RAAF Meteor F8 A77-851 "Halestorm" (MPM 1/72)

[Procopius]

I'll be building the MPM "RAAF Meteor F.8 Over Korea" boxing of their Meteor kit, using a mix of kit decals and some spares very kindly sent to me by Forlornhope here on the forums that should enable me to make the jet of F/O George S Hale, who was credited with one "probable" and one "damaged" MiG-15 in a single combat on 27 March, 1953. Here's a picture of the aircraft shortly after the fight:

(AWM/JK0683, copyright expired)

Note the "MiG Killer" written in the soot around the cannons.

I'll post a picture of the kit shortly; I'm at work right now, and in any case I need to finish a D.520 kit before I start this guy.

I normally use Tamiya XF-16 for High Speed Silver, but I've been considering alternative paints for a less grainy finish; Alclad won't work because of the poor weather and poor ventilation in my workroom.

[-Neu-]

Awesome!

I built this same kit, but as "bowl them over." It one of the first models I completed in my return to the hobby like seven years ago.

I've got a second boxing, which I'd love to build but I don't think I'll get to it.

[Black Knight]

I'll be keeping an eye on this as this is a subject I want to build soon.

[Procopius]

I literally just built "Bowl 'Em Over" two weeks ago as a prep for this build! However, I've since discovered that the serial is wrong; it should be A77-207, with the 207 replicated on the nose, not 17. MADDENING.

Also, what silver did you use? Looks amazing.

Mine doesn't look quite this bad in real life, but still:

[-Neu-]

Thanks Proc! Its one of the first NMF kits I ever did, and I think it is still one of the best.

I hate to tell you this but the paint I used is....

Alclad.

One option you might consider is Gunze's relatively new line of metallic paints, Mr Super Metallic. I've only used it for small things, but I think you can apply it by brush and get pretty good outcomes. Unfortunately, the only place you can buy it is on Ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xgunze+super+metallic&_nkw=gunze+super+metallic&_sacat=0&_from=R40

[Procopius]

You break my heart, Neu.

Well, maybe I could move my airbrush to the garage for this. The weather's a little better these days. What do I need for spraying alclad?

[-Neu-]

You break my heart, Neu.

Well, maybe I could move my airbrush to the garage for this. The weather's a little better these days. What do I need for spraying alclad?

Other than the Alclad... a good primer base. I would argue its far more important than the actual alclad itself, which is why I've experimented with a dozen different approaches. Ideally it should be gloss black (or another dark hue), but different colours and finishes will have different effects. I now use Gunze's new mr finishing surfacer black, with a leveling thinner or some other glossing agent that gives it a really nice finish. This was my first recent attempt with it:

That was my first coat... I added a leveling agent to get a glossier second coat on some surfaces (some I wanted flatter and more worn), upon which I painted the Alclad.

There are a lot of different options. You can also use plain old testors model master paint, but you should wait for it to fully cure for about four days (or until the smell is gone).

[Procopius]

[darson]

Other than the Alclad... a good primer base. I would argue its far more important than the actual alclad itself, which is why I've experimented with a dozen different approaches. Ideally it should be gloss black (or another dark hue), but different colours and finishes will have different effects. I now use Gunze's new mr finishing surfacer black, with a leveling thinner or some other glossing agent that gives it a really nice finish. This was my first recent attempt with it:

Proc as Neu said a good flat base coat is vital when putting down a doped or NMF. I would normally prime, wet sand and polish with micromesh, touch up the primer if required and then lay the first of several misted layers of silver/metal.

Also if you are looking for a good High Speed Silver, I suggest Tamiya's AS-12 decanted and sprayed through your AB.

[Procopius]

Arg, this is starting to sound expensive. Would AS-12 work straight from the can? Otherwise I have to buy lacquer thinner, a respirator, the alclad, the primer, and micromesh. Yowch.

[darson]

Arg, this is starting to sound expensive. Would AS-12 work straight from the can? Otherwise I have to buy lacquer thinner, a respirator, the alclad, the primer, and micromesh. Yowch.

Yes absolutely AS-12 will work straight from the rattle can it's just you won't have the control you normally would with an AB.

When I'm spraying a rattle can I always do it outdoors due to fumes and and over spray so just watch this and use lots of newspaper to catch the spray.

Also, if you have an old kit you can use as a test bed I highly recommend practice on this first.

Cheers

[Mozzy19]

You can get the Micromesh for a reasonable price here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131134988984?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 My last lot came from here although I'm not sure if they charge extra for international postage.

Great choice by the way, looking forward to it!

Sean

[Julien]

As good as Neu's model is does not look right as these aircraft were not NMF but High Speed Silver.

Hannants make this as a paint in their xtracolor range and it works very well. A good alternative I find is Humbrol Chrome Silver. This was painted using the xtracolor paint.

This sabre was painted using chrome silver.

Julien

[Procopius]

Are there acrylic equivalents? IIRC Navy Bird has used Alclad as HSS on his Skua, and it seems to look pretty nice.

[-Neu-]

As good as Neu's model is does not look right as these aircraft were not NMF but High Speed Silver.

I plead ignorance! it was like my 4th model after I returned to the hobby. Really The Ki-61 would be more akin to the effect you want.

Honestly Proc... bite the bullet and go with alclad. I've tried a lot of different products and type, and it (along with Mr Super Metallic) are the only thing I really like.

Edited April 15, 2014 by -Neu-

[Procopius]

Neu, mon frere d'autre mere, I think I will take the plunge, though that will slow completion of this build, as my wife (who is great, see below) and I have a deal as to how much money I spend per month on modelling stuff and books, and I'm tapped out until this time in May right now. Which is fine, I can still build the damn thing, I just hate to leave a model set aside for that long. Of course, clever me, all my possible alternate builds are also silver birds: SAAF F-86 and F-51, RAAF F-51, "North Korean" MiG-15...oh, wait! The Royal Navy comes to my rescue again! Okay, I got this.

This is my wife, by the way, "helping" me unload groceries on Saturday. She is thirty years old and has a Master's degree, but sometimes I wonder:

[John Laidlaw]

What a lovely lady!

With regard to High Speed Silver, try either Humbrol 11 mixed with gloss enamel clear, 50:50, or try decanted Tamiya TS-30. After either, it's a case of 'weathering' the finish, either with washes or with gloss/satin/matte varnishes. If you can find Floquil Old Silver, use that, as it's perfect for a weathered version of the finish. Testor's Chrome Silver is great if cut with a matte white or grey.

As an aside, TS-30 followed by Alclad II Chrome gives a great base for a natural metal finish. Pat Hawkey recommended it, so I tried it. It really works!

If you want a good Acrylic paint, Games Workshop Mithril Silver (now known as Runefang Silver) does the job very well, although it's not as tough as an enamel, and thinning (with de-ionised water) is an art. Worth a shot if you don't want the smell of lacquers/enamels.

Vallejo Model Air metallics work well, but use their own thinners (very little!) or airbrush cleaner to spray. Leave them for a couple of days to cure, or you'll be painting it all over again...

[Brews]

I normally use Tamiya XF-16 for High Speed Silver, but I've been considering alternative paints for a less grainy finish

That's what I would use, too. I don't know what you did to get that grain in yours!

An option you might consider is Tamiya Silver Leaf (TS-30??) in a rattle can. You can always decant it and let it sit over night (to de-gas) before spraying in an airbrush if you don't like the rattle can.

[Procopius]

I haven't forgotten about this. Just waiting to finish the rest.

[trickyrich]

I like your choice!!

For some reason I have forgotten all about this GB! But with my current model work load I'm not sure I can join the fun.

So will be watching your build instead.....no pressure!

[Procopius]

[Procopius]

It's interesting (to who, Edward? who could possibly find this interesting?) that this will be the fourth Meteor I've built this year, beating out Mustangs (a plane I actually dislike) at three builds, and more blasphemously, Spitfires, with only two plus a Seafire completed so far in 2014. (I've also built a Hawker Typhoon, a Hunter, and a Swift, besides the Sabre.) I think this points to some long-hidden love for the noble Meatbox, as I've never built one before this year. I do remember as a boy of about eleven, drawing, in the innocence of youth, a 77 Squadron Meteor blasting the tail off a MiG-15, because at that tender age, I failed to realize how hideously outclassed the poor things were over Korea.

Incidentally, I'd like to meet the sadist who thought that I'd relish the chance to build the rockets and their rails from about eight hundred slender pieces of highly frangible resin and then mount them by means of a photoetch template and dead-reckoning. Not to hurt them, you realize, but to understand them. Once I understood them, then I'd hurt them.

[Procopius]

So I decided to build a little friend for the RAAF F.8 so it didn't get lonely (and so I don't go completely crackers because I'm only building GB subjects instead of my more usual "well this seems cool right now" method) and so I'm building the Revell boxing of MPM's Meteor F.4 to go with this.

Both of these kits appear to suffer from "thick wing syndrome", a vicious social disease spread by frolicking about to and fro in Eastern Europe or other parts of the world where limited run kits can be found in large numbers. Now, I'm not a huge accuracy guy (although I prefer to build accurate kits, and some things, like the inaccuracy issues with the Special Hobby Spitfire 21/22/24/Seafire 45/46/47 series drive me UP A WALL), and I can't visually identify most inaccuracies, but that being said, thick wings and too-large canopies are always very obvious to me and spoil the look of the model. So I've already sanded down the F.8 wings, but (and I know this isn't part of the GB) the F.4 wings, being composed of the center section and then the slightly-canted upwards parts of the wings outboard of the engines is a little trickier, and I'm debating what to do about 'em.

[Stew Dapple]

Good start PC, how are you getting on with the kit? It looks quite nicely moulded but I'd probably be tempted to give the RPs a miss but that's me, I have no shame

Cheers,

Stew

[Procopius]

To be quite honest with you, I got nothing done on it this week until yesterday night, when I painted the seat cushion and closed up the fuselage and added the upper part of the wing. This week has been kind of nuts for us ("us" being me and Mrs. Procopius, as school's out for summer as of next week and her students scent it like sharks smell blood). As for the rockets...well, on one hand, I feel I did pay a premium for the kit, so maybe I should try, for the education of the viewing public. But on the other hand, no, never, a thousand times no.