Italeri F4S Phantom II - Second go with an airbrush

[Harry_the_Spider]

 

My first attempt at airbushing turned out OK (I think), but I did cheat by picking a Gulf War Jaguar which was filthy, so any screw ups could be hidden under the weathering.

I bought a tile from B&Q and painted a yellow line down it. I think as a base for photos it looks OK. Even my hated Gannet looks better on it.

This time with the Phantom I’ll attempt a clean build. The plan is to pre-shade the control surfaces then spray it in a three colour grey USMC scheme. Other than that I’ll keep the filth to a minimum with maybe just some staining around the jet pipes and underside of the tail

Cockpit done by brush. The instruments look OK in real scale and will be hidden in the airframe with the canopies down. Blown up on a 24” monitor they look horrendous! Whatever. The seats look alright too, but I added masking tape belts. Other than that the build will be OOB.

 

The CoG is somewhere near the main landing gear, but I added weight to the nose just to be sure.

Fit is a bit “Italeri”, so some filling and sanding is required.

 

The detail isn’t great, but this is just another test to see if I can do it before risking something that cost twice as much.

Edited January 20, 2018 by Harry_the_Spider

[Harry_the_Spider]

Ready for spraying with primer. When I was a kid I'd build a complete kit in less time than it took to mask that canopy!

 

 

The kit isn't too bad either. A bit of filling round the nose and under the tail fin, but apart from that it has gone together quite well.

 

I'm developing a soft spot for Italeri with their vague instructions and "just bung it on" approach to pitots, vents and aerials. I've got a soft spot for Revell too at the moment, it is over the back fence in the field beyond.

 

I need to get my Mo-Jo back with them as there one of their Dambusters Lancs in the stash that is due up in two or three kits time.

 

Edited January 23, 2018 by Harry_the_Spider

[Tempestwulf]

Doing well Harry. We've all had to cut our teeth when it came to air brushing and you're doing a top job. The old 1/72 Hasegawa P-38 was the first kit I'd attempted shading on.

[phildagreek]

Looks good so far.

[Harry_the_Spider]

Urgh#1. Ugly seem where the intake cover meets the fuselage.

 

 

Urgh#2. Got 55 minutes before the wife gets back from Zumba to get rid of the smell of primer.

Edited January 24, 2018 by Harry_the_Spider

[RidgeRunner]

It looks great to me :).  Martin

[cocky05d]

Another kit i have on the go ,primed ready for the main colours .I don't think the guide for the main colours are much good .

Only on the bottom of the box .

[cocky05d]

PS ,might follow your lead and add tape seat belts . Have got the same kit x2 reboxed by Revell and Tamiya ,i think it is the same kit.

[Harry_the_Spider]

8 minutes ago, cocky05d said:

Another kit i have on the go ,primed ready for the main colours .I don't think the guide for the main colours are much good .

Only on the bottom of the box .

If your are doing the Marine Corps version there is a tiny photo on the side of the box that gives more information, especially about the decals that run down the top of the fuselage from the intakes to the exhausts. 

[cocky05d]

Hi ,thanks for the reply .

[ChrisL]

I like the tile idea! And Phantoms, I always like Phantoms too!

[Harry_the_Spider]

Much happier with the airbrush today. Turned the pressure down to 10 psi and sprayed from about 20-30mm away. Also, I wasn't "scared" of it.

 

Pre shade

 

 

Underside with top coat.

 

 

...and at the other end of the table the kids were busy too.

 

Oliver aged 10's Zero

 

 

Emily aged 8's Tomahawk 

 

 

 

[Ade]

You’re already mastering the airbrush by the looks of things. The kids look to be having fun with their kits, it’s the same with my two as well.

[Harry_the_Spider]

I had a look at the current Sea Vixen WIP thread and decided that I was being too cautious with my pre-shading.

 

So I did it again, than applied 3 top coats of various greys.

 

 

 

 

 

Also had a nervous few minutes trying to work out if my compressor had a thermal cut out or if I had killed it.

Edited January 31, 2018 by Harry_the_Spider

[Harry_the_Spider]

I'm calling the paint job as finished. I'm just messing with it now and have genuinely lost count of the number of times that I've knocked the pitots off the tail.

 

 

 

 

 

[Lifeline]

Looking really nice... This is really your 1st attempt in airbrushing??

My first attempt was such a cr*p compared to yours

 

 

Cheers,

Mario

Indonesia

[Harry_the_Spider]

Decals and clear coat on. Just wheels and weapons left to do. 

 

 

 

Edited February 7, 2018 by Harry_the_Spider

[Harry_the_Spider]

Second attempt with an airbrush. Fin.

 

The aim was to do one with pre-shading and not cover it with weathering. I'm really pleased with the outcome.

 

Next up will be the Italeri B25 Mitchell Gunship with pre-shade, weathering and paint chips.

 

 

 

 

Will take better photos when the light improves. Probably in May.

 

 

Edited February 10, 2018 by Harry_the_Spider

[thepureness]

good solid job with the airbrush. I started by just practicing on cheap kits until I got the mix right, with brands of paint, thinning the paint to the best levels and finding a compatible varnishes. 

 

As builds got more complex, the better my skills and judgement became and so will yours

 

nice work

 

one thing to recommend, I see your using Tamiya paint, a good varnish I use is X-22 clear for gloss, X-35 for semi gloss finish and XF-86 for matt thinned 50/50 with tamiya thinners for the airbrush

[Harry_the_Spider]

I used thinned Tamiya Semi Gloss on it.

[brianthemodeller]

Very nice! Hope my first attempts at airbrushing go as week.

[Harry_the_Spider]

Quote

Very nice! Hope my first attempts at airbrushing go as week.

Just have a look at the references on here. There was a recent thread about a Sea Vixen that was very informative for me.

 

I also turned the pressure down to 10psi on my second attempt and got a better result than the 20psi on my first one.