thorfinn Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 This is the venerable Revell (ex-Monogram) kit, still holding up quite well after all these years, and with surprisingly clean moldings for as many times as it has been re-released. This particular version contained kit markings for a US Naval Reserve Trainer SNJ-5 based at NAS Glenview, Illinois---located in the suburban Chicago area---in 1956. Since I was born that year...and since for many years I lived fewer than 5 miles from Glenview (and had the chance to watch a lot of interesting a/c zipping overhead)...this markings option was the only possible choice. Kit was built OOB with only tissue harnesses and EZ-Line rigging added. I also added RR lettering decals---sliced to look like stencils---to the seat cushions; oddly, these are shown in the kit instructions, but not provided on the decal sheet...which I seem to recall being the same as in the very first one of these I built back in the '60s or '70s! Enjoy the pics. 24 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazey Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 20 minutes ago, thorfinn said: This is the venerable Revell (ex-Monogram) kit, still holding up quite well after all these years, and with surprisingly clean moldings for as many times as it has been re-released. This particular version contained kit markings for a US Naval Reserve Trainer SNJ-5 based at NAS Glenview, Illinois---located in the suburban Chicago area---in 1956. Since I was born that year...and since for many years I lived fewer than 5 miles from Glenview (and had the chance to watch a lot of interesting a/c zipping overhead)...this markings option was the only possible choice. Kit was built OOB with only tissue harnesses and EZ-Line rigging added. I also added RR lettering decals---sliced to look like stencils---to the seat cushions; oddly, these are shown in the kit instructions, but not provided on the decal sheet...which I seem to recall being the same as in the very first one of these I built back in the '60s or '70s! Enjoy the pics. I like that a lot, including the photography. Regards, David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejboyd5 Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 Background even looks like Glenview back then. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niles Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Clean, sharp, and well done. The canopy is a perfect job of masking and clarity. Nice photography too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Beautiful rendering of this Monogram classic. The perfect cockpit hood framing really dots the i:s. An enviable display of modelling skills! Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorfinn Posted June 29, 2017 Author Share Posted June 29, 2017 Thanks, Gents. 21 hours ago, ejboyd5 said: Background even looks like Glenview back then. My thoughts exactly. It's a backdrop I've used in the past for 1/144 civil aircraft, but it seemed to have right ambiance for what I remember (though quite obviously it could use a good pressing). Sadly, NAS Glenview is no more, having fallen victim to a round of base closures some years ago. Happily they preserved the tower as part of the new suburban architecture that sprang up around it, and apparently have a museum dedicated to the base there as well. I will have to get back to see it one day. 15 hours ago, Niles said: Clean, sharp, and well done. The canopy is a perfect job of masking and clarity. Nice photography too. 6 hours ago, Spitfire31 said: Beautiful rendering of this Monogram classic. The perfect cockpit hood framing really dots the i:s. I used mainly white glue for the masking---a technique I've used since my teens, but which apparently almost no one else uses. If it's one thing these old Monogram kits got right, it's generally nice crisp and sharp panel lines on their clear parts...making for a much faster masking job than cutting bits of tape. I also usually dip my clear parts in Future/Kleer/Johnson's 'Whatever'...though I must confess I simply forgot to this time. The clarity of the canopy parts is basically as it came out of the kit box, which seems to indicate Revell is taking good care of the old molds. Thanks again to all for weighing in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Impressive modelling and painting skills, coupled with nice photography. Well done. BTW. Could you elaborate on 'white glue masking'? Do you use it as you would Maskol etc? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorfinn Posted June 30, 2017 Author Share Posted June 30, 2017 Thank you, Vinnie 8 hours ago, Vinnie said: BTW. Could you elaborate on 'white glue masking'? Do you use it as you would Maskol etc? Pretty much like any regular masking fluid, I would guess. But from my admittedly-limited experience with 'real' masking fluids on canopies, white glue seems to work better for me. Its viscosity seems more 'agreeable'---easier to wrangle and get clean straight lines, without wanting to overflow or suck into and over corners. I first tried it decades ago on another old Monogram offering, their 1/72 Bf110E---and worked out a simple methodology. A small dollop of white glue in the center of the 'panel'...spread to the frame edges with a sharp-point toothpick...then 'blow' on it till the glue (rather quickly) firms up. When the canopy frames are sharp to begin with---or 'enhanced' with careful scribing from say, a sewing-needle---the glue will usually 'grab' the frame line quite cleanly and often 'straighten' itself through surface-tension. (Any bits mistakenly sloshed over an edge can be wiped back with the toothpick, or the whole pane easily wiped-off and re-tried.) Once painting is done, the masked bits can be removed with the same sewing needle. They'll often 'pop' off cleanly all of a piece, but it's better to 'lift' from one corner and peel, to insure a cleaner edge. Occasional touch-ups are required---as with any masking method---but on the whole it's much faster than cutting tiny slivers of tape, particularly for elaborate 'greenhouse' canopies like those the Luftwaffe loved so dearly--or which North American happened to put on the Texan/Harvard series. Two 'tricks,' and one general caution. The first 'trick' is to remove the masked bits as soon as is reasonably possible after final finishing coat is applied. Like any masking method (that I've tried, at least), the longer everything is given to harden and cure above the mask, the more likely it will be to chip or take off a whole frame section when being removed. The 'caution' is a sort of corrolary to the last bit. I worked out the method decades ago, when I used exclusively enamel paints; now I pretty much exclusively use Tamiya acrylics, just for ease-of use. Acrylics do seem a bit more prone to chipping with the 'white glue' method, though undercoating with the interior color or any other sort of 'primer' seems to help them hold on. And, while my 'yellow peril' SNJ isn't perfect---lost a frame and a couple of corners here and there---touch-ups were minimal and straightforward. Which leads us to 'trick' number two. If you lose a frame section---take a sharp razor-blade and cut a strip of the proper width from one of the already-removed masking bits. Dampen the area to be repaired...nudge the painted 'glue' strip into place and tamp down gently with your trusty toothpick...and you've got a cleanly-managed repair done, no color-matching required. (That having been said, I still typically will spray a small section of clear decal stock at the same time I'm painting the model. Very useful for touch-ups, or even 'later' repairs when one has forgotten what exact color-mix one used originally.) Sorry to be so long-winded; hadn't intended to write a treatise. It's actually an easier method to do than to describe. Thanks again for the interest. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.Happy Posted June 30, 2017 Share Posted June 30, 2017 Great job Thorfinn👍 I love those old Monogram / Revell kits. Nice job on the cockpit weathering. Cheers, Mr. Happy (In name only)🙄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vinnie Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Thanks for such a comprehensive reply. Canopy masking has been a particular 'Bete Noir' for me since I returned to the hobby so I'm very happy to read how others do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Hello Thor, As usual, Monogram/Revell always turns out good. Also this SNJ-5. With this color scheme, the model can not bemissed at the display stand. Compliments also, for the photography. Regards, Orion / The Netherlands. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 Really nice SNJ there, looks great and nice work in the cockpit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted July 1, 2017 Share Posted July 1, 2017 On 6/30/2017 at 5:33 PM, thorfinn said: I still typically will spray a small section of clear decal stock at the same time I'm painting the model. Very useful for touch-ups, or even 'later' repairs when one has forgotten what exact color-mix one used originally. Wish I'd thought of that a couple of models ago. Pure genius trick, thank you! Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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