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Tamiya 1/48 Beaufighter in black. Trim tabs done (finally!)


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Over on my Hurricane paint mule thread I’ve just carried out a little experiment and this is the result.

 

37805310214_57dc933ca8_b.jpg

 

The port wing has been micromeshed only and the starboard wing semi gloss sprayed with a Tamiya rattlecan. I don’t think there’s a great deal of difference? Based on this experiment I am inclined to just varnish, provided that I get the imeven surface finish from the black rattlecan in the first place.

 

Trevor

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On ‎08‎/‎10‎/‎2017 at 7:55 PM, stever219 said:

Give the "lighter shade in the middle of each panel" treatment a miss: aeroplanes do not weather like that (nor will you find dark smudges along every panel joint).  An alternative approach would be to apply a coat of satin black to represent Smooth Night and then to apply a coat of matt black to represent RDM2A Special Night.  Once this has dried you can then gently abrade ares where wear has occurred and reveal the Smooth Night underneath.  (In some cases a very fine abrasive will put a slight sheen on a matt paint finish, so put your paint mule to work and give it a try.). Mixing some very dark grey in with your matt black and applying this mixture in areas where heavier than average wear occurs might also help to break up the overall blackness of the model.

Interesting. Agree with your comment. I have seen a lot of models done like this and, I just don't think they look right. Maybe it's the neatly defined "pre shaded" panels that spoils it for me because, like you, I have seen very few (if any ) aircraft that weather like that. Still, to each their individual taste. It's been interesting reading the suggestions on weathering black though. I have the Revell Dornier DO-17Z "Kauz" and a couple of Lancasters to build so, any tips I pick up here are useful

 

Allan

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@Albeback52 thanks for dropping in!

 

My paint mule is now all but finished and I’ll post pictures over the weekend. This will then be translated (yikes!) to the Beaufighter. I don’t have an airbrush only rattlecans and hairy sticks so my techniques will have to reflect this.

 

At present it has an overall matt black finish following application of the markings. To simulate the peeling(?) of the RDM finish, I’ll have random areas of gloss or satin varnish applied to give the grotty well-used look I’m aiming for.

 

More soonish.

 

Trevor

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I made a black night intruder many years ago ( I think it's still in a box somewhere ) and if I remember correctly I stippled some thick, unmixed paint behind,the leading edges to simulate the peeling paint. 

I am not a big fan of uniform pre-shading  and centre panel fading either, about 35 years ago there was a teenager who regularly won classes at the IPMS Nationals ( remember them? ) at Soneleigh who was an absolute genius with an airbrush and used a lot of shading, he produced beautiful models but for me the just weren't realistic.

 

Keep on keeping on

 

John

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Hello

 

This is where I’m up to with the paint mule. Markings applied and a coat of matt varnish misted over

 

25084502988_a2c01bd612_b.jpg

 

The blotchy finish from before is now more muted, so I think that I’ll play around with the gloss varnish streaks and maybe a few panels in a different brand of black to see what happens........

 

Trevor

 

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Looking good on the black front. I found doing slightly off black, adding a jet black wash and then add some white Tamiya weathering pigments for picking out light details. 

Might not be what you’re after though. I have seen some folks polish some panels to give them a gloss look. You could use different top coats?

 

 

Keep it it up chap, great experimentification.

 

Johnny

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5 hours ago, Max Headroom said:

@The Spadgent

 

And viola! My creation is complete

 

27180320119_e52f2eab2a_b.jpg

 

I think some refinement on the gloss varnish application may be in order, but as a principle I think it’ll work?

 

Back to work on the Beau!

 

Trevor

 

 

 

Nice work. I think the effect works well. If it was me I’d try and get the shiny bit looking more rubbed away and lose some of the end strokes that look like brush marks, but hey that’s just me. I think what you have is wonderful. Bravo! :clap2:

 

Johnny

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The Beau has broken surface once more after a ‘rest’. Unfortunately it sort off dropped back whilst the Hurricane paint mule and French Typhoon were finished. Then of course my cheat’s Spitfire Vc and the Meteor PR.10 are now on the go.

 

I hadn’t forgotten though and I felt kind of guilty leaving it to one side. So then I thought the trim tabs won’t take long. 

 

Several pieces of card stock pinging off my  tweezers and also losing a number of lengths of 5 amp fuse wire, I finally did it!

 

39990274042_3e7a6368cc_b.jpg

 

Yay!

 

Excuse me please, I’m now off to study Hercules plumbing.........

 

Trevor

 

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  • 5 years later...

Now where was I?

 

Ah yes, the engines. Since the last episode, Aerocraft have released a 3D printed set. Originally meant for the Revell kit, it has now been tweaked to fit the Tamiya example.

 

https://aerocraftmodels.bigcartel.com/product/bristol-beaufighter-replacement-cowlings-and-engines-for-the-tamiya-kits-mk-if

 

That saves me a whole lotta fuss with fuse wire, beer and screaming in fluid Anglo Saxon.

 

Update when the postie delivers!

 

I may be slow, but sometimes I get there………

 

Trevor

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1 hour ago, Biggles87 said:

Oh good you’re back.

Looking at the time span of this makes me feel less bad about the length of some of my builds.

Looking forward to seeing the engines.

 

John

 

I never went away. I just couldn’t get around the engine problem. The Beau just kind of sat there amongst my AMARC hangar queens!

 

Trevor

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The postie arrived today!

 

Look what Aerocraft sent

 

Aerocraft 3D

 

Aerocraft 3D

 

Aerocraft 3D

 

Aerocraft 3D

 

Aerocraft 3D


Beautifully moulded (?), cast (?), 3Dified (?), these are the first such items that I’ve handled and made by this witchcraft. Surprisingly heavy too. I’ve read about striations that need sanding off, but you have to look very hard to make them out. Perhaps a mist of primer will highlight any? One last question - can I use Tamiya extra thin when gluing, or is it a superglue jobbie?

 

Next thing to do with them will be to saw off the parts from the backing, but that can wait until later. However, I will do a ‘compare and contrast’ with the kit parts as my science teacher was fond of saying.


A big vote of thanks to @Ali62 for producing these beauties.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Trevor

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Further question if I may about the removal of the parts from the runners. How brittle is this stuff? Am I able to use  snips, or should I use a fine toothed saw?

 

Trevor

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46 minutes ago, Max Headroom said:

Further question if I may about the removal of the parts from the runners. How brittle is this stuff? Am I able to use  snips, or should I use a fine toothed saw?

 

Trevor

The resin supports are nicely brittle. I used a combination of snips, saw and scalpel to get one off for a test fit.

The engine blocks themselves are supported right to the centre.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

 

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