Well this one is painted out and done. The model was a great buy and a great build for a 16 dollar kit. Waterslide decals and forgiving pieces made this kit overall a nice build. The nighthawk accuratly represents the debut of Skunkworks work in the 1970s when they released the F-117A Nighhawk to the World.
Now that the United States wishes to clear sales of F-18 Hornets and EA-18 Growlers to US Allies, the F117 has been beaten by 1990's technology. Both the Hornet and Growlers respectivly carry sensitive radar equipment that can pick up a Nighthawk from 50-100 nautical miles. It is old 1970's stealth technology, and although it was well ahead of its time- it is time to retire the F117 in 2008 mainly due to high maintenence costs.
So why sell such precious and sensitive equipment? Because the classified information the air force doesn't want you to know is that B2 tech and technology in progress can beat the sensitive systems. What the details are of this classified information, I do not know. That is why it is called classified information. I have done a few papers already on the subject, and it seems like UMVs (unmanned vehicles) are about to come into their 1st generation (the predator already has). I wonder what they can do for stealth? Countries like China and Russia already have 1st generation missile defenses against stealth, however the United States is far ahead in the race.
Probably the hardest part of the model was painting the canopy. I tried painting it a gloss black but I soon learned that this was a bad idea. For one, it did not match the body color. Two, when I tried to paint over a matte black, the paint cracked! I had to strip the entire canopy down to the bare minimum of black paint and start all over. My roomate is a model railroader and suggested Polyscale. I have used the paint before but I used it a long time ago when I had no idea how to complete models. I stirred her up and this has to be some of the finest paint I have ever used. The engine black (flat black) amazingly matched the plastic very well and the kit looks like a real Nighthawk, pardoning a few seams that I have to disguise and not to mention the entire kit needs to be washed and laquered to protect the paint.
*note- Blogger Image Uploading is currently broken and they are working on the fix. You can find my gallery for the Nighthawk here. Sorry!*
Now that the United States wishes to clear sales of F-18 Hornets and EA-18 Growlers to US Allies, the F117 has been beaten by 1990's technology. Both the Hornet and Growlers respectivly carry sensitive radar equipment that can pick up a Nighthawk from 50-100 nautical miles. It is old 1970's stealth technology, and although it was well ahead of its time- it is time to retire the F117 in 2008 mainly due to high maintenence costs.
So why sell such precious and sensitive equipment? Because the classified information the air force doesn't want you to know is that B2 tech and technology in progress can beat the sensitive systems. What the details are of this classified information, I do not know. That is why it is called classified information. I have done a few papers already on the subject, and it seems like UMVs (unmanned vehicles) are about to come into their 1st generation (the predator already has). I wonder what they can do for stealth? Countries like China and Russia already have 1st generation missile defenses against stealth, however the United States is far ahead in the race.
Probably the hardest part of the model was painting the canopy. I tried painting it a gloss black but I soon learned that this was a bad idea. For one, it did not match the body color. Two, when I tried to paint over a matte black, the paint cracked! I had to strip the entire canopy down to the bare minimum of black paint and start all over. My roomate is a model railroader and suggested Polyscale. I have used the paint before but I used it a long time ago when I had no idea how to complete models. I stirred her up and this has to be some of the finest paint I have ever used. The engine black (flat black) amazingly matched the plastic very well and the kit looks like a real Nighthawk, pardoning a few seams that I have to disguise and not to mention the entire kit needs to be washed and laquered to protect the paint.
*note- Blogger Image Uploading is currently broken and they are working on the fix. You can find my gallery for the Nighthawk here. Sorry!*
2 comments:
I recently bought an old Monogram 1/48-scale F-117A and I'm looking for construction tips and lessons learned. In your photos, I noticed that your stars & bars decals on the fuselage are upside down.
SHHHHHHHHHHHH Its very loud in here! *laughs*.
I built this kit a long time ago and honestly I need to build a smaller version- I have learned tha 1/48 aircraft are not very forgiving in the size department!
I learned that painting gloss black and then an acrylic black on the canopy was a disaster- however I did eventually fix it. Another good one- this is one I didn't putty and repaint- I probably should have did that.
Good luck with yours! let me know how it turns out.
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