1/48 Hasegawa Arado 234 Blitz-After 3 years..Finally Completed

Looks great Joe! Love the black windshield frames just like the real thing. Shaping up nicely.

Currently working on the main and nose wheel part of the landing gear and painting up the landing gear doors. I didn't like how flimsy the main landing gear was so I braced it against the outside of the fuselage on both sides where the landing gear doors will cover it so as to conceal the braces. Still truckin' along......

Thanks Joe!!

Well.....for what this is worth I got the flat coat applied. No fading on the sides but some on the upper surfaces of the bird. I'm hoping I didn't go too far.

Really glad to see an update on this Joe. You have done an outstanding job of fitting the cockpit on. Very nicely done on eliminating the step. Now, I'm quite excited to see the engine done up and mounted. It's coming along beautifully. Also, thanks for the tips on applying light coats of paint. Good stuff there.

Greg

Thanks for addressing my questions, Joe.

So that beautifully painted cockpit was an Aires.

I'm sure that jet engine will be eye-popping when you're done.

 

Thanks for addressing my questions, Joe.

So that beautifully painted cockpit was an Aires.

I'm sure that jet engine will be eye-popping when you're done.

Mopar Madness

Sweet Joe. Slow and steady wins the race!

 

Greg

The marbling actually shows up through your camo coat. What brand paint did you use for the camo colors? Not that it matters, my problem is I lay the paint on too thick when I try fancy stuff on base coat.

It looks good. Back several pages, to 2016, you sure did a knockout job on that cockpit.

I'm sure you've covered this and I missed it. Where is the #1 (left) jet engine?

 

The engine is going to be the last part of this build. I've got an Aires resin engine kit that I'll be building up and detailing for that side of the bird.

Sweet Joe. Slow and steady wins the race!

The marbling actually shows up through your camo coat. What brand paint did you use for the camo colors? Not that it matters, my problem is I lay the paint on too thick when I try fancy stuff on base coat.

It looks good. Back several pages, to 2016, you sure did a knockout job on that cockpit.

I'm sure you've covered this and I missed it. Where is the #1 (left) jet engine?

Thank you Johnny!

Ok gang...……...progress at last. It took me a while to get it all sorted out with an approach to this but I think I found one that worked for me. I had glossed the entire aircraft, applied the decals and then adhered the cockpit assy to the front of the aircraft and masked it off. From there I filled the huge lip that was on the top of the fuselage to cockpit join and worked it all in together by sanding and yet more filling. This resulted in the seam not disappearing from the top of the fuselage at the cockpit join so I added a seam in the name of uniformity. It's not "correct" but it looks uniform. After that I black based the entire sanded and filled area, applied the irregular gray pattern and went back over it in RLM 82. Still a little touch up painting to do on the starboard side of the affected area. Here's where we're at so far.

Thanks Joe. I may give that a try over the next acrylic paint job I do. I can turn out a decent gloss finish but I don't think the acrylic color coat would play well with what I normally use for gloss. lol

lawdog114

 

 

mustang1989

Thanks Max. Well....I tested out some Model Master Acrylic Gloss and didn't like it much, then I tried Vallejo Gloss and didn't like that either. Finally I used some Tamiya Clear and that was much better. Not to my usual standard on the turn out but it'll work. Pictures later.....

 

 

 

 

Joe , you should try half Tamiya X-22 Clear and half Mr. Leveling thinner. Then go back and immediately dust it with straight Mr. Leveling thinner. It’s lime magic. Best gloss I’ve found so far. 

 

I have heard that from a couple of modelers too. Have to give that a try.

I dont care for testors acrylic either but I do use enamel (MM) clear gloss and been using tamiya clear gloss it stands up to the oil paints Ive been using. I do like the finish the future gives clear plastic. Im sure it will good awesome in the long run.

mustang1989

 

 

plasticjunkie

Joe I use Future hand brushed and works every time. I usually do about 5 coats 15 minutes apart and set it aside to cure for 3-4 days.

 

 

 

 

Thanks Ernie. How does that stuff hold up to Mig washes and the like?

 

 

Future is very strong and will hold up to kryptonite LOL.  Just give it 4-5 days to cure before doing washes and using decal setting solutions.

mustang1989

Thanks Max. Well....I tested out some Model Master Acrylic Gloss and didn't like it much, then I tried Vallejo Gloss and didn't like that either. Finally I used some Tamiya Clear and that was much better. Not to my usual standard on the turn out but it'll work. Pictures later.....

 

Joe , you should try half Tamiya X-22 Clear and half Mr. Leveling thinner. Then go back and immediately dust it with straight Mr. Leveling thinner. It’s lime magic. Best gloss I’ve found so far. 

plasticjunkie

Joe I use Future hand brushed and works every time. I usually do about 5 coats 15 minutes apart and set it aside to cure for 3-4 days.

 

Joe I use Future hand brushed and works every time. I usually do about 5 coats 15 minutes apart and set it aside to cure for 3-4 days.

Thanks Max. Well....I tested out some Model Master Acrylic Gloss and didn't like it much, then I tried Vallejo Gloss and didn't like that either. Finally I used some Tamiya Clear and that was much better. Not to my usual standard on the turn out but it'll work. Pictures later.....

Yikes, sorry to hear about all the “fun” you’ve been having. Glad you’re feeling better now, though. 

Paint looks good! Serious dedication with all the masking, but I think it’s paid off. Lawdog’s last clear coat looked amazing, can we expect a show car level of shine from you on this one?

Thanks Joe............go for it on the Luftwaffe build. Will have my eyes glooed to the set!!!

 Sorry for the absence this last week. I took off two days from work this week. Had problems with one of my teeth that gave me problems in the 7-8 on the pain scale range. Went to the dentist and he gave me these antibiotics that reeked havoc on my stomach wise and I had that "disconnected" feeling. Really sucked. I took two days off from work and pretty much slept both days.

BUT...………….I'm back in the saddle again my fine feathered friends.

Did ALOT of work today on this bird. The friggin' landing gear legs broke loose from their mounting and I had to re-glue those back on. I've pretty much completed the camo scheme for this aircraft and have to say that this one goes down as one of the most difficult paint jobs that I've done yet with all the black basing, marbling and masking. Sheesh!!! With all that being said and aside from needing to paint the back of the engine nacelle a burnt black here's where we are now:





and the bottom side.



after the burnt black application on the engine nacelle we'll be off to completing the nose section and applying a gloss coat! My FAVORITE part.

Thanks Brandon. I've been tinkering with it for the last two days for a few hours at a time. Working on the undersides now.

She is looking very nice. I love the color tones that contrast enough for camo, but are soft enough against one another to almost blend. Very well done.

BK

Thanks Nick, Toshi, Joe and Ernie.

Nick: I hear you loud and clear. Paint is one of my favorite aspects as well. There's nothing like taking ordinary looking plastic and shaping it into the colorful things that we do.

Looks great. The marbling can be seen coming thru giving subtle tonal changes as designed to do so. 

Ooooh! They came out magnificent Joe. You have done a remarkable job with the painting and masking. Bravo, my friend.

Excellent finale!  Great and fantastic work.

Your friend, Toshi

hey some like the building part others seam filling ,decals,detailing, my thing is painting.