AREA 88 : "A Close Shave"
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That's a big fuselage for 1/144 scale. 🙂
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That's just ONE of the wings...
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There's the other wing. That's a huge base... which I won't be using, of course.
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The tail... and the F-5E sprues look TINY in comparison.
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A quick dry fit mock up. This is the ultimate David vs. Goliath project.
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The engines could be better... so let's grab a few bombs and make them better.
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Yeah. That looks much better to me.
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Inside the wing wiring. Each wing has a white strobe light, a coloured (red/green) navigation light, and two landing lights. I used wire shrink wrap around the interior part of the LED to try to limit light bleed. Everything held neatly in place by a massive amount of hot glue.
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All still fits inside. That's a good sign.
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Same goes on the other side.
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Now for the engines themselves. First some paint. I started this project partially because my main airbrush broke and I was waiting for a part, but for an interior splash of paint, my old (backup) airbrush will do.
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Fans and exhausts fitted in place.
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The engines look pretty good to me. Need some putty and sanding on the seams though.
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Test fit on the wings... I count 8 working lights. So far, so good!
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For the tail pieces, I'll solder on the resistors/wiring inside the fuselage instead of trying to cram it all inside that small space.
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There we go. Using a toothpick, I added a few dabs of clear "5-minute epoxy" as a cover for all the lights. It should both protect the LEDs (and look more like a bulb) and diffuse the light a bit better. Now for some more sanding.
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Now for the interior. First a coat of black to block the interior lights from shining through the plastic.
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Testing the light brightness. I also added another coat of aluminium to reflect even more light.
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Next a coat of aluminium to reflect even more light. Also cover the windows from the inside with 5 minute epoxy. I also epoxy-ed in some posts to hang the lights from so the spacing would be even.
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All the Christmas lights hung from the chimney with care...
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Everything looks good...
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Also added some internal support for the main post. I don't need it getting broken inside the fuselage!
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Testing the interior lights shining through the epoxy windows... looks good!
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Now to test the interior AND the exterior lights.
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To make it even more complicated, let's add the red fuselage lights to the mix.
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Let's wire in the Arduino nano that will control all this mess of wires.
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Ok.. don't forget the F-5E Tiger II! A good fit, but still needs some putty for the gaps.
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Shin gets snug in the cockpit.
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Ok. looking good. Canopy on, a million windows on the B747 masked... we're almost ready for some paint.
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Big brother stopped by to compare paint jobs.
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Looks good. Needs a bit of a panel wash and then we're ready for the decals.
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Let's check those lights one more time...
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Decals on... looks good.
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Some masking and some painting happened. I won't bore you with the details, but it took a few tries.
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The homemade decals on the B747 and the base look good... at least on THIS side. 😉
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Коментарі
38 2 June 2022, 14:08
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Thanks Roland. My airbrush broke a couple of days ago, so, while waiting for a new part to arrive, I decided to tackle a project that won't require any painting for a bit. 🙂
I've had this one on the books for a while, but the time just seemed right. Almost all my 1/144 scale Area 88 projects incorporate electronics (LEDs or DC motors), but this one will be lit up like a Christmas tree! I've already got 8 lights in the wings and two in the tail... more to come!
2 June 2022, 14:21
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Finally got all the lights hooked up. Still need to mount the red beacons, but at least they all work.
6 June 2022, 13:44
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Finally had time to move this project long. Some careful masking, and Shin's F-5E Tiger II is just about done. The B747-200 is still a ways away, but coming along.
23 July 2022, 04:38
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Well well.well. great built so far. I'm always impressed while installation of lights in models. Well done!
23 July 2022, 08:39
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I kinda missed taking some pictures… but just try to imagine me drowning in tape while masking the paint lines for the two-tone bare metal and the red cheat line… 😉
14 August 2022, 06:23
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How could I miss this one! And there is an Arduino in the base, so there will be action!
14 August 2022, 08:04
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I was a bit hesitant to go the arduino route. Compared to the complexity of the projects I usually deploy the arduino in, this one is pretty tame. But I wanted a bit more variation in the lighting, so… that was certainly the easiest thing to do.
14 August 2022, 14:11
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This one was so big, I struggled to be able to get some half decent pics of the final build.
26 August 2022, 16:18
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The pics might not quite do it justice, but hopefully the video does:
Youtube Video
![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hbUK-hNGX54/maxresdefault.jpg)
26 August 2022, 17:09
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Thanks guys. If anyone wants to read the manga pages this build is inspired from, feel free to check out my blog - strobez.ca/wp/index...-close-save-area-88/
26 August 2022, 20:30
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Nicely done and awesome lights with strobos 😃👍 I wonder is that small cotton cloud necessary? It is quite remote from the main models and covers the cool wooden stand.
28 August 2022, 10:31
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Thanks guys. Yeah... I'm starting to have second thoughts on the cotton cloud as well. I might just remove it. It doesn't quite work as I was expecting... and I have another little build that will make better use of it I think. 😉
29 August 2022, 02:09
Album info
On Kanzaki's last flight before becoming a full-fledged Yamato Airlines pilot, he's forced to fly without the use of an auto-pilot. When the 747-200 he's piloting strays slightly off course, he learns the need to be ever alert after a near collision with his former friend Shin's F-5E Tiger II in a cloud bank over the Mediterranean.