The next step was to add the MXU 486 Travel Pod. Scanning the internet of a supplier, only one company produces it. When I contacted them, it was out of stock and production! So I have to do something about it. No choice, I have design and 3D print it myself.
Sim Chen Nam my friend saw my drawings and converted it into Solidworks and allowed it to be printed out of Nylon material. The only 4 pcs left in the market! And its not for sale as I have to keep it for future use for Version IV of the Zeus which was set to come.
For the bottom and the front of the aircraft it was painted as usual colours and weathered like most Hellenic Air Force fighter jets normally are.
I did the usual patchy works that I demonstrated in Athens Hellas IPMS show, using 3 tones of grey to blend into one colour. Then weather it with the usual suspects.
I painted the red line using the Tamiya flexi tape together with the other masking tape types. I coated it with white then over coat it with red.
The bottom weathering continued with earnest till I am happy with the results and looks of the plane.
It looks set so, I sprayed the top part of the mural with Gunze surfacer white. I mark out the Greek flag lines with a pencil, planning the curves as it would.
The whites must be masked so that I can do the blues. Taking care to note the shapes and allowances for the flying folds in the flag.
The other half was masked off and sprayed with GAIA black primer. Taking care that the whites are not covered. So tracing the pencil lines were most critical.
Blue in earnest. There will the use of 3 tones of blue to depict the colour of the Greek flag, as Dimitris Palassis told me that the paint is pearlescent with glass powder added. So, I added Pearl pigments so that it mimics the reflectivity of flash lighting like the real plane.
Then I had to work on the folds when the flag is flying. It has to have deeper blue and lighter blue to create the waves that has depth and height.
Matching the folds to the CFTs was quite tricky. I have to touch up back and forth a few times to get them to match.
The lines of the whites needed touch up to smoothen the flow so that the flag looks natural and not jiggered. Then work started on the spinal area with grey murals and greyish blues.
Matching the folds now I have to plan the white folded parts with 2 tones of grey. Masking will be difficult and I have to keep the whites extremely clean all the time. Using the trusty erasers.
Here you can see me trying to match the fold lines to prepare for the greys on the flag to match the blues.
Spraying the greys on the white in earnest. I did a two tone shade to create a sense of depth and 3 dimensional feel. I use cards to prevent oversprays.
The flag looks almost completed but the white stripes still needed some touch up to line up properly.
Finally I added all the blues and I needed whites to go back on the blues so I needed to hand paint those with Vallejo paints by hand. Very diluted glazing, about 7 to 8 coats to get a solid colour.
Once that is done away with I started to finish off the spine area with the lightning bolt and the nape. Only when the model is finished I realised that I needed one more sawtooth. But all is too late. So I left the nape as it is.
Then I marked out the Zeus word following the photos the HAF sent me. I sprayed on the blue outer glow highlights on hte blackish grey background. 2 coats are needed to get a good colour contrast.
Then I started to mask out the actual letters that I wanted to paint white. Low pressure and alternate letters. Patience is golden here.
Three coats are needed to get a solid colour. The whites are put on by using very low pressure and very careful not to overspray as its on black background, it would ruin the whole wing.
Comparing with the photo, I am quite happy that we are almost there, not 100% but close.
Then I masked and spray white, yellow then orange to get the lightning bolt done.
After the first bolt is completed I started to work on the 2nd bolt and at the same time, try out some grey washes to see if I can bring out the rivets and details on the black portion.
Finally the masks are taken off. There was some work that needed to be done to patch up the bolt ends. So I used Vallejo paint and mix up the exact tone and brushed it one a few thin coats till I get the correct transition.
Next I needed to do the electrical discharges. It is done with the same procedure as the Zeus words, blue highlights first, then draw in the white lightning bolts.
Taking a step back and admiring the work till this stage was exhilarating to say the least.