Blues (Part 2) and Other Painting Quandries

Since my original quest for FS 35190 blue, things have changed a little in the paint world.  The only line to originally contain the color was Xtracolor.  I wasn't complete sold on the shade, and went with Humbrol 48 instead.  Since then, Vallejo has added the color, which didn't convince me either.  They have an immense line of colors, sometimes correlating two shades to one FS number, leading me to think they often generally approximate rather than determining the exact color.  (Interestingly 35190 is one of the few colors that Lifecolor never introduced (another immense line with multiple matches)).

Now, with the accelerate decline of the venerable Testor's Model Master line, I figured it was time to branch out to explore the emerging lines of new lacquer paint.  My first foray was to try Mr Paint.  They have a full range of FS colors, so I tried their 35190, along with 35109 and 35450.  The paint performance was phenomenal, but the color matches of all three were off to me.  I have yet to try some of their more basic colors, but a few more trials with be forthcoming.  Next, I moved on to try AK Interactive Real color. A more basic test of 36188 showed a good color match, although this brand is much thicker than MRP, resulting in a little less of a high performance rating.  The 35190 seems closer than MRP, and with a few drops of white, it seems quite close to a real match.  Part of the issue may be that real-world use of 35190 seems problematic - it appears to be one of those colors that fades faster than others in use and appears differently in alternate light than its color chip shows (and seems to appear even different in scale).

Finding a suitable make of 35190 has solved one problem, although its still leaves me asking questions about my current project, a NSWAC F-16B splinter.  All of the marking sheets have listed the light blue as 35190. This has been revealed as incorrect, with 35450 being the actual color, as the blue appears much lighter.  This can be seen in touch-ups as the Navy uses 35190, resulting in a three-blue camo. After building the jet in 35450, I'm more convinced that the actual color is 35190, but that it fades so fast into a lighter color, that any touch-ups appear as a different shade, as some photos of a cleanly painted jet suggest.  But, in practical appearance, the heavily worn Navy jets appear neither 35450 or 35190, leading me to think a heavily weathered model would have been best rather than the clean build I'm working on.

As for the larger paint situation, Model Master has drastically cut their line, with common colors such as 36118, 36270 and 34079 being discontinued.  The metalizers are gone as well, and on the acrylic side, common colors like 36375 are deleted.  This has been even more disconcerting than when they cut their Model Master II line.  Their 35109 was spot on, and I think I've bought the last few bottles remaining in on-line retailer stocks (and makes me want to search out all those unsold bottles sitting in the corners of hobby shops across the world). This latest reduction means that I'm forced to find new alternatives, with the top priority being color accuracy.  AK Real seems like the top contender (with a great selection of aggressors colors, some never done before), with MRP hopefully filling in some colors.  The next test will be Hataka, which also has numerous aggressor offerings and will hopefully be accurate.

Desert F-16

Looking at my first aggressor attempt, the results were less than acceptable.  Although its an old Monogram kit, the build did neither the kit nor subject justice.  So, time for a rebuild into a notable block 25 from Desert Storm.  84-1212 has been the USAFs only operational desert camo- and only for roughly a week until it was discontinued- in somewhat strange colors of FS 33711 and 33448.  Those rare colors were painted using their only version of Lifecolor .  The tail was replaced with Skunkmodels horizontal stabilizers and an Academy vertical stab, along with Hasegawa missile rails, pylons and bombs, Skunkmodel missiles, and detailed with Eduard and Quickboost parts and mixed Afterburner, Aeromaster, and Italeri decals

Clear

So, I am finally at the point of almost finishing something - when I realize I'm out of Acryl gloss. Seeing what else I have, I  try the Microscale gloss. It comes out quite thick and eventually frosts. that's a no go.  Testor's spray gloss and especially the high-gloss clears yellow, and as I'm working with a white subject that won't work.  I look at the bottle of Future, but it's starting to yellow and I don't want to risk that either.  I try Tamiya clear, but that's thick too and I can't get the mixture improved.  So, the next day I go find the last bottle of Acryl gloss in town.  It sprays on perfectly on the first attempt.  Nothing else works like it. Hopefully, I'll have something to post soon.

F-16XL

After a thirty year wait, we finally have the F-16XL in 1/48, thanks to Skunkmodels.  So far, the fit is less workable than I hoped, but in the end it might not be so bad.  Certain parts are certainly over-engineered, such as the tail, which creates extra seams to deal with. There are also some inaccuracies, such as the F-16C cockpit panel, and some strange choices for options such as the 12 Mk82 snake eyes, as the original test air-frame  carried 16 Mk82 slicks.   My first attempt at this kit will end up being the NASA version, before I tackle the USAF, and up-to-date versions. 

F-16A - Minnesota

Hasegawa F-16A done as a Block 15 ADF  flown by the Minnesota ANG Duluth from 1990-2003.  Added Black Box cockpit, Revell ADF parts and AIM-9s and Hasegawa AIM-120s and AIM-7s, along with AOA sensors and static dischargers.  Model Master paint and Superscale decals.

NASA F-16

Awful Ki-Tech kit made into the one of a kind NASA F-16A/C

Aggressor progress

I'm trying to get around to working on the line of 414th/64th aggressors.  While trying to sort the proper decals, I now notice that the Two Bobs reprint of the Fighting Fulcrums is printed in much lighter grays than the original.  I'm not sure why this was done as all the reference photos I have show the markings in the darkest gray possible (although not black like all the latest aggressors - the third wave paint schemes as I label them). So now I have to source darker markings to progress.

Blue Angels F/A-18

In anticipation of this month's Blue Angels performance in St Cloud, I rebuilt this F/A-18. Originally assembled in 1988 I completely stripped it and started over.  The only challenge being this is the original Monogram release, it is not as sophisticated as later releases.  Built out of box with Model Master colors.

NSAWC Viper #2

Finally, the latest Viper in the collection is done- Hasegawa F-16A with Two Bobs decals.

Here's the 2 NSAWC Vipers Together:

F-15E Strike Eagle

Here is my Revell F-15E, built around 2006, out of box, with added Hasegawa GBUs.

The heat is off, the airbrush is cleaned, and now its time to get some work done. The last two weeks have been spent rigorously researching F-16 blocks, and cross referencing them to my available kits. Now its serious bench time. First up is finishing the Navy Vipers.

Viper Mania

The last year has been an excellent one for F-16 modelers.

First Tamiya came out with their F-16C block 25 and block 50 versions. In many respects these kits surpass the Hasegawa kits in detail. They also include AIM-9X and AIM-120C missiles and ALQ-184 pods, as wells as towed decoys and LITENING pods, and have excellent markings.

Then Kinetic came out with their excellent F-16 kits, the first being the F-16AM. Despite some shape problems, this kit also has excellent detail. Its worth it alone for the weapons options. There is enough armament to arm 7-8 F-16s. There are 8 AIM-120s (B & C) and 8 AIM-9s (M & X), plus LITENING and SNIPER pods, and AGM-65 Mavericks, including the first release of the LAU-117 launcher. Additional stores are MK82s, JDAMs, CBUs, GBUs (2 types), and Penquin missiles.

Tamiya has continued by releasing an Aggressor/Adversary version including parts to make any block 30/32/42 including the rare WAR HUD. New stores include the ACMI pod, chin pods and the ALQ-188. The original parts form the AIM-120s, AIM-9s and ALQ-184 are still there. Markings are provided for the 3 current USAF aggressor schemes and a rare Navy Top Gun blue F-16N.

Adding these kits to my production line has greatly increased the range of F-16 variants in my collection.

Blues

Sometimes these blue colors can be really frustrating. Mixing the F-2 colors were bad enough, but I haven't been able to get the right look on the NSAWC F-16. 35190 is an elusive color. It is light, yet deep and vibrant. Xtracolor 15190 was too pale and a little greenish - like 35414. I'm now trying Humbrol H48 Mediterranean Blue - its close, but a little dark. Time for more mixing, 20% white looks right.

NSAWC Vipers

Today I Finally got back to my F-16 stash, to join in on the ARC Viper II group build. I'm building 2 Hasegawa F-16A's using Two Bobs decals, for one gray-camo Viper and one blue-camo Viper.

One note: I've seen several variations listed for the Navy's 3-tone gray scheme: 36320/36231/36081 (FSM) or 36375/36270/36118 (TB). I believe that the correct scheme is: 36375/36231/36081

EDIT: 5/7/09 - The Blue Viper is almost done, just when I thought I couldn't have any more problems on this build I got to the decaling stage. It seems that the Two Bobs decals are printed in the wrong color. The gray is way too light and should be 36320. When its applied to the camo, it stands out like a light. For this reason, I recommend the Fightertown or Hasegawa sheets of the same subject.

Aggressor Vipers

I received the Aggressor Vipers sheet from Afterburner Decals this week. It contains an amazing amount of effort and research dating back to the beginning of the Vipers' use as an aggressor in 1989. It contains marking for 16 jets. I'm not sure if they are planning a sequel sheet in the future. If not I wished that they has noted the various versions of the Flanker Scheme, the previous incarnation had the colors switched (as available on the Two Bobs sheet) and before that the "Flankers" wore camo on top with an all blue underside (35450). Also of note is their color for the Fulcrum Scheme. They list the 35164/36495 scheme, but I've only seen a few examples of this, with most jets having the lighter 35414/ 36495 version, as their own references show. I can't wait to get some of these done. Between this sheet, the Two Bobs sheet and the Hasegawa Fighting Fulcrum and Aggressor releases, I'll have plenty of available markings and I may even produce some of my own what-if variants.

Super Viper

This is my Japanese F-2A, finished after a few years of work. The colors were hard to match, I used Model Master 35183 for the lighter blue and mixed 35042 and 35102 for the darker and I'm pretty satisfied with the results. I added Revell AIM-7s with Two Bobs markings.

Nighthawk

Here's my Academy F-117, finished after 3 years of sitting on the bench. I added Eduard photoetch, then I realized Academy does not provide parts to open the canopy, so I had to make simple actuators out of styrene.

California F-16C

Here's a "remake" of the Hasegawa F-16C Block 25. After my original 1987 version hit the floor, I decided it was time for a complete teardown and rebuild. I finished it off with some Superscale markings of the California ANG 144th FW.