KIT: Space Fighter Viper
MANUFACTURER: Monogram, U.S.A., Kit No. 6027
SCALE: Unstated; approximately 1/32
DIMENSIONS: Length - 11"; wingspan - 5 13/16"; Height - 3 15/16".

Bob Hayden

Realism, not perfection, is what most of us strive for in scale model-building. Many modellers weather their models to add realistic evidence of use and age and to bring out detail. Battle damage on combatant models is part of weathering, and I built Monogram's excellent Viper kit specifically to try out some battle damage techniques.

I built two vipers. The first was built "stock" to acquaint myself with the kit, to identify any problem areas, and to determine the best assembly sequence for the damaged version. Although it certainly takes longer than just diving in, I recommend this "stock kit first" procedure any time you plan to modify a kit extensively. Before building either kit I planned the damage I wanted to add. I found an easy way to record my ideas was to attach a sheet of tracing paper over the photo on the boxtop and doodle away. This way, you make your mistakes on paper, where they are easy to erase, and check your ideas against the unassembled model parts.

I decided to add only moderate battle damage to my model to represent a craft that had sustained two ore three close laser-cannon hits, but that was still flyable. I also wanted to build the damage version using only one kit (often, extensive modifications require a second kit to provide "fit-in" panels or hatches where holes are made in the first kit). I settled for the damage shown in the photos: a peeled-back sheet-metal panel on the left side of the fuselage near the nose, a blown-away access-hatch cover on the number two engine, and skin rupture on the port wing.

Both models share the same basic paint scheme. The overall color is light grey made by adding small amounts of silver to white. This gives you a color that has more 'life' than a grey made by adding black to white. The fuselage nose fairing and the rear engine casings are a dark metallic grey, also with some silver mixed in. The striping was done using the kit decals. Let's get to the heart of the job - the battle damage treatment. Bear in mind the battle-damage techniques can also be used to add details such as open servicing hatches to undamaged models.

The first task was to remove the forward fuselage panel and the "blown away" hatch on the engine housing. Many modellers favour a jeweller's saw for this kind of cutting, but I find I can work faster by drilling many holes around the perimeter of the area to be removed. I used a 3/32" drill and left 1/64" safety margin between the holes and the edge of the opening. After drilling the holes, cut through the narrow bits of plastic connecting them, remove the waste material, and finish the edges of the opening with files. Work to the line slowly and carefully.

The full thickness of the plastic is much to great to simulate sheet metal, so the next job is to remove material form the back of the parts to make the exposed edges thin. I used a steel cutter in a motor tool to do this work. A slow-speed control is a must here - if the tool runs fast, it will melt the plastic instead of cutting it. I used a ball-shaped cutter. Here again, work slowly and carefully, removing only a little material at a time.

The peeled-back fuselage panel is made from .010" styrene sheet. Cut a strip to the correct length and width to fit into the opening in the fuselage. Then, hold the strip over the barrel of a hot knife (a soldering iron will do the same job) to soften it. While the plastic is slightly rubbery, deform it as shown in the photos. Next, cement it in place with micro-weld and smear 5-minute epoxy over the joint on the inside for strength.

To make the impacted area on the wing, I slowly warmed - again using the hot knife - an area on the underside of the top wing section until it sagged downward. I allowed this sunken area to cool and used the ball cutter in the motor tool to cut through the plastic from beneath. The ragged hole that this makes does a good job of representing a glancing laser-cannon impact.

Before we can start assembly, we need to settle on the inner structure that will show through the damaged openings. The small hole in the wing is easiest. I backed the hole with a small scrap of corrugated aluminium siding - the kind sold for model railroad structures - and added three sizes of wire to represent cables and hydraulic lines. I painted this green to contrast with the wing color.

The peeled panel in the fuselage is backed with 70-mesh brass screen painted light blue. To this I glued several sizes of small wire and two pieces of small diameter stranded insulated wire to represent a ruptured cable. A few small rectangular styrene pieces represent electrical junction boxes and instrument sensors.

To back the blown-away engine service hatch, I cut a piece of scribed styrene to fit inside the engine housing and pre-curved it by rolling it around a 3/4" dowel. Next, I painted it orange and added another stranded-wire ruptured cable, two clear fuel lines (made from the Teflon tubing that comes with HotStuff brand ACC), a piece of wire, and three junction boxes.

I then removed the inserts and sprayed the inside of the fuselage flat black to ensure that any light that gets into the model will not reveal the lack of complete detail. I assembled, painted, and decaled the model using standard kit building procedures, being careful to maintain openings through which I could position the battle-damage inserts. I added the inserts during final assembly.

One item that is lacking in the kit is a black decal piece for the small cockpit window pane on the top surface of the cockpit. I made one by cutting the correct shape out of a scrap decal. To keep the window panes shiny while spraying the rest of the model with clear flat finish, I cut individual masks form Scotch Magic Transparent Tape and lightly pressed them over each window area. After applying the flat finish and pastel-chalk weathering, I removed the tape, revealing the glossy areas.

Other modifications that come to mind for the Viper fighter include replacing the opaque cockpit window with clear plastic, adding cockpit detail, and adding skilike landing skids. The best bet for landing gear would be to utilise strut parts from an aircraft model and make the skids form sprue.