georgeusa Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 This is another kit that is being sacrificed so I can learn to airbrush. I started it as I am waiting for my latest airbrush disaster (Neptune Build) to finish drying so I can attempt to fix/repair the damage I have done through means I am not sure of. So, another fatted calf off to my painting slaughter house. It is the 1/32 Hasegawa Kawasaki Ki-61-1 Otsu (Tony) Shinten Seikutai. Whew, try and say that quickly. I chose this kit as it should be an easy build and it will be an experiment with Japanese camo schemes before I attack my ZM Raiden that is patiently waiting to be painted. If I can get the scheme I am doing down right, I will tackle the Raiden next. If you check some of my more recent WIPs you will find I consider airbrushing a dark art that is always trying to defeat me (and it succeeds most of the time) This will be an OOB as the main point is to get to the airbrush camo stage. So here goes. . . I gave the cockpit parts a base coat of interior paint. While that dried, I painted the various interior detail parts while still on the sprue. When the base coat had dried, I glued the main instrument panel to the front bulkhead and applied the decal for the instruments. This photo reflects the decal is resisting conforming to the panel surface and I am coaxing into compliance. Resistance is futile. Next up, I install all the little pieces where they should go in the main cockpit parts to get ready to do the detail painting and weathering. I have also coaxed all the decals for instruments to conform to their respective surfaces. (Not a great talent I have, just Micro Set and Sol make me look like I know what I am doing.) I am going to let this dry overnight before I get down to detailing and weathering. As always, all comments welcome. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 We're rootin' fer yer! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luftwaffe Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 How about you remove the decal and just drybrush the panel? Looks not good this way, especially at this large scale. But maybe the makro did its worst here and it's better in reality. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 How about you remove the decal and just drybrush the panel? Looks not good this way, especially at this large scale. But maybe the makro did its worst here and it's better in reality. The decal had not yet conformed to the panel details. Also, I think once buttoned up, the likelihood this will be seen is slim to none. I may try that though if I don't like the finished version. I haven't done the detail painting and weathering. If I don't like how it looks, I will remove the decal and go to drybrushing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Could I have built one of those about 40 years ago? I have a vague memory... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Could I have built one of those about 40 years ago? I have a vague memory... Maybe, if it was 1/32 and the Revell version. The Hasegawa 1/32 version is from 2007 I think. Now they have had a 1/72 version around about 40 years though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted July 13, 2014 Author Share Posted July 13, 2014 Short update with the cockpit. I’ve painted all of the base colors and detail painting to the cockpit components. Now I just need to let it dry and then it will be weathered and tattered up. As always, all comments welcome. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crusty one Posted July 13, 2014 Share Posted July 13, 2014 got my fingers crossed for you mate...looking good so far..i too am on a steep learning curve regarding airbrushing,i only have a badger beginners airbrush with compressed air cans so im a bit limited as to what can be achieved:( never the less im enjoying learning to use it and have noticed a marked improvement in the results i have achieved so keep at it my friend! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 Update cockpit weathering. I started dirtying up the cockpit area with a layer of Tamiya Smoke. Before the smoke base coat is dry, I go over the area with acrylic thinner to manipulate the layers of smoke to get an uneven wear pattern along the surface. After that dries, there is some drybrushing using metallic silver to highlight details and add wear and tear to the cockpit surfaces. Here are the component results. The cockpit pieces are put together. What is missing is seatbelts. None are provided in the kit as either molded detail or a decal. Turning to Eduard and a generic WWII Japanese set, I picked this type out for the kit. It looks rather nice. Right now, it looks like the weathering process is overdone in some areas. However, when the cockpit is put together and installed in the fuselage, the light and shadows will tone down the weathering process. The other fuselage side is attached and this is left to dry And the cockpit looks like this once the halves are joined. The top gun cowl is attached to the airframe. There are some gaps that will need to be taken care of and some seams that will need sanding and filling. The bottom fuselage section coupled with the wing spar is attached. There are some seams and gap work needed here too. And then the tail planes The last item to be worked on is the cockpit headrest section. I have assembled the headrest section And installed it As you can see, there are some more gaps and seams that need to be worked on. I don’t really blame the kit on these gaps and seams. I figure my ham-fistedness has something to do with it. Once the gaps are filled and sanded, the paint for the headrest will be applied and weathered to blend into the rest of the cockpit. So until then, and as always, all comments welcome. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawel Szczudlyk Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 This one I like it Nice pit by the way. I will watch this Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crusty one Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Really like the weathering technique you have used in the cockpit...looks supurb! im watching you George!:-) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg B Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 What decal solution were you using George? Hasegawa decals are normally thick and need quite an aggressive solution. Its coming along nicely anyway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luftwaffe Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Nice so far. I think you could apply some light weathering to the seatbelts aswell,they look some kind of to clean for the rest of the cockpit imo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 What decal solution were you using George? Hasegawa decals are normally thick and need quite an aggressive solution. Its coming along nicely anyway. I generally go from a mild setting solution to an aggressive one. My preferred place to start is with Micro Sol/Set. I would rather do multiple applications of this combo if I see it is working than just one coat of a very aggressive solution. I just seem to get better control this way. So for most of my builds, the decals all are put down with Micro Sol/Set. Thanks for looking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 Nice so far. I think you could apply some light weathering to the seatbelts aswell,they look some kind of to clean for the rest of the cockpit imo. Thomas, You are correct. I do need to dirty them up a bit. They do look too clean. Thanks for pointing it out. A picture to follow. Next up is sanding and filling the fuselage seams. UGGGHHH. Next to masking a canopy, the least desirable part of modelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg B Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 I generally go from a mild setting solution to an aggressive one. My preferred place to start is with Micro Sol/Set. I would rather do multiple applications of this combo if I see it is working than just one coat of a very aggressive solution. I just seem to get better control this way. So for most of my builds, the decals all are put down with Micro Sol/Set. Thanks for looking. See if you can find solvaset, it really gives Hasegawa decals a work over Another tip is to use a cloth soaked in very hot water and pressed against the decal, that should make it conform in future. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 Thanks to a comment by Luftwaffe (Thomas), it was brought to my attention I had a quite used cockpit with too pristine seatbelts. That has now been remedied and the seatbelts now look like this. That looks a lot better, thanks Thomas. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carts Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Great looking pit,will follow this thread with interest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 Really like the weathering technique you have used in the cockpit...looks supurb! im watching you George!:-) That's what the probation officer said too. Didn't know he was interested in modeling? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg B Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 That's what the probation officer said too. Didn't know he was interested in modeling? Probably not you plastic modelling anyway 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 (edited) Looks good, but I'm not sure the IJA used shoulder harness' in their aircraft. I left them off in my kit, but admittedly, I couldn't find a picture anywhere to either confirm or refute that. Edited July 16, 2014 by Brad 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I'm looking forward to the airbrushing part. - just make sure you have your chicken bones and runes all at the ready... and maybe a small furry animal. I find the gods prefer the ones with the big doe eyes - the cuter the better 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Just to let you know that the airbrushing trials and tribulations are not unique to you..... I had a go at the Dalek this morning.... I bought some Testors Pearl Gold and tried spraying it this morning - not good. I thought it looked a bit thick out of the bottle although it says you can spray without thinning. I added a few drops of flow enhancer and a few drops of IPA. Using the Trumpeter Dauphin as a test bed, I started spraying - first at low pressure (10 - 15 psi) and it was rubbish. The coverage was not good, and it started to run. Where I had large flat areas the paint ran on itself, and where I had corners, the paint ran away from the corners! I then tried again using it straight from the bottle (no thinners), - same result.... upped the pressure as Testors recommend 20 - 30 psi - same result! I shall now avoid Testors Pearl finish paints - that was the same type I had issues with on the DB5. I seem to be able to use their acrylics without any problems but definitely not the pearl finish paints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Millman Posted July 22, 2014 Share Posted July 22, 2014 Very nice indeed! Confirm no shoulder belts on Army seats only waist belts. The head armour (the whole triangular piece behind the padded headrest) was painted matt black, eventually looking grey, but dependent on your chosen subject it was usually removed from air-to-air ramming planes. http://www.aviationofjapan.com/2013/11/armour-plate-on-ki-61-hien.html Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeusa Posted August 22, 2014 Author Share Posted August 22, 2014 Finally an update! The fuselage was buttoned up in the last escapade. Since then, I have filled and sanded the fuselage seams and done some touch up painting in the cockpit. The next items on the agenda are the wings and radiator assembly. First up, the wings. They went together well and the insert for the cannon bulge also fit. I then test fit them to the fuselage and the wing spar that is designed to be self-aligning with these results. The starboard wing fits nicely to the fuselage, but has a large step. I am going to try to expand the wing section with a spacer and see if I can reduce the step. The port wing, I am not sure what happened. It also has a small step but at the front of the wing is a fairly large gap. I am not sure if I got the spar misaligned or what. If the spar was misaligned though, I would think the starboard wing would then have a gap at the rear of the wing, but it doesn’t. For the port wing, I may try to trim a bit to see if I can get a better fit or just apply generous amounts of stretched sprue/filler to the gap. I really expected a better fit, but it may be due to my crappy building skills. While I ponder the wing situation, the radiator was up next. I put the basic parts together . . . Only to find out that there is a part missing for the radiator vents at the front of the radiator. Somehow, I am missing one of the parts of the front radiator ducting. I will put it together to see how odd it looks and try to come up with a solution. Here are all of the parts painted and installed As you can see in the last picture the ducting looks woefully inadequate, like something may be missing. To make the part I would have to create a complex curve that is S shape and I think that is quite beyond my hapless scratch building skills. Being the lazy builder I am, I think the illusion of ducting would work given how much will be visible when the radiator is installed with the wings and all the other goop at the bottom of the plane. So, getting a trusty piece of twist tie, I stripped the red paper backing off to reveal this lovely piece of wire. I cut a piece to the length of the opening and inserted it and the illusion comes to life. Now all I have to cut a couple of small pieces of the same wire and create the bracing look. And that’s all for now. As always, all comments are welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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