Jump to content

Tamiya 1/48 Rufe


LSP_Kevin

Recommended Posts

Sorry K2! I have the Seiran kit, and it's in a different league to this one. It will probably be utilised in this series at some point. Hoping to get the Rex someday myself; would love one in 1/32!

 

Anyway, work progresses slowly as I get stuck into the working week...

 

Kev

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK, got the cockpit installed:

 

8OkJa5.jpg

 

D875nl.jpg

 

NL2fdI.jpg

 

Also got the beaching dolly assembled, painted and weathered. I worked really hard to break up the monotonal black finish, and provide some semblance of realistic - or at least convincing - weathering:

 

GfNDhp.jpg

 

8y3xHJ.jpg

 

More soon!

 

Kev

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cracking on, here's the completed airframe, awaiting final seam work:

 

9MChVy.jpg

 

Now, this build, and the others that will follow it in the series (the next one is looking likely to be Tamiya's equally ancient K-84 kit), is really all about weathering - or, to be more precise, about me getting more proficient at it. So in that spirit I set about tackling the cowling, and here's the result (with the engine installed):

 

CW80ZW.jpg

 

ycrtSf.jpg

 

Just like with the beaching dolly, the main aim was to produce a weather-beaten look that breaks up the monotone overall black colour. I think it looks OK, but I'm more than happy to take any advice from you weathering experts out there.

 

For the record, I started with a coat of AS-12, following by a bit of a miserable attempt to apply some salt masking - the water kept beading up and the salt kept falling off. There must be a better way to do it! In any case, I followed that with a thick coat of Tamiya's Rubber Black. While it was still a bit soft, I removed the salt and distressed the finish somewhat with a toothpick (I think I could do with a bit more finesse here). This was followed by some light dabbing of Gunze RLM 74, almost dry on a piece of sponge - kind of like dry brushing I guess, but the applicator is a sponge and you dab instead of stroke. I'm finding it a great way to provide colour variegation to a surface. Next up was some random chipping and worn effects with a silver prismacolor pencil, followed lastly by a heavy wash with Flory's Dark Dirt. The tide marks you see around some of the chipping seems to be from some dissolved salt residue affecting the overlying paint work. Another reason why I think perhaps the salt method isn't really for me.

 

Feedback and critique on the results more than welcome!

 

On another note, some test-fitting and placement has told me that I made a big mistake when I didn't read the instructions, and missed the bit about adding weight to the front of the float. There isn't any, and it will tail-sit badly, even when placed in the dolly, so I have to do something about it. I intend to drill to large-ish holes in the underside of the float, big enough to pop some round fishing sinkers into, and then top it up with resin. Plug, fill, sand, done. In theory!

 

Kev

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Peterpools

Kev

Nice progress on the Rufe. The weathering on the cowling does look nice and worn, with the only suggestion being the chipping around the latches is a too heavy.  Overall, the weathering is well balanced and not too heavy

Looks real good

Keep 'em coming

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Peter. Agree about the chipping around the latches. That's where the salt method went a bit wrong for me. Gonna have to either read a bit more about it and give it another go, or give it up for another approach.

 

Kev

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Peterpools

Kev

The salt crystals might be too large for such a small and specific area. I was thinking that maybe a very lightly dabbing the latches and the sheetmetal with tiny amounts of Micro M ask on a toothpick might produce a more delicate effect. Just thinking out loud and enjoying my morning cup of Joe.

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cool project K1. From the times Ive used the salt method, I also found it was handy to have smaller crystals, and apply a thinner layer paint, as it came off from the salt crystals easier as well.

 

As to the water, using cool tap water (to not melt way any of the smaller crystals) with a small drop of a surfactant seems to help break the surface tension when applying to the plastic. Garden shops around here sell surfactants for spray herbicides, and you can always use a VERY small drop of dish soap, although I like that less, as it can make things too slippery.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, I mentioned earlier that I was going to have to fix my screw-up of neglecting to put any weights in the forward float. I started by drilling a pilot hole on each side of the underside of the float, and progressively enlarging them with larger drill bits and finally a knife blade:

 

JdtBVx.jpg

 

I made sure the holes were big enough to insert my smallest lead fishing sinkers into, and filled up the forward float with them to just below the holes themselves. Once this was done, I mixed up some resin and poured it in:

 

BTV2KZ.jpg

 

Self-filling holes! By tomorrow I should be able to clean all this up and carry on like nothing happened. Plenty heavy now, that's for sure.

 

Kev

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Peterpools

Kev

Nice work-a-round the weight issue. Just love to see the older kits being built so skillfully.

Keep 'em coming

Peter

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the positive feedback guys. Next step will be to get a coat of primer on it to check my seams. Things will slow down a little bit now, especially since this one has some competition from a Spitfire as well as a Texan!

 

Kev

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Neat................Great job so far K1

 

I wonder if I will have to add any weight to the front end of my 32nd Rufe?

 

I was thinking not, with the float being solid but now this has me thinking (always dangerous)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...