1/48 Italeri Arctic Raptor

Gallery Article by Sam "Samurai" Acosta on Aug 22 2012

 

 

This is the 48th scale Italeri version of the F-22 Raptor. They came out with this model first many years ago and I started to build it, but got bored with it when I ran into a spine/fuselage issue. Our Club members Andy and Matt got the newer Tamiya F-22 and started to do a "what if" Aggressor plan for theirs...so....I broke this ol' one out and decided to join in the build. I did the paint scheme after one of my favorite Aggressor schemes, the Arctic. I used the kit cockpit, but dressed it up with the Eduard photo etch pre-colored cockpit panels. (Well worth it, as the kit is decals anyhow!!). I made intake covers for the Raptor as the intakes are ugly if left open...lol The canopy was dipped in Future (acrylic floor wax) after being polished out manually with Flitz rubbing compound. I mixed my own white for the aggressor as they don't make this correct color yet...I got a small glass bottle of Testors flat white, dropped in three droplets of flat black, mixed it up and BOOM goes the dynamite! lol 

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The decals are the basic TwoBobs, but I had to add tail markings that I found in the same off white color to make the WA tail codes correct as Twobobs were printed in flat white. The other decals I used for the tail codes were super thin and broke very easy...but it got the job done and it was closer to the true color I needed. The kit isn't fully complete, and I'm adding the gear doors and HUD glass and a few other minor details still....but you get the point. Hope you enjoyed the kit...overall, pretty easy build, and the detail is truer to the real F-22 than the Tamiya. I do have the Academy Raptor, and that looks even better! The Academy bird will be a line bird with full weapons and detail. You can see more of my stuff on our club website at www.RFSM.net or you can check us out on Facebook as well under Red Flag Scale Modelers (group). 

Enjoy the photos.

Sam "Samurai" Acosta

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Photos and text © by Sam "Samurai" Acosta