geedubelyer Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Looking at reference pics, it appeared to me that the glossiness of the paint on hi-viz tomcats isn't necessarily consistent across the bird. In places where there is little weathering, there's a semi-gloss sheen. In other spots, it's flatter. So, I tried to duplicate this on my model. The effect is subtle in real life, and very hard to detect in the photos. Too much sheen on the semi gloss? What do you all think? Cheers Jim Hi Jim, I admire your observation and approach to giving your model that same effect. As you mention, it is quite difficult to discern in the photos but I suspect it will make a difference if you get chance to shoot the finished model in natural light. I agree with Vitali and would choose a less glossy sheen personally but it's all a matter of taste and it is, after all, your model. Do you plan on matting down the wing seal bags completely? They do look a bit strange with the sheen on them. Overall, the look of your Tomcat is superb. Keep it up. Cheers. ClumsyDude 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 I'm liking it! I like the Bounty Hunters markings! A little to much sheen for me but that's just my opinion. Thanks Vitali, appreciate the comment. I'm thinking about respraying a bit flatter ... Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Hi Jim, I admire your observation and approach to giving your model that same effect. As you mention, it is quite difficult to discern in the photos but I suspect it will make a difference if you get chance to shoot the finished model in natural light. I agree with Vitali and would choose a less glossy sheen personally but it's all a matter of taste and it is, after all, your model. Do you plan on matting down the wing seal bags completely? They do look a bit strange with the sheen on them. Overall, the look of your Tomcat is superb. Keep it up. Cheers. Thanks geedubelyer. I'm going to take some natural light pics this weekend and may do the clear coat over if need be. Hmmm .... Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 I am IMPRESSED .. AWESOME .... Tomcats forever.. Thanks Maru! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 (edited) Ok ... so the plan is to take some natural-light shots of the clear coat this weekend and see how it looks. I had a look in the man cave last night and it looks a lot flatter than it comes out in the photos so let's see. ANYWHO .... on with the story. Next item up was the landing gear. I used SAC white metal gear, which has given me good results in the past ... I get a kick out of being able to just polish the oleo and not having to paint it. I also added a bunch of wires to try and make it look a bit more realistic. Sorry for not having more in-progress shots ... these ones are from right at the death. Colour is Gunze off white, with details picked out in Tamiya enamels. Here's the main gear (decals on the landing gear are from the afterburner set IIRC): And the nose gear (chipping is in enamel German grey, done with a fine brush): Here are the hubs from the wheelliant set: And the family all together: With the gear doors: From there, the next big deal is to get her on her legs. Edited July 17, 2015 by ClumsyDude Girlscanplay2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 (edited) Getting her on her legs is always fun. I decided to be a bit of a pedant this time around as I wanted to avoid any unsightly misalignment. Here goes with the spirit level, and the wings on too for fun: And the moment I'd been waiting for, for over eighteen months: And here it is in profile, the famous Tomcat crouch: At this point I was so in love with my own work that I looked at the photos over and over. And as I looked at them, something began to nag at me: the nose was sitting too high for the launching crouch (at least to my eye). I tried to forget it, really I did. And it just kept nagging and nagging at me. Eventually, I gave in to the AMS and reefed it out, sanded it back, and reattached. Much happier now: You'd think I'd be happy now, but there was something else I couldn't get out of my head. The main gear appeared (to my untrained eye) to be skewed too far back. This was entirely my fault, and not something I could blame on Hasegawa; I had read something on someone's post somewhere that they needed to be angled back, and I accepted it without checking. Again, I tried to live with it; I looked at reference photos, and back at the model, and back at the reference photos, ad infinitum. And then gave in and re-did it. Here goes: I decided I could live with this (which, by the way, is the closest current shot I have to natural light). Next up, ordnance. Edited July 17, 2015 by ClumsyDude Girlscanplay2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 And a few glamour shots, because I couldn't resist: It looks like the wings are uneven here, but they really aren't: A-10LOADER 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 Got some shots in natural light today ... I think it is too glossy, let me know if you think different. It isn't much, but enough that I think I'll be re-masking before too long Behold the gruesome judgement of the close-up: geedubelyer, A-10LOADER and Girlscanplay2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomcat14 Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 I think it looks great to. Maybe you can use some pastels to weather it and tone down the glossyness. Just My 2 cents worth. Chris Causey ClumsyDude and geedubelyer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andromeda673 Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 dude you knocked this thing out! I think it looks spot on, once again, you can look at all the photos in the world that you want, but the whole gloss vs dull is really dependent upon alot of things. I think you crushed it, and I'd be stoked to have it on my shelf. ClumsyDude 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 ClumsyDude.. I don't think it looks glossy. . But that's MY humble opinion. .... looking mighty fine and IMPRESSIVE .. BEAUTIFUL job.... nice build. ... Thanks Maru! I think it looks great to. Maybe you can use some pastels to weather it and tone down the glossyness. Just My 2 cents worth. Chris Causey Thanks Chris. If I do have a go at the clear coat it will be as you suggest, a toning down rather than a complete do over. dude you knocked this thing out! I think it looks spot on, once again, you can look at all the photos in the world that you want, but the whole gloss vs dull is really dependent upon alot of things. I think you crushed it, and I'd be stoked to have it on my shelf. Thanks Andromeda! You're right, it is a personal thing. I think what I'm going to do is, I'll wait until I've got the dio a bit more progressed, and see how the tomcat looks in context. I'm still working on my skills with clear coating, it's a fairly deep skill set, and I don't mind a bit of re-work while I get it up to scratch. Thanks all for your comments & encouragement. More to follow later in the week. Cheers Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Very nice Tomcat, and ingenious solution for the VG wing-root streaks. The F-14 was so much better-looking than the F-18 or the new Super-Hornet. Good ol' times, they were ... Hubert ClumsyDude 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Hi Jim, I think your 'Cat is looking suberb and I'm loving all of the attention to detail that you're lavishing upon her. It's easy for us to be critical sat here looking at your work on our monitors but truthfully, I think the finish looks great. You're going to be the most important dude to convince however and if you don't feel it's right, you're the one who has to look at it on your shelf or in your cabinet. If you feel you have to, I like Chris's idea of using pastels to knock the sheen back a smidge. They are easy to control and can even give that uneven sheen so often seen on the full sized birds. I used pastels to create the grime sagging effect along the forward fuselage of my stalled Tomcat. Using a technique like that could give you the opportunity to soft mask along the sag line and dull down the gloss a bit, just like the full sized airframes. (Just thinking aloud and possibly planning for future projects ). I'm sure that whatever you choose to do will till look cool. Keep at it. Cheers. ClumsyDude 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfighter Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 (edited) Looks stunning and the finish is just plain beautiful - but I agree with you, Jim - it's a TAD too glossy, but really just a tad. If you are not afraid of respraying it, do it, if you are, leave it as it is and I am sure the finish will grow on you. Glad you reworked the front landing gear - I also thought the Cat wasn't kneeling enough in the first pic. Great job! Edited July 20, 2015 by Starfighter ClumsyDude 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 Very nice Tomcat, and ingenious solution for the VG wing-root streaks. The F-14 was so much better-looking than the F-18 or the new Super-Hornet. Good ol' times, they were ... Hubert Thanks Hubert ... and I agree with you about the looks of the F-14. It's always in the eye of the beholder, but for me the Tomcat was always the definitive Cold War fighter. Every few years I re-read "Red Storm Rising" and picture the F-14s keeping the Atlantic open against the Russkies ... Cheers Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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