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Airfix Sea Vixen - The Iconic DH FAA Fighter


DAG058

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The paint is down. 

 

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The preshading looks a bit bold here however it is just the lighting and camera trickery, it's lot sutler to the eye. I plan to now lighten the paint slightly and go back and add a few highlights.

 

 

Edited by DAG058
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Just a quick update. I managed to get a hour at the bench today. I've started to paint up the undercarriage. I also spent a bit of time just checking over my work so far and planning how to progress this one. I'm happy how the paint has come out, I still want to try a bit of post shading and highlighting. 

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So this is where I am at.

 

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I have finished the paintwork and removed the masking. There was quite a bit of bleed, which is strange as it was Tamiya tape that I used. This took a while to touch up.

 

I have also made some intake covers after being inspired by @jasman71's recent Sea Vixen build. The intakes are the only thing that let this kit down, there are some gaps at the fuselage which aren't great.

 

Any thanks for looking and feel free to leave comments or questions.

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I saw the sad news last night that the Navy wings Sea Vixen did a belly landing after its display at Duxford. Thankfully the pilot is ok and the airframe looks intact. Hopefully they can salvage her and get her flying again.

 

Today I want to get a gloss coat down as a nice bed for the decals. Pictures to follow! 

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I managed to play about with gloss varnish, I haven't done the whole model yet.

 

It has been a while since I have airbrushed gloss and I have always struggled with it. I'd always get too thick a layer, the orange peel effect or a grainy surface. I spent a while trying different mixture and air pressures to see how it changes the finish. I think I am near enough there now. I've glossed the tanks and other small parts to make sure I am happy. Once they have dried and I've checked how it looks I will commit to the rest of the model.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here is a photo of the model now gloss varnished, ready for recalling. Glossing is always something that I'm not totally comfortable with but I think I have not done too badly. 

 

The decal cal sheet is huge so it might take a good few days to get through it. 

 

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I have completed the decals on the bottom half. It took a few hours, what with all the stencils. The top half will have to wait until later! The decals themselves aren't to bad, I'm worried to top half will show up a bit of silvering though.

 

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Thank you very much Martin! 

 

I started decaling the top half today. I managed to get two shorter session which was good, not over doing it. I am about a third of the way through and it seems to be going well.

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2 minutes ago, bull-nut said:

That's a beauty you have there @DAG058. As I have the Revell 72nd boxing in the stash, might I ask what grey you used on the uppers?

 

Thank you! I use Tamiya XF-24 Dark Grey, I think it is a fairly good match.

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10 hours ago, bull-nut said:

Thanks DAG, I was torn between that and XF77, I've used both in the past, but was wondering if you had used something different.

 

XF-77 is good but I prefer XF-24 as it has that blues hint through it. I don't get too hung up on paint colours, if it looks right to me it is right. 

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After a mamouth decaling session this is where I am at...

 

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It's not quite finished yet, there are still a handful of decals to go on. But after three and bit hours at the bench I have had enough for today. 

 

All the decals will will need another few coats of microsol to help them bed in. A word of warning to anyone attempting this kit in the future; the red crosshatch decals can be troublesome. They don't fit perfectly as shown in the call-outs so just be careful. Also just watch as you are laying them, try to get them as near to the final position as they don't move very well once down. 

 

Hopefully I'll get a few moments this week were I can finish the decals, then it'll be another layer of gloss to seal it al before weathering. I think it will be tight for the deadline but I am determined to make it! Let me know what you think so far. 

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On 16/06/2017 at 7:32 AM, PlaStix said:

That is really turning out beautifully! :thumbsup:

Kind regards,

Stix

 

4 hours ago, nimrod54 said:

Lovely job, the paint and decaling is top notch. Looking forward to seeing this one finished and in the gallery, it won't make the job of picking a winner any easier though. :D

 

Thank you both! 

 

I have nearly completed the decaling, photos to follow.

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Finally the decaling is complete. The huge sheets from Airfix cover every detail which is very good, it takes so long to do them though.

 

Not much to see for now, I have just put another layer of varnish over the whole model to seal it all. I'll let the set before I attempt the weathering.  

Edited by DAG058
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On 18/06/2017 at 2:04 PM, Drift said:

WOW. Epic, keep going.

 

Thank you!

 

I started the weathering process this morning, covering the model in a wash. I'll clean that up and then get some photos up tomorrow. 

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As promised here is a photo

 

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Nearly there now. It has had its final varnish coat. The undercarriage is built, just the main wheels to add. Pitots, refuelling probe and stores are on.  

  

Up next will been fitting the bang seats, canopies, and finally wings in the folded position. This will probably be on Sunday, stay tuned! 

Edited by DAG058
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