US CARRIER AVIATION GROUP BUILD 2013

I like using oil washes:

They can be applied over enamel and acrylic paints and are easy to clean up with a cloth or q-tip dampened with some turpentine...

it's all to personal preference I suppose, but I've not had the success with oil washes as I have with acrylic washes and even those are questionable.

I won't clog up the GB thread with the whole thing, but for anyone interested , I did a mini-tutorial on making the striped handles on modern ejection seats in the "Techniques" section.

Link is here. Any comments or questions welcome.

Greg-that's an awesome tut, thanks for sharing it!!

Dre

That's not necessarily a mistake- you can do a wash over an unsealed paint job and Tamiya paints are pretty durable once dry.  But..... unless you're using a high-gloss paint to start with, you'd want to do a gloss coat of some kind before decaling to avoid silvering and other nasties that happen to decals.   Also, flat paints will trap more of the pigment particles and take on a color change and a dirtier aspect than will gloss paints.

You should do washes and weathering after the decals so that they blend into the finish instead of looking freshly painted-on over the weathering (I learned this the hard way...).

There's so many things that we learn on this model so that the next will be, hopefully, better.  

The next will be better!  Exactly!  These GB's I'm doing now are the first kits I've sat down and done since I got back into the hobby!  They may not be the best, but wait till you see the next ones! 

Eagle90

SchattenSpartan

I like using oil washes:

They can be applied over enamel and acrylic paints and are easy to clean up with a cloth or q-tip dampened with some turpentine...

Now that I think about it, I have some artists oils in little tubes!  I still bought stuff to do the hobby, just never started a kit!  I have all kinds of stuff I'm finding!  And little tubes of artist oils are one of them!  Thanks!

Eagle90

gregbale

I won't clog up the GB thread with the whole thing, but for anyone interested , I did a mini-tutorial on making the striped handles on modern ejection seats in the "Techniques" section.

Link is here. Any comments or questions welcome.

Absolutely brilliant!  Thanks so much for sharing that!

Eagle90

Hey, I just noticed this group build. I have been working on an AM TBF-1C 1/48 scale from VT-10 on the USS Enterprise. I started this kit years ago, but it was sitting with the fuselage in two pieces for years. I started working on it again this year. I've had to replace some missing parts etc... I have been working on it a few months now and am getting close to finishing it.

What's the chances of joining the GB?

The chances are 100%. You are on the list!

Since it is a rainy weekend, I don't have to work and my neck isn't bothering me maybe I'll get some time in on my Tomcat... it's only been weeks since I sat down to work on it.

Dre

Since it is a rainy weekend, I don't have to work and my neck isn't bothering me maybe I'll get some time in on my Tomcat... it's only been weeks since I sat down to work on it.

Do. And don't forget to show us what you're up to, Dre! Good to hear your neck isn't bothering you. Hope it stays that way.

Nice to hear about your neck, mate! I hope you can get something done, as I'd love to see more of the masterpiece you are creating...

My last attempt at making rivets for the Wildcat was a failure as well (I tried it on some sspare parts of another kit), so I'm just going to order some pre-made rivets (those resin knobs on decal film) to remake them. I hope they get here untill the end of August...

Snapped a couple for posterity a bit ago, thought I'd share.

Today, finally bit the bullet and attached the gear. Also built some missiles . And trying to figure out how I'm going to get the flaps to match, as I ran out of premixed paint, and also how to attach them. And weather them. Lots of stuff to ponder to put self to sleep shortly!

Might mention this is my first panel line wash (if that's the right way to say it). Just couldn't bear to try acryls or oils as I didn't trust my future seal (turns out, rightfully so). After months of pondering, ordered some Flory wash and I think I like it. Anyone use it?

Thanks for looking.

Disclaimer: Somebody told me the wheel wells and flaps want to be white, as the underside. I had already done the wheel portion of the wells as you see, was kinda too late to change it.

Greg, your panel lines look really good to me.  I have never been entirely happy with my attempts to use washes.

I had never heard of Flory wash until now.  Was it really as easy to use as the demonstations in his videos at his website?

Greg, your Avenger looks really impressive!

I ordered the rivets today and I hope they arrive soon...

Hey Rob, I have next to no experience with washes, so probably should take my comments with a grain of salt. That said, to my surprise I found the Flory to be every bit as easy as the demo videos make it look. And to my surprise, the wash remained in the recesses much better than I'd expected.

Clemens, thanks for the kind words. I wish your rivets would arrive. I am looking forward to seeing a rivet job!

Greg, the panel lines on the Avenger are first-rate. Bomb bay and work on the flaps also most impressive.

Thanks so much, Greg. I think the bomb bay might be my favorite feature. I had never before gone past detail painting stuff different colors. By following advice from right here, just had a ball with the detail washing and dry-brushing (both new to me).

I'm amazed the flaps came out as well as they did, as it was my first PE attempt, period. I messed up the first upper section then found a tip to use super-thin CA applied with a medical syringe and relying on capillary action. That really worked out well for me on the subsequent sections. The folks at my local pharmacy think I'm goofy. They are correct.

It is really fun learning new techniques and seeing pics of same here, then watching them come to life on ones own model.

Cockpit is done on my Navy F-4G.

That cockpit is looking pretty slick, Ed. What scale is this again?

Thank, that's a mostly out of the box 1/72 scale Fujimi Phantom pit.

It is 72, which makes it even more impressive! Great work, Ed!

Greg: Where did you get your Flory wash from? I want some as well...

Seems like Ed answered the question already. LOL

Whoa, Ed,  what you guru's do with 1/72nd just amazes me. Awesome.

Clemens, I got my Flory wash from Sprue Bros here in the States. Thinking Flory is in Great Britain, and having looked for it before, I think I checked Hannants first and was surprised not to find it there. I hope you can source it, I think it's really neat stuff.

If I recall, I think the manufacturer ships worldwide for very reasonable cost. I figured I would have to go that route, then sort of forgot about it until Monday AM when I found it, and ordered from Sprue Bros. :) The color selection isn't great, but the manufacturer states they can be mixed, which certainly makes sense.

I just read about Mig washes here this morning (can't recall who mentioned them, sorry). They look very interesting. And the poster is good so I figure if he uses them, must be good. Only mention as a possible alternative. Sooner or later, I'll try some Mig too. I'm a big sucker for products.

I have 2 questions.....

Pretty much down to installing the flaps and attaching the canopy sections. I'm hung up on the flaps (shown one page back, pg 67, if you wouldn't mind popping back a page).

I want to do some sort of weathering on the extendable (lower) flap sections, and don't really know what to do. They are currently gloss coated for an oil wash, but it is a high gloss coat and an oil wash is just going to bead up (just learned that earlier today on gear doors). I've seen some really nice flaps here, but don't recall seeing how to finish them.

Any how-to's will be greatly appreciated!

Secondly, either Eduard omitted the installation tabs on the outer flaps, or I thought they were frets and cut them off 4 months ago when I built them. Been pondering for months how I am going to install them, here I am down to the wire and nothing has really occurred to me short of gluing them down lower then they want to be, which will put the outer flaps (without installation tabs) lower then the inner flaps (with the tabs). (which I don't suppose would be the end of the world)

Ideas? This is my first flap job, in case that isn't pretty obvious by now!

Thanks!

Sorry, mate I have no clue why the oil wash behaves like that. It should run along raised details and panel lines... What are you using as a thinner?

I'm using mineral spirits, Clemens (with artist oil in tubes). It surprised me, expected it to pool up in the corners with the high gloss finish.

These are PE flaps, so no raised details or panel lines. I'm just trying to get the corners dark, or anything to break it up a bit.

Note I'm still a rank amateur with oil washes. Or any washes. It is difficult to get an effect when I don't even know what effect I want!

If you just want to make them look a bit more interesting, I have a suggestion for you:

Take a brush and stipple some oil paint on some spots on the forward edge of the flaps. Wait for it to dry a bit and then use a q-tip dampened in mineral spirits to produce streaks, by "pulling" the oil paint in the direction of the rear edge. I'd suggest using a mix of black and brown oil paints for this (mix them both together and change the ratio of black to brown paint for a slight color difference betweeln the streaks...) You can do that on the whole bottom of the aircraft as well. Every aircraft is leaking some fluids on its bottom AFAIK. Those fluids get "pulled" back by the airflow when the plane is airborne, which creates streaks on the whole belly of the aircraft.

I hope I didn't write too much...

That is a neat technique, Clemens. Would never have thought of laying down some oil spots, letting them dry a bit, then streaking. Can't wait to try it, thanks!

I was looking more for something to liven up the 'inside' surfaces of the flaps, and I might just try your idea there (with a microbrush to streak). Definitely going to try it on the outer surfaces.

And of course your reply was not too long, my friend.

Clemens, you have opened my eyes to a new weathering world.

I have to leave for the afternoon, tonight I will explain and post a pic.

Just a quick thank you for now, buddy.