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Main painting done really pleased how this has come out considering it's hand painted. A bit of touching up to do then a coat of gloss and decal time!
@PJM1974 I have a 1/72 P51 and Thunderbolt. Both Have some metallic finish on them. Not sure if I'm dreading or relishing the challenge with the hairy stick!
Well that looks great so far Freester. I really must have a go at hand painting something again one of these days.
Evening, apologes if this has been asked many times but google kicks up too many conflicting opinions on various sites and forums, do you prime before airbrushing? and if so, with what?
I've used halfords grey plastic primer before brush painting with ok enough results but airbrushing is a new one for me. Thanks for any help or tips!
Yes. A primer coat isn't just there to key the plastic, it's bloody useful for helping to spot anything that requires a bit of filler or sanding. I tend to prime in RLM grey (simply because I've stacks of it), then I'll add NATO black along panel lines etc before adding colour coats.
Do please share pics of WIP!
Yes always prime. Grey plastic primer is fine - as PJM says it will help to highlight the areas which need further filling/ sanding…. Practice, practice, practice is the main thing with airbrushing. Paint to thinner ratio, combined with getting the right air pressure are the main things. Usually I aim for semi-skimmed milk viscosity, and anything between 18 and 22 psi on the old compressor, but really you’ve just got to practice and find what works for you..
@PJM1974 wrt NMF I got an email from G Force models the other day... Suggesting metallic paints should be painted over a gloss black finish. I'm going to try this.
Here are a few tips to get the most out of the metallic paint.
Metallic paints always look best when painted over a Gloss Black surface as this really helps to make the paint shine.
...snip tries to sell gloss black primer...
A normal mat black paint will help here, it just wont cause quite the same amount of shine as the gloss black, but this can be a very useful effect!
Why not try changing the type of black paint used under the metallics to create subtle differences in its final appearance? With some of the finish having more of a shine than others this can create interesting effects & variation to different parts of the model.
Some pics from the Corsair - black section in front of cockpit done.
Some fiddly undercarriage stuff done.
Coat of varnish (Humbrol Enamel Gloss thinned with Humbrol Enamel Thinners) done. Really pleased. Ready for decals...
PS Jr is going to be getting a 1/72 Lanc, Me 109 and Sea Vixen in his Xmas sack.
I've requested the Hobby Boss 1/72 Wolfpack VF1 F-14.
Good stuff! Which Sea Vixen?
Good stuff! Which Sea Vixen?
The Revell British Legends FAW2
Oooh.
Looks like a re-box of the Cyber Hobby one that I've got.
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/revell-03866-havilland-sea-vixen-faw-2--1316268
A little more progress last night. Underwing and starboard decals fixed. Photos taken while still wet but I had a quick look before work this morning they've bedded in nicely little or no silvering. Get the other half done later...
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@Freester fantastic work!
Corsair of a different kind purchased on my lunch break today -
And my completed Revell 1/72 Spitfire Vb -
Brush painted with Revell Aqua Color acrylics and initially was really happy with the finish of the ocean grey base coat. When painting the green camo the paint bled under the masking and also formed ridges up against the tape which dampened my enthusiasm somewhat. Looks ok from a distance though.
@nostrils nice work. What I've learnt about masking tape... Tamiya tape. Press it down hard. Brush away from the tape.
I started building the Airfix 1/24 scale Mk1 Hurricane. Its going together nicely but its huge! I'm now thinking about putting it to one side because once the wings are on I'll have nowhere to put it!
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Yeah some models end up way bigger than you expect. I remember building a Revell 1/32 Phantom, and as a teenager it felt like I was assembling the forth bridge!
Whoa that’s a whopper! I presume this is one of the original kits not some kind of fancy new tooling? In which case good luck. Looks great so far…
Its the original one from the early 1970's re-boxed as a "vintage classic" Airfix are selling them as part of their "mystery box" deal so it was only about £25 i think. Its going okay so far, the instructions are vague to say the least and there is some flash but nothing that's a game stopper. I think the Spitfire is much worse though, plus its got an issue with the wings being far too flat so it looks odd when its built.
A productive discussion over this evening's meal with my 10 yr old. We are going to concentrate on Carrier Based aircraft but there are obviously some other essential aircraft we will need in our collection...
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Other suggestions welcome!
Hmmm your 10 year old is pretty knowledgeable 😀
Skyhawk would have to be on my carrier list..
Wow! That's some list. Hope you've got some space as there is some serious wing span in there.
You need to add a Gannett to your carrier list btw.
carrier list needs either: A-5 Vigilante or F-8 Crusader IMO
While we’re on the subject of carriers, I’ll just leave this here, from the days when the Royal Navy had proper carriers 😀
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And a Hornet.
Good call on the Vigilante.
Superb keep 'em coming.
Hmmm your 10 year old is pretty knowledgeable 😀
I created a monster 🤣
I can remember my mum taking me to the bookshop when I was a similar age to him. I chose this book...
I still have it. Well my son owns it now...
Other suggestions welcome
A6 Intruder?
And I’ve always had a soft spot for the Hoover (S3 Viking). I have an 80s Airfix kit that I might actually build one day.
Brilliant!
I had also forgotten how Fugly the Gannett is...
Corsair nearly finished. A couple more coats of yellow on the prop tips then I'll be fitting prop, folded wings and be calling it done.
Been chipping away at a little Revell 1/72 P-47 with my son. It's a Light Blue / Dark Blue camo pattern with a metallic underside.
This is 2 coats of the light blue, Revell enamel thinned with Humbrol enamel thinners. Hand brushed by the lad looking good already...
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Really enjoyed this thread hope you get some great additions to the stash tomorrow!!!
Got the wings on and an overall coat of primer. Underside is painted as well. Now need to mask up and spray overall brown. But I've run into a problem. The engine cowlings are not a great fit. I've cut them up into their original six pieces which helps but the section that fits over the petrol tank isn't even close to fitting and I have no immediate ideas on how to fix it!
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Well the stash got bigger yesterday 3 my lads the Tomcat is mine!
I know he's got another one coming today 🙈
Nice haul.
I received these...
Both 1/32 and absolutely massive, will save these for when my skills levels hopefully improve.
Airfix Zero ready for priming, not looking forward to masking the canopy...
My haul:
Airfix new mould Spitfire Mk. VC
Airfix Buccaneer S.2C
Sword Harrier T.Mk2
All in 1:72 scale
Also Carrier-based
Zero
Wildcat
Kate
Avenger
Well Jr's Sea Vixen needs some weight in the nose. What are you people using? ISTR someone earlier in this thread had a disaster...? Was it HTS?
Pennies in the nose cone? Liquid gravity? Online people recommending fishing shot, gun shot, old wheel balance weights. Mmmm I think I've got some ball bearings in the garage from when I used to run cone and bearing hubs...
I hate nose weights - you always need more than you think. Ball bearings or fishing weights with pva drizzled round them usually works. I recently purchased a couple of small lead ‘ingots’ online to use, but it’s actually quite hard to chop to shape.
My only kit purchase was an impulse buy at Halifax Modellers World. A 1/35 SAS jeep - it’s a kit I’ve always fancied so when I saw it for a tenner it was a no brainer. I still have a roll of desert diorama mat left over from the Storch so I think it’s going to be joined by an LRDG Chevy too!
You need to add a Gannett to your carrier list btw.
I had also forgotten how Fugly the Gannett is…
True, but a quite remarkable aircraft as well. AEW, anti-submarine, and torpedo bomber as well, IIRC.
When I worked in publishing, the small company I worked for, Picton Publishing in Chippenham, specialised in Philately and militaria, and I put together several little books on naval aircraft, including the Gannet and the Supermarine Sea Hawk. Sadly I can’t seem to find any of the samples I kept, because they had lots of interesting photos that you just don’t normally get to see. As I was designing the books from scratch, I’d just get a box or folder full of photos and a manuscript, so a treasure-trove of stuff for someone who grew up under RAF Lyneham’s flight-path, plus my dad was in the RAF in the far-east during WW2.
I remember some photos of one Gannet, an early model without the big radome underneath, which had lost both complete wingtips; on a Gannet, with folding wings, that meant approximately 1/3 of each wing had broken off completely. The pilot kept it in the air and returned it to base safely! Shutting down one engine meant they could loiter for hours on a mission. Tony Benn ordered their scrapping, not long before the Falklands war.
Some here might find the photos in this article interesting, in an academic sort of way; there are a bunch of low-level photos of American airforce planes at the main maintenance base, USAFB Tinker, flying with no paint, just a naked airframe, so you can see all the panels, and just how complicated an aircraft skin is.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43677/behold-the-naked-warplanes-of-tinker-air-force-base
Thank you - it's good to see NMF finishes with metal fatigue and gobs of filler over the panel lines of that B-52. P-51 Mustangs had puttied wings, with smooth panel lines and minimal riveting so as not to disturb the airflow too much.
Actually finished a kit today!
Will post pictures, eventually.
Re nose weights - you can get a mix of 2.5g and 10g weights for ballast on r/c model aircraft. Not always enough room for these especially in 1/72 scale but they’re a bit easier to manage than say Liquid Gravity. Or fishing weights & a bit of epoxy or even plasticine
I use shotgun pellets and PVA glue. Tyre/wheel weights are no longer made of lead so you 'll need more of them than you might think.
Was it HTS?
Wasn't me. I use self adhesive balance weights if there is space and liquid gravity where there isn't.
I'll tape the major components together early on before anything has been glued then balance the aircraft over a pencil above the rear undercarriage by adding blutac behind the cockpit. This will give me amount of weight required. I do it behind the cockpit as I can usually get the self adhesive weights in there. For the Sea Vixen I'm guessing that there will be space under the cockpit floor and above the airbrake.
Italeri Harrier Gr.3.
1:72. Brush painted. Out of the box.
Not a bad little kit with very few fit issues. Decals were excellent, nicely printed, did not "explode" and plenty of them.
Aircraft is XZ 899, shot down over Goose Green. The pilot, Bob Iveson, survived.
...and with a Sea Harrier.
Nice work just saw your RFI on Britmodeller.
I want to do a Falklands era Sea Harrier 1/72. What are my options? Wait for the new Airfix FRS1?