On the heels of Photobucket's newfound greed, I set up a Flickr account (Edit: I went with Shutterfly) and am slowly trying to get used to it. It's definitely different. I figured I'd ty to share where I'm at with this turkey. I closed it up without issue. Hasegawa provides two different top cowl pieces, but according to my reference, they don't fall on a panel lines at the bottom edge (See G cowl below).
The airframe went together beautifully. I prefer to add the radiator doors and flaps first to get a strong Tenax weld. Since I would be using MRP, I decided to dust it with primer as I wasn't sure how it would react to bare plastic.
I procured Montex masks for this and probably all future projects. After a preshade, I painted the necessary areas XF-1 Flat Black. The appropriate masks were then used.
I then Sprayed XF-2 Flat White cut with a touch of XF-19 Sky Grey to tone it down. The white was then masked off with the appropriate stencil. Note my spanking new Iwata. Holy Cow! Airbrushing Bliss!
I normally add red to my version of RLM 04 to make it pop, but I recently came across a photo of it in color and it seemed more lemon-like, almost bland. This time I add a bit of white to the XF-3. It's ok but I still prefer my vibrant version.
Next I added the MRP RLM 76. It seems a tad blue to my eye, but I went with it. The key with these are light coats. It sprays like a dream.
Next I added MRP RLM 75. I thought this color was dead on. I discovered I could mix Tamiya paints with these and have no issues. Here I added a touch of XF-2 Flat White for fading and weathering.
I taped off the splinter pattern and added MRP RLM 74. This color seemed a tad too green to my eye. I don't know, maybe its correct. I know, it's not pretty but it works. No need for expensive masking tape to fill in.
I added some XF-57 Buff and faded it bit. I didn'y go crazy with it.
Stencils removed. Decals! We dont need no stinkin' decals!
Then I spent about two hours griming it up with a post shade of diluted XF-64 Red Brown and XF-69 NATO Black. I focused primarily along centerline around the engine and radiators.
I finished up all the little decals and thats were I left off. I used the prop hub decal from the kit. It turned out ok.
