Minicraft 1/144 MD-80

[Archimedes]

12 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said:

I have to apologise for the lack of updates to this one over the last couple of weeks, as I've become quite frustrated with it, and pushed it aside for a while. I decided I really needed to push on with it this morning, but before attending to the erstwhile gold cheat line, I noticed that there was a couple of ragged spots in the blue where it meets the while, and I needed to fix that first. So I duly masked along that section and touched it up. As soon as I peeled the tape away to admire the result, a bunch more blue paint chipped away!

 

 

Keep in mind that I was masking the white and not the blue. The blue is a Mr. Color paint, thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinners, and has an almost latex quality about the way its sitting on the model. It doesn't appear to have bonded with the layer beneath it at all. This is really my first time using Mr. Color paints in anger, and I'm quite surprised by this behaviour. The only effective treatment for this problem is to protect it with a clear coat before doing any more work, so now I'm waiting for a heavy coat of Tamiya X-22 to cure before proceeding.

 

 

Back to the Mustang, then!

 

Kev

Ooh that is looking sharp Kev. Nice finish on it too. Deeply envious of your ability to shoot gloss so well!

 

Kind regards,

Paul

[Archimedes]

On the ragged spots: are you pulling the tape up or along the line? I've found pulling the tape almost parallel with the surface of the model works better than pulling it up and away. 

 

Just a thought.

 

Kind regards,

Paul

[LSP_Kevin]

7 hours ago, AlexM said:

Check this out: 1 mm gold decal stripes

https://tinwizard.de/shop/en/decals/simple-patterns/stripes-1-0-mm-assorted-colors/stripes-1-0-mm-gold-90x140-mm

 

Cheers

Alex

 

Fantastic! Many thanks, Alex - just ordered a set. I'll have to wait a while for them to arrive (and was charged VAT for some reason), but now that I've decided on the decal route for the stripe, I can go ahead and put the rest of the decals on while I wait.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

7 hours ago, Archimedes said:

On the ragged spots: are you pulling the tape up or along the line? I've found pulling the tape almost parallel with the surface of the model works better than pulling it up and away. 

 

Just a thought.

 

Kind regards,

Paul

 

I always pull along and away from the demarcation line where I can. I generally don't have this sort of trouble, so this case is quite unusual for me, and I can't quite account for it. Now that the previous paint work has been protected by a clear coat, it shouldn't happen again, and I should be able to fix it once and for all this time.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

Fixed!

 

 

Once the clear coat dries sufficiently, I'll start adding the main decals while I await the arrival of the gold stripes.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

Decals are finally going down on the MD-80, but my hopes of a trouble-free process leading to a quick finish have already been dashed. The first of the Hawkeye over-wing panel decals was abominable, being so thin that it was compelled to fold over on itself as soon as it slid off the backing sheet. I spent 10 minutes trying to straighten it all out and get it to look acceptable, but failed miserably in the end, and binned it. As it happens, they don't really match the wing panels anyway. So I'll have to mask and spray them. Luckily, I'd already done a hi-res scan of the decals, so I can use that to cut masks as necessary. The main challenge will be matching the colour.

 

 

Just a quick clarification: the cockpit window decals are from Authentic Airliner Decals, as will be the window decals and some others. Most of the livery decals will come from the Hawkeye sheet - provided they go down OK!

 

Pro tip: if you have the equipment, *always* scan your decals before using them!

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

I was so frustrated with yesterday's decal fiasco, that I took most of today off so I could at least make some headway with the masking and spraying I need to do to replace those decals. And I'm pleased to report that I've finally had some success! As mentioned previously, I'd already made a hi-res scan of the Hawkeye decals, so decided to have a go at tracing them in Silhouette Studio. This proved less than satisfactory, so I then moved on to trying to trace them manually, and while the results were better, I wasn't convinced, and in the end, I decided I'd be better off masking the required shapes manually. I printed out the decal scan on plain paper, so I could use it for templates.

 

I decided to start with the funny little triangular stripy things. I really should have separated the first one from the wing panels before I applied the decal, as this would have saved it from being wasted, and I would have had 2 nice decals to use. But with only one left, I knew I I'd have to mask and spray both so that they'd match.

 

Using the printout of the decals as a reference, I masked the general shape, and then added the stripes using Aizu 0.4mm striping tape:

 

 

These were fractionally too small, so I ended up with one more stripe on each side than is on the decals, but the next size up (0.7mm) was too large, which would have looked worse.

 

On with the black:

 

 

And the result:

 

 

They're not perfect, but certainly look the part. Rather than charge on ahead with the rest of the wing panels, I decided to protect these (and the decals applied so far) with a clear coat, since I definitely do not want to have to do them again because they lifted under more masking!

 

Thanks for looking in as always, and stay tuned for the next update...

 

Kev

[Alex]

Looking very nice!  

[chrish]

Great save!

[LSP_Kevin]

Wing panels on the MD-80 masked and sprayed. I mixed a custom colour for the job, but it's way too dark (though not as dark as it looks in the photos).

 

 

 

 

Apart from clear coats, that should be all the painting done on this model. Phew! I finally feel like I've got this build back under control, though I suspect it still might have a surprise or two up its sleeve for me. I still have to get the rest of the decals on, yet!

 

Stay tuned for that...

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

I swear this build must be cursed! The cargo door outlines from Hawkeye reacted badly to the clear coat, so I polished them out, and burnt through the paint in a couple of spots in the process. Upon masking and respraying, the original colour has come out much lighter! So I thought, perhaps it will darken again with another clear coat. To which the decals reacted badly. Again.

 

 

 

I feel like head-butting this thing into oblivion right now.

 

Kev

[GMK]

Bloody hell, Kev. Doesn’t look like it wants to play at all. Probably doesn’t feel like it, but you are winning. Particularly love the wing triangular stripey things. 

[Alex]

That’s a real drag.  What clear coat are you using (I want to know so I’m sure never to buy it ;-)?

[LSP_Kevin]

1 minute ago, Alex said:

That’s a real drag.  What clear coat are you using (I want to know so I’m sure never to buy it ;-)?

 

It's just Tamiya X-22 cut 50% with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner. Pretty standard stuff! None of the other decals I've applied so far have had any kind of reaction - just the cargo door outlines. Pretty weird.

 

Kev

[Out2gtcha]

Damn Kev, can't catch a break on this one