randypandy831

Doogs, what exact shade of alclad did you use? I was told aluminum,dk. aluminum, and duralumin.

My main combo is aluminum over airframe aluminum, though I bring in duraluminum, drk. aluminum, magnesium etc as needed to break things up a bit.

NE: That's one that might be easier to get some red decal film and go that route.

Any hints on the best way to mask around cowling?  'Slick Chick' has a red front half of the cowl, with a Nike - like 'swoosh' down the side of the fuselage.  Tricky, tricky masking, though the swoosh might be the easiest part.  Masking a perfect ring around a sloping, odd shaped part like a P-47 cowling looks like a nightmare.  :-(

OTOH, the Airframe Aluminum over Alclad Gloss Black Base over highly polished Mr Surfacer 1200 looks absolutely magnificent.  Couldn't be happier with my first Alclad foray, and I'm already looking forward to the next NMF bird.  Probably a Tamiya P-51.  I'm worn out wrestling plastic on this kit.  Fortunately all the *big* pieces went on pretty smoothly (save for the tail fillet...shudder..), but the endless struggles with the small stuff gets to be a grind.  Definitely fun in it's way and very satisfying, but I'm longing for a build that just goes together without any drama.

That incredible Airframe Aluminum finish is what's got me stressed about the red detail painting, though.  It's a tough paint... put the AA on over the Gloss Black base after about 12 hours overnight, where the surface was set up but still slightly tacky, and it was rock hard after a couple of hours.  Tried tamiya tape in an out of the way spot and it didn't pull up anything.  It looks so good, though, I hate the thought of screwing up the masking and getting red where it doesn't belong.

Good picture of the red at the 368th page: www.368thfightergroup.com/368-noseart-395-w.html

I'll take some photos and put them up in a bit.

Doogs, what exact shade of alclad did you use? I was told aluminum,dk. aluminum, and duralumin.

Hi Everyone,

I've made a start on it, just doing some pre-work and glued the stores together. At least it's a start.

Academy's plastic is quite hard, and I find it worthwhile to cut the parts off the sprue well away from the part then sand and trim the stub off to avoid damaging it.

Apologies for the crappy phone picture.

Cheers

Tony

I knew I had one somewhere...I've just recovered this from the stash, can I build it for this GB please. I might do a different scheme, haven't decided yet.

Cheers

Tony

Thanks for the info guys! It will just take some getting used to all this new stuff. I should have some pics up tomorrow!..................

Now if I could just figure out this new digital camera!!!!!

DoogsATX

Copy/pasting the IMG code into the Use Rich Formatting reply box still works...tried it yesterday

Great!!! I haven't tried posting any photos since the new forum just went up. That knocks out my second big gripe about the new format. 

Copy/pasting the IMG code into the Use Rich Formatting reply box still works...tried it yesterday

Yeah I used to be able to just copy and paste from PhotoBucket to the site.

Now I have to grab the 'Direct Link' box (second one from the top on PB) and paste it into the box when you open 'Insert Image' in the Rich Format.

Little more trouble but it still works.

Travis - For me I would just copy and paste from Photobucket. In order to do that now you simply click on the "Use Rich Formatting" next to Reply and it's business as usual.

                                           Joe

OK. So I hope this works! I am not sure how to post on this new format! But Debby has forced me to stay inside for the last 5 days which means I actually got som work done!!! Once I figure out how this new system works I will try and post some pics. I am building the Hasegawa and Academy Bolts side by side and man the Hasegawa kit is a pig compared to the Academy kit! No pit detail etc!

Joe,  I've had something sorta like that happen when some water from spraying acrylic paint was still in the airbrush when I loaded it with Alclad but you said you didn't have any moisture issues so I'm not sure what to tell you.

Cliff

Test pics. OK seems like I've got it

They're not  real good but, here some pics of the blotches and splatters:

Hey, Whoa! Tried to paste pics from Photobucket but no go. Unsure what the issue is?

I've encountered a frustrating yet curious setback. While spraying on another coat of Alclad aircraft aluminum some milky blotches appeared on the surface along with some milky splatters. I am unsure if this is poor surface prep, paint  or airbrush issues. Completely cleaned airbrush prior to starting and I am finding no moisture issues. Again this was sprayed over an Alclad gloss coat as the original coat of aluminum was blotchy and uneven, I had done this successfully on the cowling with no issues. Also, I have been careful not to contaminate the surface prior to painting. I then followed with another gloss coat thinking another coat of aluminum over this would cover the blotches. No deal. Althuogh it worked on some small areas it just does not seem to cover 2 larger areas , one on upper right wing and other on lower left wing. In addition more small spots occured. Some of these partailly wipe off with a soft cloth. To add to the matters I ran out of airframe aluminum and had to order more. Just as well as this allowed me to step away, take a breath and consider some solutions. One I have considered is a coat of Alclad clear base then a new coat of aluminum. I'll try and remember to take some pics tonight and share. Any other suggestions will be welcome. In the mean time I'll decal the bombs.

                                                 Joe

I hear ya guys on the heat. 101 here today, with 104 in the forecast for tomorrow and Tuesday. And we've got a plague of crickets going on on top of that right now, which makes working in the garage at night just awesome. One of the contributing factors to me shelving the big B-25 for the time being...

JOE RIX

Randy - Looks really nice so far. Glad to see yoour making some excellent progress.

Gamera - Yes, indeed the heat can definitely beat ya down. Although hot here , well into the hundreds, we're fortunate in that it's only 3% humidity.  OK, the extreme drought conditions aren't real good. The true blessing in this for me is that when it gets this hot the wife doesn't expect me to do yard work. Thus, the day is mine to model away!

                                         Joe

Lol, thankfully not that hot here, but the humidity is though the roof, it's rained about every other day these last couple of weeks. Still I did get some quality time in with my airbrush this afternoon. The canopy, wheels, and most of the fiddly bits have been painted so cross your fingers I'm back on the move now.

And thumbs up on any excuse to get out of lawn work, hate it- I mean the friggin' grass will be long again in a week or so right? I try to mow only every two weeks or so

Randy - Looks really nice so far. Glad to see yoour making some excellent progress.

Gamera - Yes, indeed the heat can definitely beat ya down. Although hot here , well into the hundreds, we're fortunate in that it's only 3% humidity.  OK, the extreme drought conditions aren't real good. The true blessing in this for me is that when it gets this hot the wife doesn't expect me to do yard work. Thus, the day is mine to model away!

                                         Joe

Joe: Been working on some other stuff but to be honest? So hot and humid here when I come home from work I generally end up turning on the A/C grabbing a bite to eat and then taking a siesta. Rest of the time I've been reading and playing computer games, the heat just takes the energy right out of me Sad part is there isn't all that much left to do. A have got about half way though the cockpit for the Tamiya kit though, wish there was more I could do without dragging out the airbrush.

Randy: Looking good there, nice clean job for the NM to go on.

fuselage closed,dorsal,and wing glued shut.

Thank you Gamera. Have you finished yours up yet?  Boy, it's been pretty qiuet on here lately I wonder how everyone else is doing.

                                               Joe

Looks flawless Joe

Hey There Gents, Alright, the oldest step daughter has just had our first grandchild and the youngest step daughter got married of this last weekend. Now that these two life consuming, yet wonderful, events have passed I can now make some more serious progress. I've got the anti glare panel and blue id stripe painted on and am now masking them off as to shot another coat of aircraft aluminum in order to obtain a more uniform finish. I will apply that this weekend and thus moving on to the decals. Here is where she sits as of now.

                                      Joe

JOE RIX

heh, heh... Thanks Gamera. I always liked to Rack up the score. (Pun intended)

By the way, you have done a magnificant job on your Jug. Really fine work.

                                                 Joe

                                                      

You were right Joe. That was funny.

Hey Joe, thanks! Interesting how that worked out, I'm still learning different stuff you can do with Alclad too. Great results you got there!

Figure I should expand on my process. The NMF is Aclad Aircraft Aluminum. MM french blue for the blue and MM olive drab and faded olive drab for the anti-glare panel. The anti-glare panel was masked off and then the cowling  was coated with Alclad gloss coat. Here is where I discovered something interesting. The Gloss coat dulled the NMF immensely, more than I prefered. I then remasked and shot a coat of aircraft aluminum on top of the gloss coat and out came a smooth shiney finish. Cool. The decals were applied and an oil wash of black and umber mix. Then I applied a coat of Alclad light sheen producing a rather nice appearance.

                                            Joe

heh, heh... Thanks Gamera. I always liked to Rack up the score. (Pun intended)

By the way, you have done a magnificant job on your Jug. Really fine work.

                                                 Joe

I thought my P-47 was pretty awesome with four jugs on the jug and now here comes Joe with eight jugs on his jug...

I feel so small now...

Nice work there Joe, not only the nose art, but the engine looks great too.

Lo and Behold I finally have some progress & pics to share. Cowling and props pretty much done aside from some light weathering I'll still do, especially on the prop.This has taken a number of short snippets at the bench to knock this part out. I just need to get past the step daughters this weekend and then get back to a more regular bench schedule and get to finishing up the rest. Indeed, working with Alclad has been interesting, a good bit of trial and error but I'm certainly pleased with the results.

Enjoy the cheesecke, Joe