IDF GB April 15-October 1,2006

Thanks for that Duke!  Unfortunately, we don't have Testor's paints in England.  I do have some, from my last trip over the pond, including 'tan' which comes in light, dark and intermediate, in either small glass bottle, or a plastic set of modules with flip-up covers.  That's not too far away, but needs some yellow I think.  I did get a bottle Xtracrylix Israel Tank Grey, but it was not that close.  The closest I've seen is the Xtracrylix American Desert Sand, or Polly Scale's US Tan. 

From the pictures I've seen, the colour used is quite yellowy, with a dash of green, toned down by tan.  Your Tiran seems to be the right colour, from what I've seen, so, now, it's a case of finding the right colour.  My approach is to spray everything sand, then touch it up later, including the rubber.

Sounds good Osher. I wish I knew the other colors well enough to give you some better advice, but it seems that you're gonna do alright anyway. I'll be watching for the next set of pics from you.

final pics of my fitter are now on my site,i hope you like them.

Duke Maddog wrote:

Sounds good Osher. I wish I knew the other colors well enough to give you some better advice, but it seems that you're gonna do alright anyway. I'll be watching for the next set of pics from you.

I wish I shared your confidence!  However, I should have something done soon, so, we'll see.

Awesome work Gdarwin!You have definitely earned the badge. Well done.


Osher, I've seen your other builds, that's where my confidence in you comes from. I know you'll pull through.

I've tried using the Xtracrylix XA1810 Israeli Tank Sand Grey, which is not quite right to my mind, but, I'm a wee bit afraid of mixing paints.  However, I've never really used acrylics before, so, a bit of a step into the unknown.  The finish isn't that good, maybe too much thinner?  Or maybe because it was just one coat.  The hull is just partly sprayed, more to let me judge the colour than anything else.

Anyway, here is the partially sprayed hull, what do you think of the colour?

osher wrote:

I've tried using the Xtracrylix XA1810 Israeli Tank Sand Grey, which is not quite right to my mind, but, I'm a wee bit afraid of mixing paints.  However, I've never really used acrylics before, so, a bit of a step into the unknown.  The finish isn't that good, maybe too much thinner?  Or maybe because it was just one coat.  The hull is just partly sprayed, more to let me judge the colour than anything else. Anyway, here is the partially sprayed hull, what do you think of the colour?

The color is not bad;  little bright and a bit more tan than usual for the Israelis. However, once you put on the dark wash, it should tone the color down a bit to make it more accurate.  Also, the finish is fine; nice and smooth. Besides, it is best if you only apply one thin coat, then the second thin coat when the first one is dry. I think the thinner/paint ratio is fine. If you do wish to try mixing, give this color a touch of dark green to it to tone it down. I think that you could still use this color and still have a great model once you apply the dark wash to it. Good work Osher, you are doing great!

Duke Maddog wrote:

The color is not bad;  little bright and a bit more tan than usual for the Israelis. However, once you put on the dark wash, it should tone the color down a bit to make it more accurate.  Also, the finish is fine; nice and smooth. Besides, it is best if you only apply one thin coat, then the second thin coat when the first one is dry. I think the thinner/paint ratio is fine. If you do wish to try mixing, give this color a touch of dark green to it to tone it down. I think that you could still use this color and still have a great model once you apply the dark wash to it. Good work Osher, you are doing great!

Actually, it's much darker in real life.  The digital camera made it much lighter than it really is.  It's actually the colour my old olive uniform went after I was in the desert for a while, a sort of mid tan colour.  Certainly far darker than the picture would have you suggest.  See the bits of green?  They olive actually!  As for the coat, well, it's not even, some parts are slightly washy, and you can see 'ripples' or waves in the finish, a sort of gentle mottled effect.  I hope it goes at the next painting!

Well, if it is darker than the pic, then I think you have a color that is much closer to what you need and should just use it as is. It sounds perfect. Way to go Osher. Oh, I couldn't see the imperfections you mentioned, so I thought the coat looked good. If you have ripples and waves, then it might be best to reduce the amount of thinner in the paint. Also, try pulling the airbrush back a bit to about six or eight inches from the surface. Soometimes a second coat will eliminate the mottle effect as well. Good luck with this. It looks like you are right on track, so to speak.

Thanks Duke.  This is my second attempt at acrylics.  The last time was with Humbrol acrylics, which, frankly, are awful, at least for spraying.  This put me off, but now I'm using Xtracrylix, and it's not bad!  (with Xtracrylic thinner).  The second second attempt is 1/35 armour.  Aside from a 1/72 Churchill abandoned last year (I couldn't get those darn tracks to join.  No glue worked, and stitching failed too), I've not gone to the dark side much.  I've decided to build it as three seperate assemblies, independent of each other.  I'm also painting all wheels, etc, before assembly.  So, far, it's been OK, but I'm dreading the rubber on the wheels, as there are these tiny rims to be left in sand.  It's going to be a slow process on that one.  Pity the rubber elements were not seperate, would make it far easier!

Only problem so far is that of the acrylic paint drying too fast in the airbrush, and so necessitating a full scrub down, after just 10 minutes or so of use.  Maybe I need to wash cleaner through quicker?

Osher, try using acrylic retarder fluid sold in your local art stores.  I bought some a few weeks ago.  I had a similar problem with the paint drying to fast.

thanks Duke for the kind words,the color is not what i had in mind but it worked,i used polyscale mud and sand,

Sounds good Osher. I know you 1/35th project will work out. Try temporarily mounting the wheels on toothpicks or something similar and turning them while putting on the black paint on the rubber parts. That is, after you've painted the hubs the vehicle cover.

gdarwin wrote:

thanks Duke for the kind words,the color is not what i had in mind but it worked,i used polyscale mud and sand,

Good job! I also have those and they are good paints IMHO. Your model looks excellent, so your painting was just right.

Wow alots happened since ive been away. sorry about that been real busy and another thing im not gonna be able to see the end of this gb as i will be gounded from the computer as of feb. 3 because i got a c. sorry.

great progress guys

Man, I'm sorry to hear that. Look on the bright side. That will give you more time to build. Maybe when your grounding is over, you'll have a finished model to show when you can post again. Under those circumstances, I think it would be fair to let you wear the badge if you can get something done while grounded. Keep up the good work on your models, and good luck raising your grade.

ygmodeler4 wrote:

Wow alots happened since ive been away. sorry about that been real busy and another thing im not gonna be able to see the end of this gb as i will be gounded from the computer as of feb. 3 because i got a c. sorry.

I hope it all works out, and you'll be back here soon.  Still, as Duke said, more time for the models.

Made some more progress on the Tiran 5.  Trumpeter have some interesting ideas about models...they make both their motorised and unmotorised versions have gearboxes and battery holders.  The gearbox has a screw on the underside, which can be unscrewed, to remove the gearbox.  Trumpeter then give you a cover for the resulting hole (the oval shape in the picture).  However, you need the gearbox, because the axle is part of the gearbox!  Lucky, it can be removed (although, I wait to see if the model still holds together...!).

More interesting is that the battery case has a switch attached to it, which comes through the rectangular hole, and cannot be removed without some force.  Also, there is no way to close off this hole, even if the switch is broken off.  So...I finally found a decent use for a Minicraft kit (actually, the flat part of the sprue used for the name plate), yes, it filled the hole, will fill to top.

There are also two depressions with towers in them on the underside, which I guess are something to do with the manufacturing process - can anyone let me know what they're called?

Anyway, it's all been filled in and sanded.  Here's a rather poor picture of how it looks

Looking good so far. Sorry I can't help with the depression/towers since I've never looked at the kit. The may be there to anchor the motor though, but I'm not sure. Keep up the good work!

Duke Maddog wrote:

Looking good so far. Sorry I can't help with the depression/towers since I've never looked at the kit. The may be there to anchor the motor though, but I'm not sure. Keep up the good work!

Oh, no, definately something to do with the manufacturing process, maybe some kind of ejector pin?

osher wrote:

Duke Maddog wrote: Looking good so far. Sorry I can't help with the depression/towers since I've never looked at the kit. The may be there to anchor the motor though, but I'm not sure. Keep up the good work! Oh, no, definately something to do with the manufacturing process, maybe some kind of ejector pin?

Okay, that could very well be possible. Without seeing them I don't know. I'd just remove them if they don't interfere with the building.

Duke Maddog wrote:

osher wrote:  Duke Maddog wrote: Looking good so far. Sorry I can't help with the depression/towers since I've never looked at the kit. The may be there to anchor the motor though, but I'm not sure. Keep up the good work! Oh, no, definately something to do with the manufacturing process, maybe some kind of ejector pin? Okay, that could very well be possible. Without seeing them I don't know. I'd just remove them if they don't interfere with the building.

 

Already done! (sanded and filled with Revell filler)

Quick update...had some airbrush problems (using acrylics is not so easy, but gradually learning how!), but making some progress now. I've painted much of the lower hull now in Xtracrylics XA1810 Israeli tank sand grey. Some bits were missed, but looks OK. Needs a couple more coats though. The instructions call for (fenders?) on the front, 8 of, but don't say exactly where, just show 8 of them! The rear of the lower hull is not an exact fit either. Nice touch with clips and sockets, but still it's out with filler. Might leave the underside of the wheel as slightly out though, as difficult to fix, and hard to see. Anyway, applying (brushing) Airfix no. M6 to represent the rubber tyres. Tried some Revell M9, but wasn't happy with the result. Anyway, here is a picture of where I've stopped for the evening.
 


Happy modelling y'all!

I back after taking a vacation from my various projects. A few months ago I ruined the canopy with CA.  Update, I finished sanding the canopy, its not in its beutiful clear condition but it will do for now.  The aircraft is done.  I'll post the final pic some time this week.  This project will be my first finished group build... and on time.

Looking good Osher! I like the looks of those wheels, they are coming along fine. I finally found my M-7 Priest that had been hiding away. I'll be starting that pretty soon, but I most likely won't get any pics until my camera arrives from Colorado. I was there to visit a friend and left it behind by accident.  Man do I feel disconnected from everyone without it!


Welcome back Ernie! Glad to see you return. About the canopy, what was the smallest grit you used to sand it with? If you can get a 2000 or even a 5000 grit sanding stick/paper, that will reduce your damage to a slightly transparent smudge. Then, dip your canopy in Future Floor Wax and it should eliminate the damage altogether, provided you polished the area with a small enough grit sanding medium.

Good luck on that. I 'm looking forward to seeing pics.

Well...where do I begin.  I used a dremel tool with a soft polishing pad to smooth out the smudge.  Big mistake on my part.  I thought the rpm would be slow enough for the plastic but I was wrong. It did more damaged.  I ended up having to sand more using 600 then to 3200 and 4000.  When it comes to canopies I seem to goof.  This has been a learning experience.  I'll post a pic tomorrow.   It does not look too bad from far away. 

It sounds like your canopy experience is definately a learning time!  Good luck with it

I've not worked on this model for a few weeks, but did some today:

The 10 wheels have been assembled, but the 'rubber' needs more painting.  The lower hull has been painted again, with the rear section re-worked so it now sits properly, and gaps filled.  Finally, 8 little bits (bumpers/fenders?) have had the rear bumps sanded as per instructions, and cleaned up for assembly.  Just a pity no guides where to attach them, so a bit of guess work involved (naughty naughty Trumpeter! - actually, a few silly things like that in this kit)

Oh golly!   Decided for some foolhardy reason to use the Xtracolor enamel, instead of the Xtracolor acylic, colour of Israeli tank sand grey.  I can't believe how different it looks to the acrylic, now I've got to repaint the tank...(got the suspension and power wheels on today, going to repaint the tyres tomorrow, and put the wheels on)

Looks like I have a reason to finish the 1/48 Tamiya F-15C that I have, and was planning on using the IDF decals from Cutting Edge.  I have not done too much research, but does anyone know if the Israeli AF ever painted their F-15s in the desert color scheme?  The drawings that I have that came with the decals has the planes in the standard USAF Ghost Grey scheme.

mph34 wrote:

Looks like I have a reason to finish the 1/48 Tamiya F-15C that I have, and was planning on using the IDF decals from Cutting Edge.  I have not done too much research, but does anyone know if the Israeli AF ever painted their F-15s in the desert color scheme?  The drawings that I have that came with the decals has the planes in the standard USAF Ghost Grey scheme.

Mph, the Israeli F-15C's were all kept in the standard USAF Ghost Grey scheme. They kept them this way since they were meant to be air superiority fighters. However, if you ever get the F-15E Strike Eagle, those were paintd in their standard "cafe au lait" sand/brown/green pattern.

Good luck on this, and I'm looking forward to seeing some pics!