Stokey Pete Posted November 13, 2022 Share Posted November 13, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, themongoose said: Well, it’s definitely not a problem with cleaning off finger oils. I sanded down to bare plastic, prepped and cleaned the surface, rolled up a piece of blue tape and tapped it across the surface with paint still on it to make sure i got it all, and was rewarded with this… time to watch some football and revisit later in the week Mate, that looks like it’ll drive one to distraction. Definitely a time to walk away for a little while and re-group. Something you might wanna try for the repairs…….dampen the surface before you apply the masking, I don’t know how or why but I found it weakens the tack a tad, decreasing the chance of paint lift. no matter how far you sand back there’s always an ‘edge’ where paint meets plastic, and I reckon that’s always the weak spot. I’ve found paint lifts always start there. I still think your equal parts bonkers and hero for doing the scheme. On further thought, might a quick mist of Mr Levelling thinner or similar….’reactivate’ the paint and give better adhesion before you attempt the repair? I’m just spitballing thoughts on solutions. Edited November 13, 2022 by Stokey Pete themongoose and Landrotten Highlander 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted November 15, 2022 Author Share Posted November 15, 2022 Thinking about it i think I’ll follow a line of thinking you started stokey. I’m going to clean it all again, with 91 ISO, and lay down a white lacquer primer to start with. Let that dry a day. Then maybe go as far as using sticky notes to mask 1 area at time. Hoping stichi notes are similar to water. I do not want to do this 3x! you’ll Have to give me some more details on using water to dampen the edge. I like the idea I’m just scared of it having never done it before to be honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted November 19, 2022 Author Share Posted November 19, 2022 OK I managed some recovery this weekend. Ended up masking off the affected area and then dampening a half dozen cotton swabs with lacquer thinner in order to fix up my peeling paint issue. I gently worked away the paint till I got back to bare plastic. Then used a lacquer primer on it, let it sit a few hours, and then top coated it. All seems well now. I have a few more spots to do. Will use that same technique for these and clean it all up. While I had the spray booth on I went ahead and put 2 coats of gloss clear on the top of the fuselage and the nose. These pics don't do it justice vs seeing it reflect the lights in person. Ohhh boy does it look great! scvrobeson, Landrotten Highlander, F`s are my favs and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandiego Posted November 20, 2022 Share Posted November 20, 2022 Looks great from here. Dan themongoose 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Barry Posted November 20, 2022 Share Posted November 20, 2022 Wow! Everything is easy after tackling this job! Way to go! themongoose 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted December 3, 2022 Author Share Posted December 3, 2022 Lots of little stuff getting done lately. Not really much to show that's interesting or that you guys haven't seen before ;-) I finished up the 4 stars and bars this weekend. They are ok, but looking at the close up pics I may do some touch ups because the patterns just seem odd done in such a small scale. I'm working on the lettering now. Once that is done I'll be ready to finish the assembly. Then a few decals that I need to draw up and print. I've tried a couple things to allow me to paint the grey shadow of the ship used on the flaps and fuselage but none of them look good in scale. Brett M, LSP_Kevin, F`s are my favs and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted December 4, 2022 Author Share Posted December 4, 2022 (edited) And the lettering turned out perfect! No touch ups here and no issue with paint lifting. There must have been some mold release or something on the lower fuselage. Next time I will give it a Dawn bath 1st, or a full wipe with ISO 1st. once it hardens, by tomorrow, I can sand the ridge off the edge of the lettering, put on a clear coat and let it all dry while i travel over the week. Next weekend will start assembly.I’ve been painting and doing up the gear doors, landing gear, ladder, and miscellaneous bits and bobs for a couple weeks now…every time i got crosseyed looking at blue digi Edited December 4, 2022 by themongoose LSP_Kevin, Rockie Yarwood, chrish and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted December 10, 2022 Author Share Posted December 10, 2022 Working on the special covers they use during shows. I bought some blue teflon tape to stretch over them and try to get a realistic look to the vinyl type they use. i made a pattern with aluminum foil then stretched the teflon tape(used for plumbing normally) over the intake. Glued on with canopy glue. then painted them in place with Vallejo acrylics. did something similar with the exhaust but had to use aluminum foil pattern behind it to hold the shape for the tie downs. these will all get some gloss varnish, then i can finish final placement, followed by adding the flying eagles emblem decals. Look for that in the final pics later this week F`s are my favs, Rockie Yarwood, LSP_Kevin and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokey Pete Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 I’m continually astonished at this paint job. Every update is epic! themongoose 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted December 14, 2022 Author Share Posted December 14, 2022 You're too kind Stokey Pete Glad you're following along. Love all your builds for sure. Tonight I am almost finished with the belly She's on her wheels now with just a few small bits to finish off. Office party tomorrow so no work for a couple days now most likely. The port wheel gave me a headache but a few minutes with a 3mm drill bit and my #11 blade made quick work of it. Just some minor work in the gear bays and very minimal grease in the gear bay and on the gear. The dirtiest spot, and this isn't much, is under the pylons. I used a cotton bud with some ebony oil and odorless turpenoid to streak it. looks really like the pics so I'm pretty happy with the approach for sure. And here's the whole belly. On my way to finishing up this week! F`s are my favs, panzerrob, chrish and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted December 14, 2022 Share Posted December 14, 2022 Awesome to see this project coming together. Looks like you're on the home stretch now Matt themongoose 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted December 17, 2022 Author Share Posted December 17, 2022 Heading down the home stretch this weekend. Got some travel starting tomorrow tho so may be late in the week before she’s ready for showtime Made my own decals for the grey man-o-war, the fighting eagles on the exhaust and the pilot and reo lettering (not on yet). working on the canopy now. Have to finish the tail lighting, a few more decals (hardly any stencils and markings on the special paint scheme!), then put some clear over the decals to close it out. Gazzas, LSP_Kevin, F`s are my favs and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squizzy 78 Posted December 18, 2022 Share Posted December 18, 2022 I’ve loved this build to the point I’ve dragged my Trumpy E out of the stash and ordered some aftermarket for it, it’s started now with a build thread coming soon! But this build, and the huge paint job is amazing! I remember first seeing this aircraft online, but to model it, and do the paint job with just tape and airbrush, insane!!! Great looking Hornet!!! Anthony in NZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted December 18, 2022 Author Share Posted December 18, 2022 2 hours ago, Squizzy 78 said: I’ve loved this build to the point I’ve dragged my Trumpy E out of the stash and ordered some aftermarket for it, it’s started now with a build thread coming soon! But this build, and the huge paint job is amazing! I remember first seeing this aircraft online, but to model it, and do the paint job with just tape and airbrush, insane!!! Great looking Hornet!!! Squizzy you really got me smiling with that one too cool, thanks man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themongoose Posted December 24, 2022 Author Share Posted December 24, 2022 Finished her up today! I'm really excited to present this one Way more work than I thought it would be so I'm stoked I didn't goof anything up and it came together looking sweet. Here's a few teaser images. I'll go put up the RFI here shortly. Let's start with my favorite pic... I wasn't quite exactly in the middle for this pic. The canopy look skewed here but it isn't. I'm just happy Captain Dexterity here didn't drop the camera on it lol And the big finish, I love this graphic! Gazzas, F`s are my favs, HerculesPA_2 and 11 others 13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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