Lockheed F-80 C Shooting Star

Started by Morne Meyer · 91 · 4 years ago
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    Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    The result is simply amazing, Morne!

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    Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    Thanks Spiros!

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    George R Blair Jr said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    Looks great, Morne. All the effort with the salt should really be worth it. Should look great with the decals.

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    Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    Thanks George! Can't wait for the decals to go on! She is going to look like a true "workhorse" in her weathered Aluminum finish.

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    Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    The best part of building an aircraft that was used in Korea is the weathering. As a true workhorse the F-80 was often dirty and weatherbeaten. I am using pastels, Tamiya weathering kits, Doc O' Brien's weathering powders to add visual interest to the weathered aluminium finish.

    2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    Just as you thought "that looks great", another post pops up, looking even greater! Stunning!

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    Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    Thanks Erik for the nice comment. The weathering is a slow process. It's a case of using lots of reference photos to get it just right.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    Superbly looking and absolutely real weatherbeaten F-80, Morne!

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    Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    I hope to add more character to the model. The weathering sure adds visual interest to the weathered aluminum finish. Thanks for the comment Spiros!

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    Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    Putting on the decals is always the best part of building a kit! If everything goes well it can make a model. The Hobbyboss F-80 has very thin decals that goes down well with Tamiya decal setting solution. However, removing the decals from the decal paper should not be rushed. The decals take some time before you can slide them off onto the model. Furthermore, the decals curl up upon release and once the decal folds over on itself it takes a lot of effort to save the decal. The FT -650 serial decals was an uphill struggle.

    2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    (Repeating myself but cannot do otherwise): Your work is perfect Morne!
    All the best, my friend!

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    Morne Meyer said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    Thanks Spiros. We as modelers know that it's a labour of love!

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    Erik Gjørup said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    Morne, that is truly great! Will be used as a tutorial to re-visit if ever I should wander off into bare metal planes of this era. Do not know if my patience will be useable in this context 🙂
    Well you said it - it's a labour of love.

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    George R Blair Jr said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    I agree with all of the other comments, Morne @mornem. The finish on your kit is magnificent, especially not that the decals are on it. I avoid natural metal finishes, but you have the process mastered. Great job.

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    Greg Kittinger said 4 years, 6 months ago:

    Wow - how I missed this build thread...! What a beauty - I especially love the bombs and wing-tank tutorial, as well as the whole salt technique. Will use!