John1 Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 4 hours ago, Eenyweeny said: Not much progress to report I'm afraid... Work keeps getting in the way! The Vector cowl arrived and I'm impressed! the level of detail is incredible: I haven't decided how to tackle the removal of the existing ribs in the Tamiya cowl front piece... any advice would be greatly welcomed. That's all for now... Great looking work! With regard to removing the ribs in the forward section of the kit cowling, what I did was this - (assuming you have an X-acto knife), purchase a pack of chiesel blades. Using a good pair of shears, cut down either side of the blade so it’s only a cm or less wide. Then just push the blade under each rib and peel it away. You’ll have to clean the surface up with some sanding but it should come out ok. The thinner the blade the better. I think I may have tried to curve each edge with some pliers so it conformed better to the curved cowling interior. Hope this all makes sense! Eenyweeny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenyweeny Posted January 26, 2019 Author Share Posted January 26, 2019 John, thanks for the advice, I did manage to remove the ribs using your method, unfortunately I didn't make the neatest job of it. I'm not too worried, because you only see very little of the internals when it's fitted. I'm not sure the extra level of detail was worth the effort, although I'm glad I attempted the job... Its good to learn new techniques! I've also decided not to use the ignition wire harness I made. The wire is too thick and when I started manipulating it, it came away from the vector casting. I'll order some lead wire as advised and maybe attempt ignition leads on the Birdcage Corsair I have waiting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenyweeny Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 Disaster! I had real trouble getting the modified cowl front to fit, since adding the ribs... I think I over-extended myself and ran out of skill! I only realised after I had fitted the engine and though I'd do a trial fit of the cowl covers and they didn't fit. A couple of hours later I had salvaged some of the situation and ended up with this. Obviously the cowl is sealed shut forever now, but at least it fits! I gave it a black vallejo surface primer coat to ensure that the filler and previous gaps were all cleaned up. First thing that becomes clear is that although it looks ok, all the detail has mostly gone... Progress on the tail wheel was smoother! LSP_Kevin and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 29, 2019 Share Posted January 29, 2019 That will be just fine in the end! Smooth is as smooth does, and as long as that is taken care of, you can re-scribe all the detail later. ("Dymo tape" the old school hard plastic tape for the labeling machines works VERY well for re-scribing) Is it possible to put in the tail wheel after the fuse is closed up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenyweeny Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 Hi Brian, the instructions do say to close up the fuse first. The tail wheel assembly is inserted from the bottom of the opening, so I don't intend to fit it, until a lot closer to the end of the build. Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenyweeny Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 A brief update. I think I've over-reached with this model, my skills don't really do it justice! I'm nearly done, just detailing, decals and weathering to go, but I wanted to see what she looked like with her wings attached and sat on her wheels! I decided to paint the prop tips rather than use the decals, I have no idea how I start weathering, any dark wash I use won't show up! I will attempt the obvious exhaust and gun residues, but ultimately my skills are rather limited at the moment! Any tips greatly welcome! Thanks for looking! Out2gtcha, John1, KUROK and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 I think it looks great! coogrfan and Eenyweeny 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenyweeny Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 Thanks Brian! you're too kind... Actually the lighting makes the paint look a bit worse than it is. At the end of the day, I'm enjoying the build and enjoying learning new skills. Most of the mistakes I've made thus far, have been down to impatience on my part! A question regarding decals... I've purchased some Tamiya Mark fit, because it's what my local model shop recommended. I assume that I paint it over the decal to make it conform better to the surface detail? and help or advice would be most welcome. Thanks in advance! Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Enjoying yourself, and learning new skills is about the two most important things IMHO. 6 hours ago, Eenyweeny said: A question regarding decals... I've purchased some Tamiya Mark fit, because it's what my local model shop recommended. I assume that I paint it over the decal to make it conform better to the surface detail? Yes, brush it over the decal, but if you have any spare panels, parts or similar I would HIGHLY recommend painting a section with the same paint you used on the F4U and apply a Tamiya decal and then some Mark fit. I say this because if you've never used decal solutions before, there are a multitude of variables that may effect or even ruin your paint job. Not the least of which is solutions like Mark fit are pretty chemically "hot", and they can really damage some paints (acrylics come to mind). Definitely do some experimenting if you can, and keep the Mark fit from pooling on the paint as much as you can. Eenyweeny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 I would say Micro-sol from Micro-Scale would be much less chemically hot, and there is also solutions like Solvaset that are more hot also. Eenyweeny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenyweeny Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 The paint job was done using Model Masters acrylic, so I will indeed make a test piece up, that's a great suggestion. I assume that adding a further coating (pledge/future) won't help protect against the Mark fit, because it is also acrylic based? I have also remembered that I bought Mig solutions decal solutions, two bottles... but I found they didn't make much difference, last time I tried them, probably due to me misusing them! Thanks for the help! Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Indeed, I have had 0 luck getting hot decal set solutions to work with Future/Pledge: it just doesnt work well, and the Future needs to be DRY dry. Im not a huge fan of floor polishes for clears, but thats a whole different story. I have also found that MM acrylics to me personally are some of the hardest paints to shoot, as I find it dries the tip out constantly and I get spitting and spotting a lot if no retarder is used, but that also could be me not knowing how best to shoot them. If you can stand the smell (not TOO bad VS lacquer), to me MMs enamels work and spray much better than their acrylics do. Eenyweeny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenyweeny Posted February 7, 2019 Author Share Posted February 7, 2019 Brian, I completely agree about the MM acrylic. I found that unless it was seriously thinned, way more than I would for Tamiya acrylics, I had all the problems that you described! I just couldn't mix the correct colour with what I had (Vallejo and Tamiya). I finally managed to achieve that finish with many coats of highly thinned MM. Cleaning the airbrush after use, required a full strip down and clean, rather that the blow through of windshield washer fluid that I can get away with for Tamiya and Vallejo! Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted February 7, 2019 Share Posted February 7, 2019 Yep! Thats it alright. Its odd, as Ive switched up to almost 100% MRP paint for airbrushing, which technically is also an acrylic (just with a lacquer carrier) but they shoot completely opposite of the MM acrylic, and have 0 spotting or spitting right out of the bottle. Glad to know its not just me with issues with MM acrylics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eenyweeny Posted February 26, 2019 Author Share Posted February 26, 2019 Well she's very nearly there and I learned a few valuable lessons... 1. Model masters acrylics don't stick to prepared plastic very well and tamiya masking tape will quite happily remove it! 2. Mistakes can be recovered from (see point 1!) 3. I need more practice with decals 4. I need more practice using an airbrush 5. I need to better understand weathering! Thanks for looking! I would appreciate any constructive criticism... Robert, JeepsGunsTanks, MikeMaben and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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