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Japanese GB 2011-2012

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  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Monday, June 18, 2012 9:57 AM

Great job Blitzwing- moving into the home stretch now, the chipping looks even better to me from the front. Yes

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Australia
Posted by Blitzwing on Saturday, June 16, 2012 12:14 AM

Heading into the final straight now with just the two wing guns and a couple of small clear pieces to go on after a matt coat. 

URL=http://picasion.com/]

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Friday, June 15, 2012 9:52 AM

Ya know it's funny how fate operates sometimes..... Our club had a swap meet last night and one of the guys brought by several boxes of models and a big box of paint the wife of a deceased member of our club was trying to clean out. I ended up buying about a dozen bottles of Gunze that look like they've hardly been used for a quarter a bottle. I feel bad for Tommy Carr, who passed away with all this stuff unbuilt but hopefully I can honour his memory by putting it to good use.

BW: Looking forward to the photos, not a big fan of stencils myself.

Bsyamato: New guy came by the club and is thinking about joining. He moved to the US from Italy!

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Australia
Posted by Blitzwing on Thursday, June 14, 2012 10:48 PM

I gotta agree that Gunze is definately the paint I find that gives the best results and have had some success with brush painting. Tamiya sprays well too but it seems to randomly decide when to hit that "sweet spot" while spraying to give the best results. 

I've found Lifecolour to be quite good too and for some reason the online shop I purchase from sells them at the same price as Tamiya and Gunze paints even though the Lifecolour pot is larger. 

Almost done decalling my Frank and one aspect that I have found quite refreshing on an airplane is the almost complete lack of data stencils. I find individual link tracks less frustrating than decalling data stencils. 

URL=http://picasion.com/]

  • Member since
    June 2010
  • From: Austin, TX
Posted by DoogsATX on Thursday, June 14, 2012 2:16 PM

I use WEM for color-matching too!

If you get any Gunze, for love of god get their Olive Drab. Best OD I've ever used...

On the Bench: 1/32 Trumpeter P-47 | 1/32 Hasegawa Bf 109G | 1/144 Eduard MiG-21MF x2

On Deck:  1/350 HMS Dreadnought

Blog/Completed Builds: doogsmodels.com

 

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Thursday, June 14, 2012 11:58 AM

Interesting Doogs. The few times I've used the White Ensign it seemed to work ok. I've found it gloopy and thick in the tin making it harder to mix and having a really long drying time I'm much more likely to end up with dust and a couple of fingerprints in the model. I like acrylics since generally I can put down several quick coats without much drying time in the middle.

Oddly, I've been using the White Ensign more as reference colour chips to match other paints against. I may just order a few bottles of Gunze and then see which WE paints they match best.

And thanks for telling me about Mid-Tenn hobby, if I should order any more I'll give 'em a try.   Yes

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    June 2010
  • From: Austin, TX
Posted by DoogsATX on Thursday, June 14, 2012 11:27 AM

Mid-Tenn Hobbies stocks White Ensign. To be honest, though, while I love the color fidelity of their stuff, I'm not a big fan of the way it handles or the drying time, which makes MM enamels look like Tamiya by comparison.

Used White Ensign about a year and a half ago when I built Eduard's Yak-3 and Zvezda's La-5, and had all kinds of problems with the paint falling out of suspension, with silly putty and white tack literally staining the paint, and so on. 

Late last year I gave it another shot - 4BO Green on a T-34/85.

This time I thinned it with lacquer thinner, which did a much better job in terms of mixing, performance and drying. But it still doesn't reduce very well beyond maybe 2:1 thinner/paint. so a lot of the shading work I like to do is a lot harder to pull off.

Might be worth picking up a bottle or two to try out, but I'd be hesitant about putting too much stock into it.

On the Bench: 1/32 Trumpeter P-47 | 1/32 Hasegawa Bf 109G | 1/144 Eduard MiG-21MF x2

On Deck:  1/350 HMS Dreadnought

Blog/Completed Builds: doogsmodels.com

 

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Thursday, June 14, 2012 11:12 AM

Thanks Doogs!

My hobby shop stocks Model Master and sporadically gets in a shipment of Tamiya. When I start something I normally just grab a kit out of my stash and instead of paying S&H and waiting for a couple of bottles of paint I'll just use what the LHS has.

I've used Vallejo for years painting figures, it's so heavy in pigment I swear by the stuff, haven't tried it in the airbrush though but I'm thinking of giving it a try.

And yeah, everybody seems to love Gunze! Tried it a few times and it seemed to be yeah much like Tamiya. Since they're a Japanese company they do make Japanese colours unlike some companies out there.

Funny, it's the MM enamel that I used that's still tacky, I brushed some acrylic gloss over it so crossing my fingers it will be ok.

My biggest gripe here is that Mitsubishi, Nakajima, Kawanishi, etc used different shades for their IJN green and grey. The same with IJA aircraft. The only company I've seen that made a line for each is White Ensign, which is both enamel and in the UK and I don't think they have a US/Canada distributer so it's a bit of a bother to order from them. I've seen Tamiya has come out with a few new paints to be closer to the different shades now but haven't had a chance to try them. I might just have to put together a big order to White Ensign to save the S&H charges.

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    June 2010
  • From: Austin, TX
Posted by DoogsATX on Thursday, June 14, 2012 10:27 AM

Gamera

 

 Blitzwing:

 

There just isn't a perfect paint  is there? I've had that tacky problems sometimes with enamels as well, mainly with older jars although those were in my brush painting days. I haven't airbrushed with enamels yet, I'm reasonably happy with acrylics so far.

 

 

Yeah, I've had much better luck with acrylics. I hate enamels and don't use them unless I can't find the colour I need in acrylic. Generally I've had good luck with Model Master and Tamiya. My favorite Polly Scale I don't think is even made any more. I've heard enough good news about Gunze I may have to pick up some but the local hobby shop doesn't stock it so that I'd have to order.

Yeah, perfect paint doesn't exist. And depending on application sometimes you HAVE to use a certain kind. With the N1K1, I had to use Tamiya over the chipping fluid. With the PV-1, I had to use enamels for salt fading because the salt stains Tamiya paint. Go figure.

Honestly, I hate the stuff, but my favorite all-around paint is Model Master enamel. It brushes well enough. Sprays well enough. In the blast furnace of summer, I can still shoot it without constantly worrying about dusting. But cleaning out the airbrush is the suck. And it can't do the super-thinning I really like to do. Adding some good lacquer thinner to the mix helps, but still.

Vallejo - great for brush painting and big coats. I've never been able to get a tight, fine spray out of it, though. 

Tamiya - love the stuff, especially with lacquer thinner, but the dusting problems are just ridiculous for me in the summer months. 

Gunze - LOVE LOVE LOVE Gunze. Really. Very similar properties to Tamiya, but doesn't seem to suffer the same tip dry/dusting issues. But I hate having to order blind.

On the Bench: 1/32 Trumpeter P-47 | 1/32 Hasegawa Bf 109G | 1/144 Eduard MiG-21MF x2

On Deck:  1/350 HMS Dreadnought

Blog/Completed Builds: doogsmodels.com

 

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Thursday, June 14, 2012 10:11 AM

Blitzwing

There just isn't a perfect paint  is there? I've had that tacky problems sometimes with enamels as well, mainly with older jars although those were in my brush painting days. I haven't airbrushed with enamels yet, I'm reasonably happy with acrylics so far.

Yeah, I've had much better luck with acrylics. I hate enamels and don't use them unless I can't find the colour I need in acrylic. Generally I've had good luck with Model Master and Tamiya. My favorite Polly Scale I don't think is even made any more. I've heard enough good news about Gunze I may have to pick up some but the local hobby shop doesn't stock it so that I'd have to order.

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Australia
Posted by Blitzwing on Thursday, June 14, 2012 5:42 AM

There just isn't a perfect paint  is there? I've had that tacky problems sometimes with enamels as well, mainly with older jars although those were in my brush painting days. I haven't airbrushed with enamels yet, I'm reasonably happy with acrylics so far.

URL=http://picasion.com/]

  • Member since
    October 2008
  • From: italy
Posted by bsyamato on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 12:30 PM

.. the curse of the "japanese GB"!!

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 9:37 AM

BW: whew! Glad to see your problems (literally) cleared up so well. Maybe you could go with a light spray of the clear and not too thick?

Funny, most of what I do at work is chemistry but honest working with paint is like voodoo to me. Sprayed some enamel on the zero last week that formerly had worked well and here a week later the enamel is still tacky. Bang Head 

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    October 2008
  • From: italy
Posted by bsyamato on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 7:51 AM

Big Smile LOL Yes

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Australia
Posted by Blitzwing on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 6:13 AM

Scientifically I have no idea how it works but as I was decalling, I used some Mr Mark Softer as usual and found that some of the fogginess had cleared where I brushed on too much. So I brushed Mr Mark Softer on the other affected areas and voila. 

I am over the moon. Now when I seal the decals should I tempt fate and try Tamiya clear again?

URL=http://picasion.com/]

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Australia
Posted by Blitzwing on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 8:10 PM

Thanks for the help guys, I looked on the web and seems to be a regular occurrence for some reason. Interestingly enough the fogginess clears up when I moisten it so hopefully it will clear up when I put another coat of clear over it. I'll proceed with the decals with fingers crossed.

URL=http://picasion.com/]

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 11:17 AM

Thanks Waikong, I wasn't sure which was the flat base and which isn't.

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    December 2002
  • From: NYC, USA
Posted by waikong on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:25 AM

x22 clear should not get cloudy, sounds like it may not have mixed well enough? X21 is the flat base that's meant to be mixed with other paint. 

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 9:14 AM

I know one of the Tamiya flats is supposed to mixed with gloss paint to make it flat and not applied directly, I'm not sure what number is it is though. You might give SFs idea a try, I've heard other people have luck with that too.

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    January 2012
  • From: East Peoria, IL
Posted by stoutfella on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 8:18 AM

Blitzwing

I'm not sure if I'm a bit premature but does Tamiya X22 acrylic clear go cloudy as it dries? First time I' ve used the stuff and it has gone cloudy in patches.

Different product, but I had something similar happen on my Zero with MM acrylic clear flat. Cloudy, whitish patches on the decals. I poked around on the Web and found similar accounts. I sprayed it with a couple of light coats of Testor's rattle-can Dullcote and most of the cloudiness cleared right up.

Cheers,

Stoutfella

On the bench: 1/48 Tamiya Bristol Beaufighter

On deck: 1/48 Tamiya P51-B

  • Member since
    October 2008
  • From: italy
Posted by bsyamato on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 5:40 AM

Remember the Claude (and the zero Embarrassed ... ), don't give up!!

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Australia
Posted by Blitzwing on Tuesday, June 12, 2012 4:19 AM

I think it's on its deathbed. 

Does anyone know a good doctor?

URL=http://picasion.com/]

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Australia
Posted by Blitzwing on Monday, June 11, 2012 10:35 PM

I'm not sure if I'm a bit premature but does Tamiya X22 acrylic clear go cloudy as it dries? First time I' ve used the stuff and it has gone cloudy in patches.

URL=http://picasion.com/]

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Monday, June 11, 2012 8:28 AM

BW: Even with the camera flash she looks great to me Yes

 

Work on my Zero is almost done, only thing stopping me from finishing is seroius silvering on two decals, working on getting rid of it now Bang Head

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

  • Member since
    September 2006
  • From: Australia
Posted by Blitzwing on Monday, June 11, 2012 4:49 AM

Almost there now, just need to finish off the propeller and it is ready for the decals. I've dry fitted the engine and canopy here. 

The flash has really highlighted the panel lines and exhaust. Under natural light the exhausts are darker and not as orange, and the panel lines are darker.

URL=http://picasion.com/]

  • Member since
    February 2011
  • From: Bent River, IA
Posted by Reasoned on Thursday, June 7, 2012 2:15 PM

Said it before, got to love these beat up Jap birds!

Science is the pursiut of knowledge, faith is the pursuit of wisdom.  Peace be with you.

On the Tarmac: 1/48 Revell P-38

In the Hanger: A bunch of kits

  • Member since
    March 2003
  • From: Rain USA, Vancouver WA
Posted by tigerman on Thursday, June 7, 2012 12:39 PM

Continued great work guys.

Like the Claude Bsyamato.

   http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/wing_nut_5o/PANZERJAGERGB.jpg

 Eric 

  • Member since
    December 2009
  • From: Antwerp, Belgium
Posted by Vincent Price on Thursday, June 7, 2012 12:18 PM

Very nicely done ! Looks great and realistic Smile

  • Member since
    October 2008
  • From: italy
Posted by bsyamato on Thursday, June 7, 2012 3:36 AM

BW MKI version was already good but now is better Yes

  • Member since
    November 2009
  • From: SW Virginia
Posted by Gamera on Wednesday, June 6, 2012 11:04 PM

BW: That looks pretty darn good to me Cool

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

 

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