Thunnus Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 The green looks good from this angle. Did you spray the green on the silver AFTER the hairspray? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol' Scrapiron Posted January 23, 2018 Author Share Posted January 23, 2018 No hairspray... just thinned Tamiya paint directly on the sprayed silver. It must have just been a hard slick shell that didn't allow the green to bite until a couple fine layers were on (I guess acting as its own primer). Here's a look at the silver bottom now that I have unmasked. I have started to rough in the chipping on the cowling, but this will be much refined before long. - - I am also planning to do multiple washes on the bottom in various black/gray/brown colors to break up the silver, but it really looks smooth and shiny at the moment. Here's the topside for the moment. Gunsight will be added at the end and the fabric control surfaces will get some color change. I'm not worried about the area where the canopy meets the fuselage because that will get chipped up. That's where she stands for the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 23, 2018 Share Posted January 23, 2018 It looks like the situation has resolved itself. I would test to see if a clear coat over the Nybco silver would help matters in the future. Or try a different type of silver. The Ki-100 is shaping up very nicely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol' Scrapiron Posted January 24, 2018 Author Share Posted January 24, 2018 Moving right along. Knocked the chipping into shape, touched up some of the lines, and then got the thing dirty. Maybe heavy handed with the dark wash in some of the grimy areas and with the lighter wash up top. It felt weird slathering on the wash over the green that had been a struggle to get smooth, but it is definitely moving toward the finish line. I think of this build as a warm-up 5K at the very start of training for a Marathon -- simply seeing if my legs still work after so much time away. - - I do like the way the dirty wash put some depth in the wheel wells without having to paint them a different metallic shade. Lots more to do... LSP_Kevin and Gazzas 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Cool work, I was on a ground running team for one of those when I was younger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 Welcome back to the hobby. I noticed that you mentioned that the molds were from 1996. As far as I'm concerned that's when scale modeling went to a whole new level kit manufacture and aftermarket wise. Your progress is looking good bud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol' Scrapiron Posted January 26, 2018 Author Share Posted January 26, 2018 Getting closer: Following a coat of Future, I put most of the decals on. When they were dry added another coat of Future over the decals and then sprayed Testors flat coat to seal it in. Decals went on nice and I don't see any silvering. Still a few bits to add (guns, antenna, gunsight, etc.) and some weathering/chipping. - - - - The lighting in this shot revealed a bit of a dimple along the centerline just aft of the wing. Hardly see it in person but the camera reveals all! - Also got some decal paper and painted a layer of the interior color covered by JA green and have sealed that in preparation for adding the canopy frames that way. It will be a first for me so we'll see how it goes. LSP_Kevin, Gazzas and mustang1989 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 Awesome! I love the markings on this one! Can't wait to see the canopy work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 Lovely! Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ol' Scrapiron Posted January 28, 2018 Author Share Posted January 28, 2018 Follow-up on my first attempt at using decals for canopy frames... What I did and what I would improve on. I painted a small square of clear decal paper in the interior color a little larger than I thought I would need [next time I'll double my estimate] Then added the exterior color. Once dry I cut that area from the sheet with some unpainted area to grab with the tweezers while I shot a layer of Testors decal bonder to seal it. [next time I'll leave blank area at both ends to tape firmly to work surface] Using straightedge and a brand new blade, cut a very thin strip of decal. Just dip in water... the decal will release in a couple seconds -- way faster than I had expected. And then it's just "voila, straight lines" right? Afraid not. Every time I touched the canopy to straighten a newly placed frame some other frame would tweak out of position. And every decal strip would much rather stick to your fingers than the canopy. The long thin strips had a "stretchier" quality than normal decals so trimming to length while on the canopy was more of an adventure than I expected. On future projects I plan to do this in several short sessions on separate areas of the canopy. Also, I will grip the canopy in a holder to free up a hand. I'll put the blame for all the pitfalls on me and chalk it up to being a first experience with this technique. So, here's how it looks (remember what you are seeing is GREATLY enlarged -- I swear it looks better to the naked eye!) Note the little hint of a squiggle on the back frame... keeping the lines straight certainly was a challenge. Oops. I now see a strip on the front edge has disappeared at some point. I'll fix that. -- Looks like the other side of the front section also needs a little attention. (I guess it takes posting pictures to see some of the gaffs) -- The beauty of having the interior color on the decal paper first is you get nice crisp lines from the inside too. -- After a coat of Future to seal the frames in place, the glossy color does not match the matte color on the plane. I will have to carefully apply a little matte finish to the frames without affecting the canopy glass.The next round of weathering should blend it together as well. My verdict is that (with some care) this process is the way to go on standard canopies. Not sure I have what it would take to do the complex nose glazing on a B-29 or He-111 project -- at least not yet. BKirwan, Gazzas and mustang1989 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 For your first time, it came out pretty good! Even when I'm applying decals to the main body of the plane, I rarely do the ones that are close together. I'll do a starboard wing, then port fuselage, then starboard tail...and back round again just to avoid touching a decal that hasn't dried into. Stencil-heavy planes take quite a while this way but save me from pulling out the few strands of hair that remain. I wonder what would happen if you dullcoated the decal before cutting it from the sheet? Looking good! Gaz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 29, 2018 Share Posted January 29, 2018 The canopy looks very good! Interesting technique! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang1989 Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 I've never used the decals for the frames but yours turned out pretty dang good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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