modelling minion Posted January 22, 2017 Author Share Posted January 22, 2017 Quick update to show the current state of play. Really beginning to look like an F-16 now, with all the main parts put together except for the tail planes which are a simple push fit into poly-caps which will be popped in just before priming/painting. I have fitted the undercarriage doors temporarily by putting a chunk of Blu-tak into the wheel wells and pressing them into it, this will hold it in place during painting and ensure that the camo matches up. The canopy parts have had the "lovely" moulding seam removed from right down the middle of it, this is the first time I have done this and was a little nervous about it to say the least but it worked out well and they have been given a coating of Klear which has dried and been masked off. I should have taken a picture of them before masking but I didn't so this is what they look like masked. Hopefully I will get the canopies on (just temporary for the front piece) and the remaining little bits done this evening and then I can start painting next week. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received, Craig. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex77 Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 Well done Craig! Looking very good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 oooo it'll be great to see some paint on her Craig!!! I haven't been game enough to try removing the mould line on my canopies yet! I did practise on one of the spare clear ons i'm not using, results.......hmmm the Klear coat came out patchy! Think I'll check out how everyone else goes before I try again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 On 15 January 2017 at 9:56 PM, modelling minion said: And now it's working perfectly! AAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!! Rant over, here are the pictures. First is the cockpit, as I said nothing special just paint. Followed by the instrument panel. Next up is the exhaust. And the turbine that will fit at the end of it. And the upper cockpit which has been painted NATO black and given a dry-brushing. As has something extra which might make it's way onto this GB soon. Thanks for looking and hopefully there will be more updates, and photo's by the end of the week. Craig. Make sure you don't glue the wrong bits together or you will need yet more filler😄 Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Good job on the cockpit too by the way 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirageiv Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Nice! Crikey you made short work of this kit, really look forward to the camo! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermo245 Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Very tidy work so far...love the details. Dermot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 Thanks for the kind words guys. Not much progress this week due to being on the wrong shift but a little more has been done. The rear canopy has been fixed in place and the front canopy temporarily placed, this has been given a coating of Tamiya NATO black to replicate the interior colour. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to make a start on the camo scheme, for which I will be using these.... They claim to have the colours I need for this scheme (and a few others I have planned) so we will see how they perform. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewr9fkr9595 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Are you going for a hard edge or soft edge mate? If soft edge try using levelling thinner with them 👍🏿 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex77 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Looking very good Craig. Interesting to see how the paint works. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 52 minutes ago, Tony Oliver said: Are you going for a hard edge or soft edge mate? If soft edge try using levelling thinner with them 👍🏿 Thanks for the tip Tony. Looking at pictures of the real thing she seems to have a fairly hard edge to the camo, definitely a masking job! 35 minutes ago, Lex77 said: Looking very good Craig. Interesting to see how the paint works. Thanks Lex. I'm interested to see how the paint turns out too! Hopefully I will get a chance to get the white-grey on today, I have a well deserved day off from work and it's too cold to do much outside. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewr9fkr9595 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) What thinner you going to use bud? I used hatakas own thinner with these (when base coating) and they came out rather matt and rough. Much better when sprayed with UMP airbrush thinner. Not much needed mind, paints are quite thin already out of the bottle. Just make sure they are well mixed. Some of the more recent ones come with a ball bearing inside like the spanish stuff. So I've added some to all of mine to help with the mixing. Once you've done the hard edge scheme with masking try some variations/fading inside the patches of colour with the levelling thinner 👍🏿 edit - post number of the beast! Edited January 27, 2017 by Tony Oliver Number 666 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 3 minutes ago, Tony Oliver said: edit - post number of the beast! I now have Iron Maiden playing in my head! Not necessarily a bad thing. For thinner I use de-ionised water, seems to work well with other brands I have used. I will try for a bit of colour variation but not too much as these birds seem to be kept in good condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 you sort of had me going for a minute when I saw the paint you were using and the F-15 on it....thought it was the colour scheme! Ok can blame that on beer! 2 hours ago, Tony Oliver said: What thinner you going to use bud? I used hatakas own thinner with these (when base coating) and they came out rather matt and rough. Much better when sprayed with UMP airbrush thinner. Not much needed mind, paints are quite thin already out of the bottle. Just make sure they are well mixed. Some of the more recent ones come with a ball bearing inside like the spanish stuff. So I've added some to all of mine to help with the mixing. Once you've done the hard edge scheme with masking try some variations/fading inside the patches of colour with the levelling thinner 👍🏿 edit - post number of the beast! All your talk on levelling solution and thinners got me into getting some....and it's AWESOME!!! I don't know why I haven't tried this stuff before, it's now so easy to get almost flawlessly smooth finishes Mr Hobby Semi-Glosses! 2 hours ago, modelling minion said: Thanks for the tip Tony. Looking at pictures of the real thing she seems to have a fairly hard edge to the camo, definitely a masking job! Thanks Lex. I'm interested to see how the paint turns out too! Hopefully I will get a chance to get the white-grey on today, I have a well deserved day off from work and it's too cold to do much outside. sorry I just love this one... ...and for some variation.. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewr9fkr9595 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 42 minutes ago, trickyrich said: All your talk on levelling solution and thinners got me into getting some. I need to get some shares in gunze! No 667... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 (edited) Well I've applied a couple of coats of the white/grey and it is surprisingly grey which had me looking at as many pictures of the real thing I could to see if I needed to re-paint it but I found one which shows the undercarriage down next to the nose gear cover which is in the white/grey and there is a clear difference between the white undercarriage and the camo colour. This is how she looks now.... It's quite difficult to see where the paint is as it's nearly the same colour as the Tamiya plastic, a closer image of the nose area.... As you can see the surface is anything but smooth (might have to invest in some of Tony's levelling solution ) so it will be out with the micromesh this evening. I might apply some white to the centre of some panels to provide some variation. Craig. Edited February 4, 2017 by modelling minion 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewr9fkr9595 Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 4 hours ago, modelling minion said: As you can see the surface is anything but smooth Thats just how my bell x1 looked in hataka international orange when I used hataka thinners. Liquid sandpaper. Try it with some UMP thinners, much smoother for Base coating like this. The levelling thinners is more for detail work/fading a colour that's already there, or just softening up the edges if it needs to be a 'freehand' scheme. It makes the paint that thin once workable (after the intial gloopy stage when first mixing it in a shot glass or similar) that it would take a whole day to do what you did there... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 30, 2017 Author Share Posted January 30, 2017 (edited) Well the paint (or coloured grit) is on! It still needs a lot of rubbing down and some touch ups here and there but I am quite happy with how she looks in her Arctic colours and I am glad I chose the scheme. I'm still not 100% sure that the white/grey is white enough, what do you guys think? Hopefully I will be somewhere near the decaling stage by the end of the week. Thanks for looking in (and hopefully your opinions on the white) and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. Edited February 4, 2017 by modelling minion 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 30, 2017 Author Share Posted January 30, 2017 (edited) Finally managed to find the picture which shows that the white isn't white! Can't remember where I uploaded it from but it clearly shows the difference between the "white" of the camo scheme and the actual white of the undercarriage. Makes me feel happier with the colour I have used. Edited February 4, 2017 by modelling minion 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Leijdens Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Your white looks great. When looking at the picture above I think you made the right choice for white which is greyish.. Erik 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 30, 2017 Author Share Posted January 30, 2017 Thanks Erik. The picture above is the best one I have found to show that the white is actually grey (confusing isn't it), as most of the pictures of the aircraft look really white. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Leijdens Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 White always looks white until you compare it with another white. A difficult "colour" indeed. Think you nailed it! Erik 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 I think you're fine with the white Craig, you're always going to get differences in colour tones when comparing natural light photos with ones taken under artificial light. Sometimes the differences can be huge, notably with the lighter colours. The colour scheme and paint job look awesome, I wouldn't change a thing, well done!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fewr9fkr9595 Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Looks spot on that mate well done! What did you use to mask the scheme? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Thanks for the positive words guys, much appreciated. Tony, for the masking I used tightly rolled blutak worms and then filled in the areas behind with Tamiya masking tape, quite a lot of masking tape and yet somehow some paint found it's way through as usual, shouldn't take too much to tidy up though. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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