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Italeri 1:72 Su-34 Fullback +++FINISHED+++


Jasonb13

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One of the advantages of Black Basing, every aircraft looks cool in black... :)

 

 

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Also got the horizontal stabilisers, canards and pylons etc. primed in black as well.

 

Next step on the airframe is painting the light blue underside, but there's a chance I won't get that done for a week or two, as I'm busy a lot for the next while. I'm also working on the exhausts. might get them finished and a pic of them up. Though I don't use Alclad, so they're not going to look too impressive. I'm also very conscious of the time, only about 6 weeks left, so I hope I get to the finish in time!

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Quick update... The exhausts are now done. It's not a great picture, I couldn't get the insides of the exhausts, but it gives you an idea.

 

 

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Next is spraying the light blue colour on the underside of the airframe, but I'm not sure when that will be, as I need a couple of hours at the bench for that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, after a couple of weeks away from the bench, I got the undersides painted this evening, and here's how it looks now:

 

 

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To be honest, I had airbrush problems the whole evening, lots of tip dry and spattering etc. etc. so it wasn't an enjoyable experience, and my black basing went out the window a little bit too. I don't have a lot of mojo either, so that didn't give me much patience with the process! But, it's painted, and there is some subtle modulation with the light blue, especially on the wings, though it's easier to see in real life.

 

Next up is painting the inside of the wheel wells, the grey on the front corner of the horizontal stabilisers, and the steel on the rear of the engine nacelles, before masking it all off and spraying the upper colour. I bought Mr. Paint 'Eggplant' Dark Grey for that, so hopefully it'll turn out good. Of course, it will all go well, and faster, if I can find my mojo!

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Thanks lads!

 

I typed this post up last night, and I could have sworn I posted it, but maybe not! So here it goes again...

 

Managed to get some time at the bench, so I masked off the airframe to reduce the risk of overspray before doing the top colour. Where would we be without Tamiya tape? :)

 

 

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And then I sprayed the top colour, 'Eggplant' Dark Grey. I was using Mr. Paint for the first time, which I'd heard good things about, and they weren't wrong. It went on like a dream, straight from the bottle, no thinners required, and in about an hour of spraying, I didn't once have to stop due to any issues (tip-dry spitting etc.) and this is on a cheap Chinese brush. It was easily the best spraying session I've ever done, and I'm immediately in love with this paint!

 

Of course, there's always a downside, and in this case, apart from the strong smell off the paint (but that's what face masks are for) the downside was it's very hard to do black basing is the top coat is very dark grey! :) So I did my best, and there is some tonal variation, but I don't really mind, I'm just happy after a decent session with the airbrush. Here's how it looks now:

 

 

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Next up is the black anti-glare on the front of the canopy, and then some other little colour detail on the fuselage, before taking the tape all off. All going well, as I have a couple of evenings at the bench this week, I should have the airframe glossed and drying by Friday evening, with decals then next on the list. So, with a bit of luck, I might just get this finished by the deadline!

 

Thanks...

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After a bit of thought, and some research online, I decided to try the metallic finish on the engines first.

 

I don't use Alclad, at least not yet, but I wanted to try AK True Metal, which is a wax based paint that can be buffed after application.

 

So firstly, I masked off the area:

 

 

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Then I got a little bit of the True Metal 'Iron' paint, and thinned it with some White Spirits in a little cup, and then brushed it on. It can be brushed neat, but I hoped for a smoother finer finish, with less brush strokes, if I used it thinned. I then left it to dry for about 45 mins, and here's how it looked:

 

 

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Pretty happy for that, so then I gave buffing it a go. Just used some kitchen roll and went at it, a little worried at first of removing the paint, but I soon realised that it wasn't going to rub off as it was dry enough. So I rubbed it for a while, and got it to this stage:

 

 

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I have to admit, I'm quite happy with it. It's not Alclad level, but it's pretty good for me, better than just 'aluminium' paint, and while the pic doesn't show it very well, there's a nice sheen off it too.

 

I need to do a couple of touch-ups, but the airframe is pretty much ready for a gloss coat now, and I'm hoping the gloss coat (and future panel washes etc.) will agree with the True Metal! :)

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Thanks 128fiddler, though now I'm curious as to what you'd said originally! :)

 

Anyhow, I got some touch-ups done, and apart from the metallic 'disc' behind the canopy (which, for some unknown reason, I keep struggling with, and keep getting an uneven finish on!) it's all ready for the gloss coat, hopefully tomorrow if things go well. Here's how it looks with all the tape off:

 

 

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Thanks Valkyrie, it's getting there!

 

Got the decals done. They weren't great, quite a bit of silvering, though to be fair I think I may still be too stingy when airbrushing Klear compared to brush painting it, and maybe I didn't have enough of a gloss coat on it. Anyhow, they're all done, and a second gloss coat is next (hopefully this weekend) and then a oil panel wash (hopefully early next week). Anyone able to spot the deliberate mistake with the decals? :)

 

 

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Thanks Dave...

 

More progress made. I got the second gloss coat done, and then the panel wash, using oils. The underside one went ok, but the upper side one didn't. I think it was a mix of having a wash that's too light, so it's too stark against the dark grey, the model still not being glossy enough (so excess couldn't be cleaned easily) and me just losing mojo, so in the end it's far messier than I'd hoped, but at this stage I'm in no mood to try to improve it, I just want it done and off my desk. So I did the matt coat, glued on the exhausts and took the tape off the canopy. Here's how it looks now:

 

 

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Really not too happy with that, I had high hopes, but it is what it is, I'll chalk it up to experience.

 

Next steps are gluing all the bits on, including the pylons, ordinance, undercarriage, undercarriage doors etc.

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Thanks lads, it looks ok from a distance!

 

1:48 will be huge! The paint I used for the underside is Akan 73144 Light Blue, from their Russian Deck Aviation set, 47302. I used the set for a three blue camo Su-25 UTG Frogfoot I recently.

 

To be honest, I think the blue is a little too light, I think it needs to be a little bit darker/more vibrant, looking at the Su-34 pics online, but it'll do for me. Mr. Paint, who I got the excellent 'Eggplant' Dark Grey from, also have lots of other Russian aircraft colours.

 

Thanks...

 

 

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I continued with this, and the advantage of having all the little bits (undercarriage, ordinance etc.) done from the start made itself clear, as it basically just turned into a couple of  'gluing bits on' sessions. Here it is with all the pylons and undercarriage on:

 

 

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I kept on going, gluing bits on and doing little touch-ups here and there, and I'm now calling this finished! Because I made a mess of the upper airframe wash I'm not that happy with it, but at least it's done and off my desk. I did like how the metallic engine nacelles worked out, and I also like doing the fiddly bits at the start of the build. And I also discovered the gem that is Mr. Paint paints, so all in all it wasn't a waste of a build!

 

Thanks for all your help, encouragement and kind comments, and thanks for running the GB! :) Below are the finished shots, I'll put some of them in the Gallery too.

 

 

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That’s awesome, panel lines underside and particularly top side are great, the pale lines make it look real and metallic and the weaponry on it all brings it together. I love it brilliant! That’s a displayer well done 

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