YCNHTML **DONE**

[flakmonkey]

Starting to look something like it should, now.



That can all cure overnight. I might do a few little bits and pieces over the next 30 minutes or so before calling it a day. Or, I may not. I'm leaning towards not.

And where's my bloody dinner? Some days, I just can't catch my breath round here. Forget it. I'll just have cake.

[jssel]

"Usual nonsense?" I beg to differ, Suh! Press on Flak. And not to worry: SWMBO will remind you whatever it was.

[flakmonkey]

State of play -

One Lightning ready for NMF. Flaps, stabilisers, and ventral fins cleaned up. Firestreaks assembled.



Could be doable. The primer has, worryingly, lifted under tape in a spot or two, despite having given the model a good clean down with alcohol before spraying. So it could be a disaster, too.

"Usual nonsense?" I beg to differ, Suh! Press on Flak. And not to worry: SWMBO will remind you whatever it was.

She's sure to, but it was just… well, the only way I can describe it is "a tangent from nowhere". Utterly, and gloriously, irrelevant. To anything. She's astonishing. In all kinds of ways.

I kind of miss Scott Weiland. You see that? Random. Totally random. Out of left field. I'm turning into my wife.

[flakmonkey]

Morning.

The Tall Vegetarian Wife is off to work. She has spent the morning talking like a character from Fargo. No, I don't know why. She's not from Minnesota. Unless Ontario is now part of Minnesota, which, if it did happen, escaped both myself and the news outlets.

Bizarrely, she has spent the entire time I have known her claiming not to have an accent, when she very clearly does have one. Her futile counterargument is that I am, in fact, the one with the accent. I'm sure you can imagine, then, how confusing it has been this morning having her claim that she now DOES have an accent (identical to the way in which she normally speaks) but it is only being put on for comic effect.

Anyway, I'm going to do some masking.



Aw jeez. Here we go again. Well, alrighty then.



(The wisdom of picking a track from "Let it Bleed" immediately prior to masking is, of course, questionable at best)

[flakmonkey]

Got some silver on.



Oh yah. Guess we're ok then.

My green masking tape helpfully peeled back just as I hit the airbrush trigger, meaning that I now have to touch the fin up with blue.

Assuming, of course, that it doesn't just peel off along with the tape.

The nose ring will be alclad chrome. Hopefully.

I should probably get on with some other bits now. Like the million tiny bits left on the sprues that need cleaning up and painting. A real life sucker.

[jssel]

Just be glad she hasn't introduced Lutefisk into your household.

[flakmonkey]

Just be glad she hasn't introduced Lutefisk into your household.

Jeez, Jeff. What'd ya wanna go do that for?

I have lots of tiny parts stuck to a sheet of paper with double sided tape ready to be primed. A few other parts in my plastic tub of doom for individual priming. The missile pylons have huge great ejector pin marks on them covering around 50% of their surface. Well played, Airfix. You had one job…






About to spray the nosering. Then I can alternate between sticking stickers and doing fiddly stuff.

Chances of completion hovering, ever so slightly, above zero.

[flakmonkey]

The constant lifting of paint and touching up has really taken its toll on neatness, but I'm sure it will look ok from 10 paces.

As long as they are large paces.







Interestingly, the 1/48 kit would have you paint XN793's landing gear legs, wheels, and inner doors in gold. The 1/72 kit disagrees, and want's you to paint them flat aluminium.

I have no idea which is correct. But gold is prettier.

[iggie]

Looking good Flak! I really must give that Alclad stuff a try some day; it does llok the biz!

As far as u/c colours are concerned, the Lightnings I have been up close and personal with had silver coloured legs, but the grease/leaking hydraulic oil gave the telescopic parts a gold hue; 'clear gold' if you could get it would suit over a chrome or silver finish. The non telescopic sections below the hydraulic part(s) also were gold coloured but to a lesser extent (drips and runs), those above were plain silver/aluminium

[flakmonkey]

Aluminium paint would be the norm, but I assume that as XN793 was the boss's personal ship, it had been blinged. And why not? What's the point in being the boss if you can't have gold bits. And a fur control column handle. Power assisted steering. Eight track stereo. Leopard skin upholstery. FM radio. Tints. 22 inch spinners. Chromies.

I know I would.



Having had a break from decals to do a little painting and assembly, including adding noseweight and fitting the radome, I shall enjoy a well earned beverage and return to decalling for a time.

Note the gold bits. Totally pimping my ride. Like a BOSS.

[Purplethistle]

Aluminium paint would be the norm, but I assume that as XN793 was the boss's personal ship, it had been blinged. And why not? What's the point in being the boss if you can't have gold bits. And a fur control column handle. Power assisted steering. Eight track stereo. Leopard skin upholstery. FM radio. Tints. 22 inch spinners. Chromies.

I know I would.

Not forgetting a 'The Boss' visor strip for the canopy and a Dixie Horn

[flakmonkey]

I've been alternating between priming, painting, and putting stickers on. I'll do the trestle bands underneath, maybe a few other bits of stencilling, then call the decals done. I'll begin final assembly in a while. I can go back and make a more complete job of the decals if there is time. I doubt that there shall be.







The underwing codes look over size to me. No matter. Nobody will be looking underneath this.

Fun? It's a riot.

[flakmonkey]

A little way over two hours to get all these bits on and sort out the missiles. And canopy. Ok…



Ventral fins are on. Afterburners and tailpiece are one. Trestle markings done.

I think we should probably have XTC.

[DavidWomby]

Amazing progress and it looks great to me.

David

[flakmonkey]

Well… I know where the rough bits are. The gun ports don't fit now that the model has been painted. I've tacked them in for now and can sort them out another time. Pretty ugly job for now, to be honest.

Speaking of ugly, I really don't like the kit's Firestreaks. The fins are far too chunky. Despite having painted them, I'm not fitting them now. I'll make new fins and do those another time. For now, I'll fit the stub wings - after sanding the filler back and painting them. Lightnings flew like that, it's a legitimate cheat.



Half an hour left until the 9pm finish. Kind of doable.

We didn't have The Crystal Method yet.