SPA Modeler

You're absolutely right about the wing being painted, Carlos. I believe that's the same airframe Stuart reference earlier. The final version (“F”) has a Swedish designed afterburner. The photos are good. This is the one they kept in operational status.

I was too tired to post any explanation, but this was a test, and I'm afraid I still don't much care for AK markers. When I rubbed the paint the next day it came off quite easily. Now I know there's no primer underneath but I still think there should be some surface adhesion.

I've sanded this area down and will correct with primer. I'm going to do the outside first.

I finally found my pic Bruce. Here is my Tunnan from 1983-1984. More then likely its the Heller kit.

Bruce, my friend, no news here? Looking forward to your progress on that Saab Tunan.

Bolleken wrote: ↑Fri Aug 28, 2026 1:52 pm Bruce, my friend, no news here? Looking forward to your progress on that Saab Tunan.

Marius, allow me to start with this 300 dpi scan of the decal sheet, which includes the aerobatic markings which would be useful to create masks and templates, then I'll move on to Chapter 2 of this build which is "Things My Father Taught Me."

Chapter 2

Things My Dad Taught Me (Model Building)



Maybe every one does this, but I never see it. It's using a hot glue to melt and finesse rough plastic. I have only seen this done by one internet modeler who likes to build old kits and that may be the reason. However, this is something my Dad taught me to do and with a kit like this, it's the best way to form a compound curve. The nose has been a bit of a challenge in that regard. A great deal of plastic had to be removed. So I literally paint the surface of the plastic with a coat of glue and let that set. That's an important trick that I'll use everywhere, pretty much. I've used it on the seat already and now I'm using it here on the nose area.

Front End Friday



The front end cap is heavily modified. It's carved into form with needle files, and curls of sandpaper. Now it's been painted with glue and you see the surface is partially dissolved. I'll go back over this again with a higher grit from Lyle's box of wonderful sandpapers. Thanks again, Lyle.

The Bottom of the Barrel



Here's how things look down below. More than a bit rough. It's hard for me to keep the areas around the guns completely clean and clear of putty as well as scratches. The guns look a little weird to me, still rough and I'm not sure if drilling out gun barrels has helped. I think so, and I trust Carlos when it comes to details like this. Thank you, Carlos. Maybe I need to enlarge the openings. We'll see.

Interesting. I have tried that to add a rough texture to plastic with the help of some course sanding sponge, but you are doing the opposite.

Looking good there Bruce! Since you’re going with a NMF, smoothing out the plastic is highly advisable. I had not thought much about the how before as compared to the why. But then here you mention a coat of glue to smooth it out. I’ve done that before on armor kits to roughen the surface for a cast texture. Which it did overall, however it also left the surface shiny. But here you’re heading in the opposite direction. A buffing after it’s dry with some very fine or ultra fine sanding sponge/block/stick should give you the last preparations needed for the surface. Perhaps multiple coats of your chosen paint, with polishing between each color as well during tha painting process. That is something that I did long ago on another project with good results.