The one that tickled my
fancy the most was the “Blue-Gray Saints” release, because it offered the
splinter blue scheme…my favorite!
Cockpit:
I used the Black Box cockpit
set and all I have to say is WOW! The detail is a far cry from the
rudimentary cockpit offered in the box. I was also impressed with the
engineering and fit. It didn’t require much cutting, trimming, or sanding like
some of their other releases. It practically drops right in and fits like a
glove!
I painted the cockpit with MM
Dark Gull Gray (FS 36231) and hand painted all the details according to my
reference materials. The only part that posed a bit of a challenge was the
actuator mechanism, which is a very distinctive feature on an F-5. It was kind
of confusing at first, but I managed to figure it out after dry fitting several
times.
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Fuselage:
The kit, as you may know,
comes with raised panel lines so the first thing I did was to scribe all the
panel lines. The task wasn’t difficult at all since there are few panel lines
on this aircraft to begin with. That made the build a lot easier! The overall
shape of the kit is accurate, but requires slight modification for the specific
aircraft I chose to model. I picked up the Navy Update set from Cutting Edge to
fill this void. It’s a small set that includes the extended LEXs and a
platypus nose for the “Shark Nose” profile.
In addition, the
horizontal stabilizers are molded together with the fuselage so I cut them off
for easier painting and assembly. I drilled holes where the stabs pivot and
added steel wire so I can attach them later.
Painting:
The most challenging aspect
of this model was by far the paint scheme!! Thankfully, Two Bobs came to the
rescue and was kind enough to e-mail me some of the photos they took of Red 01.
Thanks again guys! A close up shot revealed that the splinter pattern on this
aircraft is actually feathered as opposed to a hard edge as I previously
thought. With that in mind, I had an idea how to represent that type of
feathered edge - more on that in a minute.
I preshaded the panel lines with
Tamiya Dark Gray and proceeded to paint my base coat after it was dry. In my
experience, I found that the easiest way to pull off any splinter paint scheme
is to use what’s called the “Reverse Mottling“ technique. I started
with MM Blue (FS 35109) as my base coat since it’s the top color then masked
off the camouflage patterns with Tamiya masking tape. That was grueling task!
Next, I painted the rest of the
model with MM Flanker Light Blue (FS 35190), the bottom color. After the paint
dried, I removed the all masking tape only to find hard edges. As a matter of a
fact, the model appeared toy-like at this point. To “scale” the paint to the
model, I thinned down some Flanker Light Blue and carefully sprayed the edges to
soften them a bit using my Tamiya HG airbrush. After a few attempts, I finally
got the paint to look the way I wanted so I shot a coat of Future to prepare it
for decals.
Finishing:
As I mentioned earlier, the
decals got me to build this model in the first place. As usual, Two Bobs decals
go on without any problems. Just one drop of MicoSet on each decal does the
trick. After the decals dried, I proceeded to apply an oil wash and set it aside
to dry. Then I shot a coat of Testors dull coat to seal the decals. Finally, I
added all the fine details like the landing gear, canopy, and pitot tube.
Conclusion:
Well …there you have it!
After 5 months of labor on this project, the results were satisfying. It’s
another great addition to my model collection and also gave me a chance to
really utilize my art skills as well as my construction skills. I really had fun
building this model from beginning to end and look forward to building another
one later. Maybe even the “F” variant next time? That would be cool!! The
lines on this aircraft are aesthetically pleasing not to mention the colorful
camouflages they wear. It’s a shame that the Navy has to retire them soon.
Additionally, the model has done well at local shows and even took a 3rd
place at the 2003 Nationals in Oklahoma City earlier this year. Sadly, my model
will also be retiring soon. Anyways ... I hope you all enjoyed it!
“The Virus” –
out…
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