F-2A - Crawlling onwards towards the cabinet

She's finally on her wheels, but boy was that a job. Yet again the aftermarket wheel well was the issue.

Because I didn't have it installed exactly right I couldn't use the locating holes in it to attach the main gear legs.

I ended up putting a brass pin through the top of thinner leg as close to the bottom of the fuselage as possible. This allowed me to pivot the leg until I got the legs sitting correctly. Once it got it right I flooded the gap with CA glue to to secure it

Next issue is the main gear doors. Because the Aires set is to short (or I have it in the wrong spot) the main landing gear doors don't fit with the actuators attached in the correct positions. I've had to shave of the front actuator assembly and instead of it sitting flush with the front of the door it'll be back a bit. I haven't finished this as yet so photos to come in the next update.

But if you are going to use the Aires set then perhaps it should be installed flush with the front of the fuselage hole, not flush with the rear like I did. The photos below show the gap between the front of the bay and fuselage hole.

 The nose gear wasn't to much trouble but some trimming of the leg was required to get it to fit.

I wasn't happy with the silvering on serial numbers on the tail.

So I decided to try and reset them. I really only noticed it after I applied really light clear coat. Now I knew I'd have to be be really lucky to get away with it. And guess what I wasn't.

I can use the other serials on the sheet to make this number so all is not lost.

The tyre decals are nice touch

F-2A Update - Decal Fun

 Well after about 12 plus hours I've managed to get all (bar one) of the decals on. I totally screwed the wing walkway for the rear of the right wing.

Saving the day however was Scott at Afterburner decals who is sending me a replacement . Thanks heaps Scott it is very much appreciated. I really hope they do a standalone F-2 Stencil sheet, I'd love to do a few more F-2's, but without the stencils it's just not the same

This is probably the most comprehensive decal sheet I've ever used and was actually a joy to use (with the one exception). The time taken to use all the stencils is totally worth the effort IMHO. Anyway onto the images..

When I'd finished I dry fitted the wing stations and found that they went over the roundels. I applied some Microset and waited until the decal softened. I then managed to lift a edge of the decal with a no 11 blade enough to get a wet soft brush under it. A bit more work with the brush and the decal came off. I repositioned it and did the same with the other side.

Before

 

After

Stug Progress - Albeit slow

This is a bit of secondary project for me whilst I work on my F-2. But I've managed to make a bit of progress.

I've assembled the lower hull, which as expected when together without difficulty. Before putting the tracks on I primed the hull and wheels with Vallejo Back primer. While this left a good finish to paint on it was a real PITA to clean from my airbrush. I find true water based products awfully difficult to clean from my airbrushes. After that I applied a light-ish coat of Tamiya desert Yellow(IIRC) trying not to totally overwhelm the black.

The tracks were no real problem either, despite me putting one side on the wrong way around first side up. 

 

Here you can see the not so accurate front plate behind the spare track links

 

I also primed the upper hull and other bits with Tamiya primer straight from the can. the welds are probably overdone but I'm quite happy with the rest of the upper surfaces. I also added the brackets for the skirts, prior to painting, these were made from plastic card.