Thunderbolt GB 2016

Impressive cockpit Lawdog, and thanks for the Alclad tip. Nice work too Rooster, great progress and a clean job.

Cheers

Tony

lawdog114

Looking great Rooster. The secret to Alclad is light coats and build it up slowly. I get in close so it goes on wet, otherwise it might pebble. If it does, use 2000 grit sandpaper to smooth it out.

 

Thanks for the tip lawdog! I watched a couple videos and most guys were spraying from a pretty good distance, which is what I did, so next time I'll try it up close. I did get some pebbling in the wing root which has been a problem for me in the past. I'll hit it with some sandpaper though. Any tips on painting wing roots??

Your welcome.  The problem with distance is that the paint can dry in the air which causes the pebbling.  I get the same problem at the wing roots....and often.  I find that if I get in close it's not as bad.  I tried dialing down the air pressure too, which helps.  I'm usually at 10 psi.  The sandpaper is a lifesaver. 

I have a quick update.  I put the frame together.  I added the upper wings to the fuselage first and welded the wingroot with Tenax.  Then I added the lower wings.  This was the most painless Jug I've ever built.  I usually have an issue somewhere but everything just fell together with this one.  A seam check with a silver Sharpie and we are ready for primer.  I hope to start on that Pratt and Whitney monster soon.  

I see fearless leader is underway.

And your Tamiya is looking good, Joe. Thanks from me too on the Alclad tips, hopefully will be giving it my first go soon.

I'll have to keep that construction tip in mind joe. Got a question for those who have used alclad...do you clear coat before decals and weathering? Have heard of some clear coating and some not.

Alright I have a n update here. I sanded down the wingroots and other areas with rough finish and repainted the Alclad as Joe suggested by lowering the pressure and getting in close. I'm happy with the results for my first time using Alclad. Prior to this I sprayed the green. I have a small ridge where the masking tape was that I will lightly sand smooth. Last pic is of everything I have painted up so far.

I should be decaling soon. Should I seal Alclad before/after decals? I have a seperate part painted with Alclad to test my microsol setting solution but does anyone have experience using it with Alclad?

Thanks for looking and any comments/critiques are welcome! 

Great looking Jug. I love the look of those fat big birds!

As far as the Alclad, I usually seal before decaling, but that doesn’t mean I'm right.

Be careful using Microsol. Make sure it just gets on the decals even after sealing. I have seen the Microsol mar the finish just a little.

modelcrazy

Great looking Jug. I love the look of those fat big birds!

As far as the Alclad, I usually seal before decaling, but that doesn’t mean I'm right.

Be careful using Microsol. Make sure it just gets on the decals even after sealing. I have seen the Microsol mar the finish just a little.

 

Do you flat coat over the Alclad at the end Steve? I've heard that it kills the shine but I'll want a flat coat on all other painted surfaces so I'm not sure what the best technique is.

I'll be extra carefull when applying the microsol/microset as you suggested. Thanks for the feedback!

Nice work Andy.  As long as the surface prep is good, Alclad's "regular" shades are very durable and will not pull off.  Thats the beauty of this stuff.  Be careful with the polished ones though which I hear are weaker.  Micro Sol has no effect on Alclad.  For dull coat, I normally just use it on the decals and painted areas, like ID stripes and anti-glare panels.   

I had minor step issues on my F-86 by doing it that way.  On my second one I found that if I throw down the NMF first then add the stripes and such, I had better results.  Looks like were building the same plane.  

Well, here's where I'm at.  After I primed it with Alclad grey, I started with Alclad Duraluminum which to me is the perfect "combat" shade.

Then the fun part.  I taped off various panels and spray them different shades of Alclad.  Here I have Aluminum, White Aluminum, Magnesium, and some a few mixed together.  I also sprayed the cowl Steelers colors at this point.  The yellow is XF-3 Flat Yellow with a few drops of XF-7 Flat Red added for intensity... 

I did the same for the bottom.  I removed the starboard pylon because the huge star and bar decal has to go there.  I'm glad I realized that before the glue dried....

I still have to add the OD anti-glare panel and fuselage invasion stripes.  Then I'll get cracking on wiring that Pratt and Whitney...

This will tell you everything you need to know about Alclad...great article!

http://www.arcair.com/tnt1/001-100/TNT009-Alclad/00.shtm

The Thunderbolt is looking really nice Joe! Great job on the Alclad. I also found in my limited experience that it works better to spray the Alclad first and then do the masking. I'll have to keep that pylon tip in mind when I build my Tamiya. I'll definitely check out that article, thanks for giving the link!

Just Steelers.....It's Ravens week which does cause me serious anxiety.  I'm making the trek to Heinz Field for the Dallas game next week.  

I'm in for an update.  I've been plugging along.  I switched gears (pun intended) and turned focus to the Pratt and Whitney R-2800.  As I've always said, I don't think it's Tamiya's best work as the "visible" cooling fin detail is very soft.  I spruced it up by adding ignition leads with styrene rod and then ran plug wires with copper wire.  Here it is after a wash, a postshade, a blast of X-19 Smoke, then a final dull coat.  

If you would like to try this with your next radial, here's how I do it.  It's really not as hard as it looks: 

http://cs.finescale.com/fsm/modeling_subjects/f/2/t/149327.aspx

I then taped off and painted on the Olive Drab glare panel and fuselage invasion stripes.  These were then sprayed with Alclad gloss for decaling and wash.  It's not necessary to gloss over the Alclad surfaces for decaling as it is smooth enough as it is.  

Time to start decaling...

Looking very nice Joe!

I've unforunately have had to bench my Hasegawa until I can get some aftermarket decals. They pretty much disintergrated upon removal from the water! I've got to learn to test these things when I pick up old kits at the model shows. Just wish I had figured this out before I did the paint scheme on it

Lovely work with the Alclad Joe, thats a really nice finish.

Thanks for the link and tutorial thread Joe. I put it in my favorites for later refrence.

Lawdog and Rooster - great stuff! Your builds are inspiring me to get back to mine.

As for Alclad, I've never had issues with it pulling up under Tamiya tape that I de-tacked first (stuck to skin a few times).

I did take a spare fuselage piece of a plane (yep, every once in a while Eduard gives you a spare fuselage, haha) and tried it out as a test bed for masking, decal solutions, clear coats, etc. I was able to get it to pull up with Scotch tape, or with Tamiya tape applied too soon, and really pressed down hard. Once the alclad has cured (I waited three or four days), I was unable to get it to lift.

-BD-

rooster513

Looking very nice Joe!

I've unforunately have had to bench my Hasegawa until I can get some aftermarket decals. They pretty much disintergrated upon removal from the water! I've got to learn to test these things when I pick up old kits at the model shows. Just wish I had figured this out before I did the paint scheme on it

 

Andy, that's 1/48 right? I have left overs for Eagleston's ride.  Do you want them?  I might have some stars and bars too...

I'm gonna deem this one done.  To recap, it's in the 334th FG markings of 14 kill ace Kenneth Dahlberg.  The 334th would go from the P-51 to the P-47, then back to the P-51 again.  On December 19th of 1944, Dahlberg would down 4 Bf 109s in this plane then go down to AA fire himself.  

Reference the kit, it's perhaps the greatest plastic kit on the planet (my opinion).  These are pure modeling bliss for me.  If I could just build Tamiya Jugs and sell them or a living I would die happy.  Too bad it comes out to about 12 bucks an hour.....  

I used an Ultracast seat and wheels.  Superscale Decals (To include the backwards Swastika talley markings).  I've seen this before, I wonder if it was done to mock the Germans.  I added 500 pounders because the 334th were bombers first unless they got into trouble.  On the 19th they were headed to the Battle of the Bulge as air support but the Luftwaffe had other plans.  next issue was the prop.  Superscale indicated this plane should have a Curtiss prop with the hub paintedyellow.  On "Dogfights" Dahlberg said his plane was fitted with the "new paddle prop" for better climb.  I went with the Hamilton Standard prop.   I kept weathering to a minimum because I dont think Dahlberg had this turkey for very long.      

Thanks for having me.  Maybe I'll drop back in with another Jug later if you'll have me.

Such a beautiful build Joe! Fantastic job on the Alclad and the paint in general per your usual We would be glad to have you back! Which pic would you like on the front page?

lawdog114

 

 

rooster513

Looking very nice Joe!

I've unforunately have had to bench my Hasegawa until I can get some aftermarket decals. They pretty much disintergrated upon removal from the water! I've got to learn to test these things when I pick up old kits at the model shows. Just wish I had figured this out before I did the paint scheme on it

 

 

 

 

Andy, that's 1/48 right? I have left overs for Eagleston's ride.  Do you want them?  I might have some stars and bars too...

 

 

 

It's 1/72 scale but thanks for the offer Joe, it's much appreciated! I'm deciding whether I can justify buying decals for this bird when I only spent $2.50 on the kit at a show. I guess it depends on whether I plan to build another 1/72 scale.

I do need to decide which scheme I want to go with for the 1/48 tamiya I'll be doing. I've been looking around at decals but haven't nailed on down yet...

Joe,

Sweet 'bolt man.  Love the look of the cowl.  Your work is amazing, hope mine come out half as nice.

That's an awesome Double Wasp, Lawdog!!

I've got the fuselage all together and am painting it.  No pictures yet, but I'm recharging the camera battery.

In the meantime, here's Sadaaki Akamatsu.  And another picture where he's posing with his buddy Saburo Sakai in front of Sakai's Zero.  (I think I did better on Akamatsu.)

I'm going to call this one done.  I may break into the Monogram P-47N later.

Nice work Colin! I've added you finished build to the front page. Thanks for joining and hopefully we will see you back with the P-47N!

Thanks.  The optivisor I've been using makes a huge difference!

Bump. Great looking builds in here!

I finally took some photos to let y'all see what I intend to build, and if there's not too much done to disqualify me (hope not). Went to upload to PB, but it's either frozen or suffering from the Holiday Vortex.

When it thaws I'll post 'em. Happy Holidays!

Mike