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Supermarine's best? [Now with added Seafire 47... & Seafang!]


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Ah yes.  Now I remember why I stopped using Vallejo in the first place.  

 

The colours are excellent; no complaints there.  They spray well, provided you treat them reasonably gently in preparation.  And they give excellent coverage with a nice even sheen, like this:

23603916368_d26afbc171_c.jpg

 

OK, now look again, a bit more closely, at the wing root.  Problem.  For some reason the paint didn't like it there, and has bubbled rather nastily.  The problem is better illustrated by a close-up of the other side:

23603915188_b6ed41777d_c.jpg

 

Ouch.

 

But hey!  Paint problems happen to everyone, and proper modellers sort them out, don't they?

 

And yes, that's when i remembered; my biggest issue with Vallejo is the fact that sanding them, blending in patches, sorting out blemishes etc. seems (for this modeller at least) to be horribly difficult.  When I used some 1500 grit sandpaper to see whether these blemishes were paint lifting from the primer for some reason, or just places where the paint had gathered in lumps...

 

23603913828_3629234fd7_c.jpg

 

Sorry, horrible out of focus picture, but you can see all you need to see.  The paint started to peel away in strips with even the lightest touch.  Yes, it probably isn't fully cured yet, by the look of it - but why not, after several hours?  

 

So it's coming off; all of it.  I will take the model back to plastic, re-prime and then use either Tamiya or Gunze (paint I am actually used to and which I seem to be able to manipulate nicely) to match these excellent Vallejo colours.

 

I readily accept that some people seem to be able to get superb finishes out of Vallejo, but i don't appear to be one of those people.  I have had a similar experience before, but managed to convince myself that this time it might be different.

 

No great problem; mojo not damaged.

 

It's going to be messy for a few minutes, but back soon!

 

Crisp 

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Not to worry - long term followers of my builds will know that this is a mere bagatelle in comparison with the Great Ark Melted Flight Deck Catastrophe, and I recovered from that.  This is just inconvenient.

 

For the record, the masking tape wasn't a disaster - and I wasn't being careful with removing it, either.  A little stripping:

23605722148_53f554b2e4_c.jpg

 

But equally in places a reasonable demarkation line:

23605721508_90bcedd84a_c.jpg

 

Anyway, an hour or so with the joys of IPA, plus some Mr Color levelling thinner for those stubborn stains (as the advertisers have it), and that's mostly gone.  As I break to go to choir practice:

23605720928_5779dd286a_c.jpg

23605720248_cc0bf91eb8_c.jpg

 

Clearly, the gluing of the radiators wasn't the most secure join in the world!

 

Finish the port wing and the tail tomorrow, then a bit of detail stuff, including scraping out those panel lines.  Then re-prime and we're back in business.

 

More soon

 

Crisp

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Looks like some strange sort of weathering, those last two pics :D:D

 

Anyway, I'm glad this isn't hurting your mojo. Looking forward to the new painting session :popcorn:

 

Ciao

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26 minutes ago, giemme said:

Ouch! That looks really odd :confused:

Just out of curiosity, what have you been using to thin that paint?

 

Ciao

I used Vallejo’s own brand thinners; I long ago learned that the safest way with pretty much all paint is to use the same brand of thinner.  The only exception is Mr Color Levelling, which works beautifully with Tamiya 

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32 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

I used Vallejo’s own brand thinners; I long ago learned that the safest way with pretty much all paint is to use the same brand of thinner.  The only exception is Mr Color Levelling, which works beautifully with Tamiya 

I use water and IPA with Tamiya, and I think they're very forgiving as acrylic paints anyway. It seems even odder that you got that result with Vallejo's own thinner - well, I'm happy with Lifecolor as an alternative, and seeing your experience, I will not try Vallejo. I do love their primer, though.

 

Ciao

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2 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

I used Vallejo’s own brand thinners; I long ago learned that the safest way with pretty much all paint is to use the same brand of thinner.  The only exception is Mr Color Levelling, which works beautifully with Tamiya 

Incredibly disappointing especially when the EDSG/Sky were looking so good - I'm sure you will have it sorted in a few days - interesting tip about Mr Colour Levelling and Tamiya

 

CJP

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Good save Crisp.

On 02/10/2017 at 8:30 PM, Procopius said:

Better to die young from enamel fumes than this.

I'm with PC on this - albeit with the variation of lacquer fumes - and agreeing with you on the whole Mr Colour/Tamiya/Mr Colour levelling thinner thing Crisp - and in the knowledge that (unlike our young American friend) I'm probably past the point at which I can properly be said to die young.....early - yes; but young - no.....

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Ooooh! That's not good...  I use Xtracrylics over Halfords aluminium and have never had a problem like this.  

 

The aluminium is spayed whilst parts are still on the sprue so given the sub glacial pace I build at it has weeks (months) to harden before the Xtracrylics top coat.  For masking large areas I use cling film and Tamiya tape which I de-tack but pressing it down on the clean bench before I stick it down with most of the width on the cling film...  

 

Good luck, the Seafire looks superb, I'm sure the finishing will work fine..  Stick at it..

 

 

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Harsh that mate. I think a Henry Ford type quote is called for: "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently". Not that you started unintelligently, but I think you get my point. Must admit I'm with Procopius and Fritag and would rather die, not quite so young, from enamel fumes.

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There's no real need to die young or early - a spray booth &/ or a decent respirator with an open window should (note should! :D) protect one enough from the quantities of paint we use....

 

Mind you, I still won't use 2 pack car paint with just a respirator as some car modellers insist on doing these days...!!

 

Keith

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Wow, not so long ago, you was just starting this and I was going to say it now has paint on, but it's off again! You don't hang around! Sorry to see the paint issue, it was looking great. Hope you get it all sorted :)

 

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Whoa! Any unwanted Vallejo would find a welcome home here! I've used Vallejo predominantly ever since returning to the hobby and can't ever recall a problem with lifting or peeling. Now, I don't know why that would be, but they seem to work for me. At a guess, I'd say it's something to do with my having been a hand-brusher until recently, and using only very little thinner (if any) with VMA. So perhaps they're good for those of us that lay it on thick  :)

 

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To be honest I am not sure what’s been going on with the Vallejo.  As I said earlier, I readily acknowledge that many people get a great finish with the stuff, so clearly the issue is how I have been using it rather than anything inherently wrong with the paint.  None the less, I tend to get the same or similar problems each time, so...

 

Just to muddy the waters a little further, I have found a marked difference between the Sky and the EDSG when stripping it.  The EDSG pretty much wiped off when confronted with a cotton bud and some IPA; some - but not all - of the Sky proved tough to shift (though it’s all gone now).  The only difference between EDSG and Sky coats was a tiny amount (c.3 drops?) of Vallejo's own thinner added to the EDSG.  I suspect that the real reason is that the paint is unforgiving; get it spot on and it’s fine, but even a small change can be fatal.  That’s all very well, but not very helpful for those of us who are still very much learning the subtleties of good painting.  I reckon I have become a pretty decent builder of models, but I still have a long way to go on the painting side.

 

No doubt if I persevered I could crack it - but this is a mojo build; I don’t want the risk of a paint, strip, try again, etc cycle.  Even if it goes well, I don’t want the worry that each time I paint it may or may not be be a wasted day; this is supposed to be fun!  So I have falken back on stuff I’ve used before & which I trust; Tamiya & Gunze (plus maybe some Alclad primer).

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13 hours ago, Fritag said:

I'm probably past the point at which I can properly be said to die young.....early - yes; but young - no.....

You had your shot, Steve.  And you might have got away with it if it hadn’t been for those pesky Martin Baker blokes.

Edited by Ex-FAAWAFU
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14 hours ago, Martian Hale said:

Time the Vallejo stuff went in the bin methinks.

 

 

I wouldn't chuck it either Crisp. Despite my earlier post re stirring the stuff, I don't get on with it for full paint jobs either - but I do use it quite a bit for brush painting interior details etc.. It's always useful for that!

 

Keith

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Very nearly ready to re-apply primer now:

37444816766_c2dcdf4a49_c.jpg

 

The process of removing the paint from panel lines has been bit of a faff - almost like re-scribing the whole lot, though with a bit more control since the line is at least already there, and the paint is relatively soft.  In this shot the near wing has been done and the far wing not - the difference was a lot clearer to the naked eye!

37444816166_09e993ed29_c.jpg

 

Plus of course the whole thing then micro-meshed within an inch of its life; Shiny The Seafire!:

37444815646_1d3187f078_c.jpg

 

I still have to strip a few bit not yet fitted (undercarriage doors and one of the radiators), but I am now almost back to where I was a few days ago!.

 

Crisp

 

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