Official Natural Metal Finish Group Build

Vetteman,

Hey Richard if you should run out of space I have room for a few of your builds on my shelf

LOL,... i started hanging the bigger ones from my ceiling For the smaller ones i saw a nice deal at the local DIY market for a wooden cabinet... Ill be ok for a little while to come my friend, sorry...

Thank you all for your nice comments and yes, after taking the pics i noticed the gap too. It has been summarily dealt with since

My next project will most likely (but it can change at the drop of a hat...) be the B17 but ill wait for the new NMF group to begin before i start it so ill have time to complete some other stuff

Richard

Kermit Very nice Jug you have built there buddy Right down to the anti-sway bars on the bomb racks. I really like the tail markings too, as I have said earlier my hat is off to you for that work. Hey Richard if you should run out of space I have room for a few of your builds on my shelf

Simpilot I cant really bag on Richard for canopy because if you look close the canopy is not locked closed, so the gap should be there. Actually the only thing I can bag on Richard for is the fact that he pulled a build from the group that turned out quite well. I have been thinking of hijacking it though

Richard your Jug will be on the front page ASAP my friend

Richard that looks outstanding!!! WELL DONE MATE!!! That just looks right!!!

Randy if you want to bag Richard on something, I saw something and it is the ONLY thing I could see that caught my attention. The left 3/4 view you can see the slightest gap at the rear of the canopy.

Maxfax,

Because of their wide and easy availability here in Holland and surrounding countries i usually use the revell paint range with a sidestep to humbrol now and then. I heard that the revell paints are much harder to get in the states though... This kit is certainly not the best around but in terms of "bang for buck" i would certainly reccomend it. Just watch out for the wing-fuselage join as it needs some filling and sanding. But then again, thats just about the only negative comment i could think of Thanks for your comments (to all).

Finished her up before i went to work this morning and weathered her up just moments ago. Fast build...? Maybe.... i just have a lot of modeling time on my hands

Here she is in all her glory:

And to conclude... *Glenn Miller on the background*:

The NMF and semi gloss red were sprayed with airbrush ready revell paints. Everything else is done with the revell acrylic paints. Exhaust staining is provided by my tamiya weathering set B and the wheelwells, wheels and landing gear have been treated with dark brown chalks.

Kinda lost count by now Randy..... My next NMF will probably be started at the start of your next NMF gb, giving me time to clear my workbench somewhat and have some R&R in your beautiful country next June.

Thanks for watching everyone. NMF is the best

Richard

Kermit,

I really like the paint job! Tedious to mask, but the results are worth it. I saw this kit a few days ago in my LHS for a little over $20 CDN - definitely a bargain, but i just got the Tamiya kit at a show, so I will have to wait. I thought you were using Alclad paint- what is your base NMF paint?

Rob

Heh fellas!

Working out of town and weekends are quite busy so hopping for a few rain out days to get back on the kitchen table (work bench) Great work everyone and I will do my best to complete my P-51 by vetteman's deadline of May ? 31 ? Anyhow have a great week and hope to do a bit  of modeling next sunday.

Regards Jason ~

Kermit

Well now my friend you said heres something I can pick on meaning your MiG 15 ? I cant find a thing wrong with it from the pictures looks fantastic from here. Simple markings and just a mean looking fighter, as I said before I love the fact you decided not to hide that engine. Sir my hat is off to you in your painting of the red and white stripes on your Thunderbolt very well done . I have to say again though " Man you are a fast builder Richard"

Bish

I am really liking your MiG-19 . I find that keeping weathering to a minimum on NMF seems to work best other than exhaust staining being on the heavy side.  As Thunderbolt379 said earlier I have used ground pencil lead and some light work with pastels for weathering. I have used burnt umber for fuel stains that came out ok.

Thats a good point, i have got a couple of those Tamiya sets. think i will give that and the graphite a try and see how it looks.

Bish,

Cheers mate, appreciate the comments. Personally i never bother with the panellines that much...tried a dark wash on the panellines once but thought it came out a bit exxagerated imho. Being deeper than the surrounding metal the panel lines will stand out by themselves i think. Will try some preshading in the future though; never tried it...

If i do however decide to use weathering on the NMF i usually revert to either my trusty Tamiya weathering sets or the use of various shades of chalk. You just use one of them applicator sticks like the Mrs. does with her make up.

Richard

Nice Jug Richard. Love that tail, i want to do one of those Fw 190's from JV 44 that have the red underside with white stripes, but i have put it off due to having to mask it like you have. So i applaud you for taking the step. This was my first go with Alclad, it was easy enough to use, went on very well, i just did 3 fine layers. My only drama is weathering it, but hopefully i can sort that with the advice i have just got.

Bish, That's a nice paintjob you have done. Always been interested in the Alclad paints myself but never got around to testing it. Can' t wait to see how it progresses. I like those early Mig jets.

As for my juggie...

Told you guys how i sc*ewed up the big tail decals so i had to take a deep breath and attempt to spray it on myself. Never done such a thing before but i am pretty darn pleased with the results. Quite tedious to mask stuff up for 90 minutes and spray it over for two but it's the end result that is the reward:

Applied a coat of white first. Futured it and masked it with tamiya tape after it dried sufficiently:

After the red coat went on i had to mask the freshly sprayed tail section and spray new aluminum paint because in my impatience i handled the plane with white paint on my mitts.... But now that everything is back in order i will put on another light coat of future before the decalling fun can start... Almost there.....

Thanks for watching and see you soon

Richard

Thanks Mike, will try that. Hopefully i can salvage this. Trust me, it doesn't look that good in the flesh, but thats mainly from the construction phase.

Would you also suggest highlighting the panle lines with paint or will the dust do that for me.

I knew this MiG kit wasn't going to be my best ever, but it was a good base to practice NMF on before i move onto my tamiya P-51's and acedamy B-17.

Bish -- Nice build! To weather NMF, try pencil graphite. I did it on a Korean War Mustang last year and it came out pretty good. Grind up some HB to 2B graphite on coarse sandpaper, just scrub the pencil on the sandpaper to get a small pile of powder, then apply it with a short, stiff brush in the direction of airflow, working backward from panel lines. Mask the lines themselves with post-it paper, keep moving the masks around to vary the effect, and before you know it the aircraft becomes a mosaic of different tonalities. Be subtle, go easily, and if you make a mess, just wipe the graphite away with a damp tissue.

Cheers, Mike/TB379

Here the latest pics of my MiG 19. Been in a bit of a modelling black hole last couple of weeks, having force my self to get this far. It hasn't turned out as well as i had hoped. I think i have been spoilt over the years with hasagawa kits that fall together. I am now at the sage where i either just get it finished or it gets put to one side and forgotten about.

I gave it a coat of black enamel followed by future. It was then given 3 light coats of white aluminium. I then used a couple of other Alclad colours to try and vary the panels but they don't look any different. I then use dthe Alclad polishing cloths and in some areas the black undercoat is showing through. So i am not really sure how to weather these.  So, i am just going to add the decals and wash the panel lines. Just not sure how to do wear and tear on a bare metal surface,

Well Vetteman... I can give you something to pick on then....

Just finished up the Mig15 to the best of my ability... Due to the paintstripping the NMF didn' t turn out as good as i wanted in some places, especially the canopy area but overall this certainly was a fun build to do.

Weathering is kept to a minimum apart from some exhaust staining and powdering the wheelbays lightly. Hope you guys like what you see:

And to conclude...the mandatory kermiefied " artists impression":

Richard

Kermit man this Thunderbolt is looking nice ! You did a beautiful job on the canopy and gear bays. Cant wait for the markings to go on her. There isn't anything I can pick on you about

Thank you all so much for your kind words, appreciate it

Just as i feared i will have to spray the red/ white striped tail myself as the decals are too horrible for words.... Never before have i used Academy' s decals this size without problems and this kit is no exception i'm afraid....

The moment i put one of the tail decals on i noticed they are out of dimension and to make matters worse it cracked up once i tried to relocate it. But no harm done as i already suspected this to happen on me.

No decal update tonight but pretty soon then

Richard

Richard That looks great so far, looking forward to seeing the decals on!!!! WELL DONE!!!

Richard, you are a building machine! Your Jug looks great so far!

Ok, update time...

Finished paintwork on the thunderbolt and hope to wrap up the decalling tomorrow while the future coat sets overnight. Still have to retouch some area's and scrape a little edge of paint away here and there but overall i am quite pleased with this model. Especially the canopy is of the same quality as the one on my Academy Sabrejet i did earlier. Kinda makes up for their decals

Also decided to add a flat belly droptank and two 500 pound bombs. They are painted and ready to be added after the decalling is done (afraid to knock em off...)

See for yourself:

Thanks for watchin' boys

Richard

Maxfax your fine build has taken its rightful place on the front page. Again thank you for joining the group and sharing your build. I see you do have the badge in your signature but I am not sure how you get it into your profile, maybe one of the other guys here can help you with that.

Nice looking pony Rob!!!

Thanks to all for the great comments!  I picked up a Tamiya P-47 D on the week-end at a model show, but I'm not sure I could get it done by the end of this GB- perhaps it will have to wait until another time.

How do I include the GB badge on my profile?

Thanks

Rob

Echoing Kermit -- Maxfax that is one beautiful Wild Horse. I built that kit last year and loved every minute of it, I have another to do shortly, and always look forward to adding another to the shelf.

The paintjob and decals look spot-on, that's a very proud bird!

Cheers, Mike/TB379

PS I will attempt to be a good boy now

....Resistance is futile....

Maxfax, That' s a beautiful mustang you' ve built there. Very well done indeed. I love the pit and choice of finish you built and i don't see any problems with your decalling from my point of view here. Only thing i could say was that i agree with Randy about the exhaust staining (you want to curve it towards the wings as well due to airflow).

Hope you' ll try another NMF in the group (hint hint hint)

Richard

Maxfax wow ! That is one fine Mustang ! The finish came out great and the weathering IMHO is spot on, not over done at all. Your cockpit looks great too, a very well done P-51D to be proud of. The only thing I can say about the build is I think I would have been just a bit heaver on the exhaust staining. I will post your completed build on the front page in the morning. Thanks for joining in the group and I hope to see you in the next NMF group build Rob.

I had the same decal problem on my NMF mustang but not on the P-38 or the F-104 and I didn't do anything different on any of them as far as future then decal then future to seal everything up. 

I am finished my Tamiya 1/48 P-51 D. I have had some camera issues, and I have not been able to post a WIP since the cockpit photos. I have enjoyed my first NMF plane. I used Alclad II polished aluminum, although I did not use Gloss Blacl base, but just "Black", and it would have no doubt came out glossier if I did, but that was the only black at my LHS. I also used some Eduard cockpit PE as well as the canopy masks. The greatest problem I had was with the decals. With acrylic paints, I would Future over it before applying them, then another coat after- it seems to hide them well- but these stand out- and I could not crop out the transfer film in all of them close enough- any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

Kermit couldn't help myself nope I couldn't. Just had to give you a hard time. Cant wait to see the next set of pictures Richard.

PS I will attempt to be a good boy now

Randy,

I WISH.... . The thunderbolt has always catched my attention more so than the " glamour" of the P51; just as much as i prefer a hurricane over a spit any day. Call it a weakness for the " workhorse"  plane... If i can get my hands on a nicely priced jug, i will certainly buy it. This Academy kit however is in 1/48th scale

Completed the initial construction, painted the engine, masked the canopy and assembled it all together. The NMF layer has just been sprayed on. Pics to follow soon.

Richard

Kermit lookin good there guy. But I gotta ask where you got that oversized quarter, thought this was a 1/32 scale build.