Yaks ‘century series’ in 1/48 part 4 - the Lockheed F-104C Starfighter

[Guest]

Just came across this, that I think is of interest as well:

[flyjoe180]

Looking good Tony

[yak face]

Hi Tony
Looking very good. For such an old kit it doesn't look bad. I notice the fuselage is joined along the sides rather than along the top and bottom. Does that have any advantages?
Jim

Not normally Jim , its sometimes easier if an aircraft is a flatter shape ( think tomcat , f15 , f111 ) but in this case I think they did it so the wings ,being part of the top fuselage section , have the correct anhedral . The obvious disadvantage of this method though is the tricky joint on the fuselage sides.

[yak face]

Made a start on the metal colours . The rear fuselage has had a dark band sprayed on and a lighter , dull silver behind this . These areas will be further weathered later to give the heat stained effect . This area will now be masked off ready for the main fuselage colour , which will be a bright aluminium . I used the excellent Vallejo Metal Colors , which go on superbly over a gloss black primer , and are very tough once dry , which doesnt take long at all . For example the dark band was dry enough to mask over after about an hour ! The other thing about these us they dont really change colour when glossed over like some other metallics do . To help me remember what they look like and to differentiate between them I sprayed them onto a piece of wood that had been primed gloss black .

[Steven000]

Have fun with the aluminium paint Tony!
I always try to avoid aluminium schemes since it's not that easy to get to look right :thumb2:... looking forward to the next steps.
Steven

[Defiant911]

Watching with interest as I have three model aircraft all potentially in aluminium so look forward to the end result on this.
looking great so far.
carl

[adt70hk]

Great work so far Tony.

ATB.

Andrew

[yak face]

Have fun with the aluminium paint Tony!
I always try to avoid aluminium schemes since it's not that easy to get to look right :thumb2:... looking forward to the next steps.
Steven

I used to do the same steven , i could never get the finish I wanted . I tried Vallejo model air metallics - sprayed great , looked great but didnt stand up to handling or masking very well , and a clear protective coat altered the colour too much . I had a very brief go with Alclad - smelt terrible and just couldnt get the hang of them , used half a bottle trying to get decent coverage on a pair of tailplanes - if i had carried on and done the whole aircraft i would have used about another three bottles!! I know plenty of people swear by the stuff but it just didnt suit me at all. Then i tried the Vallejo Metal Colors .
Easy to use , great coverage ( misted on in a few thin coats , dont be tempted to try and get coverage all in one go) and very resistant to handling and masking . Their clear gloss doesnt alter the colour too . One thing I have found though is their black gloss primer is a bit thin , i now use UMP ( ex badger stynlrez ) black gloss as a base coat as it covers better . I suppose any black gloss will do . Hope this helps cheers tony

[Steven000]

Thanks for the help Tony! I have their 'aluminium' metal color but not yet used it in the airbrush for projects like this, mostly brush-work, will give it a shot in a future project :thumb2:
Cheers,
Steven

[Andy the Sheep]

Just came across this, that I think is of interest as well:

A pilot told me that that peculiar howl of the 104 was called, in the ITA AF, "the tax-payer howl", considering the fuel consumption rate of the J79. :smiling3:

[yak face]

Got the main colour on tonight , just drying nicely now . Next is a top coat of varnish , gloss for the fuselage and a matt for the titanium tail section ,which will then be having some burnt metal effects applied .

[yak face]

Unmasked , Just a few areas that needed a touch up . I decided the dark band on the rear fuselage was too dark so i gave it a lighter coat . The rear fuselage section has now been matt varnished ready for the burnt metal effects to be applied ( eye shadow!) as they stick better to this surface.

[flyjoe180]

Great natural metal work Tony. Your eye shadow weathering work has resulted in very nice effects in the past, look forward to seeing them on the F104 :thumb2:

[boatman]

Tony this is lookin great as the starfighter is one of my fav aircraft an its a pity that it got that horrible nickname the widow maker an your metal paint schemes is looking very realistic brilliant build so far :thumb2:
chris

[yak face]

Finally started the decals last night . I knew the Monogram decals might be a bit troublesome due to their age - past experiences with them breaking up spring to mind - but they werent bad at all in that respect . I thought i would try a test first so got the red line decal that goes on the airbrake , if it went tits up then it would be an easy fix . The decal came off the backing paper eventually but like the RF84 Thunderflash i did a while back ,the decal was covered in an opaque milky glue . It even says on the back of the decal sheet that they may appear milky but will dry clear. Being a natural metal finish I wanted the carrier film to be as invisible as possible so I just couldnt risk the milky effect not clearing. Solution? As with the Thunderflash , i had to soak every decal till it came off the paper , then leave them submerged for a good while to soften the glue and scrub off all the glue with a paintbrush and plenty of water. The decals were then fixed by laying onto wet Klear ( johnsons not the Humbrol rubbish ) Needless to say this took ages but eventually i got them all on and this morning the carrier film is barely visible .