Metal masters GB 2016 (1Feb to 31 July)

Theuns, again, man - great job on that! I have no idea how you got those decals to go down so well. Stripe decals never work out for me, let alone multi-stripe decals like you've got. And thanks again for sharing your paint using one color technique. It made my life a lot easier on my Sabre.

-BD-

Grab you a badge BD. =]

Hey FSM,

After seeing Theuns and BD's awesome looking Sabres, I humbly present my progress.  First, a couple of quick shots for BD...

Hey BD, I wanted to quickly show you how cleanly Silly Putty lifts from even deeply recessed detail.  Here are two shots of my main gear wells.

In the first one you can see how the SP pretty much comes out in one big chunk with little to none left in the detail.

This second one shows that there's no oily residue left in the well.  Also, the SP came out without lifting any of the paint or wash, which incidentally, hasn't been sealed yet.

Hopefully these give you an idea of how easy SP is to use as a mask.

Now, for pix of my progress...

I've pretty much finished the overall airframe painting.  I've gotten the wing walkways painted, but I still need to paint the antiglare panel and the radome.  (Wing tanks and stabilizers are only dry fit for the photos.)

I still need to paint the nose markings.  I have some decals, but because of the complex curves of the airframe, I'm afraid I won't be able to get them to lay down.  To avoid trying to color match paint for the inevitable touch-ups, I just figured I'd try to paint them.  So, for now, my attention will be directed towards creating a mask.  For now, this is where my build stands.

Again, feel free to share your thoughts.  Comments and criticisms are welcome.  Thanks for looking!

-O

Omar that P-80 looks like alluminium to me mate ;-)

I like your silly putty idea.

Brandon those stripe decals are single piece units. Look out for another MNF gb later in the year if there is enough interest :-)

Theuns

O, that SP idea is damn amazing.  I wouldn't have thought to try it.  I was thinking it'd leave a greasy, oily film...but apparently not huh.  Thanks for sharing! =]  One more thing to add to my tool box.

Your P-80 is coming along quite well. Very polished! I always feel that there's some horrible seam or scratch or what have you looming around on my build.  To see other's setting up for a NMF and how smooth everything looks makes me feel as though I have no patience whatsoever.  Hats off to you.

I do have a thought in regards to your painting along the curves.  Tamiya just came out with a tape specifically for masking curves.  It's supposed to working spectacularly well. Something to consider.  I recall you tackling that red curved line on the mustang you just finished, so I'm sure you'll do make quick work of this as well.

bvallot, 

Thanks for the info on the Tamiya tape.  You wouldn't happen to know what it's called, would you?  A quick (read: lazy) web search didn't pull anything up for me besides their normal yellow tape.  I'd be interested in looking into it further.

Thanks!

In regards to the SP, I've only run in to one problem, and that one problem is easily avoided.  If you look at my pictures above, you'll see that some of the delicate NMF paint has flaked off the plastic at the edges of the recessed detail.  The touch-ups are easy enough, but the problem can totally be avoided if you're careful.  The thing is that the SP can be pressed tightly against the plastic.  So tightly, in fact, that as you paint over it the paint doesn't have a "separating line."  So, what happens is, the paint continues from the plastic onto the SP in one continuous layer.  Pulling up the SP breaks the paint layer but sometimes it breaks it at a point where the paint flakes off the plastic.  The easy fix is to pack in your SP, then take your hobby knife and run it along the perimeter of the recessed area.  Or, take care not to pack your SP so tightly against the plastic as to not leave a very small gap as a breaking point to allow the paint on the SP to cleanly separate from the paint on the plastic.  Another quick fix to avoid the flaking is to carefully and gently press the SP further into the detail along the perimeter of the recess to break the paint at the detail's edge.  Then pull out the SP.  Hopefully everything I've said makes sense.  If not, feel free to ask me for clarification.  Keeping these little details in mind will make masking with SP a piece of cake.  Good luck!

Regards,

-O

Hey Theuns,

Quick question for you.  I went back and reread the rules, but they don't say anything about WIFs. I have a P-47 based project on the horizon that fits the NMF criteria, but the markings would be fictional.  I'm considering starting the project after my P-80 and posting progress here, but I want to make sure it's OK before I do.

Cheers!

-O

Omar the more the merrier....bring on the Jug :-)

Theuns

Here O. This is what you're looking for:

https://www.tamiyausa.com/items/paints-finishes-60/finishing-supplies-62000/masking-tape-for-curves-2mm-87177

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=tamiya+curve+tape&clk_rvr_id=991956453696&adpos=1o2&treatment_id=7&crlp=71138937662_857&MT_ID=70&device=c&rlsatarget=kwd-122167350542&keyword=tamiya+curve+tape&geo_id=10232&poi=&crdt=0&ul_noapp=true

Just a few links to help you get started.  This stuff is meant to lay down nice and smooth without wrinkles.  I hear great things about it.  Kind of expensive but It's really only for defining the curve.  I imagine you're using something else to fill the space around your masking. =]

bvallot,

Thanks for the info on that tape.  I guess I must've missed it on Tamiya's website.  I'll have to look in to buying some.  Yeah, it's pricey, but like you said, it's just for the outline.

OK, so I came to the make-or-break point of my build and I need some feedback.  I wanted to build a Korean War F-80 from the 36th FBS when it wore the shark's mouth on the intakes.  I bought the AeroMaster decal sheet that has the shark mouth, but the shark mouth doesn't reach back into the intake like the paint did on the real thing.  Instead of using the decal and trying to paint match to cover the rest of the intake, I decided to try and mask the whole thing.  Here are my results:

Overall, I'd give myself an 8 out of 10, but I'm not sure if I'm totally satisfied with the results. Here's where you come in.  Do you think they have that "field applied" look, or do you think I should go back and clean up the edges of the teeth?  I figure I could go back with a fine tipped brush and clean up the white, but do I need to?  The pictures I've seen of these airframes aren't really clear enough to show how sharp the demarcation lines were.  Please, share your thoughts.  I have to wait for the red to dry anyway, so I have some time to make a decision.

Thanks for the feedback!

Cheers,

-O

O,

I give you kudos for masking and doing this. I don't have the skill to try that. That being said, I would touch up the teeth, assuming I had the skillset you do.

That'll be interesting to see Steve. =]

O, from the looks of everything I've ever seen of Korean era shark mouths, they were all sharp. I knew just where you were going with field applied before you even did it. ;) Anytime something happens to me that I don't intend I begin to wonder, "how much of this happened to them? Can I exploit it?! lol" Then I'll stow it away in the idea bin until I find a good place to use it.  Where as I think it's possible to have occurred, I agree with Steve.  If you can fix it, then I would give it a shot.  You'll be happier you did I bet.  Fantastic job painting around all these curves!!  Must've been a PITA keeping the overspray out.  Hats off to you. =]

This kit is going to take some work. The engines don’t have any locating pins and don’t match up very well. The seams will take some work and filling and will result in the loss of raised detail, but it’s not the first.

Hasegawa A-37

With South Korea markings

OK FSM,

I've given it some thought and considered your comments, and I've decided to fix the teeth on my F-80.  Before I can continue with that build, I have to wait for the mouth's paint to cure so I can handle it without damaging it further.  So while that build sits and waits, I figured I'd start on another NMF project.

Well, truth is I started the other day after I asked Theuns if WIFs were acceptable for this GB.  Since he said yes, I decided to start a project that had been gaining some momentum.  I've decided to build two models as gifts for a couple of female friends of mine.  They've left most of the decision making to me, only saying that they wanted nose art on their planes.  I figured a great canvas for nose art is the P-47 with its big nose cowling and broad sides.  I hadn't told them about the airframe I picked but before I could tell them, independently, they both contacted me and told me they wanted Jugs.  Each had done a little "research" and both chose the Jug.  I picked the P-47 because of the nose art, they both picked the Jug for different reasons.  (Their reasons are a little PG-13, so maybe I won't share.  Maybe I will.)  Anyway, I got my hands on a couple of Hasegawa Thunderbolts and got started.

The Hasegawa cockpit has some nice detail.  I painted them up using MM Euro Dark Green to represent Republic's Bronze Green.  

I found some paper/fabric seatbelts on the web and added them to the kits' seats.

Maybe not 100% accurate, but it does add some visual interest to the cockpit.

After that, I closed up the fuselage sides and installed the cockpits.

So, my F-80 sits by as its paint dries, and the Thunderbolts sit by as their glue hardens.  I guess I have some time to crack a sudsy adult beverage and enjoy the rest of my Sunday.

Feel free to share your comments and criticisms.  I'm always interested in what you have to say.

Thanks for looking!  

Cheers!

-O

Omar those belts look great :-)

Ed, I put you down for the 1/72 Hasa Dragonfly

Theuns

Wow tha is a big model!

Looking good.

Theuns

And the Tweat is started!

The silly putty idea does work well. I've used it for sometime now. The putty does not leave an oily residue behind but it will leave some traces of putty after being used several times. But, these little bits come out easily with a tooth pic, so no worries. It is by far my preferred method for masking, even on soft edge camo patterns.

BK

Okay, finally some WIP pics of my Mig-21PF from Academy in 1/48. Sorry it has been so long since I have added any pics and there were a few stages that I didnt get pics taken.

For the office, I primed with Ammo of Mig black primer and then painted using Ammo of Mig Russian cockpit green/blue. I added air rifle BB's as ballast, to the nose cone. The tail was painted using Ammo of Mig acrylic metal colors (Steel, Titanium, and Jet Exhaust).

For the fuselage, I primed the entire thing with Ammo Black Primer and let cure for several days (mostly because I was out of town and unable to touch it for some time). I then sanded the seam lines and filled with small amounts of Deluxe Perfect Plastic Putty and reprimed with the black. After, I highlighted areas using Ammo Dark Compass Grey and then used AK Xtreme Metals Polished Aluminum for the base metal color. I will be doing several panels in different shades of Xtreme Metal (Dark Aluminum, Duraluminum and Jet Exhaust).

I'm so happy to see a MiG up and moving for this GB. =]  No worries on being short a few pics.  It happens.  Looking good so far.  I've also just been looking into the AK series of Metal compounds.  I haven't heard any bad reviews yet.  I'm very curious to see how they turn out for a subject like a MiG-21. 

I really like the way that these AK Xtreme Metal colors go down, one thing I have noticed, and I'm pretty sure its my technique, is that they have tended to scratch easily on this build. I also used them on the engines of one of my F-15E's that I did a double build on. I wanted to compare their performance to Alclad. I didnt have the scratching problem on that build. The nice thing, is that these are said to be enamels (they smell like lacquer to me, but they clean up with mineral spirits quite well). The areas that were scratched, I was able to light sand and buff out, and then recoat with the base color and everything evened out beautifully. I'll get some more pictures up showing the different panels I sprayed with the other colors.

I did find out after spraying the panels and removing the masking one bone-headed mistake I made, and that was that I forgot that I had masked the inside of the canopy and glued it to the fuselage. I had used Gator Grip Thin glue and was able to use a sharp Xacto blade and slice it off with minimal damage, a light sanding and some touchup and it shouldnt be too noticable.

Interesting.  Sorry to hear about your miscue.  Happens to all of us. I've been taking so long on my builds lately, that every now and then I feel ancy and ready to be past a certain point. I try to write things down and take notes on what steps I need to cover as I rarely go by instructions anymore these days.  Every now and then....I still get ahead of myself. =]

I painted the B-47 with Alclad gloss black. It goes on well but the build is so big I had to paint it in two sections.

Steve

jelliot, that Mig is looking pretty cool. I love those birds. I really need to get one.

Steve, I can tell by the black that you NMF is gonna come out SICK !! Such a cool AC.

BK

Steve, Looking Great!!! Are you going to be using Alclad for this one? Cant wait to see the finished project! That is one huge bird!

jelliott523

Are you going to be using Alclad for this one?