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Rafi Ben-Shahar
377 articles

Tamiya 1/48 F-35A IDF "Adir"

April 18, 2023 · in Aviation · · 27 · 1.1K

Tamiya's F-35A is a complex and delightful build. Engineering is good like you may expect from . The fit of parts is tight and you may need to exert pressure on some joints to avoid the application of putty.
The model was purchased in a local hobby shop in Tokyo.

Reader reactions:
13  Awesome

6 additional images. Click to enlarge.


27 responses

  1. A superb job in every respect, Rafi!

  2. Nicely done Rafi! Those gear bays look really nice.

  3. Nice build on one of Tamiya’s latest kits, not the most attractive of planes, though, but then I think Meteors and Vampires are beautiful.

  4. Totally agree. The low price I paid for it was the main incentive (together with Tamiya's engineering) for the purchase.

  5. Lovely job on this Rafi , I didn't know the IAF flew the F35.

  6. Nice work, Rafi. What paints did you use for the Have Glass gray?

    • Thank you John.
      I used Tamiya's recommended LP 14 and 15. No brown color added like recommended. I looked at photographs and concluded that the brown is useless because of 1:7 ratio and because the background lighting has more effect than anything else. It is not the first time that gray hues present this dilemma. My solution is usually to test the colors against the supplied decals and make sure that they have contrasting hues.

  7. Very nice result, Rafi @blackmopane
    Excellent paintwork.

  8. Fantastic job on this really nicely detailed plane Rafi (@blackmopane), you did an amazing job.

  9. Beautiful. Love the ordnance bay detail. Superb!

  10. @blackmopane,Man, that looks great Rafi! 👏 I'll probably go against the grain here, but I think the F-35 is just cool as can be! I gotta get me one of those! 😀

  11. Thank you Gary. I had a change of hearts for the aircraft after taking the photos and ordered Meng's version.

  12. Looks great Rafi, love it!

  13. 🙂 … Greetings … 🙂 :
    Great work on this already highly detailed Tamiya model. YOU made the detail stand out, very good work Rafi.

  14. Thank you for your kind words.
    To make the details stand out I rubbed a dry black stained tissue on the surface areas.

  15. Lovely work Rafi. Yours is the first Tamiya F-35 kit I've seen. Most impressive; & thanks for the tip about the tissue!

  16. Thank you Tony.
    Another tip concerning the afterburner petal painting. Avoid metallizers that have coarse grains. Use silver paints mixed with brown and black instead.

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