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Tamiya Mosquito FB VI - 3/22 - Figure painting completed


Bstarr3

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Martin,

I did quite a bit of sanding already. My plan was just to fill it in some more, probably with Mr Surfacer 500, and re-sand/re-prime that spot.

 

Also, if I were doing it again, I would check the wing and stabilizer seams, including primer and all necessary sanding, before adding them to the fuselage. This thing is just big, and the less handling you have to do when it's all put together like this, the better

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Alright, some pictures of paint!  As I said, this bird is different from many, in that it was painted the standard temperate fighter camo of ocean grey/dark green over medium sea grey.  So I started with the bottom MSG. 

 

With my Badger Patriot, I used my new super fine needle (0.2) to spray the marbling pattern for black basing.  This went very well at first.  I figured I would need to thin even the MRP with such a fine needle so I did about 3:1 paint:lacquer thinner, and sprayed first at 10, then at 15psi, looking for a smooth, fine line. As you can see from these first pictures, I was able to produce very fine lines and all was going well.  Suggested some panel and rivet lines with more and less black showing through respectively.  

 

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By the time I got through the starboard wing and onto the nose, I had gone through my first cup of paint, and I guess I did something wrong with my mixing ratios, because I started to have serious problems with nozzle clogging.  I tried adjusting thinning ratios up and down and pressure up and down, but I just kept getting problems.  No paint... no paint... no paint.. SPLAT.  Eventually, I changed out needles for the standard "fine" needle, which I think is 0.35.  Here I used straight MRP unthinned at about 15psi.  I was not able to acheive the same fine lines, but still got a marbling effect.  I really need to figure out the right thinning ratio/pressure to use with that finer needle - I want to use it for the camo lines on top.  

 

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A couple of thin layers of MSG on top (50/50 MRP/lacquer thinner).

 

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Some post shading with 50/50 MSG/AMT6 Black. Another place I would have liked to use the finer needle.

 

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And blended back in with another thin coat of base color. 

 

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I'm going to leave this to cure for a day, then a little polishing with micromesh pads, then a coat of Alclad Aquagloss.  I'll leave that to cure for a day and mask it all off. 

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Thanks, Carl and Harv. I got some gloss coat on this afternoon and am leaving it to cure before taping. I'm sure I'll also have to do some of the inevitable sanding to try to get dust and hair out of the coat.

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Brian

great update!

Strange how MRP is acting at your end. I usually use a .2 nozzle or even go down to .18 while using MRP as is without thinning and i never had any trouble at all. Could it be your airbrush had residue from previous painting sessions?

Alot of times stuff gunks up and you can't physically see it that's why i usually disassemble and do a quick 15 minute bath in the ultrasonic cleaner with some ammonia after every couple of days working at the bench...

Either way the mosquito lower half looks superb. you did a great job breaking up the monotone color!

looking forward to more my friend!

Karim 

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Brian

great update!

Strange how MRP is acting at your end. I usually use a .2 nozzle or even go down to .18 while using MRP as is without thinning and i never had any trouble at all. Could it be your airbrush had residue from previous painting sessions?

Alot of times stuff gunks up and you can't physically see it that's why i usually disassemble and do a quick 15 minute bath in the ultrasonic cleaner with some ammonia after every couple of days working at the bench...

Either way the mosquito lower half looks superb. you did a great job breaking up the monotone color!

looking forward to more my friend!

Karim 

Karim, thanks for the kind words.  Honestly, I'm not sure what's going on with the airbrush either.  I seem to have a lot more clogging problems than many others.  I did a full tear-down clean with lacquer thinner between primer and paint, so all the parts should be clean.  The nozzles are always a difficult part to clean for me, because it just seems like its impossible to get any dried paint out of it.  I have been using lacquer thinner and cleaning brushes to clean it out when necessary, but maybe I should invest $30 in one of those ultrasonic jewelry cleaners.  Do they really work better than hand cleaning?

 

Also, I'm glad to see you're back to work on something.  Sorry the Bronco stalled out.  I just got my first WNW - an Albatros that I bought from 1to1scale's clearance sale (thanks!). I'm looking forward to working on that eventually. 

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Karim, thanks for the kind words.  Honestly, I'm not sure what's going on with the airbrush either.  I seem to have a lot more clogging problems than many others.  I did a full tear-down clean with lacquer thinner between primer and paint, so all the parts should be clean.  The nozzles are always a difficult part to clean for me, because it just seems like its impossible to get any dried paint out of it.  I have been using lacquer thinner and cleaning brushes to clean it out when necessary, but maybe I should invest $30 in one of those ultrasonic jewelry cleaners.  Do they really work better than hand cleaning?

 

Also, I'm glad to see you're back to work on something.  Sorry the Bronco stalled out.  I just got my first WNW - an Albatros that I bought from 1to1scale's clearance sale (thanks!). I'm looking forward to working on that eventually.

 

I got a ultrasonic cleaner for my Patriot and it didn't work at all. I've had similar problems with nozzle drying. I recently got a Badger Renegade Krome and have been playing with the fine tip (I thing it's a 0.2) With a really tiny nozzle. Following advise from a fellow modeller I'm spraying heavily thinned Tamiya (because that's what's available at my LHS') with cellulose thinners. So far no tip dry or clogging problems. The krome also feels like better quality than the Patriot for fine work imo.

 

Really like what you've done with the black basing by the way.

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Nice! It's always a big step forward when you start to get paint on the project. Well done Brian!

 

Cheers,

Wolf

Thanks, Wolf.  It does feel like a big step.  

 

I got a ultrasonic cleaner for my Patriot and it didn't work at all. I've had similar problems with nozzle drying. I recently got a Badger Renegade Krome and have been playing with the fine tip (I thing it's a 0.2) With a really tiny nozzle. Following advise from a fellow modeller I'm spraying heavily thinned Tamiya (because that's what's available at my LHS') with cellulose thinners. So far no tip dry or clogging problems. The krome also feels like better quality than the Patriot for fine work imo.

 

Really like what you've done with the black basing by the way.

Well, Tim, that's disappointing.  I was hoping that an ultrasonic cleaner would be a simple solution to my clogging problems.  The best thing I have found is just to leave the nozzle soaking in thinner for a while, and then giving it a good scrub.  It's the only part that I can't get at really thoroughly when cleaning, so I've assumed that's where my problem lies.  The 0.2 needle is brand new - this is the first kit I've used it on - so it's not as though it's had a long time to build up residue in the nozzle.  I'm going to play around with it on my paint mule and see if I can get a consistent fine line before I start trying to paint camo.  

 

And thanks for the compliment!

Edited by Bstarr3
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More paint work last night. First, a lot of masking.  Gloss cured very nicely on the undersurface, and then a lot of time getting everything masked off to avoid overspray, and get that nice sharp demarcation line along the side of the fuselage.

 

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After realizing that the underside color continues all the way up the side engine cowling panels, I loaded up some MSG to touch up those areas.  Turns out I loaded way too much in the brush, because I ended up doing the rough outline of the camo lines and the full marbling coat under the OG in MSG.  The lighter grey against the black really accentuated the mottled finish.  The thing I'm still learning to do is to leave this finish looking maybe a little over done in the paint stage, because additional colors, clear coats, and weathering will reduce it.  

 

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I practiced with my 0.2 needle on a scrap kit for about 30 minutes, then I felt like I had the right setup to get the fine lines I was after.  I used about 12-14 psi with unthinned MRP dark green. I ultimately decided to go for it with freehand camo.  After roughing out the lines with grey, I then traced the lines freehand with a pencil based on the color painting guide poster that comes with the kit.  I followed over my pencil lines with the airbrush, working painfully slowly.  Trying to keep it on the stand, I had a hard time keeping the airbrush 90 degrees to the surface, and the paint would run away from the line.  I finally just picked it up, held it perpendicular to the floor, and painted the lines that way.  I started on the marble coat, but my cup ran dry at about midnight, and I decided to clean up and leave it alone for the night. 

 

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Sorry for the poor quality of these photos.  It's getting harder to get good shots of this big bird.  I want to take some nice photos of the finished project, but I'm going to have to think about how I'll accomplish that.  Comments and criticisms welcome as always. 

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Have you tried polishing your airbrush needle? I was having all sorts of problems with my .3mm needle on my 105. Tip dry, splatter, clogging. I was going to get a different airbrush. Polished the needle and it's a heck of a lot better. The needle (brand new) was really rough.

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Brian she's a real jaw dropper!

I am glad you found the sweet spot for using MRP unthinned. 12-14 psi is about what i use with my .2 needle and it works a charm!

The mottling really gives the topside paintjob that used look!

Superb my friend. Just plain superb!

Can't wait to have you finish the topside camo!!

Karim

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