This is my 2nd aircraft build, improved a little bit compared to my first attempt which is the A-10, but still needs a lot of practice. Painted with Gaianotes lacquers, pastels for the wash and weathering, I want the finished model to be a bit dirty like its a workhorse with lots of flight time. I also messed up the back part of the canopy (fogged by spilling thinner) that's why I opted to just paint it. Not that historically accurate, sorry to all flyboys out there. Pardon the photos, its a bit grainy, cant get the right settings for my cam this time.

More photos at -- Mechaion Designs

Here's the result after cleaning the pastel wash. Quite happy with the streaking effects. 

 

Close-up and belly view. Just a final top coat and its all done.

Just showing you guys the gap on the belly side. I always use an epoxy putty to cover and level gaps like this. 

Murphy's Law of Modeling. I accidentally spilled my thinner (while cleaning the puttywork) on several parts including the back canopy causing it to fog. Tried fixing it with progressive sanding and compounds but failed. Next resort is just to paint it. Historic accuracy down the drain. LOL

-Primed and ready for pre-shading

-Freehand the light gray

-Mask the edges using sticky tack

-Apply the second color

Here's the result of the camouflage scheme. I also applied 2 coats of satin varnish to seal the decal work. 

Pastel wash all over the model for that weathered look.

With the EX Model Hildolfr out of the way, I can finally go back to the F16 build which Im really excited to do. Started to seal the body and armaments. Still a long way to go but Im taking my time. I can see now that this bird will receive a lot of putty and sanding especially the belly area.

Painted the cockpit with flat black & did some detailing on the pilot seat by adding belts made out of strips of masking tape.

Lots of build going on. This one is for the Aviation GB (Plazone). This is only my 2nd aircraft build so Im still not quite out of the dark yet. Still reading and researching for references on how to build AC model kits. Since its not a very strict GB, I plan to play a bit on the scheme but will use the Aggressor variation as a guide but probably wont that historically correct. So to avid aircraft modelers out there, apologies in advance. :) 

Here's the cockpit area, not to shabby, I only used the decals provided for the details but Im not that satisfied so maybe I'll still do some retouches or oil paintings just to enhance the look a little bit more.

As expected its tail-heavy, So just put a lead weight inside the nose, and problem solved!

For the canopy, I'll just polish it with Tamiya Compund. A must have for AC builds

Here's the bird after a mock assembly, still need to glue most parts and for sure a lot of putty-ing to follow.

My latest build & commission work. Probably my last build of the year too. Its a 1/35 UCHG Core Fighter from Bandai, also a Ver. GFT which I think has a nicer set of waterslide decals compared to the usual hardgraph version. Its an OOTB build with a G3 (gray) color scheme as requested by the client. Also decided to give some subtle shading and highlights just to give some depth to the monotonous scheme. Its a very nice model kit to build and paint, assembly is perfect as expected & not much sealing is needed. My only advice/caution to other modelers out there who will also build this is to be a bit careful on the enamel wash, some parts gets brittle easily after the exposure to enamel thinner/paint. Aside from that its a must have kit!

More photos at -- Mechaion Designs

Happy Holidays!

Started working on my next commission build. This time its a UC Hardgraph 1/35 Core Fighter from Bandai. So far so good, as expected perfect fitting and the amount of details is quite impressive specially in the cockpit area. Assembly is also great, very minimal sealing and masking required. 

Size comparison with an old-school 1/144 Core Fighter model kit.