1/72 Hasegawa Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk

[flyjoe180]

I present Hasegawa's F-117A Nighthawk kit No.00531. Entirely OOB, except for cockpit seat straps made from tape and the addition of a lower anti collision light fabricated from spare sprue. Paints and varnishes Humbrol enamels, exhaust area Mig Ammo. A good kit, simple enough to build and finish with a little attention to the seam joins, panel lines and references for things like the missing anti collision light.

My tonal variation attempt is there, very difficult to see in the photos. If I were to build another one, I would make it more pronounced, as it darkens significantly under varnish coats.

Dust is going to be an issue with this one; dust was finding it's way to my fresh model even as I took the photos.

Construction thread here: https://www.scale-models.co.uk/threads/hasegawa-1-72-lockheed-f-117a-nighthawk.37132/

 

[flyjoe180]

 

[papa 695]

Cracking work Joe

 

[Jakko]

Looking good, and a nice comparison with that Spitfire that shows how big these things are

 

[Vaughan]

A fantastic build Joe such a futuristic aircraft. We've come along way since the days of the Spitfire!

 

[Steve Brodie]

wow, wow and wow

 

[adt70hk]

As I said before, a top effort indeed.

Well done.

Andrew

 

[colin m]

Great model Joe. Seeing this makes Area 51 much more understandable.

Dust, my nemesis. Every time I unmask a canopy, it's there, taunting me....

 

[flyjoe180]

Cracking work Joe

Cheers Ian

Looking good, and a nice comparison with that Spitfire that shows how big these things are

Thank Jakko. I was impressed with the size of it, but it is probably best called a bomber or strike aircraft rather than a fighter

A fantastic build Joe such a futuristic aircraft. We've come along way since the days of the Spitfire!

Cheers Vaughan. Yes, and to think that the F-117 is now out of front line service outdated and being used as an aggressor adversary is quite an eye opener

wow, wow and wow

Thanks Steve, glad you like it

As I said before, a top effort indeed.

Well done.

Andrew

Thanks again Andrew

Great model Joe. Seeing this makes Area 51 much more understandable.

Dust, my nemesis. Every time I unmask a canopy, it's there, taunting me....

Cheers Colin. Oh yes, dust is every model builder's nemesis. I wonder how many 'UFO' sightings were/are in fact new tech. The F-117 was flown exclusively at night for security reasons in it's early years.

 

[boatman]

YES Joe i say the same brilliant modeling
chris

 

[Jakko]

I was impressed with the size of it

I’ve walked up and touched a real one, and as I recall, had to reach up to do so (There was a prototype in the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, USA in the late 90s. Though there was a fence in front of it, this was close enough to the plane that the nose stuck over it a little. I wanted to know what the radar-absorbent material is like, and found that the plane’s skin felt rubbery. Years later, I was informed by someone that that meant they removed the RAM from the exhibit, but I don’t know if that’s true.)

it is probably best called a bomber or strike aircraft rather than a fighter

AFAIK, the F-designation was part of the cover-up. It’s clearly a bomber — the best you could do with this as a fighter is try and ram it into your opponent, I suppose

 

[flyjoe180]

YES Joe i say the same brilliant modeling
chris

Thank you Christopher

I’ve walked up and touched a real one, and as I recall, had to reach up to do so (There was a prototype in the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, USA in the late 90s. Though there was a fence in front of it, this was close enough to the plane that the nose stuck over it a little. I wanted to know what the radar-absorbent material is like, and found that the plane’s skin felt rubbery. Years later, I was informed by someone that that meant they removed the RAM from the exhibit, but I don’t know if that’s true.)


AFAIK, the F-designation was part of the cover-up. It’s clearly a bomber — the best you could do with this as a fighter is try and ram it into your opponent, I suppose

I know the one at the Ronald Reagan Library had it's RAM removed. They didn't want people taking samples. That would make sense regarding the designation cover up.

 

[Jakko]

It also fits with other fictional aircraft designations the USAF used at the time. Look up the YF-110, -113, -114, and -116, for example.

 

[yak face]

Fantastic work joe , a fascinating aircraft built beautifully. The dead matt , all black finish is a bugger isnt it , you want to give the surface some interest and variation but still keep the stealthy look. You nailed it though . Great to see the spit alongside ( underneath?!) to show the size of the nighthawk. I too saw one of these in the metal a few years ago at the 1995 RAF Waddington airshow . There was one in the static display , heavily guarded , as jakko says - very tall and a lot bigger than you think . There was a couple of brief flypasts by another machine too but hardly a display.

 

[flyjoe180]

Fantastic work joe , a fascinating aircraft built beautifully. The dead matt , all black finish is a bugger isnt it , you want to give the surface some interest and variation but still keep the stealthy look. You nailed it though . Great to see the spit alongside ( underneath?!) to show the size of the nighthawk. I too saw one of these in the metal a few years ago at the 1995 RAF Waddington airshow . There was one in the static display , heavily guarded , as jakko says - very tall and a lot bigger than you think . There was a couple of brief flypasts by another machine too but hardly a display.

Cheers Tony, appreciate the comments. Would like to have seen the F-117 in flight, even during a plain flypast. The black is difficult, I would make the variation a bit more pronounced if I did a black stealth scheme again.

 

[NicolasCage]

That’s a brilliant build! Making an entirely black model look good is tricky but you’ve managed it no problem! Did you use Matt varnish for the finish?

 

[flyjoe180]

That’s a brilliant build! Making an entirely black model look good is tricky but you’ve managed it no problem! Did you use Matt varnish for the finish?

Thank you Alex. Yes, the overall final finish is a matt varnish coat, except the exhaust areas and white landing gear components, which are a semi gloss

 

[Tim Marlow]

Great result . The aircraft is iconic and you get this across nicely.

 

[flyjoe180]

Great result . The aircraft is iconic and you get this across nicely.

Thanks Tim, glad you like it

 

[selrach]

Very realistic Joe. I really like this!