Revell Air Dolomiti Embraer 195

[BetaSingh]

I have just completed my second model in as many weeks, as over this Easter break, I'm trying to improve. There are a few things I could have done better, like the engines, but please feel free to give any feedback. Another thing, thanks for all your support and advice, and which would you guys choose:

Italeri ATR 42/500 or

Zvezda Sukhoi Superjet?

 

 

 

[Dave Swindell]

A  tip for future models if you are using clear windows :-

Paint the inside of each fuselage half black or dark grey.

It gives the impression of an interior and avoids the "empty shell" look you get if left bare white plastic.

[Viking]

Thats a good tip from Dave, I was going to say the same.

It's an attractive arircraft in the Air Dolomiti scheme, I vote you make Sukhoi Superjet to go with it. They would make an interesting comparison.

 

Cheers

 

John

[Skodadriver]

Can I suggest a few things:

 

1.  Get a hold of the book Modeling Airliners by Aaron Skinner.  It's published by Kalmbach and is an absolute treasury of advice, good ideas and inspiration although you need to remember it's an American publication and not all the products used are available in the UK.

 

2.  Have a read through some of the threads in the Airliners III Group Build which ran in the latter part of last year.  Many of us contributed to that thread and described our techniques as the builds progressed.

 

3.  The final photo of your Embraer suggests you might need to pay some attention to filling seams on fuselages.  There are various techniques for doing that which are discussed by Aaron Skinner and most of the Group Build contributors.  Personally I always use superfine Milliput.

 

4.  Modelling isn't a race!  Take your time and enjoy what you're doing.  The most important thing is that you're satisfied with the finished model.

 

5.  Forget the Italeri ATR-42.  It's a poor kit, overpriced and inaccurate.  The Zvezda SSJ is a much better proposition.

 

 

 

[BetaSingh]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I really appreciate it. I will try getting hold of that Modelling Airliners book if possible, as from Skodadriver's reply, I think it may be quite good for me. The window decals came clear, but my last model had them dark, so I just kept it clear, but I will look at painting the inside of the fuselage dark. Many of you are saying that I should go for the Zvezda and that is what I will probably do, but one thing? How expensive is airbrushing, like how expensive is the actual airbrush, and would it be worth it for a modeller who will only really do stuff in the half-terms, and term holidays?

Thanks again

BetaSingh

[Dave N]

37 minutes ago, BetaSingh said:

 How expensive is airbrushing, like how expensive is the actual airbrush, and would it be worth it for a modeller who will only really do stuff in the half-terms, and term holidays?

 

 Like a lot of things, you can go from relatively inexpensive to really expensive. If you are mainly doing airliners you could try out airbrushing with a cheap compressor/airbrush combo for around £80 (don't quote me on that but I seem to remember paying something like that a couple of years ago) I am still using the same compressor, but have upgraded the airbrush a few times since then. If you don't need to do super fine intricate camoflage patterns one of the cheaper airbrushes should be fine. You may even find you are modelling at other times than holidays... maybe even squeezing in an hour or so everyday..

[Skodadriver]

As Dave N says, airbrushing costs as much as you're willing to pay.  

 

With airliners you are generally covering fairly large areas so, again to agree with Dave N, you don't need the sort of fine-line airbrush that would be used for intricate camouflage.  

 

Cheap airbrushes are a bit of a lottery.  Standards aren't always consistent - sometimes they're quite good but other times they're a waste of money.  My main airbrush is a Paasche Talon which is mid-price. I've had it for years and simply wouldn't be without it.  It's very robust and will do almost anything although I'd need to change the tip and needle if I wanted to do fine details.  It's a matter of personal choice but I would always go for an airbrush with a separate paint jar/cup - I find them much more versatile and (very important) much easier to clean.  If you're spraying a 1/144 747 you don't want to be constantly filling a small integral paint cup! 

 

I would definitely say buy a compressor.  Air bombs are a waste of time and money.  I have a small Sparmax compressor which I bought on eBay about five years ago and which has more than justified the £50-odd it cost me.  Unless your airbrush and compressor are by the same manufacturer you're likely to find that the thread on the compressor doesn't match the connection on the airbrush hose and you may need an adaptor but these are readily available.

 

There's lots more information about airbrushing and painting generally in the Tools and Tips section of the Forums.  If you're serious about airbrushing it might also be worth your while getting in touch with Paul at Modellingtools.co.uk (previously known as Little Cars) who is really helpful and knowledgeable. 

 

[Dave Swindell]

An airbrush, once you've learnt how to use it, can give you an excellent finish, but that finish is dependent on the quality of the surface it is being applied to. Check some of the airliner build threads on here, there's a lot of very good models that have been finished with aerosol paint cans ( eg Halfords car paints) and small details brush painted. Again surface preparation is key to a good finish, but there's  no need for a big outllay for an airbrush and compressor. The paint seems a bit more expensive initially, but each can wiil  cover several models. With good brushes and a bit of practice, it is possible to get a good finish brush painting, but this is easier with matt paints than with gloss.

 

You've made a very good effort with this 195, and my advice for your next couple of models is to concentrate on improving your basic skills, you should get maximum results with minimum outlay. Look at other peoples builds an see how they assemble the model, eliminate the join lines and prepare the surfaces for paint. Get yourself a spray can of primer ( I would suggest  Halfords ordinary white primer) and the basic colours for your chosen scheme ( Halfords Appliance White, Nissan Silver and Racking Grey will  cover the basics for a lot of modern  schemes, with the decals or maybe one other colour covering the rest, cost £30-35)

Pick your next model, then start a Work in Progress thread before starting the kit. There'ĺl be plenty of people on here willing to give help, suggestions and advice at each step of the way. When the build is complete you can look back through the build log and see which elements worked well, and which didn't work quite as planned, and take these lessons forward to improve your next model. Take your time and enjoy the build, learning new techniques and ending up with a model better than the last one can give a lot of satisfaction. Throwing a lot of money in tools and products at a kit without mastering the basics will usually end in disappointment when the results don 't  meet up to expectations.

[BetaSingh]

Thanks all, I will probably take a bit of a break from constructing model planes, as it is the end of the holidays and it's coming up to exam times and stuff. My next model will probably be after all my exams, in June, and will probably be a weekend build thing. Thank you all for your advice and support, and I have to say, BritModeller is probably the best modelling forum I have been to, so thanks guys, and keep up the good work