R Palimaka Posted April 8, 2021 Author Share Posted April 8, 2021 The next updates should be more interesting, sorry. I just thought if I posted the little I've done in the last few days it will pressure me to finish. A little bit of light weathering, final coats and then all the dangly bits attached. I think once I got the canopy finished and close to what I had in mind, it removed the one barrier that was making me hesitate. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokey Pete Posted April 8, 2021 Share Posted April 8, 2021 An absolute stunner. Bravo R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted April 9, 2021 Share Posted April 9, 2021 Looking quite nice Richard R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted June 17, 2021 Author Share Posted June 17, 2021 (edited) After 4 1/2 years, the end is in sight. No, really this time. It's on its feet, with most of the dangly bits on. The last major task is the antenna wire from the back of the armour plate to the vertical stabilizer, and creating a pulley for the wire to go through the bubble canopy. Hopefully that won't cause many issues, the sliding canopy was a big pain to get right. The final tasks are a couple more antennas, battery drain tube, paint touch-ups and some very minor additional touches of weathering. For weathering i used water-soluble graphite pencils that I found in the local art store. They come in the usual grades of hardness, and are meant to be wetted for interesting effects on paper. I used them to emphasize the panel lines and create a bit of weathering. I wet the point of the pencil and drew it down the panel line, and then pulled the graphite in the direction of the airflow. The beauty is you can simply wipe it off if you're not happy with the result and try again. Once I got the hang of it I used it to outline access hatches/panels and individual rivets to make them pop a little. If you try it, one thing to remember is that although they dry to a pleasing dark grey, which worked beautifully on a NMF finish, it darkens considerably when you hit it with a clear coat. I learned the hard way. It forced me to change my mind about a very clean finish. I opted instead for a little bit of staining and dirt, as if it was operating from a busy summer camp for the Auxiliary Squadrons. A hint of dirt on the wing roots, and exhaust and oil stains from air-to-air combat practice . The exhaust stains were another lesson for an airbrush rookie. My first attempt was with thinned flat black, but that was much too dark. With a bit of work I was able to wipe it off, but I didn't want to repeat the panic of that exercise! Then I mixed my own version of smoke from dark grey and brown thinned considerably. That worked better, but I learned that the perfect amount of airbrushed exhaust staining was two passes BEFORE you thought it looked good. Still though, I'm happy enough. In different light it will appear anything from almost black to thin and grey. I'm not touching it again... Edited June 17, 2021 by R Palimaka Landrotten Highlander, Chris Wimmer, scvrobeson and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted June 17, 2021 Author Share Posted June 17, 2021 Martinnfb, scvrobeson, Dadeo911 and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted June 17, 2021 Author Share Posted June 17, 2021 Finally, some overall "almost finished" shots. Sorry for the backgrounds, I was experimenting with lighting/settings in different locations with my camera instead of my phone...trying to get artistic. Anthony in NZ, Rocat, Paul in Napier and 19 others 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony in NZ Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 That is absolutely superb! You have really taken the 'toy-like' look out of this kit and really refined her. Just beautiful! Still makes me want to do one to go with my 24th Mossie project.... R Palimaka and Chris Wimmer 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted June 17, 2021 Share Posted June 17, 2021 Fantastic result, Richard! Kev R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 It looks fantastic! You should be really proud of yourself for taking on that kit, and producing such a fine replica at the end of it. Matt R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted June 18, 2021 Share Posted June 18, 2021 Bravo! Inspirational. Great show! Sincerely, Mark R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted June 18, 2021 Author Share Posted June 18, 2021 (edited) 20 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said: That is absolutely superb! You have really taken the 'toy-like' look out of this kit and really refined her. Just beautiful! Still makes me want to do one to go with my 24th Mossie project.... Thank you so much Anthony! I guess I got a lot of hours of "fun" out of the initial investment. I would love to see you do a Mustang as well...Oldmodels from NZ have two sets of 1/24 scale RNZAF Mustang decals available...just saying. Keep at your other projects though! 19 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said: Fantastic result, Richard! Kev Thanks Kevin! "Ready for Inspection" photos next weekend! 10 hours ago, MikeMaben said: Thanks for looking in again Mike! Richard Edited June 18, 2021 by R Palimaka Anthony in NZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted June 18, 2021 Author Share Posted June 18, 2021 12 hours ago, scvrobeson said: It looks fantastic! You should be really proud of yourself for taking on that kit, and producing such a fine replica at the end of it. Matt Thank you so much, I appreciate it coming from you! For a fifty-year old kit, it was a Forest Gump "box of chocolate", they included a surprising amount of detail, and omitted so much to accommodate the working features. I enjoyed every minute. At least Airfix seems to have actually looked at a Mustang when they designed it. 7 hours ago, dodgem37 said: Bravo! Inspirational. Great show! Sincerely, Mark Thank you Mark. I would do it again...in fact I am. Love the Mustang! Richard scvrobeson 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett M Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 Really nice work! R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted January 5, 2022 Author Share Posted January 5, 2022 (edited) Haven't been very active here for months, life and other issues got in the way. Had some time over Christmas and New Year, and with Omicron requiring working remotely from home, I thought I should finish the last bits to go on the Mustang, so I can finally call it done. ...but first, another distraction. I bought the superb AIMS 1/24 FAA/RAF pilot figure, and the flying gear closely matched a colour photo I have of an RCAF Mustang pilot, so I thought that I would tackle that first. It will provide some scale for the Mustang, and a bit of "life". The figure itself is excellent...crisply moulded and sharp features that are easily painted. If you have a post-war Commonwealth aircraft subject in 1/24 scale ( I know, not exactly thick on the ground ) that needs a pilot, you need to order this one. I may order one more just to have another crack at it. Here is the progress so far. I've never painted a figure before, and found acrylics aren't very good at blending. I found laying down thin coats of very thinned paint built up the depth in a convincing (to me) manner. Skin...still not happy with that but I'm going to leave it alone. There are still some bits of equipment and hoses, ties, and straps to paint but I'm pleased so far. It needs to be matte coated to make the fabric look more natural, and less shiny and wet looking. The map he's holding is a copy of a vintage military air navigation map I found online and reduced it to scale size and printed it. Funny enough, it's of southern Ontario and the Great Lakes from 1952, which would have been the area 424 Squadron would have been flying over. The head also has a separate mask with dangling straps and oxygen hose, which I haven't painted yet. Still needs a bit of refinement... Anyway, I'm not dead, just been very busy the last few months. I need to catch up on all the fabulous work you've all been doing! Richard Edited January 5, 2022 by R Palimaka LSP_Kevin, Landrotten Highlander, scvrobeson and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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