Force of Nature Group Build

Thanks, Bish.  I'd like to put it on a base, but I haven't attempted modeling water yet.  I've researched some internet articles about making water with aluminum foil, but I haven't got around to giving it a go.  I'm not sure I want to mess with resins and stuff.

The easiest way I've found for modelling water is to use Acrylic Gel Medium, which is available from Art stores. It has got a gluggy, almost thick PVA glue like texture, and you paint/dab it on with a cheap chisel edged brush. As it sets you can shape it with the brush. Dries overnight, brush washes out in water. Then you paint and gloss it with acrylics. It's more fun than building the model !

The product :

Shortly after applying:

Nearly dry:

Painted:

Thanks, taxtp.  The water you modeled looks great.  But how much do I have to know about water and the way it moves to achieve results like this?  Did you use acrylics to paint it?  The color really looks good.

Arrgh!  I should read closer.  You said you used acrylics!  Still looks great despite my dyslexia.

The actual colour is slightly greener, but the software I use to remove the colour shift from artificial lighting also made the water look more blue.

I read an article on bow waves and patterns in order to try and make that part of it look reasonable, the rest is pretty random. I've done three of these now, and they all look ok.

When you paint, give it a once over, then lighten slightly and dry brush heavily , then lighten and dry brush etc.  A few white caps randomly placed helps.

I use a mix of Matisse Artists acrylics Pthalo Blue, Pthalo Green and titanium white usually. However, the green had dried in the tube so it got Tamiya IJN Green instead, so you've got some room to be flexible . Google ocean colour for lots of different examples, I actually tried to replicate the colour of the South Atlantic for this one. The titanium white is strong, so mix it very sparingly.

You could probably so it with some blues and greens from the Tamiya range, if you have them already.

Cheers

Tony

The masking on this Jug gave me hell, so there are a few places I need tofixup later. Here it is sofar

Theuns

Thanks for the information, Tony.  I have three weeks vacation coming up next week, during which I hope to finish the Wisconsin, and I think I'll play around with some water too.  I don't use acrylic model paints, but I have some craft paints, and will mess around with those.

And, Theuns, the NMF is looking good.

Ive added the images for the GB badge! Find both sizes on the first page!

I accomplished some more progress on BB-64.  First photo is of the pieces for the 16-inch gun turrets, the main battery.  Two of the turrets had those little "ear" things to glue in and then sand smooth.  They also each carry a gun tub for 40mm quad anti-aircraft guns.  I used a dark blue acrylic wash and a little drybrushing of lightened Haze Gray to bring out some details.

Paint is WEM's Colourcoat Haze Gray, with the tops being Deck Blue.  The metallic band is Humbrol's, left over from the Gladiator I built for the Airfix GB.  I don't remember exactly what the color is--either some kind of brass or bronze..

Once the guns were installed, there was a huge gap around each one.  A little 1/700 sailor would be able to walk right through.  In real 1:1 life, these guns had a kind of gasket around the barrels where they enter the turrent.  I don't know what they were made of--maybe canvas.  Color photos of Wisky from WWII show them to be darker than the Deck Blue, although Navy specifications call for all canvas to be dyed to match Deck Blue. 

I thinned out some Elmer's white glue, mixed in some black acrylic craft paint, and applled the mixture to the gaps from inside the turret.  It took several applications.  From the inside, it "ain't pretty," as you can see from the next two photos, but it looks good from the outside.

I have completed fixing these turrets to the decks, gluing the foredeck in place, and painting the hull.  I will post the photos later.

Thanks for looking.

Nice group badge, Ms. Owl.  Very dramatic!.

Been really busy with this week, trying to get this finished. managed to get the decals on after painting the black areas.

I like the badge OWL, and very appropriate. 

Looking very good, Bish.  Is this the type you fly in?

Thanks check. ye, this is the type we work with. But we don't fly in them often, normally stood underneath it.

Actually, this aircraft is still in service, though it has been upgraded a few times. It is a bit of a legend in the RAF.

Happy this one is done, was a steed learning curve to work with Alclad.

On the the Mirage III cz now. I hope the results will be better LOL!

Theuns

Nice job Theuns. I do like Alclad myself, but does take a bit of getting used to.

very nice!!! Ill get the front page updated with your completed build. Congrats on being the first to finish!

Thanx, I didn't know I was so "fast" lOL!

Yes indeed the Alclad does take some special precautions. Next time I will wear gloves to stop my fingers from removing the ALclad in some spots like I had to repair here.

Theuns

Is a "Mirage" a force of nature? If so I have another entry for the GB, a 1/48 Hobbyboss Mirage III cz in SAAF delivery sceeme.

Theuns

Theuns

Is a "Mirage" a force of nature? If so I have another entry for the GB, a 1/48 Hobbyboss Mirage III cz in SAAF delivery scheme.

 

Theuns

yuppers, Mirage fits!

Great looking NMF.  Excellent work with such large markings, too.  A very colorful plane.  Congratulations.

Back with BB-64, USS Wisconsin, "Wisky."

I painted the deck, installed the 16-inch gun turrents, so now it's time to paint the hull.  I masked off the deck, and sprayed the hull first with Navy Blue.  Below are the photos, one showing a disinterested observer.

After letting the Navy Blue dry, I masked that and added the little strip of Haze Gray.  Navy regs called this scheme "Measure 22," and it involved a Navy Blue Hull, up to the lowest part of the main deck.  Anything above that point was to be painted Haze Gray, like the superstructure. 

It took three tries to get it right, so that the Navy Blue strip looks fairly horizontal.  Even if it isn't quite, I wasn't about to do it a fourth time, so now, "it is what it is."

Last photo shows the installed main foreward gun batteries.  Closing up the gaps between turret and guns with the glue mixture turned out pretty well.  I expected I'd have black goo all over it.

The rest of the construction should be straight forward--building the sub-assemblies and attaching them to the deck.

Thanks for looking.

Looking sweet check. Painting things like this look far more comlicated than any aircraft scheme i can think of.

Typical cat though, you can just read his thoughts

' ye ye, whatever. Wheres my dinner'

Bish, how'd you know?--about the cat, that is!!!! That is exactly what he wants!  He even demands that we carry him to his food bowl at times.

In his defense, he only has three legs.  He was abused as a kitten by his original "owners," and the vet had to amputate his right foreleg.  We got him from the vet as a rescue kitten.  

My daughter insists on calling him Cecil DeVille--some rock-star, I guess.  I call him "Stumpy."

Oh, back to the model.  I don't know that I'd call it complicated, but it can be really tedious.  A lot of fine work, because the masking tape has to be cut in such small strips and pieces, then applied to such tiny areas.  An awful lot of ship building is masking and painting.  Then there are the decisions about what to paint first.  I like to paint light to dark, but sometimes that's not possible because of the configuration of the part, and the ease of masking it.

There really aren't alot of parts to glue and then sand.

Thanks for your comments.

We have two ourselves, one of which is permantly hungry. If we go anywhere near the fridge, he is there like a shot. Our two are named after singers from NDubz, or something like that.

Good on you for rescueing him.

I would imagine its the smaller scale that makes it so awkward. Looking at those turret and superstructer sides, you can see how much must have gone into the masking.

I'm going to use some photo-etch radar.  That's even worse.

My Eduard mirage is primed.  Eduard provides all sorts of masks if the builder wants paint instead of decals.  Nice touch.  Kit is coming along nicely.  

My hat's off to the guys who can work so small and fine like on that boat!

OK, so here is my Mirage 3 CZ thet will be in the South African Air Force deleviry colours of pollished alluminium. All the supplied hobbyboss decals for that are OK except for the incorrect "castle" insgnea.We have a local decal guy here for that.

Bangseat (resin AM)

Cockpit tub

http://www.saairforce.co.za/gallery-and-media/39/mirage-iiicz#viewport

This link shows the various colour sceems the SAAF Mirages were painted in.

@ DiscoStu - those paint masks sound like a nice touch! What sceeme you going to do?

Theuns

checkmateking02

I'm going to use some photo-etch radar.  That's even worse.

O, nice. Looking forward to that.

Theuns, nice looking work there. What scale is this?

And I admire anyone who can detail a cockpit like that, Theuns.  Nice one.

Thanx guys as I always say is't just "smoke and mirrors". If you have such nice detail to start off with , the painting is the easy part LOL!

It is 1/48 scale.

I mostly build 1/72 due to space issues, but this doesn't take up to much of it.

Theuns