Maxfax,

Wow!!!! I loooove that finish. simply mouthwatering t-bolt and great work. You have done her proud! Gotta get me one of those tamiya P47's now. Thought they were a bit pricey before but i can tell you get alot of bang for buck

Owl,

That's what the GB's are all about: to exchange knowledge and have fun watching eachothers builds as they are being built. Glad my very limited knowledge was of help. Real credit goes out to Soulcrusher though. And as far as your Mirage goes: Excellent work. I like that finish! Well done.

Julez,

I hate squid... certainly now LOL

Jmart,

No offence taken my friend. The team with the strongest nerves won in the end. I even apologize for the lack in sportsmanship that certain players of my national team displayed in the game. Usually we do get credit for it but i guess this time over there was too much at stake...

I decided to "borrow" the revell LG hatches for the final pics. My spares box has nothing usable... Will attach the right kind in the future; either purchased or scratchbuilt. For now i just want this build to be done and offa my bench. The reason for that decision is this particular kit that arrived on my doorstep today:

Suhweeeet!!!! This one just begs to be built. I did their f3f late and FM-1 models and i came to love this mold. The only drawbacks being poor sidewall detail and the fact that the underside between the wings is a separate part. Everything else has proven to be absolutely satisfying every time. And all that for just 18 euro's too.

It makes the decision on what model will be my first foiljob that very much harder.....

Ok, sorry for the lenghty post but i just had to share my enthousiasm

Richard

Gamera and CallsignOwl I dont remember who it was that did this, someone from this group I believe. But instead of using a gloss black paint, flat or matt black was used with an over coat of future then buffed to get the gloss. Then alcald was applied, it worked out very very well. I know from experience that flat colors are much more forgiving than gloss colors. Just a thought.

Jmart huge congratulations on 20 years together That number of years of being together is almost unheard of these days.

Maxfax beautiful work there buddy I love the finish and the markings I think I too believe I agree with everyone else who has said to do some light exhaust staining and gun soot. Maybe some oil streaks on the lower cowl would look good too and on the gear legs. Those old radial engines leaked like  sieves as did the hydrolic systems.

Kermit I cant blame you for wanting to jump on that yellow wing one lil bit. But, well, the P-51 is looking great so if you cant find anything in your spares box let me know I have spares from the same kit and can mail you the gear parts you need to finish it. 

CallSignOwl I am sorry to see the trials and tribulations you are going through on your paint job. However I wish to thank you for sharing them with us, and to thank all who have offered advise, it is what these group builds are all about as was said earlier. I am about to try my first painted NMF and have learned a huge amount from you all.

The Mirage looks great, very nice work, and the belts came out perfectly Its nice to do a stress relief build and have it come out that well too.

Done! All construction is complete and she's finally ready for decals and weathering. Oh and no, i did not deliberately hide the LG; this was just the best pic i took

Vetteman. Your offer is really nice and i seriously appreciate it my friend. But i kinda figured it would be a great subject to try to scratch once i have the styrene sheets ive been wanting to pick up. Not too difficult methinks and i do have templates with these revell ones i'm using now. Very kind of you though!

Richard

Man, Kermit you are a machine!

I don't know how you do it, and have them looking so good!

It takes me a week to paint a few parts!

Rob

1.)the revell acrylics dry within 1 to 4 hours. And i mean dry. Gloss takes longer sometimes but i do use the matte paint with future coat trick alot

2.) plan your build and read ahead in the manual. I always have something drying while i'm building the previous batch of parts i painted

3.)i have a very forgiving girlfriend (important one LOL; i love her)

4.)i leave work at work

Just trying to be funny... Thanks for the compliment

Richard

Owl that is a nice looking Mirage. Stress reliever builds are very important. When a model is busting you chops the best thing to do is put it away and start someting else. If you don't the offending model will often take flight with a little help usally into the nearest conveinent wall.

Kermit congrats on the milestone! Here is to twenty more! The Mustang is looking good. I can't wait to see how she looks with the decals.

Soulcrusher

Nice work going on here. 

vetteman, I've decided on my build - Monogram's 1/72 B-36 Peacemaker.  I will embark on this build when I complete my current monster build (1/48 B-1B).

Aggieman oh that is gonna be a Beastie as in huge  The front page is updated, but I gotta ask you, are you going to use a couple gallons of paint or a case of foil 

Aggieman

Nice work going on here. 

vetteman, I've decided on my build - Monogram's 1/72 B-36 Peacemaker.  I will embark on this build when I complete my current monster build (1/48 B-1B).

AWESOME!!! 'The Big Stick','Magnesium Overcast', 6 turnin' and 4 burnin'. Looking forward to seeing that one come together Steve!!!!!

Richard, I too am looking forward to seeing the decals go on!!!!

Hey Vetteman, I could use your help - again! Looking at Step 4 "Engine Assembly" of the AT-6 instructions, specifically the Paint Note, can you tell me how to paint part #13. The note lists all the engine parts and colors, but doesn't show where those parts are in the diagram. I don't know enough about airplane engines to recognize the different parts.

Nicefit I took a peek at the kit instructions and they sure dont tell you much do they. I am more than happy to tell you how I paint them. There are some guys here who are masters and do a much better job of it to be sure.

Anyway I brush paint with enamels only, cant stand the way acrylics brush paint. For radial engines I paint the engine block or case MM engine gray, then the cylinders and heads aluminum. The magnetos I paint semigloss black. Next I make a thin wash with acrylic flat black and paint that over the cylinders and heads. It will run into the fins and really make them pop. For the plug wires if I don't make some wire ones my self I dry brush them with a dark brown or a copper enamel color lightly just to make them stand out a bit. I will also dry brush aluminum or silver on the bolt heads on the nose of the engine case. Then set it aside to dry and next time I get the air brush going I shoot a sealing coat of semi gloss on the engine.

Heres a picture of one I did for a Wildcat.

For the back side of the firewall I am not sure you will be able to see it once things are closed up, but it looks like the start shaped part is the back of the engine case that would be gray, and the exhaust tubes come off the case to the outside of the firewall those would be a rust color. I like to dry brush flat black over the rust to tone it down a bit. If you want to see one of these engines that has been put together checkout Daddy1's in the Air racer group, he used custom colors not the standard ones but I think you will get the idea. Heres the link.

/forums/t/115892.aspx?PageIndex=39

Hope this helps you out, if anyone else wants to chime in please do.

Vetteman - Thanks for the description and photo showing how you painted the Wildcat engine. (Great looking engine, btw!) It is most helpful to me. So is the Daddy1 link. I know what to do now. When will you start your AT-6?

Kermit: wow, great looking P-51! And BTW going to have to talk you into visiting the east coast of the US sometime

Maxfax: beautiful job and I too would be hesitant to dirty her up much. As Vetteman said maybe a little exhaust and gun powder stains.

Owl: great Mirage!

Vetteman and Soulcrusher: thanks for all the help!

I did make some progress last night. I'd been spraying with Tamiya since it's supposed to be formulated for airbrushing. As I said I constantly got orange peel. Well, I grabbed a bottle of Polly Scale matte black and mixed in a big dollup of semigloss and the paint went down silky smooth in a nice satin finish. No orange peel whatsoever. There is a little dust in the finish I need to polish out but I think the semigloss should work for a weathered oxidized plane. Still I'm going to try to hit the hobby shop in the next few days and pick up a bottle of gloss black Polly Scale and see how that goes.

So anyone want a couple of bottles of Tamiya paint???

thank you everyone for the complements on the Mirage. It was a fun build.

the enamels on the mustang are curing, but once it has, Ill begin trying to fix the trouble spots and adding the markings. I changed my mind on the markings, deciding to save the blue-nose mustang decals for another kit. this one is going to be practice!

aggieman, i cant wait to see the B-36. Ive seen one built up before and it was huge!

OWL

OWL,

The Mirage turned out excellent! Can really see progression of your skills. Mistakes (P-51) Are a part of the learning curve, looks like the silver was a bad batch of paint? I have had certain colors and brands not work well and substituted them for non-model spray paints. Testor's yellow is one that I recall being a bad formula. Always sprays lumpy, poor coverage and well... Krylon 'Sunbeam' is now my preferred can o' yellow!

Maxfax,

Great job on the 'Jug' I have admired your skills and good to see how well this build turned out for you!

vetteman42,

Summer is my off season to build, looking through the GB is inspiration to break out the foil and get a few more panels covered on my P-51. Till then congratulations on another  successful GB!

Ok, this mustang just doesn't seem to like me... Came home from work just now and filled a cup with handwarm water to get the decalling underway. They just crumble as soon as i touch them!

I knew i had to be careful as the decalsheet is quite old and yellow but believe me i was careful...

I have a bottle of liquid decal film from microscale but i am just not willing to even try doing that. I will have to order some aftermarket stuff. Talking about bad luck on your model...

No, i will NOT admit defeat so the build is still on even after all this but i hope you gentlemen can understand i am ready for something more uncomplicated at the moment... My sincere apologies.

Richard

Hey Kermit,

That's a real bummer!

 Is this kit an old kit that has been sitting around?

Rob

Owl – Really nice job on the Mirage!

Richard – Look forward to your new build; I have both HobbyBoss Wildcats in my stash, courtesy of a LuckyModel recent sale.  Paint job on current build is spot-on, great job! Bummer on the decals; Squadron has a ton of Aeroscale and Superscale decals on sale, including several P-51 ones. Not sure how easy/cheap would be to order/ship to your side of the pond. I know some people have “Futured” decals to keep them intact. I once had some Monogram decals dissolve upon contact with water. But there were ship markings, so it was easy for me to stencil in the hull numbers, etc.

Aggieman – welcome to the GB! The old venerable Peacemaker? Awesome! Look forward to your build (and to where you are going to display it! : )

Thanks for the compliment, Suppression!

I'll be in your neck of the woods next week-I used to live in Halifax, and the wife, the three kids and I are staying at a friends cottage on Grand Lake. Should be a good time, but finishing the P-47 will now be further delayed!

Rob

lot and lots and lots of paint

I am not up for a foiling job given the heat we've had in SE Texas this year

JMart,

We have a big store here in amsterdam called aviation megastore. They have absolutely everything so usually i order kits and decals from them. Browsing through their decals i didn't really see anything i liked and the buckeye blitz decals were sold out. So i took a deep deep breath just now and coated the decals i have with a generous coat of liquid decal film...

I will let it cure during my working day and give it another go when i'm home... Fingers crossed everyone

Oh, and i can use some spare markings and roundels i have from the AMD sheet i bought a while back for my F86 if all else fails.

Richard

Richard, More woes!!! We all get a model that every now and then tests our patience...I'm sure you'll nail it in the end

Randy, Thats a nice looking engine buddy, very cool...Should have some pics of the Mirage111 for you soon...

Aggieman, Welcome to the GB Looking forward to seein some WIP pics....

Supressionfire thanks you for the complement but most of the credit for the group goes to the members of the group, they are the ones who make it a success, and a bunch of fun too Cheers to one and all of you.

I also hope Supressionfire you have a short and easy season this year.

Kermit your Mustang is coming to life it seems, I do believe you have mastered those revell paints. Bummer about the decals falling apart on you I hope the liquid decal film takes care of that, ummm minor setback for ya. I have used it on old decals and found that they didn't want to release from the backing paper very well.

Nicefit glad my long winded explanation helped you out and didnt confuse ya. I hope to start the T-6 in the next couple of weeks. I got my grimy mitts on some Talon paints and am chomping at the bit to try them out.

Richard -- those decals look like the sheet from the Tamiya 1:48 Korean War P-51 kit. I built it last year and didn't use Buckey Blitz. The sheet in my kit was flawless and behaved perfectly. The stencil data and insignia are used, but you can probably source that from elsewhere easily enough, if you want that particular subject I'd be more than happy to mail you the sheet. Just let me know!

Cheers, MIke/TB379

Wow,...

First Vetteman with his spare LG and now T-bolt with his offer of sending me his spare decals....

I cannot begin to express my gratitude and amazement at how helpful the GB's members are. You guys are just great and i thank each and everyone of you for your willingness to help me out.

People from my particular region however are known for being as stubborn as an #ss. I would like to honour that tradition and respectfully and humbly decline your offers. I just started the decalling again with my treated decals and sofar it is going as planned. The decals, like vetteman said don't come off the paper that easily but it does work.... Amazing stuff this liquid decal film. Sofar i have only used it for coating custom made decals but these old and very fragile decals do respond like i want them to as of now...

Keep your fingers crossed boys. I fully intend to nail this SOB.....

Richard

IVe given the enamels 4 days to cure, and have put a protective coate of Future on my mustang. I have some masking to do for my new scheme I chose. And have to admit, Im pretty heavy-handed!

anybody have some tips on Invasion stripes? 

OWL

Never sprayed invasion stripes but i have done red and white striped tails... My best advice would be to spray the whole area white, wait til it has cured, future it, let it cure again and then mask the white stripes and spray your black color. I think it would be harder to do the other way round.

Best of luck to you Owl

Richard (who is hoping to finalize his decalling today)

OWL - If you are a FSM subscriber, there is an article on painting identification (invasion) stripes, here is the link (make sure you login first or link wont work, heck, it may not work anyways, but go to  the HOW TO articles section and search for IDENTIFICATION stripes):

http://www.finescale.com/How%20To/Articles/2007/02/Painting%20identification%20stripes.aspx

I have never done it exactly as they described, I only painted invasion stripes once, and I simply painted the white first, left to cure for a few days, then mask, paint  the black. The hardest part was the masking over the leading edges and keeping the tape straight (and therfore, the stripes straight!).

Hello Owl,

I posted a pic last week of the P-51 I am doing- and I painted invasion stripes, so far only on the bottom of the wings. Mask off an area about 5cm wide. I also temporarily glued the landing gear covers with white glue so they will be painted as well. Paint it with several thin coats of white until completely covered. I let it cure for a good day or two, then mask off the two black stripes, so that each stripe is about 1cm wide. I used a decal from another P-51 to get these measurements. Make sure that your masking tape has alot of the stickiness reduced- I stick it to my nose or forehead repeatedly to pick up some oils (I do keep my face clean, though!) and it really reduces the stickiness-all to avoid pulling off the white coat. Then several light coats of black.

Good luck!

Rob

For invasion stripes, I put them on before the base coats.  I make a line with tape marking where the invasion stripes will begin closest to the fuselodge (or if on the fuselodge the forward most stripe).  Make sure this tape is straight, has it becomes a guide for all the others.  Then I airbrush white past where the last stripe is to be.  You will then need to figure out how wide the stripes are suppose to be.  This is the tricky part, cause every aricraft had different sized stripes.  When dry (24hrs), I use the tape line I applied before has a guide to mask the first white stripe.  Using other piece of tape the correct width I lie this down next to the tape covering the first white stripe.  Then another correct sized width tape is lied down using the second piece of tape as a guide.  Next move the second piece of tape that was covering where the first black stripe is to go and move it to the other side of the new tape mask (covering the second white stripe).  A new correct width sized tape is then put on using the tape over the second black stripe has a guide.  If you sprayed enough white, you should have some extra white paint showing past the last stripe.  Remember to remove the tape covering the second black stripe.  Air brush the black.  Let dry 24hrs, then cover the black stripes, leaving the mask over the white.  Did you remember to remove the tape used to start the stripes?  You may or may not want to remove the extra white, the choice is yours.

Then I would airbrush the model has if the aircraft didn't have invasion stripes.

You may have to modify this procedure, since you already got the base coat on.  That's how I do it.  Here's the results on this F-6B: