StuartMont

Thanks for the reply Ron, I’ll look into this as well. Stuart

Thanks for the link, I’ll take a look. I only searched 1/350. Stuart

Good morning, I am currently starting to put the deck markings down. I intend to use parallel stripe decals for the appropriate markings. However, does anyone know if there are large decals for the “65” on the deck? I do not have the steady hand needed to mask/paint the numbers. I found 1/350 decals for the model but the largest 65’s are only 14mm tall. These have to be about 37mm tall. My search has been otherwise unsuccessful but I’m hoping I just don’t know where to look. Thanks in advance for your help Stuart

Very impressed you had that kind of forethought. Thanks for the explanation.

Beautiful model Gil. I’d like to ask why you painted the bands first? Also, how quick is quick? Stuart

Thanks very much Gil. I appreciate the comment about the decals, those included with this model went on better than most I have built. The advice about the seams is duly noted, I honestly never thought to do that here. I’m always looking for comments/critique on this forum but competition is all internal for me, just trying to make the next one look better than the last. Thanks again for weighing in!! Stuart

Good morning, the F-35B is complete and ready to display on my shelves. Thanks for taking a look and as always, any comments are welcome. I’ve still got plenty of ways to improve and your critiques help that quite a bit. Stuart

Very cool looking Gil. The blue, red and green colors really catch my eye and the usual incredible finish is awesome. That is something that I am finding very hard to do right, it is quite impressive. I have a 1/32 Sabrejet waiting that I would love to paint the same colors. Any chance you can share the specific colors you used and I can look for acrylic equivalents? That would look really cool on my shelves. Stuart

Good morning. I finished construction of the underside of the plane and have added all of the stencils and markings there. In the review of this model the reviewer noted that he flat coated all of the decals. Does this mean you take a mat clearcoat and just paint the individual decals? The last photo is taken from the Tamiya instructions. As you see, it says to leave off the bombs in the vertical landing option. I also left off the external missiles, but am now wondering if I should put them on. I did include the missiles inside the weapons bay. Anybody have any thoughts on that? would love to hear any comments or critiques.

Thanks very much Jean-Marc!

Here is a photo of the current progress.

Thanks for weighing in Dave and for pointing me to your review. I am just about finished the weapons bay and unfortunately all of that work I did on painting the interior is very difficult to see. But you can see some detail if you hold it at the correct angle. I think I said so in an earlier post that I really need to plan ahead better. I painted a lot of surfaces that are hidden. Oh well, great practice for me. The point in your review about extra parts is well taken. I started off assuming the "parked" alternative but mid-stream noticed that all of the intake doors, etc. were closed (obviously, right!). Well I didn't like that so I changed to the "vertical landing" alternative thinking no harm no foul since I was still in Part I. Well, unfortunately when I got to the front landing gear detailing in Part II I noticed that I had already installed the "parked" gear before I changed my mind. Oh well, no one will know but you guys when I post updated photos. When I bought the model I noticed the use of the lacquer paints and I considered using them but only for a moment. Despite Tamiya's "caution" in the instructions I opted to use the acrylic equivalents of all of the colors that were specified otherwise. Ventilation issues and laziness regarding cleanup are the only reasons I can offer. In your review you noted that you added and flat coated the decals after you "glossed the kit". Any chance you could add more detail here? Stuart

What an incredible model Chris. The entire display is obviously museum quality. Do you give lessons😀😀

Thanks Chris, I had to hold my brush hand with the other one to stop the shaking 😀 but I’m very happy with the outcome. Thanks for weighing in. Stuart

Thanks very much Chris, practice would have been a good idea here. I’ll keep building and hopefully improving! Appreciate your weighing in. Stuart

Thanks for the reply Gil, always helpful with information and modeling alternatives. I’m going to plow forward and build according to the instructions and display it on the stand in “beast” mode, Tamiya’s term, not mine. Stuart

Wanted to post an updated photo in order to pose a question. The engine and main landing gear are in place now and soon I’ll be working on the weapons that are installed in the large weapons bay. I’m hoping someone can help with a question I have to ensure “accuracy”. I’m displaying the model in vertical landing mode so the weapons bay doors would be open, showing all of the work involved in painting it. I’m assuming Tamiya got this right, i.e. when the pilot lands this plane he opens the weapons bay doors. Here’s my question, and I hope it’s not a stupid one. Would a pilot land the plane like this with the weapons still in the bay? In fact, what about the weapons under the wings? Thanks in advance for weighing in. Stuart

Interestingly, I did “attempt” to use floral wire to rig my 1/32 Kadet without using holes. It was very difficult to get the lengths exact and trying to glue in place created a lot of stress 😀 Also, making sure that parallel wires ended up that way was basically impossible (for me). Ultimately I left the rigging unfinished. There’s no question, hindsight being 20/20, that holes would have been the better bet unless you really have the experience and skill to do this without them. Stuart

Thanks for the detail Gil. I can’t really tell, and I’ve never built one, but it seems like the resin fuselage pieces are very thick. Therefore, getting the angle right would be more critical or fit would be quite difficult, correct? Perhaps you don’t go all the way through? Stuart

That is a beautiful model Gil! Question: Do you drill holes at each end for installation of the flying wires? If so do you do so prior to assembly and how do you control the angle?

Hi Gil. I’m going to display it on the provided stand. Hopefully you’ll be able to easily see the underside.

Good morning, I have finished Part I of this model, there are three choices to finish it and I picked the “Vertical Landing” option so that all of the detail painting will be visible. One of the first pieces of advice when I started this was to not paint anything hidden. With this model I’ve learned that this rule takes some significant pre-work to really figure out what will not be visible in the finished model. Tamiya makes no effort to highlight this. Thanks very much for looking, any and all comments are much appreciated.

That is a beautiful model, good luck at the convention. I’m far from an expert but that looks like “best of show” to me 😀 Stuart

Thanks very much Jean-Marc!

Thanks for responding Gil, always great to hear advice on how to improve! Too much paint on the brush in this case I think. I’ll look into the use of chalk powders. Stuart