Minicraft 1/144 Ansett 737-300 "Sydney Olympics"

[TankBuster]

I think it looks great. Cheers.

[Shoggz]

That looks terrific!

[LSP_Kevin]

Thanks, fellas. Things have really slowed down at the workbench this week, but I did manage to get about 1000 coats of clear gloss on the Minicraft 737.

 

 

The decal film is thick and slightly rubbery, and has defied all my attempts to disguise the edges. You can see a distinct shadow of the carrier film outline on the engine on the right:

 

 

I'll have to live with that, sadly. I need to get the intake rings painted, along with some touch-ups on the fin leading edge, but closing in on the home stretch now.

 

Kev

[Shoggz]

These airliners of yours Kev are a thing of real beauty..

[LSP_Ray]

Looks great, Kev! I remember Tigger dealing with decal film by taking a Q-Tip with Turpenoid I think it was (might have been something stronger) and slowly dissolving the perimeter of the decal till the film disappeared. Scary! I haven't tried it myself.

[LSP_Kevin]

19 minutes ago, LSP_Ray said:

Looks great, Kev! I remember Tigger dealing with decal film by taking a Q-Tip with Turpenoid I think it was (might have been something stronger) and slowly dissolving the perimeter of the decal till the film disappeared. Scary! I haven't tried it myself.

 

I did try that with some lighter fluid (Zippo) and a spare decal, but it just dissolved the decal ink, and had no effect on the carrier film.

 

Kev

[LSP_Ray]

I don't think lighter fluid will work. I know Tigger used a paint thinner, I thought it was Turpenoid but it might have been enamel thinner or Lacquer thinner. I need to test it, but I tend to avoid decals.

[LSP_Kevin]

27 minutes ago, LSP_Ray said:

I don't think lighter fluid will work. I know Tigger used a paint thinner, I thought it was Turpenoid but it might have been enamel thinner or Lacquer thinner. I need to test it, but I tend to avoid decals.

 

A little while back, Plasmo did a video showing how he uses Zippo lighter fluid to remove the carrier film from select decal brands - though it doesn't work on Cartograf decals, sadly. (I've also seen it used as a diluent for oil washes at times.) I've tried to do the same with various solvents over the years, and never once had it work like it does in the movies. 🤷‍♂️

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

I've spent most of what little modelling time I've had this past week applying stencils to the airframe:

 

 

These come from the dedicated Skyline sheet, which is amazingly comprehensive and most excellent. Still a few to go, but I'm nearly done.

 

 

As much as I'd like to say that this build is nearly finished, there's a surprising amount of work left to do. Apart from finishing and fitting the engines and landing gear, I also have to repaint the silver on the fin leading edge, and touch up one of the wing roots Hoping to get through all that by the end of next week.

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

Just when I thought all the decalling was done on this one, it decides to take a few steps back. Firstly, the engine stencils I added from the Hawkeye livery sheet reacted badly to the clear coat I used (SMS Super Clear):

 

 

Oddly, it happened on both sides with this engine, but neither on the other one. I ended up having to sand all four off and replace them with better examples from the Skyline sheet (which I should have used in the first place). I didn't do a perfect job with those either, but let's get on to the next disaster.

 

One of my last tasks was to touch up the silver on the leading edge of the fin - particularly on the part that slopes into the fuselage. That didn't go so well:

 

 

 

At this point, I walked away from the model and considered shelving it. I do have spares of these decals, however, so will strip them off once my mood stabilises, and apply news ones.

 

Isn't modelling fun?

 

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

Well, at least I've been able to get the engines sorted!

 

 

At least I thought I did, until I realised that I'd forgotten to paint the upper trailing part of the pylons in white. D'oh! Not wanting to put tape anywhere near the decals now, I ended up finishing the intake rings by brush-painting on some AK Interactive True Metal aluminium. It's excellent stuff for jobs like this, and highly controllable.

 

And happily, the damaged tail decals came off without any trouble (far more easily than they should have, actually):

 

 

 

Spares will be going on next, but I'll be paying much closer attention to getting the shapes to match this time.

 

Stay tuned!

 

Kev

[KiwiZac]

Bearing in mind the danger of creating yet more work for you: what's the story with the starboard front door? The frame/outline decal is positioned differently to the others.

 

I'm sorry in advance!

[LSP_Kevin]

23 minutes ago, KiwiZac said:

Bearing in mind the danger of creating yet more work for you: what's the story with the starboard front door? The frame/outline decal is positioned differently to the others.

 

I'm sorry in advance!

 

Mainly, I just misaligned the decal with regard to the engraved kit doors. I really should have filled those on the kit, so that there would be no clash. Even if they had lined up perfectly, the recessed doors on the kit are deep and wide, and would have swallowed the decal outline. Suffice to say, I'm just going to live with it. Just another hiccup on the road to mediocrity!

 

Kev

[RCPlym]

28 minutes ago, KiwiZac said:

The frame/outline decal is positioned differently to the others.

 

 

That'll be due due to imbibing more than generally recommended amounts of Epic Armageddon IPA - it often results in double vision... 🍻🍻😂 

[LSP_Kevin]

32 minutes ago, RCPlym said:

 

That'll be due due to imbibing more than generally recommended amounts of Epic Armageddon IPA - it often results in double vision... 🍻🍻😂 

 

Never ascribe to alcohol that which can be explained by simple incompetence.

Kev