I'm building this Seiran for the Japanese GB so I thought to post here for those that do not wonder into the GB section.
Got the pit assembled and painted. The instructions say that the pit is grey. I did some research and the Seiran had a "Bamboo Green" pit color and Tamiya XF71 is a good match. To make the oil wash flow better on to the raised details, I mixed Future with the XF71 to get a glossy green paint. This way I did not have to go the extra step to spray clear gloss over the pit. I then mixed up some Burnt Umber oil paint with turp to make a wash. Now to let it dry and it will receive a light coat of flat lacquer to even out the finish. I will also add some Eduard belts to dress up the seats.
I painted the rear IP Vallejo black and drybrushed the raised details white to pop them up.
I painted the IP and added clear parts cement for the glass faces.
Got the pit all dolled up. I first did some dry brushing with flat aluminum then dry brushed red oxide primer so the foot traffic areas have the worn look then shot Testors Flat clear lacquer. I also added some Eduard IJN pe belts.
The rear IP got the same treatment as the front one. The MG was very lightly dry brushed silver just to pop some of the molded details. Tamiya's quality really shines bright!
![]()
Another view of the office before being closed up.
Got the fuselage and wings on. The line you see on top and bottom where the halves meet is paint that has melted along with the plastic when I apply Tenax with a touch and flow applicator. Those areas were painted and the thin liquid cements melts the plastic and becomes an invisible join after sanding the ridge of plastic that squeezes out. No filler needed.
Again, amazing fit, no gaps or mis alignment. It's getting close to my favorite part which is the painting stage and I have a very unusual scheme for this Seiran that looks u
I finally was able to get back to work on the Seiran. It's ready for the Eduard canopy mask and paint. I also got the dolly assembled and is also ready for paint.
ltra cool. More on that later.
I normally would have been done a long time ago but baby sitting my granddaugter is a full time job so modeling takes the back seat.
Here's where I'm at now. I wasn't happy with Tamiya's pitot tube so I made my own out from brass tubing and a syringe needle cut with a Dremel wheel.
Glued up with Gorilla Gel Super Glue
![]()
The flaps had mold release marks so some PPP filled in the holes.
Thank God for Eduard canopy mask, it's a time and hair saver!
IJN seaplanes had red primer for anti corrosion control so I used some Floquil oxide red primer color and added a few drops of Testors red to kill the brownish tint and sprayed the Seiran.
I used a soft old t shirt piece with a tiny bit of Rub N Buff to polish the paint and add just a hint of a metallic sheen.
My Seiran is modeled after one that was found in Nagoya and had an unusual scheme. Apparently is was used for testing and little is known about it but the combination looks very interesting. I mixed my own orange color using Testors red and yellow and sprayed the undersides of the float and the lower tail feathers and wings only. I thinned it to make it more transparent and the panel centers were sprayed fading out to the edges as part of the weathering to come.
Next will be hairspray then IJN Green then comes the chipping and fading.