There are only a couple things better than spending time at the work bench to ease the workdays tensions. A couple times during the day I had to visit the Man Cave to search for something I needed and each time I walked past the bench this project called my name. At one point I had to stop pick it up and give the paint a rub down with a piece of paper towel to smooth it in preparation for the next step. I also drilled a few small holes in preparation of inserting the gun and cannon barrels, cryogenic fuel over pressure vents and the wingtip tank mounted landing/taxi lights.

Adding a little bite or offensive punch to shoot down the intended foe. I originally thought cannons and cannons alone but figured that was just too much for some targets. Swatting down a V-1 Buzz Bomb with a slow cycling heavy cannon might not be as effective as machine gun with a high rate of fire. So, why not one of each. Using a drill bit and a round (rat tailed) file I was able to make the recesses for the barrels along the front lower section of the nose. An interest and functional reason for placing them here is the canard doubles as a flash suppression guard while firing during night operations.

I used two different diameters of stainless steel tubing for the barrels. Each will also receive either a sleeve that will be inserted inside or around the outside to give it a thicker wall appearance.  Using some Medium Thickness CA, I applied some to the the opening at the aft end where the barrel enters the fuselage. I held onto the barrels keeping them aligned (pointing them in the right direction) until the CA setup…this took just a couple minutes.

Each wingtip mounted fuel tank received a light. One is more of a spot (landing) the other more of a flood (taxi) lens. These were sourced again from the spares stash. Simple clear styrene parts left over from some other project or donated by a discarded kit from someone else. I used Weld-On #3 which I applied to the tank liberally then placed the clear lens in the recess. One of my favorite methods to install lenses like this is to use my Dremel and a tapered bit. Slow speed and a slight amount of pressure creates a nice pocket for the light to set into. Test fit often to make sure you don’t get too deep or too large of a hole.

After these have had a chance to cure solid I will mask around them then dress the edges up with a polishing stick to make sure the flair into the tank smartly.

The canopy is masked, I still need to create a bulkhead to fill the void between the dorsal fillet on the upper fuselage and the canopy. A piece of styrene cut to fill the inside of the canopy will solve that.  The fiddly bits are always the most difficult!

I gave the rocket nozzles a little color to make them pop. The landing gear parts are now set aside so I can start to clean them up, paint and assemble. Once the decals are on and weathered, I’ll install them.

Time to get my day started, I’ve been penning this chapter while sipping my morning coffee and catching the news. I’ll return to this project hopefully later today after I give the Night Lark a little attention.

The colors seem to be a bit more correct in appearance in these images, more of the green shows up…shows what using different cameras can make.

Did you miss the previous chapter to this story? Ready for Chapter IV!

Academy 1:48 F-22 Raptor. Model by Chris Oglesby.

Photographing models serves two, no make that three purposes. First a way to show off your accomplishment to others who wouldn’t otherwise be able to view the model first hand.

Second it is a great tool to help the modeler improve their skillsets and quality of the models they are building. The camera see more than the eye, so it is a way to check your work as your build progresses. It also gets you into the routine for taking images as you build to correspond with the article you are penning for a magazine.

Third, just to have some FUN! The picture you see to the right was taken on a black background and illuminated with an LED penlight. It almost looks as if a vehicles headlights or light from a lightall were illuminating it.

A new tool in my arsenal…err camera bag is a ring light. The ring light I am using is made by Digital Concepts. I found it on Amazon.com for cheap. It comes with three different adapter rings (52mm, 55mm and 62mm) to mount it to your lens. It has a power converter/charger so you can us either AC or DC (battery) to power the LED lights. If you visit my photography website Images By Hawkeye, you’ll see other images I took using this setup. Oh I have also attached a wide angle adapter to my Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50 as well. I use it in some applications. For the F-22 shots, I didn’t, but it is shown attached in this picture.

So instead of just using the blue or white backgrounds, try using black.

A special thanks to Chris Oglesby for building this Academy 1:48 F-22 as a trial test bed for the Raptor Sheen.

234 years and still going strong!

Let the judging begin. Over the next couple of days the judges will confer and determine a winner. Stay tuned and good luck to those who entered! You can still view the entries by visiting our Contest Room.