neil_1821

I am currently painting a Tamiya RC truck for a friend (bad idea, it's taken me ages) and I'm just on the last piece, the cab. I've always found it a bit hit and miss using Tamiya Acrylic Satin black, it's either Matt Black or turns out to be a Gloss Black. Does anyone have any handy tips/tricks on how to get that satin finish using an airbrush?

Oh don’t tempt me, I’ve been looking at the eduard bf109’s. I have to admit the overall quality of the kits have improved greatly compared to when I was in my teenage years but I guess CAD and manufacturing methods have also improved 🙂

I was given this kit from a colleague at work as the scale was a little too big (he plays war games so all his models are microscopic in comparison!) I've not built a kit for 15+ years and this is was the first one i've ever airbrushed, weathered and attempted to panel line. It's been an interesting build and i've learnt A LOT! Always use Revell Contacta for gluing small parts, my fingers aren't as small as they used to be Use Tamiya masking tape and not normal tape otherwise you don't get clean edges (don't ask, I spent ages then using bluetac and re-spraying edges) You can use isopropyl to dilute tamiya acrylics but don't use it for the clear or flat coats. I sprayed a flat coat to see all my decals go a milky white 😨 Use putty to fill panel gaps, it'll save time messing around with 10+ year old milliput Check before gluing, I accidentally glued the wheels on the opposite side so spent ages tweaking them so it'd sit on the flats of the tyre and not breaking the landing gear Next time use a silver pencil to details wear marks It's not the best detailed, painted or perhaps accurate model (I sanded the canvas lines behind the gun bays, but I'm not happy with the landing lights) but i'm relatively pleased with the outcome. I learnt a lot about using our Badger 155 anthem airbrush so hopefully things can only get better

Wow, thanks for all the replies! i am airbrushing the model so I will try the above methods as mentioned, I’m sure I’ve got some Perspex laying around somewhere and I have plenty of masking tape so this should become interesting! Once again, thank you for all the advice and tips, it’s been a great help

I’ve been reading around on forum topics and browsing YouTube as usual as I’m now at the stage for painting the camouflage on my hurricane, Hurrah! I've seen that more skilled modellers do it freehand with an airbrush however I’ve seen people printing the design at scale and then cutting out and using either double sided tape or putty in order to line it out. I know masks were used on the originals and I feel that trying to do it freehand, replicating the patterns at 1/72 scale would take me quite a while. The issue I have is that the hurricane kit is the starter kit (this was given to me for free) and airfix, in their infinite wisdom printed the colours and paint scheme on the back of the cardboard and I don’t have the facilities to scan this in. Is there anywhere online line where I can print them already to 1/72 scale? Or am I going to be spending days masking out trying to replicate the patterns as best I can? As always your guidance and advise would be greatly appreciated

Lots of good advise! I went and picked up that pack of oil paint, they actually sold a lot of pencils and water colour paints too. Was very tempting to buy them all. I've mixed a bit of black with lighter fluid and stained the gear bay area and inside the cockpit. It does have to be very thin in order to flow into the panel lines but it certainly adds a bit of grubby texture. I'm looking forward to playing with the washes and adding weathering to a fully painted model with a gloss coat so i don't damage the paint work, then a final flat coat once i'm happy. For me a nicely painted model just doesn't seem quite realistic. Hopefully when it's done I shall post pictures and follow any further advise given to improve my quality. 👍

I think i'll nip to the works and buy these: https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/oil-paint/boldmere-oil-colours---set-of-12/5052089215757 I have read that you can't use normal hardware white spirits, is this true? I hear in videos people using mineral spirits but the closest thing I can find in the UK is white spirit. I have plenty of lighter fluid I could use and i'm not paying £5 for a 75ml bottle of turpentine. I may experiment with lighter fluid, it seems far cheaper to use that.

That's interesting Dave, I've not really come across people using watercolours to panel line and wash their aircraft, although it is appealing especially to me being inexperienced! It seems a lot of people prefer to go either enamel and thiners or oil paint and white spirit but after having a google some people have been using watercolours for years. I think this might be the best route for me as my local WHSmiths do a pack of 24 for £10, seems ideal! I've also got some chalk which I'm sure can add to the effect of watercolours and then a final matt clear once i'm happy.

Ahhhhh it makes sense now! I do use Tamiya acrylics, I find them nicer and easier to clean the airbrush with, plus the little glass pots are great for storing small items and mixing up paint with. I may may try making a wash with enamel as I have lots of different colours and some thinner somewhere (I’m assuming I still need a drop of washing detergent?) i would try oil oil paint but there are absolutely no hobby shops around me, they’ve all since closed. I might have a browse on amazon as it seems oil paints are good for panel lines and as an entire plane wash. They certainly seem the easiest to wipe off. Thanks guys

I’ve searched google, the forums and read countless topics and YouTube videos on making your own panel line washes but I’m struggling slightly and I’m after some advice. Im currently trying to panel line the cockpit and make it slightly more grubby. I’ve mixed some XF-01 with some water and a bit of fairy liquid to break the surface tension. It spreads and lines ok but I struggle to remove the excess after a short drying period. Should i I be using enamel instead of acrylic paint? Maybe not leave it so long to dry? Would it be a good idea to gloss the paint in the cockpit prior to panel lining it so it wipes away easier? any pointers would be great!

Generally it would be the entire set, but I have dug out an old 1/48 scale me110 that I started as a kid and it’s not really upto standard but The decals haven’t been used so I’m going to see if I can use those. The main issue I’m having now is that the local shop that sold tamiya acrylics has since closed and the nearest shop is about a 30 mile round trip so I think I’ll have to order off the internet. Just browsing for the best shop to buy from!

Thanks for the replies. This may sound a daft question but I’m assuming that any 1:48 scale decals should fit? I mean different manufacturers shouldn’t be an issue as the scale would be the same?

Afternoon fellow modellers! I haven’t kept up with the modelling world as much as I’d have liked to so I’m turning to you for some help. I’m trying to source somewhere that can supply replacement decals for an Eduard BF109 G-6 1/48, which is unfortunately discontinued. Ive looked on eduard’s website but I can’t seem to find the correct ones. The closest I’ve found are these but they don’t contain all the correct decals like numbers and swastikas https://www.eduard.com/store/eduard/decals/aircraft/1-48/bf-109g-stencils-1-48.html?cur=1 any help/advise would be greatly appreciated

Thanks for the replies, I'd totally forgotten about Micro mesh. I've never used it before, is it like wet n dry but just a finer grade? I have 3000 and 7000 wet n dry so perhaps I can try using some finer micro mesh unless you think I can use the polishing solution listed on that webpage to get a good shine? I'll look into it a bit more but anymore advise from personal use would be great. Many thanks for this

I wasn't entierly sure which area to post this in, but i'm hoping you might be able to come to my assistance as i' mstruggling! I'm currently painting a Gauge 1 Locomotive me and my father built between us and i've been given the task of painting it. My dad had tried acrylics, which worked for a while and then bad reactions began and couldn't figure out why, so we scrapped that idea in favour of using Halfords paint as i've done a lot of work with vehicles in the past. This has been going great so far, although it can be hard to get a decent finish from a rattle can with dust specs and orange peel. Now so far i've flatted the base coats and applied a lacquer, which in some instances has worked out great, however there are still the occasional specs of dust and orange peel depending on the conditions. I have a 1K and a 2K to use, so i'm practising with the 1K at the moment. After applying lacquer i'll leave it at least 2 weeks before flatting and then polising, only issue is i can't get a scratch free finish after polishing and i've tried compounds, polishes and even metal polish (I'm not new to this, i use a machine polisher on my car with great results). So my question is, what's the best polish/compound for hand polishing these paints? Some people have mentioned Meguiars 205 or Ultimate Compound. Anyone heard the same or have any suggestions with pictures?