1/48 Hasegawa F-22 Rollout

[Janissary]

Hi everybody. I have not found this aircraft particularly good looking but now it's now growing on me. I have been inspired by these:

F-22 test1

F-22 test2

F-22 test3

I have previously asked about the green paint and got some very good ideas:

Color inquiry

The floquil NYC Jade Green I think is a great match! I just ordered this and I am waiting for it to arrive.

I will be using the Hasegawa kit. The surface details are too pronounced as noted by many other reviewers. I will try to remain oblivious to that, but I know it's always there. Perhaps the masking and color changes across these patterns will help subdue that impression. The main weapon bay will be closed. The aux. bays will be open. The pilot will also be seated. So far I am happy with the kit so it looks to be an OOB.

I am now working on part cleaning and sub assemblies now. I am particularly impressed by the part fit. It really is good. Almost like the Tamiya F-16, almost. I think the engine intakes require some attention, so I will take my time there.

[TaiidanTomcat]

The floquil NYC Jade Green I think is a great match! I just ordered this and I am waiting for it to arrive.

I agree, and thank you for linking to your original inquiry. I have been curious about that color myself! such a great looking color.

[foxmulder_ms]

I am going to build the "last plane", too :) Probably, it will take around a year for me to complete it though, I am a sloooow builder. Let us know how the jade green color look when you have a chance.

[trekracer20]

Your F-16 was incredibly well done, so I'm really looking forward to watching your progress on this one, not least for the interesting paint scheme. I've seen a couple other attempts at primer-only birds that haven't quite hit the mark for me, and I'd love to try one myself at some point. Can't wait to see what's in store!

[Qian]

You sir are a machine! Your F-16 was really impressive and I look forward to no less on this F-22!

[Aggressor Supporter]

This will be a very interesting Raptor build in that primer finish. Will be following.

[HOLMES]

You sir are a machine! Your F-16 was really impressive and I look forward to no less on this F-22!

+ ONE

[Janissary]

Thank you guys for your support. I have been working on a few things. First, I would like to share my recent experience with Winsor&Newton's artists' painting medium. Many might already be aware of this product but I just discovered this for myself and I am excited because of its results. I read online that it helps with the flow and serves like a retarder. I have had lots of issues with testors enamels in the past especially at low pressures for shading. So I was compelled by what I read. What a difference it makes! I am very impressed by how much it helps with the flow and smooth coverage. I have tested this on a number of paints including floquil, testors enamels, testors metalizers, tamiya primers etc. (see the pic below). These were all diluted with lacquer thinner. I now add a little bit of this artists' medium and the performance out of the airbrush is remarkable to me. I even tried this with testors dull coat and gloss coat, and it works equally well.

In the past I tried everything from lacquer thinner, to testors' own enamel thinner, to mineral spirits. There were no problems with general airbrushing, but when it came down to fine painting like toning and shading, these paints always had a tendency to dry-spit at the airbrush tip, and was unpredictable. It surely gave me a lot of grief. I was in the process of phasing out my enamels and instead using tamiya and gunze acrylics. Now, I have a new found interest in these enamels.

This artists' medium seems to keep the paint 'oily' and wet, and helps with the flow. For those who have used Mr. Color leveling thinner, it has a similar effect in that when the painting is done, the paint residue inside the airbrush cup wall remains so soft and wet. You can quickly clean the side walls with a quick swipe of an old tshirt. At the end, it does prolong the drying time a little bit, but I think that is well worth it given the smoothness of the results.

I am testing Floquil NYC Jade Green as well as some browns including H310, Tamiya flat earth and deck brown. I was impatient with masking so the peel offs are my fault.

Interestingly, my camera cannot focus on the Jade green all that well (fails to find detect an appropriate focusing distance). I think it might have to do with the brightness of this color. I am not sure.

For the front IP, I used the kit decals, then covered each with Michael's iridescent film. I used future to set the film in place. I also did some dry-brushing and applied a wash using Tamiya smoke diluted with water.

The cockpit was primed, painted and dry-brushed. I picked the buttons and then applied Tamiya smoke again to the side consoles to create a tonal difference relative to the rest of the cockpit. The iridescent film has an interesting effect (the impression changes with the viewing angle) but I think it looks a little too pronounced. I'd imagine on the real plane these panels are extremely subdued especially when the engines are off. Not using the decals and instead just filling the displays with a drop of future would have been better I guess.

I also made many mistakes it seems: ejector pin marks at the back of the cockpit, crooked IP decal at the bottom, smeared red button on the left side etc. I hope the seat and the canopy will hide some of these mistakes.

Edited February 4, 2012 by Janissary

[nicely11b]

This is looking great so far!

[foxmulder_ms]

Jade Green looks like to be the color, cool :) me orderz one :D

[Janissary]

Hello, a few shots from the current progress. There is some intricate configuration design inside the fuselage with the bays, intakes, gear wells, connectors etc. The fit is quite clean and there have been no major issues. I dry fitted the intakes and the upper fuselage and seems like there won't be major problems. I also tried to scribe some panel separation in the exhaust based on another modeler's build I saw a while ago.

I don't plan to add any plumbing to the weapons bay or the gear well. They are already pretty good, but I have seen others really do a fantastic job further detailing these.

Many many parts (only a few shown) to be painted in white. I use Tamiya white surfacer as a primer, followed by Tamiya gloss white.

For those who plan to build this kit later, I suggest that you don't attach the pressure tank-like pieces (I don't know what they are) to the main gear wells the way the instructions call for. I made that mistake and they got in the way while dry fitting the upper and lower fuselages. I thus removed them and stripped the paint. Once the fuselage halves are put together, those two pieces can go in later.

Overall, it has been an uneventful build. I even tried the intakes and they too seem to be fitting pretty well. I have to say this may be the best engineered Hasegawa kit I have got my hands on (granted, I don't have many builds under my belt). I think the excitement will be during the painting and weathering stages.

Edited February 24, 2012 by Janissary

[utley]

The color is very close. I like!

I can get you some of the tape they put on the aircraft if you want...I wouldnt worry about getting those colors right, and you can cut it and use it on the seams they use it on while on test flights.

[JesniF-16]

Great looking cockpit. That is one neat lookin F-22, can't wait to see what you can do with the paint job.... I saw your F-16D it was awesome

Also thanks for the painting medium tip, I use enamels and it does sputter, mostly when I'm using WHITE.:D

[Gary F]

Nice work, Janissary, as usual

How exactly is the Artist's Medium used ... is it a straight replacement for the lacquer thinner, or is it added to the paint which is already thinned with lacquer thinner?

Also, is the idea that the Medium gives a smoother finish?

thanks

[B777_Nihad]

Hi All,

Does anybody know if there is another brand that makes the jade green paint andis available in europe (holland to be exact)? Can't seem to find the Floquil NYC Jade Green

locally and getting paint shipped seems almost impossible.

I really love this idea of making the plane in the roll out color not yet painted.

Wanted to make a F15 like this seen some pictures of one made made by another builder (sorry cant find it anymore so dont know who made it) but for the F15 cant find any pictures of it in roll out colors just 1 or 2.

Also read that academy made an upgraded version with the nose corrected is that true? or is het best to stick with hasegawa?

Thank you.

Nihad

Edited February 26, 2012 by B777_Nihad

[Janissary]

Hi guys, let me try to answer your questions.

- For the artists' medium: I use it mostly as a retarder. I first put lacquer thinner in the airbrush. That serves as the main solvent/thinner. Then, I dip a toothpick in the artists' medium, let the excess few drops drip off (the liquid is somewhat thick, like machine oil), and then stir the lacquer thinner with the toothpick. Whatever is left on the toothpick from the medium is usually enough, so it amounts to 2 or 3 drops in the lacquer thinner. I then add the paint, seeking skim milk consistency. The rest is the usual.

I have found that the AM helps keep the paint 'wet and oily.' For me, it helps a lot with the flow out of the airbrush. Also, the paint seems to land more smoothly, without the dusty finish that sometimes happens with lacquer thinner. I have observed the biggest advantage with MM enamels applied at low air pressure (for shading, detail work etc.). In the past, no matter what I did, MM enamels had a tendency to spit/sputter at low pressures. So, I never had the courage to do shading with these enamels so instead I was limited to Tamiya and Gunze acrylics (they worked fine). Just to let you know, I always used MM enamel thinner, thinned the paint highly etc. Even in those cases I would run into problems. Now, with the AM, I don't seem to have those problems. However, I don't want to sound too enthusiastic. I recognize everybody's experience might be different.

- NYC Jade Green: I have seen Pollyscale acrylic version of NYC Jade Green, and that seems to be more readily available. I just wanted to avoid Pollyscale acrylics as my previous experience with them were not great. Nihad, I recently attempted an all-primer F-15, maybe that could be the model you saw? If you are planning for a 1/48 F-15E, I would definitely recommend the Revell kit. It really is good. However, for C or D, I think Hasegawa is the best. For K, Academy as this option but I read some issues with the wing roots etc so I stayed away from that.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Janissary

[Youngtiger1]

Nice choice of color scheme. I really like how your F-15 turned out and this too will be another grand slam!!! :D

Mike

[B777_Nihad]

Janissary,

Yes this is the F15 I was talking about and its yours great job on that plane love it.

I have collected alot of pictures about the F22 and which version to build.

Also read alot about the diff. between the diff. companies. and aftermarket parts just the jade paint might become a problem to find for some reason just cant get it send over.

Maybe online shops have descided no paint and glue shipping.

Would also 1 day love to make the F15 in its roll out colors do you have a source with pictures of the F15 in roll-out colors? or a place with some more close up pictures?

Seeing your F15 your F22 will be another great looking plane.

Nihad

[Janissary]

Hello, I have been working on a few more things. The grooves on the tires are normally lost to sanding. I tried to bring them back with the saw and UMM scriber. I use styrene sheets to create multiple height levels for the saw, and spin the tire against it using my fingers.

For the intakes, I used white latex paint. To get the length required, I poured into another container, wrapped tape around the intake, and carefully submerged the intake until the white rises to about 2/3 of the length (you can see that on the outer side of the intake). In the real pictures, I saw that the white actually comes pretty close to the front end, so mine is not accurate.

Unfortunately, the curved intake prevents the turbine faces to be visible (only a small portion is visible from the front).

By extending the tape beyond the rear end, pooling of the white paint can be somewhat eliminated.

Washing the white parts takes some effort. Once the wash is applied, I have to use some enamel thinner, a firm brush, lots of q-tips etc. to control the amount of wash that is left. You can see some parts that are cleaned and some parts that are awaiting cleaning.

Washed and cleaned wheel well and aux weapon bay. The details on the wheel wells are quite nice.

Edited March 9, 2012 by Janissary

[Janissary]

Hello, some small progress. The part fit has been good so far, with some minor need for fillers. I used surface primer, melted plastic and even enamel paint for this purpose. Excess enamel paint can be cleaned with mineral spirits without removing the acrylic paint underneath.

I used sheet styrene to seal up the seam lines around the exhaust.

[TaiidanTomcat]

That was a smart fix!

[Honza K.]

Very good job men. I like it.

[Janissary]

Thank you guys! Honza, so nice to see you back. I miss your builds! I wish you did another F-14 or F-4 sometime soon.

Some progress before painting. To give some strength, I added some guitar wire to the base of the verticals stabs.

MLG and weapons' bay prior to masking.

I cleaned and rescribed some raised panel lines. I did'nt do this for all such lines, just a few I chose to experiment with rescribing. I used the UMM scriber, razor saw and some dymo tape. After sanding the burrs, cleaning and washing with hot water, I touched the lines with Tamiya extra thin cement to iron out any imperfections.

Light sanded the entire body, deepened all rivets with a pin in a pin vice. Also masking took sometime.

Filled some small gaps using MM enamel paints.

Edited April 1, 2012 by Janissary

[Janissary]

One more shot of the masking process.

Finally some primer! I tried to apply the primer rather lightly, so some under colors are showing through. I used Mr. Surfacer 1200, mixed with MM gray primer, all thinned with Mr. Hobby levelling thinner. There is something I like about MM primer, so that's why I added it to the mix.

[Janissary]

I decided to use an Aim-9X, even though I understand raptors do not use it. I read somewhere that 'x' can be mounted, but the aircraft is not currently capable of firing them or something (?)