South Pacific Group Build 7 August 2006 to 7 August 2007

Bob- I know what you mean about leaving it or fixing it as I am in the same boat. I thought I set up my brush for a better spray pattern and re-shot the dark green and the overspray is still there.  I have taken some pics and will post them when I go to the library (Can't post pics from home). 

I do have an idea with regards to the spray pattern and it is...............I have been finger tightening the spray head and have noticed that on occasion I will get a very splattery spray pattern, and then I re-tighten the head and it goes away.......I am thinking I should tighten it with the little wrench provided.....I wonder if that will do the trick....hope to find out soon.

I also am quite unhappy with the dark green, as it appears just too dark.......I may try to lighten it some....My thoughts are to get something halfway acceptable and get the plane finished and move onto another project.....(and pick up another copy of this kit to make a better one with a little more experience)....then again.......may do a little fine sanding and a complete repaint.

Also, our local IPMS Meeting is next Saturday and I may take the plane and some color samples and discuss colors and camo application with some of those guys.

Jerry-it is a bit of a problem that those who do not model (or aren't perfectionist) don't understand....good luck on which ever direction you choose.

JerrynFrog wrote:

Bob- I know what you mean about leaving it or fixing it as I am in the same boat. I thought I set up my brush for a better spray pattern and re-shot the dark green and the overspray is still there.  I have taken some pics and will post them when I go to the library (Can't post pics from home).  I do have an idea with regards to the spray pattern and it is...............I have been finger tightening the spray head and have noticed that on occasion I will get a very splattery spray pattern, and then I re-tighten the head and it goes away.......I am thinking I should tighten it with the little wrench provided.....I wonder if that will do the trick....hope to find out soon. I also am quite unhappy with the dark green, as it appears just too dark.......I may try to lighten it some....My thoughts are to get something halfway acceptable and get the plane finished and move onto another project.....(and pick up another copy of this kit to make a better one with a little more experience)....then again.......may do a little fine sanding and a complete repaint. Also, our local IPMS Meeting is next Saturday and I may take the plane and some color samples and discuss colors and camo application with some of those guys.

 

Jerry,

What is your airbursh make?  I have an Aztec, not an Iwata, but hey it fit my budget and does what I need, so if yours is the same here is an idea...I have had similar problems with my airbrushes.  By all means use the wrench.  Spattering in my experience comes when the spray nozzle is loose.  Over tight can also cause this as it does not allow for proper movement of the needle.  The spring must become o'er tight.

Spatter can also be caused when a thinning or cleaning agent is still in there.  It causes a variance in the viscosity of the medium being shot.

The IPMS meeting is a great idea!  I am jealous of all you blokes with a club close at hand.  My closest is an hour north and they meet on the same nights I coach our youth rugby side through the summer...

But then again how many US households can claim two generations of rugby under one roof...and both hookers to boot!

bobbaily wrote:

espins1 wrote: You guys have finally given me an idea on what I can do with my "Achtung Minen" (Danger! Mines!) marker flag!    ..only if the maid understands German!

Anyone know how to say "Achtung Minen" in Spanish? 

Decided to Future the P40-seemed to work.  This means that I should be able to decal tomorrow and possibly follow with another coat of Future on Sunday, allowing for some weathering (ink wash) next week....maybe.  Hopefully another South Pacific GB will come around again after the first of the year-so many P-40's to build (along with other planes) and so little time...or is it "so many other Group Builds?"....

Decals are on.  I'll probably apply another coat of Future tomorrow to prep for the ink wash.

Seeing it glossy always makes me nervous-I know the flat coat will take care of everything, but still......

Nice decal work Bob! 

Bob great looking work on the P-40 and I know exactly what you mean about that nervous feeling seeing your lovely kit looking like a toy.  All will be well

Cheers 

WHOA   Beautiful P40 you got Bob!!  I love those P40s.  keep it up smiles  which model kit is that P40 from?  HAS or?

 and darson  how do you do put all gb badges together into one like you have?  let me know thanks since my signture is seem crowded with my groupbuilds as you can see

silentmodeler wrote:

WHOA   Beautiful P40 you got Bob!!  I love those P40s.  keep it up smiles  which model kit is that P40 from?  HAS or?  and darson  how do you do put all gb badges together into one like you have?  let me know thanks since my signture is seem crowded with my groupbuilds as you can see

Joe, I've done your animated sig for you.  Just shoot me through a PM with an email addy that I can send an attachment to.

Cheers

Darren 

Joe- My airbrush is a Badger 200, internal mix. I got it in the early 80’s when I began the model RR hobby. I tightened the head assy using the wrench and it may have improved the overspray a little. I think I achieved a tighter spray pattern and continued applying the camo. I think I moved the brush too far away from the model, as I know you must stay in close.

It is possible that my head/needle assy is a bit worn and should be replaced as through the years, a great deal of paint has gone through the brush. I am thinking of placing an order with Dixie Art and getting a couple of different sizes, maybe fine and medium. I may send the pics to Badger and let them comment, or send them the brush, or both.

Bob- Those decals look really nice. Is that bottle of pain reliever for the headache they gave you?

I have taken some pics of my camo job and will post them when I go to the library. For anyone interested in seeing them now, the URL for my photobucket folder is…..

http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j158/JerrynFrog/South%20Pacific%20Group%20Build/

Pics 3 and 4 are the first attempt and 5 is after I tightened the head assy. I also went back over the overspray with additional dark earth and it did improve the appearance, though it is not really obvious in the photo. Do keep in mind that the plane is 1/72, and is small.

Hey Jerry, not too bad at all.  The overspray is a killer, glad you got your brush back on track. 

Joe & Jerry-thanks.  The kit is the Hasegawa kit-great detail but it has its 'areas of concern'-see Scott's (Espin1)'s write up over in the aircraft forum.  He did a great job on both the plane and the writeup.

Jerry-no, the pain relievers were from another adventure...however, although the Superscale decals are great, their painting scheme's leave a bit to be desired.  Whats even funnier...well, kinda...is that I was researching decals over on Modelingmadness and the Superscale instruction sheet for 'Texas Longhorn' was different from the scheme on the instructions that I had.  Sometimes, I guess that there is no right answer....

I stopped by the library this morning to post the pics as promised.....and here they are:

The first two are my first attempt with the soft camo

And the final one is after I tightened the head with the wrench and also went back over the edges with some dark earth.  Some areas look fine when not using magnification, which is totally acceptable to me.

The pics in the background are of Dick Cresswell and his plane....and I forgot to mention that I think I have the camo colors reversed also.

Jerry-nice work on the camo-especially freehanded.  I'm not brave enough to try that yet.

Great looking P-40 Bob! I've been away from this post for a while and looks like I've missed quite a bit. I lovethe scheme you chose!

Looking good FrogNJerry! 

Joe, Bob and Mucker- Thanks for the kind words.

I took the plane to the IPMS meeting on Saturday and the concensus was to go with it, that it looks fine.  I was given a few tips, but feel that most of all soft edge camo will improve with more experience. Since I don't want to make a career out of this plane, and do wish to move on to other projects, I will continue on with the future and decals. From what I have read on these forums, the Academy decals will be quite an experience. We shall see.

In my earlier post I had stated that the camo colors were reversed, but that was according to the Academy intructions. The illustration in the P-40 SquadronSignal book shows the flags going on the dark green and in the BW photos, it looks as though the flags are on the darker surface, so I think I will go with what I did.

Jerry the camo looks just fine after the touch ups you've made and I agree you don't want to spend your entire life making one kit perfect so if you're happy with the result, move on.

The only piece of advice I would offer (I'm sure you've heard this before) would be to reduce the psi on your compressor and thin your paint some more.  Then just play around on sheets of paper until you achieve a psi/paint mix ratio that doesn't splatter.

Cheers

Hi Guys.

Wow. There has been a lot of work going on while I've been away.

Some really good models have been turned out!

I've been busy with all the boring life stuff that gets in the way of my hobbies but there is a break in the clouds so I'm back at it.

I've got a little more done on the Goose. Got te paint on and the decals as you can see in the pics. It's slowly getting there but I've had some dramas since those pics were taken. one of the windows fell into the cabin and in the process of trying to re-fit it one of the pilot seats came loose. (I hate resin) While trying to get the canopy off I broke it. No worries, got a spare but it's going to be a real pain to fit.

Ever have one of those models that just fights you every step of the way?

I have the feeling that this model may take longer than the entire war in the pacific.

Enough rambling,

here are some pics.

The regression

Hope everyone is having a better time of it

Mark

Despite the fist fight you're having with this one, I think it is coming along quite nicely.

  Looks good from here.

Thanks Bob and Joe,

This one is trying the patience but I am making progress so it's still enjoyable.

The hardest thing is that I eye matched the blue on the upper surfaces as Gunze don't have a direct match. I just hope I can match it again.

Cheers

Mark

For all of your trials and tribulations, it looks really nice, Mark. I know what you mean about certain model kits that just don't want you to build them! What's worked for me on a few of this kid of build is to put it back in the box and start another kit...somehow this refreshes the modelling spirit and I'll get the motivation back to pick it back up again...

I'm sure you'll do fine on the paint. With some shading and post-weathering it should blend in nicely.

Darren- Thanks for the tips. I did try to lower the pressure and for awhile, I had it too low and the paint atomization was less than desireable. Still, I did end up with it lower than I usually spray with. The tip of using thinner paint is a good one. Some of the IPMS guys mentioned that one and I will try it when the need arises.

Mark- I agree with Joe, Bob and Mucker. The plane is looking good. I had a plane for a WWI GB with our local IPMS Group that fought me every step of the way. In the end, I considered it a draw.

Thanks for the encouragement Mucker and Jerry.

I'd previously used up all my modeling enthusiam whilst working on my F-111and decided on a bit of a holiday from modeling. I find when it turns from fun to hard work it's best to take a little time off.

Well batteries are fully charged again so I'm enjoying the challenge.

My wife bought me this for christmas so if I put it down and start on the only other model in my stash............

(a P-40 that my Mother gave me for my birthday)

Well, lets just say it might not rate a top 10 mention in "Mark's Greatest Decisions" list.

I'm playing with the ancillaries at the moment like engine's and landing gear and am happy that I'm taking steps in the forward direction again.

Tonight I'll throw some putty at the new canopy and try to blend it into the fuselage without too much damage to the existing work.

I'll post some more pics tomorrow.

Cheers

Mark

HI all, my project for this GB is posted over in the AC forum. Its under P-38 WIP. Its still a WIP.

David

Nice work David.  The fact that it's 1/72 makes it even nicer.

Hey David,

The P38 looks great!  Looking forward to posting the completed bird on the first page.

Thanks for the comments guys, I should have it done sometime this week.

David

A progress report- sprayed a clear coat using Tamiya clear gloss.  It was old and quite thick so I added much Tamiya thinner and it turned cloudy in the mixing container.  I sprayed it anyway and it turned out just fine.

I added the thick Academy decals and had some adhesion problems with a few of the tiny ones, so I placed those onto a thin pool of future, which seemed to work fine.

I have been having difficulty getting the decals to settle into the recesses (Including those not place into a future pool). I have been using Solvaset, the strongest brew that I have although a very old bottle, and there is a small amount of settling into the panel lines, but I want more.  I think I have gotten to five applications of the Solvaset.  I think I may have to live with them as-is. I have considered slitting the decals with a new X-acto blade in the panel lines, but they are so tiny in 1/72........hmmmmm...any ideas guys?