Z M Douglas A1-H Skyraider

[Out2gtcha]

Cool! Coming along, Brian!

 

Thanks Ray!

 

Fabulous..... just fabulous.

 

Grant

 

Thanks for the kind words Grant.

 

Dude, this is phenomenal!!!!!! The SPAD looks so great, your painting and decaling are top notch. Quick question, is the top of the tail one big decal, or did you paint the blue, then add the decal?

 

 

Can't wait to see how it looks all weathered up. This is a different order than I usually work in, but it sure looks like it's working well for you!

 

 

I might just have to get one of these Skyraiders once my finances pick up a bit. (being on scholarship means no one pays for your summer. )

 

 

 

Matt

 

Thanks Matt. Nice of you to say. Yeah, its a bit different working order from what I usually work in as well. The reason I did it like this, is after putting work to make the engine nice, I didnt want to have to fuss with attaching engine, then cowl, only to have to go back and mask off the engine and exhaust cowl openings.........as well as not be able to get paint way down in that space between the cowl and fuse.

 

As for the tail decal goes, it did start out as one big decal, containing the blue, along with the commanders stripes. I was dreading trying to make the two halves of the blue decal come together at the top of the rudder (let alone match up the color on the spinning tail light and pitot tube), so I guessed at a close match to the color and cut the decal at the stripe / blue demark. Then I just masked and sprayed the rudder (as well as the center fuel tank tip) blue.

The color I came up with is a pretty close match if you hold the two up, but is a bit different and not perfect. The tail blue / tank tip blue and the decal blue are far enough apart to not be too noticeable.

 

The MicroScale decals that ZM used to make these "AM" ZM decals, were really stellar. SUPER thin, but strong, and durable, yet took to MicroSol very well, setting down as well as one could have hoped.

 

 

OUTSTANDING ! Looks killer, my friend......Harv

Thanks buddy!

 

Great looking model it takeing shape. I like it.

 

Thanks Marek! Nice of you to say.

 

 

Damn, those exhaust pipes look REAL!!! Outstanding work here.

 

Nice of you to say.....................I put just enough work in them to warrent leaving the cowl and engine off till the majority of the painting was done. (see above reply to Matt).

 

I used the Tamiya weathering pallets as well as some MM burnt iron on the exhausts. The TWPs are really great, and unlike pastels, they dont become translucent (or disappear all together) under a layer of clear. LOVE em.

 

Cheers guys, and thanks.

 

Brian

[LSP_Ron]

Very very nice. Sorry for the late response, I've been traveling.

[Dave Morrissette]

Very cool. Can I aska question? I ove the exhausts on the engine- how did you get them to look so good. I will be a shame to cover them up

 

 

Dave

[Guest]

Very cool. Can I aska question? I ove the exhausts on the engine- how did you get them to look so good. I will be a shame to cover them up

 

 

Dave

 

Yes, they are the best I've seen !!!............Harv

[Out2gtcha]

Very cool. Can I aska question? I ove the exhausts on the engine- how did you get them to look so good. I will be a shame to cover them up

 

 

Dave

 

Thanks for the kind words Dave.

As to the exhausts, the OOB ZM exhausts are ok, but they get let down by the fact that they are not even hollow, just a concave, depression in the end of each stack. I took a mini-drill and hollowed out each tip first, then sanded smooth with a circular file.

I then painted them with a base coat of MM rust, then I dry brushed them with some MM burnt iron.

From there, i used the Tamiya weathering pallets orange rust and dark rust (dont remember which TWP kit these are in though) in various spots, like in the joints and bends.

 

Then, after that I used TWPs "snow" ( the white comes off darker once over the other colors) on each of the tips to get a burnt / white hot looking tip to each.

When all that was completed, I coated each exhaust set with MM flat lacquer clear. Unlike pastels, the TWPs look really does not change significantly when you put clear over them, which I LOVE.

 

HTH

 

 

 

Yes, they are the best I've seen !!!............Harv

 

Thanks buddy!

 

 

Cheers guys,

Brian

[LSP_K2]

Loking better all the time. My, how I love Skyraiders.

[scvrobeson]

 

 

Thanks Matt. Nice of you to say. Yeah, its a bit different working order from what I usually work in as well. The reason I did it like this, is after putting work to make the engine nice, I didnt want to have to fuss with attaching engine, then cowl, only to have to go back and mask off the engine and exhaust cowl openings.........as well as not be able to get paint way down in that space between the cowl and fuse.

 

As for the tail decal goes, it did start out as one big decal, containing the blue, along with the commanders stripes. I was dreading trying to make the two halves of the blue decal come together at the top of the rudder (let alone match up the color on the spinning tail light and pitot tube), so I guessed at a close match to the color and cut the decal at the stripe / blue demark. Then I just masked and sprayed the rudder (as well as the center fuel tank tip) blue.

The color I came up with is a pretty close match if you hold the two up, but is a bit different and not perfect. The tail blue / tank tip blue and the decal blue are far enough apart to not be too noticeable.

 

The MicroScale decals that ZM used to make these "AM" ZM decals, were really stellar. SUPER thin, but strong, and durable, yet took to MicroSol very well, setting down as well as one could have hoped.

 

 

Brian

 

 

Thanks Brian! After seeing how it came out, I can see why you did it in the order that you did, it seems very smart, and it sure is coming out great.

 

I understand your trepidation with the decal, and it did match and come out well. I probably would have tried the same thing, the paint does look a bit better around all of the detail and hinges.

 

I really loved the Z-M decals, they were some of the best I've ever used, even out of the kit. I think Microscale does their kit ones as well, and they were great.

 

One question about your MM Gloss lacquer, since I'm going to try it out. Do you thin it before putting it through the airbrush, or do you airbrush it straight from the bottle? The bottle of it that I have is the Black Label Model Master bottle. Is that what you're using?

 

 

Keep up the amazing work man, can't wait to see how it comes along, and how the weathering works out. I love seeing the dirty, weathered Skyraiders

 

 

Matt

[Out2gtcha]

Thanks Brian! After seeing how it came out, I can see why you did it in the order that you did, it seems very smart, and it sure is coming out great.

 

I understand your trepidation with the decal, and it did match and come out well. I probably would have tried the same thing, the paint does look a bit better around all of the detail and hinges.

 

I really loved the Z-M decals, they were some of the best I've ever used, even out of the kit. I think Microscale does their kit ones as well, and they were great.

 

One question about your MM Gloss lacquer, since I'm going to try it out. Do you thin it before putting it through the airbrush, or do you airbrush it straight from the bottle? The bottle of it that I have is the Black Label Model Master bottle. Is that what you're using?

 

 

Keep up the amazing work man, can't wait to see how it comes along, and how the weathering works out. I love seeing the dirty, weathered Skyraiders

 

 

Matt

 

NP Matt. Yep, the MM clear lacquer system bottles look like this (except of course yours would be gloss and not flat) -

 

 

And yes, you will definitely need to thin it out, but you will need to use the MM clear lacquer system thinner. It seem significantly cooler as lacquers go, and seems to cover any paint that is dry quite well.

 

You can thin it down as much as you need to shoot very light thin clear coats that really dont build up much thickness, but are very durable.

 

Handy stuff, and its ALL I use these days for clears of any sheen.

 

HTH,

Brian

[scvrobeson]

NP Matt. Yep, the MM clear lacquer system bottles look like this (except of course yours would be gloss and not flat) -

 

 

And yes, you will definitely need to thin it out, but you will need to use the MM clear lacquer system thinner. It seem significantly cooler as lacquers go, and seems to cover any paint that is dry quite well.

 

You can thin it down as much as you need to shoot very light thin clear coats that really dont build up much thickness, but are very durable.

 

Handy stuff, and its ALL I use these days for clears of any sheen.

 

HTH,

Brian

 

 

Thank you very much. That is exactly the stuff I bought today, in all three flavors, and I will give it a try. I've got a couple of Non-LSP projects on the go while I recover from my shoulder injury, and I want to try something else out for gloss. Future is great, but I've been having some problems with oils eating through it to the enamel coat underneath and lifting paint. Has that ever happened to anyone else?

 

 

This Skyraider is looking great. You're going to end up making me buy one, you know that Brian? not sure if it will be Navy or Air Force, but I will have one of these at some point. Maybe once I move into my new apartment in August, and have some more display space. keep up the awesome work!

 

 

Matt

[Neo]

but you will need to use the MM clear lacquer system thinner.

not ive used the gloss coat Pure hand brushing it on Humbrol enamel and it literaly destroyed my paint jub !! Ive been scared to use it ever since but maybe i need to get that thinner !!

[Out2gtcha]

not ive used the gloss coat Pure hand brushing it on Humbrol enamel and it literaly destroyed my paint jub !! Ive been scared to use it ever since but maybe i need to get that thinner !!

 

Hrmmmm. Ive not had that experience. However I have never used Humbrol before, and when hand brushing on the clear, (which I have done quite a bit) I have only attempted it over MM enamels, which is what the lacquer system is designed for.

 

Was the paint 100% cured?

 

I might try an experiment using the MM system over MM enamel, or.....an experiment as you said, using it through an airbrush with teh MM lacquer system thinner.

 

It shoots SO thin and fine that way, that sometimes, when I shoot really thin, at low PSI, I feel like the clear is almost dry right when it touches the model.

 

Hope it works out for you Neo, as it really is quite bomb proof stuff, once dry.

 

Brian

[scvrobeson]

Hrmmmm. Ive not had that experience. However I have never used Humbrol before, and when hand brushing on the clear, (which I have done quite a bit) I have only attempted it over MM enamels, which is what the lacquer system is designed for.

 

Brian

 

 

I've had that experience if you try and brush paint the clear lacquer. I tried putting it on a couple of guns which had been painted with model master enamel, and as I tried to brush paint the clear, it went right through the paint and started lifting it away

 

 

The lacquer carrier must just be really hot

 

 

Matt

[Out2gtcha]

I've had that experience if you try and brush paint the clear lacquer. I tried putting it on a couple of guns which had been painted with model master enamel, and as I tried to brush paint the clear, it went right through the paint and started lifting it away

 

 

The lacquer carrier must just be really hot

 

 

Matt

 

 

Hmmmm again. Not sure what is going on with that, but this lacquer is quite cool as lacquers go. But, it IS lacquer, so yes, hotter than enamels for sure.

I hand brushed the MM lacquer over some of the enamel on the SPAD in the cockpit, as well as in the gear bays without issue, but there was not much paint on the brush at the time.

 

I would suggest using the airbrush method then, if your seeing lifting like that.

 

Brian

[scvrobeson]

Hmmmm again. Not sure what is going on with that, but this lacquer is quite cool as lacquers go. But, it IS lacquer, so yes, hotter than enamels for sure.

I hand brushed the MM lacquer over some of the enamel on the SPAD in the cockpit, as well as in the gear bays without issue, but there was not much paint on the brush at the time.

 

I would suggest using the airbrush method then, if your seeing lifting like that.

 

Brian

 

 

I did test it with the airbrush today, and it was amazing. The gloss clear works amazing, it really gave me a great finish with no real work. Even easier to use than Future, without the risk of it running. You may have made a convert out of me Brian. I just need to try it with cockpits, and see how it holds against the oil wash. Is there a risk of the white spirit going through the clear coat and lifting the enamel paint underneath? Has that ever happened to you?

 

 

Matt

[Out2gtcha]

I did test it with the airbrush today, and it was amazing. The gloss clear works amazing, it really gave me a great finish with no real work. Even easier to use than Future, without the risk of it running. You may have made a convert out of me Brian. I just need to try it with cockpits, and see how it holds against the oil wash. Is there a risk of the white spirit going through the clear coat and lifting the enamel paint underneath? Has that ever happened to you?

 

 

Matt

 

 

Nope. I used oils on the bottom of my SU for weathering over a clear of the MM lacquer and seemed to work great. I just left the paint and clear to cure for a few days before weathering.

 

Glad it worked for you via the air brush Matt.

 

Cheers,

Brian