1/72 Italeri F-22 Raptor 

by Burt Gustafson

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For your viewing pleasure, here is my 1/72 scale Italeri F-22 Raptor. This the third OOB Italeria Raptor kit I have built and all three have been terrible kits. The model here depicts aircraft #04062 assigned to the SPADS of the First Fighter Wing at Langley AFB Virginia.

Construction: I won't go into detail about all the construction problems with this model as they have been well covered by other modelers. See the F-22 pages in the Gallery section for a full rundown of all the construction problems with Italeri Raptor kits. The biggest problem with this kit of course is fit problems, lots of filling and sanding. One other thing, liquid glue will not work on the plastic of this kit.

Click on images below to see larger images

  

  

  

Painting: I painted the model with Testors Model Masters enamels (FS36251, FS36176, and FS36375) and used the painting diagram that came with the TwoBobs F-22A Langley Raptors decal set. Landing gear and bays are in gloss white. I used a couple of coats of Future to prepare for decals and a mixture of Model Masters Semi-Gloss and Flat Clear Laquer Finish for the finish coat.

Decals: I used a combination of kit decals and decals from the TwoBobs F-22A Langley Raptors decal set for the model decals.

After all the filling, sanding, and painting, the model turned out looking pretty good. I believe the finished kit captures the look of an F-22 Raptor.

The F-8 Crusader was dubbed "The Last of the Gunfighters", the F-22 will probably be dubbed "The Last Manned Fighter". The F-22 is one awesome fighter aircraft. Without a doubt, the best fighter aircraft ever designed and built.

Burt

Photos and text © by Burt Gustafson