Ken: Hey she looks good to me! I don't worry about grinding off some of the tire treads- I just call it wear!

Used Tech Mod decals before and liked them. I know what you mean about instant stick decals though, sometimes you can daub a lot of water or decal solvent onto the decal and work a soft paintbrush under it to break it loose- and sometimes the decal tears apart too...

Time for a weekend update.

It's been a busy couple of days, and my spray painting has taken some steps forward.  I must admit, I envy you guys with air-brushes.  Rattle cans are okay, but there's nothing like being able to mix your own colors and spot paint.

First I got the Razorback primed, then had to wait a day for it to dry.

Meanwhile, I worked on a few other things like adding brake lines to the gear.  The lines for the bubbletop have been done for a long time, but I'm just starting the razorback's.  It's a combination of wire and rubber line.  They sell this rubber band type material for bead stringing, but it makes great tubing.  The women at Hobby Lobby just look at me strangely, buying stuff in the Beading Dept. 

Then after masking, the NMF and the OD went on smoothly, the weather was good for spray painting.  However, there's the inevitable dust particles and spots (even though I covered the models with a plastic bin.  Nothing too drastic.

The finishes sure show up how poorly I've managed to fill seams in some spots. I thought I had done a pretty good job, but the pictures and paint sure bring out the blemishes.  I'm not sure if I can fix some of this, and I'm afraid that I will just make it worse.  I will see what I can do to hide a lot of it.

I really like the color of the Tamiya "Gloss Aluminum".  It came out looking pretty good to me, but now I'm stuck on how to add some variation to the overall scheme.  I'll have to think on that.  The Flat Olive Drab came out a bit dark to my eyes, but it  is what it is.  Maybe it will lighten up after I finish everything with a flat lacquer.  The cowl is awaiting some yellow paint, and the tail on the razorback and the bubbletop will be painted white.  That Silly Putty trick really works!  Guess I neglected to mask the top of the stabilizer on the razor.     But I can fix that.

Meanwhile, I''ve found I didn't quite cover some of the lower fuselage on the razor, so I'll have to remask that section.  Oh, well...

That's a little TOO much feathering!

Gamera:  Thanks for the tip on Future.  The cowl came out much better even though I had to apply Future with a small brush around the masking tape edges.

It's going to be rather lonely in here now that Ken has his razorback finished.  I'm such a slow worker...

Thanks for reading!

Gary

Don't worry Gary, I'll be stickin' with ya while your building. Appears to me you'll be done before I get back in here with "Eight Nifties". Looks like your doing great and moving right along. As far as alternating aluminum colors with Tamiya Aluminum I'm not totally sure. A couple of things you might try is paint the panels a different color i.e. black, brown, blue etc... then paint the aluminum over them. The other is to add a little of another color to the aluminum.

Gary: Nice! I know what you mean about masking, somehow I always leave a place open here or there and get a bunch of overspray...

GAF

The Flat Olive Drab came out a bit dark to my eyes, but it  is what it is.  Maybe it will lighten up after I finish everything with a flat lacquer

Gary, I'll be around, I still have the bubble top to do. And Uhhhh, I don't know what kind of paint your olive drab is, but, you can't put laquer over acrylic or enamel. That really makes a mess of things. If you already know this please disreguard this.

greentracker98

GAF

The Flat Olive Drab came out a bit dark to my eyes, but it  is what it is.  Maybe it will lighten up after I finish everything with a flat lacquer

Gary, I'll be around, I still have the bubble top to do. And Uhhhh, I don't know what kind of paint your olive drab is, but, you can't put laquer over acrylic or enamel. That really makes a mess of things. If you already know this please disreguard this.

Actually if I may disagree with you a little Ken, it should be ok if you spray the lacquer in light mist coats, if you flood it on, yes it will craze and discolour the acrylic.

Lol, don't ask how I found this out with a (formerly) perfectly good model and a can of Testor's DullCote...

Still as Ken said you're better off using an acrylic dull varnish over it.   

And not sure I'd worry too much about the OD - there wasn't any standard 'olive drab' in WWII. Some was very light, some almost black, some more greenish, some more brownish. It varied from company to company and in some cases from paint can to paint can. 

Gamera

greentracker98

GAF

The Flat Olive Drab came out a bit dark to my eyes, but it  is what it is.  Maybe it will lighten up after I finish everything with a flat lacquer

Gary, I'll be around, I still have the bubble top to do. And Uhhhh, I don't know what kind of paint your olive drab is, but, you can't put laquer over acrylic or enamel. That really makes a mess of things. If you already know this please disreguard this.

Actually if I may disagree with you a little Ken, it should be ok if you spray the lacquer in light mist coats, if you flood it on, yes it will craze and discolour the acrylic.

Lol, don't ask how I found this out with a (formerly) perfectly good model and a can of Testor's DullCote...

Still as Ken said you're better off using an acrylic dull varnish over it.   

And not sure I'd worry too much about the OD - there wasn't any standard 'olive drab' in WWII. Some was very light, some almost black, some more greenish, some more brownish. It varied from company to company and in some cases from paint can to paint can. 

Gamera, I'd be afraid to try that. LOL I just know it would really get messed up.

I was just thinking. My Dad painted 1:1 cars for a living. I was wondering how he knew what paint he painting over. and  I know he used laquer sometimes. He had his own garage for a little while and I would help sometimes.

Gary - 'll keep following your build.

cheers

Tony

Thanks, guys!  I'll try to keep it entertaining,    Perhaps I should move this over to the "Aircraft" forum as its own build log.  Or start a new Group Build.  Call it "Beautiful Ds" and open it to any "D" type of aircraft, new starts or nearly finished. 

Anyway, I got the razorback cowl's yellow paint on this evening, and even did the bubbletop's more curvy pattern, though I accidentally covered over one of the points, so it's incomplete. I've left the mask on, so  I'll  decant some of the spray paint and carefully touch it up with a brush.  The Future trick with the mask worked well, though there are some minor raised edges I need to fix.  All in all, though, I'm happy.

Joe:  I did try pre-shading the bubbletop before painting, but the spray can aluminum is just too heavy for the shade to make a difference.  Looks like weathering is the way to go, and I think a wash will be just the ticket.  Well, I'm sure "Eight Nifties" will get finished some day. 

Now you've got me scared, talking about lacquers like that!  I used lacquer as a generic term for "finish", but then I noticed the Dullcote and Glosscote are all lacquers.  They say they're safe for use over model paint after it has dried sufficiently, but you never can tell.  So what sort of coating do you suggest?  It has to be in a spray can, remember (no airbrush).

Gary

I have used Testors Dullcote and Glosscote over acrylics and enamel and I have personally never had any ill effects. Just my personal experience.

Gary - I say go for the Beautiful Ds GB. I'm in with the Bubble Top.

Would you include other aircraft D versions?

Yeah, lol well you can use lacquer over acrylic if you're careful. If it works for you Joe great, I'm afraid I'll screw it up though!

I've been using Testor's Model Master Acrylic in my air brush. Krylon and a few other companies make acrylic gloss and matte in a spray can. I've used them a few times with good results. You should be able to find it at your local hardware or craft type store.  

Gary, I was just looking at your brake lines. Are/were they hydraulic, like on a car? I've never been sure how to make them

Gamera

Yeah, lol well you can use lacquer over acrylic if you're careful. If it works for you Joe great, I'm afraid I'll screw it up though!

I've been using Testor's Model Master Acrylic in my air brush. Krylon and a few other companies make acrylic gloss and matte in a spray can. I've used them a few times with good results. You should be able to find it at your local hardware or craft type store.  

Indeed you're right Cliff. Although it has worked for me in the past I don't make it a practice. I will be using MM Acryl Gloss for the first time on my current FW 190. I simply prefer to use enamel paints and oil washes. I've been informed to ensure that you thin the MM Acryl gloss though.

Yeah, the lacquer works fine if you mist it on, I have a... well a lead finger on my airbrush hand - I always start out misting and end up flooding it on!!!

With a spray can I always start a foot or so away and then get closer and closer until the mist turns into a friggin' monsoon! I kinda moved away from using them because I just can't seem to help myself. 

I tend to add a few drops of water to the MM gloss- it doesn't take a whole lot.

Thanks, guys!  I may go for the Krylon sprays.  I saw some at Walmart today as I was shopping (picking up some lead sinkers).  We'll see.

Weather is heating up and there's a storm system approaching, so I've been masking for spray painting.  I think this weekend will be nice and I should get most of the colors on. 

Ken:  Probably won't do the "Beautiful Ds" GB, although it sounds interesting.  Yes, any aircraft with a "type D" would be eligible.  Maybe sometime in the future. I'm not the best choice to run a group build anyway.  I do have an idea for one I may start next year (if I'm still around) and that would be "The Sands of Iwo Jima Group Build - 70th Anniversary".  It would run for one year from 2014 to 2015 ending on the anniversary of when the battle was declared over (if it ever was).  Anything from the battle for Iwo would be eligible; naval, aircraft, ground forces.  Who knows if it will ever come to fruition.

As for the P-47 brakes, I'm not sure if they are hydraulic or not.  I believe they are, but they're not disc brakes.  These didn't become standard until after the war.  I got the idea from reading this thread.

http://p47.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=166373

(You will have to copy and paste this link.  Apparently linking to another modeling site is not allowed).

My own attempts at hose lines are probably too big, but it's what I had, so I went with it.  Who'll notice?  

Gary

GAF

My own attempts at hose lines are probably too big, but it's what I had, so I went with it.  Who'll notice?  

GAF

Thanks, guys!  I may go for the Krylon sprays.  I saw some at Walmart today as I was shopping (picking up some lead sinkers).  We'll see.

Weather is heating up and there's a storm system approaching, so I've been masking for spray painting.  I think this weekend will be nice and I should get most of the colors on. 

Ken:  Probably won't do the "Beautiful Ds" GB, although it sounds interesting.  Yes, any aircraft with a "type D" would be eligible.  Maybe sometime in the future. I'm not the best choice to run a group build anyway.  I do have an idea for one I may start next year (if I'm still around) and that would be "The Sands of Iwo Jima Group Build - 70th Anniversary".  It would run for one year from 2014 to 2015 ending on the anniversary of when the battle was declared over (if it ever was).  Anything from the battle for Iwo would be eligible; naval, aircraft, ground forces.  Who knows if it will ever come to fruition.

As for the P-47 brakes, I'm not sure if they are hydraulic or not.  I believe they are, but they're not disc brakes.  These didn't become standard until after the war.  I got the idea from reading this thread.

http://p47.kitmaker.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=SquawkBox&file=index&req=viewtopic&topic_id=166373

(You will have to copy and paste this link.  Apparently linking to another modeling site is not allowed).

My own attempts at hose lines are probably too big, but it's what I had, so I went with it.  Who'll notice?  

Gary

I think  you should do the Beautiful Ds. My Hollywood GB doesn't seem to take up that much of my time. I was afraid that it would, but that didn't happen.

Thanks for the link. And good luck on your painting

Hey, guys!
Just a quick update on the Monojugs.  I decided to concentrate on the razorback since I have the decals for it.  I'm going to have to make decals for the bubbletop, so it will take a bit longer.  I hope to get the razorback completed before I start the Hollywood GB.  I don't need too many irons in the fire.

As you can see, there's still a lot of work to do on this one.  Looking at the photo, it appears as if I've already started weathering, but it's just the flash (I think).  The cowl is just stuck on for the pic, along with the struts.  I still need to finish the canopy windscreen, wing lights, radio aerial, pilot, wheels, and a host of other things.  They seem to multiply... discouragingly so.  I only hope I can finish the thing.

Anyway, thanks for looking!

Gary