SBD-3 Guadalcanal done, done and..

[Ayovan]

I have one of these kits on the way. Thanks for posting some really good tips.

 

Andy

[MikeMaben]

Looking very nice Woody 

[Woody V]

QUICK UPDATE

Before reaching this point, I managed to coax the rest of the cowling on in what appears to be reasonable alignment, and repaint the canopy parts which are a far sight better than the first try.

 

WHY EVERYTHING AROUND HERE TAKES FOREVER (Part 43)

I decided to have a go at pre-shading on this build, but since I’ve never done it some experiments were in order - “some”  being  quite an understatement. Over the course of a week my mule suffered numerous painting indignities that you, dear reader, will be spared. In summation I learned that pre-shading is a skill that I shall never comprehend, let alone master.

 

As a last ditch experiment I tried black-basing, a process that begins with an overall coat of black, followed by erratic airbrush movements (something my spastic hands are quite good at) in hopes of achieving an overall mottled look followed by very light overspray to blend everything together. Thanks to what can only be attributed to as some unique planetary alignment and divine sympathy I blundered onto an acceptable result. This is my mule, but I’m sure the actual model won’t turn out this good.

 

A little more streaking near the wing root should get this looking pretty dirty.

 

Soldiering on to my model I first laid down an overall coat of AK Xtreme Metal Aluminum. I considered just painting the areas where chipping was most likely to be, but it looked so pretty I couldn’t stop. BTW, the clear cowling didn’t care much for the metal - it did craze, but since it’s under the paint it doesn’t matter. I guess

 

 

Then a coat of hairspray and an overall coat of semi-gloss black.

 

So this where I am today. Hopefully, I can wrap the painting up next weekend…. Hopefully the planets will cooperate.

BTW, all top coat paint is a mix of Mr. Color and AK Real Color lacquers.

 

One last thing: You will note my high-tech model stand (rather than a fixture or jig - ahem) thanks to a suggestion by our very own chuck540z3, to whom I am grateful. Proving once again that it’s not always necessary to throw money at a problem to solve it.

 

[themongoose]

Woody you’re hilarious. Bet you were thinking about grafting that paint mule wing onto the model at one point  Looking darn good. 

[Woody V]

WELCOME TO THIS WEEK’S EPISODE OF WHY EVERYTHING TAKES FOREVER AROUND HERE

 

But first, some normal stuff.

 

Finally got my paint on. Not quite as much contrast as the mule, but I’m okay with it considering there’s still weathering to be done.

 

All of the control surfaces were painted off the model in hopes that they would have a slightly different appearance. Just blue (or gray) over black followed by white between the ribs and them misting on blue/gray to feather the white out. Since this is lacquer, I airbrushed a damp coast of lacquer thinner over them to bond the mist coats to the base.

 

Painting the insignias on the fuselage turned out to be a challenge..

 

I cut my own masks on my Cameo 3 using Oramask 810 and ran into a nasty problem getting the mask to conform around the rivets and the wrap around aft part of the wing filet. The result is that since the mask did not conform tightly I got some blue overspray even after being careful to spray perpendicular to the edge. Not happy.

I know it’s crooked, this is just a test.

 

Then I had a brainstorm….. which is why things take so long around here.

 

Why not make a decal? Since I’m using lacquer I can paint it on clear decal film and voila! Home made decal. So far, so good.

 

Thomas Edison has been quoted to say “I didn’t fail, I discovered something that doesn’t work.” Me too, two times, actually.

 

In the end figured out how to USE it after you make it. Making it is the simple part. My biggest problem was that the first ones were too thin, so I finally added a coat of semi gloss and got one I could control. Yes, a decal can be too thin.

 

Here’s the successful one, applied with water only. That way it’s easy to remove if I decide to do another, which I don’t, but I’ll use this side for my next mask attempt.

 

Here’s what it looks like dry.

 

Not bad, but comparing it to the painted version there’s no contest. The only way I’d do this again is if would too difficult to paint directly on the model, and the surface is smooth. On a smooth surface I’d thrown down a coat or two of clear gloss and feather in the edge by sanding. Something to keep in mind.

 

Next on the agenda is cutting new masks with kabuki stuff and having another go at it.

 

Thanks for watching.

[Ironwing]

This is an enjoyable read, helpful in its ideas and tips, and very well executed. Looking forward to more...

Best

Geoff

[Brett M]

You had the same problem I did with Oramask.......wish I'd found Kabuki tape masks, but I got it "good enough".

 

Looking forward to seeing your next step forward with painting, looking nice in the blue grey. 

[nmayhew]

loving the thread and the problem solving 

 

re dipping canopies in the F word, there are plenty of CA glues out there in various thicknesses that will not craze clear parts, so i now polish mine and glue - much simpler I find, but of course others' mileage may vary!

 

thanks again for sharing - it is very informative and entertaining

[Woody V]

23 hours ago, Ironwing said:

This is an enjoyable read, helpful in its ideas and tips, and very well executed. Looking forward to more...

Best

Geoff

 

Thanks Geoff, I've learned a lot just viewing WIPs and figure that if I can help someone in any way, I will too.

Woody

 

16 hours ago, Brett M said:

You had the same problem I did with Oramask.......wish I'd found Kabuki tape masks, but I got it "good enough".

 

Yea, it just isn't flexible enough. Where it wraps under the fuselage is a huge fail, but the kabuki stuff is opaque so getting it in the right place is a trick and it's so sticky it'll be quite a challenge. 

 

5 hours ago, nmayhew said:

re dipping canopies in the F word, there are plenty of CA glues out there in various thicknesses that will not craze clear parts, so i now polish mine and glue - much simpler I find, but of course others' mileage may vary!

 

thanks again for sharing - it is very informative and entertaining

 

I don't use CA for anything unless it's the last resort, that stuff hates me.

I put some of the F-word in a jar and let it evaporate until it's thickens to like cream. Seems to work great and any excess can be cleaned off before it dries with a wet brush, or airbrush cleaner after it dries.

[Thunnus]

Great work Woody!  I love the comparisons between the mask and decal... great summary of the advantages/disadvantages of each.  It should be fairly easy clean up the slight overspray using inverse masks.  I assume that you used the circular hole mask to spray the blue.  You could use the interior parts of the mask to mask off the blue circle and touch up the blue-grey around that mask.  The blue overspray on the white star can be touched up with masking tape since it is a straight edge.

 

What is F-word?

[Woody V]

On 5/11/2021 at 1:42 PM, Thunnus said:

Great work Woody!  I love the comparisons between the mask and decal... great summary of the advantages/disadvantages of each.  It should be fairly easy clean up the slight overspray using inverse masks.  I assume that you used the circular hole mask to spray the blue.  You could use the interior parts of the mask to mask off the blue circle and touch up the blue-grey around that mask.  The blue overspray on the white star can be touched up with masking tape since it is a straight edge.

 

What is F-word?

 

Yes, it's no big deal touching up the overspray and even as it is it's barely visible from a foot away. But my OCD leads me around by the nose so I must obey. I like solving problems which is a good thing because I'm usually the one that creates them. lol. Speaking of which, my early experiments with the kabuki masks just trades one problem for another.  

 

The "F-word" is nmayhew's creation, short for Future.

[Woody V]

I TRIED, I REALLY DID BUT……

 

Kabuki brainstorm #1

After I tried unsuccessfully to position my first kabuki mask (you can’t see through it, duh) I revised the artwork and added little guide cutouts to line up with certain points on the model, in this case a panel line and row of rivets. Unfortunately there is no way to reposition the mask bits - either get it perfect or forget it, the adhesive is too aggressive and it does stretch. For me anyway.

 

Kabuki brainstorm #2

Okay, lets try wetting the area and perhaps I can slide the mask in place which actually worked but nobody told me kabuki absorbs water and even if it doesn’t it still doesn’t conform around those cursed rivets, and even if it did you still have to (somehow) precisely put the star part back after laying down the white. So, fresh after this defeat, I’m off to Home Depot to buy an extension cord to hang myself, but they were sold out. I returned home, a broken man.

 

SURRENDER TO THE INEVITABLE OCD

Allow me to interject here that I’m inflicted with OCD and I really did try to paint the insignias but I just could not tolerate the uneven edges. I tried touching up the tests up but when I tried fixing the white I got white on the blue and vice versa. It’s like trying to nail Jello to a tree… not happening. For me, anyway.

 

So, time to revisit my initial decal fiascos and hope for more divine sympathy. I knew why my failures failed. They were either too thin or too thick so getting just the right amount of paint on the decal was the goal.

 

NOW THINGS ARE GETTING SERIOUS

Refreshed after a week of wound licking and serious discussions with my mentor José Cuervo we agreed that Plan B was the only way to proceed. Decals it is. Homemade decals of course - I’m stubborn that way.

 

SUCCESS

It actually worked out just fine - after several experiments (which I will spare you the details of lest you pass out from boredom) getting just the right amount of paint down to avoid the “too-thick, too-thin” fiasco of earlier attempts was determined. Of course, I just had to try different masking mediums and discovered that Oramask 813 is probably not the way to go unless you’re going to use it on canvas…. That stuff’s adhesive pulled the clear film off the clear decal paper. Run Forest, Run.

 

NOW I’M ON A ROLL.

I mixed my own Insignia White and Insignia Blue with Mr. Color lacquers and using Oramask 810 I cut new masks and painted the insignias on clear decal film. Pretty spiffy, huh?

 

Then I carefully sliced through the clear film leaving a small area to grip with my clamping tweezers. At this time it’s helpful to know that if you do this, do not cut the decal paper close because as you pull the paper out from under the decal you need the paper wide enough to support the width of the decal. Kinda like the slow motion version of getting a pizza off the spatula, or whatever it’s called. The decal is so thin that if you don’t support it, it will fold under itself (the undersides of decals love water) and you’ll be tempted to head off to Home Depot after you try to straighten it out. Make extras.

 

Then I wet the decal from the bottom so as not to dilute the adhesive/parting agent, and removed the excess film with tweezers, but the part being clamped remains. The discarded film is that shiny thing to the top and right of the picture below.

 

First some generous drops of Micro Set then carefully keeping the decal paper close to the model’s surface I pulled the paper out from under the decal. Then I used a wide wet brush to work out the wrinkles the best I could and then rolled a cotton bud over the decal to work out the excess water and trapped air. You need some moisture under the decal because as the moisture evaporates the decal displaces the moisture. Setting solutions soften the decal to make it more pliable.

 

After I let it sit for a few minutes I airbrushed a couple coats of Micro Sol over everything. When I came back an hour later this is typical of the results I got in all 6 positions. I chose this photo because you can see how well the decal was sucked down around the latch

 

The “41” (also a decal) is from a well known photo of a ragged SBD on Guadalcanal.

 

HALLELUJAH!

With this major hurdle behind me I can actually see the end getting close. Only one more nail-biter that I can tell, and that’s getting the dual 30s in in the stowed position. Originally I was going to pose them pointing upward but decided against it, a decision I'm bound to regret.

 

Thanks for putting up with me.

 

 

[themongoose]

Woody I need multiple emojis for all your posts. I was intent on posting a “...not to add more fuel to making this take any longer but...” comments however a post later you were doing something similar lol

this is great and the model is looking sharp. I liked your final decal solution, the idea of painting on the clear film sounds innovative plus it worked! The final product truly did conform superb and i think since it’s painted that is why it looks that way on the model. Not sure i could tell it was a decal and not paint if you didn’t tell me. Wonderful 

[LSP_Kevin]

That end result really does look painted on, Woody! Well done. Your perseverance has really paid off. By the way: I think all modellers are afflicted with some level of OCD.

 

Kev

[D.B. Andrus]

Perfect solution. Impressive stick-to-it-tiveness. 

 

Cheers,

Damian