Kermit wow you finished the sub and now you are almost finished with the Wildcat too ?? You are getting to be one lightening fast builder my friend. Lookin good there Richard

Guys I started the AT-6 today got some interior green paint shot on it and will start the detail painting in the morning. So hopefully I will have a few pictures to share during the week.

Vetteman,

Looking forward to your Texan buddy! And thanks for the compliments but ive been under the weather for a few days so that gave me lots of time at home to work when i was able to It's by no means any kind of magic LOL

On a more serious note and dare i say with a slight feeling of embarassment i do wanna ask you to remove the B17 from the list. Looking at all the projects i wanna do and the fact that i have been postponing work on it for ages i kinda lost interest in it. To be honest the whole kit is one lump of putty and i don't feel alot of good will come from it. My sincere apologies.

Might be slightly less painful if i were to say i might try the foiled mig after this one? I ordered the glue a week ago and i have two monogram mig's to work with (first one did not have the clear parts...).

But first the Wildcat. The black and NMF are sprayed on and curing at the moment.

Richard

Hey everyone,

Just got back from Nova Scotia on Sunday, and finally finished the P-47 "Polly". I'm very happy with this one, but I can't post any pics until the week-end because my wife and kids are still there with the camera! I have had more free time since they are away and have been able to finish the P-47 and finish the D-Day stripes on the P-51. Hopefully I will have the P-51 done this week as well- I have a stack of models that I have to get to.

Kermit, you are a modelling madman! I look forward to seeing this one!

Rob

quick question.  Where do you guys buy the metal foil and about how much does it cost (in american $)?

I know about how much paint will cost me, but I am at a loss when it comes to the foil you guys are using.

thanks! 

OWL

Owl, it would still be kind of expensive to do a foiled plane if you use the commercially available stuff that is self adhesive. It only comes in I think half letter size sheets(may be wrong there). The foil I would try first is the cheapest stuff you can find at family dollar or your local supermarket, I mean cheap as its usually the thinnest, and try and get some Micro foil adhesive put out by Microsclae products, or make your own adhesive with 3M or similar spray adhesive and thinner. Years ago I saw an article in FSM about doing just that and it worked like a charm. I foiled an old Testors PT-20 with the shiny side out and it looked exactlly like a restored warbird trainer with a highly polished skin. Also used the dull side and foiled an ol Testors F-86. Hope my ramblings have helped some lol

Richard your wildkitty is looking great!!! Looking forward to seeing color soon!!!

Kermit I hope you are feeling back to your froggy self soon man. Its with great regret and saddness that I remove your B-17 from the list, I do understand where you are at with it though. So I will accept its withdrawal from the group.  I do however look froward with great anticipation to your foiled MiG build, and also your Wildcat. 

Maxfax oh go and tease us now why dontcha, geeze. I am looking forward to seeing your P-47 finished.

CallSignOwl as Simpilot said the BMF foil is quite expensive, and from what I have seen you get better results using Reynolds Wrap or the store brand of foil. Its much cheaper to do than  paint is too IMHO. I use Microscale Micro Metal Foil Adhesive, a bottle is around 3 bucks and I have done 5 NMF builds with it in 1/48 scale, still have 1/4 of the bottle left. Squadron carries it and I have been seeing it in more and more of the hobby shops. There is a tutorial here in the how to section of the forum that may very well be of help to you. I would suggest a simple airframe for your first foil build if you do one. You want to stay away from the compound curves of say a Mustang and the like. Hope this helps you out.

Thanks Vetteman and Simpilot.  I was not planning on doing a build in foil right now, but I was wondering about where you guys get it and such because I had not seen any around here. But I will make sure to keep an eye out for the adhesive. I think a $3 dollar bottle and some cheap tinfoil would be well within my meager price range!

just asking, but what would you suggest as a simple airframe for trying out foiling?

Thanks!

OWL

Vetteman,

Thank you for understanding my friend From the looks of it sofar the wildcat is coming along great. Will try to get the yellow on tomorrow and after that i can show some WIP pics

Owl,

I had the same question and got the same answer basically... I kinda translated that into "simple plane with as much round curves and straighth edges as possible". Decided on a Mig 15 as it is basically a cigar with wings on it... I am still hugely impressed with Vettemans courage to foil something as complicated as a P38

Richard

Aww geeze Richard

CallSignOwl Richard has the idea, the MiG-15 is a great one to start with along with maybe the F-86, or F-100, my first one was a P-47 bubbletop. Personally Owl me thinks a MiG-15 would look great next to the MiG-29 you finished not too long ago

as a note to myself in the future, which of these planes would you suggest that I try my first foiling job on? 

I have in my stash some planes that could be NMF: B-17, B-25, B-47, F-105, MiG-21, P-47 and a couple of P-51s.  You already said the mustang might be too complex, but what about the others?

OWL

CallSignOWL

as a note to myself in the future, which of these planes would you suggest that I try my first foiling job on? 

I have in my stash some planes that could be NMF: B-17, B-25, B-47, F-105, MiG-21, P-47 and a couple of P-51s.  You already said the mustang might be too complex, but what about the others?

OWL

Mig-21! The lines are easy to 'foil' The only area that will need paint instead is the jet engine intakes, if memory serves well many were painted dark green? Perfect first foil plane! The easy way I 'foil' is to deepen the panel lines a bit, cut foil a lot larger than needed and place in center w/o touching the area to be flattened out. Start in the center using a smooth wood tool of some sort. once past the panel outline cut extra with trusty #11 blade. Some more complex parts will need paint regardless of the subject, save these for last and remember the foil lifts easy thus careful with any masks.

Owl -- I agree with SF, the MiG-21 is by far the best choice from your list to embark on foiling.

If you still fancy tackling paint, you might like to take a look at my blog for my review of Tamiya's Mustang. This was my first NMF build in many years and I was very happy with the result, which was achieved with a minimum of drama. I used enamels (with acrylic detail painting) and created effects on the NMF with graphite, pigment powders and Promodeler panel wash. The address is in my signature line, use the contents in the right hand column to find my post for September 5th, 2009.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Owl – nice to see the mustang again! Believe me; your growing pains have been shared by everyone in here! Add another “ditto” to using low tack blue “painter’s” 3M tape. I also try and paint NMF last, after everything has been painted. That way, I avoid masking those finicky paints. Also don’t forget to “burnish” the edge of the paint. I simply use the flat end of my forceps. There is an article on foil in this month’s FSM magazine. And my answer for almost anything with wings will always be “P-51D” lol .  But SuppFire’s suggestion is much better, I love that little demo pic he posted.

Kermit – glad you are doing better! Bird is looking good.

Been traveling a lot for work; hope I can re-start my build soon!

Cheers all

thanks, it looks like I will be reserving my Fishbed for my first foiling job!  A Foiled Fishbed... 

back to the mustang, I was able to smooth down the places where the paint was peeled up and applied a brush coat of future.  I waited over an hour to apply another coat, and that is when something odd happened: the future got cloudy in some areas...but then got clear again when I left it to dry overnight.    Im glad the future coat is fine now, but  what caused that to happen??

OWL

LOL that OWL is a phenomenon unknown, but as long as it goes clear again that's what matters. I had the same thing happen recently when putting a second heavier final AB'd coat over the decals. The first reaction to it is always the same, OH #*@! Then just take a deep breath and put it away to dry and let the future be future.

Geez, seeing Richard's pic and all this talk of foiling......How long do we have left??? hehe

simpilot34

 

Geez, seeing Richard's pic and all this talk of foiling......How long do we have left??? hehe

All the way till May 1st 2011 Simpilot

Oh god please don't hurt me! I will foil a plane!!....Honest...

kermit

Oh god please don't hurt me! I will foil a plane!!....Honest...

Foiled............foiled again 

Ok, ok... Geez...

Here's your WIP pic's then:

Took longer (...) than expected due to the fact that i have set my compressor too high, causing a gritty, sandpaper like finish to the yellow (too high a setting will cause your paint fumes to dry on top of your spraying surface causing a rough surface). I sanded the bad parts yesterday, refutured it and resprayed it today. The black tail needs some retouching as i can see some irregularities on these pics. Matter of minutes...

With any luck i can apply the last coat of future tomorrow morning before i goto work and start the decalling. Hope you guys like the work sofar...

On a more serious note:

Do you guys think i work too fast/ am too impatient? The new revell acrylics really dry within the hour, causing me to be able to work faster as opposed to working with enamels. (8 hours minimum/ overnight)  But the last comments, eventhough i found them hugely amusing really got me to think about it...

Richard

Man, Kermit, I'm impressed. I just can't get around to getting things done as quickly as I would like. I think I would enjoy modelling even more if I can see the results quicker. You use the Revell paints- is that a European thing?, because I have not come across them here. What are you using for glue- CA or Solvents? I still use the Testors Blue for most applications, which does slow things down a bit, CA here and there and Tenax for the fuselage/wings.

Rob

I noticed the revell paints (both enamel and acrylic) to be non existant in the USA on both my visits. Here in europe however they are more the rule than the exception. Any respectable european (internet)shop should have them.

To get an idea, revell of germany offer 88 shades of acrylics in square blue plastic  18ml jars. They have not failed me thusfar and are very well usable for either brush or airbrush painting unlike for instance the tamyia or humbrol acrylics. Those seem to be airbrush only paints...:

http://www.revell.de/en/products/model_kits/accessories/aqua_color/overview/?id=287&L=1

As for glue i use the revell contacta liquid glue. Thicker than the tamyia extra thin but with a needle style applicator.:

http://www.revell.de/en/products/model_kits/model_kits/products/?id=210&KGKANR=0&KGKOGP=14&KGSCHL=5&L=1&page=1&sort=0&nc=&searchactive=&q=&SWO=&ARMAS4=&PHPSESSID=1a603af874bae308efd0cd755950bcc8&KZSLPG=&offset=3&cmd=show&ARARTN=39604&sp=1

Hope this will satisfy your curiosity Maxfax.

Richard

Kermit: Great work! I wish I moved that fast. Seems to take me forever and a day to get anything done.

Well I did get the interior of the B-29 done and have been adding a pile of nose weight. Thinking of ordering a set of white metal gear just to support the thing. Here are a few photos before I started sealing her up. Sorry, not sure why the camera keeps taking blurry shots since I've been using the close up setting.

Some of the bombs are damaged, I stuck them on the top rack since I figure they won't be all that visible. The crawl tunnel (green tube with silver bands) didn't come out all that well either but won't be very easy to see when sealed up.

Just noticed I don't think I have enough Alclad for the whole thing, am ordering more next week. Hopefully I'll have the fuselage cleaned up and ready for it by then.

Kermit -- do you build too fast? I'm not sure if there's any such thing, so long as you're getting full pleasure from your hobby and getting the results you want. My only concern would be storage space, where do you put them all? I crank them out at a rate of ten or twelve a year, at least that should be this year's yield, and that's probably as many as I've ever built in a twelve month period. I'll have to crank that up, I just calculated that if I build twenty a year I'll be nearly a hundred by the time I've finished my stash, and it's not as if I've actually stopped buying...

Revell acrylics sound good! They're not available in Australia, certainly not locally and I've never seen them advertised. Tamiya paints are excellent but, yes, they don't brush worth a damn! Contacta Professional -- interesting that it's your glue of choice, I bought some and had a very negative experience as I watched it liquify plastic before my eyes. Maybe it was just a very susceptible grade!

Cheers, M/TB379

Richard, as Mike said, you can't really build too fast as long as you are happy with what you are doing. I wish I built faster honestlly. I am more than doubling my output this year to three lol. Your B-29 is looking great btw!!! Very nicely done interior!!!!

I have come upon some very generous mates that have given me some of their stash and now have some very large and a couple rare birds that had been started. In 1/72 alone I have a 727, Caravelle, 377 Stratocruiser, B-29, B-50, 2 KC-97's G/L, Concorde, Victor, 2 DC-6's, P-3 just to show a bit of the larger ones. Have a stash of 1/48 multi-engines too. So I do have a bit to choose from when I decide to come to the shiny side.

Simpilot,

The B29 is Gamera's build which is coming along great btw. Can't see the flaws in the crawling tube like you mentioned. Did that come OOB or did you scratch that? I like the addition to the model

Thunderbolt,

I found the revell glue to be a tad more "agressive" than for instance tamyia extra thin and you do have to be quick to wipe off excess glue or it will eat into your styrene after a few seconds but i would't wanna use the term "liquify".... Personally i came to love the "welding" effect it has, especially on wing and fuselage joints. Makes the sanding part less of a chore

Richard

Kermit your Wildcat is really starting to look Kermified now buddy. I really like the contrast between the yellow wings the black tail and the NMF. Really an eye catcher I think.

Richard I hope I didnt offend with my earlier comment about your speedy building, I just wanted to rattle your cage a bit in fun. As most here know I am a very slow builder, painfully slow as a matter of fact. I spent the better part of 2 hours just putting seat belts on the pilot seat for my T-6. I actually envy both the quality and speed at which you can build. So if I did offend I do apologize and if I didnt then

Gamera very very nice work indeed As Richard said I cant see any flaws in the pictures you speak of, my only comment would be, that a lot of that nice detail work looks like it will be hidden once she is closed up. Makes me want to get a boresight so I can look inside once they are closed. Cant wait to see your next pictures

kermit

The B29 is Gamera's build which is coming along great btw.

lol sorry buddy , yes it is Gamera!!

Wow,

That looks great! Which kit is this? I bet that will take up some major shelf space!

Rob

Guys, the tube has a series of grooves where the silver bands are. I had a devil of a time trying to sand, putty, and get the grooves clean and even. Then I noticed that when assembled the tube seam is horizontal and from the limited view you get looking up though the bomb bay the seam shouldn't be visable at all. So I did all that work for nothing Ah well, it is a little rough though you can't really see with the blurry photos.

I'm a big fan of the Eduard ZOOM PE sets and thought about picking one up for this model but as said with her closed up very little is visable. So I didn't add anything to the kit, the crawl tunnel and everything else is what you get with the kit. I have to hand it to Academy it builds into a nice kit out of the box.

Kermit: you're giving me the temptation to do a yellow wings bird. I love the look and she's going to really be an eye catcher when done.

MaFax: It's the Academy/Minicraft kit in 1/72. The wingspan is about two feet/60cm! I'd love to do the Monogram 1/48th kit I settled for 1/72th because I don't know where I'd put the 1/48th kit! I'm hoping I can leave the wings unglued so I can remove them for transport.

Simpilot: No worries friend, I certainly don't mind being confused with a modeler as good as Kermit. Guess since we're both green we're easy to confuse....

Randy,

Are you crazy?? Ofcourse i'm not offended and did understand you were just having a giggle It just got me to think about it LOL. I can take a punch my friend.

Gamera,

Guess since we're both green we're easy to confuse....

It's not easy being green

The hobbyboss wildcats are just around 20 bucks overhere and give you tons of value for your money I assure you that you wont go wrong buying one. (not being affiliated to hobbyboss at all LOL)

Richard (who is starting his decalling fun right now)