# Another standard-issue F-22



## Jinja (Mar 26, 2010)

Hi all,

Here's my Academy 1:48 F-22, finished today.

I'm really happy with this. Since finally tracking down Klear in the UK, this is the first model I've applied clear washes before and after the decaling stage. The Klear really helped prior to my panel washes... I have no idea how I got by before.... oh yeah, not very well is the answer to that.

After the decalling, I applied a clear wash with Tamiya flat base and a little medium gray, since the light grey of the 2-tone mod-eagle pattern was too light.... so this worked, although it also hid most of the metallic sheen I'd created in the main body paint stage... and it did help make some of the decals look more integrated with the model, although I still have too much of a sheen on some.

oh well, I'm not going to go back and rectify it... I've had enough painting to last me another couple of months, and I don't want to risk making a mistake on either points.

I LOVE the end result, it looks great, and was a pleasure to build. Was worried that my first 'gray' jet would look awfully gray (if you know what I mean). But the lines of the plane and the detailing definitely keeps the eye occupied. 
Peeling off all the masking tape after the main painting phase was a highlight.. uncovering all that detail as you remove the tape is a pleasure well worth savouring (assuming you didn't botch the masking in the first place and end up with paint leaking into places it shouldn't ;-)


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## jcd132 (Jan 13, 2000)

Looks awesome. Great job!


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## KUROK (Feb 2, 2004)

Excellent!

I plan on getting one of those Academy kits now.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Perfect!


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## Medic17 (Jul 25, 2010)

Awsome!. Just saw an F-22 over the 4th of July for the first time ...Came up with the Blue Angels!......


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## Jafo (Apr 22, 2005)

nice job


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## EnzoF660 (Oct 6, 2010)

That model looks outstanding. F-22 is on my to-do list. Not sure I'll be able to afford the Academy one, though. Great job, though!


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## Jinja (Mar 26, 2010)

Thx everyone...

I live in Ireland, my chances of ever seeing an F-22 overhead are essentially nill! More's the pity...


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## Ace Airspeed (May 16, 2010)

A very clean build..................it looks great! :thumbsup:


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## hutchman (Jun 21, 2008)

Wow...a real beauty. Excellent job. I built this kit and was very pleased with Academy's offering. It was a fun build. Were you able to get that sparkly shimmer on the paint? I can't tell by your pics. I pulled it off by mixing Alclad and Humbrol paints. Hope you don't feel like I am stealing your thunder, but here are a few pics of mine.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

I've got the Acedemy & Hasegawa 1/48 kits on deck, and a pair of Revell 1/72s. I figure it's gonna be boring to do them all authentic, since all 186 operational jets look exactly the same (except for tail codes), so I think one will be Japanese, one Isreali...


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## hutchman (Jun 21, 2008)

I would be very interested on your comparison between the Academy and the Hasegawa. I have seen that most reviews give the edge to Academy.


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## John P (Sep 1, 1999)

Haven't had the chance to compare yet, but I find it hard to believe that Academy bested Hasegawa. That's certainly got my curiosity up.


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## KUROK (Feb 2, 2004)

I picked up a bottle of paint at the Atlanta Model show this summer called "Raptor Sheen". It looks like alclad, very thin metallic paint. You're supposed to mix it with the gray paint to give your F-22 that tinge of shine in the gray. Haven't had a chance to use it though...


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## Jinja (Mar 26, 2010)

*Nice*

Hi Hutch,

Oi, thread hijacker! ;-)

I actually thought I was looking at pictures of my own F-22 there for a split-second. Our end-results are almost identical. Very nice. We even have the same slight silvering issue with the tail wing marking. Is that our fault or the quality of the decals?

I think I can tell your model has a sheen to it, and what looks like better contrast over-all, although I'll just blame that on harsh lighting ;-). I originally mixed thinned Tamiya silver to my main pain coat. It gave it way too much of a Barbie sparkle effect, and unfortunately as I over-coated it to dial it out, I dialled it completely out  I think I could have got the effect if I was after if I'd managed that a bit better, but I was in too much of a rush to complete the build to try and dial a sheen back-in.

I'm currently on a Tomcat build, and have discovered the technique of dipping canopies in Future... talk about clear!

Cheers.


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## hutchman (Jun 21, 2008)

I noticed you had the same silvering effect on the vert stabilizer...I attribute that to the decals, since I saw you had same problem.

I am glad you picked up on the silverish sheen. I used a technique of mixing Alclad with Humbrol paint. Got the tip from a Brit magazine to get as close to the real thing as possible. If anyone wants the formula, let me know.


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## hutchman (Jun 21, 2008)

Oh, BTW, sorry for stealing the thread. :tongue:


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

I'm cutting up a 1/48 scale Italieri one to make the bomber.


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## hutchman (Jun 21, 2008)

Sweet...


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## Jinja (Mar 26, 2010)

Holy crap that's ambitious, look forward to seeing it!


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## Ghillieman (Mar 17, 2011)

First time I saw a Raptor up close was in Florida, the second time was in Idaho. Both times my squadron was flying against them. Truely a phenominal A/C.


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## wander1107 (Aug 12, 2006)

Awesome job. I need to pick one up now.


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