BD, no one will ever know you had any issues there. Great work.

BK

Looks great Brandon. Good save with that seam.

Ok, so I have had some time with the 1/48 Eduard Mirage. Basically, I lost my motivation  on this for a while, since I misaligned the fuselage halves slightly when I glued them, and had a nasty seam on the spine of the aircraft. After much work with Mr. Dissolved Putty, Mr. Surfacer 500 and some super glue thrown in for good measure, I was able to get it to this gross mottled look below.

And then I primed it with Mr. Surfacer1500 Black.

Adding the wings was pretty easy, but still required some fitting work, especially around the intakes.

Then, excited to finally get into paint, I went ahead with the topcoat marbling.

And then I shot my blend coat.

And I told myself I wouldn't go down the "that looks like the wrong color" rabbit hole, but I knew that Intermediate Blue was too blue, and it drove me crazy, so I ordered the Vallejo Mirage Blue. I sprayed the whole thing black again, then went to work on the underside while I waited for my topside paint to arrive.

I used Mr. Paint Fine Silver Metallic Primer on the underside, then shot AlcladII Magnesium on some panels.

I decided the tone was too stark, so I oversprayed with the Mr. Paint again and misted some AlcladII Polished Aluminum on certain spots.

As I type this, it's sitting in the paint booth with salt all over the underside so I can do some weathering effects before I proceed.

Hopefully I can finish that up this afternoon, mask it and get the topside coat down, but that mightbe too ambitious.

-BD-

You can do it Theuns. Get some Tamiya lacquer thinner (with the pale yellow lid). Dip a  Q-Tip or cotton bud in it then use it to rub off the paint. It won't attack the plastic and I've found it safe to use on clear plastic, but recommend you test that too.

I've done this a lot, works really well and will take any paint off. FWIW, I use the same stuff and method to remove excess Tamiya putty before it dries.

You will need a few Q-Tips, and once you wipe off the paint you will need to wipe up the tainted thinner, but it only takes a few minutes. It is a really good solution.

Cheers

Tony

It will go to the "never come out th box again" section mate. I will see if it is fesable to strip the paint without affecting the intrior paint. Not to sure how yet.

Maybe in years to come ;-)

Theuns

Good progress on the F-4 Brandon.

Theuns - does that mean the MH-53 is going to the 'Shelf of Doom' ? 

I've sprayed the interior of the He 162, and got all the parts off the sprues and cleaned up, but nothing really to show just yet. Hopefully I can get the cockpit done and post a photo soonish.

Cheers

Tony

Thanks BK and your F-4 looks sharp! So that's the new Academy kit? Looks even better than the Hasegawa ones I've built.

Theuns: Ouch that blows! Well you did rebox her then instead of trashing the kit? Maybe you'll be able to do something with her later on.

Ok, finally in for an update. This kit has a lot of pieces so assembly photos are gonna be farther apart. I have most of the major assemblies done. Most of what I need to do now is the small stuff. Plus, I just got me PE set for the seats and belts. I need to get a day when I am not so shaky to do those. Anyway, here is where I am at.

BK

Nah, went ahead and reboxed the mh 53....it's not salvagable I am afraid :-(

Gamera, looking good. I think you have it handled thus far.

Thuens, glad to hear you're pressing forward.

BK

Theuns: Good to hear you intend to finish her. I hated to think you might throw her out with all the work you did. I know what you mean though, sometimes you just have to finish it even if it doesn't turn out the way you wanted it and chalk it up to a learning experience. 

I calmly looked at th mh53 and decided that if I do not complete it now i most likely never will....so tis weekend I will try get hold of gloss grey and just slap it on regardless of the final result.

Even if the colour doesn't 100% mach , it will be OK as I do not want to try to get a matt paint gloss for decals.

The position of the #1 and #3 engines make painting with an AB rather difficult as the paint lays down "coarce" I hope the gloss will be better.

Theuns

Hey PJ, good idea there. I normally use the Testor's cement in the red bottle. I did have some Tenex but I must have not tightened the cap all the way and it evaporated. It would have led to a much stronger bond. Oh well, it's an hour drive to the hobby shop and I went ahead and cemented it. I'll try to keep that in mind for the next time.

And I don't doubt that on the Hasegawa kit. I have a Tamiya F-16 too and it's gotten rave reviews. The Kinetic kit does look great in the box though, I was a bit surprised to find the fit is so sloppy.

Thanks Bish. Even tough they are very old molds, they still make some nice F-4s.

Gamera

Have you used either Tenax or Plast i Weld on troubling seams? Either product will melt both joining surfaces and make a solid bond.

I must tell you that the Hasegawa F-16 is a joy to work on. I'm doing one now and it just falls together without any issues.

Gamera

Hey Bruce thanks! I think I'm going to put a little epoxy on the inside seams just to be on the safe side. So far things look pretty good. 

Have you tried textured paint for your tarmac? I've been using Rustoleum Caribbean Sand for concrete. You just spray it on and it comes out with a sand-like textured look. 

 

Cliff,

Thanks for the recommendation. I am going to look into this. Part of my hesitation is I don't want to mess it up again. Painting would be much easier.

Hey Bruce thanks! I think I'm going to put a little epoxy on the inside seams just to be on the safe side. So far things look pretty good. 

Have you tried textured paint for your tarmac? I've been using Rustoleum Caribbean Sand for concrete. You just spray it on and it comes out with a sand-like textured look. 

Cliff,

Sorry to hear about the issues with Kinetic kit. Hope you can push forward.

I still have to finish my base for the Predator. I'm using fine grit sandpapaer as concrete. I attempted to glue the sandpaper to a wood base. I put the glue on the back of paper, instead on the base itself. Well, it didn't go so well. So I sanded the wood base, and will start again. Hopefully, I'll have it finished soon.

PJ, WOW, really stunning job on both of those. I do like the marking options you went for. Great pair of builds.

Anmother week or so and i should be able to make a start on my Spark-vark.

I took the clothes-pins off last night and everything seems to holding together. I probably need to reinforce things to make sure the seams don't pop sometime in the future.

plasticjunkie

 

 

Gamera

This Kinetic F-16 I've been working on is no walk in the park either. Nice even great detail but fit so far has been in some cases horrible.

 

 

 

 

 

Gam

I've been wanting to build an Israeli F16I Sufa but have heard horror stories about the Kinetic parts fit so I have kept away from it. Don't know if the Sufa has any issues.

 

I've got one of their Israeli F-16s too, not sure if it's the same kit. I'm hoping and praying this kit is a bad one and I won't encounter the same issues on that one too! 

Thanks BD!

Wow, those Phantoms look amazing! Excellent work!

-BD-

Gamera

This Kinetic F-16 I've been working on is no walk in the park either. Nice even great detail but fit so far has been in some cases horrible.

 

Gam

I've been wanting to build an Israeli F16I Sufa but have heard horror stories about the Kinetic parts fit so I have kept away from it. Don't know if the Sufa has any issues.

Yeah I know what you mean, you should have plenty of time if you want to take a break Theuns.

This Kinetic F-16 I've been working on is no walk in the park either. Nice even great detail but fit so far has been in some cases horrible.

Oh man, I hate feeling like that. Sometimes you just gotta walk away and hit it again at another time.

BK

I got primer on the MH 53 and the results are so bad that I am very tempted to just box it untill I want to try it again oneday.....

Theuns

Thanks BK. Any picture will do, you get to choose.

WOW !!! PJ, that is just WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!!! Those are two incredible looking stunners. SUPER COOL!!

Which photo for the front page, Sir?

BK

Thanks gents!

BK you can use any picture you like for the completed model page.