This project is looking goood.
Very nice work. Looking forward to the next processes. I sympathise about the “claw” repercussions!
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Blendcoat done! Back to practicing on a spoon to figure out how exactly I want to do the post-shading. I think I’m going to go down the path of oils. We’ll see.
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That sheen is perfect.
Did you use Tamiya paints?
Tamiya’s spray can primer, MRP black over that, and then MRP camouflage grey FS36170.
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Watching
Post-shading on the underside is done. Time to let this dry, hopefully for just a day, before I can safely flip it over and do the topside.
Here’s a comparison between no post-shading(top) and post-shading (bottom). It’s a laborious technique, but nothing in this hobby comes without dedication and time investment.
Here’s the finished post-shaded underside:
A direct side by side, but image compression will probably hide the effect.
Once all the post-shading is done, I’ll clearcoat, apply the decals, clearcoat again and move onto painting the RAM, which will get the same treatment.
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Is that rust on an aluminium undercarriage?
Are you sure they get rusty at all?
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That’s what it looks like to me. Not to mention according to Goodrich, the manufacturer of the landing gear, both the “A” and the “C” use 300M grade steel, while the “B” uses Aermet 100 steel.
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I’m no aircraft designer or builder, but I’m nearly certain aircraft landing gear is not aluminum. Usually steel.
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Got the post-shading on the topside done last night. I went a little heavier on the topside for two reasons, it’ll be more sun-faded than the underside, and after clear coating the test spoon in the HAVE GLASS metallic matte, the effect was somewhat muted and I want to make sure it shows through. I think this will balance out the underside nicely, which has now been gloss clear coated after letting the oils dry for two days. The timing works out well on the topside, as I’ll be away from the bench until Sunday.
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After a surprisingly long decal session, the HAVE GLASS special matte metallic clear from MRP is on and the F-35A is ready to be masked up for the secondary color. I fiddled with my polarizing filter on my camera to try and capture the metallic the best I could, but it varies a little from photo to photo - might have to snag a video of it on the turntable when it’s all said and done.
I’m very pleased with the metallic clear, I think it’s got the perfect amount of purple for my eyes. Not that there’s any one good reference photo to point at, because boy does this color change based on lighting and angles!
I did a light mist coat over the decals as a precaution and then went in with one solid wet coat. I think this worked out well, but if you desire a higher level of metallic you could always build it up in layers. I’d definitely recommend practicing on a spoon before trying it on the model itself if you choose to use this clear. I think it would be perfect for an F-22 as well, but shame there isn’t a kit to the level of the F-35 out there. One can hope.
Time to mask it up for the secondary RAM color. Past me saved future me some time and headache (but not money) by buying a pre-cut masking set. I knew I wasn’t going to opt for the decal route, but I think I would’ve lost my sanity cutting the masks by hand. Hopefully that doesn’t take too too long and then I can get onto painting the secondary color.
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I’d really like to see this in person one day.
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The highlights are very nice and subtle 
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Thank you! When I go to Nats eventually, I’ll definitely bring this. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it this year unfortunately.
Topside (minus the vertical stabs) has been masked. Very pleased with the Galaxy Model set; there were only a handful of areas that I needed to finesse, and the fixes were mindless. I’d highly recommend the set, and oddly enough I’ve quite enjoyed this process.
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Man thats a lot of masking
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Looks really good!
Here’s a pic of an F35A and my brother on right who just retired. His last aircraft was the F-35 ( F-104, F-4E/C/D/G, F-15A/B/C/D/E, F-117, F-16, & F-35A).
Make note of how smooth the surface is compared to what the kit manufacturers. I wish they had subdued the size of the panel thickness on this kit.
This is also the new grey tone paint.
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Hmm, good to know and glad I decided to sand down the “bumps” a little bit, but it looks like not nearly enough. I’ll keep that in mind for when Tamiya decides to make a “C” variant in 1/48th, I can’t imagine it’s long off.
Great pic! Crazy to see just how big this plane is even if it’s on the smaller side (compared to an F-15 anyway!)
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