Official Natural Metal Finish Group Build

B17Pilot Thanks for sharing the P-51 pictures also you do very nice work, wish they had been in the group. I always welcome shared pictures of NMF builds. Did you use alclad paint on those also ?

Satch ip Sorry to hear about your friends passing. A while back someone had told me I should hunt up his article, but being a relitive newbee here only 2 1/2 years with FSM collected I couldnt find any of them. I would like to read that one you mention. Too bad FSM doesnt offer articales that are out of print in a downloadable format for a nominal fee, a buck or so would be great. There was another I was looking for about how model kits are made, couldnt find that one either. Would be a great tool for us beginners ya know.

Well guys I am in the middle of a move and having DT's from the lack of handeling plastic pieces parts, especially with the F-104 so very close to being finished. Just have to finish foiling the nose then its on to the really fun part  I should be able to get back to it by the end of next week I hope.

Hi guys,

While I've not posted progress here for a long time, I've followed everyone's builds with the greatest interest, there's some wonderful work being done here.

I'd like to say that I've actually done some work on my Tamiya 1:72 F-84. What blocked me ages age was the canopy. I applied the Eduard mask set and sprayed both the interior gray and the white which outlines the struts, and there was a bit of a mishap at that point. It must have been the heat and dryness of the air because the acrylic gloss white dried way too fast and went on as a rough overspray all over the model. sanding it away has not been quite a sstraightforward as I had hoped as the paint settled into all that gorgeous recessed detail and needs to be cleared out carefully.

I've finally got back to this job after completing three other build recently, and am hoping to get the Thunderjet done as part of my January batch. When I'm satisfied with the cleaning of the hull I'll need to do something about tthe canopy fit also: I was forced to attach it with CA, as Clear Parts Cement was never going to hold it in place, and, uncharacteristically for Tamiya (though comparable to the clear parts of their Me 262s) the canopy fit is awful, with a major gap along the starboard side. I'm thinking of maybe filling this with clear cement before getting on with the paintjob.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Excellent work everyone! Sign me up please. 

Started a Trumpiter P-51 D mustang in 1/32 scale last fall. A recent relocation has me without a hobby space to build, guess its time to suck it up and 'git r done' Undetered ill get some WIP's soon, besides one can only lurk online so long here before the urge to build strikes!

My origional plan fits into this group build well. Out of the two options I chose 'Ferocious Frankie' with mostly alunimum foil covering the plane. The box art isn't very accurate and seeing a complete one here in 1/48 scale helps. Now if only I can skip to page 25 instead of clicking two pages at a time...

vetteman42

B17Pilot Thanks for sharing the P-51 pictures also you do very nice work, wish they had been in the group. I always welcome shared pictures of NMF builds. Did you use alclad paint on those also ?

I use MM Alunimum Non-buffing on all my NMFs.  I've had no problems with it, except for that it has to go on last (doesn't like tape), so on the ones with a painted tail/nose, like the B-17, the red and OD Panels had to painted first and masked.

Thunderbolt379 Glad to see you back in our lil corner of the modeling world. Sorry to read about your mishap with the canopy, you wouldnt think a Tamiya kit would have fit issues like the one you are having. I also have nothing but trouble painting white or yellow with my airbrush, those colors seem to do some strange things for some reason. I am sure you will force that paint and plastic into submission and have a fine build to show us, looking forward to seeing your Thunderjet.

To let you all know I wont have internet access between Sunday and Tuesday, so be good kids and dont run amuck on me

B17Pilot Thanks for the info I will have to remember the masking thing as I have been thinking of trying paint for a future NMF build.

SupressionFire welcome to the shiny group Glad you are motivaited to build again and I am looking forward to seeing your large build. Your build is listed on the front page.

SupressionFire welcome to the shiny group Glad you are motivaited to build again and I am looking forward to seeing your large build. Your build is listed on the front page.

Cool, thanks vetteman42! Like mencioned above ill get some WIP's up soon. Now that the badge thingy is on my comments it will be destony to finish before the deadline and share some of my kung-foo along the way

WIP's!  'Ferocious Frankie' in flight shown. I know its not accurate but the white on the dash looks cool. Natural wood finish floor boards as well, wait... It is wood! Added alunimum tubes for .50 cal. openings and plan on having the axcess panels removed. Need to get a new camera so next WIP's should be better quality. Panel lines are scribed deep to trim the alunimum foil after its in place. Did the same on a 1/48 scale Oscar and it turned out ok, Trumpiter kit has exagerated rivet detail which will help maintain detail through the foil.

SF -- some nice looking assemblies there, this should be a very attractive finished product.

A progress note, I managed to finish cleaning away the overspray on the F-84. I finished off with a q-tip dipped in acrylic thinner, and succeeded in cleaning up to the very edge of the canopy. Now I can mask the white frame and decide how to handle to gap at the base.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Lil bit of progress today, I masked the white ares of the canopy with tape. But for some liquid masking here and there and maybe a bit of corrective tape, it's ready for the metallics. But I must do something with that gap! I'm thinking maybe thinned putty, so I can keep it away from everywhere it's not supposed to be, then sand it back REAL carefully.

The canopy fit a lot better on the boxtop photos... Maybe it was me, but I sure couldn't get it to sit down properly.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Been lurking in the shadows lately but have followed all the great work done for the group since my last build. Very impressive and carry on gents!

Randy, once you asre up and running again after the moving, would you mind if i jumped in again with a little 1:72 build? Being busy on all the big scale ships for the subgroup i wouldnt mind doing a shiny bird inbetween. I have the Revell of Germany P47D in my mind, the same one i did a few months ago but now with a customized scheme.

Richard

Kermit would I mind he seyz., hummmm, would I mind another kermified P-47D ??? But then again after this move I have no mind left to mind anything With that being said Richard, welcome back to the bright side and may the plastic be with you young skywatcher.

Hey!

I hope I'm not too late to join?! I'd like to add a Tamiya 1/48 P-51 which I am going to finish in Alcald polished aluminum- just got it for Crhistmas. I should be starting it in a week or two, as soon as I clear up my desk from the M-26, and I'll post my progress soon.

Rob

Thunderbolt379 Those kind of canopy gaps drive me crazy and seem to be a serious downfall in my builds. I have tried thinned putty, Mr Surfacer, and extra thin CA glue, havent had much luck with any of them so will be watching how you do yours. BTW your Thunderjet is looking good other than that pesky gap. Wish my masking looked that neat.

SupressionFire I am liking your big 51 The IP looks really good and I really like the detail in the engine, cant wait to see more.

Well guys the move is over and the computer seems to be working again so its on to getting a bench all ready to go and back to the 104. It sooo close to being finished I have been having withdrawls LOL. Will be a few more days till I can work on it some more, but I will have a much nicer bench and work area. Cant wait !!

maxfax

Hey!

I hope I'm not too late to join?! I'd like to add a Tamiya 1/48 P-51 which I am going to finish in Alcald polished aluminum- just got it for Crhistmas. I should be starting it in a week or two, as soon as I clear up my desk from the M-26, and I'll post my progress soon.

Rob

Maxfax nope not too late at all to jump in here to the shiney side. Your build is in and thanks for joining us. Your build is a P-51D ?

Thunderbolt379

But I must do something with that gap! I'm thinking maybe thinned putty, so I can keep it away from everywhere it's not supposed to be, then sand it back REAL carefully.

I use Elmer's white glue to fill gaps between the canopy and fuselodge.  It dries clear and you just have to have a damp paper towel to remove any extra on places you don't want it on.  Best of all, it will not fog the clear canopy!  For big gaps it might take two coats to close the gap.  Its not a strong bond, but we're only talking about the canopy anyway.

Randy,

Thank you so much for your renewed welcoming. Will start on that P47 as soon as i can get my internet running again like it should. Been busy with a transfer to a new ISP service and have been having some difficulties getting online the past few days.

Good to hear you are back my friend. May the schwartz be with you

Richard

Sorry, I should have been more specific- it is a 1/48 Tamiya P-51 D, to be built OOB.

Rob

Thanks B17pilot -- that's a good idea! I've done a section on the windscreen with thinned filler and it's not as friendly as I would have hoped, it'll take another session to smooth it off properly. I'll use whiteglue on the gap under the canopy itself and hopefully have this puppy a bit closer the metallic phase!

Cheers, Mike/Tb379

Update -- I used clear parts cement on the canopy base gap, it's just fancy white glue, and two applications pretty much did the job, not as good as it would have been if the gap hadn't been there!

Today I got the wheel wells masked, with tape and Maskol. I'll use wet tissue in the nose gear well and rubber solution to get it to stay in place, but the main wells are about as good as they're going to get. I'll touch up anything that needs it. Here she is:

Next she gets a wash to remove oils and grease, then she's pretty much ready for paint.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Hi Randy and all,

Just tried a long post and got knocked off probably cause it took too long so I will be brief:

I had very few hours for modelling last month so I made no start on my NMF first model-the Fokker DXXI.It will take way too long to get past the cockpit.

So I would like to change to a Revell 1/72 P51D Mustang. I want to assemble clean with no filler or putty but glue it. Then use Mr Surfacer1000, Testors spray can black and aluminum enamel, then Hawkeyes polishing powders with AM decals and vacform canopy.

Here's a couple of pics of the start:

I hope you approve the change,

Regards,

Stenscience

Nice progress Sten & Mike, I am liking what i am seeing, is that a F-84? Looks Great.

Hello all,

I had the weekend off so I made quite a bit of progress on the P51.It is a real cheap kit,but I am really only interested in getting a good NMF finish,so not too concerned about detail.

I got an AM decal kit (Blue Nose Birds of Bodney) and will do one of the options.I assembled the kit (cut off all the pegs and glued it top to bottom),let it dry, then hit it with MrSurfacer1000 as a primer.Then I used rattle cans-Testors gloss black enamel 2X, then a thin mist of metallic aluminum.That's drying now.Next steps-paint the blue nose and black fuselage stripes, then mask them and the canopy, then Hawkeyes SnJ aluminum powder. Here's pics of progress so far:

Best regards,

Stenscience

Hi all,

Worked all day on the Mustang.I ended up using SnJ aluminum for most of the body. The steel is too granular and goes on too thick (I think it would be best for details).The aluminum powder went on well over a tacky coat of Glosscote.Last night I painted the bluenose etc.then masked and intalled canopy.I buffed the body and hit with a couple coates of Glosscote.I am going to let it cure for a couple of days, then decal.For a 4 dollar model, this is coming out okay.

Regards,

Stensciece

Thunderbolt379 cant wait to see your F-84 with some paint on it so come on man and hurry up there

Maxfax no problem I kinda figured you were building a D model but wanted to make sure, the front page is all fixed now and you are offical.

Stenscience wow I made the change on the front page and your build is already close to being finished, you are fast. I have been hoping to see how the SNJ powders work.

Guys I am sorry I havent been checking the group everyday. I have been making somewhat of an emergancy move and regretfully havent had the time or been too worn out. My soon to be ex brother-n-law went and got stupid with my baby sister, so we had to get her out of there. Hopefully things will settle down soon and life will get back to normal. I did have a chance to work on the Starfighter for a bit the other day waiting for my internet to come back on line again, and hope to have a few pictures up in the next couple of days.

Hey everybody,

I'm pleased to inform you guys that the internet seems to be working properly now (been offline for 6 days, causing me to foam at the mouth a little LOL) so i can get started on the P47 soon. Feels good to be back Obi Wan Vetteman

Richard

Finally managed to get started on my MiG last week during the final stages of my Me 262 build. Thought i would take a couple of pics while i took the final ones of the other build. I have only got the fuselage together with the pit inside. Still some work to do as this Bilek kit certainly doesn't go together as neatly as the kits i am used to. The two parts that make the front of the fuselage don't match and still need alot more sanding. Well, here it is as of now, will get back to it on monday and hopefully have some decent progress pics by the end of next week.

Now the 262 is finished i can concentrate on this build, and i will have a look through all the work everyone has been putting in.

Bish glad to see you have started your build and cant wait to see your progress after that fine Me 262 you just finished. Looks like you have a bit of filling to do on this one.

Ye, there is still a bit of work to do, and thats just the fuselage. Another problem with this kit is the sprue attachment points. They are rather thick and in the worst places, right along the front of the wings for example. So this kit will need careful trimming, filling and sanding. Should be interesting and will deffinatly take a while as i don't want to rush it.

On the plus side, the panel engraving is very nice. I have never done an NMF before, so like the motteling this will be a first. So fingurs crossed.

A quick one for those useing Alchlad. I plan on priming with gloss black. Is it best to use Enamels or acrylics.

Bish,

I've seen people use both acrylics and enamels for the gloss black undercoat method. From my own experience i can tell the enamels handle better but take a (very) long time to dry thoroughly where the acrylics dry much faster so it would depend on your preferences and patience i think...

The revell aqua color range of paints are ready for new coats after just one hour and thoroughly dry after just 4 (!) hours and i have no complaints about it whatsoever apart from the fact that they tend to dry/ clutter inside your airbrush nozzle during longer spraying sessions. Dilluting the paint with both water and alcohol helps in preventing this (50/50). Hence my remark about enamels handling better during the spraying.

Richard