Revell Zero Rebuild

[spacewolf]

Hey Kev

 

Looking very good and yes, isn't it amazing what a coat of paint will hide ? The scribing looks great and I'll be quite interested in seeng how the salt method works.

 

Cheers

 

Vaughn

[ruzlkampf]

Ooooooh yeah Kevin.

[LSP_Kevin]

Well, to dip my toe in the water with the salt technique, I decided to start with the cowling and (ab)use it for experimental purposes. For those of you not familiar with this technique, the basic idea is to undercoat in silver, wet the painted surface, and then sprinkle ordinary table salt randomly over the wet surface. Once this is dry, apply the camo coat, allow to dry and then scrub away the salt, leaving random paint chips and peeling. Here's the process in pictures as it applied to my cowling:

 

 

 

 

In the last photo I've added extra chips and nicks with a silver pencil, and dinged up the cowl flaps too. It's certainly come out randomly enough, but I can't help thinking it's also a little arbitrary, and perhaps overdone. So, what's the verdict folks? Too much?

 

Kev

[Butler]

I think that looks amazing Kev and i'll be trying that on my next build

 

Have you tried using a pin or scalpel blade to create very thin scratches, i.e. just taking some topcoat off and leaving the silver showing?

[spacewolf]

Hey Kev

 

Actually I think it looks rather good, not over done at all. I've seen some 'chip jobs' that look really over done, yours does NOT fall in that group. I'd say it's a keeper. Well done.

 

Cheers

 

Vaughn

[Barry]

I concur with the other guys; excellent work Kevin.

 

Barry

[Azgaron]

Looking good Kev!
The hard part is to get the wear on the "right" spots! What or wherever "right" is!?
On my Zero I used vaseline, with simular result! The big difference is that salt is a bit more random.
I think I would have done more wear on the front of the cowl, but that's me, cause it's there I imagine the most wear to appear!

Cheers,

Håkan

[WrongWay]

That Zero has really come alive! She's going to be a real beauty. Thanks for showing that salt technique off too. I think I'll try that out on my 109. Keep up the great work mate!

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks for the positive feedback guys! I'll leave it as is then. I'll have to be a bit more sparing on the rest of the airframe though, I think.

 

Have you tried using a pin or scalpel blade to create very thin scratches, i.e. just taking some topcoat off and leaving the silver showing?

 

Yep, I added a few of those, especially around the panel lines. Very hard to control though, and make it look natural. I generally have more luck with the silver pencil, ironically. I'll experiment a bit more with the rest of the plane.

 

I think I would have done more wear on the front of the cowl, but that's me, cause it's there I imagine the most wear to appear!

 

Yeah, I did try for that, but I couldn't get the salt to stick! Next time I'll try adding a bit of dish soap to the water to break the surface tension, and hopefully stop it beading so much on the shiny silver surface. I couldn't get the front curves of the cowling to stay wet and hold the salt.

 

Kev

[Azgaron]

In that case I'd try vaseline or perhaps marmite! At least they stick where you put them!
You have to watch so you don't smear it out though!

Cheers,

Håkan

[LSP_Ron]

Turned out very well

 

What is it that your not happy with in regards to the cowel flaps? They look perfectly fine to me?

[ChrisS]

I think it looks great, especially with the extra chipping. That helped put chips in "probable" spots around fasteners and panel lines.

[Blackcollar]

I concur, the Japenese paint was notorious for coming off. I think this is well balanced for the cowling's area.

 

Well done

 

-Al

[LSP_Kevin]

What is it that your not happy with in regards to the cowel flaps? They look perfectly fine to me?

 

Here's the problem, taken from an angle that actually reveals it:

 

 

It's the same on the other side. I'll have to live with it at this stage, and hope it doesn't detract too much from the finished model.

 

Kev

[Sabre F-86]

Kevin, that salty paint job is just the shiznits! It came out beautifully. I think salt for small patchs and vaseline for larger areas is the way to go. Are you going to decals the markings or paint them on?

 

Sabre