Thom216 Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 Lovely work on that engine! And yes, what brand of pens do you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 I can only echo what's been said before. Really beautiful work and great patience (something I must learn!). Looking forward to seeing your progress. Edge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 What a pleasure to see your progress and attention to detail, keep them pics coming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted October 31, 2017 Author Share Posted October 31, 2017 Nothing special - just put 'metallic' pens into Amazon or ebay. You get sets of 10 or so for less than $5 - I have got a few sets as each have slightly different tips, or shades....some are 'softer', some are more 'pointy' or more 'silver'...but so easy to use for detail stuff - and quicker and cleaner as well. If you haven't tried them, those 'Molotiv' (spelling!) silver pens are also incredible for chrome.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted November 1, 2017 Author Share Posted November 1, 2017 Few more updates - the sub assemblies are getting bigger now! Some more PE parts found in the Eduard set - various panel details... Tonal work with oils - I had mixed the colour, but needed it with more red so used red oil paint brushed over. In hind-sight I was about to try some of those 'dry' decals on these two tanks....I should have done that before I used any oils or panel wash on the parts, as there was some reaction with various fluids. The decals I am talking about are the ones that you 'soak' on to the model for a few hours, and then you can totally remove the clear support layer that you can often see (silvering etc) - Attaching PE straps... These are the decals - in these shots I am trying to show the very very thin clear layer that I am very carefully peeling off - biggest pain is actually finding the 'edge' to peel without scratching the paint...because I had already applied oil, the clear film removed some of this 'weathering' - so defeating the object of the exercise, but as these parts are well hidden, I'll live with it and learn! Similarly, some of the decals cracked and peeled off - it's fine, the parts are well worn!! You can clearly see the decal carrier lifting off the oil finish I had applied - should have done decals first... Wing taking shape - screws hold the ends to the central section - it is super stiff and very even and well-fitting... Magnets are used to hold some of the very thin panel in place... Couldn't resist... Nothing actually attached yet... One of the biggest learning curves is knowing at what point to paint something - before assembly or after - you kinda have to imagine how complicated any masking is going to be!! More tiny straps - 3 parts! Wing top panels going on - again, a precision fit... 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted November 1, 2017 Author Share Posted November 1, 2017 I'm sort of ready to join the fuselage halves together, but I want to get some decent pictures of the sub-assemblies that will get hidden!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted November 15, 2017 Author Share Posted November 15, 2017 Gradually getting through the many parts! This is a wing insert, and I'm showing how I get the 'oily/grubby' look, which is all new to me - so learning! I had sprayed the part with alclad aluminium and I have now brushed on an oil paint wash. I have already found that it gives more control than the Tamiya panel wash - which is much thinner and great for picking out....panel lines! I then use a cotton bud to wipe off the excess (obviously access is important here) and I quite like the finish it gives - it takes the shine of the ali finish (used/in service) and picks out details nicely. And in situ... Next bit of weathering learning was the wheels - I wanted the muddy look so tried my hand at using some pigments - I had bought some MIG products - scraped pastel would also work I am sure... Brush with some water, dab on... It dries to dust, and I clumped it a bit around the 'bottom' of the tyre (where a flat spot is already moulded) - you can see 'dabs' here on the side wall, which I removed as I went - first time I have used the pigments. But pleased with the results - filled the tyre tread and then cleaned off the top surface. It dries to dust very quickly, and of course it rubs off, so I 'sealed' with some matt finish spray... It looked like I had lost the effect, but as soon as it dried it came back... 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted November 16, 2017 Author Share Posted November 16, 2017 Spotted a bit of arc welding going on on the workbench last night!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted November 16, 2017 Author Share Posted November 16, 2017 A few 'general' pictures as I pretend to join the parts together - nothing fixed, just trying them out... I think I'm going t have to fit some internal lights!! At least the plane has a large cockpit glass.... Testament to the Tamiya kit and the Eduard Merlin extra parts - all the pipes will line up perfectly when I come round to fixing everything together... I certainly need to do some work on the top of the engines - looking very bland here, but yet to pick out the various leads etc... Tonights job - having a bit of a tidy!! 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 That's a great picture! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 Looking really good, your bare metal work is very effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 Great work 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
javlin Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 Nice work with some Nice Details ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spadgent Posted November 16, 2017 Share Posted November 16, 2017 Stunning work, really enjoying this. Thanks for sharing. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(ex)Sgtrafman Posted November 17, 2017 Share Posted November 17, 2017 That's looking great - some really nice work going on there. Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJP Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 Very interesting WIP and photos - it will be of great help when I get around to building mine CJP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted November 18, 2017 Share Posted November 18, 2017 It's looking great. And about as complicated as a real one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted November 20, 2017 Author Share Posted November 20, 2017 Small update. I'm this close to closing up the fuselage and losing all that lovely detail -have sent my light box back to the UK, so still figuring out best way to get some good pics before I commit... Here are some detail pics - anything PE in these shots is the PE set from Eduard. As I am using their kits for the guns and engines, I have the Tamiya kit ones as 'extras' so I am building those anyway - either to display or compare. So the front gun ammo boxes below are the Tamiya kit versions, with extra Eduard PE added (the bronze colour bits) if that makes sense. Right now the decision to be made is when to paint the camo green onto the model - I'd like to paint the wings now, before they have engines fitted and before they are joined to the fuselage - and also paint the fuselage before everything is joined together, but wondering if it is best to assemble everything first... Paint has gone on well so far - I think this is the primer - Tamiya Fine Surface Primer from a can. I am also using Tamiya enamel sprays for the top coats, as recommended in the kit. Tidying didn't happen... I want to paint this as is, rather than assembled onto the fuselage.... Tamiya kit gun ammo boxes - with Eduard PE parts added - note the straight chains... Same chains bent into loops... Nice mudguard PE gives a more realistic scale thickness than the plastic version in the kit - but once again, the kit one is still pretty damn good. Front hatch with PE added (I had sprayed 'anything green' when I first started, so some will require spraying again as I add parts - as I said, first time!!) Not fixed yet... Oil paint finish... Some more detail shots of little bits - tail wheel, radios etc... Pre-muck. Love the shape of that casting... Seriously considering lighting the interior!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted November 24, 2017 Author Share Posted November 24, 2017 Time to get some colour going... Thought I'd try this on the smaller part - the tail plane! Trying the 'rolled up blu-tac' method of getting a soft line. I thought about freehand airbrush, but maybe next time... I really should try these things out on scraps etc - but I seem to be impatient! Well that was easy! Dark Green Tamiya from a can. Seems very 'rich'... Quite happy with the result - a little bit fuzzy near the edges, but I think that is ok. A bit 'dotty'.. So these are the 'wet' decals I am trying. No carrier film left behind, so look better apparently. Learning from error on the tanks under the fuselage where I added the decal after I had used some oil paint, which was affected by the process. Using Mr Mark Setter as recommended by the manufacturer (HGW) - You apply as normal, but leave to set and dry for a good few hours - over night is best, then you peel off the top film. You can see the top film as it all dries - this will be peeled off.... Like so.... Left with film, right without... It works well - there was still a little residue around where the film had been, and marks caused by the Mr Mark setter - I cleaned this off with warm water and cotton bud, but it has not entirely gone. Luckily, when I then applied some tamiya clear the marks seemed to go... So now to the wings - I was showing these with the flaps in the down position (Tamiya gives you the option, and different parts are used for up/down) but I don't like that big slot (however accurate) and prefer the purity of line with them up - so last minute change led me to gluing the flaps up/level. I have also sprayed the panels and cowlings that join onto the top surface of the wing structure, so I can add the green camo in the same way as above... The fuselage also needs priming and painting - so have attached a few of the parts. I am gluing the nose cone on, but the hatch over the gun is removable, the cockpit hatch removable as well - but I placed these in position to spray to ensure an even finish (and even camo pattern) I am pretty impressed with how well all these panels as the front come together with minimal gaps, I have to say. And then the most annoying thing - primed the fuselage, and then painted the top coat - can ran out - just at the start of a holiday period. Won't get another until about Wednesday! I wanted to paint and finish the fuselage this weekend, but not now...oh well, plenty of other bits to build. Like the starboard engine! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted November 30, 2017 Author Share Posted November 30, 2017 So while waiting for the spray can to arrive, I started work on the wing. The 'blu tac' thing worked, but I rolled slightly thinner pieces to get a slightly finer shade-line at the edges. I taped the separate engine cover panel and rear section in to place, where they also had the camo touching them, so everything lined up. Success! These panels are just in place for spraying the green... Now it was time to put the decals on the wing. I used the HGW wet decals again... The blue sheet are the wet decals - the white sheet is the Tamiya one. At least it meant I had spares! Had issues here with the normal tamiya decals, which I needed to use for the roundels. I was getting spots on the decal - seems I just needed to not let drops settle, as it was marking the decal. Someone said that I was using the wrong decal solution for Tamiya decals, someone else said use My Mark setter, which I did....luckily later application of clear seemed to disguise the marks....these were NOT air bubbles (as everyone on the forum insisted!) Annoyingly, this was the one wet decal from HGW that I did not use - the one with the largest area of clear carrier on the normal decals. The HGW one was misaligned on the sheet, with the white under the red showing slightly - and worse, it was slightly wide and smudged, so it hung over the edge. So in this picture you see the kit-supplied tamiya decal. This set with no problems - phew, again! So some of you may have noticed that I did not do any pre-shading on these surfaces. Two reasons - I didn't want to use the airbrush to do this , but rather wanted to use the oil paint method on top of the paint instead. It gave me more chances (you can wipe off and start again) and freedom. Secondly, with a mainly wooden construction there are few areas with visible ribs underneath the skin. I figured I'd try the smallest part first - the tail plane. Deep breath, and cover the whole lot with very thinned black oil paint - ooh, after first spraying some clear - I used tamiya from a can. ....and then simply wipe off. I made sure to wipe in the direction of the airflow, so any marks would be 'streaks'... Now this is all very subjective, and over the next few hours I changed methods, learnt and developed - so the order of events got a bit mixed up. I used panel gap black to highlight areas, but i was then wiping this back out again as I worked the oil, so I need to tweak my methods going forward - but using the always-wet oil gave me the ability to 'play' and learn. NOTE: my Mosquito is grubby and oily, so the back worked well - but any excess is easily removed with (odor-less) thinners. Oiled on the left... Pretty chuffed with first attempt! You need to be REALLY careful about finger prints, as the oil paint is never 'dry' so marks - but you can brush them out with a soft dry brush, re-apply oil etc etc Then it was the top surface - same process... To 'fix' the finish I used 'flat' tamiya clear from the can. I tried something else first, but was not happy with how it went on - it was 'rough' and will be a bugger to get off and try again - I used the fin for that (later) Was VERY pleased with how this looked once dry... On the pic above you can see my oil ribbing shading - more detail on that in the wing pictures...but basically I did this... ...and wiped off, dry brushed, experimented etc - and removed some oil paint 'between' the rivet lines to lighten the shade....I lucked out for the first attempt Very similar method on the fin - I even tried lightening the grey between the ribs with white oil, and it does work... I cocked this part up with a different flat varnish - hopefully I can remove without damaging the decals. (not shown here) So - I had my method - now it was the wings...much bigger! I did each side, top and bottom surface, separately...so I had somewhere to hold! Scary moment... And wiped.... I highlighted rivets and brushed gently - always thinking of airflow... ...and again highlighted any ribs or rivets on the metal control surfaces. Very slight mottling caused by flat clear application - but in reality this is a close zoom - don't see it really. Example of thinking about airflow - this streak around the curved top surface was blended in to give a hint of exhaust and rubbish coming back from the prop... Ribs below the rivet lines... Finished on the right... ...now left! Daylight! Just got to make the other side look the same now! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Very smart work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 Spray can arrived, so it was on with getting the camo sorted on the fuselage - that was holding me up! I popped the half-weathered wings in place so I could line up the camo, and proceeded with the blue-tac method again.... I admit I rushed this a bit so I could let everything set over night, so a tiny bit of over-spray - but that will 't-cut out' I like the finish that the tamiya flat clear has given the model...you can see the difference in the green particularly... Couldn't resist adding various bits.... Hoping to get quite a bit done this weekend....got to apply all the decals to the fuselage, weather the left port wing and fuselage and assemble the bits. Small matter of building another Merlin engine as well.... Getting excited for how this is turning out.... 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted December 4, 2017 Author Share Posted December 4, 2017 Fuselage...applied all the smaller wet decals, now it was the 'normal' the big decals from the kit... Once the decals were on and sealed, it was time to weather - I used the same method I had used with the wings etc - flood with diluted oils and wipe off - was a bit nervous about that bit, as the streaks would all have to be 'in line' with the airflow - the wings were easy as it was simply 'front to back', but the fuselage is a bit more 3D...once I had figured out how to hold it without touching anywhere, it went surprisingly easily. I am aware this only works for a grubby plane! Sealed with matt clear and I'm pleased. I will now do a bit more work locally' once more is assembled (nothing is fixed in these pictures) 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joss Posted December 4, 2017 Share Posted December 4, 2017 It seem strange seeing a model being painted when the wings aren't attached to the fuselage. She's is coming along beautifully though. Love the washes and the nice smooth paint job, very inspiring to watch! Regards Joss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caterhamnut Posted December 5, 2017 Author Share Posted December 5, 2017 Thanks Joss - I think there is a few reasons I did it like that, and it is specific to this model, and also to the fact that it is my first plane (ie: learning) and one of the things that is certainly a skill is figuring out when the best time to paint the various parts is....before assembly, sub-assembly etc... 1) The design of the Mosquito....the main wing section is one large part in 'real life' - as opposed to two separate wings that join into the fuselage. So it is one nice big assembly to work on. Because of this, the join between the fuselage and wing is pretty 'hard' - ie, 90 degrees with no 'blending' as you would see on a Spitfire, for example. This makes it a 'real' join line, so you can paint separately and join later and it does not matter if you see a slight join....although this is helped by the second point... 2) The accuracy of the kit is amazing - so this particular joint is very very sharp - therefore no filing or sanding required (which would have to be done before painting) 3) As this is my first plane/camo/weathering model, I was concerned about painting the fuselage and wings joined....easier to paint and weather then wings as one big flat - and the fuselage as one tube...if that makes sense! I thing when I try future planes (1:48 Spitifire next) I will have to paint everything joined.... Think that makes sense!! cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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