m4rky

I have been spraying some halfords/holts colour match auto paint on my 1/24 tamiya boxster and i don't know if I am doing it right? I've put a few light coats of halfords primer down (at least 30 mins between coats). Sanded the last coat so its nice and smooth. washed it and waited 24 hours. I've applied 3 mist coats of the colour. Again with at least 30 mins between. Now I'm doing the wet coat but it doesn't seem to be looking like its wet. I don't want to flood the model and cause runs but I am doing heavier and slower sprays than the mist coats. I just looks rough. The paint I am using is a metallic colour and to be honest as its auto paint the flakes are a bit out of scale but I needed a specific colour to match a real car. Am I doing it wrong? Is this because its a metallic paint? Do I need to add a clear coat and then all will be well? Will it be ok if I just sand with a very high grit wet and dry say 8000 or above and then polish. I will try and get a picture of it in the morning

Wow, what a lovely finish. If you hadn't put the euro on the picture it could easily have passed for the real thing.

Nice work. I love the old citroen vans, don't know why. Is it the Heller kit? Not a fan of the multi-part bodies either but i think in this case it works well. Its probably not far off how the real one is built. Also it has a tendency to leave gaps, which, again on the citroen van looks quite authentic and allows you to add some repairs

I found this thread most interesting so I had a quick google search to see what the rocket looked like and came across this link: http://www.virgingalactic.com/press/virgin-galactic-welcomes-cosmic-girl-to-fleet-of-space-access-vehicles/ which states "The LauncherOne rocket will be mounted to the carrier aircraft under the left wing, adjacent to the position that has been used by other 747s to ferry a fifth engine. Initial inspections and tests of Cosmic Girl have already been completed and, prior to the start of the wing modification, a regularly scheduled maintenance check will be conducted by VT San Antonio Aerospace. A maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) organization, VT San Antonio Aerospace has over the years re-delivered more than 3,000 aircraft."

That's a great idea. Very well executed

That's one cool paint job

Strewth! That's good...

There's no way that cockpit is 1:72! I'd be impressed if it was 1:32. Do you have Microscopes for eyes??? Fantastic work

What a lovely build. Those instructions look a little too busy for me to handle, but you are doing a fine job. I assume the bit you have circled is in the the "top right of picture", rather than left. Is it the bit that should fit in the small hole on the front left of the tanks??

Great build. Looks really nice. But its does show why I will probably never build a big Phantom... Stencils...

Littlecars: If I unscrew the valve which the airline goes into I can see a brass body with a slot type head. Is this what you mean by the valve stem? Do you just use a small (jewellers) screwdriver to remove it?

I have a cheap non-branded compressor with a tank (TC80T). This came with a cheap Chinese dual action airbrush (VEDA 180R) with both 0.2 and 0.3 needles. After a while I bought one of the Vallejo Paint sets with a bundled H&S Ultra 0.2 needle. The ultra feels a lot nicer to hold and is clearly better made but the results with it have been no better than with the Chinese copy brush. I have mostly Vallejo Model Air paints but also have a few AK Interactive airbrush paints and Tamiya Acrylics. For thinners I have Vallejo airbrush thinner, Vallejo Airbrush Flow Improver, UMP thinners, Tamyia X20A and Humbrol Enamel Thinners. For cleaning I have used the UMP Thinner and UMP Airbrush cleaners. I also bought an ultrasonic cleaner. To clean I usually pour and remaining paint out. Put some airbrush cleaner in the cup, backflush, pour it out and wipe the cup clean. Then repeat twice more. Then I'll put cleaner in the cup again but spray it through. Again do that twice more. Then I'll take the nozzle off and needle out, give them a quick wipe and put them in the ultrasonic cleaner with water for 3x3mins. I think I am getting the brush clean. I did mention on another thread that I can hear air coming out of the brush when not pressing the trigger of the Ultra brush, that seems to have lessened after a few more cleans. I seem to be able to get fairly consistent results with the Vallejo Model Air using 4 parts paint to 1 Vallejo Flow Improver @ 20psi. But if I stop painting for a short time, say to check the results, it starts to clog up/tip starts to dry then it seems to need cleaning constantly.

Yes, they are worth it. When it does work for me it looks great. Unfortunately it fails far more often than it works. I know I need to grit my teeth and get on with it until I find what consistently works for me. This forum and other places show that everyone seems to have the same "teething" troubles at the start. It does really try your patience though...

Does any do an airbrush course for modellers in the north west? I have been watching tutorials on you tube and they just mix the paint, load the airbrush, spray the parts and wizz some cleaner through the airbrush. Then they start on the next colour. Whereas I seem to be spending all my time mixing or cleaning as it never comes out the brush consistently and smoothly. I really want to be able to use my airbrush properly without spending all my time getting nowhere. I don't know if I am missing something fundamental.

I bought a cheap ultrasonic cleaner and put the nozzle, cap and needle in for 3x3mins. The I tried the Vallejo Air again using the ratio 6 drops paint to 1 drop vallejo flow improver. Using it at 20psi meant that it lasted quite a bit longer before it started drying. But once it does then it keeps doing it. So I'm getting better with it. As I am currently doing an Airfix 109 I bought a set of the AK Interactive Luftwaffe paints. Strewth. These seem to be worse than the Vallejo Air paints for drying on the tip....

Hmmm. I took it apart and gave it a go in the ultrasonic cleaner and it seems better. I have hardly used the airbrush since I got it. Still getting used to cleaning it and using it. So hope I haven't knackered a seal in it. It's blooming hard work this airbrush malarky. Looks easy on youtube!

I have noticed that when my airbrush is just sitting there I can hear air coming through the nozzle. If i put my fingers over the nozzle then the noise changes as i block the flow of air. I have a H&S Ultra airbrush. Is this normal??

Dave: Are these the parts you are referring to?? Do they help in reducing the tip drying out? Or do they just aid in cleaning the tip when it does dry??

I am pretty sure the airbrush is clean, it takes me 20-30 minutes to clean it after every use. I have started to put the nozzle into enamel thinners and you can see some more paint coming off. I have been thinking of getting an ultrasonic cleaner for the nozzle, needle etc to double check. The paint is drying on the tip after a few minutes use and then its like every minute or so. I have stopped using the cheap chinese brush that i have and have started using the H&S Ultra but have the same issue.

Still having this problem. Though using the flow improver has made the issue better it's still drying too much. So maybe there is something else wrong? I build and paint my kits in the spare room not in a shed or a garage so the temp in the room is fairly warm. About 20C. I am wondering if this is a bit to warm?? Also am I holding the brush to close to the model? I am probably only around 2-3 inches from the plastic. If I am too close, how to you do fine lines? From playing out with paper you need to be almost touching the surface you want to paint to get a nice fine line. I probably wouldn't ever do a really fine line on a model (maybe for pre shading or mottling) but I was just trying to get used to handling the airbrush.

Very nice. Like your scratch building skills. The hose looks great. Did you try dry brushing the rims with a dark grey to try and get the scuffed look or did you try and paint the marks?

As mentioned by others, it's great to see a mossie in a non standard scheme. Might have to steal your idea of a captured mossie as yours looks so good...

Wow, wow, wow. That is amazing. I love the way you have dented the trailer at the back. It looks so realistic.

Oh yes that is nice. I've just built the 1/72 version which I enjoyed but found a little small for my hands/eyes. Might get one of these as the detail looks great.

That is very nice. Airfix have those 737 kits on offer at the moment. Thinking of getting one...