Forum member DHKollektr (John) posted these pics of a build that took him a while to complete…. 28 years! 🙂 But he finished it- that’s the key! Great work John- thanks for sharing.
This late ’70s/early ’80s Hasegawa kit is a re-boxed issue of the old Frog kit, so it leaves a bit to be desired in some areas, but the end result I think looks OK.
This one has had a very long gestation period, I started it waaaaaaaay back in ’82 or ’83 when I was still in the RAAF. I had got it painted at the time, but I used ordinary domestic adhesive tape for the masking, and when I pulled it off most of the adhesive stayed on the model. If it was available then, I certainly didn’t know about Tamiya tape back in those days. I started to use the good ole domestic methylated spirits to remove the adhesive, but found that the paint was coming off too. So I got somewhat discouraged and left it for many years.
I eventually got it into the caustic-soda bath and removed all the paint, and some of the filler as well. So with some more filler, and a lot of sanding, I eventually got it ready for paint again earlier this year, and finished in time for Melbourne’s Model Expo in June. It certainly isn’t perfect, but it still looks like a Lightning. Enjoy.
