Andy that is sweet looking there. The paint and markings look great.

Andy, Well Done. Your Hurricane is looking tremendous. Great work on the camo and markings.

Andy, thats look really nice, and those roundel have really come out well. Any rough edges can be well forgiven on that.

Great work mate, can't wait to see that done.

Andy: Yeah, that's a beautiful camo job there! I've gotten to the point I expect a little rough areas and overspray - what you've got beats anything I've ever gotten on a first run. 

PJ: Thanks! Actually I've been using PPP and used the moist cotton swab for the big seams. After that I've been letting it dry and sand for the little seams and small rough places left. If it doesn't work I'll go with your advice and go back to the moist swab. 

PJ, that Spit is looking super nice. And yes those decals went down very well.

Andy, that Hurricane is looking stunning. That is one super nice camo paint up you did there.

BK

Thanks guys I really appreciate the kind words!

That is one fine looking Hurricane, rooster.  Nice job!

I've quit using Perfect Plastic Putty. It's good for an acrylic but the tube dries out so fast (and the tube is costly) that my Norwegian soul forbids it. Vallejo Plastic Putty works fine if you don't need to sand it, but it sands poorly - a lot like Vallejo primers. Hard Molding Paste (I like Golden) takes a bit longer to dry but sands perfectly and doesn't shrink. I've used Tamiya's Light Curing Putty on the Beaufighter - it will cure in about 60 seconds and sends very well: odd stuff, a kind of resin used by dentists. The Beaufighter is Tamiya and there just wasn't enough filling required to draw conclusions. Will Pattison, who loves to test stuff, does a nice comparison on fillers on his "Episode" 100. He and Matt McDougall at Doog's Models both are keen on 3m Bondo Spot Putty (this isn't auto filler). Caution is required but you can say the same about Super Glue. But Bondo bonds with the plastic which the acrylics don't. The only partial exception is Aves Apoxy Sculpt which I've used for dozens of projects and have my original set - at least four years old - in perfect working order. It doesn't meld with the plastic, but it's an epoxy and really strong. Check all of Will's "test" videos - the guy is tenacious. Eric

EBergerud

I've quit using Perfect Plastic Putty. It's good for an acrylic but the tube dries out so fast

Yes it does but If you scoop out some from the tube and add a drop or two of water and mix then it becomes a putty again.

Another small update. Shot the yellow leading edge bands yesterday and forgot to shoot the prop tips. Hate it when you have the color ready to spray and forget a part (s). Also the top wing roundels went on.

Bottom wing decals are on. I should have taken a picture of the bottom wing roundels before applying Solvaset. They had some ugly folds over a med sized semi round object on the wing that made it look impossible to settle down. One good heavy Solvaset application melted that decal down over the irregular surface and got rid of all wrinkles and folds. Works like majic.

The port side fuselage has a nice maple leaf art work.

A couple more light applications of Future over the decals along with some light sanding will eliminate any decal edges seen as steps. That's it for now.

 

Wow PJ that decal on the bottom went down beautifully. That's a very difficult surface to get it to conform to...really well done!

I have used various fillers to sort out seams and gaps and I tend to lean towards PPP as it can be cleaned up up with a damp cotton bud (water or methalyted spirits) without the need to sand. If required, PPP is able to easily be sanded when fully cured. I find the quickest methods to deal with larger gaps is CA mixed with Talcom Powder then a drop of CA accelerator, it can then be sanded immediately.

PPP, as mentioned by PJ, does tend to dry out, but a drop of water sorts that problem out. I have watched several of Will Pattison youtube videos and I have a very low opinion of them.

But every modeller has he/she preferance on products they like to use, I for one would like to use Bondo but it's not avaliable in my country for some stupid reason.

My 

More great decal work, pj.  Very attractive!

PJ - Very impressed in the way you get the decals to lay down with Solvaset. Unfortunately I can't get the stuff in Australia for some reason... living in a nanna state.

Well done overall, you have produced another stunner.

damouov, I don't always like the way Will approaches modeling. But I've found very useful information in his test videos. For instance, his comments concerning Squadron and Tamiya solvent putty as being somewhat porous when dry is spot on in my view. Bondo is almost like applying plastic. And I have found that Mr. Surfacer 500 does shrink and isn't easy to get a smooth finish with. My tube of Bondo is in California or I would have used it for the Beaufighter. It's actually pretty similar to a lacquer primer (it can be thinned with lacquer thinner - Tamiya or Gunze; not hardware store stuff which can be tough on plastic) - and the Duplicolor fillable/sandable gets my highest thumbs up. And yes, I've brought PPP back to life - but only for one shot. I see no reason whatsoever for a company to package an acrylic putty in a tube that absolutely guarantees a lot of air inside. Golden Hard Molding Paste is a little more expensive than PPP, but is twice the quantity and, if you properly close lid, will last for years.

Everyone is entitled to his own poison and I like acrylic products a lot. I don't have a place for a booth, (if I did, I'd buy one in a minute) and my wife doesn't like the smell of Tamiya. After using Vallejo and Golden paints for a couple of years, I don't like it either despite its splendid qualities with an airbrush. Something like Alclad would be absolutely out at my house. (My lacquer primer goes on outside.) So if PPP would last a year I'd use it for anything reasonable and Bondo only if really ugly problems were present. And if Bondo isn't available in Oz (it's a little obsolete for auto use as I understand it - it's made for "scratches" exactly what a modeler needs) I'm sure there are good reasons. (I'd guess that there must be something very similar for use on fiberglass. The government has a little lighter hand in the US - although its getting less so - and it's historically been our right to poison ourselves. Eric

 

Another step on the Beaufighter leading to an end I can't clearly see: I decided to do about everything different this time out so consider this effort a prototype – the kind of thing that can crash.

 

 

I know a lot of modelers see no need for a clear finish prior to decals, but if you apply it in thin coats (from a Tamiya rattlecan in this case) I see no danger of harming details. And no doubt you can move the decals around with considerable ease for maybe a minute, I think it's worth it. Tamiya decals aren't as good as Cartograf but I haven't had any proper disasters with them either. I may well try Solvaset again, but the only time I used it, things did not work out. Micro Sol/Set still works pretty well I think.

 

 

 

The clear finish helped in another way. I went to an aircraft museum in Oakland a few weeks back determined to check their exhibits from roughly 50' away. (This museum does not rank with Chino much less the Smithsonian – but that was good. The aircraft are in decent to very good condition – but nothing “better than new” like you can see in some museums.) One thing was very obvious: panel lines are visible but pretty indistinct. One reason Doog likes black basing is that it will not lead to the kind of overemphasis on panel lines that preshading can bring. So I was looking for a way to make the panels visible but very subtle. I used a Flory black wash on a very clear surface. In addition I painted the Flory wash on over the lines with a paint brush instead of covering the whole surface. After drying, I wiped the excess off gingerly. As you can from this pic of part of the underside, the lines are there, but they don't scream their existence. For now, I like the effect. At the end I may reapply the Flory wash to the bottom and look for more dirt/grime.

 

Next stop is applying a Tamiya spraycan satin finish and applying filters across the surface with my Medea Com.Art paints. Then a Vallejo acrylic satin and some oils.

 (BTW: one thing that was also clear at the museum was that rivets are definitely visible, especially on a metal surface aircraft. I want more modeling oriented museum visits to see things more clearly, but it looks as though you could make the case to mute most panel lines but to make the rivets very visible. I've got a tool called “Rosie The Riveter” that will do that, but it would take a lot of time. I've got a Monogram ME-262 at home that I plan on sanding all surface detail away and put on panel lines and rivets fresh. That's a Paul Budzik idea and might be over my head like most of Budzik's inspirations are. If you don't recognize the name, do check out some of his videos on Ytube – Budzik is a master modeler and makes some of the best videos available on the site.)

 

 Eric

 

 

 

Great job on those decals PJ, like that maple leaf.

Anyone out there have any idea why the annoying message from PhotoBucket - I service I have junked - still sits at the bottom of my major posts? I assume others can see what I do. Eric

damouav

PJ - Very impressed in the way you get the decals to lay down with Solvaset. Unfortunately I can't get the stuff in Australia for some reason... living in a nanna state.

Well done overall, you have produced another stunner.

 

I don't think we can get in the UK either. Micro Sol is ok, but not sure it would have dealt with that lump under the wing in that way.

EBergerud

Anyone out there have any idea why the annoying message from PhotoBucket - I service I have junked - still sits at the bottom of my major posts? I assume others can see what I do. Eric

 

Because they now demand $400 a year to be able to host images on a website. You will either have to pay up or find another hosting site.

You must still have an old image on there linked to your sig.

Looking good Eric. Nice use of the Flory on those panels.

Thankee Bish: I'd forgotten about the signature. And I must say that SlopBucket has become the newest Satanic force to grapple with - I've got enough of those. Checked through some other boards and every message on every board that included a photo (I only used PB) is now without pics. We're talking hundreds - maybe a couple of thousand. Imgur does seem to be very serviceable but so did PB for years. But maybe as advised by one of our wiser heads it would be a good idea to master Flicker or Google Drive: I don't see either of those programs deciding they will only work unless paid for by more money than I now spend on a computer.

Bish

 

damouav

PJ - Very impressed in the way you get the decals to lay down with Solvaset. Unfortunately I can't get the stuff in Australia for some reason... living in a nanna state.

Well done overall, you have produced another stunner.

 

 

 

 

I don't think we can get in the UK either. Micro Sol is ok, but not sure it would have dealt with that lump under the wing in that way.

 

Sol works on very thin decals but not on thicker ones like the included ones. I see no way of Sol doing the same over the lump as you said Bish. 

plasticjunkie

 

 

Bish

 

damouav

PJ - Very impressed in the way you get the decals to lay down with Solvaset. Unfortunately I can't get the stuff in Australia for some reason... living in a nanna state.

Well done overall, you have produced another stunner.

 

 

 

 

I don't think we can get in the UK either. Micro Sol is ok, but not sure it would have dealt with that lump under the wing in that way.

 

 

 

 

Sol works on very thin decals but not on thicker ones like the included ones. I see no way of Sol doing the same over the lump as you said Bish. 

 

I have tried Micro Sol and found the same with thicker decals, which is why my alternative is Mr Mark Softer. Mr MS softens some thicker decals with repeated application, but it's not perfect. I may have to try another avenue to obtain some Solvaset.

Damian

I haven't tried it but have read about using vinegar as a decal solution. I wonder if that works too?

PJ I had read the same some where, but the experience I have had with home "remedies" of late,  like the local version of Future I may stick with propritory products. Thanks for the heads up, much appreciated.

PJ: They look perfect to me!

Eric: Hmmm, that's an interesting technique to sorta pre-wash the panel lines. Thanks for sharing with us, I might just try that sometime soon.

 

BTW: When my tube of PPP gets dried out I just use a dropper to add a little water, smoosh the tube a few times to get a good mix, and then leave it overnight and it's good to go the next day.

PJ,

I can't add anything that hasn't already been said on your decals  Perfect. 

Haven't popped in for awhile after Walrus build and binge watching Orphan Black. Great work PJ, Eric and Rooster. I will be starting my Lindberg Bristol Bulldog? soon....Fingers crossed for a pain free build.

Oh by the way...Has anybody built a Roden Glouster Gladiator? I have the chance to get the one with skis for a great price but have read some horror stories....