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Lockheed F-80 C Shooting Star

Started by Morne Meyer · 91 ≡ · ↻ 4 years ago

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Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

Hi Louis. I will definitely join the "Korea, the Forgotten War" Group Build. It will be an honor to be part of such an undertaking. The F-80 C is still far from the finish line. I am hoping to build many of my Korean War fighter aircraft that's been in the stash for many years. There are so many to choose from. Dragons form an important part of Korean folklore and quite a number of US fighter aircraft had dragon related artwork on them. I want to build an F-80, F-84 and F-86 that had dragon artwork. The F-80 will display the markings of "Saggin Dragon" of the 16th FIS that was one of the leading Mig killing squadrons. The F-84 G will be from the 310 FBS and the F-86 F will carry the dragon markings of the famous "The Huff" flown by Lt. Jim Thompson. I would also like to finish another on-going build of the famous US Navy A-1 Skyraider that dropped a kitchen sink on Pyongyang. Being South African, I will have to do an F-51 Mustang and F-86 Sabre in 2 Squadron "Flying Cheetahs" SAAF markings. I must also not neglect the US Navy Panther, Banshee, Corsair as well as the Royal Navy's Seafire and Sea Fury models. Before I forget their is still half finished shelf of doom projects that are lurking in the background like an F7F-3N Tigercat, Boeing B-29 and an Invader. So as you can see I am eagerly anticipating this group build. Thanks Louis for the invite and the nice comments about my F-80 build thus far! Cheers!
Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

A small update for today. I came across many photos whilst doing research for this build, of bombs that had graffiti applied in the field to boost morale. These were either painted onto bombs or applied with white chalk. At first I thought printing custom decals for the graffiti but it would not look realistic enough. I therefore, decided to paint the "KILL REDS" graffiti using a toothpick. The "TO KIM WITH LOVE" was applied with a white chalk pencil. It adds nicely to the overall effect I was after.
2 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 6 months ago:

I love those bombs, Morne!
Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

Thanks Spiros. It adds a touch of realism to the overall model. I always believe that those small bits of detail is what captures the eye when you look at a model. Remember that any model tells a story.
Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

The F-80 C is often seen in photos taking off with a heavy load whilst JATO / RATO gear supplied extra thrust to lift it off short runways. I decided to add two RATO bottles sourced from the spares box. I added some brass tubing, Evergreen styrene tubing and lead wire. The landing gear was painted with Modelmaster Flat Aluminum and Steel. The tyres were painted with Tamiya Matt black and dust was simulated with Doc O' Brien's weathering powders.
8 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 6 months ago:

Great RATOs and landing gear, Morne. I agree that RATOs suit greatly the F-80C. You did a nice job on them!
Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

Thanks Spiros! I appreciate the comment.
John Healy said 4 years, 6 months ago:

Great work on this, Morne. You’re definitely making the most out of this one. Excellent work. Clunky Monogram or inaccurate Hobby Boss, pick your poison. It’s a shame we don’t have a good kit of this important airplane.
Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

Thanks John for the nice comment. The Hobbyboss kit has some shape issues, inaccurate rear canopy decking and wrong canopy shape. It contains fine engraved panel details and reasonably detailed parts. The Monogram kit is a rough diamond but is showing its age. I decided to build a MonoHobby hybrid which should get me close to an acceptable replica of a Korean War Shooting Star. The scratchbuilt add ons should elevate it to the next level.
Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

The past week was spent closing up the fuselage and adding the wings and horizontal stabilizers. I painted and weathered the RATO gear and canopy. I have also painted the access panel to the gun bay and added the beautiful nose art. Photos show latches in an open position when this access panel is open. I drilled out the holes for the latches. The latter was simulated with thin Evergreen styrene. The blue markings were airbrushed dark sea blue. The kit decals for the blue nose markings are the wrong shade of blue.
3 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 6 months ago:

Splendid work, Morne! Beautiful panel (the latches look 1/1 scale), RATOs and cockpit look "real". I love the gunsight.
All the best!
Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

Thanks Spiros. The biggest hurdle now is replicating that weathered NMF on the whole fuselage. The long approach would be a panel by panel salt weathering process or the whole fuselage in one go. Thanks for the comment.
Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 6 months ago:

Splendid updates - really liked the "kick-the-tires, light-the-fires" post - great stuff!
Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

Glad you liked it Erik!
Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

Today I focused on the wheelbays. They were sprayed with Modelmaster Green Drab and later a light coat of Modelmaster Interior Green was added. A wash of diluted Matt black was added followed by Future floor polish. A final light coat of Matt varnish was added. I then used Doc O'Brien's Mud Brown to add some dirt and dust effect to the wheelbays. The nosewheel bay came from the Monogram F-80 kit.
1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

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Work in Progress – Aircraft

Lockheed F-80 C Shooting Star