Minicraft 1/144 DC-4 Qantas

[LSP_K2]

Nice!

[Out2gtcha]

Cooooool

[Archimedes]

Hi Kev,

 

I love the choice of subject, the choice of markings and you are doing some very fine work (in both senses of the phrase) on a kit that is not the easiest to complete.

 

Well done so far!

 

Kind regards,

Paul

[LSP_Kevin]

Now that I've resolved all the vagaries of the particular aircraft I'm trying to model, I've been able to push forward with the paint job on this one. I masked off the white areas on the upper fuselage, and gave the rest a nice glossy coat of SMS Jet Black, followed by some SMS Super Silver:

 

 

 

I know I said elsewhere that I don't think a gloss black base is required for natural metal finishes in most cases, but what is required is a nice, smooth, even-toned surface to apply it on. And in that regard, gloss black is as good as anything, but also has the advantage of really letting you see where and how the metal paint is going down.

 

That said, I did have some issues airbrushing the SMS Super Silver, with lots of stop/start paint flow, and having to use more trigger travel than usual to get paint flowing. For the YS-11 that I'm building concurrently (photos below), I switched to AK Interactive's Xtreme Metal Polished Aluminium, but had similar results. So, it seems there's something up with my airbrush. My Iwata is also dormant due to unresolved performance issues, so it looks like I'm due a session of deep troubleshooting on both guns, along with breaking out some unused new ones I've had for at least a couple of years now!

 

Here's the YS-11:

 

 

 

The next step, after I've resolved my airbrush issues, is to mask off and paint some complementary panels for some surface variation.

 

Kev

[LSP_K2]

Looking good, Kev.

[Volksjager]

What airbrush is it Kev? Sounds like it could be a couple of issues. With my H&S Infinity, similar sounding problems would occur if

 

• I didn't have the needle fully inserted (could be paint buildup in the nozzle not allowing it to)
• The seal between the nozzle & body has not been tightened down enough after I had taken it apart for a clean. 
• The round gasket on the air cap was leaking just enough to not allow the correct paintflow. A little bit of Vaseline around it will get you through in the short term for this problem 

Other than that, sounds like it just needs a good clean out 

 

Geez SMS Super Silver is great, I absolutely love the stuff. Stainless steel is a great companion for panel tone variation, just vary the number of coats for different tones. 

[LSP_Kevin]

42 minutes ago, Volksjager said:

What airbrush is it Kev? Sounds like it could be a couple of issues. With my H&S Infinity, similar sounding problems would occur if

 

• I didn't have the needle fully inserted (could be paint buildup in the nozzle not allowing it to)
• The seal between the nozzle & body has not been tightened down enough after I had taken it apart for a clean. 
• The round gasket on the air cap was leaking just enough to not allow the correct paintflow. A little bit of Vaseline around it will get you through in the short term for this problem 

Other than that, sounds like it just needs a good clean out 

 

Geez SMS Super Silver is great, I absolutely love the stuff. Stainless steel is a great companion for panel tone variation, just vary the number of coats for different tones. 

 

In this case it's a H&S Evolution CR Plus (0.4mm needle/nozzle). I've just done some more testing with other non-metallic paints, and while the performance is better, there's still an issue affecting performance. In the past, I've usually been able to trace this to a bit of congealed fibres stuck in the end of the nozzle (presumably detritus from the tissues and cotton buds I use for cleaning out the colour cup), but no sign of it this time. I tested the Iwata too, and it's even worse in terms of how far back you have to pull the trigger before you get any paint (though atomisation seemed noticeably better, ironically). With some trepidation, I think I might give selected parts of both airbrushes a run through the ultrasonic cleaner.

 

Kev

[Derek B]

On 10/28/2023 at 7:17 AM, LSP_Kevin said:

The more I stare at photos of the aircraft I'm modelling, the more discrepancies with the Hawkeye instructions and drawing I find, and the more confused I get! The livery for this aircraft (and indeed, the aircraft itself) changed quite a bit during its service life, but even with the livery in question, I'm seeing different things in different photos from different years. The obvious thing to do is pick a photo that best represents the state of affairs I'm trying to capture, and replicate that. But finding photos showing multiple angles from the same time frame is not so easy!

 

The photo below gives an example of why I'm confused. The Hawkeye painting instructions describe white upper surfaces over natural metal lowers. All good. But in this photo, there's evidence on the lower rear fuselage (directly beneath the tail) of a colour that is not natural metal:

 

 

I can't work out what colour it is, or how far it extends. And I can't see it in any other photo. Is it just a painted cargo door? An optical illusion?

 

Other notable discrepancies evident in this photo include that red dashed line along the fuselage indicating the cabin floor, and a much more gentle slope of the colour demarcation at the nose.

 

In the meantime, I realised that it would be better to add the engine exhausts to the model prior to painting the natural metal, rather than after as I was originally planning. They required a fair bit of trimming and sanding to obtain a good fit, but I got there eventually. I also drilled them out slightly to improve the look:

 

 

The landing gear on most of these Minicraft airliners is generally pretty poor, and this kit is no exception. In fact, I have quite the warp to fix in one of the main landing gear struts:

 

 

I'm not completely certain it's fixable, to be honest!

 

The nose wheel strut consists of two parts, the fit and orientation of which is mostly left to guesswork. And it doesn't help that the kit instructions would have you install them backwards! I used the location holes in the nose wheel bay to help as a jig in order to glue the two parts together:

 

 

I wanted to be able to paint them as a single piece off the model. I reinforced the join with a generous dollop or two of CA.

 

OK, that's it for now!

 

Kev

 

Hi Kev,

 

Those models look very shiny with that silver paint - looking good!   (Apologies for being ignorant, but what brand is SMS paint?). I am certain that you shall resolve your airbrush issues.

 

As for the lower aft fuselage grey colour, taking into account differing lighting and photographic colouring, the paint hue looks to me very much like airframe grey colour (the infamous ADC grey FS16473), although it would most likely require lightening with some white for scale effect otherwise it will probably look too dark straight out of the bottle.

 

Cheers

 

Derek

[LSP_Kevin]

23 minutes ago, Derek B said:

 

Hi Kev,

 

Those models look very shiny with that silver paint - looking good!   (Apologies for being ignorant, but what brand is SMS paint?). I am certain that you shall resolve your airbrush issues.

 

As for the lower aft fuselage grey colour, taking into account differing lighting and photographic colouring, the paint hue looks to me very much like airframe grey colour (the infamous ADC grey FS16473), although it would most likely require lightening with some white for scale effect otherwise it will probably look too dark straight out of the bottle.

 

Cheers

 

Derek

 

Thanks, Derek. SMS is a local Australian brand of acrylic-lacquer paint, similar to MRP, but not as thin:

 

https://www.scalemodeller.com.au/

 

They're also available in the UK from a couple of places (should be on their website), and are well worth trying out. The main drawback is that, like all lacquer paints, they can be a bit stinky. But no more than the enamels of old, or even any standard acrylic paint that you might be thinning with Mr. Color Thinner (Tamiya, Gunze, etc). They are my go-to paint these days - and thankfully, I never have any trouble getting hold of them!

 

As for that grey panel on the lower rear fuselage, I'm going to use SMS Boeing Grey (FS16515), which looks a very close match visually. Close enough for me, anyway!

 

Still working through the airbrush issues. I think I might have the Evolution under control now (subject to further testing tomorrow), but the Iwata remains recalcitrant!

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

It's been a little while since I made any progress on this one (or its companion YS-11 build), but I'm happy to report that both have made their way back onto the workbench, which makes it time for a brief update.

 

First, the main game: the Qantas DC-4. Here's where it's at:

 

 

Since the Hawkeye Qantas decals are pretty sparse, I thought I'd use the kit decals for all the generic bits, but only the windscreen and anti-glare panel actually fit! The de-icer boots certainly didn't! I've made a start on painting them, as can be seen on the leading edge of the fin. The forward part of the engine nacelles have been painted with SMS Stainless Steel. Once I can get the de-icer boots masked and painted, I can get the livery decals on.

 

Speaking of livery decals, the aftermarket set for the YS-11 is 25+ years old, and giving me hell! They're stiff, brittle, and fragile. The full tail decals were particularly tough:

 

 

I had to touch them up in several places with Mr. Color Blue Angels Blue, which was close enough for rock'n'roll. At least the de-icer boots fit! But every decal I've applied so far has cracked or split during application, so I'm quite anxious about the fuselage cheat lines. They might get a coat of Microscale Decal Film before I wrangle with them.

 

I'm hoping to get at least one of these builds done by the end of the month, but I'm sure more twists and turns await, and it probably isn't all that realistic. We shall see!

 

Kev

[Shoggz]

That looks great Kev.. 

 

..but can I direct you here:

 

www.masochists-anonymous.com

 

 

[LSP_Kevin]

7 hours ago, Shoggz said:

That looks great Kev.. 

 

..but can I direct you here:

 

www.masochists-anonymous.com

 

 

 

I guess anyone who has followed my builds for long enough will appreciate that masochism is a core tenet of my approach. It seems I need the pain!

 

Kev

[LSP_K2]

Looking real good, Kev.

[RadBaron]

Those are looking great, Kev!

[LSP_Kevin]

Just a quick update on the YS-11 side of this unofficial dual build. Basically, I'm done with it for now:

 

 

The decals have really let me down on this one, and while I could try to patch and salvage this latest setback, the creeping accumulation of assorted errors and problems with this build has made it pointless. I wouldn't be happy with the result, just like I'm not happy with this nose:

 

 

Or this rear end:

 

 

And to top it off, the Xtreme Metal Polished Aluminium I used on this build is rubbing off everywhere I touch it. So it's curtains for this one, but not forever. I'll be stripping it off and starting again at some point - probably with the kit decals, as that's all I've got now, though of course they don't come with cockpit window decals! When the time comes, I'll start a new, separate thread for it, and leave this one just for the DC-4 - which hopefully I can make some actual progress on soon!

 

Kev