mirageiv Posted December 31, 2017 Share Posted December 31, 2017 Excellent work Craig, the cockpits look fantastic and the blue looks very good imho! On the decal masking, from bad prior experience I've never been able to fully mask over a decal without damage (even reducing the tac) and with multiple clear layers over it etc.. So instead I tried cutting out a piece of paper slightly bigger than the decal, placing that over the decal with small masking tape 'tabs' to secure in place, then continue masking around and over the paper (decal) as per norm, so only paper touches the decal and no risk of coming off with the tape, 100% success rate so far! Look forward to more, David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 Thanks Cliff and David. I have to admit that I was more than a little afraid of how this was going to work out, anyway lets have a look at how it went in stages. The first stage was deciding which of the "blue" camouflaged aircraft I would build as there were around 5 at least that carried this scheme and after looking at what I could make from the Hasegawa sheet I decided upon 76-8710 and applied the numbers and squadron marking which gave me a tail looking like this; The next job was to mask it for which I used Tamiya tape from a selection of "well used" pieces I have which I hoped would lessen the chances of pulling off the decals. I cut the tape up into many different shaped and sized pieces and covered the decal, taking care not to press them down too hard, which gave me this; As you can see I also applied the blu-tak worms to get the scalloped look of the camouflage scheme and it was then time to mix and spray the darker blue top colours, once again I used Xtracrylix RLM 65 but mixed to a 50/50 ratio (roughly) with Gunze H322 (the same one I added just a drop or two of to the RLM-65 to achieve the lower surface colour) and sprayed it onto the entire uppersurfaces which gave me this; And that made it the moment of truth, would it have worked? Would some of the decals have come off too? Would the F-104 be going on an impromptu flying lesson? Well after a few minutes of holding my breath and peeling as delicately as possible this is what I had; YES!!!!!!!!!!!! And just to prove it wasn't a total fluke here is the other side; Am I happy with that? You bet I am! The only casualty paint wise was a couple of very small area where some came off with the blu-tak but that will be easily put right. I am quite pleased with hos she looks at the moment and here is a shot of the whole fuselage; I need to do some more (careful) masking for the radome, canopy and intakes but that can wait for another day as I don't want to push my luck! I may also apply some coats of Klear to help protect the paint before I add any more masking. Well that's it for today, thanks for looking in and a Happy New Year to all of you, and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Nicely done! Masking over decals always gives me the shivers. Cheers, Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 15 minutes ago, Navy Bird said: Nicely done! Masking over decals always gives me the shivers. Cheers, Bill Thanks Bill, it certainly had me worried! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 On 12/31/2017 at 1:57 PM, CliffB said: I'll be going with my kit's Tamiya recommendations XF-23 Light Blue and XF-18 Medium Blue. Cliff I looked at these colours when I was trying to decide which to use on my build, I took along a book with a very good clear picture and could not find anything which matched it in either Tamiya, Gunze or Vallejo straight from the pot, and believe me I spent a lot of time looking, which is why I chose the nearest I could and decided to mix the colours I needed from them. I'm not saying mine are perfect but I am happy with how they look. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirageiv Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Awesome job Craig, I think I missed the point of what you were actually trying to mask in my earlier post, I didn't realise it was only the decals and no surrounds, lol ignore that post! Great job anyways! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex77 Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 Well done Craig! Great scheme and some very good masking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 Finally managed to get some spare time and enthusiasm to coincide! After quite a few coats of Klear applied by a wide flat brush I have been able to apply the decals, which I got done over the weekend. These also had some Klear brushed over them and then I could do some weathering in the form of highlighting the panel lines with a wash, I am not doing much more weathering as Japanese aircraft in general are kept in very clean condition and the ACM meet camouflage isn't usually applied for too long so it doesn't get a chance to get too weathered, although there are exceptions, anyway here are some pics to show how she looks at the moment; An over-all shot of the fuselage. A couple of shots of the forward fuselage. The tail area. And finally the wings. Due to the fast approaching deadline and a lack of spare time (and enthusiasm at times) I am going to concentrate on finishing the single seater rather than try to do both, not helped by the fact that I have misplaced the main gear doors for it. Thanks for looking in and being patient, as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted January 15, 2018 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Its looks splendid! You already overtook my build.... no decals and no clear coat yet.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 15, 2018 Author Share Posted January 15, 2018 6 minutes ago, exdraken said: Its looks splendid! You already overtook my build.... no decals and no clear coat yet.... Thanks Werner. She is getting there, but the last little things always seem to take me longer to do! I am really liking your Spanish F-104 by the way, very nice work indeed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted January 16, 2018 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Love the scheme and the quality, great stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted January 18, 2018 Share Posted January 18, 2018 I like the scheme craig, the painting looks real good 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 It's looking great Craig. I'm particularly impressed/jealous of your wavy demarcation 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 It's all looking good so far Craig, see you soon andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 Cheers guys. I have been making progress and I will do a proper update later this evening, complete with pictures! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 As promised here is a proper update on where things stand at the minute. Since the last update I have finished the decalling and weathering and have given everything a coat of matt varnish which has helped tone things down a lot and made the colours come closer to those on the pictures I have found of this particular a/c and this is how she looked afterwards; I next completed the undercarriage and fitted it all in place and was very relieved to find (as you can see above) that she isn't a tail sitter, yes! Here's a look from underneath; After this I added all the little "sticky out bits" on the forward fuselage, the horizontal tail surfaces and then push fitted the wings into place which gave me this; With this work done the majority of the main airframe work is complete with just the many little things to do before completion such as the ejector seat, main canopy and the fitting of the centre-line dual missile launcher which has been built up (apart from the clear parts at the rear of each rail) and a coat of white paint applied. here it is; It needs weathering a bit and the rear parts adding then it will be fixed in place. Well that's how things stand at the moment, hopefully there will be a bit more progress before the end of the week. Thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirageiv Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 21 minutes ago, modelling minion said: Got to be one of the best F-104 schemes out there, 100% will plan to make one after seeing this. Certainly doing it justice Craig, really fantastic! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lex77 Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 Very nice and colourfull! Almost there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 21, 2018 Author Share Posted January 21, 2018 50 minutes ago, mirageiv said: Got to be one of the best F-104 schemes out there, 100% will plan to make one after seeing this. Certainly doing it justice Craig, really fantastic! Thanks David much appreciated. There are some cracking schemes for JASDF F-104's from the Air Combat Meets and I will build some more. I look forward to seeing you build one! 46 minutes ago, Lex77 said: Very nice and colourfull! Almost there. Thanks Lex. Yes hopefully I will get her across the finish line in time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted January 21, 2018 Share Posted January 21, 2018 Sweet! I love the modern Japanese schemes. You've nailed this one. Cheers, Bill 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 Hi Craig. I am sorry I'm a lot late to the party here. Not my usual area of GBs to look in. Anyway - your build is looking superb. The work on the cockpit is awesome - and I am especially impressed by the fabric effect you achieved for the coaming is amazing. The paintwork and camo plus all your work on the markings is absolutely first rate! Kind regards, Stix 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 hi Craig, keep going and you will have it finished for the next club meeting I will be at in early feb!! Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 27, 2018 Author Share Posted January 27, 2018 Thanks for the input guys. This should be the last update before she finally gets finished. The seat was finished off and then offered up to the cockpit and needed a lot of material removing from the bottom of it before it would sit at the correct height to enable the canopy to close, here are some pictures of how she looks with the seat in place; And the main canopy itself; Pretty much all that remains to do is to fit the canopy in place, I'm leaning towards having the canopy closed on this one to keep the sleek lines of the real thing as I already have a Canadian one I built earlier with the canopy open and might do the canopies open on the 2 seater (when I get around the finishing it!). That's it for today, thanks for looking in and as usual all comments and criticisms are gratefully received. Craig. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dot Posted January 27, 2018 Share Posted January 27, 2018 excellent stuff Craig. I'll be at the first meeting in Feb, so bring it along Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted January 27, 2018 Author Share Posted January 27, 2018 1 hour ago, Red Dot said: excellent stuff Craig. I'll be at the first meeting in Feb, so bring it along Andy Will do Andy, nice of you to spend some time in your home country for a change! I have yet to see any piccies posted from your Thai adventure.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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