Official Natural Metal Finish Group Build II

Maxfax Your P-47 is on the roster and I am very happy you are joining us for round two.

Julez72 the P-51 is looking good very good to me. I dont like 51's have you noticed ? Did you use Alclad paint on her ?

Jmabx That is a very unusual and impressive subject, cant wait to watch your progress on it. I know you have your work cut out for you, but in the end I can tell its very much worth the extra effort. I had a simiular build not too long ago and it turned out to be the one I am proudest of out of all my builds.

Ok Julez and Kermit as far as glue for foil I have heard of some using the spray glue they sell at craft shops for gold leafing, but they all seemed to have trouble with it. Plain white glue dries too hard and doesn't bond to the foil well at all, I tried that The glue I use and highly recommend is made by Microscale Industries. Its called Micro Metal Foil Adhesive, its a pressure sensitive white glue. It dries fast in about 5 minutes then it can be applied to the model, also it will stay tacky for a few hours after it is applied to the foil for us lol slow workers. The glue comes in a 1oz bottle and let me tell ya it goes a long way, I have built 4 models using it and still have half a bottle left.  Julez you will find that the foil conforms to surface detail much better than you would like at times. As far as foil goes I have used both Raynolds Wrap and just the store brand, both work very well however I found the store brand ( the cheap stiff) worked a bit better because it is softer and a bit thinner. Also if you decide to use BMF foil I would recommend making sure it isnt old as the adhesive does have a shelf life and you will end up with a weird looking surface finish. Anyway Squadron carries it and I have been seeing it more and more in the LHS around here. Hope this helps you out and I am more than willing to answer any questions I can for ya all.

Oh and Julez72 if you have bits of foil all over and make a mess we want pictures !!!!!!!!!

Jeez mate i make a mess just building a shake n bake kit so a foil kit well on the bench....Thanks for the info, i'll try that raynolds wrap with the microscale glue that you recommended, i don't really like the texture of BMF..

So it's 3:30 in the afternoon here May the 2nd so for me the GB is a go, i think it's about 10 to midnight in the US to so i'm gonna go ahead and upload the GB badge

Sorry to post and post but i forgot to mention Randy yeah that P-51 is alclad 11 coated, i did it the same way as the first one, i should have it done by next friday and i'll start Grim Reaper for this GB about a week later....And i know P-51's are bloody addictive....Must be those classic lines....

Randy,

Thanks alot for your advice. I will certainly reread it once i start my foil finish model. Actually picked up an old monogram mig 15 in 48th yesterday for a ridiculously low price but when i came home i found out the reason for it: the clearparts were missing! Will sort that one out when the time comes i guess...

But lemme introduce the B17 and show what i intend to do with it roughly:

Box:

An impression of size. This bird is chunky:

For a possible finish i always had the colours of this unit in my mind. It's colorful and something different from the usual red tail/ black tail models i see alot. :

Being a sparse kit on the inside this model could look great with alot of adapting and scratching to make it more interesting but personally i am more interested in the finish.... please don't hate me

Ok, enough yacking; i'm off to the hobby dungeon

Richard

Looking forward to seeing all these new builds come together!!!!

Guys, I foiledthe old Testors 1/48 PT-20 and 1/72 F-86 many moons ago and I used a technique described in an OLD issue(then new) of FSM. He described using the 3M spray adhesive and paint thinner as an adhesive on kitchen foil. Tearing off a sheet of foil laying it on a flat surface poor a small puddle of thinner (enamel thinner), and then spray a liberal amount of the 3M into the puddle. Mix and you get an adhesive syrup that can then be spread out very thinly and smoothly using a spare piece of stiff paperboard or similar material. Allow to dry at least an hour or more and then cut pieces out and burnish onto the model, trim, and peel away excess. My experience showed that it would stay tacky for days. Even after touch dry, by burnishing it down with a balsa stick could still be used. it's somewhat hit and miss with this technique as if you don't get the adhesive smooth you will end up with ridges of the uneven spread. So start spreading from the center of the puddle and go outwards as it smooths the foil out as well. One thing that is a drawback to this home brew technique is the inevitable dust which will show up like a worm under your freshly applied foil. I do have a couple bottles of the Micro product and will give that a go next time I require a NMF. HTH!

Kermit wasnt "Milk Wagon" a highly polished restoration ? I remember seeing pictures of it from an airshow I think. You are gonna need at least a quart of paint for that one, cant wait to see it.

Randy looks at paint can, roll of foil, paint can .............

Seriously Richard I really cant wait for this build, its gonna be awesome.

Simpilot,

Thanks for your suggestions about the glue and how to watch out for any kind of law on your surface. I think i will go for the ordinary kitchen foil (might pick up a few brands and select the most usable) and use the microscale glue.

Randy,

Hold it hold it LOL. I must apologize to you as i haven't said that it won't be this actual aircraft i will model but a sort of fantasy one using this particular unit's colours. (A B17F in NMF is very rare at best so might as well go overboard with artistic freedom...). So i will probably again end up using customized home made decals. Your pinup marking collection might come inhandy afterall

Better make the exterior as bling bling as i can as the interior is almost non existent and even more sparse than the Monogram B17G.

So again, to everybody listening in: Please do take this model with a grain of salt as the emphasis will be on "cool looks" and fun, not accuracy. Call it a chunky-unwinding-fun-thing-why-the-heck-not model if you will

Richard

kermit

So again, to everybody listening in: Please do take this model with a grain of salt as the emphasis will be on "cool looks" and fun, not accuracy. Call it a chunky-unwinding-fun-thing-why-the-heck-not model if you will

Those are the funnest builds Kermit! I have the same kit I picked up used for $5 at the hobbyshop. Someone had already started it and boy was it bad. I took it all apart and started from scratch. I decided to make it some kind of expeditionary plane and right now I'm in the process of filling in the windows and making a solid nose piece. I don't work on it too often but it is fun to come up with new ideas for it.

Richard

Hey no apologies my friend, I took this build to be the fun build you speak of and to be honest those are the ones I like doing myself the most. In fact I have only done one historically correct build in my whole life, that was Lt. Jefferson DeBlonc's Wildcat. What I really like about what you are proposing is the yellow tail with the NMF, a very sexy combination IMHO.

Heck I am getting all gitty an stuff waiting to see what you do with your B-17 Richard.

There is no such things as too many P51s ;)  

I recall MicroMark makes a glue for foil "foil adhesive". Not sure how well it works.

I have collected several web links relating to NMF; I will post them below in case they may be of help to anyone:

http://www.alclad2.com/alclad-home.html

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/tnt1/001-100/TNT009_Alclad/TNT009.htm

http://www.bare-metal.com/

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t7605.html

http://www.finescale.com/en/How%20To/Articles/2008/12/How%20to%20finish%20your%20plane%20with%20aluminum%20foil.aspx

http://www.letletlet-warplanes.com/forum/makete-aviona-aircraft-modeling/how-to-natural-metal-finishes/

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/tnt1/001-100/TnT074_NMF_McLeod/tnt074.htm

http://agapemodels.com/?p=1790

http://www.cybermodeler.com/hobby/video/mcm/video_mcm_bmf.shtml

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/nmfcb_1.htm

http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/nmfcb_2.htm

http://www.angelfire.com/oh3/pmodels/steel.html

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/tnt1/101-200/tnt126_bare-matal-shading_Brown/tnt126.htm

http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/tnt1/101-200/tnt137_BMF_Popojan/tnt137.htm

http://www.hawkeyeshobbies.com/

http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2005/12/stuff_eng_tech_nmf.htm

http://www.swannysmodels.com/Alclad.html

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t7605.html

Jmart,

WOW, that must have taken some work to collect to say the least. There is a wealth of info there. Took the liberty of downloading the FSM article on working with foil for beginners... Thank you so much for sharing

Did a bit of pit work since my last post and after a wash overall and some drybrushing i just glued the pit in. Ummm...... those few parts in front there are the entire thing... Really tempted to plunder my LHS for some styrene in order to at least get some oxygen tanks inthere but not sure yet....:

(this one is taken with flash:)

And a total shot of my accomplishments sofar (the pack of smokes was the only thing in reach for a size reference lol)

The instructions regarding painting are really a bit of a joke... all interior green with black... Tried to get some zinc chromate bulkheads, plywood control cabin floor and things like that depicted. Source for those color references was the IPMS stockholm website.

Thanks for watching and stay tuned...

Richard

JMart,

Thanks for the links. I have been tinkering with the idea of trying foil on this build- I'll use Alclad for the plane, but perhaps foil for the fuel tanks, just to get some experience.

Rob

Rob I would get an old test kit and try it out. Tanks would be harder than the plane I think, the tank is a complete compound curve in any direction. Wrinkles will creep up if you are not careful!!! When getting close to a compound curve, make some relief cuts and then continue burnishing down. Sometimes you just can't avoid very tiny bare spots either, if it's inconspicuous, a lil bit of chrome silver paint can hide it quite well. HTH some and looking forward to the foilers in this build showing us there works!!

Rob as Simpilot said the drop tanks can be a nightmare with all the compound curves. I too would highly recommend a cheap 1/48 kit for your first foil build, mine was a testers P-47. Its cheap and doesn't have too many bad curves to worry about, just the wing roots and wing tips. After that if you like foiling go for the gusto.

I know this wouldnt fit in this group but grrrrrrrr you guys went and gave me an idea for something completely off the wall. Ever see a chrome plated "Shiny Sherman Show Tank" ? I have never built a tank but find that thought quite intriguing. 

Kermit man I cant believe I missed your opening today Thats a fine start there buddy, your interior work always impresses me. MORE we wanna see MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jmart I want to thank you for posting all those links, they will be a great resource for anyone wishing to try foiling.

Hey guys did we decide to use the badge I posted or were there any other ideas out there.

vetteman42

I know this wouldnt fit in this group but grrrrrrrr you guys went and gave me an idea for something completely off the wall. Ever see a chrome plated "Shiny Sherman Show Tank" ? I have never built a tank but find that thought quite intriguing. 

You wouldn't........hehe

Glad the linkies were of help. of course, I will use neither foil nor Alclad, but MM metalizers lol 

Micro Metal foil adhesive, product MI-8 (from Microscale), that is the glue for foil.

http://www.microscale.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MI-8&Category_Code=FINPROD&Product_Count=7

vetteman42

Kermit man  I cant believe I missed your opening today Thats a fine start there buddy, your interior work always impresses me. MORE we wanna see MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jmart I want to thank you for posting all those links, they will be a great resource for anyone wishing to try foiling.

Hey guys did we decide to use the badge I posted or were there any other ideas out there.

I second that, Kermit nice interior If i were to do that kit and considering what is visible when it's all closed up i wouldn't put too much into the interior either.....Ok maybe just a little in the nose But i would't do that kit, i seem to have a 20 hour limit on models, after that i get bored.....yours looks more than 20h maybe 50...

But these would look a treat on the finished build...

Randy, I like that Sherman idea, it would make great display piece....It would look nice on a base next to a highly polished helmet, you know the one i mean with Pattons stars on it...

Great great work Julez! I really love the finish on that mustang; really something different. Can't wait to start on the Tamiya P51 i recently purchased. Very inspiring.

I wouldn't worry too much about the 20 hour deadline you mentioned. The pics i showed show the entire interior apart from the gun barrels I am more worried about masking all the glasswork at the moment.

Richard

Randy,

I would LOVE to see you do a shiny tank! It's so out of the ordinary that i simply demand you do that once and have us share in the ffun with looking over your shoulder while you do it. Shermans are very cool tanks but at the same time they are small-ish, even in 1/35. Might be a pita to foil....

Hmmm....kermit  do another KV2.....shiny.....KV2....shiny...... omg somebody shut off my braincell please, it hurts...

Just my 50 eurocents...

Richard

Julez72 thats one sweet looking gun barrel you have there, may I ask what you are going to put it on ?

Ya know the more I think about it the more I think it would be a fun decompression build, a shiny Sherman. I think its time for my first trip to the darkside, so I will be looking for a 1/48 Sherman I guess.

kermit

Hmmm....kermit  do another KV2.....shiny.....KV2....shiny...... omg somebody shut off my braincell please, it hurts...

Just my 50 eurocents...

Richard

DO IT KERMIT !!!!!!!!!!!!! Build the shiny KV2, we can start a threat somewhere.  Oh I see your braincell went into overdrive there LOL Richard I dont think it would be that hard to foil a tank especially after foiling that P-51 prop for round I hehehehe. That was a nightmare leme tell ya.

Maxfax See what you went and started now ???? Shiny tanks geeze

Hummmm the "Shiny Darkside" ????? hehehehe

Randy,

OMG, first i commit myself to building a foiled airplane this year and already you start about foiled tanks??

Dunno yet if i  would commit myself to such a project this year....So so much to build; so much i wanna "have"... I must say however that it is really interesting stuff and it would look awesome as a display model.

Word of caution though Randy.... A sherman in 1/48th is REALLY small...... It just so happens that i am working on such a sherman myself and about to put it in the refridgerator just because of that reason. It's the hobby boss M4A3 btw... Really cheap but including some PE:

(cotton swab for size reference...)

Richard

Richard, that is a fairly small tank isn't it, i dunno about tanks......I might do one oneday....

Randy, Yeah buddy those barrels are very nice..A Polish company called Karaya make them and they come with a hollow insert the size of a pin that goes inside the cooling jacket...they cost about $2 each, not a bad price i reckon...I have 10 of em, earmarked for a B-25 and an A-10...Oh yeahh i'm not sure but i think 30 cals are available to...

Whooohhhaaaaa Richard I didnt say anything about you foiling a tank I may do one this year though just for something on the odd side ??? I am thinking about it. I will be needing something a bit different after the P-61 build is finished.

Julez hey thanks for the info I will be checking them out as I have a 1/48 B-25 on the shelf waiting for attention

PS Richard I was thinking more along the lines of that chrome paint you once used a while back.

Randy, I'll return for the sequel.  I don't know what my build will be, but you could reserve my place in the lineup with simply "Monogram beast?" (ie, I have a B-17, B-24, B-29 & B-36 to choose from).  I will not use foil this time, but will likely go with Alclad II paints.

 I will play again!!!

All I got in the stash now are a few P-51s and T-6s. All that I can commit to right now though are some P-51s. Hasegawa P-51D with ramjets on the wingtips and probably a Tamiya "D" with KMC resin engine(opened up) and maybe an Otaki "D". All 1/48. Possibly Dragons 1/32 "D", but that one is not even on my radar yet. All things subject to change!!!!

Randy,

I will join once again.  I'm going to break my trend and go modern and civil.  What better model to do for the NMF II GB then one of the shiniest planes around?  That's right, I'm going to do an American Airlines 757 in 1/144.  Can't get any shiner than that.  Can't believe none of the AA birds were included in the first NMF GB.  I got several builds in front of it, but I got a year right?

These birds are all NMF except for three lines of paint:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/American-Airlines/Boeing-757-223/1666170/M/

Randy- This sounds like a lot of fun!!!  Sign me up please.  I'll dig through my stash and find a suitable build.