Minicraft 1/144 Iron Maiden 757

[LSP_Kevin]

Silver bits are now done!

 

 

I'll need to mask them off ready for the next colours, so I'll let the paint cure at least overnight before laying any tape on it.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

OK, moving on to the white, now:

 

 

I think it might still need another coat or two. Normally I would build up the initial layers of white using one of the white Mr. Surfacer varieties, as these have a much denser pigment than standard white paints, and will achieve full opacity much quicker. Sometimes, if things are going well, I'll skip the grey primer altogether. Then I'll wet sand it smooth, and apply a couple of light coats of SMS White (or in the past, Tamiya Gloss White decanted from the spray can) for the final gloss white effect. I skipped all that this time, and started building up the white with SMS White directly, but I think it's taking too many coats to achieve full opacity, so I'll probably revert to my standard process next time.

 

In any case, it won't be long now before I can start applying the decals, which are of course the entire point of this build!

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

Fairly racing ahead with this one now! I gave in to angst and gave the fuselage another coat of neat SMS White, painted the engine and APU exhaust areas, and pulled off all the masking tape:

 

 

I ended up spraying the entire tail silver, so that I didn't have to guess where the leading edge demarcation should be, and the decals would have a uniform colour under them. Of course, I didn't then mask the entire tail, so I ended up with white patches anyway.

 

I then proceed to get as many decals on as my evening would allow, starting with those tail decals. I figured that if they failed me, then I could reprint them from the scans I took, but happily, this was not required. As it happens, though, the decals themselves are printed on a continuous sheet without any white (probably laser printed), so the tail decal really needed to be laid down over a white background. Too late, she cried!

 

 

And a different angle against a white background:

 

 

I'm really pleased with how it's turning out. The windscreen decal is from the Authentic Airliners Decals "3D" set, but I've decided I probably won't use the cabin windows from that set, as the fuselage will already be quite busy once all the decals are on, and the windows that come with the Ed Force One set actually look pretty good. I'm hoping to get all the decals on for the next update.

 

Stay tuned!

 

Kev

 

 

[Shoggz]

Looks really nice Kev!

[LSP_Ray]

I agree, that is looking really good, Kev!

[tomprobert]

Wow! She’s coming on a treat!

[LSP_Ron]

Noice!

[TankBuster]

Looking great. Cheers.

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks, fellas. Decalling continues, and I should have another update later today.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

And here's the promised update! Decalling done on Ed Force One:

 

 

 

 

 

I've taken the photos against both a white and a charcoal background, since each offers a slightly different perspective on the model.

 

The only decals left are a pair of stencils for the nose wheel doors, and a registration decal whose placement I can't determine:

 

 

My best guess is that it's supposed to go under the outboard end of the starboard wing, but I can't find a single photo that confirms this, so will probably just leave it off.

 

Just need to deal with all the wrinkling now! But very happy with the way this is turning out.

 

Kev

 

 

[tomprobert]

Looking great, Kev!

 

The registration goes under the PORT wing, towards the tip. 

[LSP_Kevin]

56 minutes ago, tomprobert said:

Looking great, Kev!

 

The registration goes under the PORT wing, towards the tip. 

 

Thanks, Tom. Can't see it under either wing in any photo though, so I'm a bit stumped. I'll bung it on anyway, though, as I can't really use it for anything else!

 

Kev

 

 

[LSP_Ray]

Looks great, Kev!

[chaos07]

Wow - now that's a phenomenal outcome!  Loving the decals.

[Out2gtcha]

Awesome! Great results after all that extra work Kev.