Howdy from Eastland Texas
Which is certainly not home. I'm here for work and off for the weekend. Leaving me with an entire day of "me time" to mull over some interesting decisions I need to make when I return to Tulsa.
First things first. Some back ground. I've just about finished up a really cheap sacrificial lamb in the form of a Revell 1/42 Spitfire Mk I. It has a bad reputation and that's exactly why I chose to build it.
I knew going in to that build that it would present more challenges than another model say, from a different manufacturer of higher quality. And for coming back to a hobby after 20 some years, I needed the practice and this model didn't let me down. I had to make many fixes. All in all it was a good, lousy model to refresh some rusty skills.
I walked away from that revell a bit wiser and better off for having run up against some challenges. The fuselage was twisted. The wing had a substantial dogs leg that kicked down. And there was plenty of Bondo slung here and there. And many new panel lines scribed in after sanding all that said bondo.
Two things that pertain to this post. Airbrushing Vs. Brush painting. Acrylics Vs. Enamels. Really reared their heads during this build. It's a question I was willing to explore freely on that Revell for 18 bucks. I'm not so sure I'm apt to explore it more on a model I recently purchased.
A Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire Mk IXc. The price differece made this model a little more particular in that I don't intend to experiment much on it. That's to say, I'll be doing a whole lot of practicing before I ever slop paint on this thing. Without being 100% positive that I know What I'm doing. And there in lies my predicament.
I painted the very first parts of that Revell with Enamels. The interior. And 1, I didn't enjoy that it ended my build session for the night by having to wait for 12 hours for paint to cure. I also wasn't a fan of the fumes. Now I could open the garage door but it's been too cold in my shop for that. And the clean up was kind of a hassle as well. Involving more thinner and then a wash in dish detergent and saddle soap. It's just not as user friendly to me as these acrylics.
I wanted to be able to continue to work without hours of down time. Rubbing alcohol doesn't give the same level of stank that thinner does. And a quick wash up in dish then saddle soap ended the nights work without the fumes.
I also noticed that I got a much better finish with the Vallejo acrylics than I did with my enamels. I was fighting brush strokes and how to eliminate them. And I painted the exterior in acrylic. It came out fine. Not great. But not lousy. It was to me, it seemed, easier to work with and the brush strokes weren't nearly on the same level as the interior.
The heart of my conundrum is this. I've got a really beautiful and some what expensive model. And I'd like to give it the best possible finish that I can.
I think that means I'm going to need to plumb in my compressor and hook up the air brush.
I want a great finish. For me, the money I spent on a top notch model justifies the need for a Great finish. Not a fine finish. Not Ok. You get it.
Any whozle.
I have a 4 gallon Kobalt and a decent 2 stage Neo. I just need a separator and some pipes and some air line and dope.
But I get hung up on the research I've done so far and the way that it conflicts with each way of doing this. I've read many posts that say, enamels and airbrush are the best way to go.
But I've read the counter to that, arguments that say acrylics are the way to go. But they're finicky and tricky and difficult.
And then I've had moderate luck with brush painting with these Vallejos that i don't wonder if there's a way out there that does give you a great, quality finish without an airbrush. So I've got little experience and some luck with hand painting. But no experience with an airbrush. And if you add them all up.. It's all very little experience.
My thoughts are that I'd like to veer away from enamels. And use the acrylics in the airbrush as it looks to me like many folks use the same method and have a lot of luck and some amazing builds. In spite of the diffculty. Some even say that after a while, it's just second nature. Which goes along with any kind of craft or trade.
Eventually, the things most people consider difficult, become part of the process and just aren't an issue any more. And I know from being a journeyman in 2 trades that some processes are better to come into with no previous experience. No bad habits. No preconceived notions and no prejudices. You learn by practicing and if you have to mix paint a certain way to get the result you want. It's not really a problem any longer.
I wanted some opinions from veteran builders on what they think on the subject. What they use and what kind of challenges each presents. If the acrylic airbrush really is as feisty as folks say. Or is it a non issue and only coming from folks who paint with enamels because it requires less work. Or practice.
Also, I wanted to get a point in the right direction with something else. Earlier today, I read a post in the welcome section. A guy made a post about painting the exact same revell I just finished. But one of the answers stood out to me. Because the original poster seems to have just put down his lines for the camouflage in a random sort of way. But later, one of the replies stated that "those lines aren't arbitrary."
I have 4 referece books on the Spitfire and it makes no mention of the camo patern, who came up with it, and if it was all done via a system or process and the way that camo was laid out was according to a blueprint?
The only reference I have to Second World War RAF camo pattrns is that it changed by date and theater. There's no more information about the actual mechanics of it. It's appication or who designed it. So I was hoping someone would be kind enough to site some source material for me? (Which would be ideal) or at the very least give a description of what that actually means?
Well, it's late. I've written a novel. The West Texas winds are howling. It' getting cold and I need to call Momma.
Thanks guys
Bernie