Tamiya Lockheed Martın F35A Lightning II - 1/48 – RAAF 3 Squadron
Hello all and welcome to my latest build. The Tamiya F35A Lightning II, dressed up in RAAF No. 3 Squadron colours. The version depicted in this kit is serial number A35-009, flown by Wing Commander Darren "Clarey" Clare, who was the first RAAF F-35 pilot.
This has been in the making since July this year making this my longest project so far. The build is 99.9% OOB. I used a set of Metallic Details cockpit seat belts upgrade, as the kit version was just a little underwhelming for my taste. My greatest achievement with this kit (and the greatest challenge) was the use of magnets for the weapons load!
The kit calls out for 3 weapons options:
- Stealth mode (only internal weapons displayed in the bays - AIM-120C AMRAAM and GBU-31 JDAM)
- Air to air mode (AIM-9X Sidewinders on the wings and AIM-120C AMRAAM in the internal bay)
- Beast Mode (all of the above plus wing mounted GBU-12 Paveway II)
I didn't like the idea of having to choose an option and then glue that choice in forever! So along came the Magnets. For this I used N52 1mm X 1mm (www.guysmagnets.com). They were a bit of a challenge but thankfully, it all worked out in the end. So now I can pose the model in any of the 3 weapons load out options.
The kit also allows the following options which are also interchangeable:
- Canopy closed.
- Canopy open.
- Wing flaps up.
- Wing flaps down.
- Instruments On.
- Instruments Off.
So this kit is very versatile.
Paints used were the standard kit Tamiya lacquer paint call-outs. If you would like a list of what these were, just drop me a message in the comments below and I will let you know.
Anyway, this kit was a joy to build even if a long project compared to what I have been used to.
Thank you for stopping by and please, take a look at my end result and let me know what you like and what you don't like.
Enjoy!
G’day Scott (@scottiya),
It was great seeing this at the club meet on Sunday. I’m glad you got the magnets sorted so that the external weapons stay on now.
Liked!
Thank you Michael @michaelt - yes I'm very pleased it all worked out in the end 😀
Well done, Scott. Those paints are the best representation of the Have Glass coatings that I’ve seen.
Wow really John @j-healy - thank you for that 😀
Nice job breaking up paint work
Cheers George @blackadder57 😀
Great job all around Scott. The camouflage, cockpit and weapons bay detail all combine for a very convincing depiction of the real thing.
Thank you Russell @russjurco 🙂
Nice work on this.
The good news about F-35s is they're so expensive, no one will ever be able to afford to fight a war with them. 🙂
Let's hope you're right, Tom @tcinla
Thank you Tom @tcinla - we'll just have to wait for Top Gun 5, and a movie version of F35 B/C's going into battle 😀
This is beautiful work, Scott @scottiya! 🤩 I think the F-35 is pretty cool and so is this model! 👏
Thank you so much Gary @garybrantley 😀
An absolute beauty, Scott @scottiya
Since this year our entire fleet of F16 has been replaced by F35.
A bit more noise now and then but as an aviation enthusiast not such a big issue 🙂
Thank you John @johnb - must be horrible to have these aircraft so close to home ha ha 😀
Well-done, Scott. No clinkers. All is spot-on inside and out.
Thank you very much Bob @bails 😀
Excellent job and beautiful result, Scott!
Thank you Spiros @fiveten 😀
Very sharp. I like the weapons bays, the engine nozzle, and the surface color variations. Very well done!
Thank you Brian @bapowellphys 😀
Excellent build - love the paintwork, and the magnets was a cool idea. Nicely done!
Thank you Greg @gkittinger 🙂
Nice work, Scott! Paint work looks awesome and I totally agree on the magnets; what a great way to interchange the loadout options. That F-35 has some serious ordinance...wow.
Thank you so much Joe 😎
Beautiful work, I did something similar to the magnets on 1/72 aircraft 2-sided tape.
Great idea Robert @roofrat. Thank you also 🙂
Is it just me or is F-35 on the verge of being butt ugly, design wise.
I guess it’s one of those “eye of the beholder” perceptions 🤪
I like it.
The Boeing X-32 now that was ugly in my perception. It would have looked great in the animated “Planes” movies 😂Thankfully the F-35 won the JSF race against that plane.
I agree. As long as it does its job. who cares what it looks like.