I’ll try to build a U.S. plane again. This time it’s the Academy’s T-33A shooting star. The Cartograf decals look high quality, and the instrument panel details look good. The reproduction of the landing gear compartment is also relatively good for an old kit.
Decal included with the kit. The selling point is that it has a beautiful decal from a Cartograf. Two types of markings are available.
The total length of the T-33A is 11.2 m, so the 1/48 scale is 23.3 cm. That’s the exact length.
It is unclear whether the injection lever was precisely reproduced, but I painted it yellow as it was. Painting small details with a brush was hard because it is multiple seats. The mold on the front and side instrument panels is fine, so I think it will look good through the canopy. If the mold was this fine, I also wanted the decals on the cockpit and side panels.
There was no seat belt part, and it was not molded into the seat, so I used other parts and attached it like that.
(2023/03/08)
As expected, this aircraft is a jet plane that center of gravity is far behind, so I put weights in it. 8g was recommended; when I measured the shaved fishing weight, it was 2g. When I measured it, it was about 10 grams. I use this because the rest seems to fit the nose rather than the painstakingly scraped one, as it takes time.
I attached the main wing. It was able to bond the main wings neatly without any gaps.
Maybe it was my bad way of putting it together, but the flap installation left quite a gap, so I fixed this with putty. Additionally, the carving of the panel line is shallow, and there is a part that could be buried if painted, so I am re-carving it, and it will take a little longer until the basic painting.
This canopy is beautiful, with no parting line in the middle. The taper is not tight, so there was probably no problem with the casting. The masking process is relatively simple, so there isn’t much of a problem. Some parts glued to the canopy requires plastic parts to be attached between the front and rear seats. I wouldn’t say I like the work of gluing to clear parts. It’s pretty risky.
(2023/03/10)
I painted the part where I couldn’t work after covering the canopy. Maybe I’ll paint the sights in silver later because they’re not clear parts.
It looks pretty precise, if not accurate. I think this is enough as I cover it with a canopy.
The fuel tank on the wing tip has been attached and is roughly shaped.
I painted it black first. The primary color, gray, is also glossy, so I wonder if I can match it with that. I’m still deciding whether to keep the glitter or end up with a half gloss.
The nose and fuel tank outer shell parts retain this color, so I masked this first.
(2023/03/14)
Landing gears and their compartments, covers, and a lot of silver paint. This time, it will be assembled while painting, similar to the last Bearcat. First, paint the entire area black and the landing gear compartment cover in the primary color. It is masking them, painting all the silver parts, masking the silver part of the body, and then basic painting again. It takes a lot of work, but the finish is better than brush-painting key parts after attaching all the parts.
The silver parts blew all at once.
This time, too, the masking was done rather neatly. After all, airbrushing makes the finish look better than brushing. Masking takes a lot more time than airbrushing.
I blew Creos Mr. Color No. 73, Aircraft Gray. Glossy finish.
That’s a pretty fresh color marking this time.
Really? This. It’s disappointing. The decals on the outside of the wingtip fuel tank, the arrow-like markings, are probably wrong. I think the color of the decal on the left side is upside down, even though the light blue should be on top. I thought about cutting and pasting it to fix it, but it also has a delicate white edge, so I thought I could keep it this time. The body was glued on the glossy top, so all the decals have a reasonably high degree of adhesion, so it feels good.
In addition, there is no instruction to attach the caution mark in the instruction manual of the Academy, so I attached it at my discretion. Whether the Cartograf is sloppy or what the Academy ordered to Cartograf is lazy, I think it’s probably the latter, but aircraft decals differ from tanks. Many modelers look forward to these, so I’d like them to reproduce them as accurately as possible. Well, I’ll take it this time. I thought the arrow mark might have been in the corner of the box with an extra decal of correction, but that’s not what happened.
(2023/03/17)
After all, I corrected the decal mistake by hand. I had given up on making a mistake in the direction of the nationality mark of the Polish Air Force or the Czech Air Force before or in the direction of the track of the tank because it was only after completion. I figured it out this time during the making, so I dealt with it as best I could. It was handwritten and didn’t look very nice, but it was my best.
I need to fix more of the sticking out, and I think it’s better than the wrong decal.
I managed to complete the T-33A. The T-33 is the first dual-seat jet trainer aircraft to evolve from the U.S. Air Force’s first practical jet fighter, the P-80. The nickname was Shooting Star, like the original P -80, and T-Bird was also widely used.
It instantly made the Grumman F-8F Bearcat obsolete when it first appeared, and its performance was considered a new dimension. It’s a coincidence because the previous one just made Bearcat.
It has been in active service since the 1990s, more than half a century after production began, and was operated by Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force from 1954 to 2000.
The Japan Air Self-Defense Force used it a lot, so next time, I want to try to make it with a Japanese Self-Defense Force specification marking.
When I unmasked the canopy, part of the inside got dirty. Maybe dust. Maybe the dry mist got in when I airbrushed the air intake or landing gear compartment. Considering this accident, I guess I had to carefully examine the order of assembly and painting, whether it was waiting until the last minute to bond the canopy or keeping the cockpit sealed. It’s hard to keep the cockpit sealed, so I guess it’s the order of painting after all. A little disappointing.
The T-33A marking is displayed at the McCord Air Museum at McCord Air Force Base near Lakewood, Washington. Marking of the aircraft as it flew over McCord Air Force Base during a retirement ceremony in 1988. It is said to be the last of the planes that have been active for more than 30 years. This is the 318 Interceptor Squadron aircraft.
The silver landing gear compartment was lightly washed to contrast light and dark.
The entire fuselage, including the black part, has a gloss finish. I thought it would look more balanced.
Even though the decal was beautiful, and I bought it because I liked it, correcting the mistake took a lot of work. But I guess it’s good because I managed to complete it. I’ve been making aircraft plastic models recently and want to make a tank next time.
(2023/03/21)
