Buecker 131 Jungmann - eastern front recon

[BradG]

Ah Aires, because there is air between their resin and where they are meant to fit. 

[Fanes]

On 10/22/2021 at 7:26 AM, MARU5137 said:

Nice progress since I last came by.

There's more - having a week off from work really helped to get a lot of stuff done/cleared.

So there should be more modeling time in the future.

Since I'm still waiting for my order from a czech shop with the MRP RLM02, I tackled the wings.

Sadly the fit of those was a disappointment. You get upper and lower parts for both wings and I couldn't get them glued together without a noticeable displacement.

 

The lower wing, which is the upper in the pictures, has already been scraped and sanded flush.

It gets worse if you go further out to the tips:

 

It's not a big deal since the plastic is incredibly soft and thereby easy to smooth out but I did expect better from ICM.

My last first ICM kit was the I-16 and there was almost no seam to clean up and the Bü 131 is a much younger product..

Maybe it's the Revell repop?

The interior was black based with the trusty Tamiya semi gloss X-18 and is now awaiting the RLM02

 

Next up will be a completely painted interior - stay tuned!

 

Joachim

 

[MikeMaben]

[Alain Gadbois]

4 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

Don't stand so close to the TV!

 

Mom

[Fanes]

The MRP paints have finally arrived and with another order a new tool as well:

 

I've been using a H&S Evolition CR+ with a 0.15mm needle for the last two years and although it is basically a good airbrush. I didn't like the feel of the trigger (too sticky, too much preload) and the delicate needle - I bent two of them. Then there was a good offer for the Gunze PS-770 which is basically an Iwata Custom Micron CM-C+ clone with the 0.18mm needle set.

Well, of course I tried to do the interior with MRP RLM02 with the new airbrush and oh boy - it did not go well.

No matter what I did with the pressure (from 20 two 9 PSi) or the paint (unthinned to 50% levelling thinner) I wasn't able to produce consistent lines which are crucial for the black basing thingy. In general I would get around 5s of wonderful paint flow, then nothing followed by a giant blurb 10s later. You can see the inconsistent spots/islands on almost all interior parts and I'm really not happy.

Does anyone have an idea how to fix this issue?

 

 

 

The floor was masked afterwards sprayed with Gunze radome tan (same problems with the airbrush )

 

And afterwards a layer of brown oil colours (burnt umber and burtn sienna) were added to simulate the wood grain

 

I have to wait until today evening to spray a clear coat to seal the oils and finally remove the masking.

Plenty of time to figure out the issue with my new airbrush -  any input is highly welcomed!

 

Joachim

[denders]

I'm not an expert by any means and I've never used MRP Paints or the 770 airbrush. (I'd like to get one at some point.)

 

When you say adjust air pressure to you mean at the compressor or at some point along the way? (I keep my compressor air pressure up high and I have another pressure regulator and a digital gauge at the paint booth that is easy to see and adjust.)

 

Have you tried keeping the compressor air pressure at 15-20 and adjusting the air valve on the air brush? I have a Grex G-MAC valve/QC which does the same function at the end of the hose where it connects to the air brush and that seemed to help while trying some very low paint flow with a Sotar 2020.

 

Dave

 

[MikeMaben]

19 hours ago, Fanes said:

               ... In general I would get around 5s of wonderful paint flow, then nothing followed by a giant blurb 10s later.

 Hey Joachim ,  when you stop the flow (after the 5s) the paint on the needle (not just the tip) starts to dry.

With a tip that small it doesn't take much to block the nozzle. Eventually the paint that is trapped behind the

nozzle tip blows out and splatters.  I'd recommend using a larger needle/nozzle and keeping a wet (with thinner)

Qtip handy so you can clean the tip after every stop. You can get a nice fine line with a .3 with the pressure (low)

and needle stop set up short. Even tho MRP is part acrylic, I've never had a problem with nozzle clog.

Have fun.

[Fanes]

On 11/1/2021 at 3:36 PM, denders said:

I'm not an expert by any means and I've never used MRP Paints or the 770 airbrush. (I'd like to get one at some point.)

 

When you say adjust air pressure to you mean at the compressor or at some point along the way? (I keep my compressor air pressure up high and I have another pressure regulator and a digital gauge at the paint booth that is easy to see and adjust.)

 

Have you tried keeping the compressor air pressure at 15-20 and adjusting the air valve on the air brush? I have a Grex G-MAC valve/QC which does the same function at the end of the hose where it connects to the air brush and that seemed to help while trying some very low paint flow with a Sotar 2020.

 

Dave

 

Dave - that's what I usually do! I set the pressure to around 20 PSi with active air flow and use the inline MAC valve to dial it in.

At least with my old Badger and the Evolution. Since that did not work at all with the PS770, I went back to the compressor to have a "proper" reading of what's going on instead of the feeling/intuition. I'll give it another try soon!

On 11/2/2021 at 7:12 AM, MikeMaben said:

 Hey Joachim ,  when you stop the flow (after the 5s) the paint on the needle (not just the tip) starts to dry.

With a tip that small it doesn't take much to block the nozzle. Eventually the paint that is trapped behind the

nozzle tip blows out and splatters.  I'd recommend using a larger needle/nozzle and keeping a wet (with thinner)

Qtip handy so you can clean the tip after every stop. You can get a nice fine line with a .3 with the pressure (low)

and needle stop set up short. Even tho MRP is part acrylic, I've never had a problem with nozzle clog.

Have fun.

Good points Mike! The tip dry problem was the main reason to change to MRP, at least for me. It happened to me all the time with water based acrylics and sometimes on longer sessions with Gunze and Tamiya. I thought going from the 0.15 on the Evlolution to 0.18 on the PS770 would increase consistency..

I guess, I'll give it another shot with a side by side comparison of the two airbrushes with the same pressure, the same paint and a brush/q-tip loaded with thinner at hand.

[Fanes]

Back from the lab

As promised I went went back to the spray booth and did a back to back comparison PS-770 vs. Evo CR+.

Paint of choice this time was Tamiya's XF-2 thinned with a homebrew X-20A (butanol, Isopropyl alcohol, retarder and some flow improver).

My Wildcat served as a test mule. Somehow the Temiya paint did flocculate a little bit.

But I did get good results!

 

Everything aft the main spar was done with the Evo and the panels up front with the PS-770. I had a little tip dry now and then (every 30-60s) but that's quite common for Tamiya paint thinned with alcohol and incredibly low pressure and paint flow. I'll give it another shot with XF-2 + levelling thinner on the other wing and a third try when my insignia white arrives (which some dumbass forgot to order).

Back to the Buecker - the wooden floor recieved its varnish made up of a 1/1 mix of Tamiya gloss and clear orange

 

I plan to do the detail painting today followed by an overall gloss later that day.

Still waiting for the Quinta stuff, though.

[Fanes]

No pictures so far (forgot to take them), buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut the Quinta stuff has arrived and I started sticking these 3D decals on.

Be prepared for a leap forward tomorrow

[Fanes]

Took a little bit longer since the Revell decals didn't really react neither to Microsol, not to Gunze mark softer.

With some force, a toothpick and a lot of patience I got them on okayish. I'm really glad that I won't have to use the decals for markings and insignia.

Praise the Silhouette cutter

 

and starboard

 

Will do a littel pin wash (not that there's a lot of structure to highlight..)

Now onto the Quinta stuff!

There are some nice foot straps for the rudder pedals:

 

And of course the instrument panels:

 

They are absolutely gorgeous but a little bit too small and the RLM02 ist too light to my eyes.

 

They remind me why I didn't like pre printed PE since you really have to match your interior colour to the print colour.

Apart from that they look sublime. I have another set for a small scale Mirage 2000. For the big birds, I'll stick to plastic/resin IPs with individual decals from Airscale.

The seatbelts will be added after the flat coat. I'm excited how they will look once attached.

[Fanes]

Finally an update

Between working overtime, buying a new car and a general lack of mojo there wasn't much room for the little Buecker.

But I'm back (once again) and from now on the pace will pick up.

The starboard side cockpit recieved its long awaited trim cable:

 

And the seats their Quinta belts

 

They are certainly easy to assemble. Soak the backing paper in water, lift them off and glue them with a tiny amount of PVA glue.

Being a lot less fiddly then textile belts (HGW/RB) both seats took me about 15min instead of hours. They are more flexible than PE belts but lack the crumbled look of the textile siblings.

They're just a tad to smooth and perfectly draped. Additionally the "metal parts" are more grey than silver.

For me personally textile belts are worth the struggle for LSPs. The Quinta belts on the other hand seem to be a perfect solution for my planned small scale builds.

 

Currently the fuselage's cement is drying (oh boy that was a fight) - pictures of the completed cockpit will follow tomorrow.

[monthebiff]

Just catching up with your build Fanes, very nice work indeed and interesting to hear about your Quinta Studio belts. I've been thinking about trying a set but have been unsure about using them.

 

Regards. Andy 

[Fanes]

11 hours ago, monthebiff said:

Just catching up with your build Fanes, very nice work indeed and interesting to hear about your Quinta Studio belts. I've been thinking about trying a set but have been unsure about using them.

 

Regards. Andy 

Nice to have you on board Andy!

I would say: try them out if you want to go quick (not dirty) since they aren't expensive.

You can always go back to HGW belts and Airscale instrument dials

 

Cheers

Joachim

 

PS: I'd love to see progress on your Ju 188!

 

[monthebiff]

6 hours ago, Fanes said:

Nice to have you on board Andy!

I would say: try them out if you want to go quick (not dirty) since they aren't expensive.

You can always go back to HGW belts and Airscale instrument dials

 

Cheers

Joachim

 

PS: I'd love to see progress on your Ju 188!

 

 

Funnily enough Joachim,since my WIP re-surfaced this week I have been looking over it and getting all of my research material back together as I am thinking of getting it back on the bench!

 

Regards. Andy