This book contains detailed instructions on building the F-35B Lightning II 1/48 scale model aircraft from Kitty Hawk. This book covers VERSION 2.0 of the model. If the box on your model kit does not say Version 2.0 then you need my other book for the initial version. The F-35 Fighter Aircraft has three versions. The F-35A is for the Air Force. The F-35C is for the Navy and has a longer wing span that can fold for carrier operations. The F-35B is for the Marines and can perform vertical takeoffs and landings. The F-35B Model is the most complex if you want to display its VSTOL capability that has many open access panels. I take the model kit instructions from Kitty Hawk and break them up into individual steps. I reorder the steps so that the small pieces (antennas, etc.) are assembled last which reduces the risk of damage when building the model. The steps are organized to insert the paint and decal steps in the best spot. This book provides a little history of the F-35B, photos of the model kit contents including the photo etch frets, a detailed list of tools that I used to build this model, along with a list of paints. The actual instruction section contains 649 steps that tells you what to dry fit, glue, and/or paint for each individual piece. Each step instruction shows the source (section) along with a block for you to mark that you completed the step. If the last column contains an X, that means there's a photo in the back with more details about the step. The major instruction sequence for this model is
1.Ejection Seat & Ladder (Build)
2.Instrument Panels
3.Nose Gear Wheel Well
4.Engine
5.Engine Exhaust Nozzle (Build)
6.Main Landing Gear Wheel Wells
7.Lower Lift Fan Intake
8.Fuselage and Wings Assembly, Paint, and Decals
9.Internal Weapons
10.Nose and Main Landing Gear
11.Engine Exhaust Nozzle (Install)
12.Doors (Flare/Chaff, Engine Exhaust, Weapons Bay)
13.Doors (Nose and Main Landing Gear)
14.External Missiles
15.Vent and Lift Fan Doors (Top)
16.Tails (Decals)
17.Speed Brake and Antenna
18.Cockpit Detail
19.Ejection Seat (Install)
20.Canopy, Pitot Tubes, & Ladder
I provide an index of the individual sprue parts that show where in the book the part is mentioned. This index was a great way to make sure that no pieces were overlooked. Finally, there are several pages of in-process photos with assembly tips and the final photos of my build. This book is a great checklist to make your build go smoothly. Of course, you can feel free to use different tools, paint, weathering, etc. or even add your own diorama. It took me several weeks write the first cut of this book then another 2 months to do the actual build to test my instructions. I make tweaks to improve the instructions and add the photos. I did a lot of research and didn't see anything this detailed about a model build. Most articles or videos concentrate on parts of their build or just give a summary review. I wanted to go down to the piece level and take you thru the whole build. This is a nice tool. If you have this F-35B V2 model kit and get this book, you can dive right into the build with confidence.