1/48 Classic Airframes F-5

Greek Air Force

by Paul Hargett

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This is a Classic Airframes kit with many scratchbuilt parts.  The finish is Gunze Sangyo paint with light weathering achieved with wash and pastels.

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Inside the Box:
Overall I would give the kit a C- grade.  The injection molded parts were thick, crude, and generally wrong compared to my references.  Resin parts were brittle and either too big or too small when joined with adjacent parts.  Fortunately, the decals were superb!

What I decided to do about this mess:
In a word - scratchbuild.  This was my first hardcore scratchbuilding exercise.  I used many materials for scratchbuilding, they include:  Brass and plastic rod, a type of foil/plastic packaging , an unknown type of clear plastic for the canopy, and of course sheet plastic.

 1. I improved and/or scratchbuilt 9/10 of the landing gear and landing gear doors.
 2. The canopy was completely scratch - even the inside frame.
 3. The control surfaces where cut and dropped to represent an aircraft that just landed.

I would say that this was the most difficult model to date.  Every task, part, and assembly required sound problem solving skills.  This was not a joy to build, it was a chore!

Hope you enjoy the before and after pics, Paul
Paul     

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Photos and text © by Paul Hargett