Once the cockpit glass and cockpit were sealed in place (to avoid sanding dust ingress), the ballast was added - I saw from my earlier build of a 1/200 B-2 that insufficient weight results in the dreaded tailsitter.
Nothing which can't be rectified using a cut-down pin and some Loctite SuperAttack (as cyanoacrylate is marketed in Italy). NTS but no show judges will ever set eyes on it!
The rather large gaps around the air intakes were filled with AV plastic putty then the entire upper surface was sanded using progressively finer paper (320 - 400 - 1200 - 2000) to remove remaining blemishes.
After applying a coat of Pledge the decals went on without issues - plenty of patience always helps this stage go well. I always use Microscale microset & microsol to ensure they sit down tightly. After drying overnight, another Pledge clearcoat then overcoat of AV Matt acrylic thinned 20%.
Mark de Boer Looking good, got the 1/72 scale myself ready to build, cant wait to get started on that one. First have an F-16 and a Hercules to finish.
27 February 2024, 17:13
Richard ChealsAuthor Thanks, guys. Yep, there's also a 1/72 Italeri in my stash! I'm expecting it will have a bit more detail than this one?
28 February 2024, 08:10
Album info
This is the Revell B-2A, planned to be built OOB but as usual I couldn't avoid some extra detailing in the cockpit (never to be seen by anyone else but it's always good scratchbuilding practice!!).
Primed and sprayed a mix of AV 71-097 (FS36173/med. gunship gray) with a few drops of 71-062 (Aluminum), followed by a mist of 71-258 (RLM74/grey green) again with a few drops of 71-062. Clearcoat of the Pledge + thinner mix then Begemot decals.
Another clearcoat, some light weathering then all sealed with AV 26-518 Matt Acrylic (thinned by 20%).
Mark de Boer
Richard Cheals Author
