1:72 Lockheed-Martin F-35B Lightning

The real subject

The F-35B Lightning II is the variant of this fifth-generation combat aircraft adapted for short takeoff and vertical landing. Behind the cockpit it has a lift fan and in the tail a nozzle that swivels downward, so the machine can also operate from short decks and improvised surfaces. The shaping of the airframe is driven by the effort to keep the radar signature as low as possible, so the surface is smooth and the flaps, doors and panel gaps have sawtooth edges.

What the set offers

This is a photo-etched set of metal parts in 1:72 scale. Photo-etch is made by etching thin sheet away, so the parts have a thickness that injection-molded plastic cannot match. It shows most in small scale: what is only suggested on a plastic part can be genuinely thin and cut through in photo-etch. The parts are held on tabs in a fret and are cut out of it before the build.

Building and painting tips

Separate them with a sharp blade on a hard surface, not with cutters. Sand the remains of the tabs with fine sandpaper so that the part sits flush. Make the bends along the marked grooves, ideally in a bender or between two blades. The metal is glued with cyanoacrylate glue; plastic cement will not join it. Degrease the parts before painting and apply a primer, otherwise the paint cracks and peels on smooth metal.

Who it is for

The set belongs in the hands of a modeler who wants sharp edges and fine structure even in small scale where plastic offers only a suggested shape. Tweezers, good light and no hurry are worth it. It is an accessory to a kit: the model, the paints and the glue are not in the box, unless stated otherwise.