Christmas Airfix!

Ah, you’ve edited your post, aerosol links now seen!

I have had issues with rattle cans in the past – best to stick to the same brand (and my choice would be Tamiya)
There are some model paint conversion charts available online that will give you the equivalent colour codes for all the main paint brands – e.g. Humbrol 30 dark green has Tamiya XF61 as its equivalent (and a Revell one too, can’t remember it off the top of my head – might be 49 but don’t quote me there). Annoyingly, Tamiya rattle cans have different code numbers to the small pots but a good conversion chart should cope

Ok, thanks.
Last question, what filler and files?

I use Copydex instead of Maskol, far cheaper.

Tamiya masking tape is excellent, Gaugemaster stuff is very good too, and cheaper.

A nice and easy available filler is knife putty (stopper) from a car spares shop, cheap as well. Don’t forget to prime it before the camo paint goes on, Halfords grey primer is very good.

Car spares shop for wet and dry paper to smooth it as well, 600, 800, and 1000 grit will do you (or you can use emery boards after you’ve done your nails! :-)).

Humbrol filler. Very fine wet & dry paper (400?). No files. I use side cutters to remove parts from the sprue then an X-Acto knife to trim.

When I was 11 I was working on a Revell 1:32 F4E Phantom, using a Stanley knife to open the holes on the underside of the wing for the weapons hardpoints. Hand slipped, blood everywhere. I still have the scar, right hand ring finger

Copydex – great idea, cheers 🙂

Agree with the car body filler and Halfords primer. Grey for darker colours, white for lighter colours. They do a primer with filler too which can be useful in the right circumstances. An Airfix kit probably isn’t it though!

Be conscious of whether you’re using enamels or acrylics. Acrylic varnish can **** up enamel paints. You’re ok putting enamels on top of acrylics though. Tamiya and Revell are acrylic, Humbrol are enamel.

Apply a coat of gloss varnish before applying decals, then seal with gloss/satin/Matt varnish as you want. Klear floor polish can be used as a base for decals too. Not tried it myself.

Humbrol do acrylics too – plastic screw cap pot rather than the Metal tins. Revell also do enamels in metal tins. I prefer acrylics as (a) they don’t smell as bad (b) they dry quicker (c) probably less bad to inhale if using an airbrush and (d) clean up / can be thinned with water

Another thing – beware of cellulose based car paints (if they still do them), they can melt the model…

@john, still have a scar on my knee. Obviously your leg is not a good brace for when cutting something stubborn with a Stanley knife 😳

Try and stay away from Humbrol paints at the moment, they’ve moved production back to this country from China and it all seems to have gone pear shaped…

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234914528-humbrol-enamels-garbage/

Stick to Tamiya spay cans for the camo and you’ll get a nice finish.

As for injuries, in the last few weeks I’ve drilled my thumb with a 1mm drill bit (very hurty), cut several slices out of my hands with scalpels, and superglued my fingers together 3 times! I should take up something safe like wrestling cobra’s.

I’ve just spent the last couple of hours painting a 1/35 Lee Enfield rifle, a Sten gun, and a sandwich! I need a life.

You painted a sandwich? 😯

Yeah. The loader figure that’s going to sit on top of the Sherman Firefly I’m building is going to be eating a sandwich, I made it from 3 layers of plastic card.

Sherman build thread on Britmodeller…

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235010474-tamiya-sherman-firefly-135/&

Nice work 🙂

Cheers John, doing a couple of armour subjects has been a nice break from aircraft.

You could try some cars. I’ve recently done AMT kits of ’50s Chevys, very nice. Tamiya’s Aston DBS is also very nice

My kids got a couple of kits a year ago, we did the spitfire together and it came out really well. However when it came to the bomber we needed more paints. Went to the shop bought the colours we needed only to find they were the oil based ones as opposed to the water based ones. That threw a spanner in the works straight away and we never finished. Can you thin the oil paints down or are the water based ones better?

Yes, you can buy specific thinners, or you can use white spirit. I’d go back to the shop &I get the same paints but in acrylic

I’ve had a busy morning 😀

Try and stay away from Humbrol paints at the moment, they’ve moved production back to this country from China and it all seems to have gone pear shaped…

I thought is the other way around but happy to be corrected:
They had to change suppliers in China and the QC went to pot. Production has been moved to Rustins a [well regarded] UK based paint manufacturer.

Old china paint stock is still doing the rounds so purchases can still be a bit hit & miss – esp with acrylics in my experience.

Tamiya paints are great for airbrushing but can be tricky with a paint brush.
Glue-wise I seem to use CA glue (super-glue) more and more these days but also use Humbrol Liquid Poly or Mr Cement. (I avoid the stuff in tubes at all cost).
I also try and use the recommended branded thinner for each paint.
I’ve never had any success with using water as a thinner with acrylics.

@john_drummer & Harry_the_spider – some really nice work there!! 🙂

This thread has inspired me to dig a Ferrari enjoy out that I started 3 years ago when my son was born! Luckily all the paints still seem ok so going to crack on with it this evening once the little tyke has gone to bed!

Behave! I’m not in John’s league, or any of the others that have posted images of their work, but I have regressed to my 12 year old self. The paint job on the Spitfires and the BF109 will be better than on the Typhoon.

but I have regressed to my 12 year old self

I know, I’m the same … all that’s missing is the spots, the bad hair-cuts, crap taste in guitar music and excessive use of kleenex … oh … hang on a minute! 😳

Anyway … Here’s some bicycles:

Nice ^

Tamiya 1:24 Aston Martin DBS:

Probably as close as I’ll ever get to owning one!

^^ impressive paint job! 😉

Airfix kit A50153 – old tool for the Mk1 Hurricane just looked a bit wrong when I’d finished it (wings too thick etc) so I decided to create a ‘vignette’ based on the Christmas card depicting a Hurricane in the snow, December 1940:

A question… Why don’t Airfix put Swastikas on the decals? IIRC when I was a lad they weren’t on the box artwork, but were included in the kit.

I know that the Nazis were the bad guys, but for the sake of historical accuracy I thought that it would be included. Putting a Swastika on the tail fin of a tiny little model plane isn’t going to change my political leanings.

Photos of the Revell HE-111 show it.

I really like that Digby.

From memory I think it’s because the kits are sold in Germany where it is still illegal to display swastikas. That’s what I remember being told anyway.

After market sheets of swastika decals can be purchased from the likes of Hannants.

@Kuco – thanks! 🙂

I like the snow Hurricane* too, but you could have given the guy a coat you tight git. He’ll catch his death.

*Quickly busted open my Mk1 Airfix Hurricane. From the detail and the number of parts it must be from a new mould. I won’t be faffing with the rudder pedals on this one.

but you could have given the guy a coat you tight git.

Don’t you know there’s a war on? 😉

The new tool Mk1 Hurricane is a vast improvement – a real pleasure to make!

I got a Bandai Stormtrooper kit, and in contrast to almost every other kit I’ve got recently, I’ve actually made it! It helped that it’s a very high quality snap fix and importantly doesn’t require painting. I did apply the proper decals this afternoon rather than use the stickers.

No pictures yet, though.

I can highly recommend plastic weld liquid cement that you apply with a brush. Much more controlled and it will flow along seams and fill them.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00QQNNWIW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483905790&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=plastic+weld&dpPl=1&dpID=410sflmwpEL&ref=plSrch%5B\url]

I do have some liquid poly but the bottle is tall & narrow so I’m always worried about knocking it over

Not an Xmas build but an Xmas rescue from my mums cellar some of the “battle” damage is unintentional.

I’ve never had any success with using water as a thinner with acrylics

Createx air brush cleaner is what I use to thin acrylics, not found one it doesn’t work on yet.

I used to use liquid poly but it isn’t thin enough, I buy Dichloromethane from eBay and use that. Half a litre is about 6 quid.

Digby, that snow on the Hurricane looks really good, what did you use?

A couple of mine although not Christmas builds as I’ve changed track to railway modelling, which the wife is happier about as the train set actually does something! Glue wise I tend to stick to tamiya thin cement but it generally has to be imported.