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Airfix Old Blenheim - Finished


AdrianMF

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2 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

I've got a tin of Colourcoats on the way

 

Thanks Cookie!

 

My choice of Vallejo Air was based solely on the fact that after 30 seconds' web searching in the office I found a supplier who could deliver it for under £2.50 including postage. Everyone else wanted at least £3.50 for postage, plus the cost of the paint.

 

Having got home this evening and had another look, I am of the opinion that it will do as is, and I will have to buy a Mediterranean Hurricane to use up the paint. Don't want to waste good paint, after all ;)

 

(That said, I have a Frog Maryland AND Baltimore in the stash, both of which can be done as desert examples...)

 

Regards,

Adrian

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It's coming along very well indeed Adrian. I like the effect you have achieved with all the different brown shades :thumbsup2: 

I hadn't heard of sponging before; do you just use little bits of sponge and apply it in a few places? It looks very good.

 

The canopy and your careful painting makes a huge difference to this kit, compared to the thick jam jar bottom of the Airfix original.

 

Great stuff

TonyT

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On 21.3.2017 at 11:57 AM, SovereignHobbies said:

I'd say too dark rather than too blue. It's more characteristic of the BS381C-104 Azure Blue or the "closest

 

FS match" FS35231 than Ministry of Aircraft Production Azure Blue?

 

Almost closer to Light Mediterranean Blue than MAP Azure Blue?

 

Was just going to say the same ...

 

Edit:

Oops sorry OP, you have lightened it up already, looks pretty spot on now to my eye

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6 hours ago, bbudde said:

Well we should/will see, what this will be and what this will turn out.

 

I'm having fun getting there!

 

3 hours ago, occa said:

looks pretty spot on now to my eye

 

Thanks Occa! I have decided to call it "close enough" and I've bought some pre-mixed stuff for next time...

 

Regards,

Adrian

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Well I went away for the weekend (Wales, Snowdon, brilliant weather) and when I got back my Vallejo Azure Blue was waiting for me. Big shout out to Arcane Scenery and Models for excellent service!

 

I tested it out on my paint test bed and I can hardly tell the difference. The camera makes it look more different than it is with the Mk1 eyeball:

IMG_3974.jpg

 

So I'm not going to repaint. Just decals, more weathering and a few details to go now.

 

Incidentally, my paint testbed is an Airfix Ju88. Here's what happens when you don't have Martin's other-worldly tenacity and skill:

IMG_3975.jpg

 

Hopefully the next time I post it (the Blenheim) will be done!


Regards,

Adrian

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I annoyed the Modelling Gods:

 

On 27/03/2017 at 18:09, AdrianMF said:

Just decals,

 

I used the old Airfix decals that came with the kit (MPM rounded blue centres are too large). The ink was misaligned to the varnish backing so one side just crumbled away and the colours were translucent. So I took them all off:

IMG_3976.jpg

 

I made a rough mask to give me a guide for repainting the white centres:

IMG_3978.jpg

 

..many coats later:

IMG_3979.jpg

 

...and out with the compass set and the bow ink pen:

IMG_3980.jpg

 

Here I've got a 7.5 and a 4.5 mm radius ring on my test bed:

IMG_3981.jpg

 

...and I've filled in, although it needs another coat or two:

IMG_3982.jpg


You can see the Airfix decal skulking away there. So the next step is to do it on the model. I can paint the rudder bands too, and I will use the Lorraine crosses from the MPM kit.

 

Thanks for looking,

Adrian

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When the roundels need to be painting by hand, the going is getting pretty tough...

Plan B would be to use white decal to paint the red and blue on, and then apply the finished decal as per "normal" (or as close to normal as poss...).

That would save any disaster on the model... not that I doubt your mastery of the hairy stick for a single second, but...

Am I making the whole process too simple and disaster-free? My apologies.

Superb build so far!

 

JR

PS: Plan C would be to buy aftermarket roundels... Boring!

Edited by jean
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Looking good! A nice save and explanation on how to go about it.

 

Hand painting markings is something that I have been thinking about, as close, (and closer), study of images of WW 1 airframes really shows how rough some of the markings were, in comparison to all those lovely, geometrical evenly pigmented decals that make life so simple.

 

On-On,

 

Christian, exiled to africa

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For roundels and 'Croix de Lorraine' painted upside down somewhere in the desert right through a  sand storm, I think they are spot on!

Impressive circles a la Giotto.

 

JR 

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Thanks chaps! It has been an interesting experiment - I won't be throwing away my decal stash any time soon, but it's good to know it can be done the hard way.

 

5 hours ago, wyverns4 said:

how rough some of the markings were,

Well I've certainly got that covered...

 

A little post-decal progress. Gunner now in with spare guns from the MPM kit and scratch built ammo feeds:

IMG_3988.jpg

 

And I didn't fancy the chances of a skinny plastic aerial resting on a ledge surviving for any length of time, so I hammmered out a piece of brass wire and filed it to shape:

IMG_3989.jpg


Thanks for looking,

Adrian

 

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On ‎27‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 18:09, AdrianMF said:

Incidentally, my paint testbed is an Airfix Ju88. Here's what happens when you don't have Martin's other-worldly tenacity and skill:

Not tenacity but sheer bloody mindedness!

 

Great to see the decals going on, I have long been looking forward to that bit as I think Airfix chose the coolest possible colour scheme for this kit.

 

Martian

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So you have an anvil as well right by your work bench?! I am truly impressed.

May I suggest welding your brass aerial to the kit for stronger bond. I cannot foresee any problem. Call me if any!

 

JR

 

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35 minutes ago, jean said:

So you have an anvil as well right by your work bench?

 

A hammer to bash with, the side of a mallet to rest on and a concrete kitchen step. My wife is away for the week so I'm unstoppable!! (unless it's a dodgy decal)

 

Regards,

Adrian

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Slightly off-topic, I know, and I have made progress on the Airfix one, but once I got the MPM kit out I couldn't help but wonder how the cockpit would look built up:

IMG_3995.jpg

IMG_3996.jpg

 

the instrument panel is photoetch over minutely detailed film with glossy dials and white backing, and all but indistinguishable from a plain black slab at this scale. I made the steering wheel out of wire because it was easier than cleaning up the resin, and I will have to make another throttle bank because the kit part is stuck inside a bottle of superglue (it's a long story). But the kit parts are very nice.

 

Thanks for looking,

Adrian

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