Scratchbuilder Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Hi all, I am completely unused to this as I haven't built a kit since I was a small kid, deciding that kits were so badly made that I could do better myself. Precocious little turd that I was, but iit has made me a living , raised a family and even paid a mortgage (more often then not!) in the intervening years. Now, I find that I will only get a Lightning if I build the Airfix one. I can'#t afford the trumpeter one and apparently it's crap, so I would just get angry. I also don't have space for a 1/32nd scale model, much as I'd love my work to all be in that scale. My dear bride got me a kit from ebay before I knew it for half the current price. It has Beatties-£12 on the lid! Beatties of fond memory. How many blokes popped in there on their way home from work and rekindled a childhood interest I wonder? Anyway, the kit turned up yesterday midday (yes we have a speedy Gonzalez post woman of indeterminate vintage). I soon had the cockpit off the sprue and painted with Vallejo acrylics. I hate acrylic anything (except Perspex), but I can get Vallejo nearby and they are very well pigmented, if a pain to mix up. I normally use them to detail paint slot car drivers, but found their fast drying very useful and used them in conjunction with Matt black enamel. A very faint hint of grey to highlight odd bits of instruments and had a fairly good looking early (F1 matt black) cockpit. I had to cut the pilot's legs behind the knees to get him in under the IP,but he sits in there, just. I also painted tiger head emblems on his helmet and sleeves as that's the version I wanted to do, being Coltishall, where I used to see them flying from, when my Nan lived in Gt. Yarmouth, occasionally actually breaking her windows when sonic booming. My dad would happily repair them without delay as he loved to see and hear Lightnings being ex RAF (6 sqdn.) I glued all the air duct stuff and jet pipes in the right hand fuse half as per the book of destructions, glued the cockpit to that and closed up. The radome was painted with some Testors interior green I bought for my Spitfire First Flight cockpit and all went swimmingly, leaving almost no step to the seams. I figured that would do for yesterday and came in to do supper. So far, so good. Today, realising that scraping and sanding the seams would possibly leave dust inside the cockpit that I would never be able to be rid of, I taped over all apertures in the fuselage and glued the canopy halves on, which fitted perfectly, but wouldn't shut because the pilot's head was a bit high. I found that he had started to bend again and it had lifted his backside from the seat, so I ...ahem, "persuaded" him to sit down again and glued the canopy shut on his helmet, but at least it closed. Scraped seams, sanded fine and started the foiling. Got a fair bit on the fuselage and then decided I needed a rivet maker, so I found a small watch wheel with suitable spacing of tiny teeth and made up a brass frame to put it in. Now have a lovey little gizmo for making rivets round panels. I'd bought some metal leaf glue, but not sure what it is and am probably not using it right. it is white, so I assumed another PVA like Micro, but no, it leaves a slightly rubbery residue behind that will rub off if you're careful. I don't think it's latex as that stinks to high heaven, but t seems to work and is dirt cheap off ebay. Now, whilst I like the different grains of Kitchen/Turkey/ Kit Kat foils, it has to be said that only Sellotape aluminium, a thicker, stiffer and self ashesive foil tape is much the easiest foil to use and so most of my panels on the Lightning so far are that, but it can be sanded with fine or worn out wet'n'dry to get a variation. I have yet to boil foil in eggshells to get tail pipe colours, but am hoping to do that in the next couple of days. I am doing it as a roll-out set-piece and will therefore have a Houchin GPU next to it. Now, life really IS too short to make every damned thing so I went nuts and ordered a kit from Video Aviation for one. I really DON'T normally do these things. Anyway, for what it's worth, here's the job after a couple of half days. Martin 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted July 27, 2017 Share Posted July 27, 2017 Very brave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchbuilder Posted July 28, 2017 Author Share Posted July 28, 2017 For me, brave would be any kind of attempt to do silver paint.! Better pics in sunshine today. Cheers, Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchbuilder Posted July 28, 2017 Author Share Posted July 28, 2017 Apologies if you're also on !another place" and will have already seen this, but it's amazing what a bunch of eggshells in a boiling pot will do to a bit o' foil. Jet pipes here we come. Martin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphfan Posted July 28, 2017 Share Posted July 28, 2017 I'll be following along with interest. Looking good so far, never could resist a Lightning. Atb, Steve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchbuilder Posted July 28, 2017 Author Share Posted July 28, 2017 Hi Steve, me neither! Just used some of that bronzey foil, cooked in egg shells to do the tail pipes. Works well. Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchbuilder Posted July 31, 2017 Author Share Posted July 31, 2017 Here's a surprising number of hours more work on the Lightning. Various different foils, front and back, turned this way and that, some cooked in eggshells for different lengths of time. Rivets run up the frame lines with a watch wheel I mounted in a little brass handle. That makes a huge difference. Martin 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor K2 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Great work so far. I have yet to complete a "foiled" model. I have started a few but have yet to find the "perfect method. I nearly completed a Super Sabre and would love to complete it one day. I sprayed a base coat of humbrol silver first as this allows for minor mistakes when using the foil. I have heard boiling the foil in cider vinegar produces heat affected metal colours. My Airfix Lightning is watching this thread as it develops and shouting at me to "get on with it". Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 (edited) Impressove! That riveting looks like a steady hand! Edited July 31, 2017 by exdraken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchbuilder Posted July 31, 2017 Author Share Posted July 31, 2017 Well, Bill, I got the bronze shade by boiling the foil in eggshells. It can be a bit patchy, but is better than nothing. I tried a 2p coin and vinegar and got nowhere, but will try some other metals and report back. The only sure way is to do a panel by panel job, then you won't be asking the ally to go round too sharp or complex a radius, but you MUST practice on different shapes. I find that Sellotape aluminium foil self adhesive tape is easiest to use as it's more malleable than kitchen foil. Keep the kitchen foil for the colour tones and the flatter panels. I bought some metal leaf glue(size) off ebay for a couple of pounds, free postage, which is SO much cheaper than Micro Doodah. It is best applied sparingly with a cotton wool bud and left to dry a little. Give it a go. It's very fulfilling. Exdraken...I do have a steady hand thankfully. Glad you both like it. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Now, this looks interesting.... I'm a bit of a foil tape enthusiast myself, so I'll pull up a seat if I may! Looking good so far! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchbuilder Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 Please do. The Mrs. has pinched her kitchen foil back for tonight's family barbeque and the grandkids are in the spare room so no progress on the model till Friday. Sorry for the italics, it's today's little pootah mood swing. Can't correct it apparently. Cheers, Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 (edited) Had a bit of time earlier, Martin, and got as far as Tangmere. Guess what they've got in a work shop/ hanger undergoing a little maintenance? My immediate observations were the smooth flushness of the structural rivets in general, in contrast with the access panels and their fasteners which were much more visible. The hanger wasn't open to public, but the doors were open, so I only got this view point. The other thing was the trailing edge of the ailerons - not sharp at all. BIG flat edge Anyway, she's an impressive bird for sure.. Thinking i might have a go at one sometime. Smaller scale. I been doing some F101 Voodoos, and they are almost contemporary ; both gas- guzzling interceptors! Edited August 1, 2017 by rob Lyttle photo 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Here's the aileron picture I was trying to insert. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 Good to see someone going the foil route, Sir. Nothing looks quite so much like metal as metal.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 (edited) VictorK2 i've done 3 planes in foil. The best Method I've found is to paint areas that need paint ( walkways, anti-glare panels, and similar areas) first with extremely careful masking. Then mask these areas so the glue doesn't mar the finish. Its a slow painstaking process but the results are worth it. The foil glue has less adhesion to paint and never really cures. The best method as pointed out is to make the piece of foil just a little larger than the panel and burnish down. Then repeat. Its best to clearcoat each section completed at the end of a session so it doesnt oxidize. You can achieve really nice patterns if you scuff the backside of the full sheet of foil (6x6 inches or 12-15 cms for a sheet is good) with really fine grit sanding cloth. I use 1800-2000 grit. I get a nice pattern by alternating the foils direction on the plane. Once completed clear coat the whole airplane and you can decal as normal. Hope that helps. If you'd like examples i can show them. Currently i cant upload but we can figure something out. Rob lyttle thanks youve helped me im stuck on my own lightning build and couldnt find close ups of the skin to figure the look out. Edited August 2, 2017 by Corsairfoxfouruncle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchbuilder Posted August 2, 2017 Author Share Posted August 2, 2017 I've just foiled everything including the canopy framing, which I'll then paint matt black and carefully chip away at to show wear and tear. The rest of the airframe will all be foiled. I have never found oxidation to be a problem, so I don't intend clear coating. I did a Vampire once in foil and still have it somewhere. It has been kept in a damp garage, an old barn , etc. and now has a very convincing white dustiness to it which I rather like! maybe the act of burnishing the foil protects the surface from oxidation. Of course aluminium oxidises immediately anyway to some extent, which is why it's a pig to solder or weld. We just can't see it for a long time. I think the most important thing is the making of a panel at a time. I would use a round ended scalpel blade and just roll it along the panel line, to avoid the possibility of tearing the foil. I say "would", but don't as I don't have any, but do know how to sharpen a blade on a slip stone like a razor and do so constantly, so I haven't torn any foils, whatever thinness I've used, but would still say roll cut it rather than draw a knife along, to be absolutely certain. Rob, many thanks for those close ups. Very useful indeed and I will keep referring to them to help with the "rivetting" impressions. Interesting how the rivets appear to be a different grade of metal to the surrounding panels. I once had an Albatross speedboat which was made in salt-water-proof aluminium by men who'd once built Spitfires and unless you knew where to look, the flush rivet lines, on removal of the paint, were more or less invisible, so well was the little craft made. That shot of the trailing edge of the ailerons is amazing. Who'd have thought it? I will have to take a file to the kit parts. I assume the F1 had the same feature? I'm itching to get on with it, but the son and grandson have taken over the spare room for the duration of their visit, so I have removed to the garden to tidy "that corner" we all have in our gardens. Cheers, Martin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 Reference material, Stabiliser surface - Fin surface- Garden must be sorted by now, isn't it?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchbuilder Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 Hi Rob, yes the garden stuff was duly done, but of course you never finish with garden chores. I've done a bit more, but the shortening days and worsening weather makes me turn in on myself and start getting back to railways and scenery. The airyplanes won't surface again now till Spring. M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
At Sea Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 How's the progress with this? I love the idea of foiling but never done it (yet) so watching with interest... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 @At Sea check out rob lyttle’s, or Lawzer’s work in the WIP section. Or any of our things including mine in the RFI section. Lawzer’s P-51 mustang was his first foil job. As you will see its not hard if you prep and plan for it. Like anything else it just takes trying and practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
At Sea Posted October 21, 2017 Share Posted October 21, 2017 6 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: @At Sea check out rob lyttle’s, or Lawzer’s work in the WIP section. Or any of our things including mine in the RFI section. Lawzer’s P-51 mustang was his first foil job. As you will see its not hard if you prep and plan for it. Like anything else it just takes trying and practice. Thanks. Will do. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redcap Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 Excellent work so far with the NM look but just an observation; the pilot is sitting way too high in the EJ seat as the top of the headrest is level with his neck. If there is any way to alter this, I think it would massively improve the look around the cockpit. Good luck with the rest of the build. Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussiePhantom Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 Wow that looks impressive, can't wait to see it finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratchbuilder Posted October 22, 2017 Author Share Posted October 22, 2017 Only just managed to get back on here. As I said above, I don't do any of this sort of stuff in the Winter, so Spring is when it'll come out again. Getting some railway stuff done at weekends now and during the week, I have been doing a brass master of a Vincent Black Shadow in 1/6th scale. Cheers, Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now