Yaks ‘century series’ in 1/48 part 4 - the Lockheed F-104C Starfighter

[Defiant911]

Watching with interest as I have three model aircraft all potentially in aluminium so look forward to the end result on this.
looking great so far.
carl

 

[adt70hk]

Great work so far Tony.

ATB.

Andrew

 

[yak face]

Have fun with the aluminium paint Tony!
I always try to avoid aluminium schemes since it's not that easy to get to look right ... looking forward to the next steps.
Steven

I used to do the same steven , i could never get the finish I wanted . I tried Vallejo model air metallics - sprayed great , looked great but didnt stand up to handling or masking very well , and a clear protective coat altered the colour too much . I had a very brief go with Alclad - smelt terrible and just couldnt get the hang of them , used half a bottle trying to get decent coverage on a pair of tailplanes - if i had carried on and done the whole aircraft i would have used about another three bottles!! I know plenty of people swear by the stuff but it just didnt suit me at all. Then i tried the Vallejo Metal Colors .
Easy to use , great coverage ( misted on in a few thin coats , dont be tempted to try and get coverage all in one go) and very resistant to handling and masking . Their clear gloss doesnt alter the colour too . One thing I have found though is their black gloss primer is a bit thin , i now use UMP ( ex badger stynlrez ) black gloss as a base coat as it covers better . I suppose any black gloss will do . Hope this helps cheers tony

 

[Steven000]

Thanks for the help Tony! I have their 'aluminium' metal color but not yet used it in the airbrush for projects like this, mostly brush-work, will give it a shot in a future project
Cheers,
Steven

 

[Andy the Sheep]

Just came across this, that I think is of interest as well:

A pilot told me that that peculiar howl of the 104 was called, in the ITA AF, "the tax-payer howl", considering the fuel consumption rate of the J79.

 

[yak face]

Got the main colour on tonight , just drying nicely now . Next is a top coat of varnish , gloss for the fuselage and a matt for the titanium tail section ,which will then be having some burnt metal effects applied .

 

[yak face]

Unmasked , Just a few areas that needed a touch up . I decided the dark band on the rear fuselage was too dark so i gave it a lighter coat . The rear fuselage section has now been matt varnished ready for the burnt metal effects to be applied ( eye shadow!) as they stick better to this surface.

 

[flyjoe180]

Great natural metal work Tony. Your eye shadow weathering work has resulted in very nice effects in the past, look forward to seeing them on the F104

 

[boatman]

Tony this is lookin great as the starfighter is one of my fav aircraft an its a pity that it got that horrible nickname the widow maker an your metal paint schemes is looking very realistic brilliant build so far
chris

 

[yak face]

Finally started the decals last night . I knew the Monogram decals might be a bit troublesome due to their age - past experiences with them breaking up spring to mind - but they werent bad at all in that respect . I thought i would try a test first so got the red line decal that goes on the airbrake , if it went tits up then it would be an easy fix . The decal came off the backing paper eventually but like the RF84 Thunderflash i did a while back ,the decal was covered in an opaque milky glue . It even says on the back of the decal sheet that they may appear milky but will dry clear. Being a natural metal finish I wanted the carrier film to be as invisible as possible so I just couldnt risk the milky effect not clearing. Solution? As with the Thunderflash , i had to soak every decal till it came off the paper , then leave them submerged for a good while to soften the glue and scrub off all the glue with a paintbrush and plenty of water. The decals were then fixed by laying onto wet Klear ( johnsons not the Humbrol rubbish ) Needless to say this took ages but eventually i got them all on and this morning the carrier film is barely visible .

 

[boatman]

LOOKIN A BEAUTIFULL MODEL Tony every thing looks just how it should look to me

chris

 

[Tim Marlow]

Looking great Tony. Decal work is excellent!

 

[scottie3158]

Tony,
Great looking build of a great looking aircraft.

 

[flyjoe180]

Looking A1 Tony

 

[papa 695]

Very shiny Tony, nice work.

 

[yak face]

The starfighter has now had a couple of coats of Klear to seal the decals in and give a nice uniform sheen . The tail area was matt varnished and masked off prior to this , so that the heat staining effects can be applied easier ( eye shadow ) . Ive also been sorting the sidewinders . The kit supplied Aim 9Bs were not a bad representation but no stencils or stripe decals were provided . So out with the spare decal box and they got jazzed up with stencils and stripes , the seeker head made by sanding off the end and adding a blob of kristal kleer to represent the glass . Next up heat staining and then all the sticky out bits .

 

[Steven000]

Looks great Tony!
Nice model

 

[papa 695]

That’s looking sweet Tony.

 

[boatman]

just beautilfull Tony
chris

 

[colin m]

Very nice Tony. If we didn't know the 104 was real, it might be straight of a Gerry Anderson film.