Don't feel reluctant to post any of your work on this FORUM.

I am finding folks VERY encouraging andhelpful.

That model IL-2 you built does look great.

I have the 1/48 Accurate Minitures kit  which I plan to build. The guy who founded A.M. used to be a member of the model club I had belonged to when I was living in Chicago!!!

He was extemely precise in his modeling outstanding modeler!! He would scratch build in 1/32 scale ALL his models were works of art!! Great guy would help anybody with model questions NEVER "Big Leagued" anyone.

The IL-2 is on my wish list but boy, oh boy is it pricey...

Vallejo is acrylic paint

Thanks flyinyak.  That's good to know.  I think I should have chosen 1/72 instead of 1/48.  I'm running out of room fast.  Gotta love airwolf

Great build. I built the 1/72 version - that kit is just gem too. So much detail for a small kit, but it went together great.

Super job.

Nice work.  

Joe

Thanks for your replies. Cnq your build is amazing. Thanks for sharing.  I'm kinda leery to post pics of my models as they are no where near the quality of the ones I've seen on this site.

Greatmaker, very  nice finished. It's the best 1/48 kit out there for this plane. I built the same kit last year.

Very nice! Love that bird.

Glad you got the photos working- she turned out great! Congrads!

Finally figured out how to make the pics show up.  So far this is the best fitted kit I've done.  Even the rocket fins fit the to rocket body was seamless.  My only issue was the little doohickey on the tail fin.  despite my best efforts and re-enforcing with superglue.  I busted it off multiple times. First time for me with a premade canopy mask that worked slick

I may have to correct myself on the Vallejo paints at Hobby Lobby.  I went online and realized that Vallejo paints come with nondescript labeling and I believe I did see them at the local HL.

I was at Hobby Lobby today and they sell Testors and Model Master paints.  Could be a regional market thing.  Those folks don't even use scanners at checkout.  Everything is punched in by hand.

I'm assuming that Valljo is not an acrylic.  Thanks for the ROL tip.  I'm guinea pigging with a couple of models at present.  Stripped an old Lindberg 262 to repaint.  Gives me practice on the German paint schemes.

I too have been watching Alex Modeling and a couple other guys and they all use "Vallejo".

Someone told me Hobby Lobby has them but only limited colors.

I have a lot of built and unpainted kits my 11 year old son built and thought we could use them as the "guinee pigs" to experiment on.

I haven't used my airbrush yet as we are deep into winter and can't use the garage or outside because of the frigid weather.

SO

I have been teaching my son to handpaint. Yesterday and today we painted 3 of his aircraft using the Vallejo paints. All I can say is WOW I can't believe how the job looks after the paint drys!!!

It lays down very nicely! Looks great!!

Did I prime?

Yes!!

I used the Rust-O-leum(R-O-L) spray can paint that says says safe on plastic. I used the light grey, I also have the white and a few others. The Hunter Green looks really nice too.

I very lightly dusted the R-O-L first let it dry overnight and tonight handpainted with the Vallejo. I am pretty impressed. Can't wait to see how it looks airbrushed!!

Well I finally finished the model.  It was an excellent kit  I'm gonna try and post some pics

Thanks Matt I found out last night how well Tamiya primer works.  I used the wrong green paint so I figured I could just strip it off with windex or alcohol since I had just applied it.  I did get some off but I ended up repainting  in neutral gray to start over.  Since I've thinned MM with just water it's worked a ton better.  I thought about switching to Tamiya paints but I noticed they don't have RLM colors. I'm going to look into some flow enhancer

I use Tamiya primer, it does smell horrible, but is amazing.  I have not had any problems with MM Acrylic paint over this, but it is a tricky paint to work with.  

For landing gear, doors and all the other little bits, I normally paint them seperately and then add at the appropriate time with either super glue (CA) or something like tenax 7R with a touch and flow applicator.

For my canopies, I dip in future and let cure first, then mask, prime, paint as needed, etc.  Only once the weathering and dull coats are on do I peel off the tape.  For the longest time I was loathe to by the tamiya tape due to cost, but I have found it to be well worth the money.  

For weathering and washes I use artists oil paints mixed in white turpentine after a good gloss coat is on over the decals.  The gloss coat makes the oil paints flow farely well and since one is acrylic ( I use future for my clear coats) and the oil is enamel based there is not much of a reaction.  Once I am finished with the weathering I seal up the paint with an acrylic flat coat and remove all the masks.

Hope that this helps.

<Matt

From what I saw on "Alex Modeling" on U-Tube he uses Vallejo Weathering washes and wow did it look nice on his models haven't tried it yet but maybe someone on Forum might comment

I agree with Nathan. MM acrylics are very difficult to work with

You need a retarder such as liquitex with MM acrylics. Tough paint to get along with if u ask me. I ditched them Long ago.

Glues like the Tamiya thin need to be applied to bare plastic.  It melts it rather than glueing two pieces together.  Being very thin it will flow into tiny gaps like seam lines  even when they are pressed together and leaves little to no residue.  Very handy stuff.

For the canopies, you could always use a method that works and gives you a glossy finish then brush on some acrylic flat coat (MM makes one).

Groot

Thanks for the replies.  This model Is a gem and I want to do it credit.  I do use tamiya tape for the canopies.  I've tried various mixes of ISO to water for thinner but it seems to plug my aztek airbrush. Plus I get orange peel. I had a lengthy discussion with the testor aka rustoleum folks and they recommended either their thinner or distilled water in a 7:3 ratio.  It took some time to get used to but with plain water I get a much smoother finish.  Do you use the tamiya extra thn cement to glue on painted parts or just the CA? Are any of the premade wastes any good? I've also done the sharp knife on the edges of the mask thing. I guess I can't cut a straight line because I always muck that up.  I'm gonna try something new with the hand painting. I find with acrylics it's very hard to thin it correctly to get a nice even coat.  Too thin and it runs all over and multiple coats tend to get "gloppy" for me.  I tried using a embossing tool instead of a brush to apply unthinned paint. I did this on a practice canopy and it covered extremely well and I was able to burnish the paint around.  Only drawback was that like brushed paint it was glossy. I also used a darker paint so I don't know how it would do with lighter ones.

I feel your pain on the lifting acrylic.  That stuff needs more R&D.

Primer:  I prefer Tamiya's Fine primer in a rattle can.  Duplicolor auto primer would be second.

Glue: Tamiya thin cement or Zap CA.

Canopy: Glue to plane, Mask with Frog tape (yellow) or Eduard's canopy masks, paint along with plane, lightly run a sharp knife around the edges before removal.

Wash over acrylics:  I use oil paint thinned with Ronsonol (lighter fluid).

Hmmm....Try Gunze Mr. Surfacer, bottle or spray can. 1200 or 1500. Tamiya Super fine primer in the spray can is awesome. Not sure why it isn't working for you? Use a liquid cement like Tamiya extra thin. Try thinning your MM acrylics with a custom mix of 50% distilled water and 50% ISO alcohol, and a few drops of Liquitex retarder. It adheres better. Make sure you are using Tamiya tape for all your masking, especially for canopies!!! Or, buy Eduard pre cut masks. I wont explain this stuff much further, just use google or the forum search here and you will find discussions on all these products.