BloorwestSiR Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 Carl Super work on the Four Props and with only three Spits under way, that mysterious fourth just might be knocking at the door. Keep 'em coming Peter Thanks Peter! I have a pretty good idea where it came from but how it ended up on the workbench with the others is another mystery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 Carl, your props are certainly nicely painted, even though you seem to have gained one somehow. Looking a the four of them, one seems to have a completely different hub. Odds are that's the black sheep of the lot. Joel Thanks Joel! I used semi gloss black and insignia yellow for the tips. The different looking hub is one that was already painted silver on the sprue prior to assembly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 You are a Spitfire machine! Looks good. LOL, thanks Ron! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 Ok, I really hate decals and everything that goes with putting them on. One of the reasons I prefer using masks wherever possible. I started putting the camo paint onto the Grey Nurse. The slight variations in the green will go away under a clear coat. The Maketar paint mask set for the VIII includes the shark mouth. After studying them for a bit, I thought the best approach would be to paint the black sections first. It was at this point that I realised there was no easy way to get the masks on without removing not just the cowling panels from the fuselage but the carb intake from the lower cowl would have to come off too. I ended up repainting the cowl panels in their base camo colours and went for the decal option. MikeC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 Before I got around to the disliked job of applying decals, I masked off and painted the remaining markings. I did the white bits in one go: Then the insignia blue on the roundels and fin flash. The unmasking: The nose section was gloss coated at this point in preparation for the dreaded event. Joel_W, Shawn M, MikeC and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 Tamiya splits the shark mouth into five sections and their instructions say to start with the uppermost centre section. This didn't make sense to me as the lowermost centre section has a more positive reference point for locating it. So I changed up the order and applied that first, followed by the side parts, then the upper, and finally the centre. Initially, the decals didn't seem to want to conform to the cowl but after an application of Mr Mark Softer and a hot towel, they eventually went on. They even settled into all the rivets and panel lines nicely too. I was pleasantly surprised and wondered if my dislike of decals was over exaggerated. Then I flipped the model over... It seems the decal solution affected the paint even though there are no decals in the area!??! The paint isn't bubbled or flaked, just bleached looking. This is a first for me. Did I mention I hate decals? Carl MikeC, mpk and Vandy 1 VX 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 Showing the HF VII some love, I painted the upper fuselage in Medium Sea Grey at the same time I did the lower camouflage on the Grey Nurse. One more pic of Grey Nurse with the script and pennant on. MikeMaben, Vandy 1 VX 4, mpk and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 It seems the decal solution affected the paint even though there are no decals in the area!??! The paint isn't bubbled or flaked, just bleached looking. This is a first for me. Did I mention I hate decals? Carl Did you hold the model in this area with the hot towel, Carl? If so, that could be your culprit. I've used the "hot compress" technique on Tamiya decals a few times with great success, but I've also had the hot, moist towel mark or stain the paint in various way, though mainly involving a not fully-cured clear coat. If the paint in the affected area is matt (flat), that could also be affected by the towel. It looks like too large and unrelated an area for it to be the decal solvent. Kev Joel_W, MikeC, BloorwestSiR and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaka HI Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 WTH? BloorwestSiR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Grey nurse looks superb, I love that moment when you take off all the masking to reveal those beautiful painted on markings, it's pity about the decalling disaster, I'm sitting here at the moment putting stencil decals on my Mk.IIa and dreading seeing them with a matt coat on. Cheers Dennis mpk and Shaka HI 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cees Broere Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Bob Ross would call that a happy accident. Tony C, Vandy 1 VX 4 and mpk 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel_W Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Carl, The top side marking on the Grey Nurse came out absolutely fantastic. the Shark Mouth looks as though it was painted on as well. So someone who dislikes decaling, your a master at it. I fully concur with Kev that the clear coat issue on the bottom had to be from the hot moist towel. For any decaling solution to do that much damage, you would have had to spill the bottle on your work bench, and just leave the model sitting in the solution for some time. Joel mpk and Shaka HI 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 Did you hold the model in this area with the hot towel, Carl? If so, that could be your culprit. I've used the "hot compress" technique on Tamiya decals a few times with great success, but I've also had the hot, moist towel mark or stain the paint in various way, though mainly involving a not fully-cured clear coat. If the paint in the affected area is matt (flat), that could also be affected by the towel. It looks like too large and unrelated an area for it to be the decal solvent. Kev Hi Kev, I think you're​ right in your assessment that it was the hot water that did it. I didn't hold it with the cloth, but it was resting on top of the container that held the water while I was fussing with the application. Although the only area that had a clear coat was the nose. It's more annoying than anything, really. mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 WTH? I know eh? It's a first for me but with Kev's explanation I know what to watch out for in the future. mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MustangManiac Posted April 7, 2017 Share Posted April 7, 2017 Hi Carl, Grey Nurse looks awesome. I've got to say I've never heard of using a hot towel on decals to get them to settle down in the panel lines. So I'll tell you that we both learned from how you applied your decals, just in different ways. Keep up the awesome work! Cheers, Brady mpk 1 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