Joel_W Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I'm really impressed with that masking machine. I've heard that there is a rather steep learning curve to master. Sure looks like you've figured it out. Looking forward to seeing the base paint on the Bird Dog. Joel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Onto the painting. I wanted to set the tone in the mancave with a bit of music, so I have been playing this song to get me into the mood. I will be seeing these guys next week live, so it is quite uplifting to be modelling whilst listening to this sort of stuff. Progressive instrumental rock, by an Aussie band! Essential equipment. Probably the most useful of all of it is the plastic container at the rear right, which is filled with general purpose thinners. It enables quick and easy clean up by allowing a quick squirt of the thinner into an airbrush cup, paint container, onto a rag etc. They are available from Supercheap Auto here in Australia. Notice also the lid on the Mr Colour levelling thinner, which is a Gunze product designed to fit onto most of their thinner bottles. This lid allows quick nips of liquid without too much fuss. I don't measure paint/thinner ratios, preferring to listen to how it comes out of the airbrush and how the paint looks when it is being sprayed onto the model and adjusting ratios accordingly. I am using Mr Finishing Surfacer Black 1000 to black base the model. This product is excellent as it dries fast, and is easy to sand for last minute refinements. A black Bird Dog. Now that we have a black model, lets start the painting process. Notice the super smooth black base. I have used a very thin mix of Gunze Sangyo RLM 76 lightened with a heavy dose of flat white for this process. High pressure (20 PSI and paint flow limited to get reasonably tight, thin lines.) Coat one, paint ratio alot thinner this time, lower pressure(15 PSI and the paint flow opened up) Coat two (same as above) Coat three (on the right to illustrate the difference that one coat of paint makes) It is hard to see in this pic but there is a definite texture to the paint now that breaks up the boring single colour a bit. I added one more coat to the model. Before I painted the model with the base colour I sprayed the front of the cowling with some green primer colour as well as aluminium on the leading edges, followed by AK interactive Worn effects fluid. Using a wet paintbrush with rough bristles I carefully scrubbed away at certain areas of the base colour to reveal the paint underneath. Looking good! sandokan, williamj, jgrease and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karimb Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Indeed my friend looking great! Thanks for the comparison between successive layers and how you go about doing it! Karim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 I'm really impressed with that masking machine. I've heard that there is a rather steep learning curve to master. Sure looks like you've figured it out. Looking forward to seeing the base paint on the Bird Dog. Joel If you can use Microsft Word, then the mask cutter is not too hard to use. There are lots of tutorials out there on the net as to how to use the finer points of the program. Eric. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy915 Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Looks great. Have a couple on the way for commission builds.Your build answered allot of questions I had. Could I talk you into making a couple of masks sets for me? I am willing to buy. Thanks looking forward to seeing it done. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Looks great. Have a couple on the way for commission builds.Your build answered allot of questions I had. Could I talk you into making a couple of masks sets for me? I am willing to buy. Thanks looking forward to seeing it done. John Hi John, these are available from Hannants : https://www.hannants.co.uk/product/NWAM090 There are some other masks for the same kit by these guys so do a search on the manufacturer. Cheers, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel_W Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Eric, the base color coat really looks quite good, as well as super smooth. I'm attributing that to the smooth primer coat. I polish my primer coats with a 4, 000 micro mesh pad, which as made a great difference for me. your Black Basing technique is spot on. One thing that I've been experimenting with is what I call White Basing to create a more faded and bleached look from the tropical sun and salt air. Primer gray as the base, white blotches and dark gray blotches where fading would be some what less especially on the bottom side. Joel Whitey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy915 Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 Thanks for the info on masks. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 I have started to get the model ready for decals. Before this happened I wanted to get most of the heavy handling of the model out of the way. This involved painting the wheels and getting them into place on their gear legs so that I could flat spot them to simulate weight on the wheels. I have seen a few really nice models posted on a particular modelling magazines facebook page lately, and the model looked really convincing but had no weight simulated into the wheels, which made the models look quite unrealistic. Of course, this is my opinion only and a modeller is entitled to do what ever they want to their own piece of plastic but I do hope it is not a new fad that catches on like over weathering and starkly painted on panel lines. I also tweaked the angle of each gear leg to get the model sitting a little higher, as per reference pics. Looking at my reference photos as supplied by Mac and also on the Australian war memorial page, I was coming to the realization that something wasn't quite right with the position of the main aerial. I had glued the fairing that the aerial mounts to just aft of the windshield and on the models centerline as called for in the instructions. I noticed that the photos had the aerial a fair bit further back and off to one side. I scratchbuilt a new mount and glued it into position. I know that I was aiming for an OOB build with this model but I just couldn't let a detail like that slip through. Both of these photos from the AWM page show the different position of the aerial. Both of the pics also show two small modifications that I am in the process of making to the kit. The new position of the aerial. This involved a little bit of work to smooth over the old hole. Onto the gloss coat. I am a big fan of Tamiya X-22 clear. Thinned with Gunze Mr Colour levelling thinner shot at approx 15 PSI, or so that it looks wet going onto the model. Lars Befring, sandokan, Jan_G and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Every build you do is a treat to watch Eric! This little Cessna is a great looking kit, I might have to look at getting one myself. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 Thanks very much Craig. Onto the decals. I got my hands on the new AoA decals and can report that they are excellent. This is sometimes my favorite part of the build when things go well.... And it did in this case! I have had my fair share of decal disasters and I was pleased to not have to sit and babysit each decal for hours after it has been applied, or reconstruct a decal that has shattered into a few dozen parts. No curling up in the fetal position under my desk in defeat for a change. The Cartograph decals responded very well to Microset and Sol. This model will be finished soon. Lars Befring, williamj, Jan_G and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Fantastic painting control, Eric. Just great. Nice build. Sincerely, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simmo.b Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Colour looks spot on mate, looks great with the decals on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alaninaustria Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Damn Eric! I just love your overall execution and skills! There is something to learn in each of your builds! Wow! Just beautiful work!! One quick question... where the heck did you manage to snag the -8 tiller?? I just broke 10k in the left seat of the -8 and I've been looking everywhere for some parts source from parted out birds but no luck!! Any sources?? Cheers mate Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel_W Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Eric, The key to a great decal job is that the end result looks like they were painted on without a trace of flash or silvering, and you certainly succeeded, as they look stenciled on. Joel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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