A Valiant Attempt (1/72 Suez Crisis Airfix Valiant)

[Biggles87]

Al

Alclad High Speed Silver eh? Does it look much different than Aluminium or some of their other shades?

Why would you want to use that? High speed silver was paint, not a NM finish, I'm sure there are cheaper alternatives

John

Edited November 7, 2015 by Biggles87

[Procopius]

You have to love America.

Must I?

Here we have IPMS shows called things like "Salisbury", "Yeovilton February Show" and (daringly omitting the place name) "Scale Model World". You are going to a show called Butch O'Hare. Bubba Gump is next week, Cletus Appalachian Inbred the week after?

Well, in fairness, Lt Commander Edward "Butch" O'Hare provides not only the name for our international airport, but is also a legitimate war hero as well. But don't get me started on the difference between US and UK airshows. Have I covered that before?

Why would you want to use that? High speed silver was paint, not a NM finish, I'm sure there are cheaper alternatives

Americans have never shrunk from throwing money at a problem regardless of whether or not that will resolve it. That aside, however:

1. I have in the past used Tamiya XF-16 for High Speed Silver, and it looks weird and grainy and terrible in this scale to me.

2. Alclad, though it has many faults, doesn't look grainy.

3. Thanks to the miracle of dullcoat, that excessive metal sheen can be taken care of.

4. The price differential between Alclad and sone other paint isn't appreciable for me. And this is the same name as the colour I'm painting!

5. These HSS Canberras have a nice single-tone metallic sheen to them. I agree if I were Alcladding it with panel variation, that would be very wrong.

Alclad High Speed Silver eh? Does it look much different than Aluminium or some of their other shades?

Hmmm, hard to tell. When I've gotten more painting done I'll put it next to an XF-16 Meteor and an Alclad Aluminium F-51.

Wifey got a new eyeball today.

!!! Replacement, or additional?

Up 'early' for SMW. You know, after our BoB trip, what I'm like early in the morning. Apologies.

Charming, a good conversationalist, etc.

Also, a new Victor! I tipped the scales of causality by purchasing the Flightpath B.1 set recently. You're all very welcome.

[Col.]

Already you have us at the painting stage? Good work sir. All the more so while taking your first steps into fatherhood

Also, a new Victor! I tipped the scales of causality by purchasing the Flightpath B.1 set recently. You're all very welcome.

Well the Airfix kit is a B.2 so that set is a necessary part of the conversion you will undertake to produce a B.1 for our entertainment and delight.

As well as inspiring a selection of sales for the Airfix kit as we all watch your progress. Just as I'm seriously contemplating a Valiant for the stash off the back of this thread.

[Biggles87]

i read many years ago that if you mix a small amount of pale grey, eg light aircraft grey, to silver it reduces the grainy effect, I've tried it on Humbrol Metalcote paints and it works quite well, haven't tried it with Tamiya acrylics but I don't see why it shouldn't work for them.

John

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Well, in fairness, Lt Commander Edward "Butch" O'Hare provides not only the name for our international airport, but is also a legitimate war hero as well. But don't get me started on the difference between US and UK airshows. Have I covered that before?

I know who O'Hare was - by an odd coincidence, I was reading about him only the other day, in an article about USS Lexington at The Coral Sea. I think it's rather cool naming a show after a hero. Less sure about naming them after airports, though. The "IPMS Eugene Esmonde Memorial model show at RNAS Yeovilton has a certain ring to it. The "IPMS Robin Hood Airport show" rather less so!

Thanks for your work on the Victor; the coolest of the V bombers for me (sorry, Robvulcan!). The new kit us a B2, so your Flightpath B1 set might yet come in handy - I am no expert, but even I know they had different engines and thus much bigger intakes. To a man of your modelling skill, a mere detail!

Edited November 7, 2015 by Ex-FAAWAFU

[Navy Bird]

Why would you want to use that? High speed silver was paint, not a NM finish, I'm sure there are cheaper alternatives

John

Cheers, John! I didn't say I wanted to, I was just asking how it compared to their other shades. Technically, "High Speed Silver" was not a paint by itself, but a term used to describe a high gloss paint finishing process (called DTD-772) when the base colour was silver. DTD-772 could be applied to almost any colour in the RAF/FAA inventory. There is a great entry on this over at Nick Millman's American Aircraft for the RAF blog.

I use Alclad for a lot of things that aren't NMF per se, for the same reasons that PC has described above. I simply hate grainy silver, especially in 1:72. I have been using Floquil Old Silver, but alas the bean counters at Testors (or whoever owns them) have axed the complete Floquil, Pactra, and Polly Scale product lines.

!!! Replacement, or additional?

<snip>

Also, a new Victor! I tipped the scales of causality by purchasing the Flightpath B.1 set recently. You're all very welcome.

An additional one - I hadn't thought of that! She'd look like one of the old Hudson Hornets...

Actually, she suffered a completely detached retina last year and has had several surgeries to correct that. This almost always causes cataracts to form, so this week she had that removed and a new lens put in. Early next year, she needs to go under the laser and have the scar tissue removed and the incisions "smoothed." At the end of the day, hopefully she'll regain full use of her sight in that eye (it's her right eye). Right now, all she sees is indistinct, blurry shapes - not unlike watching an old "B" horror movie late at night on a B&W set with a picture tube that won't focus.

Cheers,

Bill

PS. I just had a look and I've got the Revell/Matchbox kit and the Flightpath B.1 set in my stash as well. You know what? I'm going to build it anyway - just for spite.

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Sounds nasty. Get well soon Mrs Navy Bird (Wren Bird?)

[Navy Bird]

Sounds nasty. Get well soon Mrs Navy Bird (Wren Bird?)

I was talking to the doctor yesterday, and we discussed how she is awake for the surgeries, but tends to not have any recollection afterward. Apparently, they need her to be able to follow directions if they need her to do anything. During this week's procedure, they had to keep telling her "Can you stop talking now? We're trying to cut your eye open."

Cheers,

Bill

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

17 pages ago I planned a quick look at BM before climbing up the loft to potter about and try to get one kit finished this year!

What a great read with such variety.

Children..yes the trials and tribulations. No proper sleep for three years (No 2 arrived after two years) and a uniform with spots where No1 was sick every time I picked him up.What's not to like?

Oh..nearly forgot..like the Valiant.

Richard

[Navy Bird]

Wow, just when we're speaking of Alclad and the RAF at the same time...and they've gone and announced a new line of enamel "MIL-SPEC" colours:

http://imodeler.com/2015/11/product-news-alclad-ii/

Made In England, no less. Who woulda thunk? It's not just Airfix who is surprising today at SMW.

Cheers,

Bill

PS. Where is that Valiant, anyway?

[Procopius]

As well as inspiring a selection of sales for the Airfix kit as we all watch your progress. Just as I'm seriously contemplating a Valiant for the stash off the back of this thread.

That makes me glad to read -- I know I'm not a master modeller and my painting technique is pretty weak, but I do like to think that my build threads show that very few kits are unbuildable, even if you don't even believe in yourself or try hard.

I know who O'Hare was - by an odd coincidence, I was reading about him only the other day, in an article about USS Lexington at The Coral Sea.

Yes, in retrospect I realized -- too late -- how pedantic of me that was.

I think it's rather cool naming a show after a hero. Less sure about naming them after airports, though.

Certainly the show nearest the former Washington National Airport could get contentious. Sadly, we never did name an airport after Nixon (my favourite president of the last fifty years, which is distinct from being the best; we won't know the latter for probably at least another 50 years, if even within my lifetime at all). Maybe they could convince the Thais to rename Korat?

Right now, all she sees is indistinct, blurry shapes - not unlike watching an old "B" horror movie late at night on a B&W set with a picture tube that won't focus.

Best wishes to Mrs. Navy Swan, but I feel compelled to add that this sounds like a pretty great way to spend time, speaking as a habitual attendee of B-Fest.

Already you have us at the painting stage? Good work sir. All the more so while taking your first steps into fatherhood

Well...not quite.

The much-improved control surfaces:

High-speed silver on an un-smoothed kit part, and also a more thoroughly prepared one. I'll leave you to guess which is which.

Stash seems to be more or less under control:

[Col.]

Wow, just when we're speaking of Alclad and the RAF at the same time...and they've gone and announced a new line of enamel "MIL-SPEC" colours:

http://imodeler.com/2015/11/product-news-alclad-ii/

Made In England, no less. Who woulda thunk? It's not just Airfix who is surprising today at SMW.

Cheers,

Bill

PS. Where is that Valiant, anyway?

What's that. Someone other than Airfix, oh and Revell, released new stuff at Telford!?! Who'd have thunk it.

Interesting link Bill. Thanks for sharing.

Nice stash PC. Plenty Hunters, Flankers, Martlets... Extremely cool.

[philp]

I have used the Tamiya silver from the rattle can on a couple recent builds and had no issues.

72nd Cylon Raider under construction.

72nd P-38 finished.

[CedB]

"Charming, a good conversationalist, etc." thanks PC, very kind

Oooh, I see lots of sanding in your future... but that 'prepared part' does look nice.

[rob85]

Nice work PC. It would appear that the preping of the surface helps some what!

Navy bird, best of luck to your wife and Her eye's recovery, sounds a very unpleasant experience.

Rob

[rob85]

Also nice collection you have there Mr p....are you going to be doing the hunter GB?!!!

Rob

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Ooh, Hector, Addax & Osprey all visible. Not enough helicopters.

Carry on.

[Biggles87]

Also nice collection you have there Mr p....are you going to be doing the hunter GB?!!!

Rob

Even better, will you be doing all of them for the GB!

[Learstang]

I don't know about that stash, PC; you're running dangerously low on Hunters. Then again, I've only got about ten/twenty/indeterminate unbuilt/incomplete Il-2s in my stash. Nice work on the Valiant by the way. And also nice work on little PC (although I am led to understand that the distaff side did most of the heavy lifting).

Regards,

Jason

[perdu]

So...

You will be opening a shop then PC

Did you know that is how many great model shops began

my good friend ED had so many kits that his stash overran the whole house

So he opened a shop and gave us delights like C-Scale and the like before he retired from a very tiring hobby-job

I like the silver on those wide flappy thingies (whaddaya say, not bad at the aviation terminology huh?)

Coming along swimmingly

Just looking at a couple of Valiant models on the Bomber Command tables and I thought how well Airyfix had done with the tailplane trailing edges

Proper job...

[Procopius]

Also nice collection you have there Mr p....are you going to be doing the hunter GB?!!!

I don't know about that stash, PC; you're running dangerously low on Hunters.

Probably not, TBQH -- I like group builds in theory, and have generally enjoyed participating, but I'm a free spirit, I can't be chained down. However, the plan is to do a joint build thread with -Neu- next, with me doing Hunters and he a Lightning, so that should prove a momentary distraction on the road to the grave.

Ooh, Hector, Addax & Osprey all visible. Not enough helicopters.

I have two Lynxes, plus a Sea King AEW and a HAS.6 (though I'd like to do the Falklands HAS.5 from the Combat Decals sheet), an Apache with a WAH-64 conversion set, a Belvedere, three Whirlwinds, a Scout, and two Wessexes. Already built are a Merlin and two Lynxes (Endurance ICE and a Falklands missile-lobber). Planning to risk the Mach 2 Dragonfly as well. Let me know which one is most likely to squeeze anecdotes of thrilling derring-do from you, and it will be shoehorned into the program ASAP.

Then again, I've only got about ten/twenty/indeterminate unbuilt/incomplete Il-2s in my stash.

I have meant to buy your book, BTW, but I'm worried I can't afford to suddenly add a bunch of Soviet stuff (plus paint!) to the stash, modest though it is.

So he opened a shop and gave us delights like C-Scale and the like before he retired from a very tiring hobby-job

See, you had me until this part. "Tiring"? Eep. I have often fantasized that if I somehow wrote and sold my memoirs and made a fortune, I'd either go the Sir Peter Jackson/Wingnut Wings route, or at least just pump money into Freightdog like there's no tomorrow. Or maybe just start an aftermarket decal company.

[Navy Bird]

...if I somehow wrote and sold my memoirs and made a fortune, I'd either go the Sir Peter Jackson/Wingnut Wings route, or at least just pump money into Freightdog like there's no tomorrow. Or maybe just start an aftermarket decal company.

I figured you would write the definitive treatise on 2nd Millennium BC Anatolian epic poetry.

Cheers,

Bill

[Procopius]

I figured you would write the definitive treatise on 2nd Millennium BC Anatolian epic poetry.

Wealth and fame can't be far behind! Though I don't like to brag, I did have a distinguished academic recently reply first to a post I made on an Amazon review, and then to me by email, so clearly fortune does indeed await me.

(Real Talk: I generally dislike academic examinations of poetry, beyond annotating them to provide context; I'm with Archibald MacLeish on this.)

[Navy Bird]

Wealth and fame can't be far behind! Though I don't like to brag, I did have a distinguished academic recently reply first to a post I made on an Amazon review, and then to me by email, so clearly fortune does indeed await me.

(Real Talk: I generally dislike academic examinations of poetry, beyond annotating them to provide context; I'm with Archibald MacLeish on this.)

But this is epic poetry! You seem so Homeric and all.

Cheers,

Bill

[Supertom]

I use Alclad for a lot of things that aren't NMF per se, for the same reasons that PC has described above. I simply hate grainy silver, especially in 1:72. I have been using Floquil Old Silver, but alas the bean counters at Testors (or whoever owns them) have axed the complete Floquil, Pactra, and Polly Scale product lines.

Try Warhammer/Citadel's Runefang Steel (formerly known as Mithril Silver) - it's the best silver paint I've seen, and it's acrylic!