machine and overall dark grey
with white upper surfaces on
the wings of the USAF one.
First, I painted both models
with Tamiya White Primer, and
after some sanding gave them
another light coat of the same
paint. Instructions define the hues
only as ”white”, ”light grey”, and
“dark grey FS36118”, so for the light
grey, I used Model Master Acrylic
4763 Flat Gull Gray paint (which
looks too dark to me). For the dark
grey I used Tamiya AS-27 Gunship
Gray 2 from the spray can, which
in my humble opinion matches the
real colour perfectly. The process
of masking and painting of both
models is ridiculously easy, so
painting can be done in no time.
After all was dry, I gave my
models a coat of gloss lacquer and
started decaling. Decals are opaque
and a little thick, but the adhesive
reacts immediately after dipping
in water. The stencils look a bit too
big, and their placement on the
NASA machine is not supplied onthe painting scheme, so I decided
not to put them on my model at all.
However, these are well shown in
the painting scheme of the USAF
plane, so I used them. Finally,to finish I gave both models a
light coat of satin varnish.FINAL BITS
The USAF plane needed only a stand
and some exhaust stains that I dry-
brushed with metallic grey paint.
The stand for the in-flight model
was custom made from a piece of
transparent sprue and some pieces
of plastic I found in my workshop.
For the NASA aircraft, I painted
the undercarriage and covers white,
then brush-painted the tyres black.
I then attached the undercarriage
units and covers to their respective
places with quick-setting CA glue.
Finally, I added thin pieces of thin
wire to represent the actuators.
I dry-brushed some exhaust
stains again and regarded both of
my models as finished. One could
also try to add some representation
of the pitot-probes to the leading
edges of the empennage (these
are clearly noticeable on photos of
real aircraft), but I left them off.CONCLUSION
Building both these models took me
around two days (mainly because
of paint drying time), and I must
admit it was pure fun. Surely, these
models are a cure for the “Advanced
Modeller Syndrome”, even if
someone would wish to correct the
fuselage shape of the NASA plane.
Still, each model can be a good
starting point for the beginner who
wants to try a short-run kit. With
regard to the plane represented, I
think the small scale is absolutely
adequate here. There are some
models of Global Hawks in 1/72
around, and Skunk Works have
even made it in 1/48 scale. Miniwing
gives us an opportunity to put a
representation of the machine
on our shelves without taking up
to much precious shelf space.
The author thanks Miniwings
for giving me the opportunity
to build this pair of models.“EACH MODEL CAN BE A GOOD
STARTING POINT FOR THE BEGINNER
WHO WANTS TO TRY A SHORT-RUN KIT”
KIT REVIEWS
WWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COM • MARCH 2018 • 71
070-75-Reviews-0318.indd 71 09/02/2018 14:31