1/48 B-25 Group Build! All Invited to Join!

hutchdh

I decided to go NMF on this bird, vice OD.  I plan to do something a little different this time in that I will keep the sections apart.  This should accommodate an easier task when it comes to masking the different panels to get the various shades.

Hmmmm - for the sheer "don't take up the whole kitchen table with your airplane" factor, I may leave the wings off. I've never tried it before, but it makes sense on something this big. Have you done it with this kit before? Is the wing join suitable for assembling after the paint shop?

I did dry fit the main wings and the fit seems to be good..I have never done this before.  But based on OWL's comments, I may have to attach the horizontal and vertical stabilizers to fill in seams and noticeable gaps prior to any NMF.  I will take a close analysis again of the main wings and other parts.  If it looks like the gaps are too big, I will abandon the separate parts approach.

The vertical stabs fit pretty nice.. They need some lovin' when you glue them on though... I dry-fitted, sanded a bit, dry-fitted, sanded a little more, and got a tight fit, then glued.. Didn't have a fit issue with the horizontal stabs, except right at the front joint, which needs a skoshi-bit of putty.. I thinned some Testor's White with rubbing alcohol and brushed it in...  You can get away with leaving the vertical stabs off until after..

Another option for shading NMF....

If you're using Alclad, do it all up in gloss black, then lay down a high-shine finish. Airframe Aluminum or Chrome or similar. 

Then come back and spray the middle of the panels in a regular Alclad, i.e. Aluminum, Duraluminum, White Aluminum, and so on.

The high-shines are somewhat translucent, and with the black base they will show as darker than the panel centers with the regular finishes. If the effect is too stark, mist either a high shine or regular shine over the whole thing to tone it down.

Did this with my P-51 WIP and am thrilled with the results:

Cool, nice effect...I have a number of kits in the queue that will require NMF, so I am willing to always try something new.

I went back and did some more dry fitting and OWL was spot on.  There were very noticeable gaps where the horizontal stabilizer attached to the fuselage.  I was thinking that I will need to do some filling and I thought "too bad I couldn't caulk these babies like I caulk my window."  BING...light bulb went off.  Why couldn't I?

I decided to become adventuresome, so I grabbed my caulking gun with tube already loaded, since I have been caulking windows lately:

I put a dab on a card...it has long drying time, so no rush:

I used a toothpick to apply the caulking to the seams.  I then wet my finger and ran it across the seam and presto...perfection.  Good news is this caulking is water soluble (until dry--so it is easily manipulated) and paintable. 

Before:

After:

I am now going to see how it sets up, but it does not shrink, so I am crossing my fingers.  If this works out, I will use this technique a lot because it is so easy to apply....

 I'll be dipped in sh!t, I've thought about using caulk a few times and just never did it.  I bet that went in there pretty darn well around those engine gaps. 

I like that effect with the NMF Doogs, this will be my first time using Alclad (got a good deal on some from a LHS in the Windy City).  I'm going to use Aluminum and Magnesium, hope it's not too much of a contrast.

Some wip pics

Reasoned

I like that effect with the NMF Doogs, this will be my first time using Alclad (got a good deal on some from a LHS in the Windy City).  I'm going to use Aluminum and Magnesium, hope it's not too much of a contrast.

Mmmm, you'll certainly notice contrast between those. Most of my P-51 is Aluminum, with some Duraluminum. And the exhaust panels are done in Magnesium. So that's about the contrast you can expect.

I also made this handy reference back when I was working on a P-47 (unpainted wing replacement):

Wow! there is a lot of contrast on those finishes but they turned out great. Looks like you painted right over primer and not the gloss black they recommend? 

Reasoned

 I'll be dipped in sh!t, I've thought about using caulk a few times and just never did it.  I bet that went in there pretty darn well around those engine gaps. 

I like that effect with the NMF Doogs, this will be my first time using Alclad (got a good deal on some from a LHS in the Windy City).  I'm going to use Aluminum and Magnesium, hope it's not too much of a contrast.

Some wip pics

If you do find that to be too much of a contrast, you can just over-coat the entire thing with a thin mist coat of one of your two colours to even things out a little.

Reasoned

Wow! there is a lot of contrast on those finishes but they turned out great. Looks like you painted right over primer and not the gloss black they recommend? 

No, this was over gloss black...rest of the undersides were gray since the wing of this plane was replaced and, according to one school of thought, the underside was never painted. 

But gloss black's only necessary (and not entirely necessary) on the high-shine finishes. They're translucent, so the color beneath matters.

DoogsATX

I going use this reference for my P-47.  This is exactly the look I am shooting for.

VanceCrozier

 

If you do find that to be too much of a contrast, you can just over-coat the entire thing with a thin mist coat of one of your two colours to even things out a little.

Amateur builder here... my model is probably going to be lacking all historical detail, but I'm in. Just started this kit actually. Just got the inside halves painted Tamiya Olive Green and washed it with a dark brown to show wear. I dry brushed some aluminum in places you can see through the turret bays and cockpit. That's where I'm at now.

icer22x - you found your way over - welcome!

This is kind of a "loose group build", feel free to post pics & questions etc. I've only checked out my kit a little bit & gave the interior a shot of primer. Looking forward to some more substantial work as we get into the fall though.

icer22x

Amateur builder here... my model is probably going to be lacking all historical detail, but I'm in. Just started this kit actually. Just got the inside halves painted Tamiya Olive Green and washed it with a dark brown to show wear. I dry brushed some aluminum in places you can see through the turret bays and cockpit.

First, welcome to the build.. No pressure, no dead-lines.. Anyone can play, and at any time..

Now regarding the wash...  A wash is used to add depth rather than show wear, in your case...  After using a wash to darken the recessed areas, you might try drybrushing with a lighter shade of the base-color.. Then drybrush over the raised detail, just catching the edges of the ribbing... Then lighten the color again, and go over even more gently than before. Next time, your drybrush shade should be almost white..   Since this is an interior with a limited view, it won't hurt to exagerate a bit.. I always close up the fuselage with tape and try to see what I can see, then take it apart again, and do another thing..

Got any pictures of what your Mitchell looks like at this point?

Gave my kit a bath last night in preps for priming.  Will post a few pics later.  Not too far from laying down the first coats of Alclad. 

Priming? Sjeesh, I'm still workin' on the interior and top turret, lol...

Hans von Hammer

Priming? Sjeesh, I'm still workin' on the interior and top turret, lol...

Thats 'cause you are going the extra mile in interior detailing.  I gave the inside a cursory green smattering and did rudimentary stuff in the cockpit.  Staight OOB with a little seam filling here and there.  I am just enjoying the build and will give a little more TLC to the exterior NMF.  I want this to hang from the ceiling, so I am not even worried about a tail sitter, and one will not be able to see the inside.  Again, I am having fun with this one.

Since last post, I went over the primer with 1500 grit sand paper and it is very smooth...give ole little Mitchell another bath to take the residual primer dust off.  Waiting now for the model's cracks and crevices to dry...I may start laying down some Alclad tonight or sometime this weekend.

Hans von Hammer

 

 

 

First, welcome to the build.. No pressure, no dead-lines.. Anyone can play, and at any time..

Now regarding the wash...  A wash is used to add depth rather than show wear, in your case...  After using a wash to darken the recessed areas, you might try drybrushing with a lighter shade of the base-color.. Then drybrush over the raised detail, just catching the edges of the ribbing... Then lighten the color again, and go over even more gently than before. Next time, your drybrush shade should be almost white..   Since this is an interior with a limited view, it won't hurt to exagerate a bit.. I always close up the fuselage with tape and try to see what I can see, then take it apart again, and do another thing..

Got any pictures of what your Mitchell looks like at this point?

Sure I will post some later. And thanks for the information about the wash. I'm always learning in this hobby. After spraying the inside with olive green and doing the wash, I was kind of stuck on what to do next. I dry brushed the ribs with some aluminum... That was probably the wrong color to chose now that you mention doing the lighter shades of the base color.

This kit (B-25J)  is going to be the death of me.  Wings didn't stay on, canopy is a mess, masking is all wrong,  etc....

Reasoned

This kit (B-25J)  is going to be the death of me.  Wings didn't stay on, canopy is a mess, masking is all wrong,  etc....

Hang in there, buddy....  Hope you don't have one of those Murphy's law kits.  The F-86 is my personal curse.  Every time I attempted to build one, even with different scales, it turned into a disaster.  And some kits just fall into place....

Reasoned

This kit (B-25J)  is going to be the death of me.  Wings didn't stay on, canopy is a mess, masking is all wrong,  etc....

Did you put the glue on the wing spars? Or just the wing-edges where they meet the fuselage?  Ya gotta do the tops of the spars too... This is where Testor's black bottle comes in...

Hans von Hammer

Reasoned:

This kit (B-25J)  is going to be the death of me.  Wings didn't stay on, canopy is a mess, masking is all wrong,  etc....

 

Did you put the glue on the wing spars? Or just the wing-edges where they meet the fuselage?  Ya gotta do the tops of the spars too... This is where Testor's black bottle comes in...

Oops , just the wing edges.... and boy did I goober it up. Did a bunch of CA since the cement didn't do the trick. 

On a bright note, I tried acrylic caulk for the (now messed up wing roots) and must say it works a heck of a lot better than putty.

Reasoned

On a bright note, I tried acrylic caulk for the (now messed up wing roots) and must say it works a heck of a lot better than putty.

My first convert!!!!!  I just layed down my first coat of Alcad Chrome on top of coat of Gloss Black.  The acrylic caulk is holding up well....  Monitor for shrinkage, before advancing!!!!  Glad you are getting back on track!!!

Hutch

As mentioned above, I just laid down a coat of Alclad Chrome:

hutchdh

As mentioned above, I just laid down a coat of Alclad Chrome:

Shiny!!! Looks good from here, itching to start on this once my other stuff is cleared up. I'm lurking & taking notes in the meantime!

hutchdh

Reasoned:

On a bright note, I tried acrylic caulk for the (now messed up wing roots) and must say it works a heck of a lot better than putty.

 

My first convert!!!!!  I just layed down my first coat of Alcad Chrome on top of coat of Gloss Black.  The acrylic caulk is holding up well....  Monitor for shrinkage, before advancing!!!!  Glad you are getting back on track!!!

Hutch

Ha! I was trying to recall which member it was who planted that seed.  I'm glad to hear it took paint well (even though it says on the tube it's paintable) your's looks fantastic.  It's one thing to take a heavy smattering of latex house paint after filling in a trim casing gap and quite another on a plastic model.  Thanks again Hutch!

My pleasure, Reasoned!!!    I am glad to see that stuff has more than one use.  I used a lot of it this weekend on the ole windows.....