DoogsATX Posted January 4, 2017 Author Share Posted January 4, 2017 Printers definitely play the major role - though I will note that I've had various experiences with Cartograf-printed sheets - Italeri's decals are obviously printed to different specs than Furball's, for example. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Wood Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 I really hope to see this on the contest table in San Antonio next month. After viewing your A-4 in person, I walked away trying to decide if it was either the most realistic finish I had ever seen or the best representation of a finish applied to a scale model. Your F4U further confused the issue and it seems each new subject builds on the previous one regarding technique and mastery. Looking forward to the next installment. BW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomcat14 Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 Really top notch Modeling there Matt, Love the way the decals look on it to. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reconspit Posted January 6, 2017 Share Posted January 6, 2017 Amazing work, man!!! I'll definatley paint my converted Tamiya F-14D the same way you did..., really cool and inspiring... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hansen Posted January 8, 2017 Share Posted January 8, 2017 Looks very good, Matt....as it has from day one. I've just started to Tomcat myself, and i think i understand why you feel the way you do about things like the cockpit. I find the main instrument panels in particular kind of frustrating to paint. With the benefit of hindsight do you have any advice on how best to paint up the instrument panels and side consoles? I've been asking myself if there's a smarter way to do this..... Cheers, david Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogsATX Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 I really hope to see this on the contest table in San Antonio next month. After viewing your A-4 in person, I walked away trying to decide if it was either the most realistic finish I had ever seen or the best representation of a finish applied to a scale model. Your F4U further confused the issue and it seems each new subject builds on the previous one regarding technique and mastery. Looking forward to the next installment. BW Thanks for the praise, Brandon! Honestly I'm not sure if I'll be making San Antonio. Going to be in Colorado the weekend before and will probably have to play it by ear. But since I missed last year, if I do go I'll at least have plenty to bring! I've just started to Tomcat myself, and i think i understand why you feel the way you do about things like the cockpit. I find the main instrument panels in particular kind of frustrating to paint. With the benefit of hindsight do you have any advice on how best to paint up the instrument panels and side consoles? I've been asking myself if there's a smarter way to do this..... Honestly I would be shocked if the aftermarket players miss out on the opportunity Tamiya's given them with the modular design of the cockpit. Instead of a full resin cockpit I could see someone doing resin panels, bulkheads etc. If that happens I'll jump all over it. As for painting...I'd probably approach it the same way - get the gray down, then pick out the consoles using various blacks and various techniques and going from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael931080 Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Looking really nice on this build! Keep up the great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Hansen Posted January 15, 2017 Share Posted January 15, 2017 Honestly I would be shocked if the aftermarket players miss out on the opportunity Tamiya's given them with the modular design of the cockpit. Instead of a full resin cockpit I could see someone doing resin panels, bulkheads etc. If that happens I'll jump all over it. As for painting...I'd probably approach it the same way - get the gray down, then pick out the consoles using various blacks and various techniques and going from there. Yeah, that's more or less what i'm doing... -d- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogsATX Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 (edited) So...after sealing the underside with Gunze Semi-Gloss, I had to admit that I HATED the custom decals - or at least some of them. The ones of the lower strakes were particularly bad. My original plan was to build up a heavy gloss (Gunze GX100) and then sand back to level things out. I did this with some Tamiya prop stencils I used on my Dauntless and it worked like a charm. But then I remembered that I had VF-24s from the Fightertown sheet. So I decided to do some stripping. Also stripped off the Beware of Blast & Bu.No (BoBs are missing on ref pics, numbers had similar-but-not-as-bad problems as the strake decals) as well as the 07s on the tails. Three main takeaways from the stripping business: 1 - ISO is great for cutting through a lacquer clear coat. 2 - Tamiya X-20A is great for removing decals. 3 - Testors decal paper is trash. I thought maybe the Badger Decal Film I used was the culprit, but the stripping action went in two parts - first the film and ink came up, and then second, a much thicker backing carrier from the decal paper itself. So I'm not going to swear off custom decals - but I do need to find a better paper. Edited January 17, 2017 by DoogsATX Shaka HI, F`s are my favs, A-10LOADER and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogsATX Posted January 17, 2017 Author Share Posted January 17, 2017 Part 2 - fixing the mess I made! First thing - I needed to restore the swooshes to the lower strakes. First time out, I used Furball's decals, which were alright, but didn't extend all the way up the strakes. So before stripping them, I scanned them to capture the angle of the curve, then made my own masks. I'm still mucking around with my vinyl cutter to dial in the settings, but what I've got is good enough for relatively simple shapes like this. Painted with Gunze Euro I Gray mixed with some black to darken it. And...decals re-added (didn't get a pic of the strake VF-24s yet, but they also came out nicely). David66, A-10LOADER, Shaka HI and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F`s are my favs Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Ooooh, that last pic is simply phenomenal.... So nice colors and contrasts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted January 17, 2017 Share Posted January 17, 2017 Lookin' good Matt. I used vinyl masks for the strakes on my 1/48 tomcat - including the "VF-2", which I was a bit leery of - but it came out fine. Yours is looking great and the weathered paint job looks most realistic. Cheers Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogsATX Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 (edited) More creeping progress. More "first pass" weathering - Ammo Blue Gray panel line wash being treated as a pseudo-sludge wash. Next up will be a sealing coat and then on to the more aggressive stuff. Also solved the oleos on the gear struts - using Uschi's chrome powder over some Vallejo gloss black. It's a PITA to take photos of though... Edited January 18, 2017 by DoogsATX Michael931080, Uncarina, David66 and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn M Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 looks great! That chrome is from a powder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 19, 2017 Share Posted January 19, 2017 (edited) Definitely going to have to acquire some of the Uschi chrome powder. I normally like to sub in some of the polished "Turkey injector" needles one can find at Thanksgiving in the US to inject marinade into the bird as oleos . Normally works, but not for every diameter however. Edited January 19, 2017 by Out2gtcha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now