LSP_Kevin Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 I'm pleased to report that, for the first time in longer than I can remember, I've been able to get a decent modelling session in this afternoon, and have now got some white on the fuselage of the Electra: It picked up a little bit of airborne garbage while I was spraying, but I'll sand that out once the paint has fully cured. I used SMS PL02 White, by the way - great paint! It's not a gloss colour, however, and has a slightly gritty feel to the touch, so I'll have to buff it out a bit anyway. Perhaps a coat of Tamiya TS-26 Pure White after that - though I think a lot of modellers fall for the trap of making their small-scale airliners too glossy, so I won't be going for any kind of high-shine finish. I'm not happy with the way the engines look, but really just want to kick this one through to the finish line, so will attempt to make them look half decent via paint work. Wish me luck! Kev GMK, Alex, Troy Molitor and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 Just had a strange experience while painting this one. I decanted some Tamiya TS-26 Pure White for airbrushing, thinned it with Mr. Color Thinner, and applied a couple of light coats to the fuselage, followed by a very thin flash coat. To my dismay, the finish - while quite glossy - had a very rough texture to it. Not what I expected at all! A bit of work with my new favourite thing - 3M sanding sponges - and I had it all smoothed out and ready for another try. I figured I probably didn't thin the mix enough, so this time I went for about a 65:35 mix (as opposed to my traditional 50:50 mix), but my airbrush began to clog and spit immediately, and I had to strip it down and clean it out. The paint wasn't passing through at all, and I found a gluggy mess at the bottom of the paint cup. When I checked my now pre-thinned TS-26 that I had stored in and old paint jar, it was showing evidence of clumping and glugginess too, and is probably now useless. I've never had this happen before with any Tamiya paint product and Mr. Color Thinner, so I'm at a loss to explain it. Admittedly, both products were old - especially the TS-26 - but I wouldn't have though that would be an issue. Anybody got any suggestions? Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 Hrmmm that odd. Just recently had some decanted Tamiya AS-12 in a glass jar mixed with some Mr leveling thinner and ever since my Iwata has been spitting out what now is textured paint. I'm going to have to tear it down completely. Not sure if it just went bad or what. LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 I don’t have any directly relevant experience, but I do recall Chuck saying that he always uses Tamiya lacquer thinner with decanted Tamiya paint. Hard to imagine that the two are so different as to cause a chemical incompatibility, though. LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 3 hours ago, Out2gtcha said: Hrmmm that odd. Just recently had some decanted Tamiya AS-12 in a glass jar mixed with some Mr leveling thinner and ever since my Iwata has been spitting out what now is textured paint. I'm going to have to tear it down completely. Not sure if it just went bad or what. Sounds like a similar issue, Brian. Just weird! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 25, 2021 Author Share Posted April 25, 2021 3 hours ago, Alex said: I don’t have any directly relevant experience, but I do recall Chuck saying that he always uses Tamiya lacquer thinner with decanted Tamiya paint. Hard to imagine that the two are so different as to cause a chemical incompatibility, though. Chemically they're pretty similar I think, and like Brian above, I've been using this combination with AS-12 for years without a single issue. My best guess is that I've unwittingly introduced a contaminant into the glass storage jar. Kev Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted June 1, 2021 Author Share Posted June 1, 2021 It seems I only get to sit down at the modelling bench for a few minutes every month or so these days, so here's this month's progress: AK Interactive's Xtreme Metal Aluminium has been used for the natural metal portions of the airframe. It's not perfect, and there are some areas of overspray I need to tidy up, but I really just want to get this one done so I can move on to better kits and more fun projects. This one has become a bit of a throwaway build for me now, though I'm still hoping it will look OK when it's finished. Kev Greg W, Troy Molitor, LSP_K2 and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Shiny! I'm excited to see it with decals on it. LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted June 3, 2021 Author Share Posted June 3, 2021 (edited) Well, all of a sudden, and pretty much out of nowhere, we have a Qantas Electra! I'm at about the 90% mark now. Long fuselage cheat decals are the bane of my modelling existence, and getting one on straight and in the right place is a minor miracle, let alone two! In the photo above, there's a small but noticeable hump over the wing where the decal shifted and then stuck fast while I was trying to squeegee the water out from under it. Since I've mostly given up on this build at this point, I just moved on, hoping it wouldn't look too bad. The other side is better, even though it's hard to tell from this angle: The wing panels come from the kit sheet, the windscreen is from the Authentic Airliners Decals windows set, and the rest of the decals are from the Hawkeye livery set. The nose is a bit of a mess, however: I have a cunning plan to address this; I just need to summon up the courage to try it. In hindsight, I should have applied and aligned the cheat decals before the windscreen, and then applied that in relation to the cheat decals. Oh well - live and learn! I had originally planned to mask and paint up all the different metal finishes on the engine nacelles, but as I noted above, I've pretty much given up trying with this kit, and don't mind if it looks like a diecast toy. I'll just be happy when it's done, and I can move on to something more enjoyable. Speaking of which, I've just learned that mine is one of the first 4 3D-printed 1/72 Electra kits shipping out by OneManModel, which has me very excited! It's coming by sea from Japan, so I won't see it for up to 3 months, but I'm planning to replicate this livery on that kit, and put much more effort into it! Kev Edited June 4, 2021 by LSP_Kevin Corrected name of window decals provider. Derek B, LSP_K2, Cheetah11 and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted June 3, 2021 Author Share Posted June 3, 2021 Nose fix in progress, Round One: Kev Greg W, Derek B, Jan_G and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 Looking good, that should be fixable. LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 Nice! That looks great IMHO LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 I hate those wrap-around decals, and choose to paint that whenever possible. LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted June 4, 2021 Author Share Posted June 4, 2021 4 minutes ago, LSP_K2 said: I hate those wrap-around decals, and choose to paint that whenever possible. Me too. But in this case, the cheatline decals not only included all the windows, but also the door outlines as well. Ironically, I've just replaced all the windows with aftermarket items from Authentic Airliners Decals - though I relied on the existing markings for placement. I'll post photos in the next update. Kev LSP_K2 and Out2gtcha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_K2 Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 What you've done so far, looks just great to me. LSP_Kevin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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