2014 BRAILLE SCALE (UPDATE)

@Josiah - 1/72 scale weapons are my downfall - well done on yours! I find it so tedious trying to mask and paint them. Can't wait to see the Alpha with it's first coat.

@Theuns - looking good from here - new toolings don't always = great fit, though most of the new Airfix's have been looking good. To be honest, i've never come across one kit that had a perfect fitting canopy.

Ernest and Chris...thanks for the compliments...here's some pictures with the paint...had a number of mishaps happen both during painting and afterwards...precisely why painting is my least favorite part in modeling, it seems like all the work I do and then ruined. Compared to others...nothing too bad happened during this one, I'll try my best to fix it and make it look good in the end.

I have no clue how I'm going to weather this thing...most of my last few builds have been clean...yall saw the Eurofighter, so I haven't really been practicing...and that's just one more thing that can go wrong with this thing...so...think I should leave it clean or not?

Josiah - you and I need to team up - you build them, i'll paint 'em 

Painting is easily my most enjoyed part of the build. I don't like the tedious sanding/filling/fitting phase.

Did the Alpha Jet see much action? I'm not au fait with the alpha jet or it's history. A lot of the google images tend to show quite clean jets - so you can easily get away with a clean build 

Thanks Chris...I'm not too keen on the sanding and filling either...but I like it a heck of a lot better than painting that's for sure! Sometimes I'm just like...what are my even doing, I don't like sanding, I don't like painting...how do I like modeling? I think it's the finished product that I like, and seeing all the work put into it come out looking decent LOL.

As far as I know it didn't see combat or very little, I think Germany used Tornados whenever they needed a strike aircraft, but then again I'm not to up to speed on German air operations. Most of the pictures I've seen look pretty clean to, or a little faded, but that is something my airbrush can't do...or at least I haven't had the patience to try.

Very interesting "splinter camo" that Alpha Jet has on, I like it.

Theuns

cml

Josiah - you and I need to team up - you build them, i'll paint 'em 

Painting is easily my most enjoyed part of the build. I don't like the tedious sanding/filling/fitting phase.

thanks to everyone for commenting and keeping this going.a lot of nice building going on. i have been in a post regional slump and the bunker is a wreck plus the typical overcommitted GBs.

i don't like painting either though  i son't seem to do it badly, my SS-25 notwithstanding. BTW my new one is in so the first may go mono color green in launch mode and the second camo'ed in a vignette driving out of a bunker. IT REALLY IS A GOOD KIT though due to the nature and uniqueness close attention is needed.

i like building, filling seams, sanding and i LOVE weathering and am pretty good at it using artist oils, powders, pastels, airbrush misting,  and paint. maybe because i'm a graphics artist and technical illustrator. oh and i am getting fairly decent with vignette bases..

Josiah - Nice work on the splinter camo pattern.  I see where you had issues, but like you said, it shouldn't be too hard to fix.  As far as weathering....I would think a clean look would be par for the course for a jet like this, but who am I to say?   BTW, you'd be amazed at what kind of results you can get from even a basic airbrush.  It just takes practice!

Chris, Wayne - funny, I like both the building and painting aspects of modeling.  However I have come to dislike to a high degree cleaning up armor roadwheels!  There were 36 I had to clean up on my last completed build!!   As for painting,  I really enjoy using the airbrush, especially fine detailed work, like camo patterns.  Detail hand painting is also fun, but I get intimidated every time I start the weathering process on armor models....I always feel I'm going to pull some bonehead mistake and ruin weeks worth of painstaking work!! 

So here's an update on the Sherman and StuG.  Assemblies completed Sunday, I spent most yesterday evening after work cleaning up the work/paint bench in preparation for painting.

Completed Sherman.  Just missing a couple of tools that will be painted separately and added towards the end.  The PE storage rack on the rear in included in the kit, but the tow cable I had to hand make as I didn't have any AM stuff small enough.  I decided to open up the commander's hatch so I detailed the periscope a bit.  Scratched an antenna assembly...is the antenna too long?  All the reference pics I've seen show reaaallly long antennas!

Not much going on  with the StuG.  Final details were added and, like the Sherman, some of the tools will be painted separately and added later.  Here's both together:

I had time to primer both last night (no pics....its just gray primer! ), so I spent this evening shooting paint!!

Did some post shading and a little bit of color modulation.  Hard to do in such a small scale, but I did say how much I like using the AB!!

All AB work is done....wheels, tracks, tools, MGs, etc.  Tommorow I'll give each a gloss coat for the decals and then start the detail painting.  I want to get both of these done by next weekend as I have another out of town trip scheduled.

@Waynec - i know what you mean - i too tend to fall into slumps every now and again, usually after a hectic period too. Vignette and small dios is definitely an area i want to start learning - i've seen a number of yours throughout this forum and they've all looked fantastic.

@Ernest - very nice! I've just started to toy with colour modulation on my armour kits too (though, 1/35, so probably much easier). Your builds are coming along nicely, it's near impossible to tell they're 1/72 from those pics - the paint just looks terrific.

Painting (especially freehand camo) is definitely my favourite part of modelling, but, like you Josiah, sometimes i wonder why i do this hobby - it can drive me crazy but i'd spend everyday doing it if i could - go figure!??

Evening all,

Well, tonight i managed to get some decent work done, and, more importantly, some photos.

Here's some updates on the A-7.

As previously posted, i stripped the wings and remasked and painted:

I also masked and painted the drop tanks and the pylons:

Finally, masked and painted the arrestor hook. I'm quite happy how this came out. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the hook itself is painted steel and breaks it up nicely from the rest of the black and white.

Now for the Tony.

This is the first Dragon airplane i've built and, i'll be honest, if their other planes kits are like this, they should stick to armour. I have one other 1/72 FW-190 of theirs in the stash, so i'll see how that is at some stage. I also have their 1/35 Huey, but from all reports, i think they was a fairly nice kit. Anyhow, i'm digressing.

Pics of the sides of the cockpit. The details is really soft and I didn't waste time trying to make it look good, i just want to get this one built for fun, and not worry too much about details that will likely never be seen. The instructions were vague on placing the instrument panel and, in the end, i had to trim it a bit to get it to fit ok. No pics of it as it was completely plaint (no details) and didn't come with a decal either.

In buttoning up the fuselage, major fit issues appeared on the seams. I chose to have the worst fist underneath. It required a bit of putty and sanding to level and, to some extent, smooth it out a bit. As i said, not too worried about finer details, so i didn't rescribe all panel lines, just the major ones.

The canopy has a few panels, so it took a bit of time to mask, but i think it'll look good at the end of the day.

This pic makes the whole fuse looks asymmetrical, i can't quite put my finger on it, but i think it's just the shadowing on the starboard side doing that. I person, it looks fine.

Finally, got a layer of gloss black down. Hope to get the silver down tomorrow. You'll see it's amongst a forest of Panther wheels, another one of my projects which also happens to be a Dragon kit (and a nice fitting one at that).

Chris, the camo on the A-7 came out nice!  Great work on the repaint!  Looking forward to markings on her!  The Tony is coming along nicely as well.  Sorry to hear about the problems with the Dragon kit....I've got the same problem with the Dragon Sherman and StuG.  The Sherman isn't the best...lots of soft molding, mold seams and minor fit issues.  Not bad mind you, just annoying.  The StuG however was a joy!  Crisp molding, very little seam clean up, great fit and some smart engineering!

I'll try to post an update tonight.  

OK, here's an update on the Sherm and StuG:

The last photo showed the Sherman in this stage.  Base coat of Tamiya OD mixed with Khaki Drab and Dark Yellow (I think). Then post shaded and some color modulation.  I didn't set the white balance correctly so the color is off in this photo:

And this is how it looks now with decals, filters, washes and detail painting started. Oh and the white balance has been corrected:

And the StuG.  After looking at the plain dark yellow base coast I decided it needed some extra color, so I sprayed it with a tri-color camo scheme.  Again, the WB is off in this photo:

Decals were added and then I added filters and washes to the lower hull and then installed the roadwheels.  BTW, the separate painted tire rims and painted hubs assembled very nicely!  Much easier than trying to either hand paint or mask and spray!  I applied a filter and started the detail painting on the upper hull, but I haven't applied a wash yet:  WB corrected:

Painting of all the separate tools, MGs, etc is almost complete.  I just need to work on the tracks and then both will be practically done!

Fantastic tanks Ernest....that Sherman's mono colour scheme is excellent with the depths of colour. Very cool!!

Rob Sherman

Fantastic tanks Ernest....that Sherman's mono colour scheme is excellent with the depths of colour. Very cool!!

I'm currently starting to toy with colour modulation on some armour. The Sherman looks real nice.

Great camo work on the StuG too. The tri-colour camo of German WW2 armour is one of my favourite camo schemes.

Quick question Ernest - what sort of airbrush did you use for the StuG?

BUFFLEHEAD colors are looking real good. i have a number of trucks in the queue and decided i needed a nice fast build but still within a GB. plus i really stripped down my BADGER PATRIOT and pulled out my SOLTAR and tried it out. may try a freehand multi-colored camo on the MK1. not sure how realistic it will be but it beats khaki rust and mud.  

got the tank together and primed. of course i has some seams to redo but now it's ready for base coat. think i will go with the airfix 4 color camo as this is an early model and i have enough mono color stuff.

Wayne - The Mark I is looking real good, can't believe it went together so quickly!  I guess being an old AirFix model it doesn't have all the bells and whistles of some of the modern 1/72 armor kits.

Rob, Chris & Wayne - thanks for the comments, the models are done check them out below! 

Chris - painting with both of these was done using an Iwata Eclipse HP-CS.  Its my go-to AB for doing any detail work or with 1/72 models.  I really love it!

OK, call both of these done!  One thing about both is that I don't have any 1/72 accessories like jerry cans, duffle bags, ammo boxes, etc.  So both are a little on the plain side, mostly OOB with some extra detail work done

1/72 Dragon M4A3E8 Sherman.  A bit of a pain to build, but I think I did a pretty good job painting it!

1/72 Dragon StuG IV Late.  As I've said before, the StuG was a joy to build.  I'd recommend it anyone interested in 1/72 German armor.  I'm not so sure I'm happy with the paint job.  The tri-tone camo is a bit hard to weather, but I gave it my best shot....I'll just have to keep practicing!

And a shot of both next to a 1/35 Tamiya M4A3 Sherman!

I had a lot of fun and I hope I have time to build a couple more for the GB before it ends!

BTW Wayne, I noticed that the pic on the GB participant list is a StuG IV Early.  This is actually the StuG IV Late...I modified your photo to include the correct kit.

BUFFLEHEAD sweet builds.

not a lot to it and i have the sponsons and stuff for male. nice fit. the spring stuff in the back was quite annoying. basecoat is MMA panzer interior buff. a little light. we'll call it scale color. i may have to make a small base for it. guess i best learn how to make shell craters.

WOW ernest, those are fantastic! I don't find them plain in the least bit!

Wayne you're making quick work of that...shell craters indeed! I look forward to seeing how you do them...I might have to in upcoming months.

Wayne, looking good. That is coming along well.

Ernest, nice job on those two minis. Very impressive. As for stowage, I highly recommend Value Gear stowage. They make some incredible stuff that really improves your models. I apologize; I haven't a link handy to go to.

Well here she is done...

I'm pretty peeved, I put the flat coat on and you can see what it did, you can see the original shade of green on the canopy. I do not understand why it did this...not as bad as what happened on my P-40 but still quite annoying. Some other mishaps happened after painting but I'm just too annoyed to list them. 

I was going to take it to my IPMS meeting tomorrow and enter it but not anymore. I won it along with a couple other kits from last months raffle so I'm not upset about losing any money out of it, but this is why I hate the painting and finishing stage, you do all the hard work constructing, get a decent paint job on there, put the decals on only to have everything ruined by the final step.

Well, I'm done with my rant, it's not bad enough for me to trash, I'm still going to hang it up in my room and I'm sure I'll get over it...all comments welcome, can't be worse than what I've already thought or expressed out loud to myself 

Josiah, it looks like the flat coat was TOO flat.  This has happened to me before. My understanding is that the flat "pigment" needs to be mixed with the right amount of gloss medium and then thinned properly to get the right flat effect without causing that whitish haze.  I've corrected this before  by applying a gloss coat over the messed up flat coat, which restores most of the original color.  Then I reapplied another coat of flat making sure its mixed properly.  Also applying several light coats of flat is better than one heavy coat.  Hope this helps!

Oh and thanks so much for the comments on the Sherm & StuG!  I' m glad you liked them!

my freehand camo with my SOLTAR and it shows. not very defined edges, some misting overspray and i don't like the colors. so i shall have to work my oil washes and weathering magic. left the tracks off until the end so i don't have to handle them and have them pop off.

Wayne, nice camo job on the Mark I!  I thought the Panzer Interior Buff might be too light, but you're right about the scale effect!  I think the camo colors look pretty good myself, but I haven't the foggiest as to how the real pattern looks like!  Like you said, washes and weathering should alter it quite a bit!  Looking forward so more of this build!

Hey Duke, thanks for the kind words!  Value Gear huh?  I think I've seen some of their 1/35 stuff....didn't know they did 1/72 as well!  Thanks for the tip... I'll have to check them out!

Ernest...how would I go about mixing the flat coat? I'm using the Krylon Matte out of a rattle can. Shook it for about four minutes, held about a foot away, started spray before the model, did a continuous sweep until past the model. Waited five minutes to dry flipped it over and did the same thing.

I also did that with some flat coat that said it was specifically for models on my P-40 but it turned out worse and even had some weirds blobs that happened with it. Could it be the Virginia humidity?

bufflehead

Wayne, nice camo job on the Mark I!  I thought the Panzer Interior Buff might be too light, but you're right about the scale effect!  I think the camo colors look pretty good myself, but I haven't the foggiest as to how the real pattern looks like!  Like you said, washes and weathering should alter it quite a bit!  Looking forward so more of this build!

DUKE thanks

BUFFLEHEAD later ones were mono colored and muddy. when i do my next one freehand sans silly putty i will at least draw out the pattern on the vehicle first. painting isn't my strong suit but weathering and washes are. that's where the real fun and artistry comes in. i may seal this first with semi gloss. i usually don't seal before washing but WTH i'm experimenting anyway.

i wonder how many of these broke down driving from railhead to the battlefield.

ygmodeler4

Ernest...how would I go about mixing the flat coat? I'm using the Krylon Matte out of a rattle can. Shook it for about four minutes, held about a foot away, started spray before the model, did a continuous sweep until past the model. Waited five minutes to dry flipped it over and did the same thing.

I also did that with some flat coat that said it was specifically for models on my P-40 but it turned out worse and even had some weirds blobs that happened with it. Could it be the Virginia humidity?

Josiah, are you using the paint straight from the can?  If so, there's no way I know of to alter it.  I've heard similar "horror" stories of rattle can spray paint, which is why I almost never use it for that last flat coat!  However, as a test a couple of years ago I did use Model Master's Lusterless (Flat) Lacquer Overcoat rattle can spray paint on a spare turret that I glossed up and applied assorted decals.  The flat coat came out quite nice.  Here's a sample link:  http://mfpilot.com/lusterless-flat-lacquer-overcoat-testors-3oz-can.html

Now it COULD be the humidity.  I live near San Francisco, which doesn't really get too humid, so can't provide an experienced opinion on humidity affecting paint jobs, sorry.

Personally, all my flat coats nowadays are done with the airbrush using either Tamiya Flat Coat mixed with Future (anywhere from 5 to 10 parts Future to 1 part Tamiya Flat and then thinned with Tamiya Acrylic Thinner)  OR PollyScale Acrylic Flat thinned with water OR Vallejo Model Air Matte Finish also thinned with water.  I'm running out of the PollyScale and its hard to get so I switched to Vallejo as my 2nd choice.  It doesn't get as dead flat as Pollyscale, but with armor models I usually follow this coat with filters and washes which always results in a dead flat finish anyway!

bufflehead

Hey Duke, thanks for the kind words!  Value Gear huh?  I think I've seen some of their 1/35 stuff....didn't know they did 1/72 as well!  Thanks for the tip... I'll have to check them out!

You're welcome. Yeah, I saw him at a show a while back and suggested he do some in 1/72 and 1/48 scale. He has a fill line of 1/72 scale stowage which I have gotten. I've been slowly painting and detailing some of it up.

Wayne, that ain't bad on the camo pattern, but yeah, it'll look better under a coat of dirt and mud.  These things got so dirty and muddy that sometimes one could not discern the pattern at all!