Thunnus Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 Great build so far! It's a cool little subject and the kit seems to be very well detailed for its small stature. Mysterious how that crack showed up but hopefully it's been banished for good! Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 Thanks gents! Ive been steadily working now since I got home on it, and have taken a few shots of the finished product right before I slapped some gloss on it.................. Give me a few min, and Ill upload some pics. sandokan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted October 26, 2017 Author Share Posted October 26, 2017 Overall, Im actually happy with it. Its a long ways from perfect, but then again nothing I do is ever really "100% satisfactory" to me ever anyway, so this is on par. I gained a bit of opacity around the upper nose, but Ill take it, because the seam *KNOCKS ON WOOD 3 TIMES* seems to be gone. I still can picture it rearing its ugly head again at some point, but Im not worried about it, as I will be putting a decal stripe directly over that area. I was however disappointed to find the camera does not really pick up the nice tonal differentiation in the IJN gray though. Its very nice IRL, but really doesnt show up in pics; at least not with this camera. Generally the IJN did the trick, and overall it went on very well (you'll have to excuse all the hairs, I hadn't had a chance to de-tack the photo table) : When up close on the paint, its surprisingly glossy. The dreaded seam area: I know its like a broken record, but this stuff is TRULY amazing. I got a new rattle can of the Model Master "Ultra Gloss" tonight, which I promptly decanted into a clean previous MM clear bottle: I then let it degas for a few hours before thinning it and shooting 5 or 6 thin coats on (no pics at this time, as it was in drying phase, and figured the pics would be better tomorrow in the photo booth). Pics tomorrow of things all glossed up. The stuff is amazing. Cheers till then! florin13, Jim Barry, sandokan and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted October 27, 2017 Author Share Posted October 27, 2017 Ok, I think I have a slight clue what might have been going on with the seam......... After I cleared the model, I noticed that the area around the seem started to turn an off yellow color. Like primer. Ive only seen that type of reaction once before, and it was an epoxy reaction. I think what happened is I many have mixed a little too much "steel" or not enough hardener in my JB weld when I filled and it has continued to make a reaction under the paint. Surprisingly enough, this has not led to the deterioration of the paint, only the discoloration of it. I also decided just to push through with the major decals, like the flowers, the fuselage stripe and the two main larger fuselage stencils. Those went on ok, but when I used Solvaset on the stripe, it "melted" it in a few places and literally turned the decal into liquid and it ran in parts. Looking back, I obviously should have tried Micro-Sol first, but my bottle was so contaminated that I decided not to use it. Here is my plan now: I just got done spraying another thin layer of gloss clear over the main decals. I have not put on any of the tiny stencils yet. Once that is dry, I think I can safely use some of my ultra thin masking tape, and cover the stripe on top, and shoot some more color around the stripe where it is mildly discolored off yellow, and areas where the melting occurred. Since melting a bit, the stripe decal is really, and I mean REALLY stuck down. I realize this is a dangerous move. A lot could go wrong, but I think its the only way to not only fix the discoloration, but remedy the slightly melted stripe. The stripe was perfectly aligned before the Solvaset, and still is sort of aligned, but now a big zig-zag in places, so im hoping I can blend it all together then overcoat with some semigloss or flat. sandokan, Shawn M and LSP_Kevin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 Sounds like a big headache for a small model. Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted October 28, 2017 Share Posted October 28, 2017 Great strategy for dealing with some of the curveballs that this build is throwing your way. I like the detective work! Another option for the delicate task of masking over decals is to use Post-Its. The edge is straight and the adhesive is much milder than tape. It works best on a flatter surface like a wing so I'm not sure you'll get enough adhesion on the curved fuselage to suit your purposes. Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted October 29, 2017 Author Share Posted October 29, 2017 Thanks gents! John, Yes, actually post-it notes probably would have been my very next choice, as it was actually what I was thinking about initially. The reason I did what I did was two fold. One, i just happen to have the correct sized micro tape on hand already. Two, i figured keeping the absolute minimum of surface contact between any tape and the decals was the best plan. Things worked out about as well as I could have ever hoped........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted October 29, 2017 Author Share Posted October 29, 2017 I got the flower and the stripe decals on, and as stated above, the Solvaset really did a number on them. Enter the micro tape. Its basically .4 - 2mm wide Washi tape. With the high gloss laid down previously, the micro-tape actually stuck down really well on top of the gloss that was on top of the decals, but as the decal stripe was basically part of the paint now, it didnt stick to the decals in the least.The color fix worked out better than I could have ever hoped, as the micro-tape held down, and I laid several thin layers of the IJN gray down after the major decals were in place. Scary, but it really did work out well. After the re-coloring I let it dry overnight, then removed the tape and had 0 bleeding or color run. Here is the end result, with the fix in place, all the decals down, and another layer of gloss over everything. No sign of the dreaded upper nose seam, nor any remaining discoloration, so looks like I got that part licked. The only payment for doing that was a gain in opacity that kinda killed some of my undercoat mottling, but Ill take it all day: I put a coat of semi-gloss on it all last night that should now be rock solid dry. Ill do my final touch-ups on it after unmasking, then really all that will be left is to paint some of the detail parts, then finish up assembly by adding the seat w/belts, the exhaust cone, and exhaust stacks for the generator motor, and this baby will be DONE! The next time you see the little Ohka it will be done, and I hopefully should be WELL on my way to clearing off the bench and putting the F7F down!!!! Cheers till then florin13, ghatherly, TorbenD and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fooesboy Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 The next time you see the little Ohka it will be done, and I hopefully should be WELL on my way to clearing off the bench and putting the F7F down!!!! Cheers till then I love following your builds Brian, but I have to admit to wishing this one was over sooner ever since the Tigercat arrived.... Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
florin13 Posted October 29, 2017 Share Posted October 29, 2017 Keep going! You're almost there! Florin Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted October 29, 2017 Author Share Posted October 29, 2017 Thanks guys! As I suspected the canopy masking was a MESS. Lots of repair work to do there. Not quite as bad on the windscreen, but its still a bit of a mess too. Besides that, the masking is off, and didnt come out too bad. I'm in process of detail painting some of the last parts, and letting some touch-ups dry, then I'm going to tackle repairing the clear parts. That wont be fun but Florin is right..................IM SOOO close!! I can feel the Tigers breath!!! monthebiff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Looks great with that red striped down the middle. And I love the overall grey scheme! What happened with the canopy masks? Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TorbenD Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Small but beautifully formed Brian - sweet as... Torben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted October 30, 2017 Author Share Posted October 30, 2017 John, Torben, thanks for swinging by! Looks great with that red striped down the middle. And I love the overall grey scheme! What happened with the canopy masks? I suspected I may not have done such a wonderful masking job when I masked them, as it took some liquid mask, and the curves didnt come out like I wanted. There was a lot of over-spray around the top area where the stripe decal went, so Ill have so use that same earlier technique with the micro tape to re-do some of the canopy paint. Im hoping I can knock that out all tomorrow. If I can get the fixes done on windscreen, and especially the canopy, I should theoretically be ready to drop the seat in, then install the main jet exhaust cone, and the generator exhaust stacks, then DONE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ray Posted October 30, 2017 Share Posted October 30, 2017 Looking forward to the final pics! I can hear that cat in the background... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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