As a guy who's been in aviation for 15 years, plus I was a crew chief in the air force for 6 years and deployed multiple times in support of OIF and OEF, I can a confirm that aircraft are incredibly dirty, especially birds on deployment. Even civilian aircraft get really dirty.
I asked a coworker who maintained F 16s about his job and the thing that stuck out most was the Hydrazine used to start the engine in case of an emergency was so deadly if you saw the indicator notifying you it had leaked meant you probably would die shorty after exposure.
It's only fair you guys have a shout out too. You're doing a lot for smaller social media producers and getting them noticed. Leon was very excited when I told him he was mentioned. His channel should have more subs than mine
To a beginner, I would say that the Tamiya F-16 is one of your best bets for having zero seams visible (and certainly for one below $50). It is a very well-fitting model (like warm butter), and with some strategy you can manage the more obvious seams. First, the intake. Those interior seams are tough, but you can really only see the side seams on the first section. The rest can only be seen with a flashlight. So I recommend painting the four intake pieces white, then fitting the two front halves and two back halves together, work the seams you can reach, then put them together. Then you can attach the front intake exterior panels (with the landing gear bay frame if you are doing gear-down) and work down those outer seams. That can all then go into the model as one big piece. Next, as lightly mentioned in the video, you can join the two big upper halves and get a perfect seam there, and it may require removing the big locating tab Tamiya put there to get it perfectly dialed in. From there, it should be gravy. I would also skip the detachable fin assembly and glue it directly down, which will let you better work the seam around its base.
Excellent Viper! Having maintained Block 30, 40, and 50 jets for 22 years I feel I can almost get wrenching on your bird with some 1/48 tools! Well done!
Same here Rich ... A great representation ... I almost wanted to call MOC and schedule her for a wash rack visit though ... kinda ... Would have loved to have seen some zinc chromate green around some panel edges and along the leading edge panels and screw holes where the grey paint chips off, maybe even a inlet nav light "hot batch" sealant streak from changing bulbs between goes ... Awesome job Model Guy !
I love this guy. He doesn't just model but also explains about explains about their aircrafts history, and with such good detail!! I enjoy listening to him so much ☺
The interior of the airfix B5N1 Kate. It looked so good and the weathering was fantastic. But when putting the fuselage halves together couldn't see it. Raging but it pleasing to know its there.
When I built a f 35 I used some time on the engines with wires to give it a better look (I made the vtol version) and it looked amazing and I am so glad I did it!
One thing I always enjoy is the cockpit. Just finished a 1/72 Zero. Super detailed the cockpit and assembled with the canopy closed. But, I know it's there.
I do gloss coat before decals, not to prevent slivering, but to protect acrylic paint from being affected by decal setting/softening solutions. I had a bad experience once.
Well, for something I do in/for models that probably won't be seen is basically every interior, especially in heavy bombers like the B-17 and B-24😂. Also, great video, and the finished product looks amazing. Definitely a very underrated channel
A model I built that had a "waste of time" element was an old Apollo 11 model I built as a child in the 1980s. It had three astronauts molded into their seats. I took the time to make sure I painted them to make them look nice only to find out that they were glued into the capsule, and the capsule was glued shut. No one would ever see them.
Great build. 1:08 One clarification on the history is the HARM was never used in Vietnam. The Shrike and Standard ARM were used instead with the Shrike being employed way more often.
I may of misspoke. But the Wild Weasel mission did originate there. I have an F-4G in the line up that will go more into the development and the shrike etc
@@TheModelGuy I may have* misspoken*. Does it not occur to you that "miss of" makes absolutely no sense? Fascinating that your truly admirable attention to detail does not seem to extend to written language.
Nice jet! You've sold me on getting on myself. I did the full interior on the Airfix Shackleton of which none of it can be seen. I once took satisfaction knowing such details are there but now I see it as a waste of time and resources. I would rather focus my attention and efforts on what can be seen by the viewer.
Once again I really enjoyed this video. Great work and great execution. Working with oils is an aspect of my modelling that I still cant seem to get quite right but I suppose it's an excuse to buy more kits to practice on. Once again thankyou and take care.
Really nice build. Loved the mini lathe and knife. I have watched a number of videos on decaling without gloss coat. I think the main thing to prevent silvering is to make sure the paint is very smooth before applying the decal.
It definitely puckers up my butt hole when using my Dremel as a lathe. Stuff can potentially pop off, the worst being the blade. Even if your paint isn't super smooth, a clear coat won't help unless you soak it in clear.
I love to do cockpit detailing, but on older planes, when you close up the fuselage, even with the canopy open, you can'hardly see in there. But I know it's there! And also after Plasmo's insane 1/72 F-18 landing gear mods, I did some upgrades to my 1/72 Crusader and it was good.
I did a model of a 69 dodge charger a couple years ago, it was of very low quality so either things were poorly made or not there at all. Example, the fan on the engine was a 4 prop fan but it was so poorly made it basically had 3 blades and a stump. So looking back on an older model charger I had done 10 years ago that was falling apart and not really done well, I managed to salvage the fan which was of very high detail and had 5 props on it. With it being behind the radiator you don't really get to see it, but, I was grinning ear to ear when I put it together. Even managed to salvage the gas cap too. lol
Look's great! I'll be tackling the "C" version in the next week or two. I have a few of the Aires aftermarket resin set's for mine, I hope they fit okay...
About the dirt on planes, it depends....before VIP visits they get cleaned, early in life they get cleaned, before they fly off to an upgrade contractor they are cleaned. If the command is crazy about cleanliness they are always clean. If the command is more about op tempo, they are dirty. ANG units keep them cleaner too.
It’s a weird coincidence that the last 3 projects of yours, I’ve also done. Hien, P-47M and F-16CJ (1/72). I’m the Goofus to your Gallant in this case. Fun fact: the Pilatus PC-12 I used to fly had a bit of a HOTAS system as well.
@@TheModelGuy The PC-12 had pitch/aileron trim on the yoke hat-switch, as well as command bar sync. The rudder trim, TOGA and comm-switch were on the power control lever (throttle). Just a wonderful pilot’s airplane. I can’t say my CRJ9 has the same creature comforts but it’s still a great jet 🙃
@@TheModelGuy Hey! Sorry for the wait! Luckily for me, I never touched the 200, though I’m told the climb rate sorta peters out around 18K. I’m on the 7/900 and they seem to have fixed the issues the 200 had. They also added a FADEC system which is a lifesaver. Due to the pandemic passenger loads I’ve even managed to squeak up to FL410. Fun fact: The GE CF34 also features on the A-10 and S-3 Viking in military spec.
I don't even like the F-16 or - modern jets, for it - and enjoyed the full build video. About details that can't be seen, the woodgrain pattern and details on my high-winged gliders' cockpits when the wing gets attached over and aft of the cockpit. But, I know it's there ;)
Building the older Eduard Fw-190 A8's engine and then closing up the cowl. I was probably a little too inexperienced to tackle that kit, but I love the 190 and wanted to try a new manufacturer (and it was cheaper than Tamiya's offering at the time lol). That was about five or six years ago. I'm sure that if I try it again now, I would build it a lot better AND leave the engine cowl open.
@@TheModelGuy I'll have to check it out! I built the D-9 shortly after the A-8. That was an awesome build. Nice to see how the Viper turned out in this video! I know I'm a year late to it, but it's been fun watching you work.
The dirty plane thing is mostly the F-16 and F--15, even in Afghanistan they were pretty clean. The F-16's that escorted the Secdef into Bagram were dirty because they flew in all the way across Europe before that day and had been running training missions. So, I'd say that it depends on Op tempo.
I guess my still ongoing F-4E AUP conversion. It started in 2017 and is still ongoing as i'm still digging around for reference material to see what else I may need to add.
Gloss coats will protect white (or lighter colors) decals from bleed thru with bright background olors (think white decal over red, huge issue for model cars). Also, some setting solutions and paints do not get along which can cause problems. If you've got a system that works then by all means carry on, but be careful when trying new stuff. Nice job on the F16.
Wonderful build, I didn't think Tamiya made an A model from this mold series. As a former maintainer of the viper for 8 years, I can tell ya, I was wanting to put Safin pins on the jet, climb up into the cockpit, run a safe for maintenance, and check for malfunctions then check my systems for the next flight. Ever think of using a resin cockpit instead of the photoetch?
I love this type of feedback! I have looked at some resin cockpits but have found quite a few of them do not fit correctly from shrinking. I had an Aires set for a MiG-21 that shrank, Eduard FW-190 pit that had shrank and some other resin bits that were too small. At this point I’d 3D print some new switch panels so I could design and adjust as needed.
@@TheModelGuy my issue with 3d printing is that resin printing SLA is the way to go with that, and you still have shrinkage, kinda like jumping in cold water... Your fingers people... Sheesh. But you find the right resin, and the right settings and, there ya go. I've got an Elegoo Mars and an Ender 3 Pro, so far the Mars is my go-to for detail. And the Ender for things like stands and fiddly bits. With getting married a year ago we are still combining households so, I haven't played with them in over 18 months...Sheesh
@@EvilWill1 I was using a Photon Mono X and just had the second screen die within 100 hours of use. Anycubic won’t support it so I’m looking for a replacement. I’m seeing some guys get awesome egloo prints. I may find one
@@TheModelGuy two hours into using my first resin printer, can't even remember the brand, the auto level failed, the bed came down, the bed continued through the screen. The FEP held through the glass and metal. But that was fun explaining... Money back, bought the Elegoo instead.
I have the F-16 as die cast models, a nice die cast model I bought at toytown. I like this jet a lot besides the other air forces of the world. 🤩👍🤗😁😊😀⭐🌟🌠🇺🇲🇮🇱❤️
I'll build both, but warbirds have a special place in my heart because that's what got me hooked on aviation and history. I do have a 1/32 CF-18 that's going to make an appearance at some point this year. Hopefully.
I love watching videos like this, but after them i feel bad about my own models for their lack of details like wear. And that bad feeling prevents me from watching videos about model making :((
There’s nothing stopping you! Get industrial earth, starship filth and dust oils and a mule to practice on! You’d be surprised how fast you’ll get better with more experience
Hey there ! I love the build of this lovely viper and am stunned of how realistic it looks! I just wanted to ask where u got the golden sheet from, which you used for the shading Under the grey colour?
@@TheModelGuy thanks mate! I was looking for the original Tamiya Set, but that is out of production. So then I have to go with the big set from the Czech boys. Big thank you and keep building your superb models.
I built the Miniart Su-122 with full interior. And none of it can be seen after it's built. That's a full engine bay, transmission, crew compartment and everything. And only bits of the crew compartment can be seen through the top hatches. Shame, as the work I did on the interior is some of the best I've done!
Tamiya kept it simple with their nozzle and a resin one is worth the money. The kit nozzle is based on an earlier block 50 and mine is built as a block 52.
The two biggest waste of time's I've had on aircraft kits - fitting the Eduard photo-etch to the interior cabin of a Shackleton and attempting to fit the interior photo-etch to a Eduard (Hasegawa) 1/48th Scale Hawker Typhoon IB Profi-pack (utterly pointless as the cockpit is so dark, add to that an overscale photo-etch seat & ill fitting/warped resin).
What do you with your canopy after you paint the plane? I can't see any masking on it and you basically treated it with paint but at the end there are no traces of paint on it? Do you clean it always afterwards or what's the magic?
I’m not sure I understand the question. I mask the canopy, paint the interior colour first and then the outer colour. Any paint that gets through I clean off with a tooth pick
Honestly icm's mig-25pd, got ALL the extras, met details exterior, intake, short barrel exhaust, eduard cockpit, exhaust pe fans, closed up the landing doors, adjusted the intake lips and variable ramps, with all that said the kit was an absolute fit and finish nightmare! The nose and intakes didnt line up on the inner brace, they were off centered, the sides for the fuselage had 3mm gaps, the tail wang had a monster ridge and gap, the wings had 1-2mm gaps and a 1-2mm ridge at certain spots. It was an abomination that turned me off of icm's kits altogether.
I’ve been burned three times by ICM fit. On their Kadet and Tiger Moth the upper wings do not fit with the spars being too short. The JU-88C engines do not fit into place either.
I build hobbyboss 1 72 rafale doing the same thing to the wheel bay, adding few cable on the landing gear and adding small antenna for the updated version and what not and all of it is barely visible especially the wheel bay because its a 1 72 kit 😂
well i like painting tanks with heavy weathering that got toned down almost everywhere so... about 90% of the weathering is about pleasing myself, i think.
It's called dry brushing. You dip a brush in the paint and then wipe off as much as possible on a shop cloth/paper towel. Then when you stroke it on the cloth and it's barely leaving any paint you can then brush the panels.
Eduard resin shrunk? Color me surprised, not! Every brassin item I'ver ever bought is shrunk. The worst one was the exhaust for the Tamiya F-16CJ. They're over 2 mm too small. In DetailScaleView youtube channel in one of november tours of Eduard offices you can hear some of the most baffling explanations, no action to remedy a flaw and disregards towards the usability of their products. When they toured the brassin manufacturing they're showing the masters and among the things talked in the video is the masters go down 4 generations of mold making and copying for the pieces they use for mass production. They also acknowledge that all silicon and resin shrinks, but they don't do any compensation in their designs because their justification is that it shrinks at different rates depending on the shape of the part. The problem is that after 4 generations from master to mass product, taking a best scenario using high quality silicon and resin that's over 5% shrinkage from a master of a given size. So an exhaust with a 24mm diameter in their masters which would probably fit the kit perfectly ends up being 22.8mm in the items being sold leaving a noticeable 1.2mm step. Same for other exhausts where dimensional accuracy is required for the resin to mate with the plastic. Not so much for their weapons, most of them are good since you don't notice it that much, except a few where the fins don't fit the slots in a longitudinally shrunk missile boddy same for their MERs which are so shrunk longitudinally that you can't hang even their own bombs at the front and back of the rack without obstructing each other.
You're still entitled to your opinion. It is valid and no one can take it from you. I've used that phrase a few times and this was the first time someone wasn't impressed with it. I doubt we'll see an uptake in kids sniffing glue from one video alone. But like I said, personally I make sure I'm around my kids on RU-vid so I can explain something is a joke. Most glues don't have a strong smell now anyways. Except for Tamiya Extra Thin.
I feel like making engine details is a waste of time every time. Kinda same with cockpit details. Yet, I still buy those resins to have it all detailed up...
Bruh, I watch rhe videos to learn how to build models not the history of the jet. Dont say then turn down the volume because.... then I may miss out on some good building tips....thanks