Italeri 1/72 F-35 B Lightning II

[boatman]

HI Chris i see an accident again more blood flowin oh dear an i had a little accident yesterday as my over head light has a hot halagen light in it an when i was working on makin a bit for my tiger an the light was very nr my head well smelt a horrible smell only to find my hair had court fire from the light heat now im nr bald lol
chris

[Guest]

Are you ok?! That sounds painful!

Mine is the smallest of pin pricks; I’m being intentionally hyperbolic, but setting fire to yourself is something else!

Did you seek advice from John R?

[papa 695]

Some nice fixes to your little problems Chris, and the work is looking very good.

[boatman]

Are you ok?! That sounds painful!

Mine is the smallest of pin pricks; I’m being intentionally hyperbolic, but setting fire to yourself is something else!

Did you seek advice from John R?

HI Chris yes it was a might painfull but the missus rubbed some cream on it an i dont think i lost to much hair as i dint have much in the first place lol an so far no blister as i caught it quick an patted the flames out an :thinking:askin J/R he'd just fan the flames as he loves them that much lol:face-with-head-bandage::rolling::smiling:
chris

[Guest]

Some nice fixes to your little problems Chris, and the work is looking very good.

Thanks Ian!
I fully expected to balls it up, so am pleased I didn’t do a terrible job...so far!

[boatman]

AN yes Chris your model is lookin good will it show the lift fan or will you fit the hatch closed ? but whatchout for scapels an such like like im now aware of havin the bloomin light to close
chris

[Guest]

You’ll be able to see everything!

[yak face]

Great progress chris , and top work reinstating the details on the exhaust. Cheers tony

[Guest]

Having finished my previous project, the Fairey Swordfish, I have a clearer bench and some time to really get on with this.

I finished up the work on all the fixes and reprimed this morning and there was only one thing I was unhappy with. This:



What an absolute bag of spanners. So I set about working out how I might improve it.


I remembered fairly quickly that this kit comes with an alternative straight exhaust, so I had a donor.




So I split the exhaust to be corrected and did what I should have done; sanded the mating faces truly flat, then started chopping out the areas to be replaced.




Using some of my standard tools I started to remove and shape the donor parts.




I ended up with this:




I cleaned this up and squared the edges as best I could. The donor parts had to be made out of two pieces because inexplicably the nozzles are different lengths. I did this in two sittings today but forgot to take photos, but this is how it looks after priming.



MUCH better.

Next up will be white painting and more work on the internals.

[scottie3158]

Chris,
That is a superb repair mate.

[Guest]

Very good fix for what seemed like a good fix before painting

[Guest]

Thanks chaps!

I was in two minds about whether to sand the whole thing smooth to avoid major surgery and potentially rendering the thing unusable, but I’m glad I did it and patience was key.

But....sooooooo much effort for a single little bit that is unlikely to be seen very often!

More surgery required later on the stabilisers...but that should be it.

[stillp]

Great recovery Chris.
Pete

[Guest]

A small progress update.

Although the kit is made well and the parts fit very well, the instructions are a little less well thought out, particularly as far as consideration for painting goes.
The instructions show to fit sidewalls to the lower fuselage and then fit the engine and exhaust, which will obscure this area once assembled. It's not unusual for me (or anyone I suspect) to deviate from the instructions but I felt it worth highlighting that these instructions need a little extra examining than some others I have recently used.





This is where I am at with the area around the exhaust. From image searches this area appears to be white.




All the bays and intakes / exhausts painted and washed.




Wheel wells and struts painted and washed. The intakes were painted in white and then assembled and when I dry fitted to the fuselage I realised the parts now in black should be light ghost gray :tired:, which I thought I had but don't! So an order with SMS placed and progress stalled until this arrives. I'll paint the grey then mask and rewhite.




Here's the engine assembly all painted, washed and treated to a dark steel pigment. It's a shame that almost none of it will be visible.




Once the grey arrives I'll be able to finish the internals painting and assemble everything.

[Swagman 070]

Looking great Chris.